There was a public Menorah lighting for Chanukkah in City Hall on Wednesday.

Here was another cheap publicity stunt from a Mayor who at all turns has managed to offend the Jewish community (the Nazi jibe to a Jewish journalist, and love-in with Al Qarawadi for example), part of a strategy to weasel his way back into the community’s good books without having to apologise publicly for his Nazi outburst (wearing his jacket apparently turned him into a private individual, absolving himself of the charge of behaving disrespectfully), or from distancing himself from someone who advocates suicide attacks on innocent civilians.

The original invitation to the Chabad Lubavich Rabbi, I have it on good authority, was made by the GLC and the Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron, not the Mayor himself, who cynically hijacked it for his own ends. But either way, he loses – no-one in the community or the wider concerned public will ever believe that he wants to build bridges, and that this was anything other than a publicity stunt which will only reinforce suspicion of this odious cretin. And so what? If he hates it, even better – having a big public Menorah in the wondow outside his office, and now potentially each year, will be a big 2 fingers up to him every time he goes to work.

This time for Whisky & Westminster. Too bad several people didn’t get it in the last few days though. Then again our ratings on GB rise and fall like value of the Euro.

Jeremy Clarkson’s latest DVD is called Heaven & Hell and covers some of the best & worst cars of 2005. It does not include the new Bugatti as it was not out when the DVD was recorded. Jeremy continues his love of all things Ferrari waxing poetic about the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. This, his best of 2005, is one of three his showcases. As a Ferrari agnostic I was rather disappointed to see so many included. However he does feature the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and the Masarati Quattroporte. Inexplicably he has a head to head contest between a Chevy Corvette (ie big engine in a plastic car) vs the new TVR; the Sagaris. It is a given the TVR is a better looking car and better built; but why oh why didn’t Jeremy compare the car to the new Dodge Viper?

It being Clarkson he destroys several rubbish cars with explosives, stunt driving, a skip and of course his rapier wit.

All in all this is an amusing hour+ to spend avoiding the rubbish telly on at the moment. I suspect that this type of DVD gets bought and shared round to a group of friends. I suspect that Jon P will be itching to get his mits on this for a mellow night in after the New Year.

Let’s face it you might not always agree with him but Clarkson is great fun whether it be in his column, books (collected columns) solo TV shows & DVDs or Top Gear. And there is one thing for sure he is one of the few things that saves the sorry state of British telly.

It looks as though the London Underground system will be shut due to a strike on New Year’s Eve. The original idea, as suggested by London’s wretched mayor, Ken Livingstone, was to get the trains to run into the small hours of the morning, but his idea has been stiffed. It raises a grim smile to see one prominent Man of the People in a faceoff with another bunch of snivelling lefties. The unions claim their strike is motivated by fears about safety, a claim so transparently untrue that one almost admires their cheek. But seriously, this will wreck a lot of people’s plans and hopefully, may wake up the public to the fact that the public sector unions are still highly powerful, and able to cause great harm.

I’d like to see some hard words from Tory leader David Cameron on all this, but he seems determined to pitch for the dim-bulb Lib-Dem vote, so I would not stake the farm on it. Happy days.

In a 90 Second Video. Methinks it needs to be viewed by everyone in the MSM and replayed weekly.

There is a cracking end of the year SNN for all your aural needs. Some of the listener contributions are interesting and will no doubt be enraging multi-culturalists world-wide by the time you read this. Might be a fatwa or two for good measure as well.

And this lot are all barking

Not worrying about a little thing like Christmas; the latest BMOS is up.

The Britblog round-up is posted at Adloyada’s. The Bonfire is up for this week. We got the last Carnival of the Vanities of the current series. Harshly Mellow will be running things from now on.

Just in case you were wondering how bad holiday telly is in the UK: JT & I watched Touched by an Angel last night. And neither of us was drunk!

Stephen Pollard, the British journalist and occasional think tank wonk, does not like New Year’s Eve. He also hates Christmas Day. He hates a lot of things, it seems. Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes a bit of hate in life can be enlivening, such as hating Roy Keane or Ken Livingstone. But Pollard seems to be getting a bit desperate in his listing of hates, since I firmly recall that his article denouncing New Year’s Eve is a carbon copy of the article he wrote last year. Lame.

I used to quite like reading the American Spectator, although I find it a rather shrill place these days and it shows itself at its worst over the Intelligent Design controversy. For those not familiar, the ID debate is about folk who, unconvinced by Darwin’s ideas of evolution, claim that only some Intelligent Designer (ie, God) could have created a universe as complex as the one we inhabit. Darwinian scientist Richard Dawkins has already subjected the ID crew to the sort of intellectual pumelling that would probably be ruled inadmissible under today’s boxing laws. The American Spectator now tries to claim that western science, as we understand it, is itself a creation of Christianity, a claim which, for sheer brass neck, deserves some sort of prize. Has this magazine never heard of the frickin’ Greeks? I guess not.

I have two up over at Laurence’s 100 word stories podcasting venture.

She does not look happy…or it could be she takes after her master about this time of year?

Its a free 200mb download from all the usual Mac outlets Its called Food Force and its indoctirnation for your children in aide of the UN’s World Food Program. You spend 6 varied missions attempting to get food to the hungry on an island off the coast of Africa. The game is well made and has fairly low requirements. It will not really stress most gamers but its still good for a laugh for a few plays. The most tricky off the missions is dropping food parcels in “the safe area”. You need to take account of the wind and make sure it falls in the right place; points are awarded for how accurate you are to the starving people.

Those of us suspicious of the UN will be disappointed there are no offers of oil for food bribes in the game; even though you are tasked with getting food from all over the world.

The game is as cheesy and politically correct as you would expect from the UN but the game is well made and runs rather well. If you have a child, and are American, you can win a trip for two to the Super Bowl.

You have to admit its rather amusing to thing the UN has aped the US Army’s “America’s Army” game.

A PodCast Christmas Carol. Naturally, podcast-whore Laurence Simon is part of it!

New blog called Six Days manages to use the word wank in a piece about multiculturalism. Nice! Tom has examined another post of Six Days with some interesting thoughts.

He has been added to the blog-roll.

More idiocy on the beach riots; found via TIm Blair and its a doozy. This is interesting too.

Update: An Aussie Pastor is under death threats from guess who?

We celebrate the gift of life, we celebrate American freedom, and we celebrate the holiday.

From Ted Nugent’t holiday message; beats the normal PC crap doesn’t it?

Happy End of Year Celebrations however you celebrate it…or not.

From Shepherd Neame who don’t mind offending a few Germans along the way.

Spitfire is a damn good pint as well.

Kesher Talk has lots on the subject with some great links.

We sate among the stalls at Bethlehem;
The dumb kine from their fodder turning them,
Softened their horn’d faces,
To almost human gazes
Toward the newly Born:
The simple shepherds from the star-lit brooks
Brought visionary looks,
As yet in their astonished hearing rung
The strange sweet angel-tongue:
The magi of the East, in sandals worn,
Knelt reverent, sweeping round,
With long pale beards, their gifts upon the ground,
The incense, myrrh, and gold
These baby hands were impotent to hold:
So let all earthlies and celestials wait
Upon thy royal state.
Sleep, sleep, my kingly One!

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Merry Christmas to all; I’m not sure how much time I’ll have next week to post, so a Happy New Year to everyone if I’m not back before then.

the blog québécois

Colby Cosh takes on the case of the “swingers-club” in Montreal that has been causing such a ruckus in Canuck land. I personally think its says more about Canada that the Supreme Court had to make a ruling to protect the rights of consenting adults to do what they whilt.

Gee voting “problems” in the Olympic bid won it for London. The Greek delegate’s vote didn’t go to the right place. Can you say fix? Wonder who got bribed to make sure that happened and by whom. Madrid got shafted; I do so hope they appeal.

And over 10000 people have so far signed the petition to get an apology for a High School student who was banned from wearing his Clan kilt to a ball. Now I am not a Scot; but have been known for wearing a kilt (of black leather) to various occasions. This does smack of a case of something this HS would never do if the student was anything but white. Imagine, if you will, if the student were black and waying traditional African tribal dress?

Well done to Murray for compiling all those that have reported on this travesty of political correctness and are raising awareness.

My clan is Clan Metal:

The new Ovi is up. So is the Britblogger showcase; ditto the BestofMe Symphony.

Some new Cthulhu carols for you to sing at your local carol service.

And the dogs are out Mickey’s

Silent Running has SNN up for the week.

On and Stern has figured out what is wrong with the West…the US.

The Storyblogging Carnival is available for your reading pleasure. And there is a Carnival of Music to be read; this week it is short and sweet. The Bonfire is crackling away and so is the Carnival of the Vanities.

Like the recut of The Shining, A Christmas Gory reworks a seasonal classic for its own purposes. (For this clip you’ll need to select your connection speed—for the next one, click on its title, the first one listed.)

In the spirit of ecumenism we present Miss Sarah Silverman’s Hanukkah lament. (Shall we say that the language is somewhat, ah, irreverent?)

Oh deer. It seems that Mrs. Claus is withholding her charms; Santa is looking for alternatives. (Warning: Mildly NSFW.)

the blog québécois

Word has it that The Darkness’ latest has not been selling that well…

The STROKES, the DARKNESS and SUPER FURRY ANIMALS will perform at the One Earth benefit, aimed at raising global awareness of climate change, set for January 28th at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Details for the event, which will be broadcast around the world, have yet to be announced.

A sure sign your career is going down the tubes when you start doing these kind of daft “cause” gigs.

Via: Classic Rock News

It seems that pollution that not only creates cool colours at Sunset in big cities (see LA for instance) its actually good for the planet. You see it helps prevent the affects of global warming. So I am guessing this the reason that enviro-loons like Zack “rich as hell luddite” Goldsmith, are so anti-nuclear power. They want more coal fired plants, as are being build in China & India, to help the planet. Now if they had only explained things to me this way I might understand them and not think them just a bunch of communists under another name.

Many bloggers think the UN is useless at best and damn near close to evil at worst. Well Ron Silver, the actor, has gotten pretty fed up with their behaviour so he has made a film. There is a trailer and you can buy the DVD from the site. Expect Silver to be refered to as a Zionist agent in the near future.

Your Elf Name Is…

Pixie Fruit Cake

Found via Dean’s Place; rather nutty innit?

We must remember the primary reason for Christmas—to get me a new Xbox 360. However we also should take some time to commemorate the birth of a certain Jew some millenia previous. As an aide-memoire you can download, print out, and assemble these Christmas creches. The one pictured is from a 1940’s American design; there are others from Greek, German, and other traditions. Most of them are simple enough for children to cut out and put together.

You’ll need a free Adobe Acrobat reader; a color printer and some heavier-grade construction paper. Also you’ll need to register at the site.

the blog québécois

Eating fish twice a week is good for you, a group of the Great and the Good in the medical profession state. Wow. Knock me down with a feather. I’d never have thought eating fish was actually good for you. The medical benefits have been common knowledge for years. Seriously, there is no need to push this advice on me. I have been a hearty fish-eater since my teens when my folks slowly but surely weaned me off childhood pap. Sea bass, plaice, monkfish, trout, salmon, ahhhh. The problem, though, is that due to overfishing, many staples of the Brit. fish diet, like herring and cod, are now expensive. (Here is an interesting take on the issue by the libertarian Cato Institute).

Not surprisingly, fellow contributor Andrew Ian Dodge is a fan of octopus!

Well according to the law this Carol get-together on Parliament makes you subject to arrest. If my ankles are not too sore from skating the night before I just might attend this service. I love a good sing-song and it will be a good way to give the pipes a bit of excersise. If you go I will be the rumble in the back.

Update: No arrests, lots of press and a few familiar faces; including this bloke.

This lighting display, synchronized to music, has been making the rounds. Some people questioned its veracity; but as Snopes.com documents, it’s for real:

This display was the work of Carson Williams, a Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer who spent about three hours sequencing the 88 Light-O-Rama channels that controlled the 16,000 Christmas lights in his annual holiday lighting spectacular (from Christmas 2004). His 2005 display includes over 25,000 lights that he spent nearly two months and $10,000 to hook up. So that the Williams’ neighbors aren’t disturbed by constant noise, viewers driving by the house are informed by signs to tune in to a signal broadcast over a low-power FM radio station to hear the musical accompaniment.

He explains how he did it (using free and demo software) here.

Here’s the same house, set up for different music.

And here’s another one that I think is the best of the bunch. No information on where it is, or who built it.

the blog québécois