I'm afraid we have some bad news. For reasons which are detailed in the podcast, this is probably the final Shire Network News, certainly at least in it's current format. [See Update below for amendments to that statement] We seem to have gotten ourselves smack-dab in the middle of the Blog Civil War that's going on, and we managed to get ourselves ripped apart by the gravitational forces. Yes, yes, we TRIED reversing the polarity through the deflector array, didn't work. In part, the reason why "Brian of London" and "Tom Paine" in Australia have come to truce and treaty and the parting of the ways is the subject of this weeks special and probably last feature interview. It's with Filip Dewinter, leader of the Valaams Belang, the Flemish nationalist party in Belgium. As many of you already know, there has been a great disturbance in the Blog recently over the counter-Jihad movement cooperating with the VB and other European parties with questionable antecedents, such as the Swedish Democrats. Shire Network News was offered the chance to put the tough questions to the man himself. And so, like idiots, we did. And then...well, listen for yourselves. For myself, "Tom Paine", now that we seem to be in the Blogosphere equivalent of the week that Fort Sumter was fired upon, I reckon on lighting out for the territories for a spell, I figure I'll be back when this has all blown over. And I'm sure all of us wish Brian of London great success with his family in their new country. And perhaps it might be worth remembering that there's a real enemy out there, and it's not each other, m'kay? UPDATE: Due to overwhelming public demand (and the fact that Meryl Yourish is metaphorically standing over me, tapping her Louisville Slugger in a meaningful way), Shire Network News will NOT be ending. So do please go ahead and subscribe through iTunes, you can count on us still coming out regularly. But can I ask that you bear with us while we sort out a few internal issues and work out what changes we might need to make to the show. "Brian of London" is currently in transit between the UK and the USA, and as a new immigrant he may need some time to get on his feet, meaning less time for the podcast. No doubt when he's found his feet he will be able to do a terrific Alastair Cooke Englishman-in-America routine. Producing a weekly good quality satirical-yet-serious program with contributors all over the world is not easy, quick, or cheap, and there's a degree of stress involved. None of us are making any money off this, we do it because we want to make a difference. I just want to thank you for your support, and ask for your patience while we have a bit of a re-think about what we're doing and how we do it. And who we're prepared to jump into bed with, but lets not start THAT again. There, happy now? In the meantime, I think it's time for some Illinois Nazis!

[ Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:06:04 +0000 ]

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