Nick Gibbins

As passed on by the delectable , you couldn’t make this stuff up. I was under the impression that Independence Day already covers the same ground, and I’m especially annoyed that he’s chosen to use the 1st of May, which is already used in the rest of the world for events celebrating workers’ solidarity. (as an aside, the line in the third paragraph that “every life counts” sounds especially hollow given the civilian casualties in the US’s last two military adventures, and it takes a conscious effort not to mentally add “but some count more than others”)

…let it be Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf’s – the former Iraqi information minister – purported guest column in today’s Guardian. Today’s column, titled Ken burns in hell – I triple guarantee you! deals with important world issues such as the introduction of the congestion charge, the effects of Gordon Brown’s budget on Labour chances in the May local elections and the state of Jude Law and Sadie Frost’s relationship. A sample: If you see just one film before the end of the world, ensure that it is Johnny English, a new and extremely hilarious examination of the stupidity of western imperialist… Read More »If you read just one thing today…

Well, that’s that, then. British Airways and Air France have announced that they’re retiring their Concorde fleets this autumn (possibly as early as 31st May for Air France). I could witter on about how it was an enduring symbol of Anglo-French cooperation and technological progress as many others are no doubt doing, but I’m mainly irritated that there’s no way that and I could afford to spend £6800 each between now and October. As the venerable E.J. Thribb (17) might have written: On the retirement of Concorde So. Farewell thenConcorde. You flewStingand other celebritiesat Mach 2.2 £6800 for freechampagne isn’t… Read More »Concorde: the end of an era

The last few weeks have been hectic, workwise. For the best part of a month, I’ve been working stupidly long days (twelve to fourteen hours), so haven’t had the opportunity to gather my thoughts and make anything resembling a coherent post about any of the the things that have pleased me, irked me or otherwise passed me by. The ones I can still remember: and I went on the demo that followed the outbreak of war in the Gulf. We made our own placard (“THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS”, with possibly too flippant small print reading “Wooly Liberals… Read More »Blogs need Best Before dates

Went geocaching with the usual suspects yesterday evening – a first for all of us, so we went for an easy cache that was within walking distance. Of course, we would have found it much faster had Chris a) entered the correct cache coordinates, b) entered the coordinates correctly (he mistook degrees and decimal minutes for degrees, minutes and seconds), c) set the GPS to the correct datum and d) not bounded off towards the nearest suspicious-looking thicket like an over-enthusiatic labrador. On the other hand, chasing after Chris (who was holding the GPS) was probably good exercise, even if… Read More »X marks the spot

Radio 4‘s Today programme had an interview this morning with Tom McInerney, a retired USAF general, in which the role of air power in this war was discussed. Most of this was the usual bigger-better-faster spiel about smart weapons and the like, but one statement in particular caught my ear. In this discussion, McInerney was commenting on the interplay between ground forces and air support in the forces deployed to the Gulf, and made the statements “there’s nothing like it in the history of mankind” and “it’s a new phase of air power” before adding that he called this combination… Read More »“It’s a new phase of air power”

Speech by US Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), delivered to the Senate yesterday. It’s good to see that there are US politicians who are willing to question the judgement of the current administration. If you have the time, several of his earlier speeches are also worth reading.

Every man and his dog is posting reactions to the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf, so in order not to be left out, may I present this weblog from an Iraqi citizen living in Baghdad. A sample (and no, not all of his blog is a rant): No one inside Iraq is for war (note I said war not a change of regime), no human being in his right mind will ask you to give him the beating of his life, unless you are a member of fight club that is, and if you do hear Iraqi (in Iraq,… Read More »A Letter from Baghdad

This week’s New Scientist carries an interesting story in its Feedback section (the page opposite the inside back cover for those of you who primarily read the print edition as I do). In short, a person skeptical of new age/pagan claims (using the pseudonym “disturber”) posted a “provocative enquiry” to a UK pagan website which centred on the supposed efficacy of “crystal homeopathy”, as advertised on a website which sells, uh, homeopathic crystals. Unsurprisingly, he received a fair amount of criticism for expressing such skepticism and not displaying a suitably open mind(as can be seen in the forum thread on… Read More »You, sir, are no James Randi!

“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and for exposing the country to greater danger.” – Hermann Goering And according to Snopes, it’s… Read More »A pertinent quotation