Author Archives: Charles Lambert

Really?

Posted on October 8, 2007 by Charles Lambert
Posted in gay, hypocrisy, larry craig | Leave a comment

Buon appetito, says Jamie

Posted on October 8, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Jamie Oliver plans to open a string of ‘authentic, rustic’ Italian restaurants in Britain’s high streets, according to an article in today’s Guardian. That’ll be ‘authentic’ as in spaghetti alla carbonara… with cream? Oh dear.

Posted in food | 2 Comments

Pro-life (as in, er, death)

Posted on October 8, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Amnesty International’s decision to endorse the decriminalisation of abortion when the woman’s life is at stake or the foetus is the product of sexual violence has been attacked by religious fundamentalists, including, naturally, the gaggle of officially celibate old men … Continue reading →

Posted in homophobia, religion, vatican | Leave a comment

Tengo famiglia

Posted on October 7, 2007 by Charles Lambert

La Sapienza in Rome is the largest university in Europe. This isn’t necessarily an advantage: the place is famous for its overcrowded classrooms, Byzantine administration, no-show professors, assistants in de facto charge of courses, massive drop-out rates, er, too many … Continue reading →

Posted in barone, corruption, university | 2 Comments

Language slaves: update

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Charles Lambert

It’s come to my notice that numerous teachers of foreign languages in Italian universities (yes, lettori), despite having regular full-time contracts, are expected to make up any lessons they may have missed as a result of illness or public holidays. … Continue reading →

Posted in human rights, lettore, university | 2 Comments

Gay bomb gets Nobel, sort of

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Charles Lambert

This year’s Ig Nobel Prize for Peace has been given to the Air Force Wright Laboratory of Dayton, Ohio, theorisers of a chemical weapon that would make soldiers sexually irresistible to one another (as if they weren’t already). For details … Continue reading →

Posted in gay, prize, science | Leave a comment

Facebook journalism

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Charles Lambert

It’s chastening to discover that Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who received the first face transplant, wouldn’t have known that the donor had committed suicide if it hadn’t been for the gallant investigative efforts of British tabloids. There’s an article … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism | Leave a comment

Pontifical knickers twisted

Posted on October 4, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Editorialist for La Repubblica and one of Italy’s sharpest journalists, Curzio Maltese, has been looking at the way Italian taxpayers contribute, largely without their direct consent, to the Vatican’s bulging coffers. The money collected by the catholic church each year … Continue reading →

Posted in church, money, ratzinger, vatican | Leave a comment

Get with child a mandrake root

Posted on October 4, 2007 by Charles Lambert

It’s good to see Exeter University’s professor of complementary medicine expressing serious doubts about the validity of many herbal remedies. Most of them, apparently, don’t work and may even be harmful. This ought to be self-evident but, for an ever-increasing … Continue reading →

Posted in crank, homoeopathy, religion | 2 Comments

Joined-up government

Posted on October 2, 2007 by Charles Lambert

A valuable, and shocking, article in today’s Independent describing the hypocritical divide between what the UK government says about people fleeing brutal and corrupt regimes, and what the Home Office actually does with these people. You can read it here. … Continue reading →

Posted in hypocrisy | 1 Comment