Category Archives: Rants

Peed Orf…

Posted on January 3, 2009 by Val

Did not get to Preston today. Got to the coach and got told extremely brusquely that it was fully booked and I couldn’t get a ticket. I had wondered if I should book a seat beforehand. But I couldn’t put … Continue reading →

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REALLY, REALLY PISSED OFF!

Posted on October 22, 2008 by Val

I am bloody angry. We heat our house with coal. The coalman has just been for the fortnightly delivery, and the price of coal has gone up

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The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Terrorists

Posted on October 2, 2008 by Val

Thought-provoking article in Wired. Most counterterrorism policies fail, not because of tactical problems, but because of a fundamental misunderstanding of what motivates terrorists in the first place. If we’re ever going to defeat terrorism, we need to understand what drives … Continue reading →

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Stupid Things I Have Heard (Part 6,801)

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Val

So the Large Hadron Collider got switched on this morning (and we’re all still here!). I was watching it on BBC News24; after the switchon, the presenter began reading out text and emails from the public. The very first one … Continue reading →

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When Poets Attack…

Posted on September 7, 2008 by Val

The AQA exam board has withdrawn a poem from its anthology for GCSE English, after receiving a grand total of three complaints that it encouraged knife crime. The poem, Education for Leisure, by renowned poet Carol Ann Duffy is written … Continue reading →

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Stupid Things I Have Seen Part 947….

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Val

All this week, BBC TV News has been congratulating itself on exposing an illegal immigration ring bringing in Pakistani workers, supplying them with fake documents and putting them to work as cheaply-paid undocumented labour. Good investigative journalism, and the highlight … Continue reading →

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Idiots Damage Castlerigg

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Val

Pictures of New Age idiots digging a hole and lighting a fire in a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Anybody else feel like shoving some suitably energised crystals up the orifices of these vandals? (English Heritage and Cumbrian Police have already been … Continue reading →

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Is it me…?

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Val

So, the other week I joined an LJ community. People often post questions for debate there – abortion, politics, society etc. So today, I thought I’d post my own question for debate: What use are pet animals? I’m not talking … Continue reading →

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The Devil came to Jersey……

Posted on April 13, 2008 by Val

In February / March, the newspapers were full of horrified speculation about the uncovering of decades of abuse at the Haut de la Garenne childrens’ home, with former residents telling their stories of brutality and rape ther. There were even … Continue reading →

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Scamming the McCanns….

Posted on October 8, 2007 by Val

In an earlier post, I related how I got so peed off with the ignorant credulity of the Independent on Sunday’s science writing that I switched to the Observer. Yesterday’s front page story gave me cause to start rethinking my … Continue reading →

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