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My favourite part is when she describes Vladimir Putin as "one of the most successful politicians of our age."

Sure, he might have fixed elections, presided over institutionalised corruption and threatened his nearest neighbours with nuclear war, but at least he doesn't look stupid in running kit. 

Only in the Daily Mail...

Sad news. He was a good umpire and always seemed like a good guy as well.

I'm sure he'll be remembered every time an England score reaches 111.

DundeeRunner wrote (see)

Saw Martin Simpson recently, probably less than 100 in the gig.  Brilliant guitar playing.  A great guy, chatted to people afterwards.  Shame there were not more people there.  Did you ctach him on BBC4 from the Cambridge Folk Festival the other week.  He had his band with him there, when I saw him he was playing solo.

Best gig - Martin Simpson at Glasson Music Festival, 2008, or Curtis Fuller at Wigan Jazz Festival, early 2000s.

Worst gig - none really, except for a few dodgy uni bands.

Gig you regretfully missed - Show of Hands at the Albert Hall, 2007.

Gig you were lucky to see - Humphrey Lyttleton in late 2007, a few months before his death.

Mak's friend wrote (see)

Problem is, with all religious texts, that sections can be taken literally to fulfil the readers own beliefs. Which is why we religous fundementalists of all persuasions believing it is their god given duty to kill or assimilate those of other beliefs.

That can be true of lots of texts, not just religious ones. Lots of people read Darwin and concluded that they should give evolution a helping hand by wiping out those parts of humanity that they didn't want to see reproducing.

That's why responsible interpretation is important. If you spend serious time looking into culture and context, then the more extreme misreadings become far less likely.