Baltimore really has become a punching bag here. London's mayor weighed in yesterday on months-old comments from a politician that parts of Britain were becoming like the Baltimore depicted in "The Wire." Not sure what sparked this response so long after the original comment, though it should be noted that pieces by Mark Hughes about his stay in Baltimore began running this week in the Independent.

"It is far, far more dangerous in Baltimore than it is in London, especially for gun crime," Johnson said. Of course, he's absolutely right - guns are scarce in the UK and the blight and poverty are not nearly as pervasive as in Baltimore. But it says something about politics here that such a comparison would even be made in the first place, and that officials feel compelled to dignify it with a response.

By the way, Mark and I did a round of radio appearances today, on six different stations, including the BBC's Today program. Here is the link to that interview (scroll down to the very bottom).