h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Happy am I.

I've discovered

"Cameron Brown and Clegg"

is an anagram of

"Gamble and Concern Grow".

11 down is 'wallaby', by the way.

Thanks, it was really confusing.

Hopper's regressive testicle causes interference (7)

Although you'll have to explain how 'way' = 'causes interference'

A cause is a a way.

Uh-uh. Gets in the way.

I could write shit-hot cryptic crosswords. Why can't I get a job in a warehouse?

I blame Capitalism.


But you knew that about me.

Salmond is being getting groans and boos from the QT audience with his little remarks on not being included in the leaders debate.

Does this prove that Brummies are imperialists?

Of course not. What it *might* men is that they, being unfamiliar with specifically Scottish issues, may not have understood his argument. Which is kind of his point.

It's a reasonable argument, even if one disagrees with it. It hardly warrants groans and boos.

That's the average QT audience for ya I still remember how dirty I felt feeling a little sorry for Nick Griffin when he was on QT. I don't condone him or his horrible little party one bit, but what was the point of him being on the programme when he could barely get a word in? Even the fascists should be allowed their say.

>> Even the fascists should be allowed their say. That's a topic for a whole other thread. Literally. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F19585?thread=7457636&skip=0&show=20

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but that episode of QT that featured Griffin was extremely biased. I'm trying to figure out why you feel the need to point out that other thread to be honest.

I saw that programme too. I didn't think it biased. Griffin had plenty of chance to say his piece. Yes there was some heckling and calling out etc, and a good thing to, in a free society, given what he says. The audience are only allowed a small amount of time to follow up with questions. Most of the time they have to just sit there, or desperately put their hands up and hope to be chosen. The same thing happened to Margaret Beckett at the height of the 'expenses scandal'. Heckling etc is a tradition with a long history here. If Nick Griffin is so pathetic that he can't deal with the rough and tumble of political meetings and debate, he shouldn't be in politics.

In what way do you think it biased?

Perhaps because the entire programme stopped being a discussion on the prevailing issues of the week and became an all-sides assault on the one man. Don't get me wrong, I dislike him as much as any, but it's disengenuous to think that that episode wasn't as jaundiced as a Michael Moore doc.

>>Heckling etc is a tradition with a long history here.

QT is not open mic night at the local comedy club. It's an arena for political discussion. What you're describing is an audience of John Humphreyses. Pass the Tech 9.

>It's an arena for political discussion.<

It's merely an arena for political discussion. Yes, and that includes audience/voters participation in that format. Audiences will participate in various ways..partly like being picked if they've got their hands up, and partly by a little bit of yah booh. I've never seen a QT where that's got even vaguely out of control. I actually think that people on the whole are very restrained and well behaved. Especially compared with what goes on in the Mother of Parliaments regularly at PMQ. I've never seen heckling on QT that comes even close to the kind of stuff regularly going on in the House of Commons. And that's also not an open mic at the local comedy club.

>What you're describing is an audience of John Humphreyses. Pass the Tech 9.<

No idea what you mean.

So QT was an own goal. then. Griffin achieved a sense of victimhood. 'They' don't want us to hear what he has to say.


Well...I hate to say...but I'm on record as being sceptical that he'll be beaten merely by reasoned argument from the liberal intelligentsia.

Fords may have been commenting in jest or not, the QT audience was not especially unkind to Griffin. Any evasive creep spouting gobbledygook on a QT panel gets the same treatment. Especially if there's been a lot of media attention on them.
The anti-fascist assault on the BBC and free speech in effort to get in on some of the media spotlight... that made BNP look relatively respectable.

As BNP appearances on the QT become normalised and if the anti-fascist thugs behave themselves episodes should be less Griffin-centric.

Audience members that had things to say to Griffin mostly made pretty cogent points.

Whether you agree with them or not, that's the anti-fascist's point, Jack. There's nothing normal about pretending that fascism is part of polite, political debate.

But we live in a society that has freedom of speech (although I'm not sure for how long - hello Digital Economy Bill), so even though most of us would rather poke oursleves in the eye with a stick, that means the extremists should get to have their say. Think about it - Griffin hardly got a chance to spew his bile on QT; I'm all for him and his horrible little party being heard because then more people will come to realise how vile his lot truly are.