1 THE LATEST ON ENGLAND’S BURNING It’s a sad way for Birmingham’s Muslim and Sikh community to come together — a candelight vigl callimng for peace and community in the wake of three locals killed by some gomers driving with stolen stuff looted from area stores during the riots. (The Guardian). And old habits die hard: Prime Minister David Cameron still thinks tax cuts are more important than things like, you know, public services and policing. (The Guardian)
2 YEAH, THIS WAS ALL BLACKBERRY’S FAULT David Cameron also wants the government to limit the power of social media in times of crises, (The Guardian) which means (a) his measures would have put a halt to the grass-roots cleanup efforts that came in the riots’ wake, (b) allow the government to define a major crisis as the likelihood of the opposition party winning the election, and (c) police and sociologist types would lose valuable information such as this (Reuters)
3 THE DECLINE AND FALL OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION I ask you: what kind of world are we living in when a former Playboy Playmate of the Month can’t carry a loaded handgun onto an airplane in the United States of America? (Gawker)
4 MOOSE JAW DEMANDS EQUAL TIME Some people have their panties in a knot regarding Rolling Stone magazine’s portrayal of Saskatoon in their article about the Sheepdogs. To which, this Planet S blogger says the obvious: (a) when did rock and roll become the province of the Tourism Insert City Here/Chamber of Commerce types, and (b) since when did Rolling Stone have anything relevant to say about rock and roll?
5 WHEN ASKED IF SHE KNEW ABOUT THE BLACK DEATH, SHE MISUNDERSTOOD American presidential candidate Michele Bachmann says civilization was better off in the Dark Ages. No, really. (LA Times)
6 AND HER WORST NIGHTMARE You can be good without God, if you want. (USA Today)
YOUR MUSICAL MOMENT OF ZEN I posted the link before, but here it is: John Cale’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.