London's "Little Pyongyang"

North Korean defectors make a home in a London suburb. Do take a look at some of their stories, such as that of the former North Korean army officer who now runs the Free NK newspaper.

3 Notes on Asia

One:  "Big Yellow Duck Creator Brings Giant White Rabbit to Taiwan"

Two: Starting a Letter with "Dear Kung Fu Panda ..." 

Three: Mooncake industry eclipsed by Chinese corruption crackdown 

Forgotten History: London's Frost Fair of 1814

Imagine a festival on top of the frozen Thames!

Knowledge Is Power ... and a Hackney Carriage License

Can you master the Knowledge like London cabbies?

British Humor 1, Apples Maps 0

Seen at a London train station.

(Source.)

Haters Gonna Hate: Brits Harshing on the London Olympics

Wow!  The London Games are not getting much love from some Brits. Exhibit A and Exhibit B, with this hilarious bit too.

Niall Ferguson on "London's Last Waltz."

Pessimism.

Awesome: the Best-Dressed, Most Polite Protest Ever

Brilliant!  Stay classy, everyone!

Dalrymple on the UK Riots

A few thoughts in retrospect.  

The Follies of Fenton: Sublimely Comic Despair

This is pretty much a perfect example of things spiraling out of your control and leaving you shaking your fists in impotent rage ... It's a perfect visual distillation of end-of-term exams!  In this case, though, it's about a misbehaving Labrador retriever named Fenton and his haplessly, hopelessly, hilariously exasperated owner and his increasingly desperate cries.  Take a look at what happened in Richmond Park near London (and why you should keep your dog on a leash):

Since we are living in the Internet age of magnificent meme-making, parodic mashups are inevitable.  These are my favorites:

History Lesson: The Font That Changed London

Here's a bit of intriguing historical detail.

Daniel Hannan Asks a Question

Indeed.

Disgustingly Cute: the Self-Amusing Dog

Watch this Jack Russell terrier play fetch with himself in London:

Good boy!

Dipsticks of the Day: Closing Saint Paul's Cathedral

Occupy ... Saint Paul's Cathedral?  Idiots.  Frankly I think it's a disgusting disgrace that this beautiful, historic monument has been targeted by a mob of clueless, selfish morons.  Here is the official statement from St. Paul's.  What would Sir Christopher Wren say?

Quote of the Day: Protests and Missing the Mark

From British MEP Daniel Hannan on the various and variously intellectually incoherent Occupy [Insert Location Here] protests:

The hard-Left protesters who marched in cities across the world today are wrong about many things, but they have got one thing absolutely right: bailing out first banks and then entire countries, is a form of class war against working people. 

The trouble is, the demonstrators are picking the wrong target. The people they should blame are not the financiers, but the politicians who obsequiously agreed to rescue them from the consequences of their malinvestments. 

Please understand, my Leftie friends, that what has taken place since 2008 is anything but capitalism. In a capitalist system, incompetent banks would have been allowed to fail, their profitable operations sold on to their competitors. Shareholders, bondholders and some depositors would have lost money, but taxpayers would not have contributed a penny.

Well, yes.  If these protesters had the least understanding of actual capitalism versus the perverse crony capitalism currently being practiced by corrupt-ocrats on both sides of the Pond and if these angry demonstrators actually had two economically-literate neurons to rub together, they'd be marching on government buildings.  But, of course, they don't.  And, so life imitates "Star Trek II": "You've managed to kill everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target!"  UPDATE: By the way, La Parisienne and I would like to note for the record that we always thought the massive government bailouts were stupid, but of course nobody listens to us.

The Loneliest Tree in the World?

Awwwwwwwwwww.  It's missing its Entwives.

The Margaret Thatcher-Themed London Nightclub

Welcome to Maggie's!   Here's the official website.  I hope this drives leftists crazy as much as leftist Mao- or Che-themed clubs drive me crazy.  "The lady's not for turning ... !"

Quote of the Day: Delingpole on London Riot Commentary

More from the ever-readable James Delingpole:

But I surely can’t be the only Londoner for whom it sticks, ever so slightly, in the craw to be told by a Chicago-born professor of sociology and his Dutch sociologist wife in the New York Times is that the riots are kind of our fault ...

By the way, this is the NY Times piece in question.  The usual suspects blame the usual suspects.  Ho-hum, though still annoying.  Anyhoo, do read Delingpole's response -- and indeed Delingpole in general.

London Appalling: Rioters Ignore Bookstores

A bit of analysis that contains, among other things, the HuffPo's hand-wringing blather and one British author's hilarious tweet.  Look, if you were a looter, would you rather go for consumer electronics or paperback novels?  Which has more resale value?  Um, duh?  I doubt your average hooded thug would pass by a plasma TV in favor of an armful of Dickens.

London Appalling: 2 Thoughts and A Broom

Here are two interesting reads from the UK: a thoughtful leftist argues that the welfare state is to blame, while an editorialist insists that the only solution is a bigger welfare state.

Amid all the broken glass, looting, arson, and violence, though, there's a sign of hope.  The cleanup effort's begun, and the broom and brush are becoming signs of resistance to the riots. (Check out the charming photo.)  A note: in contrast to the riotous young people, a large number of cleanup volunteers are also young people.  So be careful when reading editorials saying that England is doomed and its future in the ditch.  I think what we are seeing, though, is the brutally clear delineation of two divergent paths, between the productive and the destructive.

UPDATE 1: Thoughts on the rise of an antisocial subculture.  I've heard folks use the term "feral youths."  This can't be good.  Recall also what Theodore Dalrymple said back during the March education riots.

UPDATE 2: Some German newspaper comments on the London riots.

UPDATE 3: Thanks to Dignified Rant for the link.  Do see what he has to say too: "The barbarians are sacking the cities."  It's like the 5th century AD all over again.