Daily Archive

Sky reports:

Two Daily Mirror journalists who tried to plant a fake bomb on a train have been arrested…

Idiots.  (Of course I mean the so-called journalists, not the police.)  But not too surprising, really.  Remember, the Mirror is the same paper that published faked photos of British soldiers abusing Iraqis . . . as if, at the time, we actually needed faked photos, for God’s sake.

Meanwhile, on the lighter side of the “how did our civilization ever get to this point?” front:

Health officials have banned swimming pools from handing out armbands to children - because they claim they are too dangerous.

They say blowing up the swimming aids by mouth could spread germs, while unseen punctures could lead to accidents…

Presumably, better they drown accidently . . . which is obviously also less dangerous than “spreading germs”.

ePolitix.com:

…Continuing his visit to Rwanda, David Cameron will publish the results of his party’s global poverty policy review and address the national parliament in Kigali…

…Arriving in the country Cameron said that tackling global poverty is a “personal priority” and that he could not let down the people who he had arranged to meet on the long-planned trip.

“These are issues we can’t deal with unless we engage with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.

“It does relate directly to what is happening to people in the UK in many ways.”

Yes, errr, ”directly” . . . in many ways” it certainly does.  Laban Tall:

…I pick up a guy who’s abandoned his car - he lives in the village where the pub is. I go to drop him off - and his garden is two feet under. A river is coming down the hill and through the new estate. The houses are terraced one above the other, like rocks in a mountain stream, which flows round - and through - each in turn…

Of course, in practical terms they can add nothing to the actual rescue operation and struggle. Still, nothing like the seemingly perpetual tin ear of Tory leadership. This one’s in Rwanda, offering bland observations that have been offered innumerable times before, while hundreds of thousands of potential voters are struggling to engage the pumps, or have fled with little more than the clothes on their backs, or are lining up for bottled water. (Taps will be dry in some places for possibly 2 weeks.) Long planned trip or not, one can increasingly understand why this party has been out of national power since 1997.

Ah, but who says some good can’t come out of this? Those 50,000 without power and those whose cars are off the road, flooded out . . . are undoubtedly helping make major personal contributions in the battle against “climate change”.  The BBC must be thrilled.

Politics.co.uk:

David Cameron arrives in Rwanda today to stress his party’s commitment to international development.

But he faces increasing criticism back in Britain over claims he has abandoned the Tories’ traditional policy commitments…

…Former home secretary Ann Widdecombe is among those criticising Mr Cameron’s leadership. She called on him to focus on crime and immigration, remarking most voters probably do not know where Rwanda is…

Whether they actually geographically know where Rwanda is would not seem to be Ms Widdecombe’s main point, however.  Rather, she is trying to get across to her Tory leadership that British voters do not judge leaders based on policy speeches offered in sub-Saharan Africa. (”Did ya ‘ere that Cameron’s speech, in Kigali?  ‘Ee’s got my vote!“)  Well, not anymore, that is.