Richard Dawkins ? ?It?s his certainty that has made him the sort who gets to hang out with Homer Simpson.? Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian
? Long time no fatwa. Not one of note, at any rate. But don't worry: Professor Richard Dawkins, much buoyed by his self-voiced appearance in The Simpsons in the US this weekend, hopes to restore the equilibrium. Last month, commenting on the destruction of a library in Timbuktu, he rounded on the "Islamic barbarians". And more recently, a double salvo. "I think Islam is the greatest force for evil today," tweeted the professor. Is it, he was asked. "Haven't read the Qur'an, so couldn't quote chapter and verse like I can Bible but often say Islam is the greatest force for evil today ? do I have to read Mein Kampf before saying nazism was one of the greatest forces for evil ever devised?" It's his certainty that has made him the sort who gets to hang out with Homer Simpson. And of course, his consistency. Each new day, new enemies.
? As the world awaits Boris, the Movie ? the new documentary on the London mayor from the master of documentary Michael Cockerell ? there are ever more intense discussions about who might replace him in 2016. He has signalled that he will not contest the position again and, as we know, he has higher ambitions ? doesn't he, Dave? Who will it be? The bookies are already perusing the long shots: the Mail's Richard Littlejohn at 125-1, Tony Blair at 100-1, Ken again at 33-1, but that's the fantasy stuff. Interesting that, save for a U-turn by Boris, the favourites are all Labour: Alan Johnson, the comedian Eddie Izzard at 12-1 and, also at 12-1, the Tottenham MP David Lammy. The last has been busying himself on matters of overarching importance to the capital, such as housing and health. This week he led a Westminster Hall debate on Crossrail Two, the mooted underground line that would connect south-west and north-east London. He's also setting up a cross-party group to lobby for the project. Hope everyone is ready for this. Looks like the next mayoral campaign is going to last three long years.
? It might take that long for new candidates to establish themselves in the public mind. A lot of time and a lot of money. Luckily, Labour's finances seem to be moving in the right direction. For while the humorist John O'Farrell may not have made a big impact on Eastleigh's voters by coming fourth in last week's byelection, he did make a small dent in Labour's internal deficit. The high-profile candidacy, we learn, attracted plenty of high-roller donations, not all of which were spent on the campaign to elect him. His political career died a death so others might live.
? Each day, new lessons from Eastleigh. For the PM, it has meant a downward spiral; for the hunted haunted Lib Dems, breathing space. And from the contribution of Paddy Ashdown, one learns the importance of being level-headed. "A line in Kipling's great poem If says: 'Triumph and Disaster ? treat those two impostors just the same'," Paddy wrote prior to the result. "It's a good motto for the Liberal Democrats just at the moment. A good result in Eastleigh will make what we Lib Dems must do next easier. A disappointing result will make it more difficult. But neither will change it." And how did he react come the result, "BA rocks! Flying to Hong Kong last night the pilot got the Eastleigh result and sent it to my seat at 0317am! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee!," tweeted Paddy. The old stoneface. You wouldn't play poker with him.
? Finally, a victory for parliament as Democratic Unionist party MP Gregory Campbell wins an assurance from the car maker Kia that it will not attempt to market its new car, the Provo, in the UK. Campbell tabled an early-day motion warning the company away from a name "associated with terror and mayhem". Kia took the hint. "It won't have the slogan No Surrender on the boot, we're not going to do a Free Derry special edition or anything of that nature," UK corporate communications director Stephen Kitson told the BBC. He said it was only ever a show car. Of course, the multinational car makers know what is innocuous in one territory can spell trouble in another. In Brazil Ford changed tack after learning that the name of a new model, the Pinto, translated as "tiny male genitals".
Twitter: @hugh_muir
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