The Guardian editorial this morning (“In praise of … the rule of three”) reminded me of a memorable lesson I had at school about linguistic devices used in political speeches. (It was probably this kind of lesson which prompted me to later do a degree in Linguistics.) Here’s a quick list of the patterns I [...]
Since late Thursday night, I’ve been distressed. The news, first leaked in the Times on Friday, that Mark Thompson is planning wide-ranging cuts at the BBC as part of a “strategic review”, is deeply distressing. According to the leak in the Times (now more or less confirmed), this will include cutting the BBC website by [...]
Today marks the start of the London’s Low Emission Zone. This basically means that, within the zone, which pretty much encompasses the whole of Greater London administrative area, lorries and Heavy Goods Vehicles have got to meet certain standards for minimising exhaust pollution (mostly concerning NOx – Nitrogen Oxides – and ‘particulate matter‘). Lorries that [...]
The good news today is that a High Court judge has sensibly ruled that the government’s recent energy review was a sham, and no basis upon which a policy for new nuclear power stations could be based. This is a great result for green campaigners, but a huge blow for the government, whose tactics have [...]
Whilst the bird flu outbreak is undoubtedly the story of the weekend, I find the news that Italy has suspended professional football matches due to violence quite stunning. I don’t really follow any sports at all, but this feels like a big thing. For there to be so much violence over football seems terrifying. Of [...]
The super-casino contenders. Please let it be Blackpool, and not London! Update: Surprise decision just in: Manchester has won the licence.
Being employed by the publicly-funded Science Museum, I’ve been interested in the stories about the British Library that have been published in the newspapers over the last couple of days. British Library to start charging was the headline in the Independent, whilst the Guardian ran its story under the slightly more-accurate Cuts threaten services at [...]
Halfway into this morning’s Independent, I was interested to read the news that an aboriginal group in Australia has been granted land rights over some of the national parks in New South Wales. The deal, which is said to have taken over a decade of negotiation, gives the Githabul ‘native title‘ rights, which means, as [...]
All this speculation over which day Saddam Hussein will be hanged upon (and the current ‘breaking news’ suggests this will be tomorrow) reminds me of a paradox which puzzled me as a child. The paradox goes something like this (updated to reflect the current context): “Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death by hanging, after his [...]