Metamorphosis

Via audiotool.com

Ducks are deceptive calculating creatures that must not under any circumstances be trusted. Cleverly pretending to be harmless dabbling surface grazers or amusing up-ended bottom feeders, these vicious Anatidae can turn nasty in an instant and lay waste to an entire English village pond.

The accuracy of taxonomy proves beyond any shadow of doubt that ducks are cunning masters of disguise. In order to cause maximum disruption, they take on the appearance of geese to frighten children and even impersonate English swans in the hope of poisoning Her Majesty the Queen at a private banquet. Fortunately, experts with years of dedicated training and vigilance can identify this extremist threat due to ducks being marginally smaller than real English swans and by displaying a completely different coloured plumage.

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Chilly con Carney

Via cbc.ca

The chill winds blowing around the picturesque streets of Davos during this last week can be considered as a balmy zephyr compared to the El Nino event likely to thunder along Threadneedle Street and possibly remove the unfixed roof of number 11 Downing Street. Slowly but surely, the almighty con trick of austerity is beginning to unravel.

At 1,560m, Davos is officially the highest town in Europe and the good burghers of Graubünden canton must have been delighted to discover that the town was even higher following the arrival of George Osborne for the World Economic Forum.

Deeply disturbing…probably

Via gq-magazine.co.uk

When a government resorts to summary execution, extrajudicial assassination and cold blooded murder then that government is clearly failing and represents a rogue and pariah state. Few would disagree with the UK Home Secretary when she unequivocally states that the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko is a “blatant and unacceptable breach of the most fundamental tenets of international law and civilised behaviour.” Thank goodness we have Trident to deter such state sponsored acts of nuclear terrorism and we can sleep soundly in the knowledge that the teapots of Mayfair are now free of Polonium thanks to the courageous defence policy of our courageous government.

Caller on line one

Image via David Fisher Rex Features

”And that was Life on Mars by David Bowie; a musical legend and the man who changed the world. In this hour we discuss Britain`s nuclear deterrent. Trident; good or bad, right or wrong, vital or irrelevant, fried or boiled, salt or pepper, indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction or the ultimate insurance policy? Have your say by calling our usual number.

Our first caller is Abraham from Barking. Hello Abraham, what would you like to say about Trident? Good or bad, right or wrong, vital or…

With friends like these

All our yesterdays

Before we all get too carried by the lifting of western sanctions against Iran, it might be worth taking a moment to consider quite how we define friend and foe, ally and rival and, perhaps more importantly, bosom buddy and hated enemy.

A cultural package tour of the historic glories of Tehran, Qom and Isfahan or a relaxing beach holiday at Bandar Abbas on the delightful Strait of Hormuz seems rather tempting even though the Axis of Evil continues to flourish and what with the war on terror going ever so well.