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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dfDek1V9JI

Nuff said.

Oh bloody hell, here we go again
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24655826

Meanwhile...
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100241245/madeleine-mccann-the-police-are-hunting-for-a-needle-in-a-haystack-should-we-really-be-drawn-into-this-circus/

I know this is sacrilege to say around these parts...

But I'm no fan of Amber Alerts.

For mainly the reasons in the second article you cite above. But also, because of the huge costs for so little in return.

The main argument for the Amber Alerts is that if it saves one child it will be worth it. But will it really? And has it actually saved many or any children? I don't know. I really don't. Many children ARE found following Amber Alerts, but they're almost always found through normal search procedures, often at a friend's or relative's. Or it's a simple case of a custody dispute.

Random child abductions DO happen, but at nowhere near the frequency the public is lead to believe they happen. And Amber Alerts feed that mistaken belief. They add to the general sense of fear we have in this culture.

One thing is for sure, far too many Amber Alerts are issued. The system was invented specifically for child abduction cases where the survival rate of children drops quickly in the first three hours. Having as many eyes as possible looking for the child in those hours makes some sense. But far too many Alerts are issued for cases that don't fit that criterion. And the more alerts there are, the more the public dismisses them and the less effectual they become.

But you can't complain... The public loves it. They believe it works FAR more often than it actually does, if it does at all.

On a related note, the latest subject for public paranoia, media bile and vitriol and a general sense of prejudice is the Roma, who aren't exactly new to any of that anyway. There's the case in Greece where a blonde blue-eyed child was taken from a Roma family by authorities a week or two back. All of a sudden some 8,000 people have come out of the woodwork claiming it might be their child.

Whether or not that led to Irish authorities taking two children away from Roma families in different parts of Ireland, only to discover after DNA testing (at least, in the first case) that in both cases it *was* their kid, I couldn't possibly comment.

Has anti-immigrant fear and hatred EVER been at such an all time high and so far spread around the globe since the 19th century?

Britain in the 70s and early 80s was pretty bad. We haven't had as many National Front/Anti Nazi League-style marches or events as there were back then. I think the current level might be more to do with it being more visible now because social media has given everyone (including the bigots) multiple and widely-read opportunities for expressing their views in ways that ordinary people have never had. When I lived in East Ham in the early 80s I couldn't go to Queens Market in Upton Park on a Saturday without seeing two or three people selling the NF newspaper on the street, although I can't remember now what it was called.

It was always there, just more hidden, but places such as Twitter and Facebook, and the proliferation of comments sections have allowed people to spread it more widely and with a loud voice, and that has probably encouraged others to join in who might not otherwise have done so.

I guess, what I'm really noticing is how widespread it is. All across Europe. Here in the US with the immigration reform 'debate'. I've also heard about issues in Australia and Southeast Asia.

It could just be a case of confirmation bias on my part though. Maybe I just wasn't paying that much attention before.

I must admit to a high degree of astonishment at how apparently deeply rooted it is and how widespread. And how unfazed so many people are about expressing it and letting anyone know about their prejudice and bigotry.

Incidentally, before I corrected it, I spelled that 'bogitry'. If I'd been drinking tea at the time it would probably have exited through my nose

to make a very simplistic comparison... in the Great Depression unemployment in the States was around 20% and I think it was similar (give or take a few per cent) in Europe.

Unemployment in Spain is currently around 20% (maybe a bit less) but in the under 35s it's around 25%. In the UK for all the talk of a recovery the unemployment and underemployment rates are horrendous - added to the wage freezes most people are enjoying and the zero hours contracts.

There are more zero hours contracts, I believe, in Germany than the UK and unemployment here is also high. That is multiplied more or less across all of Europe and beyond while we all go through what is being called the Great Recession.

So... the rise of nationalism and racism and any other scapegoating seems to be a touch of déja vu, if you ask me. Only now it is so much easier to spread the word.

The ferocity of it in Russia is mind-boggling. Not to mention the anti-gay stuff that's going on there too.

it is truly frightening. It's scary here too sometimes

"At the moment anyone can rock up and play whatever they like"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24653453

Anyone can what?


In other news, it turns out that gypsies don't steal babies after all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24673804
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24645947

Goodness, who knew?

"A British beef steak and craft ale pie"


No. No, no, no. It's a beef and ale pie or it's nothing. I'm okay with 'beef and real ale pie'. That's a damn sight more British than 'craft ale'.

This is what happens when you give the marketers too much power when selling your product

Here's the link http://edsbeer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/hardknott-are-ahead-of-curve.html

Hashtags in music scores http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130115132749AAzCGoE

Stop ing. It's Yahoo Answers, a haven for trolls. There's a high probability that this isn't a sincere(ly idiotic) question.

Many are just created for a bit of "karma whoring".

Nevermind. away. I checked the questioner's past and she's a Belieber.

I came across 'troll' as part of a clue in a cryptic crossword yesterday. That's the first time I've seen it used that way in a crossword.

Disagreeable poster sending up the antiquated, mostly broken public transport (10)


Look away now if you're still working on Wednesday's Guardian crossword and haven't worked out 14 down...








The answer is trolleybus.

Valley boys http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25232387


It's true. I've noticed this happening.