Shot by both sides » John B

A foreword by the author to the 2012 reprint

John B — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:11:21 +0000

If you like offensive blogs from seven years ago, then you’ve come to almost exactly the right place. This was one of the UK’s more popular (or at least, more visited) political blogs from 2003-2005. The final post from the original blog gives a good indication of how that ancient history panned out. All the original comments from the site are also preserved, although WordPress isn’t showing the number of comments by post on index pages (for mildly annoying reasons that aren’t worth fixing). All images and internal URLs should now work, as well.

On the other hand, if you prefer blogs that aren’t seven years out of date, then my current blog is Banditry; I also occasionally write articles for Liberal Conspiracy, and I wrote a fair few pieces for now-defunct group blog The Sharpener, also now archived around these parts. Or if you prefer media forms that aren’t themselves retro-tending-to-obsolete, then I’m on Twitter.

Sorry, most of you

John B — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 18:00:15 +0000

Time to go. For all those of you who enjoyed arguing on SBBS, I’m glad you had fun. Any of the sites on the right-hand-side, including but not limited to Matt Turner, The Pine Marten and When there were no doors would be good places to carry on said arguments.

For those of you who lied, twisted, cheated and bullied until the least worst choice available to me was to close the site, congratulations. You’ve won. I hope it was worth it. It would be ungracious of me to hope that bad things happen to you in return, so I’ll merely take solace in my knowledge that you have to go through life having a personality like that… Good work, fellas.

My writings will continue on the Sharpener (another good place to argue), and perhaps elsewhere.

Update: thanks to everyone for all your support. Too many links to acknowledge, but I really appreciate them all. I’m going to miss this site, including the people who think I’m a dick but don’t seek to screw up my life because I’ve written something they dislike.

Surprising revelation

John B — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

There is actually a group of people to whom the latest UK anti-terror laws apply who thoroughly deserve to feel the authoritarian wrath of Tony, David and Charlie.

If you think that the fuel price is so high it’s causing you serious suffering, that’s because you live in the wrong place and/or have the wrong job. Nobody in a country the size of the UK needs to take a long commute for a low-paid job, and anyone with a high-paid job can easily afford to drive even at current fuel prices.

Meanwhile, if truckers are suffering because they can’t raise rates and still attract custom, that’s clearly a sign that we have too many of them. They should ask for adjustment grants to sell up and learn how to do something desirable, rather than continuing their economically and environmentally unsustainable way of life. If they did, I’d be strongly in favour of helping them out.

Disjointed thoughts

John B — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

How can something so boring be so interesting?

Will the President ever sack so many minions that he has to take responsibility for something himself?

Is 47 years a sensible sentence for someone who’s clearly and undeniably a venal tit but not a terrorist? (if you dispute my categorisation, read here. If you still dispute my categorisation, then learn how to read).

What kind of gormless blinkered right-wing arsewit can possibly claim that Hollywood is liberal, in the week where a pro-exorcism movie tops the box office? (answer: many. Best example left in the comments wins some kind of prize.)

Finally, yay us! Good effort; it’s nice to see the British police and judiciary conspiring to lock up foreigners who’re actually guilty and actually deserve it… shame he was tipped off, really.

Utter loonery

John B — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

Not an exciting story, just an everyday tale of judicial mentalism: nine years in jail for a harmless, victimless paper crime. And the first person to say ‘oh, but tax evasion means less money to spend on schools and transport’ has a point if and only if they also oppose the government embarking on foreign adventurism and providing needless treatment to basically-dead old codgers…

Politicanimation

John B — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

Check out my vote for the rubbish and off to see the Swizzard. Continue reading →

Immigration

John B — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

The new immigration stats are interesting, if not surprising. The UK’s foreign-born population rose from 5.8% in 1991 to 7.5% in 2001.

Indeed, we’re under threat from tides of evil immigrants, here to steal our women and convert us all to their barbaric laws. I wonder if they have Sharia in Ireland, Germany, the USA, South Africa and Italy…?

It’s no lie

John B — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

Well, of course. Continue reading →

The plot thickens…

John B — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

All the murdering and the raping in New Orleans? Mostly made up by an unscrupulous press, then disseminated widely because it was both a good story and one that fitted well with the appropriate cultural myths (chiefly, ‘blacks revert to the law of the jungle if not vigorously policed’. Popular throughout commentators on the disaster, although only people like Steve Sailer actually state it explicitly).

Seeking the Canadian dream

John B — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:01 +0000

A Pew poll in the Economist finds that India is the only country whence the US is the most desired destination for emigration. Australia, Canada, France and the UK are all more popular.

The same poll finds that Pakistan is sufficiently unpleasant that Pakistanis would be willing to emigrate to China. Bonus points for anyone who draws up a table comparing levels of religious fervour among a country’s rulers to the extent that people want to emigrate there…