pica pica

2003-09-04T17:02:00.000+01:00

READ ALL ABOUT IT
The Speculist is a charming human being who specialises in getting us all ready for the future, hover cars and dinner-in-a-pill and everything. But he has harpooned the attention of the speckly, irridescent bird by virtue of publishing an online novel called 'Stillness'. It's a cracking e-read, and gives the bird encouragement with his own soon-come project to publish a novel on the web, aided and abetted by boatgirl. It's not so much vanity publishing as a suspicion that UK literary agents and publishers alike are looking for novels so formulaic that anything which doesn't fit the template is given a polite rejection. Or, alternatively, my own novel may be the biggest crock of shit ever committed to the page. Either way, you will soon get to pronounce sentence, you lucky devil! Aa-aaaaar!

2003-09-03T15:53:00.000+01:00

DOWN IN FRANCE [SUBTLE FRANK ZAPPA REFERENCE]
The magpie has links to France. My father lives there and the bird has flapped across the Channel more or less annually for the last seventeen years. However, a combination of a falling-out with said sire and a generalised disgust with recent French behaviour has compelled the pernickety bird to view our Gallic cousins with a somewhat jaundiced eye of late. Add to that the general arrogance of the French as individuals (in my experience), their casual anti-Americanism and their pathetic wailing when a healthy slice of their compatriots voted for Le Pen – that's democracy, mes amis – and Franco-magpie relations could be said to have hit an all-time low. Boycotting all French goods since their disgraceful stance on the war in Iraq, the bird finally says 'Non!' Now, the following article, although it is from the big, bustling Frontpage Magazine, the cawing bird makes no apology for lifting the link – plus the pull-quote – wholesale from Aussie blogger Whacking Day. The feature concerns the scandal of France's recent heatwave deaths. Read the whole thing, but the key point to which the magpie wishes to draw your attention occurs at the very end.

"As the numbers of heat deaths climb, a final figure of close to 20,000 is being seen as not unrealistic – in other words, a humanitarian disaster. Meanwhile, the death toll in Guantanamo Bay, which the French are in the habit of condemning with dainty disgust as barbaric, sweltering, fetid and inhuman, remains remarkably stable: None."

Ecrasez l'infame, indeed.

2003-09-02T15:00:00.000+01:00

DETOXING WITH WILLIAM BLAKE
Although there is the usual vivid cornucopia of infotainment available on the world wide wibbly wobbly web®, the magpie will instead expound on a subject dear to his heart; the fascinating subject of myself. I will do this with the aid of William Blake, poet, mystic and engraver. Over the last week, I have gone through something of a detoxification: no alcohol, sensible diet, early nights, a bare minimum of fags, green tea at all possible opportunities and 2 litres of water a day. How do I feel? Extraordinarily chipper. While a state of intoxication has its naturally attendant sense of well-being, there is also the terrible price to be paid in the form of the hangover. Too much of this sort of behaviour results, as inevitably as the turning of the tides or phases of the moon, in illness as the immune system becomes compromised and the body increasingly fatigued. A week off the grog, however, and the monochrome flapper feels as fit as a butcher's dog, full of piss and vinegar, and generally eager to get things done. So; a self-congratulatory caw, and the magpie will hop back onto the garden wall of the internet tomorrow. See you both then.

2003-09-01T16:16:00.000+01:00

PARTY!
Well, September 11 is coming around again, and folk will be marking it in their different ways, confirming once again that the world really is, in the words of Blue Mink, a great big onion. Some people who will definitely not in any way be celebrating the defining moment of the late 20th century are Islamist funsters al muhajiroun, despite their planned Islamic conference. The gabbling bird strongly believes that we here in the West ought really to be ashamed of ourselves, imputing that, simply because the symposium has a title which we choose, wilfully, to misinterpret, the event in some way voices approval of the attack on the twin towers. That conference name again? Why, it's 'Magnificent 19'. Allahu akhbar.

2003-08-29T16:10:00.000+01:00

YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO
The magpie works, naturally, not being in receipt of a private income. But today he is sad. I went to university for a long time, you see, and earned a BA, MA and PhD in the totally non-vocational subject of philosophy. I knew that this subject would never get me a job and, further to that, the amount of time I had spent out of the full employment market would be a serious disadvantage. However, I managed to fall into journalism – not the proper sort, the production editing sort – and make a reasonable crust. But the fools, the fools. Every day is a desperate attempt to reinvent the wheel wearing boxing gloves and armed only with a teaspoon. And to think that, when I was at school, I wanted to be a speedway rider. Ah, the dreams of youth, the six of cups…

2003-08-28T16:01:00.000+01:00

AFROBLOGGING
After being grilled by the ever-inquisitive boatgirl concerning the state of African politics, the magpie was minded to look out two great weblogs, Africapundit and Mostly Africa. They both strike the black-and-white bird as balanced, in that they don't blame every shortcoming of the dark continent on colonialism.

2003-08-27T15:31:00.000+01:00

WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN
Tarek Heggy is an Egyptian writer whose abode the magpie happened to flap over today, and this is an excellent essay on the Arabic language, specifically its lack of a direct equivalent for the Western word/concept of 'compromise'. Heggy calls compromise the 'strongest product of Western civilisation', and thoroughly deserves your attention. Incidentally, the monochrome bird refuses to apologise for flagging up boatgirl's brand-new blog a full five times yesterday. This is a reflection on the bird's esteem for the site, and in no way reflects his inability to use what is supposed to be idiot-proof software…

2003-08-26T15:20:00.000+01:00

MESSING ABOUT ON THE RIVER
As either of my readers may know, the magpie lives on a narrowboat (but not this one). Now, for the delectation of the blogospheric community, there is a blog written by a girl who lives on a similar craft. The blog is called, appropriately enough, boatgirl, and I urge the pair of you to get over there pronto. The black-and-white bird has the privilege to know the blogger in question, and can guarantee a treat. You'll get a warm-hearted, thoughtful, informative stream of consciousness from the smartest gal on the canal. She's also a complete and utter babe, so get over there fast. Although no faster than 4mph, which is about top whack for your average narrowboat…

2003-08-22T13:24:00.000+01:00

THE LAST MAN IN EUROPE
Theodore Dalrymple – aka (I believe) Dr Anthony Daniels – is something of a hero of the black-and-white bird. His unflinching reports from the lower depths of what passes for English society (he is a prison doctor) give a truer picture of modern Blighty than a century of you.gov websites will ever give. Here, he laments the prurience of contemporary Brit culture, and ends up sticking it to D H Lawrence!. I apologise to the good doctor for the blatant use of such sexual imagery, but the magpie is, alas, part of the sickness, and not part of the cure.

2003-08-19T16:23:00.000+01:00

CLASH OF THE TITANS
Forget Superman vs Batman, The Avengers vs The Defenders, Freddie vs Jason, or any other sideshows. The big one is here: Hitchens vs Pipes. Will the world survive?

2003-08-18T15:53:00.000+01:00

THE INVISIBLE WORM
Today sees the world of IT with its knickers in a virtual twist over both the MSBlast and LOVESAN viruses. The little message waiting inside the former like an illiterate fortune cookie is aimed at 'billy' [sic] Gates, and mentions specifically the fact that Gates makes money. This is the man who has probably done more to revolutionise information dissemination since Guttenburg's printing press, and he seems to be the least popular cove in Christendom. As regards the viruses themselves, I hope that, like so many others, they don't affect Apple Macs.

2003-08-13T15:02:00.000+01:00

SIMPLY WRECKED
The magpie notes that light entertainer Mick Hucknall has given £25,000 to the Labour Party. Such generosity. It reminds the piebald winger of an encounter with the great man some six or seven years ago. Oasis were playing, famously, at Knebworth, and the magpie had obtained a ticket from a chum who then worked for Q magazine. I need scarcely add that the lure of a freebie actuated my flight to said event, rather than some perverse approbation of Britain’s worst band, the choice of goatboys everywhere. But I digress. My ticket enabled me to obtain access to that fabled backstage enclave beloved of liggers everywhere, and I attempted, at one point, to answer the call of nature in one of the many portable toilets set up expressly for the purpose. Imagine my surprise when my ingress to said prefab was halted by a large, aggressive black man! I was blocked from this ersatz khazi for a full minute until the reason for my denial became clear. Hucknall – for it was he – emerged confidently from the depths of the pissoir with a few of his chums, and I believe that their state of health explains the Simply Red crooner’s generosity to the incumbent Government. Mick and his chums, you see, were all sniffling and snuffling quite furiously. It is clear to the vagabond oiseau that research into the common cold is high on Mr Hucknall’s agenda, and that he will be lobbying Mr Blair for more research funding into this age-old menace. Aa-aaarh!

2003-08-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
The BBC report on the English arms dealer arrested in America as a result of surveillance begun in Russia has one obviously worrying aspect – but not one that the BBC actually recognises. Among its caveats of terrifying extremist threats and the need to protect airlines, it carefully sweeps round the fact that while the two Cold War enemies co-operated, the UK is still the breeding ground of choice for Islamist activity. There's been plenty of bleating about the Guantanamo Bay Brits, but absolutely no call for tightened surveillance of militant British Islamists, which are, apparently, in plentiful supply. Any demand on ethnic minorities – particularly Muslims – to put their own house in order is nowadays inextricably linked with the great post-modern sin; racism. And to be racist is to be placed automatically on an ideological black list or, rather, a list of colour. The BBC; part of your 5th column.

2003-08-12T16:15:00.000+01:00

TV EYE
Biased BBC, the blog that tells you about, erm, how biased the BBC is, have linked to this piece by Iain Murray, otherwise known – I think – as the proprietor of The Edge of England's Sword, Anglo-blog supreme. The gist of it is that the BBC may not have its Reithian monopoly for that much longer. Reith's now-infamous rubric for the larval beeb was that it should "inform, educate and entertain". Does it really do any of that now? Even entertainment seems beyond its scope; it seems to the bird that TV exists simply to fill a void in the lives of its slavish viewers. Finish work, quick drink, home, telly on, bed. This is only a dumbed-down culture because people allow themselves to be dumbed down by the idiot box, with its parade of airbrushed cretins, insincere news items, ridiculous advertising and faux-multicultural froth. Listen carefully. Sell, break, dismantle or otherwise disable your TV. You honestly won't regret it.

2003-08-08T17:27:00.000+01:00

SHARIF DON'T LIKE IT
Just when the world seems to have slipped into a solar-induced coma, news of the very sauciest comes through to the black-and-white bird's nest, perched as it is high, high above the English plains. Omar Sharif – for it is he – has been arrested for… oh, for Pete's sake read it yourself – and fait vos jeux!

2003-08-07T15:17:00.000+01:00

EUROPEAN CULTURE
Go to Strindberg & Helium. Go now.

2003-08-05T14:20:00.000+01:00

DOWN MEMORY LAYNE
I seem to remember, around a year ago, wandering into the blogosphere (quite by chance, as I imagine most people do) by bumping into Ken Layne. And he's still around, which is nice to see.

2003-08-04T15:22:00.000+01:00

STARSTRUCK
Go and have a look at this little fucker. His girlfriend bought an album by Luke Haines – arch-satirist, ace songwriter but perfunctory crooner with The Auteurs – and it's got his dick all hard about Baader-Meinhof. I love the bit where he frotters himself about using bombs to make a political message. In fact, it's quite inspired me! Perhaps it's time not simply to bemoan the parlous intellectual state of lefties everywhere, but actually to start blowing them up.

2003-08-01T14:45:00.000+01:00

BATTY BOYS IN THE BELFRY
Check out this little popsy in The Guardian. The whole thrust of her argument is that black culture is not homophobic. It is, of course, white culture that's to blame for all that poof-dissing. It's the Lee Jasper argument all over again; the reason black men are shooting each other all day long in London is that white folk are racist. Read this shit and see what you think. Black culture is openly, perniciously homophobic – it's a fact. Look at last year's MOBO Awards fracas involving the great Tatchell. Just look at black culture, for fuck's sake. And the professional coons are the worst; the Darcus Howes who represent the offence industry but don't like to see batty boys in the 'hood.

2003-08-01T14:30:00.000+01:00

IN THE MIDST OF LIFE WE ARE IN DEATH ETC
The magpie discovered yesterday night that an old acquaintance of his committed suicide yesterday morning in a hotel room in Bangkok. He’d gone out there a few years ago to sell weed, but had become addicted to crazy medicine. Everyone makes their own choices in this life and, I would imagine, in any other. That’s the whole point of it; you are the sum total of the choices you’ve made. But that sounds judgemental. I remember this guy as having a fierce energy for life, a Jack-in-the-box, a fun merchant, the kind of dope smoker I thought would never tip over the edge. Do rest in peace, Geoff.

2003-07-31T14:51:00.000+01:00

I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT SCIENCE BUT I KNOW WHAT I LIKE
Because the magpie likes to tickle both your tummies, gentle readers, have a gander at this new science blog, The Speculist. Don't say I never do anything for you, ungrateful wretches.

2003-07-30T12:39:00.000+01:00

COLOUR-CODED HISTORY LESSONS
As a magpie, I am often tempted to see the world in black and white. So, too, is the faculty at Oberlin High School, Ohio, USA. The debate raging there is whether white people should be able to teach black history. Why do so many representatives of black culture insist on making jackasses of themselves? There is one particularly offensive sentence, right at the end.

"How do you work through [the facts of slavery] when the person teaching it is the same type of person who did the enslaving?"

"The same type of person." White, you mean.

2003-07-29T15:59:00.000+01:00

YOU'RE IN THE ARMY NOW
Fed up with the BBC and it's 5th column approach to post-war Iraq? Get over to Chief Wiggles. He is a soldier. In Iraq. He is not a North London wanker. Do it!

2003-07-28T16:21:00.000+01:00

LICENCE TO KILL
Quite apart from anything else, get yourself over to Biased BBC, which does exactly what it says on the tin. When you've done this, do what the magpie did five years ago; get rid of your television. You'll feel cleaner, brighter, and fresher for your decision. The BBC is staffed by wankers, North London Tarquins who don't know their arses from holes in the ground, but like to have a pop at America when they're not having canapés and some shit cocktail in The Angel. And they get paid for it. With your money. Burn your TV! Do it now!

2003-07-28T14:37:00.000+01:00

OH WHAT A PEARL, WHAT A WELL-MADE WORLD
Push off to this site. The gal who has linked it has set her site up so that you can't cut-and-paste from it – all very clever and modern, as Saki would say – but that doesn't stop the likes of the black-and white bird. Go to the original piece, which is here and see what you think. I would then refer you, and both my other readers, to one of the greatest books of the post-modern era; The Skeptical Environmentalist, by Björn Lomborg. What has always amused me is this lovely idea that we can somehow destroy the world, just like the peace-junkies in the 60s thought we could blow it up. So amusing, so quaint.

2003-07-25T12:34:00.000+01:00

YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK
This fascinates the magpie. It's a Guardian-hosted e-debate between Lee Jasper, secretary of the National Assembly Against Racism and, the kleptomaniac bird believes, race adviser to Mayor Ken, and Dr Tony Sewell, associate lecturer at Leeds University's school of education and a board member of the Learning Trust, which runs Hackney's education department. These two have locked horns before. Jasper believes the problems encountered by young British black men are the result of white racism and resultant marginalisation of blacks. Sewell believes that a hypermaterialistic black subculture inflicts peer group pressure on black boys such that learning is viewed with contempt as being a 'white' pursuit. The magpie has his sympathies in this argument, and would simply invite you to consider the dogma of the following, an opinion given by Jasper during the debate.

"Levels of racial inequality have grown in education, health, criminal justice and public sector employment over the last 20 years. This indicates that racism has increased over this time."

Does it indicate that? You decide.

.

2003-07-24T09:53:00.000+01:00

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRINT
Tacitus, a fine, upstanding politico-blog, has received an e-mail from a marine in Iraq. Compare its tone with that of the British Left and its paramilitary wing, the BBC.

2003-07-23T16:05:00.000+01:00

MONSIEUR SOI DISANT
The magpie is puffed with pride. Flap off to Tim Blair's blog, scroll down to 'WELL, ARE THEY?' and look at about the sixth comment, wherein the magpie (under his alias as Mark Gullick) suggests that Robert Fisk be renamed 'Robert so-called Fisk' apropos of the mighty Fisking given to The Independent's useful idiot by our man Blair. You will note that one or two of the correspondents believe that this rechristening is the way ahead when dealing with übercretin Fisk. Caw his name with pride!

2003-07-23T15:25:00.000+01:00

I WANT TO BE IN AM-ER-ICA
The magpie has found this little trinket to be the most honest mission statement American ideologues have made for some while. Plus, an interesting observation. I spied, with my little tiny eye, a police car yesterday in the county of Essex, England. In dinky blue brush script, the wagon bore the following legend; Essex Police – taking the lead in making Essex safer. Will we soon see postmen with sacks reading: Postmen – being proactive about delivering your letters? Why not the following, emblazoned perhaps across a school? School; we'll teach your children better than your local GP's practice. The magpie generally abhors bad language but, on this occasion, he is tempted to use phrases which would make a docker's tart blanch.

2003-07-22T12:51:00.000+01:00

BLOGS OF WAR
Andrew Gilligan, the journalist at the centre of the unfolding Case of the Sexed-up Dossier, contributed to a weblog while he was gigging in Iraq during the recent war of liberation/imperialistic outrage (delete as applicable). Needless to say, he was watched.

2003-07-09T11:46:00.000+01:00

PERSIABLOGGING
Today is a day on which a number of blogs are concentrating on Iran. Andrew Sullivan is the best place to start. He flags up this very moving entry from a young Iranian blogger. The thieving magpie is not being glib when he says that it caused the tears to smart in his glittering eye.

2003-07-03T11:53:00.000+01:00

THE THIEVING MAGPIE
One of the questions I would be asked most of all if anyone apart from me read this blog, would undoubtedly be, why pica pica? Well, it is the Latin name for the magpie. This little thug, when not slaughtering other birds' young, spends its days breeding prolifically – partly encouraged by an increase in UK roadkill – beating the living crap out of any other bird it sees, stealing things (particularly glittering trinkets) and avoiding the dreaded Larsen trap, and seemed to me to be a neat image for blogging, what with the endless thievery of little news gobbets to be hoarded and shared. I hope you both agree.

2003-06-25T12:07:00.000+01:00

THE MAGPIE GOES UP AGAINST TECHNOLOGY
I'm attempting to flag up websites, like all the big bloggers do, but I may have fallen at the first. Soon see.

2003-06-25T09:35:00.000+01:00

SOMEONE'S WATCHING THE WATCHERS
The chattering, piebald, trinket-thief magpie has often had cause to ponder the role of NGOs. They are supposed to be an amalgam of watchdog, relief agency and independent aid provider, the apolitical aspect of modern warfare and/or mass displacement. Increasingly often, however, these laudable aims take a back seat to bluntly political agendas, and the politics, perforce, are those of the fashionable Western left. Well, there is a new remit checker at NGO Watch. See what you think.

2003-06-24T15:29:00.000+01:00

FREE PRESS – WITH EVERY ISSUE!
The Baghdad Bulletin has been published. It's still early days, but the signs are that this might be a better guide to what's happening in Iraq's capital than either the Mail or the Guardian, to give examples of two of Britain's most gormless papers. I don't know about either of my readers (that's me and you, pal. Hi), but nowadays I turn straight off the news motorways at the first exit and take the first right into Bloggerville, which in turn leads you into the back roads of international online press. The mainstream media tells you what happened; blogs, as an aggregation, tell you the implications of how it has been reported. Let's hear it for meta-media, caws the magpie.

2003-06-23T16:49:00.000+01:00

A READER WRITES
Human Rights Watch has written an open letter to Ayatollah Khameini concerning treatment of demonstrating Iranian students. Human rights organisations get a lot of stick – some undoubtedly warranted – but this interested the magpie because it informs him as to the initial cause of the student unrest. Here's an excerpt:

"The student demonstrations started in response to fears that official plans to privatize universities would lead to a rise in tuition fees. The protests spread outside the campuses and became much broader calls for respect for basic freedoms and expressions of dissatisfaction with government policies."

This is interesting. There is an often-made assumption that any dissent against, for example, Islamic theocracies is designed to help crate in the stage scenery of capitalism – but it ain't necessarily so. This info – and more besides – can be found on the priceless Notes of an Iranian Girl. Go deh!

2003-06-23T13:26:00.000+01:00

HAULED OVER THE (PERSIAN) CARPET… AND A PARTY
The magpie spent the weekend in deepest Norfolk at a splendid party hosted by the most meticulous of interior designers. Stiltwalkers, string quartets, animal characters in Shakespearean costume, a white-hot cabaret, opera singers, fireworks, living statues, and food from heaven. The thieving magpie's favourite item was a canapé: watercress soup served in the shells of quail's eggs. The Champagne and wines were various and of the highest quality, and included a powerful Montrachet which nearly span the magpie's beak around to the back of his head. Excellent.
Meanwhile, the black-and-white bird spies this piece from Mark Steyn. The world's media has a very limited attention span over Iran, but it's not going away.

2003-06-20T10:01:00.000+01:00

MOB HANDED
Firstly, I would like to apologise to both my readers for yesterday's error, in which the thieving magpie referred to John Dee as the 'Angelic Doctor'. What twaddle. The Angelic Doctor was, of course, Thomas Aquinas, and the magpie will be consuming a sizeable side-order of humble pie at some stage today. In the meantime, what are those crazy New Yorkers up to now?"

2003-06-19T17:14:00.000+01:00

I'M AN ARTIST, MR TURNER. LIKE YOURSELF
Haven't had time to glean and thieve today – even magpies need days off – so I thought I'd tell you a little bit about Mortlake, a beautiful town on the River Thames. Apart from the fact that the Oxford-Cambridge boat race passes through Mortlake, the place boasted, at one time, the largest English-language library in Europe. It was owned by Dr John Dee, the 'Angelic Doctor', alchemist, philosopher, mathematician and court astrologer to Elizabeth I. Best of all, though, is the fact that Mortlake was painted by the magnificent John Turner. Why not treat yourself and pop over and see it? Love the doggie.

2003-06-18T12:41:00.000+01:00

THE REVOLUTION MAY NOT BE TELEVISED, BUT…
An excellent piece from Wired magazine on Iranian blogging. According to the piece, there are now 12,000 blogs in Farsi – the Persian language spoken by Iranians – and a blogger has been arrested for… blogging. Read the whole piece. Victory to the Iranians, chirrups the thieving magpie.

2003-06-18T09:29:00.000+01:00

IRANIAN BLOGGING
A number of American weblogs are planning a day of blogospheric attention with Iran as the focus on July 9. There is some more information here, as well as links to some of the 20,000 Iranian weblogs now, apparently, in existence. The thieving magpie notes with interest the cool media coverage of the current dissent in Iran. Why is this? These people want change from medievalists and theocrats. They should be encouraged, helped and applauded to the very echo.

2003-06-17T10:34:00.000+01:00

DRIVE-BY TERROR IN SURREY VILLAGE
Residents of Wencham, Surrey, UK, have spent a third successive day in their tastefully furnished homes as incidents of drive-by sarcasm continue to strike fear into this gentle, superannuated community. The all-too-familiar sight of a distressed Guildsperson reeling from a critical sartorial comment hurled from a car as it slows by the kerb is vividly described by an eyewitness, who has asked not to be named. ‘It was sickening. The woman who runs the as-new shop on the hill was waiting for the traffic lights to turn when a car slowed down. The window was wound down, and a man’s voice shouted, “Nicely tailored jacket – I don’t think!” She was mortified. I was caught in the cross-fire myself, as my jacket was tailored, or at least had tucks and darts.'
Inspector Bertie Glasspool of the Surrey Constabulary, Verbal Abuse Division (Verbals), sounded a note of cautious pessimism: ‘Whoever these people are, they’re very literate. In some cases they’re using irony and, unfortunately, these literary devices are increasingly getting into the wrong hands.’

2003-06-16T14:27:00.000+01:00

As Iranian students stage their own revolution, why not pop over to Notes from an Iranian girl. Nice to see that the internet isn't all porn and shopping.

2003-05-21T15:19:00.000+01:00

Well, now. This reminded me of the siege of Noriega's compound, whenever that was. Late 80s? Can't remember, but the US military, using vast speakers, bombarded old pineapple-face with phenomenally loud music including, during the 10-second BBC clip I saw, Led Zeppelin's The Rover. Now, Zeppelin were the first band I ever saw, as a callow youth of but 14 summers, and I remember thinking, 'Bloody hell! I had to cough up £2.50 (1975) to be partially deafened by Pagey and Bonzo, and they only played Trampled Underfoot and Kashmir from Physical Graffiti. I bet a crazed dictator got the whole album gratis! It was a nice vision, American High Command scratching their heads over the next aural assault while, inside the compound, Noriega and top aides were air-guitaring and flinging the dandruff. Altogether now; NAH-NAH NAH-NAH NAAAAAAH! THERE CAN BE NO DENYIN'...

2003-05-21T11:20:00.000+01:00

I assume it is axiomatic that no one reads the first three million or so entries on a new blog, and so whatever I post will be a matter of total indifference to the great world of information. It seems to me, however, that the most important modern discipline – is it an art or a science? – is economics, and that I should try to do a little to educate and inform, since the BBC refuse to keep to their remit in that department. Fortunately, therefore, I am able to provide a link to THE ECONOMISTS and they will keep an eye on world markets for you.

2003-05-21T10:29:00.000+01:00

Hello, and welcome to pica pica, home of the thieving magpie, picking through the media in search of glittering trinkets.