A poem to start the day, this time from John Hegley, who’s even better seen in the flesh.

I said Pat
you are fat
and you are cataclysmically desirable
and to think I used to think
that slim was where it’s at
well not any more Pat
you’ve changed all that
you love yourself
you flatter yourself
you shatter their narrow image of the erotic
and Pat said
what do you mean FAT?

2 Must-Read Blog Posts

What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

• Tim Cox on Liberal Vision tackles the ever-thorny aid vs. trade issue
• Martin Shapland has the latest gossip on who’s running for Liberal Youth Chair. If I were only a couple of decades younger…

Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren’t on the aggregator? Do post up a comment sharing them with us all.

2 Interesting Stories

Fifty strikes and you’re out
That’s The Register’s take on a Lib Dem amendment to the Digital Economy Bill.

So it’s not three strikes, but fifty strikes, before you’re out. Or, “fifty free download sessions”. Which come to think of it, almost sounds like a business plan. It’s certainly closer to a business plan than anything official we’ve seen for months; the music business is keener applying the thumbscrews than fulfilling its part of the bargain to come up with new music services.

Last year, labels killed the world’s first licensed P2P file sharing network (Virgin) and one label is stalling on an unlimited downloads service, again with Virgin.

I’d pay for that bundle of fifty sessions. Wouldn’t you?

Both extremes of the copyright debate seem determined to show us that they’re as deranged as each other.

NHS Screening of dubious value

Although wrong to call it a “blunder” the dear old Express is on the right track with this story – the study it refers to, though just one, is the latest of several casting serious doubt on the value of breast cancer screening, especially for younger women.

A disturbing report claims that one in four diagnoses is incorrect, as lumps found on scans often prove to be benign.

But up to 7,000 a year will have treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy.