Don't laugh

The standard of UK education reaches new depths. Geography is in need of the celeb treatment it seems - "schools will be sent videos of celebrities visiting different parts of the world in a bid to make lessons more interesting." Go here.

L & CR Bid Off

The UK government has backed off the sale of London & Continental Railways to one of their chums. Go here. See PunchBuggy Passim.

More spin: blame it on the Tories

Labour news management changes tack.

American music star Buck Owens is dead

Buck Owens from Bakersfield has died at 76. CBS has the story.

What a fool believes

Have you noticed when a scandal breaks the damage limitation ring-fencers go to work. "Brown knew nothing about it, old boy." "Prescott was completely in the dark." This is rapidly shown to be balderdash in the following days, but suits the news management strategy of that particular day. Yesterday's lies are soon forgotten.

Time they were gonged off

Quote from the Sunday Times:

"In the past five years Labour’s financial backers who have been rewarded with peerages have shelled out an average of £2.6m. A knighthood is a snip at £748,000. By contrast, buying a peerage in the era of David Lloyd George, the Liberal prime minister from 1916-22, cost £50,000, while a knighthood was £15,000. Even taking inflation into account, Blair’s prices are higher."

Much to my chagrin I've never been able to afford a seat in the House of Lords, but don't forget PunchBuggy brought you this story five years ago in 2001. See PunchBuggy Passim.

MG: The Octagon goes pear-shaped

MG reaches the end of the road. The Guardian chronicles the final demise of this British car company.