This is a short announcement show. The podcasting side of our host is shutting down any day and this show is primarily aimedat those of you who download the show automatically via iTunes. We will be announcing our new web site and show feeds as soon as they are ready but in the meantime if you want to sign upto be notified, please send an email to listen @ shirenetworknews.net and we'll make sure you get a message about it. And thank you all, once again, for your contributions and for your patience while we get up and running again. This week's closing quote is from Menachem Begin: I have written this book primarily for my own people, lest the Jew forget again--as he so disastrously forgot in the past--this simple truth: that there are things more precious than life, and more horrible than death. But I have written this book also for Gentiles, lest they be unwilling to realise, or all too ready to overlook, the fact that out of blood and fire and tears and ashes a new specimen of human being was born, a specimen completely unknown to the world for over eighteen hundred years, "the Fighting Jew." That Jew, whom the world considered dead and buried never to rise again, has arisen. For he has learned that "simple truth" of life and death, and he will never again go down to the sides of the pit and vanish from the face of the earth.  The Revolt  by Menachem Begin p. x i. Tags: brian of london · announcements

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We're back and broadcasting Shire Network News again. This week we've put together a cracking show featuring old favorites and a special timely interview with former guest, Professor Barry Rubin, Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and Editor, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. He is talking to us direct from Israel where he is only just outside Hamas rocket range. He's also got some very wise words for us all on not taking the media too seriously and the implications for the rest of the world of criticism of Israel's actions in trying to deal with the Hamas terrorist threat. Please feel free to follow your host, Brian of London on Twitter. In Blog News we hear some Hamas terrorist biographies from Israellycool Dave's site. You should be following Dave's site for the best live blogging with his own brand of commentary. We also hear Victor Davis Hanson's suggestions for how the Israelis could be a bit more "proportional" in their response. It's been a long time but this much Gaza noise and the fact that it even invaded his cozy world of Second Life, has brought our old friend Laurence Simon out of retirement. You can find him on line at his site "This blog is full of crap" where you'll find links to his other work. Laurence mentions sending a pizza to the IDF which you can do from Pizza IDF. Meryl Yourish is also, of course, right on top of this topic. Please visit her excellent and constantly updated blog. We close with an extract from a particularly strong speech given by Winston Churchill. I urge you to read the whole thing. The Munich Agreement. I will also re-iterate here: we are looking to raise money to make this show grow substantially. Please help us out if you can. We've provided years of top quality news, satire, humour and entertainment: you decide if that has been worth something to you. And to all who have donated all ready our very heartiest thanks! If you would like to advertise on our show, please get in touch! So with that, I commend this show to the house! Tags: brian of london · tom paine · meryl yourish · laurence simon · barry rubin

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Yes your iTunes feed is not deceiving you! Shire Network News is back for one more show before Christmas. We've pulled out all the stops to bring you a whole new show with contributions from Shire Network News regulars, Meryl Yourish and Doug Payton. Both are looking back on what a fine year 2009 (yes Two Thousand and NINE) has been In addition, Tom has been hard at work in the cutting room pulling together some of his favorite blog news items from over three years of material. I'm sure you'll agree that good satire never goes stale. Except for the story about the French rejecting the European Union. That story is so old we've had at least four more attempts by European  faceless minions to foist the sorry constitution on their various peoples since that rejection. Tom is serious in the show, we are looking at putting on a major marketing effort in the new year and any donations you make (see the button to the right) will go toward expanding the show's audience. And not pay for Brian to be able to listen to live coverage of the numerous defeats of the England cricket team. As ever, enjoy the show and see you all next year! Tags: tom paine · brian of london · meryl yourish · doug payton

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Here it is, the long awaited, we're not sulking, back from the dead episode of Shire Network News. This week its a round table discussion between Tom Paine, Brian of London, Meryl Yourish and Doug Payton. We're looking for your feedback! Tags: tom paine · meryl yourish · brian of london · doug payton

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This week the show simply asks American citizens for their vote, in this most crucial US election. We'll hear direct appeals from the show's main interviewer, "Tom Paine", and contributors Meryl Yourish, Doug Payton and Evan Sayet. Brian of London isn't here today, but he wants you all to know that even though he's as yet a non-citizen, he has some serious skin n this game, as he's just dropped a thousand pounds on McCain to win at 5-1. Will McCain win? He'd BETTER!

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This week Shire Network News struggles to remain upbeat and cheerful. We will not lose, we will not lose. This week's guest, Kathy Shaidle, has just released her new book (co-written with Peter Vere): "The Tyranny of Nice:  how Canada crushes freedom in the name of human rights -- and why it matters to Americans". If you order the book from Mark Steyn's site, he'll even autograph it for you. Kathy blogs at five feet of fury and speaks to us about the abuses of the Canadian Human Rights system. This week the show features almost all of our more regular contributors: Evan Sayet is on and keeping the tone optimistic. You can find details of his conservative comedy show at his web site. Doug Payton is asking us to think carefully as usual. Peter Glover  returns, soggy and enraged, from Wales. Meryl Yourish is very happy not to have become a journalist. Blog News this week has been replaced by a pep talk from our glorious leader. No, not him, the other one, Tom Paine. Tags: brian of london · tom paine · meryl yourish · doug payton · peter glover · evan sayet

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In a world where truth has been inverted and nobody knows what is going on any more, Brian of London returns to Shire Network News to bring you the interview of the year. This week Tom Pain, senior Shire Network News film critic speaks to the Director of probably this year's most universally panned movie (in the main stream media). Yes we speak to David Zucker, director of An American Carol. David speaks to us about the movie's initial reception and the process behind getting an overtly conservative movie out of Hollywood. Meanwhile in our Blog News section we have, once again, sunk to the level of over covering the US Presidential Elections. Regular service will return moking Jihadis as soon as we can. We first cover some of the overt attempts to rig the ballot and register new voters. For some reason no one is concentrating on rounding up unregistered Republicans. Take a look at HolyCoast.com for more details. Michelle Malkin is covering the less than public goings on as well. Our final part of this story, covering the horrific attempt to disenfranchise imaginary-Americans comes from Iowahawk. If, for some reason, you want to learn more about Cynthia McKinney's claim that the US government executed 5000 prisoners and dumped them in Louisiana's swamps under cover of Katrina: go ahead. It is from Jim Treacher that we learn the left's reaction to McLame's claim that Obama is his "Opponent". As ever, Evan Sayet is on hand and you can catch Evan Sayet's "Right to Laugh", an evening of conservative comedy every third Tuesday of the month at the World Famous Laugh Factory on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.   Doug Payton is wondering why nobody is suggesting that we cut the spending instead of raising the taxes. And if anyone can offer Brian of London the use of a RECORDING STUDIO when he visits Israel, these shows might come out on time and not be plagued with background noise when he finds himself trying to record a show on a park bench in the middle of the night, eventually giving up because the Damn Crickets were so loud. Tags: brian of london · tom paine · evan sayet · doug payton

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In this week's edition of Shire Network News, our guest is Australian writer John Birmingham, who has just published a book in which the Left gets it's oft-stated wish that the world wakes up one day and America is simply not there anymore. It's called "Without Warning", and we must warn prospective readers, it contains plenty of what  John Birmingham calls "explody goodness". We hear disturbing evidence of the cult-like worship of the Dear Leader, Obama, patron Saint of Hopeful Change and helmsman of all our destinies, Slow Joe Biden does a passable impersonation of Grandpa Simpson and alerts us all to the real danger we're in from....er....corn syrup. So it looks like that long-awaited carpet bombing of Iowa is getting the green light from Washington on Inauguration Day then. That'll teach those Iowans not to dis Delware's most famous Senator on Caucus night.  The BBC gets a caning from Muslim clerics for not bending over and saying "thank you sir, may I have another" enough, Muslims get to hold religious events on state property and the ACLU doesn't dare utter a sound, and the one-eyed nature of Saudi religiosity is finally revealed for all the world to see. Meryl Yourish says Sarah Palin is making Democrats go a little funny in the head, and Evan Sayet is not surprised that the endorsement of Sarah Palin by the chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organisation of Women has apparently slipped down the memory hole as far as the media is concerned. Doug Payton arises like Lazarus from a bed of pain to talk about political philosophy, but honestly it's way more interesting and relevants than that sounds. Go and see "An American Carol" this week please, in fact we are hoping to be able to speak to the film's director, David Zucker, on the podcast next week. Oh, and if you're holding off on helping the McCain campaign because you figure he's "not conservative enough" for your personal tastes, how would you feel about four years of "The Jimmy Carter Presidency, Part Two - This Time He's Black, Not That It Makes The Slightest Difference To His Incompetence And Instinctive Desire to Appease the Enemy? I lived through the 70's, trust me on this, you do NOT want a re-run of that. Besides, disco sucked hard enough the first time, and the thought of having to endure constant jihadi suicide attacks on our major domestic population centers while having nothing but Bee Gees tribute groups or KC and the Sunshine Band retrospectives to listen to on the radio is simply too much to bear. Tags: tom paine · meryl yourish · evan sayet · doug payton

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