(no subject)

I heard the sad news today that a friend has died.

I'd echo the things Chuck says about Rich. He was a gentle, funny, well read, good-natured fellow who was always pleasant, always friendly. I too lost touch with him after meeting him through the CW wargames group when I was in high school and college, but we ran into each other online later and exchanged a number of emails. He was a good chap, and I'm sad to hear that he's gone.

(no subject)

from the Daily Mail's piece on last night's Question Time

But just beyond half-time the programme came to life. This was the result not of a new assault on Nick Griffin, but of a question to Jack Straw.

An audience member named Johnny Lisle demanded: 'Can the recent successes of the BNP be explained by the misguided immigration policies of the Government?'

This was so obviously true that the Justice Minister had to deny it.

Puts me quite in mind of the Rt. Hon. James Hacker, MP, whose first rule of politics was "Never believe anything until it has been officially denied".


(For readers not familiar with the British press, the Daily Mail is a jounal of news and information rather similar in tone, class, and high-minded style to the NY Daily News--or the World Weekly News with a few more celebs and not quite as many alien autopsies. For it to criticise Griffin is akin to Fox News lambasting Rush Limbaugh.)