Did governments block Blair invitation to Senate?

As an addendum to the previous post, number 374 of my Questions to Which the Answer is No is asked by … the Scottish National Party.
Robert, a correspondent of mine, writes to draw attention to the above question, the title of an SNP press release issued yesterday, the first paragraph of which reads as follows:
The [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Sunday, 25 July 2010 at 3:25 pm

Megrahi latest

Looking forward to the syndication of my article debunking the Megrahi-Blair-Petroleum conspiracy theory in the Daily Mail this week. After all, “the Mail has a healthy scepticism of conspiracy theories”, and it will want to balance Johann Hari’s article, which may have unfortunately given a different impression, which it reprinted on Saturday.
Daily Mail readers will, I [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Sunday, 25 July 2010 at 11:56 am

How to Apologise, part 48

While we wait for the Daily Mail to apologise for its contemptible David Kelly conspiracy campaign, I bring you this from yesterday’s Daily Star:

ON 21 July we published an article claiming that the video games company Rockstar Games were planning to release a version of their popular Grand Theft Auto video games series titled “Grand [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Sunday, 25 July 2010 at 10:04 am

Is the British middle class an endangered species?

A gem, a gem. Andy Beckett in today’s Guardian asks number 373 in my series of Questions to Which the Answer is No.
Thank you to Patrick Hennessy.
The photographs, by David Yeo, are good too.

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 9:45 pm

New Improved Banned List

So, having discovered that “starting an article with ‘So’” has been left off the Banned List, I am now reissuing an updated version of this binding edict. The following are not permitted:

1. It’s the economy, stupid.
2. A week is a long time in politics. Or variants thereof, such as, “If a week is a long [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 4:32 pm

Did Climate Change Make Cameron PM?

Hopi Sen asks number 372 in my series of Questions to Which the Answer is No by speculating that Labour did worse in the election because the unusually cold January and February deferred some economic activity from the first to the second quarter. The second-quarter growth figure published this week showed an unexpectedly strong recovery. [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 2:24 pm

Once again late and grudging, BBC admits error

It has taken the BBC six months to consider this complaint, but it has finally admitted that reporter Laura Kuenssberg’s report of the Chilcot inquiry on the day that Tony Blair gave evidence, on 29 January, was wrong. This is what Kuenssberg said in her BBC-journalist-interviews-BBC-journalist with presenter Emily Maitlis:
Well that interesting mention, as you [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 1:15 pm

Disinterest

Guy Keleny is still away, so I am standing in for him in the Errors & Omissions column in today’s Independent. In which I seek to save the distinct meaning of disinterested, among other things:
Tom Mendelsohn’s review of Lovebox – it is a pop music festival – on Tuesday said that Paloma Faith [right] went [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 11:45 am

Daily Mail’s anti-war campaign

I was very sorry to see Johann Hari, who once supported the invasion of Iraq, now repeating some of the most awful and untrue anti-war propaganda in an unconvincing article about Tony Blair, BP, Libya and oil in yesterday’s Independent. In it he says:
Many people were perplexed by Tony Blair’s decision to back George W [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 10:54 am

Must watch: Louie and friends

A video getting some attention recently is a clip from the US sitcom Louie .The show, reminiscent of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, features comedian Louis CK playing a loosely autobiographical, fictional version of himself. In the clip in question, the comedian and a group of his male friends (also comedians) crack wise while playing [...]

By Larry Ryan | Arts, Digital Digest, Notebook | Saturday, 24 July 2010 at 10:13 am