Is the Guardian worse than it used to be?

fervently "Irish" people who've lived in another country for their entire lives are the worst

fuckin racist

Noel Gallagher tho yes

ah come on now

steady on

was mostly thinking of the Americans

you do get it with second generation English kids whose parents have raised them in a bubble of intense Irishness though

Was thinking about this a while ago after a) discovering that a local Irish-accented DJ/promoter who usually gets described - including by himself - as "that Irish guy" was born and bred in London b) listening to some Northern Irish people ranting about Shane MacGowan for similar reasons, but then I felt all funny, cz obviously I wouldn't want to catch myself thinking "how dare these second-generation immigrants still have an accent and play in bands influenced by traditional music" regarding other nationalities

(spelling out the obvious, sorry)

what's 'that irish guy's name', out of interest?

desmond

Stevie's link to TG upthread is indeed astonishing. What a wastrel, what a wanton, what a wretch.

That's why I was excited to read two excellently acerbic columns by a writer I'd previously never heard of

desmond's not a fucking irish name

it's not a black name either. what race of name is it at all?

Origin of the name Desmond:

A borrowing from the Irish, Desmond originated as a surname from the Irish place-name Deas-Mhumhna (South Munster) in the form of O'Deasmhumhnaigh (descendant of the Desmond man).

Not Irish my arse.

The original Earldom of Desmond, based on land holdings in Munster belonged the Anglo-Norman FitzGerald family hem hem.

sadly i have never met an Irishman named Porkpie

it alctually originates from the french des mondes, meaning "of the world"- irish equivalent "leis an domhain"- modernised- lesley anderson

you're talking out yer arse.

http://assets.gearlive.com/tvenvy/blogimages/desmond.png

That Gold piece is gold. The pic of her reading on her bed!

It says on the Guardian website that she’s freelance, and maybe that’s a personal choice which allows her to write for loads of different publications and cover a wider range of subjects. But regardless, the Guardian should snap her up while they can and commission her to write about all sorts of things in her inimitable style.

Truly, she has displaced the Nazis as history's greatest monster.

Petridis, you prick:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/24/bob-dylan-together-review

seriously, what the fuck is he on about

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/contributor/2007/09/26/alexis_petridis_140x140.jpg

the implication seemed to be that the White House might consider putting everything on hold until President Obama worked out the vital message Dylan had to impart regarding American foreign policy.

*puts little finger to corner of mouth*

bwahaha, that's just given me Petri Dish as Dr. Evil visions...

Gold's Nazi rant has way more comments than any other CiF article this week which could well prove the point to some extent

no need to compete with the independent

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/apr/25/israel-gaza-play-caryl-churchill-website

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/may/05/bartons-britain-coventry?page=2

This city was immortalised in song 28 years ago by local band the Specials. They portrayed the sense of defeat in Britain during the early 1980s, when the country was in the throes of recession and the Conservative government began its programme of privatisation. The manufacturing heartland of the Midlands was especially hard-hit; in Coventry, unemployment stood at 20%, one of the highest rates in the UK. "This town," sang the Specials, "is coming like a ghost town."

Next week the band is set to return. Having re-formed and enjoyed a successful reunion tour, they will play a sold-out homecoming gig at the Ricoh Arena. "I'm going!" nods a woman in the tourist office. "I kept phoning and phoning the ticket hotline until I got through!" There seems something timely about the Specials' return to this city as Britain finds itself once more in recession. "No job to be found in this country," they sang in 1981. "Can't go on no more/ The people getting angry."

Time has brought other changes, too. The nightclub Locarno - referenced in Ghost Town's lyrics "Bands won't play no more/too much fighting on the dancefloor"- is now the Central City Library. In the space where people once danced, kissed and watched bands, there are cookery books, biographies and teen romances.

All across the city linger memories of the Specials: the new plaque by the canal that commemorates the 2-Tone trail relating to the band's record label; the couple who own the nearby tattoo parlour, he telling of the customers who come in wanting Specials tattoos, she with her recollections of the band member who was once her babysitter.

A sense of hope permeates the city on this grey midweek afternoon. Against the gloom of pawnbrokers, pound shops and concrete, there's a ferocity of colour: the yellow, maroon, and violet in the floral displays, the glorious stained glass of Holy Trinity Church, and from the bridge, a view of green leaves, and cherry blossom falling on the pavements.

this cherry blossom won't feed my kids

Against the gloom of pawnbrokers, pound shops and concrete

Concrete? You could get away with that sort of thing in the 70s but now?

coventry? i wish they would send her to coventry etc, etc.

In my day it was all nightclubs and supermarkets, now it's libraries and local shops. They'll be turning sex shops into post offices next, last one left please turn out the "energy saving" lights.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/06/amy-winehouse-jean-rhys-addiction

Amy Winehouse turns her black, bewildered eyes towards the cameras and we too are bewildered. Why does she seem to want to kill herself with drugs? Is the source of her pain the source of her genius? We seem to have been asking these questions for years, as she disintegrates yet further, live on Sky News.

I am an alcoholic writer with seven years of abstinence but, when I read Jean Rhys, I want to drink. She takes me into the isolated room, and I just want to drink with her.

Didn't realise that was a quote for a second there. I was a bit O_O

Yes, not only is TG an alcoholic, she's also, apparently, a, a ... a writer.

Talking of writers, I have forgotten to announce that Laura Barton's first novel will be published next year.

Fear I'll have to skip that due to prior reading commitments.

You'd think by now somebody might've noticed that "alcoholics" - a word that's pretty debased anyway - are not especially awesome at offering insights into their condition.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/may/05/dna-database-justice

"I don't think I should be held without charge for more than a couple of weeks."

They should try this out.

But, Jacqui, I'd like you to keep my DNA. For as long as you want.

Fnarr.

Results 1 - 10 of about 158 for "liberal hardman". (0.38 seconds)

myerson should read his own paper:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/28/ukcrime.forensicscience

"I suspect most people imagine that all DNA profiles obtained emanate from blood, semen, or some other clear stain. But often there is no visible stain at all, and the profile is a mixture. Mixtures create the potential for more difficulty. By way of illustration: if I have profile AB and you have profile CD, our mixed cells would have a profile ABCD. However, the same profile could be produced by two people with profiles AC and BD, or AD and BC. If this mixture was found at a crime scene, we now have six "suspect" profiles. If the person with the BD profile is unlucky enough to live in the area where the crime was committed, BD now needs to explain why he has no association with the material found at the scene. In fact, a mixed profile could generate about 60,000 suspects."