What if Rupert Murdoch had never been born?

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie - long before one was a national treasure and the other a hugely successful actor in US television - imagined a world (or London, anyway) without Murdoch, with a little help from classic film 'It's A Wonderful Life':



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Chomsky meets Sesame Street

Elmo discusses anarcho-syndicalism with Noam Chomsky. From the Sean Keavney breakfast show on BBC 6 Music.



Tip: New Left Project

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Glenn Beck: Counterfire activist is "the face of evil"

An entertaining video, featuring a number of clips of Joseph Daher from Counterfire - and Glenn Beck's disgust at his anti-imperialism.



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Dickens is not just for Christmas (he's for Easter too)

An Easter message from David Cameron and George Osborne:



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NHS is not for sale

One of the many reasons why everyone should join the TUC's March for the Alternative:



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Matt Baker gives David Cameron a sharp left hook

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You say "riot porn", I say "ironic juxtaposition"

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Is this the most badly-written political blog post of 2010?

'I am going to buy two Hamsters. One will be called Kettle, and the other will be called Kettle. They’ll be opposite sexes and I’ll make them have babies. When the mother gives birth, her babies will all be called Kettle. Then I’ll cut the food source, watching while the parents eat their babies and they all starve to death.

A neologism coined by the international policing community will soon become a way of life. Our freedom of expression, if expressed in too large a unison, will now be contained in a common domestic metaphor. One that, in the collective memory of this country, is most palpably associated with what is known as ‘Builders’ Tea’ or even, among the younger generations, ‘Instant Coffee’....'

Read the whole thing in gruesome detail HERE. Then read the comments to restore your sanity. Maybe I should stick with left-wing sites that have some editorial control, like New Left Project and Counterfire.

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Wrap up warm, kids: Northumbria Police issues video advice to protesting school students

This short video has been produced by Northumbria Police, prompted by recent local protests which have mainly involved school students. Watch until the end - or you will miss the three super-helpful tips for staying safe on a demonstration!



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Paul O'Grady talks about the student demo

From 03:20 until 05:40 - including comments on the politeness of SWP placards and an unusual take on the politics of street lighting.

Also see 'Paul O'Grady calls for popular revolt to stop Tory cuts' (this could become a regular series)



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Paul O'Grady calls for popular revolt to stop Tory cuts

Different style to Ken Loach, I'll grant you, but essentially the same message:



Thanks to Andrew Burgin from Coalition of Resistance for the tip-off.

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Donald Duck meets Glenn Beck

A very witty take on America's contemporary right-wing figurehead Glenn Beck. Watch it to the end - it's really quite brilliant.



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Lord Pearson and UKIP: not of this world

Lord Pearson has resigned as leader of UKIP, after less than a year. This video, capturing what was described as "the worst campaign interview ever", tells you everything you need to know about UKIP. Just ask yourself: what kind of party elects this man as its leader?



Via Left Foot Forward

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David Mitchell: yes to democratic centralism, no to autonomism

Comedian David Mitchell provides a withering and perceptive critique of autonomist practices - and implicitly defends the Leninist model of democratic centralism - in this excellent short video (that is what he's getting at, isn't it?):

"What I'm complaining about is precisely that I'm not told no. What tends to happen instead is a tortuous, touch-feely discussion about whether or not we all feel that's the best way forward.

Once we've established that we all don't, there's further painful inching towards a pretend consensus that the thing the person in the room with the most power thinks we should do is actually what we all think we should do'.

An apt reminder of why proper democratic accountability, as found in democratic centralist organisations, is preferable to loose 'consensus-building' and the tyranny of structurelessness. For further insight into the limits of autonomism, see my review of John Holloway's book 'Crack Capitalism'.





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Welcome to Britain, Your Holiness

It's probably a good idea for you to first read this rather sublime little story from the BBC News site.

OK, so which one is it to be?

A) Launch a range of 'Benedict' condoms
B) Open an abortion clinic
C) Bless a gay marriage
D) Apologise for the Spanish Armada
E) Sing a duet with the Queen
F) Photo opportunity with Susan Boyle

Cast your votes...

The Daily Mail Song

Already very popular after just a day on t'Internet....

2-minute crash course: How to be a TV news reporter

Thanks to Jim Jepps, for drawing my attention to this great slice of parody by Charlie Brooker.

'Every time Bono sings, another angel rips off its wings'

Who says tweeting is pointless? Who says you can't be profound in only 140 characters? Thanks to the Twitterati, we now have a rather wonderful collection of 'facts' about U2's frontman. These have all been tweeted today with the tag 'bonofacts' - there are more, but these are my favourites.

The trigger for this backlash, by the way, is THIS.

Every time Bono sings, another angel rips off its wings.

"Me2" was Bono's original suggestion for the band's name.

Bono fell off the stage because he got too close to The Edge.

Bono's sunglasses are crafted entirely from his own smugness and Ethiopian children's tears.

Even Bono thinks he's a prick.

By holding John Hume and David Trimble's hands aloft, Bono singlehandedly brought peace to Northern Ireland.

When Bono clicks his fingers three times, a child dies in Africa.

Bono thinks Gandhi was a lightweight underachiever.

When Bono pees rainbows appear in Ireland.

Bono wears those dark sunglasses to hide the soulless, money-hungry egomaniac behind them.

Children conceived to a Bono song are 12 times less likely to share their toys with others.

When Bono takes a break from being a total arse, he relaxes by being a complete dick.

Bono is just like us, he also can't remember the name of the drummer in U2.

Those aren't leather trousers that Bono wears, they are actually his legs.

When God prays, he prays to Bono.