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That is sometimes true, but in London (and I suspect other big cities with metro systems like New York, Paris, etc.) it's usually the fastest way from A to B. Even the famous Black Cab with their privileged use of Bus Lanes, and intricate knowledge of the streets can't compete with the speed of a Tube Train through the centre of London.

It's not as bad as you imagine because everyone in London uses the tube, not just those that are downtrodden and smelly. In fact, many of the trains on the network are quite decent in comparison to what springs to mind when the phrase "public transport" is used:

http://www.railtechnologymagaz...
https://londonist.com/london/t...

Then you have the inter-city trains, like the one from London to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam etc. There's no comparison to flying:

https://www.cnet.com/pictures/...

As an old Brit, I admire many of our Victorian philanthropists, some in this list for example: http://londonist.com/2011/10/t... who did a great deal of good.

However the modern version always seems to have some catch, supporting stock prices or products, acquiring (more) big data etc. I'm waiting for simple altruism to come back into fashion. I'll certainly be dead before that, though. All these folks could go down about about $50m and live pretty comfortably too.

Some of the oldest ones http://londonist.com/2015/01/londons-history-in-manholes.php were rectangles (thanks T. Crapper!), not squares, but folks experimented with octagons too.

As such, I take a lot of taxi rides each year. But it doesn't matter if I'm in NYC, London, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, LA....

Have you actually ever taken a cab in London? The problem is the exact opposite of what you describe with only ~5% from minorities to the extent that they are trying to recruit more. As for "untrained hipster" they are required to pass The Knowledge before they get a license. They may have somewhat colourful characters but I've never had one who is not extremely competent, knowledgeable and driving a clear, well repaired cab.

One of the signatories to that piece is aerospace engineer Burt Rutan, whose company designed Spaceship One and other advanced plane designs. He's been arguing, for years, that global warming is an engineering problem, which benefits from being treated as such. This way of thinking affects how you diagnose the problem, and (more relevant) what you do about it. In engineering safety terms, the ideal way to deal with a problem is to prevent it. (Hardly controversial.) However, that does not mean that problems must be avoided at all costs; that is simply unreasonable. There needs to be some kind of cost-benefit analysis. If you can't reasonably avoid all problems, you work to mitigate their effects. What are the possible effects of "global warming"? Nature will be (mostly) fine, it's mainly about the impact on people, and there is much we can do to minimise the impact.

Where I am in agreement with Rutan is that there's too much alarmism about the impact that global warming might have if true. The oft-quoted 1m rise in mean sea level, for example: exactly why would that be the end of the world? Especially if that rise happens over centuries? Are the Maldives worth saving, for example? If you look at a city like London, for example, there are buildings along the Thames Embankment, some of which might be at some risk of flooding after a 1m rise in sea level. It's not correct to say that "London is under threat". Buildings do not last forever, nor are they expected to. I lived in London for years, and am struggling to think of a building of national historic value that would be at risk. One exception might be the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), but that is already sinking under its own weight.

Likewise, I don't have a problem with the idea that we could see more and stronger tropical storms - I read John Barnes' Mother of Storms when it first came out 18 years ago. (I'm not a "believer" in this stuff - "belief" is just not necessary. If that's true, and it can't be avoided ... what are we going to do to manage the situation. Why is it that cities in the Far East are regularly hit by typhoons, but it's not a disaster every time? There are lessons to be learned from how their infrastructure and building construction methods are better able to deal with the same levels of wind and rain that cause billions of dollars of damage in the USA.

While I don't agree with everything Rutan says, I'm with him on the need for people to stop panicking, and to start thinking about the practical implications of what could happen. For example: don't build houses on flood plains, or on slopes at risk of landslides if there's a lot of rain on them. Leave hillsides alone, let the natural vegetation hold the soil in place ... and recognise that landslides are going to happen anyway. It's a fool's errand to think you can prevent them at all costs, and it's a better idea to just stay out of their way. The same logic applies to other "human impacts": using intelligence can keep people out of harm's way.

Wtf? Free wifi in a European country?! Does not compute. I was almost certain that "Free", "Insert any service here", and "" could NEVER coexist in the same sentence.... Go to London, pay eleventy pounds for parking, pay to use restroom, pay to breathe air, pay to blink eyes, pay to use sidewalk, but Wifi is now freeeee! Oh wait, only because of the Olympics.

The parking (and congestion) charges are to discourage car use. Many Londoners, including me, don't even own a car.

But there's plenty of free things to do in London -- more than any other city I've ever visited. Some great museums: the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) at South Kensington are free. So is the British Museum, in Holborn. The Museum of London (in the City) is free, as is the Imperial War Museum (Lambeth). That's just the biggest ones, there are at least 20 more not-insignificant free museums.

There are markets, old buildings (cathedrals etc), big art galleries, parks, palaces, the river, theatre, many small gigs are free... and that's just the normal, year-round stuff. There should be free one-off events, though it's obviously worth planning if you want to see something in particular.

Try these websites:
http://www.visitlondon.com/tag/free-attractions
http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1424/free-london
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/free-london
http://londonist.com/tags/lotclist

I'd definitely take a laptop for a 2 week trip as it makes planning and locating touristy things that much easier. Try and stay in a place with free wifi - hostels will usually have free wifi, hotels usually charge. Free wifi options: http://londonist.com/2007/05/free_wifi_in_lo.php

For getting from Heathrow to London - if you're staying near Paddington I'd suggest the Heathrow Connect instead of the expensive Heathrow Express. They both run on the same track but the Connect is less frequent (every 30m and has a couple of stops so takes 10 mins longer) but is almost half the price. Alternatively take the tube (subway) if you've got the time to spare or aren't staying near Paddington.

Transport: the tube is usually the easiest option, though often it's quicker walking if only one stop. If staying out, tubes stop around 00:30 (earlier on Sunday nights) but there are nightbuses - see http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/ for planning a bus route to/from your hotel. For tubes/buses: you can buy a (pay as you go) Oyster card when you get here (£3 refundable deposit).
Cabs: you can only hail black cabs. Other cabs (usually cheaper) are called "minicabs" and can only be booked by phone. Addison Lee is the biggest minicab company but not the cheapest.

http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/calendar/events/ is good for London geeky events - worth checking out when you're here to see if anything interests you. Other people have covered the museums so I won't bother.

Worth a read: http://wikitravel.org/en/London

Buy a copy (in London) of Time Out London (weekly events/gigs/film/tv/theatre etc listing magazine) and also one of their London guidebooks. They're the best guides. May also be worth picking up a free "TNT" magazine (they're everywhere) for gig/party listings - is popular with backpackers/younger people.

Try some markets in London too: Borough Food Market on a Sat morning; perhaps Camden Market ("alternative" but rather tired) on Sat afternoon. Spitalfields on a Sunday (trendy junk). Columbia Road flower market on Sunday morning is very good too (for something a bit different). There's Christmas markets in Hyde Park and by the O2 (North Greenwich tube).
Main deparment stores are between Oxford St tube & Marble arch tubes - just walk along Oxford St. Selfridges is more popular with Londoners than Harrods. If you want a shopping mall then there's Westfield (Google for locations).

Get a single ticket on a boat to Greenwich to see the meridian line, naval observatory, painted hall etc. But don't take a boat back as it takes forever - instead get the tube back.

Out of town: Brighton is also worth a weekend trip (train is 1hr from Victoria or London Bridge). Sat/Sun are best for the shops on the lanes. It's the closest seaside town to London - though take a map so you know how to find the lanes (on left hand side as you walk from station to seaside). December won't be so great but it's still worth a visit.

You can go to Oxford, Brighton etc on the bus but I prefer the train (quicker, more comfortable). I'd recommend pre-booking at least a day in advance - when you book you can choose to pickup the ticket from a machine at the station. http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/ is a good site for getting an idea of rail fares - if they're too expensive then take a bus (most buses leave from the coach station near Victoria station).

the Londonist has a nice free wifi map available: http://londonist.com/2007/05/free_wifi_in_lo.php

Unfortunately, there will always be idiotic trials.

Not technically a trial, but the advertising standards authority in the UK might have to rule whether God exists

Christians complained about an advert saying that He probably didn't, so the legality of the advert depends on God's existance

Some Shopping Malls will ban anyone who covers their
face.

This also applies to People wearing hats in public bars, even if they are pensioners.

It's also illegal to organise a protest in London without first gaining permission from the police first (The SOCPA Act).
Already one man has been arrested for dressing up as Charlie Chaplin and making a silent protest using signs such as "not aloud" and "right to remain silent". Another woman was arrested for baking a cake with a statement made using icing.

The incompetence of this legislation is being discussed by MP's

...does it have the memory of an elephant ??

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Ian "Rock star, but fuck knows how" Brown.