Watching the poignant vignettes of happy Comic Relief recipients, I wondered – do they hold Slum Idol-style auditions for skinny old men and small children from the slums of Africa?

Just for Jacqui, “A federal appeals court dismissed a copyright lawsuit Mattel Inc brought against a Utah artist who shot a photographic series depicting Barbie dolls naked in a blender, wrapped in a tortilla and sizzling on a wok.” (Age)

“The government has announced plans to clamp down on so-called “health tourists”.
BBC News Online examines claims that they are a serious drain on the NHS.”

“The truth is nobody knows how much health tourism costs the NHS and if indeed it is a major problem.”
Surely comedy tourism where people come to point and laugh at the health system would be more of a problem. Does the government really think any bogus asylum seeker has the spare time to hang around on waiting lists on the off-chance they won’t be left in a corridor to die?
I liked this line: “”Certain ministers seem to want to highlight this issue from time to time, usually when there is another story that they don’t want to hit the news,” he said.”
(BBC)

Local woman roused to ire by lack of tofu.
“Dear Sir or Madam,
I was told today that my local Sainsbury’s store (Dalston, E8) is no longer stocking chilled tofu such as Cauldron’s tofus. Can you tell me if this is correct, and if so, why they won’t be stocking chilled tofu?
Does this mean that no Sainsbury’s stores will be stocking chilled tofu, or only the Dalston store?
I buy tofu regularly, and if it is no longer stocked at my local Sainsbury’s store, I’ll have do my regular grocery shopping at the local Tesco store or at a Sainsbury’s store that does stock tofu instead.
Yours sincerely,”
etc, etc.

If the air marshall are “disguised as regular passengers”, how are the actual regular passengers meant to know whether the man waving a gun around is a terrorist or an air marshall?
“Air marshals on flights this week” (BBC)

Poor me, I’m sick. Just a sore throat and a cold, and probably no less than I deserve after a fairly trashy Christmas, but allow me some self-pity.
I keep thinking I should go to The Sales, but then I remember that I don’t actually need any more stuff and I have less than 50 pounds to last me until January 11.

I know I’m back in Hackney (after a few days at friend’s places for Christmas) because an older black man wearing a full morning suit and top hat cycled past me on a kid’s bike.