Wednesday, April 26, 2006

A pint of Guinness and a packet of panelists, please

The New York Times has a detailed story from a night of Leviathan -- the monthly debate at Crawdaddy moderated by "economist and rising media star" David McWilliams. It's worth a read. Incidentally, the reporter (Brian Lavery) doesn't mention that Alan Shatter is Jewish; it's unclear whether that was part of the thinking behind his selection as one of the panelists. Anyway it is clear that his interjection at a fellow panelist -- "Do you believe those who crashed into the twin towers are martyrs?" -- did stir things up nicely which of course is what such events need. The closing statement:

On his way out the door, Mr. McWilliams, with his shock of red hair and impish smile, tries to explain Leviathan's appeal.

"It's about trying to recapture a bit of public space in this town," he says. "People here are educated," he says, but they like getting drunk. "There's nothing worse than a sober group taking itself too seriously."

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