James Delingpole's Blog, page 71

David Dimbleby interview: celebrating 30 years of 'Question Time'

It's a glorious late summer's morning at David Dimbleby's palatial Sussex residence on the edge of the South Downs. (At least I'm guessing it's palatial – he did, after all, once sell his family newspaper business for £12 million – but our interview is being conducted well away from journalists' prying eyes in the agreeable converted barn he uses as an office.)

Among the off-limits subjects we shan't be discussing today are: His first wife, (cookery writer) Josceline; their three grown-up...

Only a nutter like Gordon Brown would think it's a good idea to scrap Trident

Do I sleep more safely in my bed at night knowing Britain has an independent nuclear deterrent? To be perfectly honest, no. Of all the most clear and present dangers to British security right now, I cannot immediately think of any that could be averted by the despatch of a Trident missile with a warhead the equivalent of 8 Hiroshimas.

Imagine the target is Brussels: now how do you feel about it? (Photo: AP)

But the reason for that is, like you I imagine, I happen to live in a place called...

Loyal American children break into spontaneous praise of the Dear Leader Barack Hussein Obama

Here's some footage to gladden the heart: children at an elementary school in New Jersey being coached by their teacher to sing a song in praise of their Dear Leader. (Hat Tip: Steve Foley)

The lyrics are pretty snappy:

Barack Hussein Obama

He said that all must lend a hand [?:]

To make this country strong again

Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama

He said we must be clear today

Equal work means equal pay

Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a...

The date of the General Election is:

May 6th. You read it here first.

How do we know? A contact whose property is used for General and Local election counts tells me he has received a letter from Whitehall asking him to refuse bookings for May 6th and May 7th and to re-arrange anything he has booked.

So May 6th - a Thursday (thanks Clothilde Simon) - is the one then.

18.24 Update: oh poo. According to a Labour Twitter thing when I posted this excitedly on Twitter, it's just a local election date. Does this mean I've got it wrong...

Why we can all stop worrying about 'Global Warming' for a bit

Three months to go until the UN climate summit in Copenhagen. Three months in which we will be repeatedly assured by climate fear promoters such as Al Gore, George Monbiot, Ed Miliband and the risible Ban Ki-moon that this really is absolutely, definitely, totally and irrevocably the very last chance the world's leaders will have to save the planet from ManBearPig.

(Just like they said at Rio and Poznan and all the other "let's see who can rack up the biggest carbon footprint" global shindigs ...

Prince of Wales to give up his Aston Martin, two Jags, two Audis and Range Rover to save planet. Not.

According to the Prince of Wales's expert calculations we have only 94 months left to save the planet from the perils of Man Made Climate Change.

Today he urges that we all do our bit by walking and using public transport a bit more, and using our cars less. I think this is an utterly brilliant idea. Like the Prince, whenever I drive around the country in my motor car, I find myself being quite repelled by the ghastliness of so many other road users. Their accents are frightful, their driving ...

Pandas: do we need 'em?

I have just been reading about the Radio Times interview with Springwatch presenter Chris Packham - self-styled 'Pol Pot of conservation' - and his suggestion that giant pandas are a waste of money and we should allow them to go the way of the dodo.

It's not cute, it's a biological aberration

He says:

"Here's a species that of its own accord has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It's not a strong species.

"I reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go with a degree of dignity."

This is a...

Lenny Henry's tragedy

The cruellest and funniest scene ever in Ricky Gervais's Extras was the one where Andy Millman (Gervais) is asked by Keith Chegwin if he can think of a single funny black British comic. Millman mulls this one over for a while. Tumbleweed rolls by. And the camera pans across the walls, pausing to linger on a publicity photograph of Lenny Henry.

Millman shakes his head. Try as he might he just can't name one.

The reason the joke was so painfully funny, of course, was because it's so true. Even...

Who gives a monkeys what the Lib Dems say or do at their pointless seaside conference?

The Lib Dems are having a conference in Bournemouth. Bully for them. But whatever they say or do isn't going to make the blindest difference to anything. So why should we care? (Hat tip: Adrian Weale)

As usual, the Daily Mash nails it:

"The Liberal Democrats are actually very sweet. It's a bit like watching a child put on a pair of daddy's shoes, pick up his briefcase and clomp up and down the hallway pretending to be a 'businessyman'.

"Then, of course, everyone has to sit down and discuss...

Christian hoteliers prosecuted for calling Pope 'Catholic'

Perhaps you've read the shocking story. A couple of Christian hoteliers in Liverpool have been prosecuted by the police for a "religiously aggravated public order offence", after one of their Muslim guests complained they had told her that the founder of her religion was a "warlord" and that Muslim dress was a form of "bondage for women".

I wonder what prosecutions Merseyside police are planning on next.

Liverpool elocution teacher brought to trial for alleging that in Hartford, Hereford and...