Boris Johnson: Trust Issues

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image: AP Photo/Matt York.

And there was me thinking Boris Johnson was an original thinker.

Clearly his aerial antics at the Olympics a few months ago were a ruse to perpetuate the myth that he’s just a posh, vaguely confused buffer who couldn’t possibly do as much damage in a position of authority as someone with half a brain obviously can.

The truth is, he just nicked the idea off Richard Branson, who was prompting questions about his own rope handling competency as long ago as last October.

Bad Boris! No Downing St for you!

#NoMorePage3: Symbolism, Not Censorship

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image via tumblr.

Martin Robbins of the New Statesman has criticised Lucy Holmes’ NoMorePage3 campaign, claiming that more nudity, not less, is the answer to defeating misogyny in popular culture.

He is not a fan of The Sun newspaper’s daily titfest, nor is he a misogynist who believes that a woman’s place is to be objectified.  He is an intellectual, which makes it all the more disappointing that he should use a national platform to casually deconstruct a movement that should have been made years ago.

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Jimmy Savile: Keep Quiet & Carry On

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image: @SOTCAA.

Without making assumptions of guilt or innocence, the response of a sizeable minority of people towards the recent allegations against Jimmy Savile is making it increasingly clear to me how this kind of thing might have gone unchecked for so long.

I realise it must be horrendous for his family, but the level of anger directed towards the women claiming he assaulted them – the preferred option apparently to “let him Rest In Peace” – frightens me.

I thought we’d made some progress since the 70’s. Obviously not.

More: Grace Dent, Independent. ‘Soon, Pervert, Soon‘.

Pussy Riot: Let Us In. We’ll Be Good, Promise ;)

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Two months after Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison for performing a punk prayer in a Moscow cathedral, the music community has issued it’s first riposte.

Whether NY art collective MEN, featuring Le Tigre’s JD Samson, will be invited to perform ‘Let Them Out Or Let Me In’ in the same cathedral remains to be seen, but an invite would be a lovely gesture given the Russian Orthodox Church’s recent PR rethink.

Don’t hold your breath, team.

Back To School With The Springboks

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image: Gallo Images/Getty Images Europe.

After years of cheating, scamming and lying, I’ve finally found something I have in common with an elite athlete.

Admittedly being forced to do PE in my vest and pants when I was five isn’t quite the same as a full on training session with the Springboks, but it’s probably as traumatic.

Achievement unlocked, I think.

Shirley Manson: Divisive, Much?

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image via twitter.

Garbage have been going for almost twenty years now (shudder), but it seems that front woman Shirley Manson still manages to provoke terror and confusion wherever she goes.

Good to see some things never change.

Parenting 101: Don’t Encourage Blokes To Stalk Your Daughter. Duh!

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Jesus. And I thought my Dad’s habit of keeping an emergency cake in his top pocket was embarrassing. Image: salon.com.

What would you do if found out your daughter was gay and had married her civil partner? Would you:

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Tony Robinson: You Can Have This One For Free

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image: REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli.

Funny how this has never turned up on one of Tony Robinson’s ‘Worst Jobs‘ programmes, isn’t it?

Perhaps his ‘getting his hands dirty’ enthusiasm has it’s boundaries. Because intimate tanning smearer is definitely up there.

Parkour Paramilitary: A New Kind Of Training Camp

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Image: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem.

Given the world we live in, it’s only a matter of time before speculation begins (from those with a specialist news agenda) that these Palestinian kids are training in some new fangled suicide bombing technique rather than practicing Parkour, which is what they’re actually doing.

Best enjoy the pics while you still can do so without questioning your politics, really.

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