Normally, I would not link to anything published by The Sun, grotty English tabloid that it is.
But this article is too good to miss. While Sky New presenters frothed at the mouth, and even the BBC dribbled profusely, this strange article slipped out.
Were 20 armoured cars really necessary?
At the start of July, not too long after the British election which ended in a draw, ex-convict Raoul Moat went on the run after shooting his girlfriend, her new partner and later a police officer. An enormous police operation swung into action, with armed police brandishing automatic weapons all over the place. The public were in terrible danger from this half-baked commando, and so on.
The pathetic tale of Raoul Moat came to an end in the little village of Rothbury, where he holed up and eventually shot himself by a river, after a stand-off with police.
Former English football star, and noted oddball, Paul Gascoigne, better known as Gazza, turned up in Rothbury in the middle of the siege, clutching a fishing rod and dressing gown. In a phone interview, he claimed to have known "Moaty" in the old days, as a bouncer. Gazza brought Moat "a can of lager, some chicken, a mobile phone and something to keep warm".
"a can of lager, some chicken"
"He is willing to give in now. I just want to give him some therapy and say. 'Come on Moaty, it's Gazza'."
"I heard he was by the river, and I brought my fishing rod too so we can fish together and have a chat. I want to talk to him because I think I'm the only man to help him."
"The police wouldn't let me through because they were frightened he might shoot me, but I know he won't. I have just been in a car crash, hit a wall at 90mph. I survived that, so I can survive a bullet - knowing my luck he will probably miss."
"He's doing what? I am sitting having an evening meal in Majorca. I'm speechless."
Yet another bizarre story surrounding Raoul Moat, and the mother who brought her children to his funeral, claiming it was "better than Legoland".
Airline jobs once inspired respect and envy. But at Los Angeles International Airport about 100 airline employees - from mechanics to pilots - are living in mobile homes parked just yards from one of the busiest runways in the world.
This story of mechanics and pilots living under the planes they fly is really quite depressing, and quite Ballardian. The article details how the dream of flying, the mystique and chic, have been stripped away. These men who followed their dream have found nothing at the end of the road.