Saturday, February 03, 2007

[blogfocus saturday] early posting before falling asleep

As threatened, this is a cut down version of Blogfocus this evening, due to a bit of weariness and I’m really sorry, fellow bloggers but the e-mailing might have to be tomorrow now. Will you forgive me this second time?


1 The theme this evening is rather poor actually. It simply comprises posts which either made me chuckle when I read them or stopped me in my tracks or both. So pour yourself a whisky and let’s start with freedom loving David Farrer, on the non-history he’s just read:

I recently finished reading the Roy Jenkins biography of Gladstone and what an excellent book it was. But perhaps I've been conned. How do I know that this "Gladstone" character actually existed? For that matter, was there really a Palmerston, a Disraeli or even a Queen Victoria? And this "London" place - is it real? I think I've been there, but what does that prove?

The reason I'm asking these seemingly bizarre questions is that my current reading matter is
the Killing of History by Australian academic Keith Windschuttle. The author is angry that history departments down under have been taken over by practitioners of "cultural relativism", "semiotics", "structuralism", "post-structuralism", "discourse theory", "postmodernism", "hermeneutics" and much more of the same.


2 I never realized the Englishman was such a naughty boy but the proof is in the post:

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's trolleys when they weren't looking. 2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals. 3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to feminine products aisle. 4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official tone, "Code 3" in housewares..... and watched what happened. 5. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

There are a whole lot more where they came from.

3 James Cleverly has been categorizing cyclists who overtake him on the road. Here is the first category but you’ll have to go there to read the others:

1. Those who I am fairly happy to be overtaken by, these include: # Anyone who has a bicycle that has carbon-fibre bits. # Anyone who has those clip on shoe/peddle things. # Anyone that has cycling legs # Anyone who can do that balancing thing at traffic lights ...

Eight more bloggers plus the Mystery Blogger here.

[orange snow] the question is - why orange

We’ve something you haven’t, nyah, nyah, nyah! Our snow is orange and yours is just boring old white:

"A chemical test unit will be sent to Omsk ... it's main task will be to investigate pollution in the region and establish the degree of danger represented by the anomalous snow fall," the ITAR-TASS quoted an unnamed official from the ministry as saying. "Residents are advised not to use snow for their household or technical needs and to limit walking, either by people or their pets, in this area."

Snow ranging in colour from light yellow to orange and carrying a distinctive "musty" odour was observed yesterday in five districts of Omsk province, which lies in western Siberia and borders Kazakhstan.

[perfect day] the sun shines down on a winter wonderland

This is one of those times where, if I don’t post now, the moment will be lost, when Russia is at its very, very best. The before dawn, blizzard paths have cleared, to reveal a pure white picture book landscape, the sun’s shining and it’s a clear, fresh minus 20 degrees out there. Maybe 5 degrees warmer would have allowed a longer walk outside on the scrunchy, hard-packed snow paths.

I’ve just been paid and have bought some ketya [scrummy red fish], which I’ve just eaten on toast, with smyetana [sour cream] on top; there’s a thick meaty soup waiting, followed by some little delicacies the Russians and indigenous people here are famous for. Simple pleasures.

Now, just add one beautiful girl with rosy cheeks and a winning smile, her face encircled by a furry hood and the picture is complete. It’s not for everyone but for me, the simple pleasures are the best. It took me decades to finally wake up to this. Stephen Pollard please note.

[middle-east] intelligence report makes one think

The picture is bleak, in that the sectarian violence appears to be self-sustaining. I shan’t add: “They’ve had long enough to get it this way.”

Reading between the lines, does that mean the US can’t ever go home? Bush’s warning seems to indicate this.

One Christian scenario places a power, possibly the US, right where they are and things go from bad to worse. This would also seem to agree with Bush’s motive in allowing the release of this report. Let’s hope this particular Christian scenario isn’t right.

[leunacy] france and turkey may swap prison populations


If the European Union threat to Britain weren’t so dire, one could smile at this:

The happy result of this could be that the entire population of France could be lifted and placed, Midnight Express like in Turkish prisons. Of course the entire population of Turkey could then find itself extradited to France and imprisoned there.

From Stephen Pollard, commenting on
Tim Worstall’s post.

Friday, February 02, 2007

[nu labour trolls] first photos just through

Seen escaping Westminster after the Dale death ray was utilized for the first time. Stay tuned.

[lack of time] why schedules fail

This article is dedicated to Sempiternal Horizons.

# Work expands to fill the available time plus half an hour. [C. Northcote Parkinson, 1958]

# Which of us is to do the hard and dirty work for the rest – and for what pay? Who is to do the pleasant and clean work and far what pay? [John Ruskin, 1870]

# One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster. [Bertrand Russell, 1932]

Our work, yours and mine, might be different – salaried, entrepreneurial, creative or criminal – but there are certain truisms common to the majority. Here are some:

1] We are, all of us, up to our eyeballs in work and though we might moan, we all like to feel terribly busy and if our time wasn’t called upon half so much, we’d try to make it so. We all like playing the martyr to the cause a bit and the mantle ‘run off our feet’ sits comfortably with us. [Parkinson quote above]

2] The unit cost of goods is such that the average salary does not cover it. Market forces are responsible for this but it’s also those who drive those market forces in the first place who have created this situation. The result is that we’re always playing ‘catch-up-football’ – trying to cover the next increase in prices and never quite managing it, in fact going backwards. The further result, as you well know, is working two jobs, credit card debt and mortgaged up to the hilt. [Ruskin quote above]

3] We feel we don’t have time to sit down and make a schedule and even if we do, it sooner or later falls by the wayside due to a variety of factors, not least mental stress. [Russell quote above] And yet good scheduling will lift half that stress.

4] Anyone, no matter how close to us, places demands on our time. He or she always feels that his needs, his high prioritization of himself takes precedence over anyone else. If time is tight, he expects you to drop or reschedule someone else, not him. Lip service is paid to our drawn and haggard features: “You really must take a break, you know.” If we do, it must not include his time. He meant the others.

Continued here.

[frigedæg] have a great freitag

The Sumerian Inanna, the Babylonian Ishtar, the Greek Aphroditê and the Roman Venus all wish you the happiest of days on this second last day of the working week. Remember – no meat, only fish, watch your back, be fruitful and multiply and may Freya’s tears turn to gold for you.

[the berlusconis] lovers’ tiff goes public

As I’ll be somewhat immersed in women today, this is appropriate:

Silvio Berlusconi told some women at a TV awards dinner last week that "if I wasn't already married I would marry you right away", and "with you I'd go anywhere." Veronica, Mr Berlusconi's second wife and mother of three of his children, said the comments belittled her and she decided to make her marital spat public after failing to win an apology in private.

And he apologized. Publicly. Ladies, you now know what to do. Wash your dirty laundry in public and he’ll come crawling back to you on his knees. Works a treat. Sweet man, Berli, don’t you think?

[vladimir putin] what’s ms merkel bitching about

Vladimir’s Labrador bitch Connie nuzzles up to a shocked German whilst the honey in the background takes notes. That’s détente. Ms Merkel was lucky Volodya didn’t read her Omar Khaiyam, his last resort in times of stress.

His first resort is conversing with Connie. So nice that the protocol for meetings of heads of state has been rewritten to include canines.

I want to know who the girl in the background is, taking notes.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

[phallacy] a growing problem

Google Maps and Virtual Earth have spotted a six metre-long phallus in the grass near Southampton created by Bellemoor School students, using weed killer. In December, a giant phallus appeared on the roof of Yarm School in Stockton-on-Tees. In 20 metre-high letters in a field just north of Edinburgh is the word POO and in a field near Rotherham is written ARSE.

Of course, this blog totally condemns these acts of desecration and the senseless waste of both public resources and the students’ time. The rumour that this blogger was spotted loading a canister of creosote and a groundsman’s wheeled marker into the boot [trunk] of his car is entirely unsubstantiated. Anyway, all I wanted to write was BLIAR.

[transatlantic divide] further and further apart

The news:

The CIA's clandestine program of abducting terror suspects and taking them to secret sites for interrogation unraveled further Wednesday as German prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 13 agency operatives in the kidnapping of a German citizen in the Balkans in December 2003.

This is one situation where lack of détente is a wondrous thing. Doesn’t matter that they’ll never extradite them. The simple fact of the prosecution is that the global push has met some obstacles. Goody. They’re not having it all they’re own way.

[seminar] the bad news and the good news

The bad news is that this seminar I’m at swallows up Thursday, Friday, Monday and Wednesday. The good news is that Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday appear to be freer so I hope there’ll be more posts on those days.

[thursday evening] now who said that

It would be nice if this could become a regular Thursday evening feature – a mix of quotes, old and new, not too difficult, not too easy, political and non-political and your task – to match the quote to the quoter. And easy one to start off with this evening:

The quoters

1] Thomas Jefferson
2] Charles Dickens
3] Arnold Schwarzenneger
4] Tony Blair, 1997
5] Oscar Wilde
6] Henry Kissinger [oh how I’m missin’ ya]
7] Jacques Chirac, 2005
8] Groucho Marx

And the things they said:

a] There can’t be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.

b] Enough of talking, time now to do.

c] From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.

d] If you could see my legs when I take my boots off, you’d form some idea of what unrequited affection is.

e] I am not young enough to know everything.

f] "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

g] Give me your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle!

Would you try it? In all cases, the answers are at the end of the link:

Answers here.

[prisons crisis] this time not in britain

Seems the trouble’s not only in Britain but has spread across the North Sea, with a difference:

Half of all prison guards in Iceland handed in their resignation yesterday over wages and conditions and more are expected to follow. According to Icelandic law, prison guards are neither allowed to go on strike nor to resign en masse. If everyone resigns as indicated, this will leave 12 guards in Iceland. The State Prison Authority said prisons in Iceland would need to be shut down if a solution cannot be found.

I imagine the prisoners will be rehoused in British prisons.

[who] could it possibly be

1] What was her screen name?
2] What was her real name?
3] What was his screen or real name?
4] What was the story that this was taken from?
5] Who was the Doctor and how could he resist her?

[music] boy bites back at record industry


A New York teen, dubbed a pirate by the Record Industry, is counter suing them for defamation, violating anti-trust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats. They have demanded a jury trial and are filing a counterclaim against the companies for allegedly damaging the boy's reputation, distracting him from school and costing him legal fees.

Ordinarily, suing at a drop of a hat on spurious grounds leaves this blogger cold but he’d be happy to make an exception in the case of the recording industry and especially Sony, the spoilsports. Forgive me if I’m out of order but I can’t for the life of me see what’s wrong with buying a CD and sharing it online.

When it comes to thousands and thousands of songs, well maybe but firstly, go after the big boys and secondly, they’re sure as hell not clamping down for the good of the struggling artist, who gets a pittance in the first place.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

[surprise] most read posts on the site

Offhand, what are your most visited posts? There are three older posts viewed more than any others on this site and I have to say they’re a mighty surprise:

1] Barry Humphries and Norman Gunston;
2] Dr. Crippen Part 1 and Part 2;
3] The art of French dressing.

I see this from the ‘entry page ranking’ which doesn't tell us a lot, as our homepage is the most viewed and yet it's indicative. As I do various themes, some idea which ones are read and which are duds helps planning.

What about you?

[connex] now it’s faulty brakes and cancellations

Remember Connex and the wonderful times UK commuters had with them? And how they went downunder to wreak their particular type of vengeance? It’s now even worse:

Connex has endured a horror month of cancellations, forcing even more passengers into already overcrowded carriages. Under mounting pressure to allay public safety fears over the faulty brakes crisis, Connex chairman Bob Annells will meet transport regulators this morning before deciding whether to withdraw the entire fleet..

This precipitated an Age poll:

Should the State Government dump Connex?
Yes - 86%
No - 14%

Total Votes: 6243

Wonderful company. Wonderful.

[peerages] let he who is without sin cast the first stone

When I want a peerage, I shall buy it like an honest man. [Lord Northcliffe, 1974]

Perhaps I’m thick. Perhaps I don’t understand politics. I can’t see, for the life of me, what Blair has done so wrong that every PM before him hasn’t done. Far be it for this blog to defend Tony Blair but what’s with this arrest and charging business? As United Press said:

The entire affair turns on accusations that Blair and his team "sold" honors such as peerages and knighthoods in return for political loans and donations to the Labour Party. The reality is that every British government in history has rewarded its most generous and devoted supporters with the title of Sir this or Lord that. In the old days, Kings handed out such enoblements in return for loyalty in battle, or for acquiescence in the presence of an attractive wife or daughter in the royal bedchamber. These days, the reward is more usually for political and financial loyalty.

Then there is the affair of Jeffrey Archer. The darling of the Tories, suddenly he was in prison and what did he do any more than any other politician? Your answer, in both cases, might be a simple one: “They were caught.” Seems to me the party politics is far outweighing any actual wrongdoing. Ditto in the United States.

[blog evaluation] layout and graphics

The danger in running this post is that it will detract from the one before, which is far more important, especially Gavin Ayling’s observations. However:

I always invite criticism as to how to make this site better and certain bloggers have been helpful this way, inc. Disillusioned and Bored. As you know, I’m forever changing things and I’d like to put a few questions to you, if I might.

The poll below is designed to have multiple variants clicked but you can only 'vote' once:
Would you prefer to see on this site
My usual green tan maroon motif
Minima type sparse white with black motif
Devils Kitchen type red white colours
Samizdata type blue white grey colours
Busy design, changeable photo header
Sparse design, static geometric header
My usual Papyrus font
Verdana century gothic, as in this post
UKDP small news grabs
Longer, meatier posts on the main page
Longer posts, only short intro on main page
Lay off with the depressing posts eg the last
Make the posts more happy, travelogue type
Keep the mix of serious and light as it is
pollcode.com free polls

[subversives] political bloggers beware

Hypnosis Comes of Age by G. H. Estabrooks, PH.D. Science Digest April, 1971, pp. 44 - 50

Clinical hypnotists throughout the world jumped on the multiple personality bandwagon as a fascinating frontier. By the 1920's, not only had they learned to apply post-hypnotic suggestion to deal with this weird problem, but also had learned how to split certain complex individuals into multiple personalities like Jeckyl-Hydes.

The potential for military intelligence has been nightmarish. During World War II, I worked this technique with a vulnerable Marine lieutenant I'll call Jones. Under the watchful eye of Marine Intelligence I split his personality into Jones A and Jones B. Jones A, once a "normal" working Marine, became entirely different ….

1975 Senate subcommittee reportage

Dr. Harris Isabel … daily fed his guinea pigs large doses of LSD, mescaline, marijuana, scopolamine and other substances. In exchange for participating in the experiments, the inmates received injections of high quality morphine, sometimes getting 'shot-up' three times a day, depending on their co-operation.

Brought before the Senate subcommittees in 1975, Isabel saw no contradiction in providing hard drugs to the very addicts he was employed to cure. Following public outrage, the CIA announced it had ceased its mind manipulation programmes. Victor Marchetti, a CIA veteran of 14 years who turned 'whistle-blower', exposed this to be untrue.

Excerpt from CIA notes, Jan 1955

To Director of Security Via Deputy Director of Security Via Chief Security Research Staff: Report of Artichoke Operations 20-23 January 1955. Between Thursday 20 January and Sunday 23 January 1955 … Interrogation lasted until 12:25 am when all except the subject left the Operations Room … At 2:36 am the first intravenous infusion began. Slow injections were continued until 2:46 am when recording and transmitting equipment was brought into the Operations Room.

1st fantasy introduced. Results during this phase were good and subject had no control. B. 2nd fantasy introduced… Following the conclusion of the general discussion, all technical apparatus was removed from the premises, and all participating personnel left the area.

Psychiatrist under scrutiny again By William Birnbauer, Melbourne Age, April 18, 2004

The controversial Melbourne child psychiatrist, Dr Selwyn Leeks, faces a second investigation by the Victorian Medical Practitioners Board, as well as possible criminal charges in New Zealand. Dr Leeks is already being investigated by the board following claims that he allowed children to be punished with electric shock treatment and pain-inducing injections while in charge of a psychiatric hospital unit in NZ in the 1970s.

These are just four fragments from a vast body of data, some of it freely available. And you think it’s not in operation and could never be used on the citizenry? Multiple choice question: which of these is the state more likely to distrust? a] the 9 to 5 worker who comes home and watches tele; b] cabinet ministers; c] malcontented bloggers whose identities and whereabouts must first be established and legal cases built against them?

Those words from earlier: “saw no contradiction”. Please click on this link and read this post by a blogger we know and respect. You noticed the name of the Act, of course: R.I.P. This is the type of black humour these people are renowned for. Rest In Peace indeed.

And still a substantial minority of the public approve torture ‘under certain circumstances’. Interesting. Presumably they don’t think it could ever include them, that a case could ever be constructed against them, personally.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

[blogfocus tuesday] environmentally friendly edition

Bonus question: This party dude is which of this evening’s bloggers?

1 Very interesting that Deogolwulf should come up with this because I've been thinking the same thing:

“However mean men may be, they dare not appear as enemies of virtue; and when they want to persecute it, they feign to believe that it is false or they credit it with crimes.”

In case you missed that, here it is once again:

“Quelque méchants que soient les hommes, ils n’oseraint paraître ennemis de la vertu, et lorsqu’ils la veulent persécuter, ils feignent de croire qu’elle est fausse ou ils lui supposent des crimes.”

2 The Insomniac ponders the question many of us have faced – anonymity:

When I first started out in Internet discussions I used a pseudonym for a while. Switching to my real name had quite an impact as, without anonymity to hide behind, I felt the need to be more respectful to people – even though most of them lived on the other side of the world and there was no chance I’d ever bump into them. If I’d stuck behind a pseudonym I think this blog would be quite different and, perhaps, even less interesting than it is now.No-one should be forced to give up their anonymity though, as plenty of people don’t reveal their real names for some very good reasons: they might worry about possible consequences, either from fellow bloggers or, perhaps more importantly, their employers.

3 The brand-new-look Devil’s Kitchen has a notice which, I’m very sorry, by my reckoning, might just be a little too late to post on Blogfocus this evening:

While we are about it, can I just say that the new 18DS website is not great? It looks much better though, but I do think that there should be a much clearer signpost to the archives. Not that it helps, since I can't watch the archives; quite simply, nothing loads. Time to get onto their tech department, I think...

Yes, that’s my problem as well – the 18DS technology doesn’t work. They said they’d look into it in November but it must have slipped their mind. Anyway:

In other news, your humble Devil is back on 18DS on Monday night from 9pm until midnight. Do tune in...

Sincerely hope you all did and I would have too, had I been able to access it. How did DK look? Did he acquit himself well?

Eleven other bloggers plus the Mystery Blogger here.

[durrington walls] know anything about it

The press conference was this morning, apparently. Probably all over the blogosphere by now. The Pagans will be over the moon.

[questionnaire] which religion is for you

Somehow always suspected it. 2nd and 2nd last place surprised:

Christianity………92%
Buddhism…………83%
Judaism……………54%
Islam………………46%
Paganism…………42%
Hinduism…………29%
Agnosticism………17%
Satanism…………..4%
Atheism……………0%

Hat tips: Vox, Quiz Farm

[church and state] madness is rife in high places

I never thought I’d live to see the day when the elected head of a discredited government would be enacting legislation to force a church, whose authority ultimately derives from a global source, to officially condone that state’s vehement attempts to enforce, in its own society, what, for the church, is a perverted practice and an abomination.

The ultimate source of the church’s authority, namely G-d, once wiped out two cities for that very practice. Therefore it’s hardly likely that that the Christian church is going to knuckle under to a tin-god’s most earnest efforts to destroy society on behalf of his EU, therefore global, masters.

This is the ultimate madness of the illumined stance, which is based on time-dishonoured policies:

1] the automatic usage of coercion and comprehensive regulation in any policy it pursues;

2] the implementation of a vast, nefarious network of corrective facilities and practices to reinforce No. 1 and to suppress all dissent;

3] the reduction of humans to a condition of serfdom and abject misery, using the language of, and under the guise of, ‘enlightenment’;

4] the adoption of societal practices which are clearly proscribed in the scripture of three major religions, in an effort to reduce humanity to the level of the bestial [e.g. the chav];

5] the destruction of the family, property and inheritance, religion, flora and fauna and the ecological balance of the planet.

This agenda breaks out at intervals, e.g. in the French and Russian revolutions, in both world wars and in Kosovo, Sudan and so on, in weather modification and in ecological destruction.

The agenda is clearly mad, in the sense that denial of harmony is mad and it’s been aped in book after book and film after film. It’s ancient, it’s simple, it’s quite easy to trace its ultimate source and it’s all about the simultaneous rule of and destruction of the earth.

For a Christian, who basically has the script before him and knows what’s happening in the next scene, the bewilderment of the other sectors of society is frustrating, as it guarantees the very process which everyone’s writing of and railing against.

And by the way, you do know where this ‘prisons crisis’ and ‘paedos-at-large’ business is going? Clearly, as Wat Tyler says, transportation to Oz is no longer an option and as there are not enough places in the prisons, where do they go? Well, the worst of them, killers, paedos and so on, are early-released onto society and the ones the state dislikes are moved to special corrective ‘anti-terrorist’ facilities for a bit of the old water and electricity treatment [legally of course].

Is this blogger off his brain? Only time will tell.

Disclaimer: This blog makes no claims nor any statement vis a vis homosexuality. That's not its concern. This blog makes many claims and makes a strong statement about state coercion.

[davos] pity they can’t ski there much now

The peerless and inimitable Martin K, of prior blogging fame, has a long history of ‘outing woollyness’, for example by making a request under the Freedom of Information Act concerning some of Ed Balls' assorted Bilderberg anointings and has now come to the party with a nice one on Davos, by Anatole Kaletsky, himself an alleged two time Bilderberger.

Kaletsky, in the Times, says that Davos, usually concerning itself with globalisation, active demand management, financial deregulation and the addition of three billion new consumers and producers to the global capitalist system, [Their summum bonum], apparently was discussing other issues this year.

He said the new buzz words were the unquestionable reality of global warming; the threat of an all-embracing conflict in the Middle East on the scale of a world war; the protectionist backlash against globalisation; the seeming inevitability of nuclear proliferation to alarmingly unpredictable countries such as Iran and North Korea and the rise of India, China and Russia, not just as big economic forces but as challengers to the cultural and political hegemony of the United States. He adds the breakdown of nuclear non-proliferation globally and the demographic dwindling of Western democracies.

Given that the writer, by virtue of his alleged associations, is well aware of what's driving the things he's referring to here, this raises so many issues, it’s hard to know where to start in a little post of this nature. Given that the Eastern power is based on population and money derived from that and that the Western power is based on old money, also that hegemony is the name of the game at the same time as global governance, the world, therefore, finds itself in a very different war to that which the media has presented – the war of the West v Terrorism, so beloved of Bush and Blair. That is largely tosh.

In fact, all of that has been factored in and the only real issue now is whether the illumined global governance can accommodate the primaeval instinct of, say, China, for hegemony. It takes few brains to realize they’ve accepted the global future but they’d like to be in a pre-eminent position in it and that’s what all the current jockeying and the inevitable bloodshed down the track is all about.

This post was dedicated to
Will. More in another post.

[lexicon] the power of certain words

As every advertiser knows, the impeccably-placed word speaks volumes. Talking shop a little here, these seven words can alter perceptions:

1] really, as in: “She’s really quite marvellous for her age,” which one is not expecting her to be and you, personally, wish to convince the listener by taking it as read;

2] should, as in: “Should you see her, give her a message, would you?” which immediately, geographically and demographically pinpoints you;

3] I believe, as in Christie’s: “Raymond’s books are really quite clever, I believe,” which speaks for itself;

4] marvellous, as used above, which immediately identifies you as of a certain standard of education and of a certain age;

5] damned, as in: “The damned imbeciles,” which identifies you as a knockabout lad of a certain station in society;

6] quite, in combination and alone, as in your rejoinder to a tall tale of excuse: “Quite!”; and

7] the American: “Yeah, right,” which is the rare double positive as negative.

Pity we can’t show gestures through print as I’m given to using the raised eyebrow [always one], the stony silence, the long drawn-out: “Yes” and the bashful smile with the reddening cheeks, the litany of the rogue.

Monday, January 29, 2007

[know your politics] match the names with the quotes

Here are the quoters:

a The Lizard Queen
b Observer columnist Nick Cohen
c Nancy Pelosi
d Shafiq ur-Rahman
e Sir Nicholas Stern
f Tony Blair
g John Reid
h Dick Cheney


One of the quoters is a blind and did not give any of the quotes below.

... and here are the quotes:

1 "This open season of Muslim-bashing and Islamophobia has been with us for so long that one is little surprised about yet another Channel 4 'investigation'."

2 "It is necessary to a civilised society that those who are a danger to our society are put away. The public have a right to expect protection from violent and dangerous offenders. Prisons are an expensive resource that should be used to protect the public and to rehabilitate inmates and stop them reoffending. However, we should not be squandering taxpayers' money to monitor non-dangerous and less serious offenders."

3 "No one knows how many people demonstrated. The BBC estimated between six and 10 million, and anti-war activists tripled that, but no one doubted that these were history's largest co-ordinated demonstrations and that millions, maybe tens of millions, had marched to keep a fascist regime in power."

4 "It is very important that the report is discussed; a number of people have raised interesting points and we will be discussing them all. There are no certainties; but the broad conclusion that the costs of action are a good deal less than the damages they save, I think is pretty robust."

5 "The question is, we face a lot of dangers in the world and, in the gentleman's words, we face a lot of evil men and what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?"

6 "The conflict we’re involved in—not just Iraq, but on the broader basis against Al Qaeda, against the threat that’s represented by the extreme elements of Islam on a global basis now—is going to go on for a long time. And it’s not something that’s going to end decisively, and there’s not going to be a day when we can say, “There, now we have a treaty, problem solved.” It’s a problem that I think will occupy our successors maybe for two or three or four administrations to come. It is an existential conflict."


7 "We owe them better policy. We owe them better initiatives. I believe redeployment of our troops is a step toward stability in the region. We are very proud of the effort made by our military, but this cannot be won by our military alone.''

Hat tips:
here, here, here and here.

[bryon drol] romantic poet of the 19th century

Brief bio: The club-footed Bryon Drol was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but chose to frequent the House of Drols bar, rather than take his seat with his fellow peers. Preferring solitude to bonhomie, he’d take his place in the corner of the bar at the end of the long red rug, observing all and sundry, sipping his ale and shrewdly noting the doings of one ‘Arry Naismith, whom Bryon was wont to call Child ‘Arrold.

Eventually, in 1811, he was persuaded to take his seat and in his maiden speech the following year, very nearly managed to get his throat cut, which later inspired him to write about the experience. However, he made a breathtaking getaway through the Sovereign's Entrance and they only managed to recover the seat by intercepting him in Belgium, enroute for Villa Datoid by Lake Geneva. Chief Inspector 'Arry Lamb released him though, on the grounds that 'ee was off his brain and a rite nutta'.

Here are two sensitive poems from his pen, dedicated, respectively, to his daughter Linda Lovelace and to his dear friendlet John Stonedel. You’re asked to vote, in the comments section, for that which moves you the more. Thank you.

1
Roll on, thou deep and dark red carpet – roll!
Ten thousand feet sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the rug with beer stains – his control
Stops with the door.

2
There is a pleasure in this toothless brood,
There is a rupture in the spleen for sure,
There is society, it shan’t intrude,
By the deep rug, as I throw up on the floor:
I love not them the less, but loneness more.

[middle-east] violence everywhere surrounding israel

It’s always puzzled me why there is just so much unrest in the land surrounding Israel. Gaza is a case in point.

The two sides have been arming themselves for months with light weapons - such as machine guns and rocket launchers, while talks that began last spring on a power-sharing national unity government have stalled. Iran and radical Islamists across the Arab world have bankrolled Hamas, while the U.S. supports Fatah and most of the weapons reach the tiny strip through tunnels under the 11-kilometre-long border it shares with Egypt.

Cut to Iraq and everyone knows the story there.Let me put it this way: if any one element in the equation were to be removed, e.g. Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the US, would peace come to the region?

[life of brian] monday morning prayer

Judaean People’s Front or People’s Front of Judaea

It’s a tragedy that the only image people have of a Christian, the only image which makes it to the press, is of the radical US Christian Right and the Whitehouses over in Britain. It poses a dilemma because on the one hand, much of what they say makes sense – against the institutionalization of drugs, under-age sex, perversion and so on.

On the other hand, so many of these are either unpleasant or susceptible to mockery as people and the Jimmy Swaggarts of the world are so counter-productive as to have been almost ‘intended’. My image is far more grass roots – the Alex of High Places and Vox Days of the world. They can have a laugh, be a bit irreverent, just live a bit. Why do they have to all be stern faced, bible-bashing disapprovers?

I really can’t handle blind ‘followers’, ‘zealots’, ‘devotees’, whom I lump in with the PC left – these people would regulate your toilet-going hours if it wasn’t tolerant and all-inclusive.

Does G-d have a sense of humour? That should be the burning question on everyone’s lips. You remember the scene where Brian of Nazareth loses his sandal while running from the crowd of would-be Messiah-makers in the Judaean desert? Says everything about zealots:

Man in crowd III: He has given us a sign!
Man in crowd V: He has given us...his shoe!
Man in crowd III: The shoe is the sign! Let us follow his example!
Man in crowd IV: What?
Man in crowd III: Let us like him, hold up one shoe and let the other one be upon our foot, for this is his sign that all who follow him shall do likewise!
Man in crowd III: No, no, no, the shoe is a sign that we must gather shoes together in abundance!
Woman in crowd II: Cast off the shoes! Follow the gourd!
Man in crowd V: No, let us gather shoes together! Let me!
Woman in crowd: Oh, get off!
Man in crowd IV: No, no, it is a sign that like him we must think not of the things of the body, but of the face and head!
Man in crowd V: Give me your shoe!
Man in crowd IV: Get off!
Woman in crowd II: Follow the gourd, the holy gourd of Jerusalem!
Gourdy part of crowd: The gourd! The gourd!
Man in crowd VI: Hold up the sandal, like he has demanded us...
Man in crowd III: It is a shoe! It is a shoe!
Man in crowd VI: It's a sandal!
Man in crowd III: No, it is not! It is a shoe!
Woman in crowd II: Cast it away!
Man in crowd III: Put it on!
Man in crowd IV: Now clear off!
Man in crowd V: Take the shoes and follow him!
Woman in crowd II: All thee who follow the gourd!
Man in crowd VII: Stop! Stop it! Stop! Stop! Let us...let us pray! Yea, he cometh to us. Like the sea to the grave...

Let us pray: Save us, Lord, from all door-knockers, tele-evangelists and thou-shalt-notters and grant them all a sense of humour, if you would be so kind. Amen.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

[blog round-ups] in case you still don’t know

Britblog Roundup

Needs no introduction to old-timers but there might still be some Blogpowerers and others who don’t know about this. Plus two of the BPers are in it this week. I called it a breakthrough but Tim put me straight on that. You have to nominate a particular post to him at britblog AT gmail DOT com, then he posts it.

Being of the opinion that every bit helps, this ‘creaking old warhorse’, as fresh as the day it was born, can be checked out late on a Sunday afternoon.

Scottish Blogging Roundup

Have to confess I don’t know a lot about this one but I recognize many of the entries. It's run by
CuriousHamster and doctorvee, the latter whom I know quite well and presumably it works on the same principle as Tim Worstall’s. It appears to be posted on a Saturday.

[euthanasia] thou needst not strive, officiously …

I appreciate how Tony Sharp lightened the tone when he said:

It may seem shocking to some people, but after a lot of thought and soul searching I have come to the conclusion that in some extremely limited circumstances there is indeed a strong moral justification for euthanasia. More specifically I am thinking of one circumstance in particular. Namely any occasion when the draft EU constitution shows signs of life.

Of course he was referring to the EU but I misread that and wrote a comment about euthanasia itself and when that topic comes up, the question of my own mother comes up. I’ve stewed, many times, over whether to post on her and have always held back on the grounds that it’s a little close to the bone for most readers and it drags her story out of the family and into the public sphere.

It was not that ‘E’ word in her case but it was a case of there not being any point any longer. So, I believe it was with full knowledge that that which was supporting her … well, I think you understand. I’ve never ever thought that that was wrong. She was then and I am now quite pragmatic over such matters and I have no desire to prolong my stay when I’m quite clearly past my time, just as I have no desire to overstay my welcome in any situation now.

I just felt that Sunday was the appropriate day to write this thing, if at all.

[sunday quiz] today’s ten are a little harder

1] How many counters does a player start with in Backgammon?

2] Who was John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 US Presidential election?

3] After how many years marriage do you celebrate your Emerald wedding anniversary?

4] Contrary to popular belief, brides do not walk down the aisle to the altar. What do they walk down?

5] Europeans are familiar with A-4 size paper. What is the area of A-0 paper?

6] In Roman numerals, what is the letter M with a bar over it?

7] What is the Turkish custom of Falaka?

8] Who is Bibendum better known as?

9] Who won the 1936 'Miss Hungary' title but had to give it up because she was under 16?

10] Where would you find together a verso and a recto?

Answers are here.

[retail jungle] one false step and you’re gone

Surely with a touch of sour grapes, Marshall Lester, a Gap director from the 1980s recently said, "Gap has gone from being a destination store that everyone wants to shop at to being a store that no one cares about."

But the slow demise of Gap, the global retailer of ‘modish nonchalance’, mirrors the turning of the tide for other giants as well.

No one is suggesting McDonald’s is in any kind of trouble but the 2002 watershed and the rethinking of future strategy shows that no giant is immune from a change of fortune and in K Mart’s case, the demise was spectacular.

The Sony/Nintendo story is a case in point. Choosing the wrong video variant, Beta, Sony recovered, then came the copy protection scandal and then the battery problem. There’s something not right at that company.

Apple were down and out before ipod but even now, things are changing and the iphone may be needed to keep the ipod afloat. One company I see in real trouble is Microsoft, as more and more abandon it for a decent provider and a reaction of disgust really seems to be setting in with not only geek operators.

Marks and Sparks are a good case study. With a strong menswear division, it failed to read the signs and lost market share, then threw ideas at buyers which failed to enthuse. Perhaps it's found its lifeline in online sales.

It’s a gossamer thread which suspends a company at the top of the tree and one or two decisions can create a K Mart type over-reaction which will kill it more quickly than anyone could have anticipated.

[testimonials] numbers 21 to 30

21] An Insomniac Sporting David Hume’s tagline: “Truth springs from argument amongst friends,” Matt Murrell, the goatee bearded blogger from … well, no one knows where from, he keeps it a dark nocturnal secret … and who invites you to click on his face, is a fearless writer, counting Fisking Central and Wall of Speech as two of his regular haunts; he’s a central Blogpowerer and he’s also guest-blogged at Dave Hill and Alex of High Places. The boy gets around. It’s not unfair to describe him as a libertarian – he certainly takes fairly freewheeling positions on most issues, including the Blogpower issue and has a sense of humour, as when he described his efforts at Fisking Central as: “It's a little rushed, and I think I started channeling Rumpole of the Bailey at one point, but still worth a look.” Just as his own blog is well worth a look. Well worth returning to, in fact.

22]
Andrew Allison Labelling himself a ‘liberal conservative’, keen on small government and personal freedom, Andrew is very much of my way of thinking on most issues. A Witanagemot Club member and therefore for an English Parliament, not to my way of thinking, he takes a libertarian stance on most issues but one wonders how he'd apply this to driving instruction in Hull and for how large a road transport vehicle. One also wonders if he prefers the term Humberside or East Yorkshire. One thing for certain, he’s a fine and fearless blogger and should be on everyone’s list.

23]
As a dodo What a great concept – to write obituaries of all the things which are dead, buried and gone, from freedom of speech through to Denny Doherty, the Mamas and Papas singer. Writer and dramatist George Poles, writer Simon Littlefield of Sky Pirates music blog and Hugo Kent of A Message from Albia, have a concept but unlike many great angles which go the way of all things, they infuse information and humour into their blog, which they tag: “the obituaries you’d like to see” and the result is a necro-treat. Whether it’s heterosexuals hiding the sausage in the English Counter Reformation or the death of Branscombe Beach, Dead as a Dodo is right on the scene. Go to it rightly, lads.

24] Bel is thinking Bel is a Margaret-nostalgic, non-imbibing university law-lecturer who appears to support her gender, as all right thinking ladies should, whether it’s anxiety over Cherie Blair’s safety or taking Samuel Coleridge to task for neglecting his daughter’s poetry. She describes her posts as ‘rants’ but I see them more as ‘common sense with an edge’. Always with a keen sense of justice and bemoaning the absurdity of over-reaction, e.g. with Jade and with the Devon ‘salvaging’, Bel tells it as it is and shoots from the hip. Fine blog.

25]
Chicken Yoghurt From the blog title itself to the everchanging animations at the top of the page, NCTJ qualified journalist and writer Justin McKeating is clearly an A-lister with a dark sense of humour. Hailing from the north but tied down in Brighton and reputedly of a politically leftist perspective, Justin explodes pomposity, underhand doings and general woolly-headedness wherever it is found, like barrels of gunpowder in a parliamentary cellar on the 5th of November. The Blog Digest is his must-buy collection of the very best of the UK blogs and one of his own blogs from the past, Bar Room Philosophy, brings to mind our own Pub Philosopher. Clearly a comic book devotee, one wonders what strange directions that sizzled brain will drift towards as he prepares his next rip-snorting expose.

26] Corporate Presenter Articulate and friendly, with a very keen sense of social responsibility and sociability, the East Finchley public speaker and radio presenter Jeremy Jacobs' sense of humour is also revealed through his blog work, such as in I can't talk, I'm on the Blog. Having grown up in Margate, [where I was very nearly employed in the late eighties], before inexplicably leaving that resort for London, he tragically lost his sister to breast cancer and has been supporting the Breast Cancer Campaign ever since, embarking in early February, 2007 on a trek in the Maasai Mara in Kenya to raise funds for the campaign. In the words of A Young Conservative, “I think it is safe to say that he's an inspiration to us all.” Read this blog for, as the Tin Drummer said: “a fascinating mix of presenting, media, politics and humour.”

27] Onyx Stone A gem of a blog, [couldn’t resist it, sorry], tech-savvy computer scientist Onyx, with an eye for the ladies, is a libertarian par excellence, as well as music devotee, always with an eye for the absurd. He also writes 5-7-5 syllabled Haiku poems. As his recent involvement in the great Blogpower War has shown, he can also be a bit naughty but after all, what’s blogging for? This is definitely a blog out of the ordinary and in our game, a knowledgeable dude like this, who challenges our way of thinking is good to have close at hand.

28] Blognor Regis Bob Piper calls him a “twat” and that immediately elevates Blognor Regis into the stratosphere of uber-blogging. With Iain Dale’s further [genuine] approval, this then is a blog to scrutinize closely. Not averse to the female of the species, BR also sports a jaundiced sense of humour but I wouldn’t want you to get the idea he has a one track mind. Keen Blognor Regis Cycling Club racers have far more to do around Felpham and Middleton - BR takes a keen interest in the local area and by definition, in local bloggers as well. With humour like his comment greeting: “You are the audience. I am the author. I outrank you,” replies to commenters on musical bands like: “I've seen better bands on a cigar!” and with pieces on anything from Buster Crabbe to weighty matters in India, this blog is a must read for the afficianado.

29
]
Disillusioned & Bored The canine with the ennui at the top of the blog gives an indicator of what is to come and D&B further explains that he “can't stand the level of debate that is passed off as real political discourse.” He it was who began the Voluntary Code Free Zone, whose banner adorns all the best sites today and the list of his readers reads like a who’s who of blogging. A wicked, yet puerile sense of humour, of the doctored photo variety, guarantees a loyal band of avid readers but the bulk of the posts reveal a shrewd commentator on current events and past. So stop off for a treat at this blog, if you’re feeling at all disillusioned and bored by it all.

30]
Daily Pundit "Yo Churchill!" he cries and UK Daily Pundit is off in hot pursuit of the unspeakable. Master of the short grab news item, UKDP’s views are made abundantly clear in his petition to Tony, demanding the right to “remain free to comment on government policy, ministerial decisions, political correctness, Islamic extremists, the weather and anything else that takes our fancy, without fear of censorship.” With post tags like “Times Forced to Apologise Over Gay Sheep,” you know you’re in for an irreverent but incisive treat, three or four times a day. With the three column, fully armed lists of sources to draw from and his own Blog-web-round-up facility, this makes the law enforcing UK Daily Pundit a must-not-miss daily read.