A march of German neo-Nazis is not a good thing to happen, although at least a large procession of protestors disrupted the fascists.

In a surprising detail, the anti-fascist protesters waved US, UK and Israeli flags. Gene at Harry’s Place appears, somewhat spuriously, to equate this with Iraq and the War on Terror.

It seem rather more likely that the protesters were celebrating the US/UK defeat of Naziism and carrying the Star of David flag to symbolise the Jews who suffered at the fascists’ hands… although hell, maybe they *were* all hardcore Blairites and Zionists.

Memo to the confused: the fascist march is a nasty example of antisemitism. A mayor abusing an extremist newspaper is not.

There was a time when I viewed the Telegraph as one of the last British newspapers to practice real journalism. Obviously its columnists included wingnuts like Mark Steyn and Barbara Amiel, but the news seemed to be reasonably objective.

Over the last few months, however, the paper has utterly disgraced itself. Presumably because of its new proprietors’ views on the upcoming election, it now grossly distorts the facts of stories that it reports in order to stir up public outrage.

The most recent example is this piece on Linda Walker, who shot at some teenage yobs’ feet with an airgun. She was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, which is fair enough, given that she was obviously guilty.

This charge (because it also encompasses crimes such as putting revolvers to people’s heads) carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. This case does not carry that sentence: while I haven’t read the sentencing guidelines for this charge, I’d happily stake my balls [*] that the recommended tariff for an offence such as Ms Walker’s ranges between non-custodial-sentence and short-custodial-sentence.

The judge in Ms Walker’s case told her "All sentencing options remain open" while granting her bail ahead of sentencing. This is a warning that she may get a custodial sentence, and also an indication that she may not (and thereby a strong indication that any prison sentence will be short). It most definitely does not involve Ms Walker being "warned yesterday that she faced up to 10 years in prison", as the article claims.

Were it not for the Telegraph’s despicable behaviour on previous ‘self-defence’ cases, I might assume that the author, Nigel Bunyan, was an ignorant moron. Given the organ’s history, however, the only reasonable assumption is that it’s trying to deceive the easily led sections of its readership.

[*] Speaking as a Wales fan, this is no idle bluster.

Melanie Phillips believes that the police should give up investigating murder and kidnap plots if she doesn’t approve of the victims.

To be fair, she appears only to be referring to criminals rather than liberals or Muslims in this context (although whether she sees a difference is perhaps open to question).

My Valentine’s Day wish is for terrorist maniacs to rip out the hearts, lungs and livers of all people who use the term ‘moral equivalence’ in political debate. It’s content-free drivel, used only to smear an opponent while giving yourself spurious intellectual credentials.

Either that, or for ****** ***** to snog me. Either would be acceptable.

Nothing on the Internet surprises me any more. Except possibly this. (NSFW. Via Raoul Djukanovic).

I would rather that I and everyone I know, love or care about were killed in horrible ways by horrible people than have to live in a society that restricted the right to due process and free speech. If you disagree, you disgust me and you have no right to talk to me about morality.

This is a response to this kind of logic: "I believe also that the American left still does not understand the gravity of the situation we face with terrorism: they are more concerned about the "rights" of detained hostiles (as Lynne Stewart was) than about the safety of innocents". Yes, we are, at least as long as the ‘detained hostiles’ are guilty only of seeking to ensure that other ‘detained hostiles’ get a fair hearing. That’s because we’re civilised. You are not.

I’m proud of our mayor: "You can’t expect to work for the Daily Mail group and have the rest of society treat you with respect and as if you’re a useful part of society. You are not."

It’s hardly controversial to claim that – particularly if you’re a member of an ethnic group that’s suffered under fascism – you probably shouldn’t work for an organisation which continues to support it. Were I a right-wing hawkish twat, I’d accuse Mr Livingstone’s critics of being ‘objectively pro-fascist’.

Incidentally, whatever happened to Gerald Kaufman? Until a couple of years ago, he was reasonably sensible, if annoyingly smug. He now seems to have taken an ‘anyone who talks to Muslims is a crazyite; the BBC lied and Dr Kelly died; we must bomb more places otherwise we’ll surely all die’ worldview…

Update: it’s been pointed out to me that Ken himself is an ex-Daily Mail Group hack. This is equally reprehensible, although it’s pleasing to know he’s put those days behind him and repented.

"Who will defend the accused…[Percy stands]…and thus condemn himself to certain burning at the stake as a partner in Satan if the accused is found guilty?" (from Blackadder S1E6)

Nice to know we’ve moved on.

Lovely three-person thread from Mr Free Market. The summary is:

"As a libertarian, I hate Africans"

"As an ex-Zimbabwean farmer, I hate Africans"

"As an ex-soldier, I think we should shoot the Africans"

And sometimes people still ask me why I’ve turned more liberal since I started blogging.

On the other hand, some libertarians make very good points. I’m not saying that *exclusively* cos they’re bashing Bono, although that is obviously a factor…

It’s time for the public to take a stand against this sort of thing. And if that involves the cruel and vicious slaughter of the content industry’s apologists, so be it.

NB please note this publication’s official assassination policy.