Enemies of Reason Poundshop potshots at the media moral maze.

(not very) Quick links

These were going to be less quick than they are, but time is pressing a bit. There'll be something else later (probably Sunday now, come to think of it). So why am I even telling you? I'll get on with it, anyway:

Sarah Ditum on the new journalism and why the big boys still don't get it. That's a rather sad picture of all the discarded newspaper dispensers; but on the other hand, you could see it as punters voting with their feet and refusing to buy the same old crap. Who knows.

Ben Goldacre on the old journalism of not really understanding things properly but having to file one of 25,000 stories per day from your grubby desk with a deadline looming and so making as good a fist of it as you can, which turns out to be pretty pisspoor in the big scheme of things. Not just that, though, which is bad enough but understandable; also deliberately leaving stuff out that makes the story a wee bit more complicated than you think it deserves to be / your tiny-brained readers can understand.

Justin on why he's not doing backflips through flaming hoops just because Labour have decided to abandon a thoroughly illiberal and unpleasant piece of legislation that would have allowed bailiffs to hit people. As I've said before on a relatedly New Labour subject, it reminds me of that Chris Rock thing about "That's what you're supposed to do, you low expectation having motherfucker."

Here's David Neiwert on a nation of immigrants that treats immigrants like shit. The bleakest conclusion I can come to about all this is that we just shrug our shoulders about concentration camps for immigrants and asylum seekers in this country, too, while the tabloid press demands more and more.

No Sleep Til Brooklands has a perfect example of how Mail readers see the first couple of lines, find the sentence or two that confirm their prejudices and then go in all guns blazing in the comments. In this particular case, it's kids having different surnames - therefore, let's slag the entire family off! Because a two-year-old kid really deserves that, don't they?

Angry Mob has found someone in the world who thinks Lesbian Vampire Killers is anything other than dismal. They still only gave it three stars out of five, mind, so I might not be popping down the multiplex just yet.

Septicisle on more torture. Do you know I bumped into Jack Straw at a Labour conference many, many years ago - these were the days when he was considered not only an intellectual but also something of a radical. I've always wondered what the Jack Straw of then would think of the Jack Straw of now, if he didn't know he was himself - if you see what I mean. I'm guessing he'd make all the right noises about freedoms and civil liberties. If only we'd known.

More Nick Cohen news from Ben Six, after the neocon nonsensiphile got a bloody nose earlier this week. Who knows what wonders await us in the Observer tomorrow (today) from the maestro? I certainly won't be finding out, that's for sure.

Johann Hari on the revelations about Operation Cast Lead. And here's a cheery image over at Lenin's Tomb, on the same subject.

And that's it really. That wasn't quick at all, was it?

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