Linkage for Thursday, 20th December 2012

This piece by Cory Doctorow is one of the best arguments for the entertainment industry needing to respond to its customers I have seen. He uses an excellent analogy to illustrate his point about externalisation of the costs of doing business.

Wonga are blinding critics with science - Payday lender in bullshit shocker

Golden Eagle Snatches Kid story turns out to be a computer generated student project - Snopes wins the day yet again

I try to give the police the benefit of the doubt, but it's becoming harder and harder – Telegraph Blogs - When even people like Dan Hannan start to lose the faith you know the institution is in real trouble

Yet More Evidence Shows No Link Between Video Games And Actual Violence | Techdirt - Particularly salient at the moment. The GOP/NRA will do anything to distract from the need to do something about the automatic weapons being used to murder children.

Is plebgate a product of the push for police reform? | Martin Kettle | Comment is free | The Guardian

Want to download all your tweets right from the start? Here's how.

Labour should probably take this "Who do you believe, the Police or Mitchell" page down now. The answer is Mitchell.

Suspect this lengthy interview with Jimmy Savile by Andrew Neil from 1995 recently uploaded to YouTube will get lots of views. The bit when he whips out a banana and starts to eat it mid-interview is particularly weird.

Tony Blair on UKIP: “Never far from being nasty and never close to being sensible.” He's still got it.

Stumbling and Mumbling: Support the undeserving poor - Usual excellence from Mr Dillow

Will 2013 bring an end to unpaid internships? » Spectator Blogs - I hope yes. I suspect no.

Jesus. Thank Christ Mike Huckabee got nowhere near being POTUS.

There's more to diversity than statistics. We need change at the top | Comment is free | The Guardian

Could David Cameron be a bit frit about facing Ed Miliband in TV debates? | Andrew Rawnsley | Comment is free | The…

This article is a very moving (and also terrifying) call for more help for the mentally ill: "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" - Should be required reading for anyone interested in the problems of mental health and the lack of available help for families

Secular Britain is ruled by religious bureaucrats | Nick Cohen | Comment is free | The Observer

The party machines might not know it yet but political parties are dying « Labour Uncut

Won't follow Apple Store rules? How 'bout an iTASER TREAT! • The Register

Newtown shootings: if not now, when is the time to talk about gun control? | Gary Younge | Comment is free |…