You're so work and you don't even know it

Thanks again to psychonomy, whose Nazi seems to be even more confused than usual

Lord Moynihan

News item from 1965:

A young Malayan belly dancer became a peeress today with the death of Lord Moynihan, a former chairman of Britain's Liberal party.

The new Lady Moynihan is the former Shirin Berry, known professionally as Princess Amina, who was married in 1958 to Anthony P.A. Moynihan, the Baron's son, at a secret Moslem ceremony in Tangier, Morocco.

A year later they were married again in England. Mr Moynihan, a devotee of rock'n'roll, resigned his reserve commission in the Brigade of Guards and played the bongo drums at his wife's worldwide cabaret appearances. [The Times]

I recommend the noble Lord's Telegraph obituary in 1991:

If there was a guiding principle to Moynihan's life, it was to be found on the wall of his office in Manila, where a brass plaque bore the legend, “Of the 36 ways of avoiding disaster, running away is the best”...

After he succeeded his father in the peerage in 1965, Moynihan took the Liberal Whip in the House of Lords, where he was principally concerned in arguing that Gibraltar be given to Spain. The House was not impressed. In 1968 Lord Boothby interrupted one of Moynihan's speeches: “My Lords, the noble Lord has bored us stiff for nearly three-quarters of an hour. I beg to move that he no longer be heard”...

As the 1970s wore on Moynihan found employment in the narcotics trade, as well as in fraud and prostitution. The first hint of this came in 1980, when he was named by an Australian Royal Commission as an associate of Sydney's “Double Bay Mob”, engaged in the import of heroin from Manila. No charges were brought, however, and Moynihan continued his life as a Filipino pimp under the patronage of President Marcos—“my drinking chum”, as he called him. [Telegraph]

(no subject)

A tip to aspiring hawkish politicians, think tanks, arms dealers etc: when playing mood music, try and keep it in the same key.

"From a secrecy standpoint, it's like dropping a Ferrari into an ox-cart technology culture," [Teal Group analyst] Aboulafia said. "But I'm sure they can sell it to someone who can get some kind of information out of it." [Defense News]

Alternatively, they're just now putting the finishing touches to their own nuclear weapon. Which is it?

Hat-tip: The Angry Arab

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More special-interest whining from smug scroungers:

Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Dear Secretary of State,

It is with grave concern that we are forced to write to you again about the impact the Welfare Reform Bill proposals will have on cancer patients.

As representatives and supporters for the whole cancer community, we are speaking on behalf of many cancer patients and their families whom we believe the Welfare Reform Bill will push into poverty.

Cancer patients want to work. They haven’t chosen to give up the safety of employment. The assertion that providing hard earned benefits at a time of greatest need encourages a dependency by seriously ill cancer patients on benefits is utterly
without foundation.

The UK’s leading cancer charities have repeatedly asked for vital changes to the Bill. However, not only has the Government failed to address their concerns but instead you are proposing to make it even harder for many patients undergoing gruelling chemotherapy to claim the financial support they desperately need.

In our experience of treating, supporting, or being cancer patients, one year is simply not long enough for many people to recover from cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be highly debilitating. The ongoing and severe side-effects can leave patients struggling for years. Although there is clear evidence that one year is not long enough for patients to recover, the Government has shown no willingness to find a compromise....

- 89 signatories including the usual suspects—heads of cancer charities, etc -

[Full letter (PDF)]

A tip for the Secretary of State: quite a few of the signatories are themselves cancer patients. Leave it a few months before you reply and, statistically, there'll be at least one or two fewer replies to send out. Never hurts to save the department the price of a stamp. Keep up the good work!