No one smells of roses in the Stephen Hester affair

Royal Bank of Scotland’s chief executive Stephen Hester faced opposition to his proposed £1 million bonus from all quarters – few on the right including Tory ministers were prepared to defend him – and last night he yielded to the inevitable.
No one comes out of the affair smelling of roses with his decision to waive the shares.
Hester should have seen the writing on the wall weeks ago; the RBS remuneration committe misjudged the country's mood; the Government, as the bank’s controlling shareholder, should have twisted his arm; and Labour should never have agreed such a lucrative contract when it was in office.

Ali G's Newt Gingrich interview is a classic

Revisiting Ali G’s interview with Newt Gingrich* of a while back remains a hoot and deserves more airplay.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s creation of the ignorant faux-streetwise leader of the West Staines Massive opens the interrogation of the right-wing politician by first painstakingly establishing the spelling of his name.
Gingrich is currently campaigning for the Republican nomination to run against Barack Obama in the US Presidential election later this year.
He keeps his composure throughout managing to dodge Cohen’s more NSFW questions and comes out of the encounter more or less unscathed.
It’s a pity Ali G’s not around to test today’s crop of British politicians.
*Treat yourself and watch Ali G's interview with David and Victoria Beckham, the first and only time Posh Spice has been caught laughing on camera.

On Bob Dylan, the Bronte sisters, Logan's Run, and Tony Hancock

In nostalgic mood yesterday I settled down to watch sci-fi classic Logan’s Run on television. Later I tuned in to what I hoped would be radio comedy magic – an ancient episode of Hancock’s Half Hour. I couldn’t stay long with either.
Was it me that had changed over the years or had the passage of time conferred a reputation that the works didn’t actually merit?
I'm used to dipping into elderly repeats of Top of the Pops and being disappointed regardless of the decade or fashion in music that about only one song in five stood the test of time.
Perhaps Golden Ages can also be crowned once they have passed – and when time has smoothed the rough edges of the contemporaneous experience.

Glimpses of happiness or lives of contentment?

A debate about the desirability of happiness in the lives of your children opened from an unusual source recently.
Broadcaster Kirsty Young, writing in the Radio Times to celebrate the 70th birthday of Desert Island Discs which she presents, wrote “I don’t want my children to be 'happy'.”
“They will be bloody lucky if they glimpse it now and again. I want them to be content and have self-worth.”
The distinction between contentment and happiness is a fine one. I agree happiness is transitory in its nature. Often we don’t appreciate it the most until it’s gone. But I wouldn’t dissuade my children from pursuing its glimpses.

GC is seduced by the drama of Karissa Shannon's trousers

I watched an episode of the current Celebrity Big Brother on Richard Desmond’s Channel 5 for the first time last night.
I must have picked up from the internet that a particularly explosive hour of high drama was in prospect.
As it turned out Loose Women presenter Denise Welch pulled down the trousers of Playboy model Karissa Shannon; cue hysterics.
This morning I was surprised at the space the Daily Mail website devoted to this non-story, especially given Desmond also owns the Daily Express and is a sworn enemy of the newspaper.
But then I saw more than 500 readers had commented on the storm in a DD-cup.
I have to acknowledge a lot of people are interested in this reality stuff and MailOnline isn’t going to let a feud between newspaper proprietors filter its story selection.
Karissa Shannon’s modesty would seem a recent arrival for the former Playmate of the Month. While still a teenager, she took up residence (with her twin Kristina) as the ancient Hugh Hefner's girlfriend at the Playboy Mansion - and last year admitted she featured in stolen sex tapes.
Karissa and Kristina, who is also in the Big Brother house, were put on probation after a fracas at a house party in 2007.
None of this excuses Welch’s action…Oops this trivia tittle-tattle is a slippery slope; I wish I was as certain where I stood on the Coalition’s efforts to impose a £26,000 a year benefits’ cap.

Branson is right to press for legalised drugs

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson deserves every credit for sticking his head above the parapet supporting the decriminalisation of drug use.
Branson gives evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into drug policy tomorrow.
Today writing in the Daily Telegraph he said: “The war on drugs is a failed enterprise. We need to have the courage to learn the lessons and move on.”
“Too many of our leaders worldwide are ignoring policy reforms that could rapidly reduce violence and organised crime, cut down on theft, improve public health and reduce the use of illicit drugs.”
Read the rest for yourself and then consider the many better uses that the $1 trillion spent in the fruitless battle against drugs over the last 50 years could have been put to.

Shredding Sir Fred of his knighthood would be a vain gesture

Sir Fred Goodwin, the disgraced former chief executive of the now mostly state owned Royal Bank of Scotland, has been the agent of his own downfall. Rarely have hubris, incompetence, and unpleasantness come together in one boardroom tyrant to such devastating effort on the company under his stewardship.
I met Goodwin on several occasions when he was cock of the walk; you could tell from his icy smile that secretly he revelled in his ‘Fred the Shred’ nickname earned by his ability to slash costs.
That said it would be wrong if Goodwin were stripped of his knighthood in the wake of the growing clamour he suffer the ignominy.