Reuters’ photos of the year 2007.
Blog
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A visual representation of the suckiness of American health care
If you want a representation of why the American healthcare system is so, so broken, head on over to givewell.com, where you can buy a Visa-brand healthcare giftcard, handy for all those occasions where getting life-saving treatment has to be preceded by handing over cold, hard cash.
I remember attending a lecture in the late ’90s at the Institute of Economic Affairs that was saying how we should move to an American healthcare model. It seemed weird then – it seems positively crazy now.
Via MeFi
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Vote for genitals!
The NHS is inviting people to vote on whether the interactive bodymaps on the NHS website should have accurately represented genitals or not. Admirably democratic of them, I think.
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Enough Trajan
Why movies should get over Trajan, at Goodie Bag.
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New BBC homepage
My first impressions of the new customizable BBC Homepage is: I like that they’ve got the clock I remember from schools programming up in the top right.
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Andrew Gilligan on Greenslade’s blog
Interesting debate going on at Roy Greenslade’s blog, where an article by Greenslade on Andrew Gilligan’s media feud with Ken Livingstone has prompted Gilligan himself to turn up in the comments section and defend himself.
I have to say, whatever the facts of the dispute (which are arcane), it doesn’t enhance Gilligan’s credibility to arrive in the comments section and start banging away alongside all the other
prolescommenters. Maybe it’s done from an admirably democratic, all in it together kind of motive. Reading it, however, it feels slightly obsessive and green-inkish. -
Rock on!
According to Gideon Rachman in the FT, their review of the Led Zeppelin reunion concert made the ‘most read’ list on the site. Oh, those merchant bankers…
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Death to those who preach violence, part 2
I really hope the staff at the Daily Mail appreciated the irony of their front page today. For those who haven’t seen it, the screaming headline is “Kill her! Kill her!” A very Mail sentiment, but instead of heading an article about a single mother, a female immigrant or a Labour cabinet member, this was the *bad* sort of mindless bigotry.
You see, this is a reference to the demonstrations yesterday against the leniency of the sentence passed on that British teacher who called the teddy bear Mohammed. Apparently the protesters were a representative sample of the Muslim world, much as a football crowd singing “You’re going to get your fucking heads kicked in” is a complete representation of every aspect of British life and culture.
And it turns out that these Muslims are all evil and can’t be trusted. Which is a shame, as you’d have thought the demonstrators at least would be a pretty good demographic for the Daily Hate.
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Arresting stuff
I’m just listening to 5 Live’s coverage of the Horsham v. Swansea City FA Cup game, and they’ve played a clip of a very softball interview with Harry Redknapp. He could have been England manager, y’see, and this ‘disgusting’ treatment (his words) has ruined his chances. He’s a ‘fantastic manager’ (5 live’s words) and ‘you have to wonder whether there’s been a set-up’ (ditto). Apparently, people should ‘shut up and judge him on his performance’ (ditto again).
Compare this with the treatment given out in all media to the Labour party over its latest donations row. Guilty until proven innocent, the lot of them. Why do we even pay politicians? The Bloggertarians (hi, Paul) are out in force.
There is only one conclusion. Harry Redknapp must immediately be appointed Prime Minister. Only then will confidence in our nation’s institutions be restored.