Thursday 31 December 2009

Unfinished Business

The most irritating legacy of the MP's troughing scandal is the presence of that preening little git Bercow as Speaker. The ousting of Gorbals Mick was a prerequisite for the public's demand for a complete re-drafting of the rules and the expulsion of all wrongdoers.
However, to replace the Glaswegian numpty with Bercow was a practical joke of childishness and petulance by the Labour Party, one of rare cynicism. They did it for no other reason than to scorch the earth they will be retreating from at the next election. What better way, they thought, to rub the next majority party up the wrong way, than to bequeath them a left-leaning Speaker roundly despised by his own party, not simply because of his 'political journey' from hard right to soft left, but because of the way in which he had travelled this journey, with his own ambition put before principle, party and constituents. Furthermore, he troughed and flipped with the worst of his colleagues. In short, they consider him dishonest, even by modern Parliamentary standards. By no possible measure could he be considered the best choice as Speaker. Imagine what Bercow, in his old hard rightwingery, used to say about people like Jesse Jackson, the Jew-hating, cheating, dodgy 'Reverend'. And guess who he now welcomes to Speaker's House for the photo-op and the chance to chow down on taxpayer-funded southern fried chicken 'n collard greens? Why, none other than the Don Juan of South Caroline hisself.
So it is to be welcomed that Tory backbenchers seem set to ignore Cameron's suggestion that they let the matter rest. I very much hope that Nigel Farage unseats the oily one at the general election, because UKIP deserve a seat in the house and Farage did alright as leader, but otherwise Bercow must be voted down. Frank Field is honest, modest and frugal. He may be a dry old stick, and lack the self-promotion energies of Bercow, but he is wise enough to ensure that an advisor within the Speaker's office will come up with the imaginative ideas of Youth Parliaments, Portcullis condoms and branded sportswear and the other guff that our current Speaker considers to be his main claims to fame. Okay, I made two of those up. But you get my drift. I hope this idea gathers speed.
Happy New Year to all idle readers. May your days be merry and bright, and may none of your twenty tens be shite.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Wednesday 23 December 2009

Happy Christmas

This not very good photo, if you can believe it, is a suburban house just north of Bridgetown.
The comfortable winner of the Barbados Christmas Bling competition, which I can tell you is a keenly contested annual event.
I won't claim to be a student of kitsch, but I particularly like the way they have done the palm tree in the garden. The satellite dish on the right of the house's top floor flashed like a UFO; you had to see it live to appreciate the wondrous vulgarity of it all. Click on the photo for a slightly better image.
Another great holiday on that happy and delightful island.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Christmas Decoration


Good one.
The police made him take it down after a couple of days. An old woman had righted the ladder and climbed up to help, and several cars in the road had had a prang.
See you, folks. Idle is chillin wid his bitches in the Caribbean for ten days.

Saturday 5 December 2009

Thursday 3 December 2009

I Sh*t You Not

University of Leeds job vacancies (see here for the weblink)
View JobBack to Jobs

Research Officer - The rise and regulation of lap dancing and the place of sexual labour and consumption in the night time economy (Job reference: 316199 )


Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law School of Sociology and Social Policy
(Full-time, fixed term 12 months from March 2010)You will work on an ESRC funded study on the rise and regulation of lap dancing and the place of sexual labour and consumption in the night time economy. The post will involve qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. It is based in Leeds, although some travel to other cities may be necessary.You will have, or be about to complete, a postgraduate qualification in the social sciences or relevant subject and some appropriate research experience. You will be mainly responsible for access and fieldwork. Good interviewing, communication and organisational skills are essential as is the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Experience of interviewing and conducting surveys is essential, as is prior experience of conducting research in the female sex industry. It is anticipated that interviews will take place on December 14 2009


Salary: Grade 7 (£29,704 - £35,469 p.a) The appointment will be made at £31,513 p.a or below since there are funding limitations which dictate the level at which the appointment can start.
Apply using: Application form, CV and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form
Download an application form: (pdf version) (Word version)
Informal enquiries:Dr Teela Sanders t.l.m.sanders@leeds.ac.uk
Send completed applications to:Anne Prendergast, email a.prendergast@leeds.ac.ukor by post to:Anne Prendergast,Social Science Building,The University of Leeds,LS2 9JT.
Closing date: 27 November 2009
Job description and person specification
Anticipated interview date: 14 December 2009

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Smartdog

Y'all sin this dawg? He kin unnerstan reeel amerkin inglish spoken by a suthner. He kin count, too. He doan look so priddy, but sheet, he's smart.