Ukip's allies are mad, bad and dangerous to know
• It was inevitable Nigel Farage would seek to undercut Nick Clegg's assertion that the Euro Ukipians are bone idle and rarely do their jobs, by pointing out that Clegg votes in only 22% of parliamentary debates. I do my duty, said Farage on the BBC Today programme. I play my part as leader of a political group in Brussels. At which point one needs reminding of who the folk Farage leads into battle in Brussels are. There's the rightwing xenophobic Lega Nord, the second largest grouping in his Europe of Freedom and Democracy group. Its founder Umberto Bossi said illegal immigrants should be shot, and Farage himself had to jettison one of its MEPs from the group last year after racist comments about Cécile Kyenge, Italy's first black minister. There's True Finns. One of its officials suggested minority groups might wear identifying armbands. There's the Danish People's Party. In 2002 its MEP Morten Messerschmidt received a suspended prison sentence for racially motivated offences. And a shout out to Frank Vanhecke, the former leader of Belgium's Vlaams Blok, the far-right party disbanded after a court said it broke anti-racist laws. Comforting isn't it? Nigel's chums as he holds the EU's feet to the fire.
• A motley crew indeed. But, in their own way, Westminster-ites can be a rum bunch too. One senior commentator, speaking off the record to a recent private gathering, described the Lords as "an international scandal of patronage", worsened by "the influence of modern medicine". And on the record? Wise conscience of the nation.
• While Russian troops stomp up and down the Ukrainian border, Vlad Putin knows his activities are being closely monitored in London, not least by those he has hung out with. One such is London School of Economics director Craig Calhoun. After its embarrassing dalliance with Saif Gaddafi, it seems no tyrannical episode can unfold without some link to the LSE. Last summer Putin, en route to the G8 in Loch Erne, spent the evening chinwagging in London with American sociologist Calhoun, selected journos and BP's Bob Dudley among others. More recently on Twitter, Calhoun had a premonition. "I hope getting the most medals makes Russia happy. Things are bad when it's grumpy," tweeted Calhoun on 23 February. But such things merely inflame the critics. "I hope protesters in Ukraine being killed makes Russia happy. Things are bad when it's grumpy," mocked one of them. What will critics say on 14 March?: the start of Russian Business Week at the LSE.
• After first world war expert Christopher Clark's unkind questioning of Max Hastings' credentials as a historian, we asked: in what circumstances might one reasonably be described as a "complete historian"? We offered a reader prize, for, in this materialistic age, inducements are often necessary to spark debate. David McCrone tells us: "You're a complete historian if … you know where the bodies are buried." In the view of reader Peter Barnes: "You're a complete historian if your name is Michael Gove." Ron Jeffries, who dabbles himself, draws the general from the specific: "You're a complete historian if, having written and self-published Aldborough Hatch – The Village in the Suburbs – A History, you lecture the Ilford Historical Society, when a lady sitting in the second row is overheard by your wife to say for the 99th time: 'If he mentions that bloody book again, I am going home!'" For her part, Wendy Bracewell asks if only men can be complete historians. The answer is no. But we do behave like complete historians a lot of the time.
• Finally, there are secrets of who has won what in the annual press awards, and none will be revealed until April. But judging for newspaper of the year took place last week and during that event, many noted a fearsome phenomenon. Alan Johnson, former home secretary, was one of those assessing the entries, and every time he talked down the Guardian's scoops on NSA security and Edward Snowden, the poor Labour bigwig suffered a nosebleed. Thrice he had to leave the room, the better to steady his ship. Amid the disruption, some referred to the curse of the Guardian. Which is wrong, for right now we wish everybody well. Life is good. We haven't hexed anyone for years.
Twitter: @hugh_muir Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
• It was inevitable Nigel Farage would seek to undercut Nick Clegg's assertion that the Euro Ukipians are bone idle and rarely do their jobs, by pointing out that Clegg votes in only 22% of parliamentary debates. I do my duty, said Farage on the BBC Today programme. I play my part as leader of a political group in Brussels. At which point one needs reminding of who the folk Farage leads into battle in Brussels are. There's the rightwing xenophobic Lega Nord, the second largest grouping in his Europe of Freedom and Democracy group. Its founder Umberto Bossi said illegal immigrants should be shot, and Farage himself had to jettison one of its MEPs from the group last year after racist comments about Cécile Kyenge, Italy's first black minister. There's True Finns. One of its officials suggested minority groups might wear identifying armbands. There's the Danish People's Party. In 2002 its MEP Morten Messerschmidt received a suspended prison sentence for racially motivated offences. And a shout out to Frank Vanhecke, the former leader of Belgium's Vlaams Blok, the far-right party disbanded after a court said it broke anti-racist laws. Comforting isn't it? Nigel's chums as he holds the EU's feet to the fire.
• A motley crew indeed. But, in their own way, Westminster-ites can be a rum bunch too. One senior commentator, speaking off the record to a recent private gathering, described the Lords as "an international scandal of patronage", worsened by "the influence of modern medicine". And on the record? Wise conscience of the nation.
• While Russian troops stomp up and down the Ukrainian border, Vlad Putin knows his activities are being closely monitored in London, not least by those he has hung out with. One such is London School of Economics director Craig Calhoun. After its embarrassing dalliance with Saif Gaddafi, it seems no tyrannical episode can unfold without some link to the LSE. Last summer Putin, en route to the G8 in Loch Erne, spent the evening chinwagging in London with American sociologist Calhoun, selected journos and BP's Bob Dudley among others. More recently on Twitter, Calhoun had a premonition. "I hope getting the most medals makes Russia happy. Things are bad when it's grumpy," tweeted Calhoun on 23 February. But such things merely inflame the critics. "I hope protesters in Ukraine being killed makes Russia happy. Things are bad when it's grumpy," mocked one of them. What will critics say on 14 March?: the start of Russian Business Week at the LSE.
• After first world war expert Christopher Clark's unkind questioning of Max Hastings' credentials as a historian, we asked: in what circumstances might one reasonably be described as a "complete historian"? We offered a reader prize, for, in this materialistic age, inducements are often necessary to spark debate. David McCrone tells us: "You're a complete historian if … you know where the bodies are buried." In the view of reader Peter Barnes: "You're a complete historian if your name is Michael Gove." Ron Jeffries, who dabbles himself, draws the general from the specific: "You're a complete historian if, having written and self-published Aldborough Hatch – The Village in the Suburbs – A History, you lecture the Ilford Historical Society, when a lady sitting in the second row is overheard by your wife to say for the 99th time: 'If he mentions that bloody book again, I am going home!'" For her part, Wendy Bracewell asks if only men can be complete historians. The answer is no. But we do behave like complete historians a lot of the time.
• Finally, there are secrets of who has won what in the annual press awards, and none will be revealed until April. But judging for newspaper of the year took place last week and during that event, many noted a fearsome phenomenon. Alan Johnson, former home secretary, was one of those assessing the entries, and every time he talked down the Guardian's scoops on NSA security and Edward Snowden, the poor Labour bigwig suffered a nosebleed. Thrice he had to leave the room, the better to steady his ship. Amid the disruption, some referred to the curse of the Guardian. Which is wrong, for right now we wish everybody well. Life is good. We haven't hexed anyone for years.
Twitter: @hugh_muir Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.