Paul Bentham

Communist-style price-fixing in the land of Liberty 🗽

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The US will never again be “the land of the free” until its people remember how to return to being “the home of the brave”.

Remember that when you clutch your chests and sing those lines, y’all…

Well, we haven’t had a fortnight since the clocks went back and I’m already ‘welcoming’ the first cold of the winter. Pushing back against the squelchiness and disconcerting nasal noises with a Lempsip - with an added splodge of manuka honey…

YouTube video by First To Eleven "November Rain" - Guns n' Roses (Cover by First to Eleven)

This is a very faithful version… 📅☔️
youtu.be/XgqQBcJDhxI

Right. So basically, this “six-seven” thing is just Gen Alpha thinking they’ve invented ‘Mornington Crescent’, isn’t it?

You’ve got to love this guy. A Bayern legend who played 2 seasons for United, past his peak. Since retirement, he’s become United’s no.1 fan in Germany. Bayern beat Dortmund in der Klassiker on Friday and he was like “strong performance”. Today, after the win at Anfield, this:
x.com/bschweinstei...

It blows my mind that, less than 48 hours after Paul McCartney played US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings played an NFL game held there. 🤯

I cannot recommend you enough to install the Wikipedia app on your devices and use it like you would any search engine. Nowadays they even have tabs so you can open many articles at once.

And, if you can, please donate to the foundation. It has survived the internet enshittification that way.

Nottingham Forest: 'Sacked Ange Postecoglou was not the right fit' Ange Postecoglou had only just moved into his new flat when he was sacked by Nottingham Forest, ending one of the shortest reigns in Premier League history.

Sadly, this very Premier-League-era-centric piece rather spectacularly fails to take the opportunity to remind us that, at Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou has managed to beat even Brian Clough’s most remarkable record - by five days…

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

a woman reaches out to touch a guitar in a glass case with the caption made with mematic ALT: a woman reaches out to touch a guitar in a glass case with the caption made with mematic

I like watching #TOTP on a Friday night, partly for the music, partly to speculate what I would have been doing that week but mostly, I think, to nerd out on some very niche guitars that you hardly ever see. Tonight’s (October 1979) offering: a Fender Deluxe Telecaster…

a man says mama i 'm coming home in a black and white photo ALT: a man says mama i 'm coming home in a black and white photo

Finally got round to watching the final Ozzy Osbourne documentary on iPlayer. As expected, it’s the very definition of ‘bittersweet’.

a man is sitting in a red car that is starring tom selleck ALT: a man is sitting in a red car that is starring tom selleck

If you’re my age, you might agree that was the coolest three seconds of the entire 1980s….

Hahahahahahah! 🍊😡

Pentagon Expands Its Restrictions on Reporter Access

“Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.”
George Orwell

- The Pentagon will require journalists to sign a pledge and agree to report only approved and officially released information.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...

Starmer set to announce UK recognition of Palestinian state A host of countries, including France and Canada, are expected to do the same when world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly next week.

Finally…. 🇵🇸

Starmer set to announce UK recognition of Palestinian state www.bbc.com/news/article...

Andy Burnham, the man who would be king The Greater Manchester mayor has made no secret of his Labour leadership ambitions, but faces significant obstacles

I’ve been saying this for years - and have had it on quite good authority that many in the Labour Party have been thinking about it too…

www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...

a large screen shows a man 's face and says ingsoc ALT: a large screen shows a man 's face and says ingsoc

The mass misunderstanding of the words ‘liberal’ and ‘radical’ are at the root of much of the division we’re seeing being stoked. Before you join today’s Two Minutes Hate, consider the warnings of those who would have you believe a word can have its opposite meaning…

YouTube video by Paul Bentham 'Rest In Peace' (Extreme)

Have you had your Severe Alert? It's a little different from the Extreme Alert we had a couple of years ago. The Severe one was a continuous monotone - but the Extreme one sounds more like this:

youtu.be/JGstZ5x3O9M

donald trump is giving a speech at a debate and says no comment . ALT: donald trump is giving a speech at a debate and says no comment .

I’ve just re-read MacBeth for the first time in decades, trying to remember all the themes it was supposed to convey. At the Banquo’s ghost scene, it felt just like an allegory for Trump’s strange behaviours as he’s tormented by the ghost of Epstein. Talk about being timeless…

“All right, Tosh?”

#OneForTheTeenagers

I’m done with ‘chat show’ podcasts. However interesting the guest, the host(s) find a way to interrupt, talk over or derail every answer. They’ll then say it’s to “keep it flowing” - the implication being that they expect all listeners to have the attention span of a 4 year-old.

a group of people are dancing in a dark room with smoke coming out of the walls . ALT: a group of people are dancing in a dark room with smoke coming out of the walls .

This month, I’m gonna party like it’s 1992…

England vs India: Series has been best since 2005 Ashes, says Jonathan Agnew The drawn series between England and India has been every bit as

I’d like to add to Aggers’ analysis that the atmosphere in the stands at all 5 Tests was hugely enhanced by vocal support for India - from a largely UK-based Indian diaspora. May the clear rejection of Tebbit’s “cricket test” be his most profound legacy…
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

Ambient temperature and the occurrence of collective violence: a new analysis - PubMed Prevalent folklore suggests that riots tend to occur during periods of very hot weather. Baron and Ransberger examined 102 major riots in the United States between 1967 and 1971 and concluded that the...

When you find out that, empirically, rioting almost always happens when weather conditions are at their most benign, it does rather pose a question why it’s so ‘necessary’ for certain people to call for demonstrations outside certain hotels in August…

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/458551/#:~:t....

England vs India cricket LIVE: Fifth Test, day four, The Oval - scores, highlights & radio England face India in the fifth Test at The Oval - follow live scores, radio commentary, video highlights and updates.

🎼🎵”Whoaaa, we’re seven-eighths of the way there,
Whoa-ohh, living on a prayer…”🎶
#TheCricket
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

England vs India cricket LIVE: Fifth Test, day four, The Oval - scores, highlights & radio England face India in the fifth Test at The Oval - follow live scores, radio commentary, video highlights and updates.

🎼🎵”Whoaaa, we’re three-quarters of the way there,
Whoa-ohh, living on a prayer…”🎶
#TheCricket
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

England vs India cricket LIVE: Fifth Test, day four, The Oval - scores, highlights & radio England face India in the fifth Test at The Oval - follow live scores, radio commentary, video highlights and updates.

🎼🎵”Whoaaa, we’re two-thirds of the way there,
Whoa-ohh, living on a prayer…”🎶
#TheCricket
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

There’s definitely an element of the England cricket fanbase that questions and bemoans the inclusion of Old Trafford as a Test venue: “not rainy Manchester” etc. Worth remembering that not one ball was lost to rain last week and they’ve already been off twice at The Oval today…

Ozzy Osbourne gets raucous and emotional send-off in Birmingham A tearful Sharon Osbourne accompanies Ozzy's coffin through Birmingham, watched by a large crowd.

I watched BBC WM regional news at 6:30 for extra coverage of Ozzy’s funeral. What struck me most was that his music & appeal were largely about being an outsider. And yet Birmingham was filled with outsiders, all celebrating their outsider-ness together. 🤘

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In The Party Stand at Old Trafford…

On a whim, at the changes of innings today, I bought a pair of tickets for tomorrow’s final day at Old Trafford. Since India have been 0/2, I’ve been in the very unfamiliar position of not really wanting England to take any more wickets. 😧
#TheCricket