Politically incorrect?

Malcolm is sorely taxed here.

Which is the more incorrect?

• That the Miss USA "beauty pageant" actually exists;

or

• The runner-up at the Miss USA beauty pageant, one Carrie Prejean, says her outspoken opposition to gay marriage cost her first place in the competition;

or

• That the BBC thinks either or both are worthy of comment and wider publicity?

__________________________________________________

Hmmm .... memo to Malcolm:

or

What about your use of the piccy and, err, any slightly salicious interest therein?

Sphere: Related Content

How they brought the good news
from CERN to Aches

’Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near
Lokeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned clear;
At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see!
At Düffeld, ’twas morning as plain as could be;
And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half-chime,
So Joris broke silence with ‘Yet there is time!’

Thank you, Mr Browning: don't call us. We'll call you!

Malcolm's second thought was more impious:

I believe in the God particle, and the Higgs Boson mechanism, maker of heaven and earth, which was conceived by Englert and Brout, and born at CERN, was financed by the European Central Bank to the tune of £5 billion, underwritten by the poor suffering tax payers, liable to be crucified by the £5 billion debt underwritten by the European Central Bank ...

The Large Halidon Collider?

Malcolm hopes that, when they go back for the Family or Economic size, they wait until it's a special offer at Tesco. Sphere: Related Content

Regurgitated gas:

Here's Malcolm, last November 17th on "Unnatural gas":

...the price of domestic gas and electricity shows little sign of reducing. We are now paying 90% more for gas, and 60% more for electricity than 2003. There are further price increases due in the near future. Scottish and Southern is upping tariffs next January by 12.1% for gas and 9.4% for electricity. In the name of all decency, why?

Last January, the wholesale price of gas was 71.25p per therm: this year it is being offered at 61.7p (a fall of nearly 15%). The “spot” price is just over 40p per therm (half the peak price reached last Spring), though this is not significant because most suppliers are locked into long-term contracts. However, suppliers, to justify price increases, repeatedly quoted the “spot” price.

And, strictly for comparison, here is the second leader, "Flagging Energy", in today's Times:

While wholesale gas prices have fallen by about 40 per cent in the past six months, householders’ bills have risen an average of 30 per cent in that time. Average gas bills have risen by 94 per cent in three years and electricity bills by 60 per cent, pushing the average household into paying more than £1,000 a year for energy.

What is going on? Only last month Ofgem, the energy regulator, warned Britain's gas suppliers not to “keep jam on their fingers” by failing to pass on falling costs to consumers, and theatening to use its powers to fine them. There is typically a lag in price changes being passed on, since energy companies tend to pay at least three months in advance for their supplies. But wholesale gas prices have been falling for longer that that, and the retail price seems to be heading in quite the opposite direction. Four gas companies raised their prices again on January 1, in some cases because capped deals expired.

Remember, you read it here first. Sphere: Related Content