What exactly is this message, displayed on the London Underground? Is it a come-on from a tonier paper--The Times, perhaps? A pitch to get off dead-tree communications altogether, and follow The Guardian online? No, as the fine print makes clear, it's a plea from the Mayor of London and Transport for London to avoid subway clutter by disposing of your reading matter in an appropriate recycling receptacle: Newspapers left on the Tube can jam doors and cause delays to your journey. Take your newspaper with you or put it in the bin to to be recycled.  ...

29 May, 2012

The big story in the UK today? A British soldier dies in Afghanistan. The PM sends a handwritten a condolence letter, but misspells the soldier's name. The mother makes a stink. The PM calls. The mother records the call. The mother turned the tape over to the tabloid Sun, whose outrage barely masked its glee. The Guardian and the Times have more balanced accounts. There are few things more sacred in journalism, politics, and life than the grieving mother of a soldier killed in action. In this case, however, having listened to the call with rapt horror,  my symathies go to Brown. [UPDATE] Geraint Jones writes check in...

10 November, 2009