MetaFilter posts tagged with greatbritain and britain

I have nothing to declare except my prejudice.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:22:08 -0800

"Let them arrest me". Vehemently anti-Islamic Dutch MP Geert Wilders was scheduled to travel to London tomorrow to attend a screening of his controversial short film Fitna (wiki, mefi). Yesterday however, the UK's Home Secretary notified Wilders that his presence in the UK would pose a "serious threat to [...] public security" (PDF), presumably intending to refuse his entry into UK. Wilders plans to board the flight anyway, daring British authorities to arrest him. Not that he's sitting so comfy at home either, however: Wilders faces prosecution in the Netherlands for hate speech and inciting discrimination. The decision to bar the self-styled "freedom fighter" from entering Britain has met with widespread criticism from the Dutch cabinet -- which by the way is completely made up of Wilders' political opponents -- and fellow MPs. The Dutch Foreign Minister has phoned the UK Foreign Secretary and stated he was "deeply upset and disappointed" by the decision. British papers join the chorus of condemnation.

The Vinkhuijzen Collection of Military Costume Illustration

Kattullus — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:05:04 -0800

The Vinkhuijzen Collection of Military Costume Illustration has drawings of uniforms and regimental regalia from all over the world. Assembled by one of these great, eccentric collectors of the late 19th Century, Dr. H. J. Vinkhuijzen, a Dutch medical doctor who started out as an army physician and eventually rose to the position of official court physician to Prince Alexander of Netherlands. He pulled plates out of books, colored in black and white drawings and painted his own watercolor illustrations. His collection includes pictures of the soldiers of many different nations and eras, from military superpowers like the Roman Empire, France and Great Britain, to lesser known, but no less formidable forces, like Byzantium and Persia and even taking in such minnows as Luxembourg, Monaco and Montenegro. Due to Vinkhuijzen's unusual classification system it can be hard to find some of the more interesting images, such as pictures of Etruscan cavalry, Spanish military musicians and 1830's Belgian ambulance.

"One sheds one's sickness in books." D. H. Lawrence

anotherpanacea — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:41:23 -0800

Books that heal: bibliotherapy banishes vexations of soul. Maybe.

Toob to Beeb

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 13:38:40 -0800

"I feel guilty because I have friends that are working really hard to get into television or acting and I'm just sitting here having not done anything more than enjoy playing with gadgets."

Susi Weaser (24) makes little one-minute gadget reviews and posts them on YouTube . The BBC must have liked them - because they hired her.

Send big dogs after her/That bite her bum

Mayor Curley — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:55:21 -0800

Long live our noble queen.

penthouse dealers

The Jesse Helms — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:21:51 -0800

"Were there U.K. publications?" Hilton responded: "No... there is stuff in London." Hilton's lawyer, Larry Stein, jumped in: "London is a U.K. publication." Her retort: "Right. U.K. Whatever."

Virtual Tours of England

hama7 — Sun, 11 Jul 2004 08:31:21 -0800

Virtual Tours of England.

England Hooligans On Tour

n o i s e s — Thu, 17 Jun 2004 06:17:51 -0800

It's time to send the team home: "England has bred a contemporary culture of immoderation at every level, with particular reference to drinking and fighting. The recent Panorama programme on weekend binge-drinking in city centres provided a wake-up call, as should the novelist Andrew O'Hagan's admirable essay on current British attitudes to masculinity, reprinted in yesterday's G2." (via The Guardian)

Coke pulls Dasani from UK shelves

omidius — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:11:36 -0800

Coca Cola pulls Dasani from UK shelves after it is found to contain Bromate, a highly carcinogenic derivative of Bromide. The US formula isn't wildly different. What's in your water?

Roger Scruton on Being Conservative; Glen Newey on Being Republican

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 21:08:13 -0800

Tweedledum and Tweedledee: Two great essays from very opposite sides of the barricades, but embodying the same healthy bloody-mindedness: reverent Roger Scruton, English, conservative and monarchist ,on the Right, and irreverent Glen Newey, Scottish, socialist and republican, on the Left. The differences are plain to see. But it's the similarities, I think, that point to the enduring strength of the British political spirit.

UK millenium engineering projects

gravelshoes — Sat, 30 Nov 2002 07:07:01 -0800

I recently rode the Falkirk Wheel, perhaps the least well known of a number of UK projects marking the Millenium, which fuse stunning design with ingenious engineering. [more inside]

feelinglistless — Thu, 04 Apr 2002 13:47:59 -0800

Another trip into TV Hell. In the UK we're much kinder to bad television -- shows will go on for weeks without an audience and often get comissioned for second series before someone releases they're awful (yes you 'Let Them Eat Cake' -- if that French and Saunder monstrosity had been on UStv it would have been cancelled after two episodes -- if it had been comissioned at all). 'Off The Telly' considers all the things prospective television producers need to avoid if they're going to create something they're proud of. Does anyone else have any bad examples?

feelinglistless — Mon, 24 Dec 2001 04:44:54 -0800

Was Christmas TV really ever all that special? 'Off The Telly' reviews three decades of Christmas Day television in Britain. "It's funny...that Christmas time is actually an excuse for some of the worst TV atrocities of the year to be inflicted upon us. Christmas telly does not equate with quality. And yet, never does TV become a more integral part of our own family or personal routines and traditions. And never are we so receptive to a gathering of disparate middle-of-the-road celebrities and their stale party pieces." And for the ultra-cynic, TV-Go-Home's Charlie Booker presents an alternative schedule.

feelinglistless — Thu, 06 Sep 2001 16:03:13 -0800

Over-educated, over here and overwhelmed The teacher shortage in Britain is so acute, that talent from the four corners is being shipped in at double the cost. The irony is, that if our teachers were actually paid the salary this gentleman is getting, there would be more of them...

leo — Sun, 10 Sep 2000 02:39:06 -0800

Help Wanted : Naval Chaplain for Her Majesty's Navy. Frustrated with the prospect of designing web pages for the rest of your life? Well, this might be for you.