Gothamist (Free subscription) | yesterday
One the great figures in New York sports officially retired this week. Bob Sheppard, the public address announcer of the Yankees, Giants and St. John’s called it quits at the ripe old age of 99. Sheppard, who worked for the Yankees from 1951-2007 and the Giants from 1956-2006 was as much a part of the game as the players. Usually you would hear the words as you made your way to your seats, “Good...
Working Class Tory (Free subscription) | 28/11/2009
I never thought I'd praise Gordon Brown twice in a day, but I've managed it today. This is from the Independent's Steve Richards on Blair's thinking before and during the Iraq war: In his diaries Chris Mullin reports a conversation with Blair's close ally, Alan Milburn , during the build up to war. Milburn told Mullin that after the conflict Blair would be so strong that he would sack Gordon Brown...
Adam Smith Institute Blog (Free subscription) | 25/11/2009
Chris Mullin is right when he states that £64,000 isn't peanuts. It's not. It's 253% more than the national median wage , or roughly double if you include a London weighting figure of 20%. (The Family Spending 2008 figures conclude that London living is 20% more expensive). So it's fair to conclude that politicians have an easier life than the majority of us on their 'basic' salary. Let's also...
Keep Tony Blair For PM (Free subscription) | 16/11/2009
Chris Mullin: Tabloid culture destroying political reporting. Baroness Buscombe of PCC said the press should be congratulated over expenses leak.
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 16/11/2009
The rise of the feeding frenzy means no rational discussion is possible without the risk of triggering hysteria As the relationship between Gordon Brown and the Sun reaches a new low , we reprint one MP's attack on political journalism The sad truth is that for much of our media (and not just the tabloids), political journalism has become a form of warfare in which anything goes. "Tabloid"...
Golden State Of Mind (Free subscription) | 14/11/2009
More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP Poor guy. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) Browse more photos » It amazes me how little love coach Don Nelson gets after coaching masterfully and overachieving with not 1, but 2 poorly constructed rosters (2006-2007 WE BELIEVE and 2007-2008 48 wins) by former GM Chris Mullin, should-be-former team president Robert Rowell, and the worst owner in all of sports Chris...
Labourlist (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
The Paul Richards Column Last week I wrote about the pop music that influenced me , and many others, in the Labour Party in the 1980s. Since then, I’ve been reflecting on the television dramas which guided a generation towards left-wing politics in the same decade. For me, there were three BBC dramas which stood out in the decade that gave us Breakfast TV and Treasure Hunt. For a generation...
UK Commentators (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
It's just the way they are. From the diaries of former Cabinet Minister (and protector of the Birmingham pub bombers' identities) Chris Mullin, serialised in the Mail : January 21, 2004 To the Parliamentary Party, where there was discussion about the next Queen's Speech. Ann Cryer [MP] said we needed a managed immigration policy, based on ability to find jobs; not on finding a wife or husband with...
Harry's Place (Free subscription) | 08/11/2009
This is a guest post by Ash of Mixtogether The Sunday Times reports a home office cover up over immigration policy. Their article closes with a damning quote: Chris Mullin, a former minister, recalled in his memoirs that ministers had “barely touched the rackets that surrounded arranged marriages . . . terrified of the huge cry [...]
John Rentoul (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
Gordon Brown has made a speech on Afghanistan. Events Dear Boy, Events points out its central contradiction most succinctly: "We cannot, will not and must not walk away." But, on the other hand: "I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption." Well, which is it? As with any Brown speech, it falls...
Keith Hann - Why Oh Why? (Free subscription) | 27/10/2009
Much has been written lately about the BNP and the politics of hate. Yet I have always seen hatred as rather a speciality of the Labour Party. They hate the ancient institutions of this country, which is why we have abortions like the “reformed” House of Lords and the swish new Supreme Court, which sprang into life on a whim of Tony Blair’s without even being fleshed out on the traditional...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 20/10/2009
Chris Mullin writes: To those of us who believe that British justice is fallible, Ludo Kennedy ( obituary, 20 October ) was an icon. Although, these days, even some of the highest judges in the land have been known quietly to concede that the system over which they preside is capable of making mistakes, in Ludo's day few, if any, were prepared to contemplate that possibility. What's more – as...
Golden State Of Mind (Free subscription) | 15/10/2009
Before we get to this last installment let's rewind the tape a bit: Part 1 : Don Nelson, Monta Ellis , and Stephen Jackson Drama plus the Nellie-Monta- Stephen Curry triangle Part 2 : Brandan Wright , Andris Biedrins , and Chris Mullin Part 3 : Robert Rowell's incompetence and the shopping on Andris Biedrins who my colleague Adam called The Forgotten Warrior [ Tim Kawakami's Blog ] Jump for some thoughts...
Golden State Of Mind (Free subscription) | 13/10/2009
Psychology of Hoopsology 101: Muscle memory is the best type of procedural memory Preview/ Open Thread (1870+ Comments) Final Box Score Jump like it's (to)Morrow. Please excuse the ultra-brevity on this extra mini-recap. I'll be perfectly honest. I just wanted another excuse to run this poll for the 3rd time in as many Dubs games. I also wanted to highlight Anthony Morrow aka Chocolate Rain aka AMMO...
Liberal Burblings (Free subscription) | 03/10/2009
Congratulations to Frank Riley of Hexham for this fantastic letter in the Guardian today: Compare and contrast: "The Labour party has finally learned to love Peter Mandelson . It took a long time but we finally got there" (Chris Mullin MP, How deep is your love , 29 September). "Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache … But...
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