Widely regarded as one of the wittiest men in Britain, Alan Coren, who has died aged 69, was one of BBC Radio 4's best-loved voices, while his journalism won him a legion of fans.

he will be sadly missed
i know he name won't mean a thing to Americans but i'm a Radio 4 listener and his passing should be marked

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Obituary: Alan Coren

I do not agree with the Dalai Lama that all religious traditions carry basically the same message of love, compassion, and forgiveness. The truth is that there is good and evil in all religious traditions--as there is in every other human institution and every individual human being. Sweeping statements of pro-religious propaganda, even (or especially) when they are made by men as admirable as the Dalai Lama, have the effect of smothering rational discussion about the pros and cons of any and all religion.
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Religion confers no special nobility on its believers or its leaders, and that goes for Eastern as well as Western religions. Many Americans (including secularists) have all sorts of fantasies, originally spawned in the sixties, about the superior virtue of Eastern religions. Look at the inferior position of women in many societies with a strong Buddhist influence, and tell me that this religion has done any better by the female sex than the monotheistic creeds of the West.

Whether people adhere to secular or religious traditions, the dividing line is always between the merciful and the merciless.

i agree yet revere the Dalai Lama

Susan Jacoby: OnFaith on washingtonpost.com

In December, the United Nations took up a resolution calling for the abolition of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for children and young teenagers. The vote was 185 to 1, with the United States the lone dissenter.

Indeed, the United States stands alone in the world in convicting young adolescents as adults and sentencing them to live out their lives in prison. According to a new report, there are 73 Americans serving such sentences for crimes they committed at 13 or 14.

Mary Nalls, an 81-year-old retired social worker here, has some thoughts about the matter. Her granddaughter Ashley Jones was 14 when she helped her boyfriend kill her grandfather and aunt — Mrs. Nalls's husband and daughter — by stabbing and shooting them and then setting them on fire. Jones also tried to kill her 10-year-old sister.

Mrs. Nalls, who was badly injured in the rampage, showed a visitor to her home a white scar on her forehead, a reminder of the burns that put her into a coma for 30 days. She had also been shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the chest.

"I forgot," she said later. "They stabbed me in the jaw, too."

But Mrs. Nalls thinks her granddaughter, now 22, deserves the possibility of a second chance.

i really don't understand how a nation that considers itself civilised is so trapped by the lowest common denominator, so punitive, justice isn't about revenge and retribution -- where is the element of redemption -- your policies on the death penalty and imprisonment play to the most base instincts -- you live in such a violent culture (note per capita murder rates by country) but don't blame access to guns just be increasingly punative and in the case of children who have less control over their emotions say well they develop a conscience at age 2 or 3 -- but the ability to control anger and rage comes with maturity -- especially for young men to overcome the early flush of testosterone and in the case cited in the article recommended the girl , the child, had been sexually abused, so is it a surprise she had rage? Of course what she did was truly terrible but beyond redemption? I wonder where a person's humanity is, their understanding that we are flawed creatures that can develop, if they believe such things. It seems to show little understanding of what it is to be human. Morality is founded on surplanting our darkest urges and emotions - lust, greed, anger - with restraint, tolerence, forgiveness and reason. Conscience rides the beast of our animal ancestry. So many millions of years of evolution are not so easily overcome - especially for a child - especially for a damaged child. Your criminal justice policies seem to appeal to and reflect the darkest and most animalistic instincts of the crowd.

Lifers as teenagers, now seeking second chance - International Herald Tribune

I didn’t pay anything to download Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” last Wednesday. When the checkout page on the band’s Web site allowed me to type in whatever price I wanted, I put 0.00, the lowest I could go. My economist friends say this makes me a rational being.

Radiohead’s Warm Glow - New York Times

Thanks to the Internet, universal access to the printed word and economic globalization, the 21st century is expected to be shaped by the free exchange of ideas. But casting a shadow over this optimistic prediction is the emerging threat of "libel tourism."
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Until this case came along, American authors and publishers thought that unless their books were actually published in Britain, they would not be subject to its rather draconian libel laws, which put the burden of proof on the defendant rather than the plaintiff as American laws do, and greatly restrict what information writers can present as evidence in their defense. Now it appears that wealthy and powerful people who object to a book can simply find a country with sympathetic laws, have a book shipped there and sue.

Bin Mahfouz has a history of challenging those who have accused him of links to terrorism. He has sued or threatened to sue a series of publications and has instituted legal action in the cases of at least four different books. He has won many of these cases by default or through settlements, because authors often cannot marshal the resources to defend themselves. Ehrenfeld herself lost by default, and is relying on the hope that bin Mahfouz's judgment will not be enforced in the United States.

The 'libel tourism' threat - International Herald Tribune

British author Doris Lessing has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize for Literature.

huzzah

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Author Lessing wins Nobel honour

Horology is the formal term for the science of timekeeping. Both clock and watchmaking have seen many significant technological advancements in modern times as they progressed from the early days of the spring powered clock up to IBM’s Linux Wrist Watch project. Most advancements in horology in the modern era have focused on three areas: 1) accuracy 2) miniaturization and 3) source of power.

a linux wrist watch - i want one (even if it is a bit ugly at the mo)

WatchPart.co.uk Supplying Watch Parts » 12 Major Technological Innovations in Modern Horology

A few weeks ago I sat down with an interviewer from the British Broadcasting Company who asked me 10 questions about democracy. I was only one of many who were being interviewed for a series of programs and films that bear the general title “Why Democracy?” Starting today — October 8 — what the producers call “the world’s largest ever factual multi-media event” will be transmitted on television, radio and online in more than 200 countries with a hoped-for audience of 300 million. The intention is to “spark debate” and provoke a massive online discussion.

I thought I’d do my part by rehearsing some of the questions along with the answers I gave and invite readers to respond with their own answers or with criticisms of mine.
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The final question put to me was, “Whom would you vote for as President of the World?” I know whom I’d like to vote for. Someone wise, learned, strong, courageous, compassionate, authoritative, incorruptible, inspiring, capable and good-looking. No one living (or dead) came to mind, so I settled for a fictional character, Atticus Finch, at least as he was played by Gregory Peck. (Morgan Freeman in any number of roles is another possibility.)

huzzuh for Atticus Finch

Why Democracy? - Stanley Fish - Think Again - Opinion - New York Times Blog

A great number of indicators describe the movement of a society from freedom to authoritarianism. One of these is the number of public figures (politicians, scientists, writers, journalists and so forth) that the authorities bar from various media and scientific publications. I will label this number the "hush-level" indicator (HL). The higher the HL - that is, the greater the number of prohibited names - the closer is the given society to authoritarianism.

Name dropping, Russian style - International Herald Tribune

Brewing update:

Today, Clint and I are brewing pumpkin brew. This is by far my favorite brew we do all year round, mainly because of the aroma of roasted pumpkin. Last time we brewed this, it was an absolute hit (as in, the keg was empty a few hours after we kegged...I didn't even get any...damn house parties), so I am looking forward to trying this.

In secondary : Paulaner Hefe clone and a high gravity belgian beer....oh yes.....winter is going to be good.

edit this is nanochick's post i just recommended it
sort it out Decius 8-)

Beer beer magical beer