Andy Hayman CBE, QPM; Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at the Metropolitan Police – the Copper who led the initial investigation into News of the World phone hacking situation.

His recent appearance before the Home Affairs Select Committee (12th July 2011) was reminiscent of a small but aggressive child accused of raiding the biscuit barrel. When asked by Lorraine Fullbrook (MP for South Ribble) if he – while a police officer – had accepted money from News of the World parent company, News International, Mr Hayman (CBE, QPM; Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at the Metropolitan Police) replied with biscuit barrel indignation:

“Good god! Absolutely not, I can’t believe you suggested that! That is a real attack on my integrity!”

Before we have a look, the image used to illustrate this piece is from the News International (well, NewsCorp) The Times newspaper and shows all the writing that Mr Hayman must have done for that paper after he retired from the police force of course.

Podcast: Play in new window

Remember when Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks appeared before a government select committee in 2003? Remember she admitted to buning cash to the police? Remember no one really doing much about it?

You don’t? Here it is again.

Yes indeedy, soccer (or ‘football’ as I used to call it before becoming totally disenchanted) has reached yet another stage in its evolution as a professional sport. I can’t wait to see this one happening in the schoolyard.

Well, obviously I can.

Also, it’s bloody hilarious in a schadenfreude way…

Who needs an explanation for this… LEGO Anthony Wilson and Joy Division…

As usual, Jeremy Paxman comes up with the bon mot – in fact the mot juste. In fact, he says exactly the right thing about the ConDem tax messing…

David Williamson’s The Club could never been made today.

Forget the fact that it’s about Aussie Rules from the old VFL; that it was actually set and filmed in one of the biggest names in that code, Collingwood. Concentrate on the performances and the script.

Concentrate especially on the downfall of Graham Kennedy’s character, Ted Parker. Or there’s the smug dope smoking scene. Or the ‘intellectual’ sports star Geoff Hayward, hated by his teammates until…

Script excerpts such as the one that follows still resonate – now but think “Asians” instead of “New Australians”:

Jock: A marvellous high mark you took last Saturday. You just seemed to go up and up!
Geoff Hayward: Yeah, I felt like Achilles.
Jock: Yes…[laughs] … Who’s he?
Geoff Hayward: A Greek guy who could really jump.
Jock: Ah, yeah yeah. Well some of these new Australians, you know they could be real champions, if they forget about soccer and just learn to assimilate

The Club shows off David Williamson’s writing as well as The Removalists or Corporate Vibes.

Mostly forget all my blather. Tight script, genuine acting, brilliant performances… oh, and Graham Kennedy. One of Australia’s best-kept secrets.

A ‘documentary’ or a ‘polemic’ regarding the proposition that the media is totally in cahoots with governments and that George Orwell would object.

Some interesting points made, but as ever, it overlooks the cock-up theory of history over the conspiracy. That said, it’s worth a look for people who honestly believe that ‘the truth’ and ‘getting hits’ are enough to justify yourself as a journalist.

The fact is that the truth is easily manipulated, and often times subjective observation such as that done by Orwell in Wigan or Robert Capa’s Spanish Civil War coverage or Keith Murdoch’s Gallipoli coverage are as worthy, if not more so. The only truth about journalism is that it is subjective.

Sarah Silverman talks to Bill Maher about why her appearance at the TED conference, curated and invented by my ex-boss and Future Publishing founder Chris Anderson, was met with disapprobation.

To be exact, Mr Anderson tweeted that Ms Silverman was “God awful”. The video of her performance was never aired. Now, I have not only got a connection to this by dint of the fact that Chris Anderson was a former boss. I was also the father of a seriously disabled child who died in 2005.

There’s been some misunderstanding about this post.

I used to work at the Australian Caption Centre. Once upon a time a copy of South Park came in featuring a character called Timmy – you know the guy, cerebral palsy. So, rather than get me to caption the episode, I was taken aside by some really good-willed people. They were sure that I’d be offended by the sight of an actual disabled person being portrayed in a satirical cartoon.

I watched the episode and was happy as happy could be that Timmy was portrayed as a character. Not an evil genius. Not a pitiable caricature (thanks Nick Cage). Not a ‘Token’. Timmy was there. More people were offended for me and my daughter than I was. More people were made uncomfortable by a home truth than I was. The home truth? Heavily disabled people exist.

I think that Sarah Silverman’s thought-catalyst (as I’m sure the people at TED would say over the sound of heads nodding at the same speed as headbangers at a Slayer gig) offended people on that basis. Also on the basis that, yes, there are a lot of kids out there already. Yes, the retarded ones need love too. Yes, in a great number of cases, such as mine, those kids will die before their parents do. Those are real thoughts.

In short: I actually agree with Sarah Silverman on this one. Thanks for bringing it up.

PS: why were you so rubbish when you came to England though?

Watch the clip

Following on from my previous post about the fact you can add “…Of Blood!” to nearly anything and come up with a Cult Movie, I’d like to introduce the equally as good “…Of the Damned!’ with this Aussie ‘classic’ from 1975.

The title says most of what you need to know. It’s an inn, it’s for the damned. There’s sex, violence, mystery and, of course given that it’s an Aussie flick made in the 1970s, it’s got John Meillon.

Meillion gave an absolutely cracking performance as the tragically foolhardy Sir John Kerr in The Dismissal.

So now, Inn of the Damned! “A big picture set in a Big Country”.

Mickey Mouse Discovers the Government Cartoon Conspiracy Against Glenn Beck

Youtube user ikat381 has posted a follow-up to the Donald Duck Meets Glen Beck video posted recently.