Coming February 6, 2024 . . .
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
By Doug Sanders in London, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 23, 2012
On Wednesday morning, Canada’s Speaker of the House Andrew Scheer was in the midst of a very Canadian debate over whether to allow babies in the House of Commons.
That evening he got a taste of the far more grownup world of Britain’s Parliament.
Eric Joyce, a Labour MP for Falkirk, went on a violent rampage against Tory MPs and was arrested. He reportedly began dancing erratically before shouting a disparaging remark about the Tories, dumping drinks on some fellow members, swinging his fists at several MPs who tried to calm him down, including Labour whip Phil Wilson. He then headbutted Stuart Andrew, the Tory MP for Pudsey, punched a few more people, and headbutted the MP again.
“There was blood spilled – it was like the Wild West in there,” one MP told the Evening Standard. It took five security officers to [....]
For more see:
Parliamentary bar brawl spotlights culture of drinking in Britain
By Elizabeth Renzetti, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 23, 2012
Take nine bars, add 650 members of Parliament and an equal number of journalists, lobbyists and staff, multiply by a vast quantity of taxpayer-subsidized booze, and what do you get? One giant political hangover. Even by the bibulous standards of Britain’s House of Commons – where the day care is located in a converted bar – the behaviour of Scottish Labour MP Eric Joyce was considered out-of-bounds [....]
And:
Eric Joyce charged with three counts of assault over fracas in the Commons bar
Nicholas Watt and Hélène Mulholland, The Guardian, 23 Feb. 2012
Comments
Where is Betty Boothroyd when she is needed...Why can't we have exciting legislative sessions?
by jollyroger on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 12:49am
I do miss Betty, no one like her now except in fiction. And on the "why can't we" I am reminded of the common blogospheric bitchin' that our politics are an embarassment in front of the world, but somehow I do not get the impression that those who are complaining are in agreement with ya on the improvements they are looking for.
by artappraiser on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 1:20pm