The Woolas Walks Again

Presumably because he heard that Joanna Lumley was visiting Nepal, the delightful Phil Woolas has at last unstuck himself from the sole of her shoe and announced a new, tougher regime for people who apply for a British passport. Gosh. Another one. The new regime will penalise those who fail to integrate into New New Labour's idea of "the British way of life" or who show "an active disregard for UK values". Such active disregard could include protesting against British wars (or demonstrating against British troops, which is obviously the same thing) or showing undue concern for one's own rights in circumstances where the Government finds it expedient to revoke them. On the other hand, immigrants who take on jobs that are too cheap, dirty or distasteful for those who were born to their Britishness could find themselves privileged: "migrants who contribute to the 'democratic life of the country' by canvassing for political parties could find the application process speeded up so that it takes one year instead of three".

On a far more refined note, Giovanni Tiso is as thoughtful and interesting as ever with a post on the horrific trade in transplanted book spines which leads seamlessly into an appreciation of Too Loud a Solitude by the Czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal. There's also a link to my Satanic Supplement, complete with the shortest review I've had so far, and the only one to sound like Carlos Fuentes as filmed by Samuel Z Arkoff and Roger Corman. Don't waste it.