Weirdest Beatles clip ever.

Found this incredibly weird clip of the Beatles doing Shakespeare, a short scene called "Pyramus and Thisbe." Very, very strange, very funny looking costumes, John in a dress even. Never seen anything like this. It's really not very good, but they look like they're having a good time.






British politics and the war in Iraq.

The Guardian has a special section on Politics and Iraq, just focusing on the various political and legal aspects of the war. All of the various trials, scandals, shattered careers and such. It's getting to be quite a tangled mess, as this article, The law and the War makes very clear. It won't go away.

The Rush to War by Richard Norton-Taylor is rather interesting. It discusses the high-level legal objections made to the proposed war. out that just two weeks before the invasion Lord Goldsmith, the British Attorney General, warned that it could be illegal. "Could"? And a high-ranking woman resigned, claiming it was clearly illegal.


The fact that the legal advisors were apparently pressured to change their opinions would mean that Blair and others responsible for the invasion knew what they were doing was illegal at the time they did it. That could lead to all kinds of trouble. Political trouble for Blair and Labor in the short run; and demands for reparations and prosecutions of war criminals in the long run.






A proper suit.

Via the ever interesting caterina.net is a delightful blog, English Cut, by Thomas Mahon, a "bespoke savile row tailor, london." Everything you ever wanted to know about a proper suit. Quite fascinating.

He makes what they call "bespoke" suits, which are evidently the top of the line. Here he explains what that is.


In case you're wondering, these start at around $4000. Since that's probably a bit too much for most of us, he also kindly tells here all about the various types of suits, from ready-to-wear up to bespoke. Every man should read this. I've never seen it laid out so comprehensively.

All in all a most interesting and classy site. After reading about Iraq, especially about the savagery of the British over there (we wouldn't want the Americans to get all the credit), it's nice to be reminded that there are still civilized people out there. Somewhere. Or if not civilized, at least properly dressed. That may be all we can hope for at this point.






British reclassify cannabis as Class C drug.

Great Britain is about to reclassify marijuana (they call it cannabis but who else does?) as a "Class C" drug, putting it on a level with prescription drugs. And "discouraging" police from making arrests for it. The Guardian has a Q and A on it explaining what this means in general terms.


A great step for civil liberties. But it's nonsense about it not being "decriminalized." Of course it's being "decriminalized." But that's nonsense too. There's no such thing. Something is either legal or it's illegal. There's no middle ground. You're either in jail or you're not. You either get arrested or you don't.

The idea that it's OK to "have" something, but not OK to "get" it is patently absurd. Surrealistic even. How can you "have" something without having "gotten" it??? Only a lawyer would come up with this insanity, and it's only lawyers who profit from such a situation.

This type of practice breeds great disrespect for the law. It tells people, especially kids, that the law is a game, and that you can play with technicalities and such, and that that's OK. But it's not. The law is a serious thing, such games are disgusting and show a deep and abiding contempt for the very principle of a law-abiding society.

And keeping it somewhat illegal like this gives the police a tool that they can use against poor people, or other socially disadvantaged groups, if they find it convenient.

The Guardian also has a special section on Drugs in Britain which contains numerous articles on the subject.






Scottish business signs all positive.

The Scotsman reports that all of the economic indicators are up and that it looks to be a very good year for Scottish business.


"Upskill." I'm familiar with the concept, but it's a new word to me. Sure is nice to hear such a positive economic note. Curious though they don't even mention the contributions of the arts, even though J.K. Rowling is the highest earner there. And the Edinburgh Arts Festival, the world's largest, brings in quite a bit of money. They call it tourism, but a large part of it is really the arts. But the economists just can't see this. Strange.






'New Labour' Blair now rooting for Bush.

In an interesting observation of the degree to which Britain under Tony Blair, originally elected as a Clinton-like 'New Labor' leader, has moved to the right, is this Guardian commentary, The Democrats' dream has become Blair's nightmare, discussing how desperate he is now for Bush to win. Quite a switch. But Britain has rejected the EU, the Euro, and so much more under Blair. And now he needs Bush to justify his war on Iraq, his increasing racism and opposition to immigration, his corporate economics, his revival of British imperialism, and so on.


But to a certain degree this is just the British way of avoiding responsibility for its actions. They are fond of portraying Blair as Bush's "lap-dog", of saying that he is just doing Bush's bidding. So his moving into Iraq is portrayed as courting American favor, not as an extension of British imperialism. But after all, they've been in Iraq for over a century, long before the US showed up. The same with Afghanistan of course. American materialism and influence is to blame for their increasing infatuation with money and riches. Even though they invented capitalism. And so on. They like to blame Americans for many things, even though they've been doing these things for ages.

But you've gotta hand it to them though. They're the masters of imperial spin, of being the world's thugs, while presenting an image of fairness and decency. The champions of democracy, while they themselves remain the subjects of one of the world's few remaining monarchies. Demanding elections everywhere, while resolutely resisting all efforts to introduce them to the House of Lords. It's funny really. Or would be if it weren't so sad.

And you'll notice in this article, it's Blair who's gone to the right. Not the British themselves. Of course not.






Wonderful story of a woman activist.

I'm a big history buff, and no aspect of history interests me more than the biographies of individual people. People talk about great historical movements and such. But when it comes down to it there really aren't any great movements, just the actions of thousands and millions of ordinary people attempting to deal with the day-to-day realities of the world around them.

But you don't often appreciate someone's life until they're gone, and you can look back and see what they've accomplished. A wonderful case in point is this Scottish activist, Dame Sheila McKechnie, who spent her life as an advocate of consumer rights, of the homeless, as a feminist, as a member of the House of Commons, and many other things. I found out about her on the Scotsman's obituary pages. A strange place to browse I know, but you can read about the lives of an extraordinary cross-section of humanity, and gain some perspective on the amazing things some people are able to do with their lives.

Anyway, if you're an activist and perhaps somewhat discouraged, you might give it a read. People do spend their lives fighting for various causes, and in the end accomplishing quite a bit more than you might think is possible. Like I say, you don't see what they've done until it's over. And it's nice when they're recognized. Too bad it's usually not until they're dead.


In Britain they acknowledge such people by knighting them. (For Americans who don't know, a "Dame" is the female equivalent of "Sir"). In America, of course, they're lucky if they don't end up on the streets.






Manchester tops UK "bohemian' index.

The Guardian also reports that Manchester is the most bohemian place in the UK.


The report also indicates that there seems to be a correlation between a city's tolerance of gays, and the number of its patent applications. I'm not sure what to make of that, but it also seems to be true in the US. Consider the technological advances that have come out of San Francisco and the Bay area in the last few decades.






History of British foreign policy.

Nice article in the Guardian by Mark Curtis discussing the history of British foreign policy, and questioning current claims that it is any more benevolent than the US. Apparently he's written an entire book on the subject.


Nice to see this part of history get some attention. There are very few, if any, countries in the Middle East that have not seen substantial British interference in their affairs. And it started a long time before the US showed up. And, as we speak, they are continuing to sell arms to Syria, Saudi Arabia and most other nations in the area.






Corporate manslaughter bill proposed in the UK.

The Guardian reports that Home Secretary David Blunkett has proposed legislation that would make companies accountable for deaths caused through gross management negligence.








Scots not so strait-laced anymore.

Fascinating special section in the Scotsman about Edinburgh's apparently booming sex industry. Features on different aspects of it, and news on recent legal changes.

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