Apparently Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand have accidently been showing an edited version of the film, The Queen, in which the word "God" has been bleeped out.

Yes, you got that right. We are talking, BLEEP save the Queen here.

Hollywood-based film company Jaguar Distribution said the removal of references to God was unintentional...

The company said an overzealous young employee removed "God" after being asked to delete all swear words. Management claimed he failed to distinguish between the religious significance of the term and its use as a profanity.

I haven't seen the movie yet but I'm curious as to whether it contains the National Anthem at any point. Since every line of the first stanza begins with that particular "profanity", I imagine that would be quite amusing to hear.

I have to say, I was pretty astonished today by the news that Manchester had won the bid for the Supercasino. My first suspicions were, of course, that it was chosen specifically to prove that the allegations of bias and bribery in certain quarters (step forwards John Prescott) were unfounded.

Then my thoughts turned a little darker, and I wondered if perhaps there might be something telling in this choice; what if this is all part of a cunning plan to ensure that there will be a desire for more supercasinos in the future? They have whetted the appetite of Blackpool and Greenwich, and both sites have been very much banking on getting the bid. Stands to reason that, since they are now so ready for the introduction of such a casino, and want it so badly, they will now be lobbying for more licenses. Is Manchester a fob off to pave the way for creating more in those cities/areas that really seem to want them?

Or am I just becoming a conspiracy theorist cynic in my old age?

I haven't found a correspondent's report which has made me stop, smile and read it back again for a while. This report by Martin Samuel, on the culture of slimness versus fatness we have cultivated is marvellous.

There is a real epidemic in Britain right now, but it affects the mind, which is why none of these deep thinkers have worked out that it would appear mutually exclusive to have an obesity crisis (people getting fat, getting ill, costing the NHS a fortune, dying young) hand in hand with a pensions crisis (people staying healthy, retiring early, costing the state fortunes, living for ever)...

Obviously there is a need for people to be healthy and sensible in this country for their own wellbeing. But I'm not a big fan of the public naming and shaming that goes on now, or of celebrity culture where the slightest hint of percieved imperfection gains tabloid attention, or of genuinely barking people encouraging people to talk about their faeces on television.

I dislike the subliminal notion that slim people are happier, more successful, better people. I despise suggestions that overweight people should not be given NHS treatment, as if they are somehow subhuman. I distrust, as Samuel puts it, "whatever celebrity charlatan the BBC is paying to bully telly-tubbies", and the same goes for all of the similar prats on the other channels. Equally I have only distain for evangelicals proclaiming that their lives are suddenly all rainbows and sunshine for the purposes of their few minutes of fame, standing under heavily manipulated lighting, the makeup department of some cheaply produced show having put their footprint on them. It's so fake and ridiculous.

One of the gurus of the new intolerance, Dr McKeith believes that that “each sprouting seed is packed with the nutritional energy needed to create a full-grown healthy plant”...

That says it all really.

Look, if a person wishes to be slim because their self-esteem is in the gutter, then I wish them good luck. But I would say to them, please remember that the people supposedly inspiring this transformation are part of the reason your self-esteem is so low in the first place.

I had the misfortune to be up early enough to catch John Reid on BBC Breakfast TV this morning. Here is the 10 seconds version of his interview:

Things are better than 10 years ago, honest.
More prison places blah blah.
Sex offender's register.
Sex offender's register.
We made a sex offender's register!
Problems before I came. I did say it was not fit for purpose, remember!
More problems occuring because I'm doing something about them (huh?)
Home Office is a house being renovated and is not an embarrasment.
Things are better than 10 years ago, honest.
I've planned everything out, trust me.
Not going to quit! The public don't want me to!
Splitting the Home Office in two is not a substitute for improvement.
I have endurance, character and endurance - much like a... leader.
I've never contemplated using x-ray specs to see people nude.
We don't want minor offenders in prison.

I should probably point out that the nude x-ray specs thing was prompted by a bizarre question. All other ridiculous statements were off his own bat.

Well, now I've had a day or two to come down from exams, I've had a chance to check up on things I haven't been checking, such as blog stats and links.

So first of all, thanks to Peter Martinovic, The Road to Euroserfdom and The Labour Humanist for linking to me. Also, special thanks to WebCameron too for putting me in the sidebar over there. Even if it is only reciprocal, it has tickled me pink I must admit.

Now then, on to the fun. The search terms that have been leading people here have been truly hilarious of late. I feel I should extend a welcome to my blog for those people who searched for...

the body structure of a mateys
my husband is a transvestite pics
fabian society view of university christian unions
how to put chhhh together in a pair of atoms formin picture
ed balls conhome
gordon brown thief
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kamakaze number 2 recipe
what is the ferraro roche saying?
milliband climate clueless
what happens if i am caught plagiarizing at westminster uni
aristocratic hooligans
southwark bishop jokes
incarnated angels
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conservative mp mark clarke (Mark will be pleased!)
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pics of cf uniform
prague tory identity
10 way head
posted free pics swansea porn
all-party british-turkish parliamentary group
prescott cheerleaders
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i'm so dizzy my head is spinning,like a whirl pool it never ends, artist
why cant we bring blair to justes
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martine aged 44 from wales photos
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mitchell francis cheating
gordon brown is a thief
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i want to live in barrow
transvestite meeting places in hampshire uk

I really can't account for some of those but they did give me a giggle.

Addressing prefectural assembly members of the Liberal Democratic Party in Matsue, the 71-year-old Yanagisawa [the Health Minister] touched on the nation's declining birthrate and said, "The number of women aged between 15 and 50 is fixed. Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head, although it may not be so appropriate to call them machines."

Well at least he made some sort of effort at the end there! Really, this just made me laugh. If a politician in the UK said that he would be lynched by the press and probably axed from his job. Not that I'm offended at all. More just amused by the notion of a government Health Minister saying such a thing and merrily carrying on. I know Japan is still a very male dominated culture but that is ridiculous.

Then again, I can't help wishing that our politicians would be so outspoken, for the sheer comedy value alone. That'll never happen.

A MUSLIM doctors’ leader has provoked an outcry by urging British Muslims not to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella because it is “un-Islamic”.

“You see, God created us perfect and with a very strong defence system. If you breast-feed your child for two years — as the Koran says — and you eat Koranic food like olives and black seed, and you do ablution each time you pray, then you will have a strong defence system,” [Dr Abdul Majid Katme] said.

For some reason, reading this story in the Times made me think about Professor Richard Dawkins. Often he is accused of being rude or closed-minded for wholeheartedly throwing himself into attacking any unreason caused by religion in the world. I imagine he would be quite willing to say that the faith of this man has made his thinking delusional, in that strange isolated way which makes perfectly intelligent people, such as this gentleman, believe in sheer nonsense. I would probably go one further and say he's an idiot, since the harm his thinking could do is so obvious, but that might be rude... Oh what the heck.

Idiot.

Fortunately most politicians have the sense to keep quiet about their youthful exploits, and I think that's how it really should be. Unfortunately it seems that John Prescott doesn't agree with me on this point. In fact he appears to be having somewhat of a Jeffrey Archer-esque moment in describing his time as a steward on the Rangitata. This story, out in the Sunday Mail today, makes for some interesting reading:

...One of these stewards was 19-year-old John Prescott, the future Deputy Prime Minister. In a BBC Radio 4 documentary to be broadcast on Wednesday morning, he talks for the first time about his experiences which include serving Sir Anthony Eden, who, in 1957, travelled on the Rangitata to New Zealand just days after resigning as Prime Minister over the Suez Crisis.

Listeners will hear about the 'young union firebrand' who was not afraid to argue with passengers about political issues, an activist so driven to better himself through study that he shunned the drinking and gambling and spent most of his free time with his head in a book.

"My crewmates used to see me at midnight or the afternoon in the few breaks we had. I would go into the restaurant and study, which they thought was quite amazing," Prescott says. "Most of them would go for a p***-up in the Pig and Whistle. I never did."

But that's not how shipmate Graham Wignall remembers it. "We were young and reckless in those days," he says. "John was no different to the rest of us."

He was, they say, 'one of the boys', no stranger to the Pig and Whistle and an enthusiastic boxer. And far from being a socialist firebrand, he displayed little interest in politics as he enjoyed the 'soft life' of a first-class steward...

...in the Radio 4 documentary, he says he was determined to better himself and spent his free time on board studying in an attempt to win a place at Ruskin College, Oxford. "You had to do a 2,000-word essay to get into Ruskin," he says. "I did one on the way down to New Zealand."

However, fellow steward Graham Wignall cannot recall this almost monastic model of studious endeavour. "No, not at all," he says. "I did go into John's cabin but I don't recall him studying. We'd all go down the Pig and Whistle for a drink. He was always with us in the Pig."

And so it continues. I really don't think it's all that surprising that Prescott was one of the lads, having a drink and getting his leg over whenever he could. It's just amusing how he is twisting history to try and make himself seem like a paradon of virtue, studying on board and rarely succumbing to joining in with the exploits of his peers.

It's such an obvious joke to make but I have to do it; the pig has had the whistle blown on him. Sincere apologies for that one.

The list of 191 countries was compiled by the U.S. travel magazine International Living using nine criteria - cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety, and climate...

We all know things are bad in Britain right now, but it can't be this bad? Can it?

COST OF LIVING: Sky high
CULTURE AND LEISURE: Football and drinking
ECONOMY: Trillions in debt
ENVIRONMENT: Not as bad as all that, but still in need of improvement
FREEDOM: Laughable
HEALTH: Crisis on all fronts
INFRASTRUCTURE: Outside of London, either crumbling or hugely overpriced
SAFETY: The Home Office is in shambles with terrorists and paedophiles walking free
CLIMATE: Oh... well um...

Apparently Britain is a pretty depressing place to be right now, by comparison. And how humiliating to be so roundly beaten by the French - now we'll never hear the last of it!

Here's a little light relief for the irreligious, courtesy of Russell's Teapot (found via antitheism on livejournal). I do so enjoy ironic commentary.

I'm feeling confident this is one of those stupid stories that will come to nothing, but the entire concept is sufficiently bizarre to merit a comment, I think. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has this to say about drug rehabilitation:

JUNKIES receiving treatment should be rewarded with free iPODs and TVs from the NHS as an incentive to stay off drugs, it was suggested yesterday.

So incentives should include a bunch of desirable and easily resaleable goods? Great thinking guys. That's right up there with their last idea to staple the stomachs of obese 12 year olds on the NHS. It would probably be funnier if NICE wasn't the government's health watchdog.

The BBC faced more claims of New Labour bias Friday night after giving prominence to Downing Street's instant denial over the latest twist in the cash-for-honours scandal.

Yet again the BBC is being accused of party bias...

A BBC spokesman said: "The story was reported extensively and the coverage was balanced and impartial."

Yet again the BBC's talking parrot is out. The amusing thing is, even it were proved to near certainty that there is bias going on, nothing damaging would happen anyway. Ofcom doesn't exactly have much of a track record with regards to the BBC. Besides, there isn't much they could do that would actually hurt it. They can't revoke its cosy right to tax people ever increasing amounts of money, after all.

It was practically a given that the BBC would be biased in reporting the Cash for Honours investigation and devote as little time as possible to it as they could get away with. Did we really expect anything better? (In other news, the Pope may be Catholic...)

Feels a little odd to be writing on here again I must admit. But finally, exams are over, so that means I'm footloose and fancy free once more! I had the last one today (and if I never hear the word "neofunctionalism" again, it will be far too soon).

Now then, there have been a few times over the last few weeks when I've had itchy fingers. Since it is far too late to comment upon some news topics now, this is my quick five minute catch-up version.


Big Brother - The Racism Debate
Well one thing at least may have come out of this; this may be the last we see of Big Brother. The benefits of this will be manifold, to society, to the world's perception of British people, and most importantly, to my personal television viewing schedule. Channel 4 has stated that Celebrity Big Brother had done the UK a service by exposing the type of racism that goes on every year in our country. I think that Celebrity Big Brother has done the UK a service by exposing the drivel that goes on every year on Channel 4. Either way, it has been enlightening.

John Reid - No Space in Jail
Truly truly sickening stuff. I was watching the news on this with my jaw on the floor. I mean, I know they're looking for excuses not to have to throw Tony in jail, but this is ridiculous!

On a serious note, this really is unforgivable. Watching Blair and Reid attempting to justify it all over and over is painful. They really have no sense of shame. Just my impression.

Catholic Church vs Equality Laws
Oh I'm behind the church all the way on this one in their protests over gay adoption. I mean we all know that since gay people live inside a little gay bubble, any children within range will be banished from the influence of all other orientations and sexes and will hence grow up emotionally stunted. After all, gay people don't have parents of their own, or siblings, or neighbours, or friends or people who lend a hand. Even single parents have those!

Oh but wait, sorry this isn't about orientation, right? This is about the fact that the Catholic church teaches that sexual contact should be about procreation. Okay, fair enough, I see their dilemna. Presumably we can look forwards to them putting forwards legislation to prevent couples clinically unable to have children from getting married (maybe let them have civil partnerships instead?) to keep in line with this. Can't wait.

On a personal note, I am quite sad that Tony won't be able to give them their concessions. I was so looking forwards to opening up a chain of B&Bs which do not allow Catholics to stay over, on grounds of conscience (I suspect they're not the optimal unit for parenting, although of course there are no credible studies as yet).

The Deleted Emails and the Arrest of Ruth Turner
This matter made me do a double take as I had a big flash back to the arrest of Lord Levy. I blame Blunkett, personally, for coming out yet again to try and convince us that the police are merely being "theatrical". Time for a new analogy for sake of variety methinks. I vote for "dramaturgical".

Dividing the Home Office
Great, so now the right hand and the left hand won't only be uncoordinated they'll be utterly severed. And this is supposed to increase cohesion? It's somewhat akin to what happens when the hemispheres of a Home Secretary's brain become detached it appears. I will award a few points of effort for headline grabbing though, even if it didn't quite manage to hide all of the government's sins this week.

Just to be clear, I can actually see the benefits of this. However I wouldn't trust this government to cut a piece of selotape in half, let alone the Home Office. So I will have to remain sceptical for now.


Okay, I feel better now for getting all that out! I have a feeling it's going to take a bit of adjusting to get back into blogging, but I must say a big thank you to all those who wished me well for my exams and who have encouraged me to continue writing with their kind words. It really is very much appreciated and does make a difference.

It's that special time of year again, which every student knows well, when the grip of examination panic hits and all other thoughts flee the mind. As such, I'm putting blogging on the back burner in an effort to prepare for exams.

Not sure when I'll be back but, as always, do check out my sidebar for interesting places to visit.

Oh, and just before I sign off, on an unrelated topic, is anyone else bitterly disappointed Robert Kilroy Silk isn't in the Celebrity Big Brother house this year? I had heard rumours he was going to be. Oh well.

Bye folks.

EDIT: Oh one thing I forgot to mention, I am still doing my blogging questionnaires but I am falling behind schedule a bit. However fear not, they will come out eventually! So stay tuned.

"I think I would try a bit harder to prove My existence to Richard Dawkins."
- Boris Johnson, on what he would do if he were God for a day

If I could give out an award for unparalleled contradiction, it must surely go to the 250-strong Gay BNP Group. Yes you read that right, they're a group for gay BNP members. I don't want to make any comparisons about it being much like a Jewish person joining the Nazis but... oops just did. This is what they have to say for themselves on their frontpage:

Gay and bisexual white nationalists who vote for the British National Party. For the working class against the plutocrats.

Don't give the smug Establishment a spurious moral superiority by any hate. We know who are the real haters, intolerant supporters of one world monoculture destroyers of racial and cultural diversity.

Proud of British culture eg rugby and skinheads. Proud of gay culture eg Michelangelo

It goes on. But skinheads and... Michaelangelo? So they're sensitive skinheads with an appreciation for art then? How marvellous.

I was sorely tempted to infiltrate for a bit just to see if this is some kind of spoof, but decided against it in the end. I pissed off the BNP enough times last year to want to leave a least a few days before making a start for 2007. So although I don't know if they are for real (I strongly suspect they are though) I just had to share for sheer amusement value.

Via Outside Story;

"The FBI can access cell phones and modify them remotely without ever having to physically handle them," James Atkinson, a counterintelligence security consultant, told ABC News. "Any recently manufactured cell phone has a built-in tracking device, which can allow eavesdroppers to pinpoint someone's location to within just a few feet," he added.

If this is to believed, then this means that security agencies have the technology to tap into any phone they target without even having to come close to it and to record any conversations made. Insidious is probably the right word here, although I have to say I find it less disconcerting than the idea of a national identity register or biometric ID Cards, just because I can't say I've ever passed on too many state secrets over the phone.

Still, that the ability and the willingness to do this exists has to be a worry for anyone concerned about the erosion of our civil liberties. This story may be about USA phones but if they have the technology, then it almost goes without saying that so do we, and with Reid et al banging on day after day about all of the various approaching apocalypses (apocali?) we're in line for you can bet that such a technology would be used without batting an eyelid.

All it could take is one geek with dubious morals and some time on their hands to crack it and do the same. Then again, it might be interesting if said geek turned it on the politicians... hmm. Well, if this particular scare story does turn out to be true, then I only hope that the geeks get there before any actual criminals or terrorist organisations manage to crack it. That could spell real trouble.

Somebody asked me if there was anything I'd hate to get as a Christmas present this year, and at the time I couldn't answer. I really don't tend to mind that sort of thing. But now, I think I've found something.

"Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron are doing much more than revealing the bankruptcy of molecules-to-man evolution. They have a greater purpose: proclaiming biblical authority and reaching the lost with the precious gospel message. Enjoy this wonderful family game as you also become better equipped to defend our precious Christian faith."

Words fail me.