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Michael Jennings just emailed me the link to this, “You may have seen this” being the title of his email. No, I hadn’t. “This” starts thus:
I’ll say. Read the whole thing. Really, read the whole thing. It’s a classic of perverse incentives, showing how the wrong kind of rules can cause everyone to want to do badly. It’s about much more than football, in other words. June 29th, 2010 | 9 comments - (Comments are closed)
 The ultimate quack remedy – Simon Singh on the Today Programme a few minutes ago, describing how France’s biggest-selling homoeopathic flu remedy, earning zillions of dollars, is made from the heart of a single Muscovy duck per year. June 24th, 2010 | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)
It’s becoming an interesting evening of sport on the television, and on the www. A teenager scored a century for Surrey (my team) in their T20 game. (I follow T20 cricket on cricinfo.com.) And Matt Prior scored a century in less than fifteen overs for Sussex, in their game. The USA, who seem to me to have a very good team, topped their group in the soccer World Cup, by beating Algeria with a very late goal, shading England from the top spot and elminating Slovenia, whom England beat, also 1-0. And the USA did this while having what looked like two perfectly good goals disallowed, one in today’s game, and one in their game against Slovenia, which might have won that for them. Now Germany are playing Ghana, and if they don’t score, they’ll be out. Hold that. Germany have just scored. If it stays like that, Germany will, I think, play England in the next round. Yesterday, France were eliminated, when they lost to South Africa. And I’ve just heard that Australia have beaten Serbia, which means that Ghana also go through. But I heard nothing else remotely as strange as this:
I had just joined them. It’s someone called Isner versus someone called Mahut, at Wimbledon. Goodness knows how it will end. Or when it will end. Or if it will end. It is now fifty six all. Make that fifty seven all. Now it’s fifty eight fifty seven to Isner. Still no breaks of serve in the final set. Apparently someone called Ron Mackintosh is commentating for the BBC. And this is his very first match. Follow this mate. Follow this. Mahut has now served fifty times to stay in the match. I think he is French, by the way, and Isner is American. John McEnroe just said he feels sorry for the umpire. Fifty eight all. They are taking a break. LATER: It’s fifty nine all, and there’s been an appeal against the light. Play is suspended. The longest tennis match ever played, anywhere in the world. And tomorrow it will go into its third day. June 23rd, 2010 | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)
As seen in a signature on a Star Wars: The Old Republic games forum: [Luke:] I can’t believe it. [Yoda:] That is why you fail. [Ayn Rand:] Success does not come from believing in a steaming pile of mystic gibberish, you stupid little green man [ignites her lightsabre and advances threateningly] – Act IV, The Fountainhead Strikes Back May 21st, 2010 | 19 comments - (Comments are closed)
A ‘muslim’ babe called Rimah Fakih wins a beauty pageant in the USA and apparently this is a Hezbollah conspiracy. 
Rimah Fakih strikes a nice Islamic pose much favoured in Hezbollah circles whilst onlookers chant “Allahu Akbar!”
Rimah Fakih contemplates sharia in Michigan
Rimah Fakih models the latest in approved burqa fashions Yup, clearly a sign of how deep radical muslim infiltration of key American institutions go. Moreover as we all know that beauty pageant winners are known for their original thinking and deep political insights, and moreover some radical in Lebanon (this one, not this one) shares her family name apparently, the Islamisation of the good ol’ USA is clearly at hand. I have posted these images as a wake up call to American to act before they are overrun with bikini wearing pole dancers intent on destroying the home of the free and land of the brave. No need to thank me… just another high minded public service from samizdata.net May 19th, 2010 | 67 comments - (Comments are closed)
When I was a wee kid growing up on my folks’ farm in East Anglia, it was a common sight, in the 1970s and 80s, to see RAF Jaguar and Tornado jet aircraft practicing very low flying over the flat (ish) fields of that part of the UK. Typically, a Jag could fly no more than 100 ft off the deck, so low in fact that you could see all the markings on the side of the aircraft, what sort of stuff it was carrying, etc. The idea was to get under the opposition’s radar. These aircraft were practicing the sort of flying that would be needed against the-then Warsaw Pact ground forces of the time. (The Jaguar was a very effective strike aircraft). But nothing, absolutely nothing, compares with flying as low as this. Ye gods! Here’s another. March 26th, 2010 | 20 comments - (Comments are closed)
I have been rushed with work lately – hence no update on the blog yesterday by me or indeed, by anyone else. But hey, it is Friday, and time for a spot of photo nonsense. I am not sure I would want to play chess with any of them, mind. (H/T, David Thompson). March 12th, 2010 | 4 comments - (Comments are closed)
Trawling around some sites to find a corporate statement, I came across this gem: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Attend The Daily Beast’s Women in the World Summit.” Blimey. Is the writer of that headline channelling the late Evelyn Waugh? March 1st, 2010 | 5 comments - (Comments are closed)
Captain America did not dis the teabaggers. Only his writers and artists. It is time for some new superheroes: The Entrepreneur, Atlas Shrugs, The Tax Return (only in taxes paid…), Death Duty and so on Why name superheroes after animals when you can dispel you favourite tax. I am designing the uniforms for the supervillains: VAT Package, Solvency 2, KPMG and IFRS… February 17th, 2010 | 6 comments - (Comments are closed)
“The Pope? How many divisions has he got?” Joseph Stalin is reported to have said dismissively. And we all know how that turned out. Ron Paul, the “Dr No” of US politics for his habit of being the only member of the House of Representatives to vote against some measure to increase federal government spending, debt or power, could witness the repeat of such a peaceful realignment. Tim Evans, writing on the Cobden Centre’s blog, has found that a Google search for “Ron Paul” will find over 28.8 million entries, whereas one for “Karl Marx” will generate a mere 6.26 million. As he concludes: “it is true that these things take a long time to play through, but as a sociologist I am excited by the long-term cultural, political and economic impact of these sorts of numbers” for the cause of a free world. Presumably, a rise in online interest about Ron Paul, relative to Karl Marx, should translate into tangible results at some point. The election of Scott Brown the Republican challenger in the recent Massachusetts special election to replace Senator Edward Kennedy, was also preceded by a similar gap between the Google ratings of the various political parties’ candidates.
It seems that Congressman Paul could put together more divisions than the cause of Marxism. Seems like a cheerful note to end the week. February 12th, 2010 | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)
In my browsing through the Web I enjoy the site of David Thompson. After getting a pointer from Brian Micklethwait on his own site, I started to check in on Mr Thompson’s site pretty regularly. On Fridays, he manages to get his hands on all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff, often with fabulous photographs. Well, if you have thought of living in a tree house (as I did as a young boy on my parents’ farm in Suffolk), then check out this. January 30th, 2010 | One comment - (Comments are closed)
In Scott Brown we have an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, teabagging supporter of violence against woman. – Keith Olbermann, MSNBC host. To which Mark Steyn responded, under the heading “Homophobic Nude Teabaggers on the March”: That’s certainly why I’m supporting him. But who knew there were so many of us? January 20th, 2010 | 11 comments - (Comments are closed)
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