News and Reviews – Straight to the Point

Climate Change Scepticism On The Rise?

Feb 5

BBC News has caused controversy with a new public opinion poll on climate change. In a poll asking “Do you think global warming is taking place?” 25% of the British public replied No. This is a 10% increase from the 15% that replied no in the same poll only 3 months ago.

snowy britain

So what does this mean? BBC News has interpreted this poll to mean that “climate scepticism is on the rise“. I interpreted this poll to show that the BBC are stupid. Firstly, you will often catch me reinforcing the point that public opinion on climate change is totally irrelevant. We cannot simply wish away the damage we have done and continue to do to our environment. Second, the question. The question was not ‘Do you think climate change is taking place?’. They blatantly substituted the correct phrase for global warming, one possible effect of climate change, only to then call it a phrase on climate change. But perhaps the stupidest part of this servery is the timing. It is hardly surprising that less people will believe the world is getting hotter, weeks after their country experiences one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. Had you asked them if they thought the climate was changing, perhaps we would have very different statistics.

Verdict: BBC Fail (Again) See here for previous fails.

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The Bird is The Word

Jan 31

Alot of the time, Art is wanky pretentious shite. But sometimes it’s brilliant. This is one of those times:

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How To Report The News

Jan 31

Here at skip to the end we like straight talking, balls out honesty. Charlie Brooker has asserted himself as one of the most brutal social commentators of recent times and just so happens to be hilarious at the same time. This week he climbs up to the top of the Viral Video Chart with his report on How to report the News.

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The Men Who Stare At Goats

Jan 29

One of the best and most overlooked films of 2009 was the fantastic “The Men Who Stare At Goats“. Funny, thought provoking and disturbing this is definitely a movie for our time. Take a look at this trailer:

This is a film adaptation of the book by the investigative journalist Jon Ronson. This book is a work of non-fiction which examines the more far out experiments undertaken by the CIA, psychic warfare, mind control.  The film takes the content of the book and hangs a fictional story on it set during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, staring Ewan McGregor as an investigative reporter and George Clooney as an ex special forces ‘Jedi Warrior’. This is a piece of inspired casting as the film makes repeated Star Wars references. The goats of the title are a recurring motif throughout the film.  In flashback we learn that one of the objectives of the psychic warfare program was to train a soldier to kill one of these unfortunate  animals using the power of the mind alone. Clooney’s character succeeds in this, which he sees as bringing curse upon himself and the New Earth Army as he has used his powers for evil and, “turned to the dark side”. There are a lot of laughs, but there is a serious message at the heart of this film. In particular questions about the secret development and use of secret psychological torture techniques on captives in the global war on terror.

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Valentines gifts

Jan 28

Valentines day is coming up on us fast, and while there are many who dislike this time of year there are others who love it. For every vocal opponent of consumerism and commercialisation there are at last as many who just can’t get enough. for these folks no opportunity to buy gifts can go by without them rushing to the shops to find things for those dear to them. And who can blame them, there are some great things out there.

Some people however, might need to ask themselves a few questions about what it is they are buying. For instance I’m not quite sure what the reaction the guy who gave this would get from his ladyfriend:

rudeBear

Top marks for humour, but most women would prefer flowers. And with some foxy lingerie, everybody’s happy!

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When Knicker Lizards Strike

Jan 27

I know that wildlife smuggling is not really any kind of laughing matter, but when I read this story I was on the floor.  NZ customs officials found no less than FORTY FOUR lizards of various types ‘concealed’ in his underwear. Just think about that for a second. Forty four. Lizards. In his pants.

a lizard

Given what has been happening to airport security lately its amazing this guy thought he could get away with it. I don’t know, maybe that’s his thing: having security guards pulling scaled reptiles from his undercrackers. Its weird enough to be a fetish. If half the things we have heard about Angelina Jolie over the ears are true maybe she has experimented with covert reptilian  lingerie funtime. That sounds good actually, maybe I will pack a little something ‘extra’  for my trip to Malaga this summer!

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