What Obama Can Learn From The Wire

As we learned during the campaign one of Obama's favourite TV shows is The Wire. The Huffington Post looks at what the President Elect can learn from his favourite show.

I think I would just be happy if he went around saying "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet" in the style of Clay Davis.

Politics

Clearly Obama paid close attention to Mayor Tommy Carcetti's campaign against Mayor Royce. Both Obama and Carcetti were good looking, with excellent debate and oratory skills. Just like Tommy Carcetti, who woke up white in a city that wasn't, Barack Obama woke up black in a county that wasn't.

"Well, You're One Up On Me"

Out of all the election coverage I watched last night and this morning, this was my favourite bit. Legendary political analyist Gore Vidal is as entertaining as ever as he crosses swords with the BBC's veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby, who appears slightly bemused by it.

The Smoking Permit

I don't smoke and therefore I'm not keen on people smoking around me and smoking in general. However, even I think that this latest proposal by a government health adviser is insane. Why is the government paying for inane pish like this? You could run a competition in primary schools and get better suggestions.

Where in the World?

Since I saw Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me, I have literally never set foot inside a McDonald's restaurant. I haven't visited a Burger King, KFC or any other fast food restaurant for that matter.

Spurlock's new film is called Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? Here he talks to The Guardian about it.

"After Super Size Me, I remember sitting down in 2005 and thinking about what to do next," says Spurlock, in his sing-song timbre. Then he noticed a resurgence of media interest in Bin Laden. "People were asking why we couldn't find him," he says. An idea was planted. When Spurlock ran into a like-minded venture capitalist called Adam Dell, who became executive producer on the film, the adventure began, with $3m in backing from French financiers.

Down below Spurlock speaks to the Wall Street Journal at Sundance.

Film of the Year

So far at least. Charlie Wilson's War, as I'm sure you all know is the story of a Democratic Texas Congressman, who conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch an operation to help the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Tom Hanks puts in his usual solid performance, but Philip Seymour Hoffman steals every single scene he's in. It comes over like a play on the big screen with a witty, but politically complex script.

Unsurprising as it was written by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, one of the best writers of sharp political drama around. And it kind of makes up for him chucking away the last 5 episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on a needless political cliffhanger.

This is a link to the first of a ten part History Channel documentary on The Real Charlie Wilson. The trailer for the film is below.

Less Serious But No Less Farcical

How do you cock up a Semi-final draw?

Get Scottish politicians involved of course! Don't worry folks, it was a muddle, not a fiddle...

A Catastrophic Series of Failures

No doubt anyone who is interested will have read up on the news that the Metropolitan Police have been found guilty of endangering the public during the fatal shooting of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes.

Aside from the actual incident itself, what I find most upsetting about this whole affair is the attempt made by the Met’s legal team to slur the character of the slain man and the attitude of those with a vested interest in defending the Police.

The idea implicit in remarks I’ve read made by everyone from Commissioner Blair to Ken Livingston that supporting the Police in the extremely difficult commission of their duty to protect us from would-be killers somehow removes the necessity to account for appalling failures like this one bears little sensible scrutiny and is frankly nonsensical and offensive.

We cannot descent into the kind of society that allows Police and Security Services leeway to cock up their jobs simply because these jobs are difficult.

Thatcher's Children

Again from The Guardian, Ken Loach, has had a go at Andrew Marr over the broadcaster's apparent 'swallowing of the whole Thatcher ideology'.

"Even Andrew Marr talked about the mighty unions and praised the fact that their power was undermined," Mr Loach told journalists.

"That idea about the unions has passed into the liberal consensus but it is the very thing that created the situation we see in this film.

"Does he really think it was a good thing, given the way people have been exploited as a result, working on the minimum wage? If Andrew Marr says that, he's happy with what we see happens in this film."

Michael Moore on CNN

This is entertaining stuff. Michael Moore discussing his new movie Sicko on CNN.

How Much Longer?

For how much longer can 'Smeato' talk about the airport attack? Aye, well done. Can you shut up about it now and stop playing into the tabloid papers' hands? He's been a Godsend for them. A down to earth regular guy who can be their anti-terrorist , anti-immigration, pro-law and order mouthpiece.

"I wanted to help him until I realised what he’d done, then I thought ‘f*** him’."

"I shouted ‘f****** c’mon then ya b******’ and it took his attention from the cop. He was shouting Allah, Allah, Allah. I flew at him. He took a swing, but missed me and I managed to get a kick in."

"Then I started thinking ‘what if the terrorist was strapped with explosives?’, ‘what if the Jeep had exploded beside me?’"

Anything else you want to add? Like when the autobiography is coming out? The Sun and the News of the World seem to be serialising this same 30 second incident.

Only in Scotland coud you foil a terrorist attack then take two weeks off work on the sick.

"I Piled in and Tried to Get a Kick in"

Awright, are we not all getting fed up with John Smeaton? I know Big Scott is. 'Smeato' is on the front page of the News of the World today, saying 'Bin Laden, it's no' happening mate.'

The whole 'all ye need tae dae is stick wan oan a terrorist and they're doon' routine is wearing a wee bit thin.

"I ran up there to leather him. He was swinging at me, shouting Allah this and Allah that."

Fair play to the guy, he saw a commotion and leapt in, but how long can you keep giving differing takes on the same 30 second incident? I'm sure he's oblivious that the tabloid press are using him to manipulate their readers into their own political agenda.

"I just shouted, ‘F***ing come on then' and dashed towards him."

One of the reasons the media are lapping him up is that everyone loves a yokel. This is from the Wall Street Journal.

Since last Saturday's attack, his friends tell him that women have been asking to be introduced to him. His cell phone is jammed with messages. He's puzzled as to why people are so taken with his story. "I haven't a Scooby," he says, meaning he doesn't have a clue.

Below is a BBC feature on him.

Taking Liberties

Yesterday I went to see Taking Liberties, a documentary about how the Labour government has slowly taken away a wide range of things people in Britain held dear. Innocent until proven guilty, the right to protest etc.

It's one of the best films I've seen this year. As it shows laws being changed to suit the government's agenda and the police wasting everyone's time by treating hippies and pensioners as 'terrorists' it's actually a film that makes you angry.

If you're still unconvinced over ID cards, the film offers some great reasons why we shouldn't have them and why we don't need them. If you think, 'If you don't do anything wrong, then you've nothing to worry about,' then it's worth seeing here there are some very good examples of people who weren't doing anything wrong and found out that they had a lot to worry about.

The film also sums up one of the reasons that I hate this government. Because I now agree with people like Boris Johnson

Unfortunately it's only showing at the GFT until Sunday, but when it comes out on DVD or gets another limited run at the cinema it's well worth seeing.

Fuck Off, It's Just A Bag

If you're a regular reader you'll know I'm not a huge fan of celebrities, rich folk or anyone else who has it better than me.

I would have more respect for them if they adopted a common sense attitude to this kind of thing though.

Go on Cameron. Call him a chancing twat who is just trying to get his name in the papers. It's what he is. Say something like "How am I supposed to know every minute detail of your country's history? Fuck off, it's just a bag."

If there is one thing I hate, and there isn't, there's about 10 million things I hate, but anyway - it's the bleating cry-babies on the news trying to advance their own careers of the back of some completely manufactured scandal - news stories that didn't exists until PR folk decided they did. These self aggrandising indignity merchants, happily besmirching reputations for a few column inches, a few points in whatever poll is important to them.

"But I'm just a human rights activist trying to point out the blah blah blah..." No you're not. You're an opportunistic politician "handling" the media.

Everyone knows how spin works these days but still these muppets insist on trying to play their daft games.

If even one of these celebs bit back instead of issuing an apology for doing fuck all we'd maybe see less of this kind of contrived tosh in the news. Plus I'd love them forever.

A Great British Institution

More pish talk about how great Britain is in an attempt to sell us something we don't want. This time Liam Byrne, Minister of State for Immigration, Nationality and Citizenship at the Home Office, tells us that ID Cards will be brilliant because they "will soon become part of the fabric of British life".

What a lot of nonsense. Roast beef on a Sunday, a pint of cool lager, egg and chips, the Queen's Christmas message, oh aye and an ID card in my back bin so the Home Office can keep tabs on me. What a Great Brittish life we all lead. More tea vicar?

Remember of course that it was only the other week there when it was quietly announced that the projected cost of ID cards has risen by almost a billion pounds. Or to put it another way the equivalent to 16,894,745 weeks of buroo money.

It’s Election Time!

This is a long one, but don’t worry it’s funny.

Fraser got a leaflet through from the Scottish Christian Party the other day there. Over at This Place is Dead Ronnie has posted some highlights from their campaign. They include:

•...you have a chance to vote for a Christian political party that has an All-Christian candidate list…

•Tommy Sheridan … famously ripped up Brian Souter’s ‘Keep the Clause’ referendum ballot paper.

•Patrick Harvey the Green lead MSP … is Scotland’s leading promoter of young schoolchildren being taught about homosexuality.

Patrick Harvie did the NO2ID gig with us a few weeks back, so he can get Glue hauners anytime he wants. Never once during that night did he talk about finding schoolchildren to bum. Not once. Though I didn’t go out with him after the show.

The Scottish Christian Party are run by one Rev George Hargreaves, pictured right. When I had a look at some of their policies I noticed a little anomaly or two.

• Reinstate the death penalty for severe crimes

• Legislation to ban abortion

• Provision of Christian religious education should be mandatory

• promote biblical alternatives to the current criminal justice system

• That Mechanical Copyright Protection enjoyed by songwriters should be extended to featured recording artists and record producers

• That a minimum royalty percentage (the level of which should be decided through consultation with the music industry) should be paid to featured recording artists and producers on exactly the same basis as is currently paid to songwriters

Hang on, law and order, anti-abortion, forcing religion on people, recording artists and record producers should be getting more money?? Eh?

Only then did I discover that Rev Hargreaves, righteous man and hater of homosexuals, used to be a DJ. He was also a songwriter. Quite a successful songwriter as it turns out. In fact you’ve probably heard one of his songs. It was called ‘So Macho’. It was a big hit for Sinitta. Thanks mainly to its success in the gay clubs. He also wrote its double A-side ‘Cruising’.

Rev Hargreaves still sees royalty cheques rolling in to this day. In fact they enable him to trot out his hateful bile. Read more about it in The Times.

Patrick Harvie said in the Daily Telegraph, "I contemplated making So Macho my campaign theme tune. It would be very me. But I did not want to give Mr Hargreaves any more royalties."

Rev Hargreaves had his ‘spiritual awakening’ while living as a tax exile on the Isle of Man.

There’s an interesting article on him here. It points out that...

The party is also fighting in Wales. Their manifesto proposes lifting controls on over-fishing on the basis there is "a supernatural element in the restoration of fish to our seas."

Mr Hargreaves also says that the Welsh dragon on its national flag is a cause of sickness. He declared to the South Wales Evening Post back in March 2007: "Wales has been under demonic oppression and under many curses because of this unwise choice."

So, will you 'put your cross by the cross'?

The Election Race Hots Up

When I was chucking away the Sunday Herald yesterday I noticed this pamphlet fall out of it. It was for the SNP and listed a lot of the pish they intend to do if, heaven forbid, they get elected to power. I then realised that it folded out into a poster. A fucking poster! Of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon!

Who the fuck do they think is sticking this on their wall? Maybe if there was some sort of pop star cull or mass tour bus crash, then maybe kids would be forced to stick posters of gormless politicians on their walls, but really come on.

And speaking of the election I noticed this doctored banner below on Woodlands Road.

Nothing Can Possib-lie Go Wrong...

Have a read at this. Astonishing.

Does anyone actually still want ID cards?

Two Bams Don't Make A Riot

You can argue about the relative merits of this incident all you like.

For me, it looks like a case of over zealous policing while subduing a bam, who wouldn’t have come into contact with the police if she hadn’t been smashing up someone’s car while pished out of her tits.

An unfortunate incident certainly, but one that repeats itself hundreds of times over every weekend throughout the nation I would imagine.

The sickening aspect of this case for me is the way that certain bodies have engaged in cheap political point scoring off the back of what happened.

Liberty have chimed in with their usual useless, unhelpful remarks and local “race relations manager” Ruggie Johnson has been doing his best to turn the incident into Britain’s answer to the Rodney King affair.

Trying to engineer something like this into a race issue is downright despicable.

This was clearly not a racially motivated incident. The girl was not arrested for being black, she was arrested for being a bam.

Whether for his own ends of out of some misguided concern for the local community, Mr Johnson and other in positions of influence should really stop acting as legitimising advocates for people who engage in recreational crime simply as a matter of course.

Kids from poor communities have it tough, but most manage to get through the weekend without wrecking other folk’s stuff.

Or perhaps Mr Johnson plans to organise a million bam march, after which they can be addressed by Louis Farrabam?

Glue Say No 2 ID

With two days before the first full You Owe Me Glue show of 2007 I thought I would plug another wee gig first. I was at a meeting last night regarding the NO2ID Gala Benefit.

Appearing at the Old Fruitmarket on Saturday 24th of March, in addition to YOMG are Lucy Porter, Phil Nichol, Rich Hall and Glenn Wool alongside several other names far too unconfirmed to be mentioned. There will also be video from Limmy and Des McLean.

Tickets are a mere £10 or £8 concession. Considering you’ll get about ten acts for your bucks, twice the amount on at your average Saturday night at The Stand, it’s a good deal. Of course you’ll also be supporting the NO2ID campaign. So get your tickets here.

We should be performing for about 15 minutes and should also have a couple of new NO2ID specific sketches.

Tell Me Again...

...why ID Cards are a bad idea.

The Home Office have learned their lesson. This time. Honest. Won't happen again. Not again again anyway. Unless it does.

That's the great thing about systems - they always get fucked up by the people who end up bored to tears through working on them.