Following on yesterday...

http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=9366245

"A new 'fat map' of the UK shows high levels of obesity in the Midlands, Wales, North East and parts of the South East."

Avoid moving to those places if you value your waistline. Apparently.

The power of influence...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7583669.stm

The shadow health secretary for the Conservative party, Andrew Lansley, had this to say:

"As it is, people who see more fat people around them may themselves be more likely to gain weight."

Oh yes, didn't you know? If you're surrounded by fat people, you'll start gaining weight yourself. Guess I better not be hanging around with people with cancer then, I might start catching it myself...

Intertextuality on the Internet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7372281.stm
Poland entices its workers home

I can imagine that this is probably why...
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4702&edition=2&ttl=20080501123416

And religion saves another convict...

Saw this in the London Lite today:

Banged up Blake turns to religion
Amy hubby now a Catholic

I didn't realise prisons were such great places to find new converts to religion. Obviously not a cynical ploy to get early release for good behaviour, oh no...

Time to be screwed over again...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/18/gordonbrown.georgebush

Brown and Bush reignite that special relationship

I await the new Gay Bar Betamax vid...

Terrorism is a wonderful word, honest...

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4607&edition=2&ttl=20080414133614

Some rather choice comments here, but let's take one, shall we:
"There are cultural differences in different countries, what is acceptable in one is not in another. For instance in France it is acceptable to smoke at a bar, here the PC nanny state Gestapo will prevent it.In a certain faith it is expected that everyone benefits from a deal, this is not to them corruption, therefore who are we judge, how pretentious!This is not the only enquiry that was scotched, anyone remember "Cash for Honours"
Confusus Theytry, WALES, United Kingdom"

Fantastic. So when ordinary Muslims try to go about their everyday lives, they have murder and terrorism shouted in their faces, but when it comes to the Saudis, suddenly it's a matter of "cultural difference" and we shouldn't be bothered?
Cognitive dissonance anybody?
But oh well, everyone knows that buying pirate DVDs so obviously funds Al-Qaida, whereas the country where the majority of the 9/11 hijackers came from is obviously our bestest friend in the whole wide world.
'Scuse me while I stitch up my sides.

Sympathy was never my strongest point...

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ruth_fowler/2008/04/club_rules.html

Article by Ruth Fowler.

I didn't realise that several of the (admittedly wide-ranging) criteria on CiF is to whinge about how you felt left out of the group so much and so felt the right to write an article on how everyone else is rubbish for being *shock* different from you.
Aw, poor Ruth. Don't worry, the evil liberal bullies won't get you if you write an article pissing and moaning about it.