Weekend links.
No overall theme this week and not too much to cover either, so let's just get straight into it. Craig Murray comments on the prospect of Labour MPs defecting to the Liberal Democrats, which seems likely to be utter nonsense to me. The Tories seem a better bet considering the political views of the disenchanted. Paul Linford posts his usual weekly column, predicting that after the local and European elections on June 6th all hell will break loose. Both Sunny and BenSix comment on the wingnuttery of Geert Wilders at an anti-jihadist conference in America, which was so extreme that even the likes of Little Green Footballs has started wondering some of their compadres. Shiraz Socialist reports on the Stop the War Coalition again refusing to allow Hands off the People of Iran to affilate with it, Bleeding Heart Show looks at yesterday's speech by David Blunkett, Hopi Sen says there should be a televised debate between Gordon Brown and David Cameron, while the Heresiarch examines the equality bill and the Quail discusses Paul Dacre's priapism.
Over in the press, Jeanette Winterson celebrates the new poet laureate being both a woman and gay, and she's also pretty good at verse as well which helps, Matthew Parris, bored of kicking Gordon Brown personally puts the blame equally on the cabinet, Janice Turner asks who to vote for now (answer: either the Lib Dems or any of the groupings further left), there's another call for an inquiry into 7/7 on CiF, Polly Toynbee oscillates as she regularly does from one extreme to another, declaring once again that Labour is finished, Deborah Orr thinks we have to educate parents as well as children if they're going to get the education they deserve, and Robert Hardman watches the Tamil man starving himself to death in parliament square.
As for worst tabloid comment piece, we have the usual execrable contenders from both Lorraine Kelly and Amanda Platell, but the winner by a country mile is the usually rather good Peter Oborne, with his paean to Margaret Thatcher. Quite how he can write such ahistorical paragraphs as this, for instance, is beyond me:
And then there is just complete delusion:
Perhaps Oborne ought to try asking the ordinary people of Britain north of Birmingham what Margaret Thatcher means to them and about what she achieved. One suspects he might get an answer he doesn't like very much.
Over in the press, Jeanette Winterson celebrates the new poet laureate being both a woman and gay, and she's also pretty good at verse as well which helps, Matthew Parris, bored of kicking Gordon Brown personally puts the blame equally on the cabinet, Janice Turner asks who to vote for now (answer: either the Lib Dems or any of the groupings further left), there's another call for an inquiry into 7/7 on CiF, Polly Toynbee oscillates as she regularly does from one extreme to another, declaring once again that Labour is finished, Deborah Orr thinks we have to educate parents as well as children if they're going to get the education they deserve, and Robert Hardman watches the Tamil man starving himself to death in parliament square.
As for worst tabloid comment piece, we have the usual execrable contenders from both Lorraine Kelly and Amanda Platell, but the winner by a country mile is the usually rather good Peter Oborne, with his paean to Margaret Thatcher. Quite how he can write such ahistorical paragraphs as this, for instance, is beyond me:
AS A consequence, Britain has enjoyed an unparalleled period of prosperity and influence on the world stage for three decades. For that, we have Maggie Thatcher to thank.
And then there is just complete delusion:
Of course, the BBC, the Left-wing intelligentsia, the dispossessed Tory grandees and the professional defeatists among the political elites have never forgiven her.
They opposed what she tried to achieve at the time, and have bitterly resented her success ever since. They hate her beyond rational computation, and even today they continue to use their massive influence to denigrate her memory.
But they will never succeed because the people who count - the ordinary people of Britain - know exactly what Maggie Thatcher achieved and will cherish her memory for ever.
Perhaps Oborne ought to try asking the ordinary people of Britain north of Birmingham what Margaret Thatcher means to them and about what she achieved. One suspects he might get an answer he doesn't like very much.
Labels: weekend, weekend links, weekend round-up
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