Deep rims at dawn: Fight at the Tour de France

Things just got tasty at the Tour where, after our own Mark Cavendish’s second straight stage win yesterday, Spanish rider Carlos Barredo and Portuguese man o’ war, Rui Alberto Costa, swapped sports for a punch-up. Ding ding!
Who cares what it was about because it’s pretty funny, in a juvenile, playground FIIIGHT! kind of way. Anyway, [...]

By Simon Usborne | Notebook | Saturday, 10 July 2010 at 10:51 am

World Cup: Roy Hodgson’s methods approved by Zwide Township

Don’t right off Saturday’s action in Port Elizabeth as a pointless exercise, with pressure off and bags of youthful talent on display I reckon we’re in for a cracker.
The bronze medal match? Not at all, the day’s real action is taking place at Victoria Park Primary School, 5kms away from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. [...]

By Tim Sturtridge | Sport | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 9:59 pm

‘All Songs Considered’ considers Junip and more

With each new season Bob Boilen, host of NPR’s excellent weekly music podcast ‘All Songs Considered‘, gathers together a few of his producers and bloggers, including Carrie Brownstein, late of Sleater Kinney, to preview some of the best new music releases to look out for over the coming months. Though much of it falls into [...]

By Larry Ryan | Arts | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 6:03 pm

Who saved the pound?

It was I, says Ed Balls. I saved the pound. I advised Gordon Brown and he saved the pound. He stopped that cheese-eating surrender monkey Tony Blair from pursuing his mad scheme to impose the euro on a country that will now turn to me, Ed Balls, in its gratitude.
Equally, some Conservatives say that it [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 4:54 pm

Iran’s new hairstyles: are they a peace-offering to the West?

Richard Spencer at the Telegraph asks number 362 of my Questions to Which the Answer is No.

The Telegraph reports today:
In an attempt to rid the country of “decadent Western cuts”, Iran’s culture ministry has produced a catalogue of haircuts that meet government approval [left].
Photograph: Reuters

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 3:24 pm

World Cup: Spanish victory would save the World Cup

As the World Cup final approaches, the tournament’s perceived success seems to be growing. Before the semi-finals there was a lot of ‘worst ever’ sentiment which personally I think was unfair. There was a strong run by an unfancied team in Uruguay, and the semi-finals showed four teams playing some fantastic football. New stars have [...]

By Neil Forsyth | Sport | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 3:04 pm

Gay asylum seekers: do we care about strangers?

This issue actually pivots on a single question: do we care about strangers? If we do, then we must strain every sinew to protect the vulnerable among their number. If we do not, then we have no right to call ourselves a compassionate nation.

By Samuel Muston | Eagle Eye | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 2:34 pm

Dropping the drawbridge; state-school intake and academic success at Cambridge

You have to be very careful identifying causality in education. Boris Johnson’s belief that since he learned Latin and turned out alright our children should learn Latin and will, in the end, turn out alright, is one example of an inference too far, for example. Today’s story about how a spate of state school applications [...]

By Jack Riley | Notebook | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 1:53 pm

The coalition Budget’s toll on jobs – part 3

Why did the OBR not declare all its assumptions when it released its projections on the impact of the budget on public sector jobs?

By Ben Chu | Eagle Eye | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 12:53 pm

Tony Blair, meet Tonibler, and Tonibler …

And here is a picture of Tonibler meeting a group of children, all called Tony Blair, in Pristina, Kosovo. Or the other way round.

So I’m told. (Actually, he met nine children called Toni or Tonibler. See previous post.)
Blair’s fine speech to the National Assembly is here.

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Friday, 9 July 2010 at 12:18 pm