Tag: news

March 25, 2013
In the news today is the “bicycle crash” interview between Boris Johnson and the BBC’s Eddie Mair. Mair’s interview concluded: “Aren’t you in fact – making up quotes, lying to your party leader, wanting to be part of someone being physically assaulted – you’re a nasty piece of work, aren’t you”.

At the risk of sounding an apologist for Boris Johnson, let’s look at those issues briefly.

December 21, 2012
November 2, 2012
October 27, 2012
When Apple lost their UK court case against Samsung, the judge mandated that they should have to host a statement on their website to “correct the damaging impression” given by Apple that Samsung had copied their tablet.

Apple have now done this – their UK website has, in the smallest of print, a link labelled “Samsung/Apple UK judgement” leading to this page:

August 28, 2012
I’ve had an addiction, for several years, that I have finally decided to kick. My friends have previously told me that it is no good for me; that any enjoyment I might get from it is no compensation for the way it tries to warp my mind; that it is destructive, and the best thing I can do is just walk away. Despite that, without it, I find it difficult to wake up and get myself out of bed.

But, finally, I’ve decided to go cold turkey on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

November 1, 2011
July 8, 2011
In the wake of the announcement today that the News of the World is to close this weekend, and amid rumours that once the dust dies down, the Murdoch empire will launch the Sun on Sunday as a replacement; it now emerges that an unknown non-trading company called Mediaspring registered thesunonsunday.co.uk on July 5, 3 days before the announcement of the New of the World’s demise. The domain was registered with UK registrar 123-reg.co.uk, part of Webfusion.

Either someone got extremely lucky with an opportunist cybersquat, or they did so with a little inside information. Or else, Mediaspring is fronting the registration for News International.

May 3, 2011
February 13, 2011
The King’s Speech did very well at the BAFTAs, winning 7 awards, including best film, best screenplay, best actor and best supporting actress.

However, best director went to David Fincher, for The Social Network, and I think it is almost certain that he will also get the Oscar.

February 13, 2011
Misbah Rana has been back in the news again this week, because she is back in Britain, staying with her sister and brothers.

It’s a story I followed 4 years ago, and I am not particularly interested in the rehash of it all – there is nothing really exceptional about her coming back to Britain and it is a bit of a non-story. But I am irritated by the way it is being reported. Practically all of the British media start their articles with words like “Molly Campbell, now known as Misbah Rana”, or “Molly Campbell, who changed her name to Misbah Rana when she went to Pakistan”.

February 6, 2011
January 29, 2011
A remark on the News Quiz today regarding the proposed selling off of publicly owned Forestry Commision woodlands intrigued me. The comment was made by show host Sandy Toksvig:

“…the first tranche of the forests, if they sell them off, is going to raise a hundred million pounds; that is exactly the amount of money that Defra and the brilliant Caroline Spelman, who is the Secretary of State in charge, gave to an international fund devoted to prevent deforestation.”