I heard the news today, oh boy..

[barrymarshall]

Agreed, MP, that the Currant Bun is an odious (if occassionally very funny) rag but it is worth getting a bit of perspective. It supported war on Iraq several years ago but most of its own readership were against it. Also, for a right-wing Tory sheet, even at the height of Basildon man Toryism in the late 1980s/early 1990s, it had the biggest number of Labour voters of any national paper. As its circulation started to decline (it still is) Murdoch realised that he wasn't backing the winner and switched to Labour. The Super Soaraway is actualy often scared that it is out of touch with its readers: these days with managing a title in a declining market numbers are the only thing that counts ...

And also, it assumes that people read the Sun for the politcs. In surveys (we did this in my Politics A-levels) most poeple said they didn't buy the Sun for its views but for the sport and the 'sleb gossip, or even just for the crossword! Yeah, it has some influence, but exactly what and to what extent is hard to determine. In 1992 it was not "The Sun wot won it" as most Sun readers had made their minds up before the election campaign had begun. Those who read the Sun who were undecided at the start of that election were no more likely to vote Tory than anyone else in the country.

[david_carnell]

It's the old paradox of whether your opinions are formed according to what newspaper you buy, or whether your pre-formed opinions make you select a certain type of newspaper thus re-inforcing your initial beliefs. It's quite a tricky one.

[mockney piers]

All very valid points. I saw an interesting docu about how the tories in 1992 had switched their intelligence from canvassing to focus groups following many of the techniques the Clinton camp used in their campaign. And despite all the polls showing they'd lose, Major and always looked curiously relaxed about the whole deal. THey knew they'd win and indeed Murdoch switche times at the last moment as he loves to think of himself as the King maker.

That doesn't detract from the fact that Blair had 3 phone conversations with him in the week leading up to the invasion; would that he had consulted parliament as much.

It's true that people probably don't read it for the politics, but ask advertisers if they think their adverts have direct influence (they don't by the way), so these things kind of sink in through a process of osmosis.

So people will, I'm sure, be against invasion, but a resigned acceptance will have seeped through the pores already supported by ideas such as 'yeah but that Ahmedinejad is a holocaust denier innit', 's'pose better a war than a nuclear iran', and they won't even know where those ideas came from.

It's the insidious poison that upsets me even more than Murdoch's malign influence. But I thank FSM I don't live in a country run by Fox news is all I can say!!!

[SeanMacGabhann]

I'm with you Mockney - of course people will accuse us of being elitist but there y'go

I have taken to watching 5 minutes of Fox News every evening - just to fill by hate-hump up every day. It's one of those things where I find the maxim "well everyone's opinion is valid" to be untrue - Fox News opinion is just not valid if anyone has any faith in humanity

[mockney piers]

Did you see the footage of their pundit suggesting that the US should sponsor Iranian terrorists to set off car bombs in Tehran.

Not that the US hasn't previously sponsored terror in countries to destabilise regimes, but for a news 'provider' to openly suggest it, even jaded old I found absolutely staggering.

[mockney piers]

I love it, BBC's top story of the day.

Another natural disaster in Bangladesh, a new disturbing patio (brookside has a lot to answer for)?

No not even a house price slowdown in 2008 can engage the public quite like a Plucky little squirrel.

Not even Man Buggers Bike can compete with them bananas!

As an aside, because I know certain forumites among us probably don't visit this page, I listened to a Today Programme debate this morning between a lancet doctor and a homeopathic doctor regards their recent attack on NHS funding of said 'treatment'.

Latter's only fallback position was 'A majority of patients felt it alleviated symptoms'.

Great, doesn't help the issue, but they feel it alleviates symptoms.

A glass of water does wonders for my headaches in most cases...coincidence?

Then he came out with "well it's never killed anyone", to which lancet doc said "err, actually an NHS homeopathic doctor recently got struck off for recommending a patient stop taking her heart pills and died" whoops!!

More bonkers snake oil - Homeopathy cure for Aids apparently

[Jah Lush]

I'm loving that Bike Sex Man story Mockers. I was having a bit of a miserable morning until I read that. "A bit of a misunderstanding after he'd had too much to drink." Hilarious.

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

Was it his bike?

[Brendan]

I don?t see the need for a homeopathic aids remedy when all one has to do is eat garlic, lemon and beetroot to get rid of the pesky disease.

????.

Surely?

[SeanMacGabhann]

Mockney

You may have missed this from this mornings Guardian - but you should love it

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/nov/16/sciencenews.g2?gusrc=rss&feed=science

[mightyroar]

a 'cycle sexualist'

absolutely brilliant.

[fatfightersforever]

Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Was it his bike?

hope it wasn't one recently stolen from round these parts?! (wonder if they'll want it back....)

[mockney piers]

Sean, thank you thank you thank you

"But homoeopaths have walled themselves off from the routine cut-and-thrust of academic medicine, and reasoned critique is all too often met with anger, shrieks of persecution and avoidance rather than argument."

I don't know what he's talking about!!

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

a 'cycle sexualist'

absolutely brilliant.

More of a pedalrast if you ask me.

[david_carnell]

Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> a 'cycle sexualist'

> absolutely brilliant.

>

> More of a pedalrist if you ask me.

Bet he likes being chained up as well

Well, whatever rings your bell I suppose.

[mockney piers]

Talking of bad reporting http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7104421.stm

Interesting enough story as it goes, but I clicked on the video report http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7100000/newsid_7104900?redirect=7104917.stm&news=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1&asb=1

and found my self thoroughly reassured by the closing comment

"The good news is that scientists say scorpions are unlikely to evolve to these sizes again"

Phew!! That's me ok for the next 200 million years then.

[Brendan]

Take a look at the Guardian's home page. Talk about bigging up the whole "giant scorpion" thing. Anyway it was a sea scorpion which weren't even arachnids.

I'm sure you would have been more scared if it than it would have been of you.

[Brendan]

Kinda puts problems like the environment into perspective when you think that we may just inadvertently bugger up the very fabric of reality.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19626313.800?DCMP=NLC-nletterbanner&nsref=mg19626313.800

And another on a different topic closer to home for this forum.

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/11/dont-flame-me-bro.html?DCMP=NLC-nletterbanner&nsref=blogtech

[mockney piers]

nice one Brendan.

especially for comments section unearthing this appropirate gem

 

[Jah Lush]

Make Lady Mucca drink rats milk.

Story & Petition

[mockney piers]

THis one has really made me chuckle, you have to listen to the announcements

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7113545.stm

"we would like to remind our american passengers that they are almost certainly speaking too loudly"

[Brendan]

LOL. Those are amusing.

I?m hating the tube today. It is quite simply the most unpleasant thing that Londoners have to communally endure. It is a daily, early morning reminder that: ?No. People aren?t actually generally decent. The suspicion that you have that 90% of them are actually complete and utter fuckwits is in fact true.?

I think it should be a legally protected right to criticize it. No matter whom you work for.

[mockney piers]

Today did seem worse than usual, but only because I didn't get a seat which is very unusual for me; everyone must have been having an early start today.

Yesterday on train home I was privy to three lads talking about how the uk garage scene's gonna blow in london again. They did it in those faux jamaican/saarf london accents which always winds me up as they all looked like nice middle class children called Tarquin and love their mums; you're not gangsters kids, get over it.

They progressed on to the history of house and 'american flavas wiv a uk beat' (AAARGH), which from what I could tell is about 5 years old. Lord knows what I was listening to 20 years ago then.

I actually started laughing out loud at each subsequent poorly expressed and ignorant point and got some very strange looks from my fellow passengers. I did catch one conspiratorial eye from someone who had been attempting to suppress her own laughter, which was nice and made me feel that some commuters probably are human rather than automatons.

Any way lads, if you reading dis, big up, word to yo flavas, and thank you most indubitably for providing such charming entertainment.

should this be in the rant thread?

[Brendan]

It probably should be on the rant thread. So should my post. It is your fault for mentioning the tube this early in the morning when the wound is still raw.

[clare]

I'm going to bury this in the middle of this thread but I need to reveal...........disgraced Peter Watt is my cousin !!!(haven't seen him for 20 years but he was lovely when I went to stay with his mum and dad way back then. Leeds to Poole was a journey too far in the late 70's).

I only realised when I saw him on the news last night.

I know I'm biased but his family were LOVELY. They used to foster loads of kids, despite having 7 of their own.

Funny how news takes a different slant when you have a family interest....I'm sure he isn't really an idiot or evil.how can he be ?? we share genes !!!!

off my chest..now shoot me down.....