Britblog Roundup # 34

Here we are again, the Britblog Roundup. Your nominations for the best blogging of this past week in the UK and Irish internetwebbie thingummajig. You can make your nominations for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com. This is being put together by a slightly fragile Timmy (yes, beer and a curry were involved) so please read quietly.

First up is a story that’s been going around the Irish blogs, over a requirement for those taking an experimental cancer drug to also agree to be taking contraceptives. Red Mum starts the ball rolling, Sigla and Winds and Breezes are also commenting. Inevitably Twenty Major is on the case as well (the usual obscenity warning here folks). Two ways of looking at it perhaps, that Ireland has changed more than you might think, as most are condeming the decision, or less than you might think as the decision was in fact taken. Read through all the comments to get an idea of what I mean.

The Curator’s Egg has a simply fabulous piece of poetry. Go there now. Read and absorbed it all? Left a comment applauding? I mean, Dr. Seuss and quantum physics?

Good, we shall continue.

Two pieces on the same subject, China, Mao and Martin Jacques. The Sharp Side catches one of Jacques euphemisms and Blood and Treasure adds further background.

Talk Politics is less than reverential to Norm of that Blog and his piece on Jonathan Freedland and then goes on to point out the difference between Robin Cook’s statements on an ethical foreign policy, actions on it and how much attention The Maximum Tone has paid to any of it.

Which seems like a good time to introduce a piece from The Norm himself on another Groan piece where he introduces the word mbunderstanding, which I take to mean misunderstanding in that precise method enamoured of Madeleine Bunting (although that may be too restrictive an identification).

Chris at Mr S&M on retailing. No, the profit warnings are not because less is being spent but because large numbers of retailers are crap.

Make My Vote Count with a widely remarked post on just why the Tories should be the party most interested in changing the electoral system. Essentially, under the present system, they’re shafted.

Snafu at Once More adds his view from the Tory side of the fence.

Here’s something from waaaay out in left field, confessions of a New Age Harlot. Umm, ploughing the fertile furrow after Belle du Jour perhaps?

Nee Naw is a new addition to the medical/ambulance/emergency services blogs. From an Ambulance dispatcher...this is very good on what callers seem to expect from them. Have a look around a bit as there’s other excellent stuff there.

Rockall Times isn’t really a blog but this is just much too good not to include.

Mike’s Books on our continuing move towards an Orwellian state.

Devil’s Kitchen and Curious Hamster had a back and forth and back a forth over Iran, Iraq and ourselves. Worth following the whole thing.

Chicken Yoghurt gets nominated for this piece on Alan Milburn. (You may note that he rather takes the Alfie the OK view of the Geordie Quiff.) Don’t know why we don’t just put the whole blog in each week really. He has also added trackbacks as you all should be doing.

(Excuse me while I take a short break for a decent breakfast.)

Back and saw something interesting in The Mail on Sunday (yes, I know, unusual, eh?) Coppersblog has a double page spread. Minimum of a pound a word at that paper. I said back early in the year that I thought that was the next blog that was going to get into the main media, glad to see I was right (he’s beaten me by a month!).

For our more intellectual readers Philobiblion is trying to restore Dorothy L Sayers to her rightful position (Empress apparently) in the pantheon of crime writers and Early Modern Notes explains the vengeful ghost as a literary device. Providentialism gets a mention, the idea that God would, somehow, intervene to bring murders and murderers to light.

AI Dodge brings us his report from the Tory Party Conference. Slightly odd post for someone to use to invite him to a Chelsea Girls party in the comments but then libertarian rockers do seem to have it better than most.

This from The Filter came nominated as "James Bainbridge being brilliant" and I agree, he is. That blog might deserve a little more of your attention as they’ve been doing some very good longer pieces recently.

Fair Vote Watch takes on those who would use the German elections as an argument for FPTP. Well, to be honest, he’ll take on anyone who supports FTPT for any reason but he does have a point in this case.

The Sharpener (they’re working hard to make that blog into a must stop shop with a number of new regular features coming up) gives us their first 6 Degrees. Rather like the Kevin Bacon game, where will you end up in six degrees of separation from your own blog roll?

The Joy of Curmudgeonry is described by the Pedant General as being "brilliant" and then the PG adds to the theme at his own place.

Ken Owen has been frantically writing on today’s newspapers to bring us this on Cameron, ideas and politics. Cut off, as you know, for the Roundup is noon but as he didn’t finish it ’till 1.25 pm we’ll let it in shall we?

Clive Davis, although in California all week, rounds up the stories from the Tory Conference. And then complains to me about blog burnout. Sheesh!

Suz Blog ends our weekly look with a report on the child camel jockies of the Middle East and the dangers they face.

And that’s it, the Britblog Roundup for this week. Get your entries in early for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com.

Just a gentle reminder of the rules, that (except in exceptional circumstances as defined by me) each blog only gets one entry. So if you’ve nominated something and it doesn’t appear it’s probably because someone else nominated something from the same blog and I made an executive decision. So there!

Toodle Pip!