2004

Currently giving an overview of the history/handing out the factoids.

Final submissions are to be published on the website….perhaps including Tony’s note from his Mum? “Dear Lord Hutton, I am very sorry about my son’s behaviour..”

Well, he made it by five votes after Nick Brown’s mystery change of principles. It reminds me of the old crack about William Hague being against the Euro “in principle” but only for the length of a parliament – that is to say that his principles lasted a maximum of five years. Mr. Brown’s lasted…

Given Professor Stephen Hill’s attitude, perhaps this email was no surprise: Dear Student, The Student Fees Office would like to inform any student with an overdue debt that we will shortly commence the College’s disciplinary process in respect of non-payment of fees. Please refer to the Student Handbook 2003-2004 (sections 3 & 4 of the…

I notice in my newspaper that a wedge of university principals, vice chancellors and other Mucho Pomposos have signed A Statement in favour of the government. I didn’t see that in a report. No. They took out a full-page ad – seventy thousand quid at least! Worst of all, the principal of my own dear…

BBC NEWS | Politics | Leading fee rebel to back Blair Damn. Didn’t see that one coming – Nick Brown, their leader has changed sides at not quite the last minute. Apparently the offer of a “review” of the top-up fees’ effects convinced him. It doesn’t convince me – since when would any action that…

“On Wednesday our darling Iraqi Puppet Council decided that secular Iraqi family law would no longer be secular- it is now going to be according to Islamic Shari’a. Shari’a is Islamic law, whether from the Quran or quotes of the Prophet or interpretations of modern Islamic law by clerics and people who have dedicated their…

The Ranter welcomes the Young Fogey’s Agreeable World: link Not quite sure how to categorise this one yet.

I learnt a new German verb recently – torten, or to cake, as in hitting someone with a custard pie. The reason for this was that the students at Vienna University are out protesting again, and this time it seems they have seized the media after unknown persons successfully “torteten” the Rektor, Georg Winckler, and…

Link to report The Reverend Ian Paisley, a not infrequent target of this blog, has decided to leave the European Parliament. Not surprisingly, the reason is not to remove his unpleasant influence from public life but to concentrate on “negotiating” with Sinn Fein. (I suppose that means “making sure the underlings don’t agree to anything…