Link Dump #3
Link Dump #2
America Without a Middle Class
12 Days of Christmas, by Carol Ann Duffy
Ohio becomes the first US state to execute a prisoner using a single drug
Pizza napoletana awarded special status by EU
British Muslims feel the most patriotic in Europe, survey claims
Belfast’s Christmas Continental Market
Mulled Wine. Churros. The cold and the rain. It’s gotta be the Christmas Market outside City Hall, Belfast.
Here’s some photies.
Link Dump #1
The first in an irregular series where I post bookmarks I’ve saved…
The Ampersand – a whole blog devoted to the “&” symbol
Feeling Sorry for Dubai?
Maybe just a little? Don’t be. I read a great article on HuffPo the other day, “The Dark Side of Dubai“.
A few highlights of what Dubai is *actually* like…
- You can get put in jail for having a cheque bounce. For up to 3 years.
- If you have to go to court, better hope you speak Arabic.
- If you have any debts at all, you can’t leave the country. Which means you’re effectively imprisoned in Dubai.
- Who built Dubai? Not the expats… it was immigrants, mainly from south Asia, brought to Dubai with promises of an easy life and riches. The reality is far from that. Bad pay, passports confiscated, long work hours in searing heat and squalid living conditions are typical of a Dubai construction worker.
So if you can go to jail in Dubai for a cheque bouncing, what happens if you can’t pay back a $60bn loan? Oh, nothing? Funny that.
Finally! Some Truth!
Sarah Palin admits to liking porn and unprotected sex. Oh, and that she’s a quitter and she’s naive. Tee hee!
Bad Romance
You’ve got to hand it to Lady Gaga – she knows how to make money from the gays.
- Catchy chorus that’s barely audible? Check.
- Some words spoken in badly pronounced French? Check.
- Hideous costumes? Check.
- Drag queen look? Check.
- A dance routined that easily perfected by baby-gays on YouTube? Check.
- Claps? Yep.
- Risque part with fireworks bra and dead body? Check.
It’s quite a good song though, isn’t it…
Btw, did I mention she’s releasing a new “album”, even though it’s essentially her old album with some new tracks tacked on?
Things That I’ve Liked for the Past Few Weeks
1. Florence and the Machine’s album. I heard it at a friend’s house a few weeks ago. Go listen to it on Spotify. I dare you not to fall in love with the track “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)”.
2. The Thick of It on BBC Two. I’ve never watched this show before. It’s Armando Iannucci’s satirical political comedy. Sort of like The Office, only less difficult to watch, and funnier. It follows the Department for Social Affairs and Citizenship, and it’s head Nicola Murray. Currently trying to get my hand on the first 2 series…
3. Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. Great biography of Abraham Lincoln. Wanted to find out more about him, as Obama has styled himself as a modern day Lincoln. Still plowing through it (it’s long), but it’s a great and easy read.
And what I didn’t like…
Voter’s repealing the gay marriage law in Maine. One day, hopefully, the bigots will disappear and realise that to deny happiness and equality to people is, frankly, sickening.
