The latest from Pat Condell:
Hat tip: DF.
There has been another deadly attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt. This time the incident occurred on a train, and according to some reports the perpetrator was a policeman. Witnesses say the gunman boarded the train and appeared to look around until he identified a group of Christians. He then shot and killed one man, and wounded five others.For a long time, English dictionaries and grammars used written language to show what ‘proper’ English should be like. The spoken word was either seen as inferior, or it was neglected altogether. This has changed over the last twenty years or so. To the layperson, everyday speech can appear disorderly and incomplete, but many linguists now view conversational English as ‘language at full stretch’ (Carter 2004: 26) and argue that everyday speech is governed by linguistic rules that allow people to interact meaningfully with one another in real time (Maybin 2001: 10). The layperson may not be consciously aware of these rules, but all native speakers use them whenever they engage in conversation (Pridham, 2006: 243).
Turn-taking rules have been studied in depth, and they are well understood. The work of Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson has strongly influenced this area of conversational analysis (Maybin 2001: 10, Pridham 2006: 684). Turn transition is accomplished at ‘turn-transition relevance places’. It has been shown that during everyday conversation, a speaker will naturally project a completion point as they speak. The speaker is entitled to the time it takes to reach that point, at which time another participant may enter, or re-enter, the conversation (Psathas 1995: 37).
Pridham asserts that people often communicate using a spoken narrative (2006: 632). Schenkein has shown that the phenomenon of ‘telling stories’ emerges naturally from turn-by-turn talk, and that spoken narratives are understood by English speakers to be a coherent conversational unit (1978 cited by Psathas 1995: 21-22).
A speaker may use such a narrative, or they may use shorter utterances in order to make meaning during conversation, but within the British sociocultural context, a speaker retains the right to speak until they indicate to a listener that their story has been completed. Interrupting other speakers is not considered to be good conversational behaviour (Pridham 2006: 260).
In the course of the BBC radio interview in question, Mr. Perrone interrupted Mr. Singh several times, at approximately 1.14, 1.43, 2.02, 2.15, 5.35 and 6.48. Of course, any linguistic rules which have been found to apply to everyday conversation may not apply in exactly the same way during a radio interview, since the context in which language is being produced is slightly different. Nevertheless, it is generally understood within British culture that if one invites someone else to speak, it is considered impolite to interrupt them before they have finished speaking (i.e. before they have reached a transition relevance place). This applies to a semi-formal context such as a BBC radio interview as well as everyday speech.

Hi people, it’s Tommy Robinson.
My case has been thrown out of court. The police attempted to fit me up, and it’s failed miserably. I apologise to anyone who has booked days off.
Your support through this has been much appreciated. God bless and no surrender.

Seven Face Court Over Bendigo Rape
Four men and three boys have been charged with raping a woman at Bendigo in central Victoria.
Mohammad Zaoli, 21, Aru Gar, 19, and Mohammad El Nour and Akoak Manon, both 18 years old, are each facing 17 offences including counts of rape and assault.
Three boys aged from 14 to 17 have been charged with the same offences.

Jared Lee Loughner and Sheriff Clarence Dupnik continue to dominate the news. The meme of the “right-wing hate climate” is still dominant, even as new information pours in that erodes any meaningful connection between the alleged shooter and the tea parties. The most interesting news so far on the Tucson shooting is percolating in the blogs, but has yet to emerge in the MSM.Will Conservative Media Elites Defend Lars Hedegaard? (Including, “A Guide for the Islamically-Perplexed”)
by Andrew G. Bostom
Conservative Free Speech Diehards — or Blowhards?This past Friday, 1/7/11, I received a plaintive appeal on behalf of my colleague, Danish journalist and historian Lars Hedegaard, President of the Danish Free Press Society and The International Free Press Society (IFPS). My response to the appeal is included at the end of this essay as a succinct guide to Islamically-perplexed, high-profile US conservative media elites who, till now, have entirely ignored the burgeoning crisis epitomized by Lars Hedegaard’s current plight. It is well past time for these self-anointed champions of free speech to weigh-in publicly and offer a robust defense of my colleague — and theirs — Lars Hedegaard.
Whom am I addressing in conservative media, specifically? All of the best-known and “highest-rated” (as they are constantly reminding us, at any rate) radio and television personalities — Mr. No Spin, “What say you?”; “Dittos” to you, Rush; Don’t continue to be a mute mime clown on this matter, Glenn; You’re not ringing in support of freedom of speech, Sean; and I’ll indeed bite you if you don’t open your loud, but highly intelligent mouth in support of Hedegaard, Mark.
As for the conservative, or “center-right” print/on-line media icons — the editorial boards of the National Review, Weekly Standard, and Wall Street Journal — your continued silence is craven and hypocritical, not golden.
Here is the crux of Mr. Hedegaard’s case, and some background. As the IFPS appeal notes,



Unlike their western neighbors, Central European nations are not experiencing massive immigration. As a result of its current demographic free-fall, plus a high emigration rate, Poland’s population is expected to decline by three million in the next 25 years. Romania is facing something similar, and some calculations project a Roma majority by the year 2050, due to the high gypsy birth rate.