Cloned meat, Bullshit and Science

So, an embryo from a cloned cow was bought from America and two offspring have got into the food chain. Well, I'm underwhelmed. But this story is consistently being pushed by the BBC, on one level it's merely a classic 'silly season' story, on another it's a danger to our particularly vulnerable beef farmers. Whilst I'm not a particular fan of our little kings of agriculture, beef farming is only just recovering from the BSE crisis and could be hit badly by this irresponsible journalism.

Yet the public have a responsibility too, one we're failing at terribly, in that we should be intelligent enough not to respond like idiots to stories of this nature. The problem is science - the word itself seems to send normal people into dithering, witless dimwits. This disgraceful lack of knowledge seems to make people very defensive indeed, even aggressively displaying their ignorance as some supposed mark of cleverness. If this is you, please stop, you look like a fucking moron.

Julian Huppert, Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, is one of only two MPs (out of 650ish) to hold a science doctorate, and the only MP to have worked in the scientific field. He's described the problem of scientific illiteracy in parliament as being so bad that all MPs should have a mandatory course in the subject. I'd go farther, perhaps the entire nation needs an enforced lesson in science just to stop them acting like complete arseholes.

Kay Burley now watcheable?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting Kay Burley has become any better at her job. That would seem an impossibility to me. Her right wing bias, corpse hunting, unprepared, uninformed and unintelligent reporting, with particular reference to her live interviews with unsuspecting fools, remains unchanged. It might be getting worse.

But I can watch her now. Because she's become a parody of herself. That pointed nose, so happy to sniff out a disaster in any situation and the shrieking voice asking stupid questions no longer grate. In fact one takes pleasure in them, all the gaffes, embarrassing moments and nonsense. Each is weighed against the others and shared like a tasty morsel with friends over twitter or whatnot.

Unusually, I think I know the exact moment when things changed. It was, of course, the interview she gave during the election during which she was heckled. "Sack Kay Burley. Watch the BBC." was the cry, and followed by the classy, "Sky News is shit. Watch the BBC."

I'd like to thank that protester or protesters and shake him or them by the hand. I'd probably buy him a meal if he isn't a vegan (or they aren't).

And I think we should take it further. Go and find yourself some pompous buffoon, a puffed up poser, an idiot doing their job badly and shout at them "You are shit. Watch the BBC." This needn't be on camera but that's always better isn't it. Do this persistently until they stop. If they cry you get double points.

Piers Morgan, Simon Cowell, George Osborne, and tens of thousands of British shop workers and council officials take note. And Noel Edmunds.