HAPPY HALLOWEEN

TONIGHT, A TENT LIES EMPTY

The man who lived for years in a tent on a Wolverhampton ring road, has died.

"Mr Stawinoga reportedly came to Wolverhampton in the 1950s and worked at a steelworks before settling down to live on Ring Road St Johns. He could often be seen sweeping around his tent."

ON THE CLOCKS GOING BACK

It was great, yesterday. An extra hour all day. I went to the gym at 12 noon, and managed to eat lunch an hour later at the same time. Fantastic. All evening, looking at the clock thinking things like, 'it should be 8 o'clock, but it's only 7 o'clock.' More of Sunday left than there should be. More time between the end of the weekend and the start of Monday.

Even this morning. I got up at 7.20am, but really, it was 8.20am. An hour's worth of lie in.

But now it's Monday morning at work. It's 10.24am and it should be 11.24am. I am an hour further away from finishing work than I should be. I rage against the injustice of it.

CALL TO BOYCOTT KETTLE CHIPS

A campaign to boycott Kettle Foods has been launched on the internet following the disclosure in the Guardian last week that the upmarket crispmaker called in US union busters to dissuade workers at its Norwich factory from joining a union.

Spread the word.

NO ELECTION

What a complete and utter cock-up!

Embarrassing, damaging, stoooooped.

ELECTION, NO ELECTION, ELECTION, NO ELECTION, ELECTION, NO ELECTION, ELECTION, NO ELEC......

Some might say that Gordon Brown holding an election now, so soon into his reign, so unnecessarily, so clumsily, is a bad idea. Many think it could and should wait until next May, or even later.

You know what I say? I say, why not have one now and in May?!

Because I could do this all the time. I like nothing more than constant and pointless speculation about something that doesn't need to happen. I think it's great! I also enjoy long hours at work, with evenings and weekends taken over too. And the job insecurity, well, it's just a real boon!

So chant along with me...

What do we want?

An election!

When do we want it?

Every six months!

THE DEMOCRACY GAME

If, in relation to the US-lead coalition into Iraq in 2003, you ever used the words "illegal war", "oil" and "Bush/Blair is a terrorist", then you are not allowed to express such sentiments as "we should do something to help them" in relation to Burma.

Instead, you should bleat along like the good little sheep that you are, with whatever Professor was quoted on Radio Four the other morning. I cannot produce here a faithful copy of the whole of his e-mail, but to repeat the odd phrase as I recall them: "as unpalatable as the Burmese regime may be to the West" and "it does at least bring economic security".

Really, stop clogging up the mediaosphere with your expressions of support for the Burmese people and remember that there is nothing bad to be said about any murdering Dictator whilst there are leaders of Western democracies you can slag off instead.

UPDATE:
Or, go to the stinking cesspit that is Comment is Free site, as highlighted to me by the man who does not sleep, and lap up the crap from wealthy liberal types who believe that Dictatorships and Democracies are much of a muchness.

Questions to wealthy liberal types: How many people generally flee Democracies to find sanctuary under Dictatorships? How often does it happen that people risk their lives in mass protests to try to bring a Democracy under a Dictatorship? How do you think a civilian activist in Yangon might feel reading your shrug-of-shoulders piece on Democracy right now (can't happen of course, due to the state having shut down all communication channels)?