Ok. I give in. Pass me today's paper will you?

My informal boycott of the newspapers is not turning out as well as expected. It's easy to forget that half-decent reportage is embedded in the welter of opportunism and disingenuousness that passes for comment. So I used to know all of the news that was being deliberately misinterpreted. Now I can only quietly eavesdrop on conversations without really taking part.

An ignorance of the basic facts doesn't make for robust arguments. Hacks may be exasperating, but they do try to cover most of the bases. To make most of the phonecalls to the relevant parties.

For example, I've been looking at the reaction of various blogs to the decision to discontinue the enquiry into bribery that surrounds the Saudi arms deal.

I'd not dissent from most of the comment that I've seen about this. Chris offers an original version of the liberal principle on the rule of law (the 'M-word' is in there, surprisingly!), and Paul points out that things may not be as cut-and-dried as HMG had hoped. Good.

But not reading the papers, I don't know if the debate has been dominated by....

• All sides calling for an increased separation of powers
• What a good thing it is that there are international frameworks - no matter how feeble - that may challenge the unseparatedness of powers here in the UK

I also don't know whether the Unions have...

a) condemned HMG for it's unscrupulousness
b) congratulated HMG on it's defence of British jobs
c) kept quiet about the whole thing

Unless they have chosen option a (above), it makes Dave's call for the left to unite around the principles of decency a pretty forlorn one.

Would the usual cartload of newspapers have annoyed me this weekend, I wonder?

And I'd love to know what is on TV tonight - and what horses are running tomorrow. Life's to short to sit and browse it all online...