tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-206985002011-11-28T01:06:21.083ZLibertas, Ratio, VeritasFemme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.comBlogger3441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-49560218234030881232009-02-02T20:36:00.002Z2009-02-02T20:39:15.757Z

Femme de Resistance and LibertyCat are now blogging at www.newsgeeks.co.uk. Please change your links.You can follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femmeder.There are still some teething problems with the site, namely the frame redirect and the rollover links. Suggestions/advice from anyone geeky enough to understand what I've just written will be gratefully received!

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-14898311976724018522009-01-31T19:22:00.002Z2009-01-31T19:32:15.789Z

We're still moving to the new blog. The blogroll, graphics, etc. are now up. We're going to put a few posts up before moving everything across.I suspect it will still have some teething problems, but hopefully those will get ironed out soon too.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-83297125452427015652009-01-28T08:06:00.005Z2009-01-28T08:30:34.147Z

Prescott's new blog is really good. I'm not entirely surprised since his TV programme about class was great too.I've no hesitation recommending him even though he lives in Kirkella, a very, very posh suburb of Hull.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-27665291846210623202009-01-27T09:06:00.003Z2009-01-27T09:21:12.457Z

How do you spend $1.2 million on refitting two conference rooms, an office and a reception area?The public demands an itemised bill!So far, our theories include:They were very big conference roomsThey bought expensive furnitureThey bought expensive artThey went overboard with the interior designThe last image has weird historic parallels. Thank goodness we just sack people nowadays rather than

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-76528853606262003132009-01-26T12:54:00.002Z2009-01-26T14:18:03.752Z

I'm planning to move from Forceful & Moderate to a Wordpress blog within the next few days.The new blog will be under my real name. No one will be surprised to learn that Femme de Resistance is a pseudonym.I'm going to be posting here and at the new blog for a while.I'll feel sad blogging as something other than Forceful & Moderate since I've been here intermittently since 2003.I'm just feeling

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-60742835130194283442009-01-25T08:16:00.005Z2009-01-25T08:41:57.025Z

Guido has a wonderful description of Polly Toynbee as a:Tuscan redistributionist friend of the down-trodden, the three-house-owning, multi-millionairess toffI disagree with him, though, where he writes:With the colourful prose that earns her £117,000 basic It's not her prose that's making her the money. It's that her columns 'provoke'. One reason is she is unselfconsciously hypocritical beyond

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-28073331717332530622009-01-24T06:41:00.006Z2009-01-24T07:24:29.465Z

Lynne Featherstone writes about a Haringey woman who was trapped in a two-room, larvae-invested flat for nine years.After going in "to do battle" with the council, the lady and her family are rehoused.Unimaginably appalling council housing is a common problem in east and parts of north London (Haringey is in north London).While on a placement at an east London newspaper, we were called by a

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-3550501538045128112009-01-24T06:30:00.002Z2009-01-24T06:32:47.531Z

Here it is:

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-79906803562298018212009-01-21T07:03:00.003Z2009-01-24T05:55:13.294Z

Charlotte writes:Second, the old sell-mortgages-to-investors trick that caused the credit boom and subsequent credit crash is being reborn with Brown's own version of the US's Freddie Mac, where the Bank of England will swap these mortgages for Government bonds, created by printing money, which it will then sell on. It will also insure against losses - in return for banks agreeing to Government

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-33796893587272184532009-01-19T08:19:00.003Z2009-01-19T08:44:48.866Z

These chaps who are trying to advertise two-bedroom flats in Chelsea at £950,000 in a recession.Why optimistic, you say? Even non-Londoners know Chelsea is expensive (no idea why, but still).Well, the flats are located at the council estate end of the famous King's Road 20 minutes bus journey from the nearest underground or rail station. Despite Sloane Square tube (at the other end of the King's

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-13556648574432508762009-01-18T07:30:00.004Z2009-01-18T08:17:33.346Z

...In my opinion, anyway.The News of the World on loan sharks (29.9% APR plus extras)Polly Toynbee wrote about rent-to-buy stores in Hard Work (which is a surprisingly good book) in 2003 and it seems nothing much has changed since.John Redwood's interesting ripost to the Government's "bad bank" ideaI think he writes his own blog. You can read about the Government's proposals here.And some of

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-59929181762391220022009-01-17T11:19:00.003Z2009-01-17T12:24:53.852Z

In between spreading scurrilous gossip about the government and overusing the "c"-word, Guido Fawkes makes the occasional sensible post about financial markets. Unfortunately, he does so in the lingo of willy-waving trader types (he worked for a hedge fund before losing it all after falling out with his business partner, so this is probably the lingo he used in the office). Femme-de-Resistance

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-72202154811645337842009-01-17T08:21:00.008Z2009-01-17T09:08:26.555Z

LabourList is making me really, really angry. Why? Because Labour activists have wanted a decent aggregate/group blog for ages.LabourList came along and it's so woefully inadequate that it makes me want to scream. I feel aggrieved on behalf of Labour activists everywhere. I'm so annoyed that *I* would produce a decent version of LabourList if I could program CSS well enough to code a Wordpress

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-19506751902485819342009-01-17T07:10:00.009Z2009-01-17T08:21:48.891Z

Let's give a big hand to Labourist. It's a beautifully designed website hosting the same content as the widely derided LabourList, but without the excessive comment moderation.But how long will this copyright statement stay on LabourList before being tightened up:"All content is the copyright of LabourList but we give permission for its use, unless otherwise stated."Is there anything Labourlist

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-60017002316051815552009-01-16T15:05:00.006Z2009-01-16T15:39:43.057Z

You learn something new everyday. Today I realised there was a community of people who blog about blogging. Take this man, for example. Or this bloke.It has this weird, self-referential quality that I can only describe as depressingly postmodern. Why blog about knitting, cats, Gaza or British politics when you can write about the act of blogging? You can even twitter about twittering. Or blog

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-74022276387305069882009-01-15T09:16:00.002Z2009-01-15T09:29:55.904Z

While here, I'll plug this book, which may be the funniest book ever written. J. Crow, UK, doesn't agree with me, but he admits to relishing reading about the misery of others so I can safely ignore him.It's a riotous spoof of the misery memoirs that have littered book shelves in recent years. It starts utterly ridiculous and never lets up. It has a strange resemblance to In Bruges - it's in very

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-41220457985921610912009-01-15T08:37:00.005Z2009-01-15T09:15:22.916Z

Mark Thomas is a one-man wrecking ball to the myth that left-wingers aren't funny. It takes real skill to write a hard-hitting book about worker exploitation and human rights abuse, which is also entertaining, balanced and unpreachy. The humour is pitch black in places, e.g.'These are for you,' says Luis Eduardo, handing over a bundle of photocopied death threats. Not a traditional parting by

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-2136921828489421072009-01-14T09:56:00.000Z2009-01-14T09:57:17.543Z

Sheer genius...

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-63135451010080235652009-01-14T07:24:00.007Z2009-01-14T08:25:31.457Z

... And apparently so do Peter Oborne and I. He says in the Mail that:“not a single member of the Cabinet has ever occupied a wealth-creating job.”I did a similar exercise just a few days ago when I estimated that around one-third of contributors to LabourList had worked in something besides PR, journalism, think tanks or for the Labour Party.There is a distinction between this and '

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-55448919410834517772009-01-13T06:40:00.005Z2009-01-13T06:58:07.953Z

A treat for anyone who enjoys Downfall mash-ups and, erm, investment banking.This is a mini-series using clips from the 2004 film depicting the final days of Nazi Germany to tell the story of an investment bank slowly going bust after it buys dodgy financial products shortly before the start of the Credit Crunch. I think that's the problem anyway - "The Spiral" starts shortly after the products

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-17533021871669365982009-01-13T06:21:00.004Z2009-01-13T07:13:55.036Z

Yesterday's post was a bit long so I've decided to create a bulleted summary of the main points. IntroductionDoomsayers say declining newspaper sales and the many visitors to big blogs like Guido shows professional journalism is dead. They say that:The internet means people can read content that they previously paid for, for free, putting print newspaper and magazines out of businessBloggers can

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-4667885638390497362009-01-12T07:47:00.003Z2009-01-12T10:28:25.162Z

Another day, another report of declining newspaper circulations. It's statistics like these that produce the endless flood of articles and books about the end of professional journalists, the informed citizen and, even, modern culture.Cinema never died - it just went digitalI'm just old enough to remember when VHS video recorders became cheap. Likewise when computer consoles and wide-screen TVs

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-18172044860784068482009-01-11T09:23:00.007Z2009-01-11T11:31:29.210Z

A few days ago I blogged about Peter Oborne's "The Triumph of the Political Class".This book claims the UK is run by an alliance of professional politicians, supportive journalists and advertising/marketing professionals. Unlike the old Establishment, who had successful careers before entering politics, the political class devote their lives to politics. The temptation to cling to power and

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-65618872615106846492009-01-11T03:02:00.004Z2009-01-11T03:39:00.687Z

LibertyCat and I have just been to see Phantom of the Opera and, like Spamalot, I was generally disappointed. Not with the music, which was brilliant; nor with the special effects. I was just frustrated by the plot.Spamalot irritated me by including bad Broadway jokes and a totally unnecessary token female character, which meant it missed the much-loved bridge scene from the original Monty Python

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-67649326186746713552009-01-09T16:54:00.005Z2009-01-09T17:00:07.397Z

Absolutely hilarious... Apple MacBook WheelHat tip: The Guardian

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-39755907253201302692009-01-09T08:02:00.002Z2009-01-09T08:06:54.616Z

Available on the FT website here.It's actually Tony Blair, but it might as well be Palin. Blair doesn't know anything about finance. The contrast between Blair on finance and Blair on the Middle East (about which he knows a lot) is clear. Why the FT thought that asking Blair about finance was a worthwhile idea is less clear.

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-75246192069348305272009-01-09T07:15:00.007Z2009-01-09T08:15:59.178Z

Lynne Featherstone writes: I am so excited about fronting the new Technology Board for the Party. Clever move by Nick Clegg I think as I think / hope this will be a good match between me and the need for a non-geek, non-nerdy human being to lead the way (vital and lovable though geeks and nerds are!).Malcolm Redfellow commenting on Iain Dale's blog seems to take exception to this, writing: How

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-52415267149672004202009-01-07T18:15:00.003Z2009-01-07T22:10:14.776Z

Until last week I hated institutions. I've hated institutions all my life.  I'm a fervent republican who's never attended a graduation ceremony because I see no point in silly gowns and readings in Latin.I didn't even want to get hitched because I agree with Groucho Marx that "marriage is a wonderful institution... but who wants to live in an institution?"I certainly didn't see the point in ties,

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-51692317980853518262009-01-07T18:08:00.002Z2009-01-07T18:12:32.105Z

If I could look this good at age 43, five days after giving birth, I could die a happy woman.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-45263592811390338672009-01-06T17:26:00.003Z2009-01-06T17:40:22.988Z

I was never in favour of the FSA banning short-selling so am relieved they've decided to let the ban expire.I blogged about this back in September when the ban was introduced, pointing out that short-selling acts like the proverbial canary in a mine. It alerts the market to who's going to go bust next.Recessions are miserable and painful (especially if you're looking for a first serious job in

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-6886951204376190012009-01-05T07:55:00.004Z2009-01-05T08:14:56.292Z

I wanted to slag off the British Chirpractors association for suing Simon Singh but my lawyer told me not to. I want to bite lawyers right now.

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-58673774058170820212009-01-04T10:00:00.006Z2009-01-05T06:52:18.942Z

Do you find taking sides in a two-sided conflict too challenging? Want to throw your Manolo Blahniks where it really counts? May I recommend the Zimbabwean and South African embassies.The Zimbabwean Embassy is conveniently located on the Strand so you can finish your protest with tea in the Savoy. Better yet, it's just a short march with placards to the South African Embassy on Trafalgar

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-75752628957850139482009-01-04T09:01:00.005Z2009-01-04T10:00:15.238Z

Somewhere between 12 and 60,000 people wasted a fine winter afternoon protesting about Israel/Palestine in front of 10 Downing Street yesterday.I say 'wasted' an afternoon because the Prime Minister of the UK can do absolutely nothing useful about Israel. He can make some noise, but no one will listen to him anyhow and it's not really any of his business. Several hundred protesters grabbed a

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-2510222807603775232008-12-28T08:18:00.003Z2008-12-28T08:33:05.458Z

You can tell it's a slow news week when the Daily Mail runs a story about the Tory shadow health minister doing an whole four days work a year for a company that sometimes runs Labour health campaigns. His contract with them is written to avoid conflicts of interest.There's no evidence presented in the story that he:Knows details about the campaignsInterfered with the campaignsParticipated in the

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-60679215745449498612008-11-22T08:24:00.006Z2008-11-22T09:14:35.686Z

Iain Dale is 'terrified, if true' by Fraser Nelson's Spectator column where he: "asserts serious economists now view the London financial markets as "Reykjavik on Thames""What Iain Dale and Fraser Nelson fail to mention if that the FT article which coined the phrase, by LSE economist Willem Buiter, went on to say that:"If Iceland had been a member of the euro area, its central bank would have

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-72299779482523057932008-11-17T21:45:00.003Z2008-11-17T23:20:09.257Z

There is something not quite right about this rant by Chris Dillow, linked by Jonathan Calder. The death of Reg Varney has rightly led to many tributes. However, his largely pernicious - albeit inadvertent - contribution to economic and political history should not go unnoticed. His portrayal of Stan Butler did much to perpetuate the image of the 1970s worker as a bone-idle work-dodger; we

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-84504738257592537242008-11-16T10:32:00.004Z2008-11-16T11:07:48.543Z

It's his job. If David Cameron wasn't playing party politics with the Baby P story, then he was culpably incompetent in choosing to raise the issue. Before PMQ's, he will have sat down with his advisors and asked them "How exactly can I make political capital out of the Baby P case?" and asked the questions that came out of this analysis - namely a question that Gordon Brown quite properly

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-41168176085508589772008-11-16T10:04:00.002Z2008-11-16T10:23:06.390Z

This morning, I read this News of the World article that graphically details the horrific abuse inflicted upon Baby P. I challenge you to read it without tears coming to your eyes - it is truly harrowing.Subsequently, I finally found time to watch the PMQ time exchange about it on Iain Dale's blog. It's interesting how differently people view the same footage. Bearing in mind I support neither

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-83275591362652446132008-11-12T06:09:00.004Z2008-11-12T07:01:19.386Z

The best footwear for walking in London's wet and dismal winter is a pair of £235 satin ballet pumps. With them, wear trousers with pavement-skimming hems.Sounds ridiculous? Yep? I vote the Times Fashion and Style team onto the naughty step for this utterly useless and impractical advice. There, they will be joining the Guardian style team who, if you remember, suggested readers avoided the

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-18234505258441888472008-11-07T19:15:00.004Z2008-11-08T06:49:30.879Z

I'm late into the fray where Hazel Blear's speech on bloggers and the media (I have exams this week, ok) is concerned, but I think she is spectacularly missing the point. Bloggers and pundits are no threat to Hazel Blears, democracy or anything else. This is because Hazel Blears has decision-making powers that can affect millions of people. Polly Toynbee has the power to, erm, mouth off to an

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-87333251726995331312008-11-05T07:33:00.003Z2008-11-05T07:57:03.967Z

Congratulations to Barack Obama, and congratulations to the American people for, as Churchill put it, doing the right thing in the end after trying everything else first. Thoughts on the map:Obama gains Virginia, Ohio, Florida and Iowa in the East. All classic swing states except Virginia, which is becoming swingy because of growth in the DC suburbs. Obama gains Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-69771247026786715062008-11-02T05:31:00.003Z2008-11-02T06:04:34.220Z

Are all over 30. Surprised? The BBC was. LibertyCat wasn't.F&M have blogged about Strauss and Howe's 'generations' theory before. This poll is further confirmation that our cultish devotion to this theory is not misplaced.Back in 1990, Strauss and Howe wrote a book called Generations. It argued that people did not get more conservative with age. Instead, a devotion to sex, drugs and rock n'roll

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-63989193938586147452008-10-27T06:54:00.003Z2008-10-27T06:58:40.212Z

...thought it was incredibly positive about the guy. It makes him sound sweet. Or maybe that's just me.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-90570007884144391302008-10-23T22:17:00.003+01:002008-10-23T22:40:30.471+01:00

Tristan Mills has a somewhat contentious post up attacking public-sector and pseudo public-sector employees as parasites. While I don't agree entirely with his taxonomy (I wouldn't call people providing front-line public services or line-managing people who do parasites) he has a good point. People who receive a salary from the government without providing a useful service in exchange (most

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-57638239425344734062008-10-23T21:50:00.003+01:002008-10-23T22:01:39.763+01:00

Femme-de-R's investigation of the first Liberal Democrat presidential candidate to be beaten by Lembit Opik inspired me to do some sleuthing of my own. Bedford Newhall Capital turns out to be a brass plate company. Its registered office address is c/o a firm of professional company administrators. It doesn't say what its principal business is in its Companies House filings. And it hasn't

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-59296578061678923002008-10-23T13:36:00.003+01:002008-10-23T14:07:19.230+01:00

The mystery deepens - a quick scout about Google, LinkedIn and Facebook reveals he works in financial services and may be some sort of investment banker or hedgie.His Facebook profile says he attended Royal Holloway in 2000 and is currently at Bedford NewHall Capital. Googling this doesn't turn up anything useful except that the company is registered to 92A Forest Road, London, E17 7JQ (

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-81260407340626675762008-10-23T11:33:00.004+01:002008-10-23T11:43:50.387+01:00

The Lib Dem presidential manifestos tell me that Ros Scott was Group Leader on Suffolk County Council and a non-Executive Director of Anglia TV, and that Lembit was Global HR Training Manager for P&G.Chandila Fernando's manifesto says he has industry experience in banking, catering, etc., works in business development and has 'been involved in a variety of political, community and commercial

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-17726636672458225042008-10-20T20:30:00.002+01:002008-10-20T20:55:35.648+01:00

Tonight's dinner was a vegetable pot from the ever hip and ecologically correct Innocent folks. The packaging contained two glaring lies.Firstly, they use a large symbol awfully close to the standard symbol for recyclable plastic (Innocent fruit pots are made of microwave safe plastic which is non-recyclable). The attached text offers lame suggestions about how you could reuse the pot.

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-60823457812946094322008-10-20T07:45:00.002+01:002008-10-20T07:49:34.546+01:00

We wondered, does Sarah Palin have a celebrity career ahead of her, somewhat independent of her political ambitions?[NB: See the clip with the dancing moose]

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-45259208580458462052008-10-16T18:43:00.005+01:002008-10-16T19:32:31.548+01:00

I'm loving this.Protesting in the street is funky enough to overcome my general wedding loathing. Regardless of how unconventional the person, once they meet that special someone, they end up jammed into a fancy frock in a stately home/club someplace. I blame the parents.But perhaps the anti-wedding planners don't go far enough. Why invite anyone at all? Given how much I hate weddings, the worst

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-13563360554357420922008-10-11T08:24:00.003+01:002008-10-11T09:02:44.360+01:00

This week, I interviewed a group of anti-consumerist squatters who were trying to set up a money-free social centre.I thought about them when I saw this picture gallery in the Guardian. It should be retitled: "The credit crunch: Continue buying unnecessary stuff... but for less cash."Do cash-strapped families really need £30 (each - I checked) scatter cushions? And how are these £30 (each)

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-14720934445476932212008-10-10T05:16:00.004+01:002008-10-10T06:18:13.487+01:00

LibertyCat responded to James Graham's post about class. He wrote:The reason why meritocracy doesn't work is that the social problems of poverty are caused by some poor people being lazy and feckless. There is no reason for someone who cares about their future to smoke. There are not many reasons for them to eat junk-food daily.The story of how Jake turned bad is quite long, but only once was

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-87588588561563909612008-10-08T21:17:00.002+01:002008-10-08T22:20:59.482+01:00

An interesting post by James Graham points out three Guardian articles which touch on issues of class. The first is about the evils of right-to-buy, where James correctly points out that the lack of a land value tax is the real problem (although neither James nor the Guardian's John Harris talks about the artificial shortage of housing generated by restrictive planning laws, which affects all

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-27909488844688336522008-10-07T06:57:00.003+01:002008-10-07T07:31:29.030+01:00

Mark Valladares' posts about Irfan on the Lib Dem aggregator scared me somewhat.Is he seriously suggesting someone be barred from the aggregator based JUST on this post?Or thrown out out of the Liberal Democrats?I don't know Irfan. From reading his posts, I suspect he is a teenager (correct me if I'm wrong). Certainly, he isn't that practiced at getting his thoughts down on paper?Was he

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-21682380723820729282008-10-04T07:21:00.003+01:002008-10-04T07:51:03.655+01:00

LibertyCat and I were so bored by the VP debate (which we watched on YouTube last night) that we gave up halfway through and watched Paris Hilton's campaign address instead.Both Biden and Palin answered so far from the question that it was only found again, tens of thousands of years later, by astronomers using radio telescopes.The potential VPs rambled more than tourists lost on a moose hunt. 

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-51346815906695213222008-10-03T06:44:00.004+01:002008-10-03T07:30:28.222+01:00

The Guardian, not a pro-Republican rag, thinks Palin held her own in last night's debate against Biden.I haven't watched the debate yet, but hope it confirms my suspicion that Palin isn't dumb, she's just scared and ill-informed.I agree that maybe running for VP isn't the best time to learn, but if she isn't dumb, she can learn policies. The thing she can't learn is a small-town American

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-48649039706463382932008-09-28T17:06:00.002+01:002008-09-28T17:40:34.819+01:00

My co-blogger has been overcome by ditzy-chick solidarity which has led her to try to defend Sarah Palin's performance in the infamous Katie Couric interview. I accordingly feel honour-bound to present the case for the prosecution. 1) The question that floored her (about Kissinger and Iran) was an easy question. It was a closed question that could be answered with a variant on "Yes" or "No".

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-39203935362226127672008-09-28T10:43:00.002+01:002008-09-28T11:29:32.555+01:00

Female politicians suffer whichever way they play it. Hilary Clinton was dissed for being too masculine:many of Hillary's attributes—toughness, control, emotional distance—are qualities that are sometimes admired in men but almost never in women.And not a true female candidate. Yet Sarah Palin is suffering the opposite - the fact she acts like a woman is letting her down.Palin was called to stand

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-22928223749017185442008-09-26T06:38:00.005+01:002008-09-26T07:09:26.074+01:00

More than half of US school kids support a ban on ubiquitous pollutant" dihydrogen monoxide, according to research published by the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division.Full story in New Scientist.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-5511655337155737602008-09-25T13:51:00.004+01:002008-09-25T13:56:46.909+01:00

1. The commanding heights of the economy are taken into public ownership2. Political opponents of the regime are subject to detention without trial3. Ideological correctness and loyalty to the General Secretary are more important than competnence in determining who is promoted4. The State rejects Darwin's theory of evolution and promotes bogus biology instead5. You lose a war in Afghanistan6.

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-45430035956296239442008-09-24T20:54:00.000+01:002008-09-24T20:55:20.310+01:00

I'm slightly sceptical about these '5 Must-have' or '10 Best' articles, because I don't 'Need' my iPhone to be a remote control for my computer and no one is going to try all the growing number of iPhone apps.But here are three apps that I've tried and found useful for blogging on the go:1. BlogPress (£5.99) allows you to easily update Blogger on the move. Previously, the only applications

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-10466120701030685742008-09-24T06:54:00.003+01:002008-09-24T06:58:46.784+01:00

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Hamlet are now friends.Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.Ophelia removed "moody princes" from her interests.Etc...Hat tip to Mr Eugenides.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-78814529164976760392008-09-23T07:04:00.003+01:002008-09-23T07:21:59.813+01:00

In 2003, the Indy complained that the then Chancellor's tax credit system was too complex, meaning it was hard to administer. The Times, writing in 2007, said that:Gordon Brown’s big idea looked good on paper but has become a byword for confusion, maladministration and misery for some claimantsSo I'm shocked to find that Brown hasn't learned from his mistakes in five years. Yep, he's now

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-22254491277412952652008-09-22T09:15:00.002+01:002008-09-22T09:32:25.185+01:00

LibertyCat says he would have focused more on why Nudge wouldn't work. Tim Harford, for example, argue that people aren't always that easy to Nudge. Nudging only works if people have to make an important decision once or if the decision has a low cost (financial or otherwise). If someone makes an expensive decision numerous times, they learn from the experience and begin making increasingly

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-11049647920389793392008-09-22T07:01:00.003+01:002008-09-22T07:45:04.891+01:00

Nudge could be one of the most important books of the next ten years, given it has apparently inspired both Obama and Cameron.I haven't read all the book yet, but I've seen enough to realise so-called libertarian paternalism isn't as benign as it initially sounds.People are not rational and sometimes make bad decisions. But, instead of banning the bad choice, authors Thaler and Sunstein recommend

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-86692893778897106382008-09-21T10:50:00.004+01:002008-09-21T12:11:45.537+01:00

I've just noticed this story (hat tip Crooked Timber) about the Royal Society sacking its director of education over remarks about creationism that were misinterpreted by the press. Was this fair? Most of the defences of Reiss get the wrong end of the stick by defending Reiss' views as a legitimate alternative viewpoint that shouldn't be shouted down by the voice of authority. This is bogus. As

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-40753298682727310112008-09-19T07:30:00.008+01:002008-09-19T20:07:49.843+01:00

Another day, another 'how I regretted my abortion' story from the Daily Wail. Every time I read these articles, with a similar compulsive relish to Prescott in a Chinese restaurant, I always wonder - what is the Wail trying to achieve?Is it just that women enjoy reading how other women regretted their abortion? So a simple case of selling more newspapers. Or does the Wail have an agenda? Do they

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-35138567021563435462008-09-19T07:30:00.005+01:002008-09-19T07:42:35.905+01:00

Short-selling: A practice by which speculators bet, often with good information, on who is going to go bust next and, by doing so, act a bit like a canary in a mine.If someone takes away your canary, you won't stop being scared of gas. No, you will be scared of gas everywhere, rather than just in places where your canary is pushing up daisies.Malicious short-selling is already illegal. Therefore,

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-28531163036813114302008-09-18T09:56:00.003+01:002008-09-18T10:01:45.809+01:00

Oliver James strikes again with this howler:we have many financial institutions that exist through lending borrowed money, rather than their own.Private banks are not the Government. They cannot print money. Therefore, they need to get it from somewhere else, namely people who lend them it.I'm also fascinated by the 2000 study he quotes, with its large sample size of 26 people. Did the brokers

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-24577724328127459192008-09-17T20:10:00.018+01:002008-09-17T22:20:22.406+01:00

You'll remember from parts 1 and 2 that we've covered banks lending to people who can't pay and insurance companies encouraging them.In part 3, we're going to talk about banks that aren't banks trying to do bank-ish things. This hasn't caused any big banks to go bust, but does explain why no one trusts them. Which is why, if you remember, we are all f****d.No one down, but many scaredOne of the

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-30318382612219460422008-09-17T20:10:00.013+01:002008-09-17T21:54:26.965+01:00

To recapIf you remember back to Part 1, our current state of f****dness has three components:Banks have been lending to all kinds of people who can't pay, not just sub-prime mortgage borrowers;Investment banks and insurance companies have been doing naughty things with derivatives and;Organisations that are not banks have been acting in bank-like ways without a banking licence.We have covered the

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-35804021215762644222008-09-17T20:10:00.012+01:002008-09-17T21:30:21.800+01:00

A short summary of where we're atThe economy depends on people thinking their money is safe in banks, and bankers thinking their money is safe outside banks. No one thinks their money is safe in banks and bankers don't trust each other anymore. Therefore, we are f****d, because no one can get access to money when they need it - including banks.The reason why no one thinks their money is safe in

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-63308651180142764212008-09-17T14:11:00.005+01:002008-09-17T16:24:37.570+01:00

See previous post for details about NaNoWriMo.Novel: Writer's BlokeGenre: Chick Lit'Back cover' blurb:Aspiring feature writer Astrin Ghent is out of ideas. She's also out of cash, just moved to the big city and trying to kick off a freelance career. In short, writer's block couldn't have struck at a worse time. So when housemate, old friend and political apparatnik Terry suggests a party

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-84668712113063362012008-09-17T11:58:00.004+01:002008-09-17T13:26:10.297+01:00

In 2005, a friend joined 60,000 people worldwide all trying to write a 50,000 novel (or part of one) in only a month.This ordeal, the condition for 'winning' National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) was long forgotten until I discovered NaNoWriMo was still tweeting away in cyberspace.Far from being an isolated event, NaNoWriMo has apparently grown year-on-year until, last year, more than 100,000

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-57018031324697133252008-09-17T07:23:00.002+01:002008-09-17T07:30:29.792+01:00

Microsoft have provided this helpful, animated guide to how mortgage bond trading triggered the current economic mess.It's very cute - it has big, red arrows and everything!

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-26568931154623780592008-09-12T14:28:00.004+01:002008-09-13T07:11:17.436+01:00

Believe nothing you read (especially this blog post!) In particular, if you are considering buying a mobile phone or other gadget, base your decision on technical specifications and online reviews at your peril. It may seem self-evident, but go into a shop and try before you buy.I have had two mobile phones in the last fortnight. The first went back to the shop with much ranting after four days

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-81688353295432335142008-08-14T13:51:00.005+01:002008-08-14T18:55:30.580+01:00

I'm bemused by the bleating about Cities Unlimited, the Policy Exchange report suggesting the good people of Hull p***s off down south.From what I gather (I haven't read the full report), it doesn't dismiss the north outright. It acknowledges that cities, such as Leeds and Manchester, are vibrant and happening places. Its sin is to suggest that some towns, such as Hull and Sunderland, are beyond

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-85912396850558464942008-08-14T11:04:00.003+01:002008-08-14T13:51:42.743+01:00

The mind boggles. Are literature and long-dead languages really the best grounding for banking and accountancy? According to Simon Jenkins they are:In the two decades during which British pupils have fled from maths towardssocial science and the humanities, the economy has boomed. It has done so on thestrength of finance... on service activities that have little mathematicalcontent. Reading on,

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-39538957088080688172008-07-31T09:22:00.002+01:002008-07-31T09:39:52.958+01:00

Socialist Workers were dressed as 'fat cats' and giving out leaflets outside 120 Fleet Street (which could be Goldman Sachs International - it's definitely in the same building... Any better ideas?) this morning.Gas company bosses are apparently due to meet there this morning to announce their profits while landing consumers with price rises of up to 35%.Photo to follow...

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-1622693422901405982008-07-24T21:25:00.002+01:002008-07-24T21:49:51.268+01:00

I'm with tonight's Evening Standard on the implications of the Max Mosley BDSM case decision.Mr Justice Eady reiterated that stories that invade privacy should be 'in the public interest' rather than merely 'of interest to the public'.This isn't news. Article 3 ii) of the Press Complaints Commission code of practice for journalists already states that:It is unacceptable to photograph individuals

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-78336264213563865252008-07-24T12:20:00.000+01:002008-07-24T12:21:24.444+01:00

George W. Bush adds to his list of memorable quotes with this blinder.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-48666059415593694642008-07-20T07:55:00.002+01:002008-07-20T07:59:02.381+01:00

This kiss and tell is really a bit cheeky.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-87212694572749105022008-07-14T09:03:00.000+01:002008-07-14T09:05:19.257+01:00

The Screws thinks yes.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-1832639279334368802008-07-11T06:12:00.004+01:002008-07-11T07:11:07.219+01:00

Slightly late, but here is the final installment of the Haltemprice and Howden by-election leaflets.Thomas Darwood (25 votes)Both my mum (who lives in the constituency) and I were flummoxed by this leaflet which is sub-headed:"Carpenter from Essex claims he has CV to become future King through political and constitutional reforms" He continues:"A carpenter from Essex has astonished the world by

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-75529241946508429812008-07-10T06:17:00.005+01:002008-07-10T07:09:45.188+01:00

As the good people of Haltemprice and Howden go to the polls, I reveal some of the highlights of the other by-election pamphlets I have in my possession.Again in no particular order:David CraigThe author of Squandered is standing for election on a platform of Stop the Government/Politicians wasting our money coupled with the usual demand for a referendum on the Lisbon treaty and clear limits on

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-84326877731205483452008-07-06T08:35:00.007+01:002008-07-06T09:49:36.610+01:00

I have the fortune (or not) to be in possession of  leaflets from 17 of the 25/26 candidates in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election. And, may I say, there are some real corkers!I'm going to ignore the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, the Green Party, Gemma Garrett (Miss Great Britain Party and a regular on the by-election circuit) and Jill Saward, the anti-rape campaigner and Grace Astley,

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-58279968180428504802008-07-03T18:22:00.003+01:002008-07-03T18:26:47.217+01:00

Click here. An interesting fixation on imperial measurements, for some reason...

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-16611408088234987802008-07-02T12:47:00.005+01:002008-07-02T14:21:34.873+01:00

More than ten years after ex-Tory MP Walter Sweeney lost his Vale of Glamorgan seat, he is making a comeback by standing in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election.So why has he chosen to re-enter national politics? And why is he standing as an independent against Tory MP David Davis?Paul Linford suggests a revenge match.I had to ask...Mr Sweeney tells me:Ma chere Femme de Resistance,Thanks for

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-20767480761864609362008-07-02T06:45:00.006+01:002008-07-02T07:32:39.264+01:00

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, a group of Guardian readers wondered if people yoked to the furnace of the capitalist machine were as odious as they thought. Their problem was how to find out.Fortunately, Cityboy braved the bull and bear pit so they don't have to, and has penned a 'heavily trailed in The London Paper' yarn about it."Cityboy: Beer and Loathing in the Square Mile" is a

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-2900081185354449302008-06-29T09:53:00.005+01:002008-07-06T10:04:43.156+01:00

A little birdie warned me that the Torygraph had a particularlystupid article up about house prices. On reading the post it turns out to be a lot less stupid than most MSM writing about economics, but I promised Femme-de-R I'd fisk it, so I am going to have to go into detail on a few particularly egregious points. He also warned that the "severe rationing" of mortgages was preventing first time

LibertyCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327971200259765958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-49732925797882105622008-06-29T09:50:00.001+01:002008-06-29T09:52:51.847+01:00

It's very rare you can find a joke involving both pigeons and bankers. So it's with great pleasure that I present this credit crunch gem:What’s the difference between a stockbroker and a pigeon? A pigeon can still leave a deposit on a Porsche.Thanks to the FT and LibertyCat who tells me that, to make the joke perfect, it just needs to incorporate a ferret's mother-in-law.

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-76866703405332397212008-06-27T12:54:00.003+01:002008-06-27T14:26:28.888+01:00

The proposed Equality Bill to be promoted by Harriet Harman is a damp squib for identity politicians. The proposals headlined in the press are about making public sector bodies and around 30% of private sector companies report on the gender gap, rather than doing anything about it. The remaining 70% of companies are not compelled to do anything."Part-time women receive 40% less pay than full-time

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-79109715345162581022008-06-26T19:05:00.005+01:002008-06-27T07:14:09.342+01:00

Devil's Kitchen is having a tedious grappling match with Labour MP Paul Flynn over whether humans are causing climate change.I've read and posted on this before so, with a sinking sense of deja vu, I am going to wade back into the fray and make exactly the same points as I did last time. See, told you it was tedious!The devil is not in the detail of whether global warming is happening. Therefore,

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-30283335919788106982008-06-25T19:12:00.006+01:002008-06-25T21:37:57.382+01:00

Are our 20-somethings rejecting “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” for “marriage, yoga and a quiet life”? The New York Observer was accused of inventing a lifestyle phenomenon when it published an article on New Victorians last year . The Telegraph subsequently picked up on the story. Here I argue that today’s youth aren’t what they used to be.Take David. He’s a teacher and a district councillor who

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-50609818001767655982008-06-24T20:34:00.003+01:002008-06-24T20:49:20.166+01:00

I was bemused to discover that, according to figures released by the Department of Health, London had the worst figures by region for child obesity.The reason for my confusion? These figures (from 2006) showing a galumphing obesity risk in Wansbeck, Corby and suchlike, with the slimmest chances of getting fat for those living in... erm, Westminster, Camden, Islington... Yep, London boroughs had

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-22686446095679473472008-06-22T07:23:00.005+01:002008-06-22T08:25:35.714+01:00

The Potato Council...  A quango on which taxpayers money is NOT being wasted.No, it's up to potato growers and seed merchants to fund it via a levy of around £4.54m annually, whether they want to or not. Including money from other sources, the Potato Council spends £6.3m per year.The Potato Council came to my attention due to this story in the Guardian. All kudos to these quangoids for spinning

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-71388139746467306152008-05-31T22:33:00.004+01:002008-05-31T23:13:00.139+01:00

Exciting scenes in at least some London Underground stations as they became overrun by beer and mobile phone-brandishing revellers protesting against the tube drinking ban starting midnight tonight.The Circle line is currently suspended in one direction, subject to severe delays in the other and Liverpool Street Station is shut completely.There were at least 40 people at Tower Hill stations, 20

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-17986268329104447282007-03-12T07:38:00.000Z2007-03-12T07:51:49.411Z

LibertyCat: If you wanted to know whether Newton's Principia is phallogocentric or not, you might be better off studying who Newton was and what he did in the rest of his life rather than trying to deconstruct the text. On the other hand, this wouldn't help you in this particular case. Probably because whether or not the Principia is phallogocentric is not a useful question. Knowing whether or

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-59407003645997950802007-03-10T09:46:00.000Z2007-03-11T12:49:20.457Z

On Monday, the BBC reported on the Freud Report on welfare reform. This report discusses the use of the private firms and charities to get the longest-term unemployed into work. However, the most newsworthy part was suggestions that private companies may pay for tattoo removal.The Freud report approach incentivises firms and organisations to rapidly push the long-term unemployed into any type of

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20698500.post-26403455488161586542007-03-09T07:43:00.000Z2007-03-09T08:03:49.911Z

I may be alone in this, and I do agree that given the Tory reputation for racism a dismissal may have been appropriate for bad judgement...However, what Patrick Mercer actually said was that calling someone a "black bastard" happened in the army. Along with calling people "fat bastards" or "ginger bastards". Which is probably true. So he wasn't being racist. The worst you could say of him was

Femme de Resistancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11730739589910153745noreply@blogger.com1