Author: Anthony

A group of Israeli cartoonists have launched a tongue-in-cheek competition to find the most anti-semitic cartoons – entry only open to Jewish cartoonists. (via MeFi)

The American right, and their fixation with Bush: Link.

Le Monde has a short interview with Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian Prime Minister, on his new book “United States of Europe”, which presents his vision for a federation of eurozone states.

I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know how interesting the contents are, but I liked this comment of his:

Les Vingt-Cinq ont décidé, en juin 2005, d’ouvrir une période de réflexion qui me fait plutôt penser à une sieste espagnole.

The coverage of the terrible Entwistle murders has shown up the difference between US and UK reporting standards. Whereas I generally assume that the US press will be more responsible than their British cousins, I was very surprised to read the presumptions of guilt and sweeping statements in the Boston Globe’s coverage (use BugMeNot to get through registration).

Given the apparently complete absence of a “sub judice” rule, there is no hint of the British phrases “helping the police with their enquiries”, or “the trial continues”. Only a lone ‘accused’ before ‘killer’ gives any hint of the presumption of innocence, while the family of the victims are allowed to invoke the devil in their quoted comments to the press.

A different and worrying legal culture indeed.

The NYT has a collection of doccuments showing the collective failure of US and state governments to prevent the disaster in New Orleans.

Nice illustration of speed camera hypocrisy in a story from today’s Argus. The residents of Brighton Road, Lancing, want speed restrictions on a stretch of dual carriageway where a pedestrian was recently killed. One resident said:

“I’m not a big fan of speed cameras at all but if that’s what it takes, so be it.”

Or to put it another way:

“Speed cameras near my house improve safety, but speed cameras elsewhere are an evil New Labour tax on motorists. Why? Because when other people speed it’s dangerous, but when I speed it’s safe.”

Hear, hear! Down with other people speeding!

E J Dionne at the Washington Post lays into the administration’s fiscal indiscipline, as exemplified by the recent Budget.