https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/ The Magazine's recommended daily allowance of news, culture and your letters. en Copyright 2011 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:12:25 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.33-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss "Give the man a break, Mother" - Euan Blair to Cherie as she argued with George W Bush about the death penalty. The former US president recalls in his memoirs that on a visit to Chequers in summer 2001, the noted human rights lawyer engaged him in a heated debate that only ended when her then teenage son stepped in. More details (Guardian) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_140.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_140.shtml Quote of the Day Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:12:25 +0000 "The Queen recieves the Credentials of the Ambassador of Brazil" - A mis-spelled caption on the British Monarchy's new Facebook page. The Royal Family's official profile on the social networking site attracted 100,000 users on its first day. But those responsible for updating it managed to let a typo slip in below a picture of the Queen meeting Brazilian Ambassador Roberto Jaguaribe. More details (The Times) [subscription required] https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/tuesdays_quote_of_the_day_137.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/tuesdays_quote_of_the_day_137.shtml Quote of the Day Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:11:25 +0000 "Tia-Rose loves pulling crackers on Christmas Day like any other child and she has never managed to blow herself up yet" - Lisa Innes, after daughter told by shop staff she couldn't handle crackers Staff at the QD store in Stowmarket, Suffolk, told six-year-old Tia-Rose that she could not present the crackers at the till because they were too dangerous. They could only be bought if the cashier took them from an adult. More details (Telegraph) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/mondays_quote_of_the_day_143.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/mondays_quote_of_the_day_143.shtml Quote of the Day Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:04:28 +0000 "I usually close it to stop it catching fire as people tend to throw their cigarette butts onto it" - Cafe owner in Paris, whose open awning broke the fall of an 18-month-old boy plummeting from an apartment six storeys above. The circumstances of the accident are unclear, but the toddler had been playing at home when he somehow fell from the balcony and landed on the cafe awning below. In a stroke of remarkable luck, a passing doctor caught him as he bounced off unharmed. More details (The Journal) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/thursdays_quote_of_the_day_135.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/thursdays_quote_of_the_day_135.shtml Quote of the Day Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:46:27 +0000 "The central objective is to unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga" - synopsis of a new undergraduate course at the University of South Carolina In a move that will infuriate educational purists, students in South Carolina will soon be knuckling down to study the woman behind such memorable works as Poker Face and Paparazzi. Sociology professor Mathieu Deflem says the course will consider the meat-clad singer as a "social event". Maybe this Magazine piece will be on the reading list. Full details (Daily Telegraph) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_139.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_139.shtml Quote of the Day Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:26:48 +0000 "The problem is if we suddenly called ourselves Staines-upon-Thames people would think it was another Staines" - Curtis Jenkins, chair of the Staines Town Society, on plans to rebrand Ali G's stamping ground. The Surrey town, best known as the home of Sacha Baron Cohen's character and his "massive", is the subject of a bid by the Spelthorne Business Forum to change its name. The organisation's Alex Tribick hopes the new title will counter portrayals of Staines as "an urban wasteland off the end of the M25". But Mr Jenkins disagrees, adding: "People know that Staines is Staines." More details (The Guardian) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/tuesdays_quote_of_the_day_136.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/tuesdays_quote_of_the_day_136.shtml Quote of the Day Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:17:11 +0000 "Those bums are all there for dramatic, cumulative effect" - In a re-discovered sketch, the late Dudley Moore plays a writer defending his swear words. Bootleg recordings of the celebrated comedy series Not Only... But Also - thought to have been lost after the BBC wiped its master tapes - have been found. In one routine, Peter Cook plays a script editor excising profanity from Moore's writings - a scenario likely to amuse latter-day fans, given that the pair would become notorious for the expletive-laden Derek and Clive tapes. More details (The Times) [Subscription required] https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/mondays_quote_of_the_day_142.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/11/mondays_quote_of_the_day_142.shtml Quote of the Day Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:41:36 +0000 "The man used filthy language. Otherwise, the ceremony was OK" - a Maldives hotel manager's reaction to a celebrant calling a bride and groom "swine" and "infidels" in his native tongue as they renewed their wedding vows. Police are investigating after a video of the foreign couple's ceremony at the Vilu Reef resort appeared on the internet. In it, the celebrant is heard to say: "You are swine. The children you bear from this marriage will all be bastard swine. Keep fornicating and spreading hatred among people. Your marriage is not valid. You are infidels." The Maldives government has vowed to ensure there is no repeat. More details (Daily Mirror) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/fridays_quote_of_the_day_136.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/fridays_quote_of_the_day_136.shtml Quote of the Day Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:18:11 +0000 "Are you planning a surprise party for us, filled with jobs and health care?" - US TV host Jon Stewart quizzes President Barack Obama after the leader claimed his administration hadn't received the credit it is due. During an interview for The Daily Show, President Obama fended off criticism of his record by insisting that "we have done things that some folks don't even know about" - prompting Stewart's wry comeback. More details (Daily Mail) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/thursdays_quote_of_the_day_134.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/thursdays_quote_of_the_day_134.shtml Quote of the Day Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:59:12 +0000 "Protection for your privates, both literally and figuratively" - makers of ballistic underwear for UK soldiers The Ministry of Defence is testing the underwear, known as Blast Boxers. They have a very serious function, because they feature soft panels to protect the femoral artery from debris and flames accompanying a blast, according to manufacturers BCB International. https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_138.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_138.shtml Quote of the Day Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:09:59 +0000 "A cross between a snowplough and a combine harvester" - Peter Mandelson's description of Gordon Brown In his new documentary, Mr Mandelson says he thought that while Mr Brown possessed considerable intellect, he lacked the ability to relate to people as a human being. And much to the irritation of the well-groomed former Business Secretary, the prime minister couldn't keep his tie straight. Full details https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/tuesdays_quote_of_the_day_135.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/tuesdays_quote_of_the_day_135.shtml Quote of the Day Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:01:58 +0000 "If any of the Roman Osbournes drank nearly as much as I used to, they wouldn't have even felt the lava" - Rocker Ozzy Osbourne, on learning that he shares DNA with ancient Romans killed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The former Black Sabbath frontman, better known for biting the head off a bat than researching his family history, had his genetic code examined by a laboratory in New Jersey. As well as discovering a link to those who died at Pompeii when the volcano erupted in 79 AD, scientists found he was a distant relative of King George I and the outlaw Jesse James. More details (Daily Mail) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/mondays_quote_of_the_day_141.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/mondays_quote_of_the_day_141.shtml Quote of the Day Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:28:19 +0000 "That's a big deal, a gargantuan deal" - US General Hugh Shelton's reaction to Bill Clinton allegedly losing a card containing launch codes for America's nuclear arsenal when he was president. Gen Shelton, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, makes the claim in his autobiography. He says Mr Clinton lost the codes in 2000 "for months". "He couldn't recall when he had last seen them," says Gen Shelton. https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/fridays_quote_of_the_day_135.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/fridays_quote_of_the_day_135.shtml Quote of the Day Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:57:14 +0000 "We expect our officers to be out on the beat, not searching in the undergrowth for trolleys" - Kent resident Laurence Graves rails against the county constabulary for sending two officers to recover shopping trolleys. The 54-year-old plumber was outraged that the officers accompanied a council worker to collect 43 abandoned trolleys during a two-hour clean-up, at a time when the force is laying off 500 staff. "Surely it is Tesco's job to do that," he complained. More details (Daily Telegraph) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/thursdays_quote_of_the_day_133.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/thursdays_quote_of_the_day_133.shtml Quote of the Day Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:45:08 +0000 "I've turned the house upside down... He loses everything I give him" - an unnamed pensioner who claims she bought the UK's biggest-ever winning lottery ticket, but her absent-minded husband threw it away. The woman, said to be in her 70s and from Coventry, claims her husband inadvertently put the EuroMillions coupon, worth £113m, out with the rubbish. She says she forgives him, but adds ruefully that he has form: "Only last night I found a lottery ticket that had won £10 in the bin by luck." More details (Daily Telegraph) https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_137.shtml https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/10/wednesdays_quote_of_the_day_137.shtml Quote of the Day Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:20:17 +0000