Samizdata

“Chatting over a llama is certainly a novel way to meet people in a relaxed environment, and participants can enjoy a romantic picnic afterwards.”

-Charity worker Mary Walker, providing Valentines Day advice that is more useful than most I have heard this year.

“The defence of a free society is the defence of its procedures, not its output.”

– Oliver Kamm

The ever-rational, ever-eloquent, ever-humane Matthew Parris in The Times:

Many faiths and ideologies achieve and maintain their predominance partly through fear. They, of course, call it “respect”.But whatever you call it, it intimidates. The reverence, the awe — even the dread — that their gods, their KGB or their priesthoods demand and inspire among the laity are vital to the authority they wield.

Against reverence and awe the best argument is sometimes not logic, but mockery. Structures of oppression that may not be susceptible to rational debate may in the end yield to derision.

“The French government favours globalisation”

– Brian Micklethwait

Once upon a time I would have felt awkward about quoting Mark Thomas’s New Statesman column with approval, but we live in interesting times:

In Parliament Square recently, a banner reading “Parliament Square belongs to the people” was deemed a statement of fact and therefore not a protest. Barbara Tucker’s banner, on the other hand, which declared “I am not the serious organised criminal”, was deemed a protest and Tucker faces trial in February. Who knows, had she used the words “I am a flippant chaotic law-abider” the banner may have been legal. In August police arrested Mark Barrett for the crime of having a picnic in Parliament Square. Two weeks later five others were arrested in possession of cakes iced with the slogans such as “Peace ” and “Love” in pink sugary letters. When the state is arresting people with iced cakes, it really is time either to change the law or for ministers to start incorporating khaki uniforms into their daywear.

[If I had a picture of the ever-changing parliamentary fortifications, I would insert it here. But I don’t. And, as Brian found at the dca not so long ago, it would probably be illegal.]

We all knew Galloway was a wanker before now anyway but by going onto Big Brother all he’s managed to do is simply broadcast this to a public who previously didn’t know who he was or thought he was that guy who told the American Senate a thing or two. The funniest thing has been the hard left loonies (and others) who applauded his cock sucking antics with Saddam, Assad, Hamas and the Al Aqsa Bastards Brigade but then decided that robotic manouvers in a leotard were beyond the pale.
– Blognor Regis