Everyone has a good side, including Mike Read

DJ Mike Read has been in the news recently in connection with his support for the anti-EU and anti-immigrant party UKIP. Mr Read had recorded a pro-UKIP novelty pop single in which he sang a calypso style song in a faux West Indian accent. Among other things, the lyrics complain about the numbers of foreign people who have come to the UK. The combination of subject matter and Mr Read's accent led many to dub the song racist.

Mike Read is no stranger to controversy. Older readers will recall that he instigated BBC Radio 1's banning of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' back in the early 1980s.

Nearly all people have good and bad sides. Earlier this year, Ms Sarah Prior saw Mike Read's good side in action. She was out walking her six month old puppy Digby in Henley when the naughty dog decided to chase some ducks into the river Thames. Ms Prior called out in dismay as she saw Digby being washed away by the surging waters, with the dog showing no natural aptitude for swimming.

Fortunately for Digby, Mike Read happened to be passing. He immediately leaped into the water and rescued the bold puppy, earning Ms Prior's gratitude. Digby was none the worse for wear but his opinions on the incident have not been recorded.

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Ambitious Cat Enters Politics

Cats have taken the Internet by storm - and now one cat is trying to replicate that success in the world of politics. For the Mexican city of Xalapa's next mayor might just be the black and white feline Morris. El Candigato, as Morris is known, is believed by his supporters to be ideally suited to rid the body politic of the various rats who have infested it.

Morris now has some 138,000 likes on Facebook and his campaign reportedly has the established Mexican parties worried. And his campaign is not without controversy - a local journalist has suggested that his campaign is a trick by the dominant Partido Revolucionario Institucional, designed to lure voters away from other opposition parties. Morris has not commented on these allegations.

Xalapa is not the only Mexican town where an animal is running for public office. In Ciudad Juarez, a donkey is running for mayor, in Oaxaca a dog, and in Tepic a chicken. None are however proving as popular as El Candigato Morris, though public officials point out that he is not actually eligible for public office on account of not being human.

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Cat stands for election in Mexican city (Guardian) (image source)

El Candigato Morris (Fecebook)

An inuit panda production

Politics

I have posted some daring political commentary on my other blog.

Shameless plug for my other boring blog

IF you are interested in the ramifications of Kosova's independence for the Eurovision Song Contest, click here: EUROVISION IN CRISIS

Edwards.jpg

Why do American politicians feel so obliged to pose in public with their stupid families?

Picture from the BBC: Edwards abandons White House race

A New Kind of Hero

The Orange Order is attempting to reach out to young people by creating a superhero character for their organisation. At present this chap does not have a name, but they are open to suggestions from the public.

This is all oddly reminiscent of the little known comic character Captain IRA. He made some appearences during the Troubles, usually with his sidekick Seamus, the Boy Provo.

BBC News report (and source of illustration)

Where I heard about this astonishing story

Boney M Latest!

If you like Boney M, click here

The Things You Learn From Reading Blogs

Ontario is the most populous province in Canada. They have just had some kind of election there. The local Conservatives are led by a Mr John Tory.

The local Conservatives are officially the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

Ban this evil fruit!

The BBC reports that the cultivation of cheap strawberries for the UK (and, implicitly, Irish) market is driving Spain's lynxes to extinction (by lowering the water table in the wetlands in which these fury predators live). Will we wake up to the fruit menace before the Spanish lynx is extinct?

Things you never want to find yourself saying #3

"Of course I identify with Christian values but what have those got to do with going to bed with a prostitute? [...] Are you saying that I cannot be a good father and a good husband just because after five, six days away from home, I had a little adventure?"

World of Irony

If you have ever flown through Ben Gurion Airport in Israel and are not Jewish, then you will be roffled by this article in which an Israeli citizen complains about the security procedures in San Francisco airport: 'I was put in a gas chamber,' says Israeli doctor

(thanks to Brian Ulrich for this awesome article)

Ireland Decides

A strange election, I am sure you will agree - much promise of change, little delivery. I was struck by how rubbish the internet coverage of the election was. OK, it was fine if you want to listen to streaming audio, but if you want frequently updated text you would have been poorly served by the websites of either our national broadcaster or paper of record. I feel that in the future some kind of blog style provision of information the would be the way forward. Media outlets in other countries seem to have mastered this kind of technology, maybe one day it will arrive in Ireland.

Here is a picture of someone who might be smiling at Michael McDowell losing his seat:

I am however now officially sorry for Michael McDowell and thought it was a bit poor that he was jeered on leaving the RDS.

"the world is changing so fast"

I heard a great radio programme this morning about Irish elections of the past. When they were talking about the early 1980s, they played a bit of the Wolfe Tones' fondly remembered Arise And Follow Charlie, a hymn to then Fianna Fáil leaders Charles Haughey, who was running a highly personalised election campaign. Lyrics for this seem to be unavailable on the internet, but you can probably find it if you are one of those downloaders. They also played a bit of a less well remembered Fine Gael theme song, which turned out to be amazingly jaunty. I can't believe this was not a hit at the time, it sounded like the kind of song that would have swept to victory in the Eurovision. The lyrics went something like this:

Fine Gael, Fine Gael
[something that rhymes with Gael]
the world is changing so fast
don't look back to the past
Fine Gael, Fine Gael

I wish more political parties did songs. I would love to hear one about the Progressive Democrats or the People Before Profit Alliance.

You may be able to listen to this radio programme here: Bowman Sunday Morning

Shallow

Thanks to Mr Chris Gilmour for directing me to SexyMSP.com . It's like Amihotornot, except the people are all Members of the Scottish Parliament.

I can't imagine this working in Ireland.

Real burgers. Real fresh

I don't know if I am getting old, but I have started being really annoyed by the fatuous slogans by parties and candidates in this year's election.

Alan Johnston

I am not aware of my having an extensive readership among sulky Palestinian factions, but just in case, here is a picture of Alan Johnston, this kidnapped BBC journalist and a link to stuff about his case:

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He have a round head

World's greatest website found, again.

Kangaroo

Noah's Ark

Israel

Islam

HI DERE I RUN COUNRTY

An apparently non-existent man has become trade minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Let us inaugurate a new leader!

Turkmenistan has a new President! Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov won 89% of the vote in the recent elections. Congratulations!

David Ervine

I was sorry to hear of the death of David Ervine. Whatever else you might say about this paramilitary thug turned respectable politician, he was not a whiny, self-important windbag. The BBC's Mark Simpson remembers him here: Grandstand memories of 'man of peace'