The ongoing odyssey of incompetence and arrogance at the top of BP has become incredible to behold. And a reminder of how "big people" just don't give a brass darn about the small people of the world. It explains a lot about British establishment culture - explains how Blair can swagger about after Iraq, and why, no matter what anyone says or does, the upper elites get away with virtual murder. Tony Hayward should be the most hated man in Britain, not just America - his insouciance is appalling. But then again, this is the nation that accepts nil-nil results from its playboy players. What went wrong? Why no revolution? And now, wait for the budget on Tuesday. More small people about to bear the brunt.
THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that
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