While I Was Out

Widespread riots in the UK, none in Whitby, though a hedge burned, after a garden fire got “out of hand”.

The police and government non-response to the mayhem reminded me of the case of Simon Ledger, who was arrested for singing 70’s novelty hit “Kung-Fu Fighting” at bar on the Isle of Wight because the lyrics offended a Chinaman and his mother (the technical term for this state of affairs is anarcho-tyranny).

In Jertih, Malaysia, two bomoh captured nine djinns, at the home of a young woman  who  “vanished on several occasions, only to be found in odd places like inside a cement mixer and a cemetery”:

Hundreds of residents flocked to the home…when they heard that the "culprits" had been captured and imprisoned in special containers. Curious onlookers jostled to take photos and video footage of the containers and the djinns said to be inside.The two bomoh, who refused to be identified, offered their services for free on Friday after reading about Siti Balqis' plight in newspapers. At 7.30pm, one of them started praying inside the family home while the other recited verses outside the front door. About 15 minutes later, the bomoh outside the house saw a figure dashing away. He gave chase and captured it. Subsequently, eight more djinns were captured one by one as they tried to flee. The bomoh said the sealed containers would be thrown into the sea so that the djinns would not bother anyone again.

 Also in Malaysia,  a new “Reuniting Families-Child Safety” program was launched.

Social workers attempt to reunite a lazy child with his neglectful mother.

Deranged New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof announced “My hard drive overflows with photos of children bleeding from shrapnel.” I’ve long been suspicious of Kristof. I find his reports on Third-World prostitution overly enthusiastic.

Professional blogger Matty Yglesias announced he was writing a book about "housing policy":

The basic idea is to make the case that pathological elements of our housing policy that increase the cost of living in desirable neighborhoods of key metropolitan areas are an underrated of America’s economic and social problems. Longtime readers will be familiar with the general shape of my thinking on this issue, but the ideas are going to be laid out in a more systematic way with a much more comprehensive look at how it all fits together and what levers might exist 

It goes on like that. Mr. Yglesias is a graduate of the Dalton School and Harvard University.

Uruguay strengthened ties with Iran. I thought part of the appeal of being Uruguay was that you didn’t have do things like form alliances with countries like Iran.

In Bihar, a forest dwelling Maoist was arrested with “arms and explosives”. I thought part of the appeal dwelling in the forest was that you could escape ideological entanglements.