Steve Bell

Roy Keane has recieved a fine of £150000 follwing his vicious premeditated assault on Alf Inge Haalland. He also got a five match ban. The fine is hefty by any standards, but he will probably have made that in increased book sales and serialisation rights. The ban is a joke. A very feeble joke. He admitted going after Haaland and anyone who has seen the tackle will know just how vicious and ugly it was. Five matches is nothing in the context, particularly as he is unfit anyway, so the actual effect of the ban is zero. Keane and his manager will be giggling tonight.

Drag your cursor around and make a ballet. Bleeding marvelous.

Interesting New York Times piece on the irritating little tiff between Hitchens and
Amis. Call me a cynic but their mutually self aggrandising exchange of pleasantries has ensured much more free publicity for both their books than would have been the case if it had just been left to the reviewers.

An interesting Wall Street Journal piece on the Bali bomb. (reg required)

This is enough to warm your cockles. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has published the first volume of his memoirs. One million copies were pre ordered in the Spanish speaking world. So eager were people to get their hands on it a truck full of the things was hijacked. I doubt the memoirs of self important upstarts like Martin Amis would generate such excitement. It's a bit worrying that the volume only goes up to 1957, given his age and state of health.
A 1999 profile of Gabo, found at The ModernWord, which also carries a New York Times article on the writing of the memoirs, which have already sold out in Mexico.