No religion or philosophy must be exempt from criticism, and under no circumstances must we appease fanatics with censorship.

And if you answer drawn criticism of your religion with a drawn gun, the problem lies not with the artist.

( Relevant drawing under the cut. )

It shouldn't come as a shock if a 92 year old man dies, but with Marcel Reich-Ranicki, the literary world has lost a giant.


( Read more... )

"There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families." - Margaret Thatcher

I'm following the beatification of Margaret Thatcher with increasing bewilderment. The best PM there ever was! A political genius! Saviour of Britain! Give the woman a state funeral!

She won't get a state funeral, though, only a ( Read more... )

Huzzah for Northumbria Police: charged with burglary, an individual from Newcastle is due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Monday April 8. A second man has been bailed pending further enquiries, and a third “remains in custody helping with enquiries”. I hope this means he’s tied to a chair and has to watch endless repeats of Geordie ( Read more... )

Ladies and gentlemen, your help is urgently needed:

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle’s Mansion in Fernwood Road in Jesmond has been broken into on 1 April. Police believe that burglars broke in through the cellar overnight between last Monday and Tuesday. The criminals stole

• a gold Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Labour Party founder Arthur Henderson in ( Read more... )

Come one, come all, come in, and welcoooooooooooome to the final fight for the title of Eternal Lightweight Champion 2013!
In the left corner, we have the contender:

St. Osram, Patron Saint of light-emitting Diodes!

Lithe and wiry, this much-celebrated figure of spiritual enlightment knows how to place a punch. He’s bursting with confidence, ( Read more... )

The strange tale of a church in Switzerland demanding that a farmer is paying for a murder which happened in 1357 (1357. 1357!) was one of your favourite stories last year. You’ll be pleased to hear there is an update - the plot thickens, my friends!

A short summary: in 1357 (1357. 1357!) one Konrad Müller allegedly murdered one Heinrich Stucki. To ( Read more... )

Read all about it over at Old Cuddy:
What better time to join the Collingwood Society than Christmas?
Newsletter, programme for 2013, constitution, membership application form - it’s all there, so what are you waiting for?

You admiral needs you!


( Read more... )

My head can't process this - what sort of person feels the best way to deal with their problems and grievances would be to go down to the local elementary school and shoot some kids? Many people are under enormous pressure and don't go around killing people. So why do the killers snap? What kind of environment do they come from? When was the seed ( Read more... )

Geddaway with Mr Fantastic - Ioan Gruffudd will always be Horatio Hornblower to me (and I guess I’m not the only one). So here’s a nice little pre-Christmas present for all the Hornblowerites among you:

IOAN GRUFFUDD WILL ATTEND GALAXY CON IN GERMANY

The con takes place at the Maritim Hotel in Germany from 6 to 8 September, 2013. The con is brought ( Read more... )