Saturday, May 19, 2007

[fa cup] in case it's of interest


[blogfocus saturday] around the pond

Like a jacket sleeve from Jackson Browne or a painting by Magritte, this picture from Ms Zaftig starts us off:

1 Ruthie's currently in the middle of those bitter-sweet moments. Will she travel with him? Will she not? Tune in and find out:

This is the first time in my life I've ever felt completely unworthy of a man who is interested in me.

If you've ever read The Diary of Anne Frank, you probably remember Anne's conversation with her sister Margot about Anne's relationship with Peter. Margot says something along the lines of, "I could never be with him... I need a man who is my intellectual superior."

This is the first time I've ever found that, and now he's leaving in five weeks... I'm trying to come to terms with that.

2 Notsaussure has some words of wisdom to say on the education question:

My late mother, as it happens, did know, from her career, a fair bit about the teaching of reading; her take on the matter always seemed to me pretty sensible.

Different methods and reading schemes, she reckoned, all have their strengths and weaknesses and all, in practice, do the job pretty well for most children.

What’s important, she always said, is to have a good teacher who, first, actually understands the principles and practice behind the scheme she’s using and, second, has the expertise and insight to spot when an individual child is having difficulties and then both to identify the difficulties and decide on how best to help that particular child overcome those particular problems.

3 Matt, who considers Ohio the crossroads of America*, is not complaining, truly:

Note: This post is reflective, not complaining. If I was complaining, it would be much more obvious.

Well, here I am. It's 10:06 p.m. and I'm sitting in my room, alone. I barely see my roommate which is a good thing in my opinion. I have nothing against the guy, it's just I would have preferred not to have a roommate.

So, my daily grind of one two hour ten minute class and one meal will continue tomorrow.

What is it that attracts us all to Maymester? Is it the idea of completing a sixteen week class in a painful four weeks (especially considering this is my first 400 level class at Purdue)?

4 Bag touches on the vital issue of local election results. Hold onto your seats. Here we go:

Local Rag came through today. It has the election results and an analysis. It seems some of the other wards had additional boxes. One guy who was kicked out of office says it was due to the War. He said 'It was unfair because I'm only a local councillor'. I think he meant 'was'. I was nearly in tears but managed to hold on. Anyway that ward must have had a box that said 'Tory but I would have voted Labour if it was not for the War' Strange it was missing off ours. Seems it was nothing to do with their policies. That's OK then.

5 Cassandra is unique in the manner of her writing but she wields a pen with style and substance:

I may be one of a dying breed: call me peculiar, but I like to form an independent opinion, based on fullness of information, on my own - thank you very much!

Considering the postmodern press is doing our thinking for us by predigesting and preselecting the news as they see fit, I might as well open up a independent press agency here and make a day-job out of screening their omissions and censoring. I fear however I am already otherwise engaged.

I do however intend to nail Orwell's Infernal Journalism to the doorpost of hell whenever the opportunity presents itself!

6 Ellee posts on an issue close to many of our hearts:

Private Members’ Bills are debated on Fridays when most MPs spend the day in their constituencies. Surely this demonstrates that urgent matters like this should be heard mid-week.

Five years ago, the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons recommended that they should review Private Members’ Bills, including the possibility of whether they could be transferred to another slot in the week which might be more convenient for MPs.

It’s a shame that so few turned up to debate this important issue. I believe our elected Members should have nothing to hide (unless for reasons of national security), they should work openly and transparently.

7 I'm still trying to work out what or who Moggy is and what she/he/it does but one thing I know - it's an intriguing site and her color-diet even more intriguing:

If you're following along then you know that I came up with a fun color wheel diet plan. I got suggestions for "Brown" like whiskey and beans and maple syrup, but then I realized that with a little deep fryer I can have just about anything on Brown day ;-)

Today our work group is going to play miniature golf and so with that workout coming up, I will probably want to eat a lot so I will have lots of energy ;-)

8 UKDP explains the nein-iron in golf:

German golfers are celebrating this weekend after a Bristol golf course repealed a rule introduced in 1919 which barred Germans and Austrians from the course. Existing members have been asked not to mention the four.

Guthrum the Old still hasn't been forgotten. It's just that, at his age, he's a little slow coming up the stairs. He'll be here Tuesday. Meanwhile, enjoy this and this.

I see Lord Nazh in the distance as well.

See you Tuesday?

* A correspondent has informed me that ""The Crossroads of America" is Indiana's state motto, not Ohio's". Buckeye is apparently correct though. Sorry!

[world bank] the human side of finance

The World Bank logo in its beloved nebulous-blue colour

Dear, oh dear:

As the White House asserted claims on picking Wolfowitz's successor, aid groups and former bank officials demanded the next president be selected, not in deference to the Bush administration, but on professional merits.

Of course, the World Bank is an interesting organization:

Created in 1945 to rebuild Europe after World War II, it provides more than $20 billion a year for projects such as building dams and roads, bolstering education and fighting disease. The bank's centerpiece program offers interest-free loans to the poorest countries.

The fact that they can produce $20 billion plus is in no small measure down to that financial whiz in the WW1 War Finance Corporation, Eugene Meyer, founder member of the CFR and first World Bank chairman, whose good work set the tone for the future.

After the war, his corporation turned to financing the reconstruction of devastated countries and this notion of financing reconstruction carried through to his appointments as chairman of the Federal Farm Loan Board in 1927 and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from September 16, 1930 to May 10, 1933.

A quite vital time for the U.S.A., that was, especially the two years leading up to 24 October 1929 and the years immediately following that.

This philanthropic altruism on the part of a huge financier carries on even today. For example, the EBRD, one of its partners with whom I have a small connection, is once again in the news for its ground-breaking policies:

As with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank, the EBRD’s mission is not to make profits but to boost development. However, the EBRD is unique among these institutions in the emphasis placed on making loans and investments on a commercial or near-commercial basis.

The shareholder governments of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will this month consider whether the highly profitable bank should become the first multilateral institution to pay dividends.

Jean Lemierre, the bank president, told the Financial Times: “It’s a major question for the shareholders. Even a philosophical question. I am quite sure we are among very few international financial organisations to be in this position.”

This is the question we are considering this weekend.

[name the author] man of letters

C.S.Lewis

Which other man of letters is being discussed below?

'The lady was present at his introduction to one of the late Mrs Montague's literary parties, when Mrs Digby herself, with several still younger ladies, almost immediately surrounded our Colossus of literature with more wonder than politeness, and while contemplating him, as if he had been some monster from the deserts of Africa, he said to them, "Ladies, I am tame; you may stroke me".'

Answer here.

Friday, May 18, 2007

[integrity] the westminster way

One day, when your grandchild asks you:
"What do honour, honesty, integrity, accountability and transparency mean?"

You can just point the little mite to this story.

Hat tip: MJW

[old poll down] new one up

Old poll

Does free trade lead to:

# Monopolies and therefore less choice 19%

# Much greater choice 75%

# Other variant 6%

16 votes total

Comments

Posted by Dave Petterson on May 15, 2007 at 5:24 pm.

But in a truly free trade environment the monopolies would also be competing across frontiers. Walmart would be up against China.

The true beauty of it is these things go in cycles. Traders sell goods. Price settles and either the price comes down or new models are created at the same price.

If a trader does gain the market it's because of a low price and it's competitors move into something else or change the market by making it new again by changing the component.

If the price goes up because someone has cornered the market then there is now a space in the market for someone to give a lower price for the same item.

The only real monopolies now are infrastructure. All others are artificially created by government rule.


Posted by James on May 15, 2007 at 2:13 pm.

Monopolies seem to be the sticking point in this thing.

New poll

Should we leave the EU?

# Yes

# No

[tomorrow cometh] thank goodness

Breathless hush here this evening, quiet, nervous confidence as we shape up for a major event in our lives tomorrow. Quite a few reputations are on the line, inc. mine so please have the helicopter ready to airlift me out, should anything ...

... well actually, all will be well. It's quite a story too and I'll report back to you tomorrow evening, should I still be alive and at large.

[atlanticist quiz] questions across the pond

Simple - name the counties or states. Any score over 5 wins you recognition as a potential Atlanticist:

1 A flat county that gives the impression of vast open spaces, it is almost one big nature reserve. The waters of the ‘Broads' are well worth traversing, particularly for the wildlife lover.

2 The nickname “Plantation State” is derived from the state's official full name which you wouldn't expect for one so far north.

3 The New ****** World Heritage Site was built in 1785 by David Dale, a Scottish industrialist, to take advantage of the water power of the Falls of *****, to spin cotton.

4 The application of the term “Keystone State” cannot be traced to any single source. It was commonly accepted soon after 1800.

5 Separated from the mainland by the Menai Strait, which is spanned by two picturesque bridges, the Menai Bridge and the Britannia Bridge, it was known as Mam Cymru during the middle ages.

6 Some people went in early to claim their land. They became known as Sooners. Hence, it's nickname today is “The Sooner State”.

7 It is nicknamed "The Rebel County", as a result of the support of the townsmen in 1491 for Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the throne of England during the Wars of the Roses.

8 The “Buckeye State” received its nickname because of the many buckeye trees that once covered its hills and plains. But that's only partly the reason.

9 Linen manufacture was an important industry in this county and it is divided into 16 baronies, as well as having a port named Larne.

10 The words “Land of Enchantment” adorn automobile license plates in this state and are used frequently in state publications to promote tourism.

Answers here.

[u.s.a.] twilight's last gleaming

I clearly remember reading in the papers about the Watergate break-in pre-1972 election and even then the jounos were speculating on White House tricks. There is no mistake here - it came out pre-election.

America ignored it and re-elected Nixon in a landslide and I remember being dumbfounded at the time that such an explosive admission could count for so little with the American electorate.

Now we have a similar situation.

First step in understanding the NAU thing is to read the document itself [pdf], plus this one on the genesis of the organization, to get the "feel" of it. All other discussion is pointless without that and I can see, sorry if it offends, from certain comments left on this site that the commenter has not yet done that.

Another American e-mailed me:

...Furthermore, most of the SPP has been pushed on by Bush. So, when the new President is inaugurated on January 20th, 2009, it might already be too late to stop most of the effects. The only end result would be who is going to a) have a realistic chance of winning and b) stop the SPP.

I think as it grows closer to next November (2008), more people will begin to learn about the SPP and hold the candidates (Congressional as well as Presidential) liable for not implementing it. This isn't Europe. We will be heard, if our elected representatives want to be re-elected...

In an episode of our own series Yes Prime Minister, an old international expert asked the PM something along the lines of:

If Russia moved troops and equipment to the Polish border, do you press the [nuclear] button? Of course not, replied the PM.

If they went into Poland just for military exercises, do you press the button? Of course not.

And so on. The expert concluded by calling the strategy "salami tactics" - slice by slice.

It's as well to remember that the CFR quite rightly claim:

1] The NAU paper was only a study paper by academics;

2] We have no official status with the U.S. or any other governments and no member of the executive is a CFR member;

3] The March 13th, 2005 meeting was for elucidation only. No document was signed;

4] It's pure speculation that the CFR would be involved, as an organization, in the NAAC. If individual members were to be on that body, that would be on the strength of their resume and talent alone;

...and so on. The CFR can quite rightly claim that they are, just as any other lobby group or interested party in the public sphere are, an interest group merely putting forth working documents for discussion.

Except for three problems.

1] It's rubbish. By publishing that document, they were "flying kites", testing the public awareness and resolve. That Mr. Bush became involved and took aboard their recommendations speaks of the influence they have over ALL executives and have done for decades. Truman is a prime example.

2] They have no intention of "dismantling" the U.S. in any official manner. All they will do is vest the power of defence, education, taxation and social security in the SPP, overseen by the NAAC, including Canadians and Mexicans. SPP means "partnership", not new sovereignty.

Thus they avoid the problem with the American people which Lord Nazh alludes to and other correspondents allude to. Salami tactics. Though nothing has technically altered and the U.S. will still have its president and Congress, the actual power will have shifted to the NAAC.

3] There are actual plusses in this. The NAAC will be a highly august body of talent, devoid of party political carping. In other words, NA will be run by a meritocracy. Surely that's good?

Just one pesky little matter - the U.S. won't have control over its destiny. It will have to submit policy to the NAAC for approval first. The U.S. will further argue that as the most powerful partner in the alliance, their opinion will prevail.

Actually, it is the NGO - the NAAC - whose opinion will prevail.

Cynics will point out that it would not be greatly different to the existing situation where current policy is already determined by CFR/TLC/BB [e.g. Kissinger and Rumsfeld]. If anything, the power behind the throne is simply being more transparent. Surely that' a good thing?

And the average college educated American? What does he think?

I can't fathom the idea of a NGO having more sway over my nation than the elected leaders of my nation or the laws of my nation. Yes, it's true the Supremacy Clause states that the US Constitution and all treaties are the supreme law of the land. However, when those treaties would threaten our laws, I believe the Supreme Court would rule in our favor. I hope, at least.

And here's another one, from yesterday, in case you were in any doubt about it happening:

...a "deal"* has been struck between members of Congress on the "immigration reform" issue which really means they can begin tearing down the border. Granted the specifics look good on paper (making illegal aliens go home once every two years, a new type of visa, etc.), so did the idea of enforcing our immigration laws to begin with look good on paper as well...

Or this, from an eastern American:

Most Americans are too busy to have the time or care about these serious issues. They will vote for whichever candidate [I think Clinton's already got the Democratic ticket captured] will protect their interests. There will be third party candidates, like always, but aggregately Americans are too afraid of "wasting their vote" on a third party candidate that they will stick to the two primary parties. The difference will be if the third parties make a big stink of the SPP. If they do, that could change both candidates of the Republicans and Democrats to change their views on the SPP. This has been proven before in other elections from past years.

So the 3rd party candidates appear to be the only chance America's got now to have this issue brought into the open, pre-election, and even then, as mentioned in the quote at the start of this post, it might then be too late.

By the way, CFR, when one of your low-level media-monitors tracks this post, you might consider employing me. I feel I could put together a good defence for the SPP which might just get it past the U.S. people. Anyway, you know my e-mail, should you be interested.

* Lord Nazh assures us that this deal fell through.

[blogging] versus the day job

We're all in this game to put up some thoughts and hopefully be read by others. We also have day-job pressure on us.


I know it cuts no ice to continually be saying this but I haven't been round to your site for days - I know this and I can see certain bloggers thinking: "Well, if he's not interested enough, why should I visit him?" Regulars keep visiting and to them: "I thank you profusely."

It's not due to disinterest I assure you. For a start I need your thoughts to fuel the Blogfocus, let alone expand the pool of themes of interest to discuss.

I just can't escape my day-job at this moment and it's really eating my blogging time to the point I post and check comments, answer e-mails and try to get to six or seven sites. Sometime tonight I hope to get free of all this and get around to visit.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

[tess d'urberville] can one be two people

Count me among the non-fans of Thomas Hardy. Tess of the d'Urbervilles [1891] is a case in point - decidedly twee, contrived as only a man's book from a woman's point of view can be, wooden in its action and so on and so on.

However, it did blaze a trail at the time and it's generally agreed to have been a lavish portrait of the times and the countryside of a Wessex Eve. Plus it did raise certain issues.

One issue I'd like to zero in on stems from the dialogue after a man who had an affair himself and thought his fiancee pure is told by her that in fact she's not:

'Forgive me as you are forgiven. I forgive you, Angel.'

'You - yes you do.'

'But you do not forgive me?'

'Oh Tess, it's not a question of forgiveness. You were one person, now you're another.'

Is she a different woman once the truth is out?

Another scenario I've discussed with many people is one based on Agatha Christie's The Companion [1928]:

A woman with nine children quarrels with her rich cousin overseas and the eldest daughter, realizing that the three youngest need expensive medical treatment, goes into service as lady's companion, murders her employer in such a way that the money comes to her and returns home.

She then becomes the benefactor of the family, the mother hen and general philanthropist until she is found out but she dies of an incurable disease anyway.

To those about her, she was a good woman. She was a good woman to them. It's just her past which was the problem. If she's found out, does she cease to be a good woman to them?

Does 'being found out' alter the person? Does subsequent good behaviour mitigate a crime?

If a blogger blogs as a 32 year old Scot and is accepted as such but in fact is a 52 year old English curmudgeon, can he still be the Scot after he's found out? Does one's past alter the plot?

[blogfocus thursday] new friend, old friend

A blend of the new and the old, layer by layer:

1 When you're havering around, altitude decidedly counts:
When you garden at 700ft up in the Scottish Hills it's not all flouncy frocks and straw hats. The Head Gardener complained today that there was nothing for it but to get out there and get on with it. This was she returning from Polytunnel World at 5 p.m. this afternoon. A hot shower and a hot toddy will probably do the trick!

2 These groups were no shade of grey - they coloured our world:

In advance of the Gig, I was told about how Supertramp were not like other bands. Most shows hired in the sound and lighting from the big name tour production Companies arranged by the Promoter as a package, generally with Edwin Shirley Trucking for the logistics and sometimes with a catering Company. Supertramp, however, owned most of their equipment in order to contain costs and paid the crew directly rather than through others. (Roxy Music were another Band that did something similar, they had a their own PA).

3 It's no calumny to say that SNP supporters do exist:

I voted SNP for the first time at the elections two weeks ago primarily because they were the vehicle most likely to turn over Labour. Although my politics lie mostly to the left of Labour I couldn't vote Labour: I, like many others felt, the need for change was crucial. Hopefully, the Labour party will learn lessons and come back a changed and reinvigorated party but I don't hold my breath.

Now I have to lie in the bed of my making and accept what the future brings.

4 Beat the drum and take a stand against tinny diversofascism now:

Nice. Being a modern country does involve, in their eyes, as it seems to for so many people now, associating people who don't agree with you with all manner of evil, depredation and murder. There's a real tone of violence, I think, underlying our modern inability to debate with another without assuming he's something dreadful, and a sense of contempt for others in the need to make laws, laws and laws for things we personally don't like. The more we parrot the hollow slogans of diversity, the less we really believe that people with different views and ideals should exist at all.

The tin drummer is 5' 91/2" tall. Oops. I've just glorified our imperial past and the shocking legacy of slavery. Again. Oh well, off for a pint then.

5 A pommy has to be as hard as granite to sort out Iraq:

I don't pretend to know what the correct course of action is. But what I do know is that those who advocate withdrawal of our troops and to leave Iraq to a full blown bloody civil war without any Plan B, are no better than Rumsfeld and his neocon mates who took Iraq into the hell-zone in the first place. The surge is yet to work but at least it's a plan. It may yet work. The Chatham House recommendations may not be the answer, after all engaging with terrorists is political suicide, but at least they have thought through the issues and have come up with ideas. Good for them.

6 Imagine a community where the end of history is not yet upon us:

Although the red cherries of the song are thought to evoke, among other things, blood spilt in the class struggle, and the red flag itself - images that won't necessarily strike chords with all who read this - listen now, as the valley is adorned with cherry blossom, and the promise of the fruit to come endures. Yes, the windfalls may lie over-ripe and flyblown come the autumn, just as there are plenty who will tell you that Communism is discredited. I don't grieve for the Soviet Union, but as Gracchi recently pointed out, the victory of Capitalism is far from clear, the end of history not yet upon us.

7 There's no Ingsoc here if you have a crush on your dog:

I think dogs are one of the best things on the planet.
Dogs are such a positive feature of the world we live in.
If you haven't included them on your list of things that make it all worth it, you should.

It is always a regret to me that, due to work and a social life that involves a fair amount of not being home, having one of my own is just not practical. But is definitely something I miss.

To me, dogs aren't animals. They occupy a kind of halfway house between us and animalkind. I don't tend to get overemotional about blue whales or tigers, but I get emotional about the Dogs Trust advert.

8 There may not be wisdom at Westminster but there certainly is here:

[I]f I were to begin earning money from it, this blog would cease to be fun, and the parameters of what I wrote would be deformed by a desire to maximise traffic. It isn't that adverts would subvert my political views, but they would subvert the purpose of the blog- in that sense I agree with Ashok I would have lost something- a space to think aloud about what interests me, without regard to whether anyone's listening- though I hope you are and what I have to say interests you- whether if its only 4 people or 40 or even 400 or 400000 doesn't matter to me and that's something I value.

Guthrum the Old is not forgotten - he'll be next time. Till Saturday …

[misrepresentation] the scourge of truth

This blog strongly dislikes political positions based on false premises. It's been shown categorically that the CFR-run SPPNA plans a virtual break up of America. The functioning parts - defence, education, health care and so on - are to be removed from U.S. auspices from 2009 and put in the hands of a NAAC.

Now, the CFR did not specifically state that they would control the NAAC but there's a clear inference in the wording of the report.

Therefore, presidential candidates who are known CFR members or sympathisers and presumably have a brain and are aware of major CFR moves are not acting in the interests of the U.S.A. if they are also acting in the interests of the CFR. You can't have it both ways.

A CFR President will implement the policies of the CFR. It just stands to reason. And the policy of the CFR is the North American Union. Not even Lord Nazh can argue with that. It's in black and white.

Another thing this blog intensely dislikes is not so much bias but outright misrepresentation. The BBC has just reported:

At least 20 people have been killed in a fourth day of gun battles in the Gaza Strip between the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas. Both groups have called a renewed ceasefire to end the violence in which nearly 40 people have died, but gunfire was still being heard after it began.

This has zero to do with Israel. But accorsing to the same BBC report, the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, repeated his calls for:

...an immediate end to the "unacceptable attacks" on Palestinian Authority installations and personnel, which he said endangered civilians throughout Gaza. Mr Ban also said the rocket attacks on Israel were "equally unacceptable".

Equally unacceptable? Either:

1] Ban Ki-moon is here referring to Palestinian attacks on their own facilities or

1] to Israeli responses to rocket attacks, a separate issue or

2] he doesn't know what he's talking about or

3] the BBC has itself simply lumped together the Palestinian infighting and the Israeli responses to rocket attacks as one and the same issue, somehow causally linked.

Here is the BBC reportage on the chronological order of events:

Four Israelis were also injured by a rocket attack, prompting their prime minister to order "a severe response". Shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his country's "policy of restraint" could not continue, an Israeli strike on a Hamas training camp in southern Gaza killed four people. In a later Israeli strike, a Hamas militant was killed and two other Palestinians wounded in a strike in northern Gaza, Palestinian sources said.

The lack of a "comma" after "shortly after" is significant here. Olmert's "severe response" is a clear reference to Palestinian rocket attacks which have been continually strafing Israel since the so-called cease-fire.

In other words, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, by placing "unacceptable attacks" on Palestinian Authority installations first on your list, your implication is that the primary responsibility is Israel's for rocket attacks upon themselves.

This is tantamount to lying through your teeth to appease one viewpoint in a conflict. This is not what diplomacy entails.

To make it crystal clear, the order of events were:

1] Palestinians continue to send rockets into Israel;

2] Israel responds severely;

3] In a completely separate issue, Hamas and Fatah continue to kill each other.

[Comments were off today by mistake - something must have happened during publishing - sorry.]

[minoan 14] who's the author

Try to identify the author from the text. First correct answer acknowledged and comments turned off after that. Here, a young man has lost his car from the hotel carpark - that car later discovered to have been used in a murder. Clue - the pic is a red herring and this author used many of these:

'Well, that's just it, you know. I mean, one can't tell, can one? I mean someone may just have buzzed off in it, not meaning any harm, if you know what I mean.'

'When did you last see it, Mr Bartlett?'

'Well, I was tryin' to remember. Funny how difficult it is to remember anything, isn't it?'

Colonel Melchett said coldly: 'Not, I should think, to a normal intelligence. I understood you to say just now that it was in the courtyard of the hotel last night -'

Mr Bartlett was bold enough to interrupt. He said: 'That's just it - was it?'

'What do you mean by "was it"? You said it was-'

"Well - I mean I thought it was. I mean - well, I didn't look, don't you see?'

Colonel Melchett sighed. He summoned all his patience. He said: 'Let's get this quite clear. When was the last time you saw - actually saw your car? What make is it, by the way?'

'Minoan 14.'

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

[deputy] chipmunks are go

Hilary Benn - 42 MPs
Hazel Blears - 49 MPs
Jon Cruddas - 46 MPs
Peter Hain - 50 MPs
Harriet Harman - 63 MPs
Alan Johnson - 70 MPs

Go Chippy!

[fred thompson] or maybe ron paul

Via Tim Worstall, via Deans' World - Fred Thompson.

This man is making waves. Why won't he declare, even if he is CFR? And why are they ignoring this man, Ron Paul, after this:

Congressman Ron Paul finished first in the MSNBC poll following the GOP primary debate last night held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Dr. Paul received 43 percent, beating the second-place finisher by five points, and crushing the rest of the field.
Or as this commenter, P.J.Walker, stated:
I sincerely believe only he can save America. I say this because he is the only true American in potential position to get into the presidency.

All the rest are either CFR traitors or otherwise controlled by the CFR. This country cannot be turned around without someone like Ron Paul taking the helm to steer us away from danger.
These are clearly the two with the talent.

[notsaussure] and the minoan civilization

Getting a line on the reclusive Not Saussure is not so easy. The man gives only the tiniest of hints in his official photo although some of his posts give a fuller picture. The profile blurb describes his blog thus:

I should like it to resemble some old deep desk, or capacious hold-all, in which one flings a mass of odds and ends without looking them through.

So when Notsaussure comes out with a glimpse into a former life, it is indeed a scoop and that's what we proudly present here.

An old boy of my school sent me today a newspaper article about someone's reminiscences of the place.

This inevitably, for anyone who was there at the time, entailed a mention of the sometime Head of History, a notorious brute who was, nevertheless, loved by some of his pupils (though not by me, I assure you).

The passage that had me laughing out loud concerned one Friday afternoon - time for Mr .....'s weekly history test and the subject was the Minoan civilisation in Crete.

'If I were looking at a mixture of a dragon, an eagle, a lion and a bull, what would I be looking at?' he demanded.

Quick as a flash, two desks in front of mine, somebody muttered, 'A mirror...'.

Dead silence, as we awaited wrath beside which the eruption of Krakatoa would have appeared as a mild sneeze.

We looked up - and our form-master was shaking with laughter in which, after a decent interval, we joined.

I'm wondering how much Notsaussure learnt of the Minoan civilization and so allow me to present the Minoan Quiz.