Saatchi Gallery Warehouse Burns...

Why don't they just re-enter the burnt pieces for the Turner Prize. They'd probably win it again.

Now really. Unmade beds, mediocre wargamer models, picked pigs and heads made of frozen blood are hardly 'classics lost to civilisation' (weeps).

All those pieces could be reproduced with almost no loss of impact and unlikley to be discernable as unauthentic.

This begs - were they in fact artistic, or just artisan? Art or Craft?

I say Craft. Loss? Minimal.

Queen of Hearts.

Off with his head. A tragedy exposes people for what they are. Far from winning support for and weakening opposition to random acts of violence and lawlessness, this beheading seems to be rousing the rational, decent majorities on all sides into expressions of outrage.

Out of that, we have hope for the future.

Crime and Punishment

Two thugs get 3 and 6 years for beating and racially abusing two Chinese nationals in Lothian, Scotland. One is now permanently brain-damaged after being repeatedly kicked in the head whilst unconscious on the floor.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that ignorance is no defence. So how come these Neanderthals are not up for attempted murder? Probably because the intent was not to kill. We do not have 'attempted manslaughter'. Kicking someone repeatedly in the head has a high risk of killing them, so why is it only GBH or ABH? Being ignorant of the violence of one's actions should not be a defence. Pleading ignorance at the likely outcome of one's actions is not a defence. There needs to be new sentencing laws to ensure aggressive violent acts that are clearly endangering life are dealt with. 30 years or 60 years is a more appropriate sentence.

Kicking anyone repeatedly while they are down has a high risk of killing them...unless it is kicking them in the arse and there are a few people (sentencing judges, legal precedents, bleedin heart excusers) who need a good kicking in the arse right now, not innocent people about their lawful business who are forced into a confrontation by repeated abuse.

Liverpool Red Curry.

A few facts are coming out about Thaksin Skimawad's bid for Liverpool FC.

1- the 30% stake is being bought from another investor (Moores), so will any money go to Liverpool?

2- the money is "public funds", not the PM's (as if he is short of a few baht...). Thai politicians are rarely able to distinguish between private and public funds, except for the direction of flow, anyhow.

3- The PM wants a say in proceedings...

4- A private company formed by a group of "Thai businessmen" has been formed to exploit the connection (merchandising, marketing etc)

So, Thaksin does not pay for it but gets influence. The club does not get the money. A group of already rich Thais get, basically, free-of-charge control(*) over Liverpool marketing and revenues in Thailand without having to pay up the £65M!

So thats all right then, isn't it.

(*) Liverpool merchandising is guaranteed cash cow - it is not an investment bearing any risk, but a license to print money.

Postal Woes

Royal Mail is having trouble delivering post. Of course, they have only had 150-odd years to work out how to do it. Great concepts like mail trains are being withdrawn and we have unchecked temporary workers drifting in and out and worthless besuited 'managers'.

Fraud is very hard to perpetrate if the same person sorts a round each day and the same person delivers that round each day. It is hardly rocket science, unlike trying to sort mail in the back of a moving van.