Britblog Roundup # 19

Welcome, welcome to the Britblog Roundup, your guide to the best of blogging from the four nations that make up these Isles. You can make your nominations to next week’s by sending the URL of a post to britblog AT gmal DOT com. Any subject, any viewpoint, just the good stuff that you think we might not have seen but ought to. And let’s hope it all works rather better than that other thing the Brits and Irish do together....not good news on the rugby, eh?

First up is The Militant Pine Marten with the thought that we don’t have to worry too much about the 21 st century not being all it was cracked up to be....it hasn’t quite started yet, we haven’t had the defining moment that truly ushers in a new era.

The Blithering Bunny puts forward a very good idea indeed. Who knows the commissioning editors? Probably this guy.

Jarndyce notes that the EU is not entirely made up of sclerotic economic no hopers. At least not yet, anyway.

Murky is back on the ID Card proposals. It’s a link rich post to most of the major objectiosn and also reports that the government appears to want to charge private businesses for the joys of using the information.

At the Normblog our favourite audio-typist has produced a transcript of an interview with Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo. Yes, he does compare Mugabe to Pol Pot. Powerful (and correct) stuff.

Liberal England looks at the industrial archaeology of the King’s Cross redevelopment. Fascinating stuff, I didn’t know The Ladykillers was filmed round there.

Clive Davis uses his years inside the Beeb to comment on criticism of it, their news guidelines and word usage (insurgents/terrorists etc).

Tom Fuller makes a good point about the Government’s (ahem) successes with large scale IT projects.

Boris Johnson uses his blog to give the speech he would give if he were called by the Speaker on the Religious Hatred Bill. I’ll admit that I don’t know if he was but the comments section probably reads better than whatever got into Hansard anyway.

Gary Andrews on the subject of University fees. A surprising conclusion from one who is actually subject to them.

Mike’s Books on the Olympic bid. I do think his final question is spot on. Why?

Slugger O’Toole on the NI peace process. Where (or should it be whither?) is it going. It’s a good insight into what’s going on there, better than we get from the mainland press for sure.

Politicalog on the intended rises in rush hour train fares. Won’t make an iota of difference he thinks.

Infinitives Unsplit is a new blog from (I think) regular commenter Hew BG. As he points out, one of the problems of the Religious Hatred Bill  will be for bloggers:

If ridiculing people's ideas and beliefs is to become an offence - see case 2 above - I'm in a whole world of trouble.

Andrew Ian Dodge continues to chronicle his music making...just one more push and the single to beat the Crazy Frog will be out.

Make My Vote Count is both entertaining and horrifying on the plans for reforms of the Lords. Given that the revising chamber has had the effrontery to, err, revise some of the Government’s cherished legislation thus the rules must be changed.

Dave Killingback on the joys of not being employed. No, not of being unemployed, but of being not employed.

Over at The Sharpener they’ve let one of the girlies in to post and she’s brought the tone and quality up markedly. Excellent piece.

Twenty Major proposes some slight changes to well known duos. This is excellent:

50 and Garfunkel: Top rapper teams up with top folk/pop singer Art Garfunkel to become the world's greatest Pap or Rolk combo in history. Songs will include 'Mrs Robinson (you cheap ho')', 'The sound of silencers' and 'Bitch over troubled water'.

Soapy Goldfish I hadn’t come across before (this is why I do this folks, to get people to show me stuff I should see) and now, given the miracle that is Britblogging, you can see it too. Lovely writing there and the rest of the blog deserves more than just a skim.

Village Hampden ponders on what property ownership actually means. No, this isn’t the eminent domain case again.

And that’s it, the end of this week’s Britblog Roundup. Before you go running off to find similar wonderfulness to send me for next week’s, please do visit our sponsors...they pay for the organically raised electrons we use ’round here.

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