[sources] the msm is still the one to trust

Mr Eugenides had this today:

And they wonder why people don't trust blogs? It's the sheepish yet graceless retraction this morning that makes this funny.

He was referring to the Alex Hilton post, reporting Maggie Thatcher's death. Hilton says he was given dud info by a 'journo friend'. Some friend.

Whether or not Hilton did it just to boost his traffic, [which of course it did - enormously] or whether he made a genuine mistake late at night and didn't check his sources sufficiently, it does bring the blogosphere under severe scrutiny and temporarily relieves the pressure on the MSM.

I'd been planning to write a piece anyway, defending the MSM, but this Hilton biz has already done it for me.

What it also does is make me scrutinize my own posts, for example the very last one, on Diana's death. I'd like to say I scoured 17 articles of all hues before coming out with that and I'm preparing a follow up right now with 10 questions the enquiry needs to answer.

One mustn't make statements unless they can be backed up. I hope that mine can be; I think they can. I suppose when we can't find backup, we're faced with a dilemma.

For example, I certainly had a piece on file, before my computer crash, asking why an 'older' man was seen by one of the orderlies going into the emergency room unaccredited and not wearing surgical clothing and why he was standing at the foot of where Diana lay, speaking some phrases repeatedly, then was not there when the orderly returned.

I had that piece on file but then it and dozens of others on my 'D' disk were lost in the crash, along with all the programmes. Does that mean that this information can then never see the light of day? In the MSM that's so - unless it's double sourced, it doesn't go in.

The Voluntary Code Free Zone banner above is clear enough but now I don't know if we shouldn't at least follow some basic protocols on sourcing. That's if we wish to be taken seriously, that is.

[diana] butler-sloss well out of order on this one

As Ian Hislop once said: "If this is justice, then I'm a banana."

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, pre-empting the jury inquiry, said on Monday she had not seen "a shred of evidence" to back up claims she had been murdered.

Now I'm no lawyer, unlike some of my learned fellow bloggers but this seems to me to be well out of order, offering an opinion before an investigation she'll be co-heading even gets underway.

Appeal court judge Janet Smith, on the other hand, said: "Mr Al Fayed has alleged that the Duke of Edinburgh and the security services conspired to kill the princess and Dodi Al Fayed. The allegation must be inquired into."

Damned right. Fayed knows exactly what went on in the emergency room and who was in there when Diana was taken in there. He knows why the delay in getting her to emergency, so that certain persons could be present and he probably knows why they had to be there in a non-medical capacity. And why they departed soon after.

It will be interesting to see if this comes out or not.

[russian president] ivanov and medvedev firm favourites

The biggest question in Russia just now is what Putin is up to, vis a vis the presidential election.

He certainly doesn't seem to be running, himself, as he announced "a reshuffle on Thursday, appointing defence minister Sergei Ivanov as first deputy prime minister, equal to Dmitry Medvedev, who already holds that position, and who has been widely tipped as Ivanov’s main rival in the 2008 presidential election."

“Thus begins the unfolding of Putin’s answer to the 2008 problem,” the daily Izvestia wrote. “There will be no 'successor' to the post of president, the voters will have to chose between absolutely equal candidates.”

The speculation can now begin as to Putin's broader game. If the two deputies will have to fight it out and if both are now being given a free rein to boost themselves before the poll and if there is no clearcut winner at the poll, would that mean Putin would be waiting in the wings to take over again in 2012?

Or is it Putin's way of observing which one to throw his weight behind, thus truly ending his era and ushering in a new? Surely Putin will be very much in the background, perhaps as some sort of elder statesman. And what of Khodorkovsky? When he comes out, won't revenging himself be very much on his mind?

Either Vladimir Putin is playing his cards close to his chest or else he's simply playing according to the rules, thereby enhancing the chances for genuine democracy in Russia, despite what his fiercest critics say.

Or perhaps he has a third motivation - to leave office a Russian statesman who put a divided country back together and back on the world map. His legacy may be very close to his heart, more so than continuing in power.

Or else he knows of the coming world disaster the Finance is planning and doesn't want to be at the helm at that time.

Intriguing.

[britblog 107] from the keyboard of mr eugenides

Get thee over to Mr Eugenides henceforth, for the first non-Tim Worstall Britblog Roundup and a humdinger it is too.

[sunday quiz] is your history hazy or honed

Sorry it's a bit late:

1 The ancient region of Nubia is in which two modern countries?

2 Eboracum is the roman name for which city?

3 In which country is Waterloo, where the battle took place?

4 The Condor Legion was the name of the German air force flying for Franco's nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War. What was the name of the Irish volunteers on Franco's side?

5 The War of Jenkin's Ear (1739) was waged between which two countries?

6 Was Operation Sea Lion in the Second World War the invasion of Britain or the evacuation at Dunkirk ?

7 What was the name of Haile Selassie before he was crowned in 1930?

8 What was the name of the cult that Charles Manson led which killed at least seven people and what was the similar sounding name the British Royal family gave itself, particular in the days of the last Georges?

9 Which Republic has existed in France since 1958? [1st, 7th, 14th or which?]

10 Which other country joined the EEC at the same time as Ireland and Denmark?

Answers here. How did you do?

[iceland news] no fatal traffic accidents this year

This blog adores Icelandic news. As Euroserf once commented, "In the middle of a hectic day of a hectic life, Iceland seems somehow peacefully inviting doesn't it?" Now here's their latest classic:

No one has been killed in traffic in Iceland in the first two months of 2007. In January and February last year four people lost their lives in traffic accidents, and on average in 2006, one person died in traffic every 12 days. “The goal of the road safety plan of the government is that there will be no more fatal traffic accidents in Iceland than in countries where the situation is best,” stated an announcement from the Road Traffic Directorate.

“It is important to continue this development by respecting speed limits, using safety equipment in cars and using it right, and do everything we can to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol and other euphoric substances,” the announcement continued. Furthermore, it was stated: “2006 was the second worst year regarding fatal accidents in Iceland in 25 years. A civilized nation cannot accept that.”

I don't know what it is about Iceland - is it the provincial nature of their largely non-news, presented seriously and fully attributed, even down to "Morganbladdid said this"? Or is it the quaint English, such as 'euphoric substances' in the above post? Or is it the amazing Icelandic names such as Bjorgolfur Gudmansson and Vilhjalmur Th. Vilhjamsson?

Or the quaint thinking processes? I once wrote to Iceland Review, asking if they were serious and had a very prim and proper reply but the niceness of the lady made me feel a cynical, curmudgenonly heel and I vowed never to take the p--s again. And yet here are some classics which can bring tears to the eyes:

Icelandic bitch has record number of puppies;

German author publishes fantasy novel about Iceland;

… and these stories demanded their own posts:

[icelandic pervert] window peeper busted in akureyri

[bloody vikings] no spam for these boys

My favourite though was a two paragaph post trying to beat up the fact that it was + 17 degrees at the start of summer. It concluded:

Many people have taken the day off. This explains why not much is happening in the country, as you can see from the lack of news.

[flawed hero] the tragedy of gary ablett

Nobody's interested in someone else's sport. The Americans skip over English football, the English ignore New Zealand club rugby. Goals, points, handpasses - when they're not your local heroes, they're simply a yawn.

Just occasionally, sportsmen like Beckam, Bradman, Alabama Pitts, Truman, Jordan, Shaq, Babe Ruth, Jona Lomu, Tyson, George Best, Shane Warne and Popov come along and their ability is inconceivable. Transcending the field of sport, soon to be cultural icons, more often than not their off field antics, their inability to simply live as human beings, makes them the stuff of legends and of course, of tragedy. Everyone is fascinated by a tragedy.

Such a man was Gary Ablett, of the AFL team Geelong, at a time when I was living in Australia in the 80s. He ended up, like Eric Clapton, being called G-d in the graffiti and in the flow of adulation which engulfed him everywhere he tried to turn. Everyone wanted a piece of him.

And on Saturdays, they'd flock to see the goliath perform his superhuman antics, often seeming to suspend the laws of physics as he quite legally, under the laws of the Australian game, bestrode other men's shoulders in his climb to the stratosphere to take in a high grab. Once asked about a particular spectacular he'd taken, he replied: "It was a good mark but wasn't such a good landing."

Therein lies the story of Gary Ablett. Not the most articulate of men, his tale is one of soaring for the stars then crashing heavily to earth and he rarely let you down on the field. When opposition fans saw him take a grab or whip up the ball from the turf, shoulders sagged all round and they'd mutter: "Bloody Ablett," with a touch of awe. The goal was usually a foregone conclusion.

He came from the right side of the tracks for a footballer - a street fighting, bar brawling country boy, with massive shoulders and an athlete's body; he'd been on the shady side of the law more than a few times, he'd once hospitalized a man. When he hit the big smoke, he was no immediate hit, joining his brothers' club and stifling in its atmosphere. Then he went to the flashy, lightning quick Geelong, of the western district 'old money', a one town club who knew how to worship a hero. Ablett was on clover but even here lay the seeds of the later tragedy.

Gary Ablett's story concludes here.

[blogfocus saturday] mainly britsphere this evening

Only one non-Brit this evening but this situation will be reversed on Tuesday.

1 It's very, very difficult to access Lord Nazh's blog but it's worth persevering a few minutes for he's always unpredictable and to the point. Besides, a man who heads his blog with an ever changing toon, [such as the one I've swiped above, which you can't read, as the print's too small here and thus will have to go to the site], is OK by me. Here he reports that recent, dangerous, international incident few might have been aware of:

What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein. According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers from the neutral country wandered more than a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back.

2 This wonderful curmudgeonly piece from The Man from Islington had me falling off my mobility scooter:

I do not like young people much. They have far too good a time. I shuffle to work everyday like a miserable Monk, being harvested by the State for my life force, while they skip and cavort with sexy new media projects and have "vibrant" web communities of smarmy Conservative Future members. I see them laughing in that revoltingly carefree way and the bile rises in my throat, the bitter acrid fumes sting my nostrils. I crush a paper cup with silent disgust. “Oh bugger off and have a Craveor whatever it is you do,” I shout, waving an imaginary stick and expectorating …

And so on.

3 The intriguing, enigmatic and sartorial Benedict White [born in march 1968 in a small village in Hertfordshire, just north of London.] has this to say about an event to be held this coming Monday:

The Adam Smith Institute (as in the free market think tank named after the author of the Wealth of nations, rather than the Sith Institute) has an event organised for Monday March the 5th, in London, with Stephan Shakespeare [founder of 18 Doughty Street] and Fraser Nelson [Political Editor of The Spectator] as speakers. Should be good. I will be there. If you are wondering who I am, I will be the twit charming man with the beard and ponytail. Possibly handing out business cards as well as cards with my blog address on it as I am as always a shameless self publicist!

Another nine bloggers here.

[james elsewhere] gone over to annoy lady ellee

I've done a little piece on the former Soviet Union and my reasons for staying there and Lady Ellee has kindly invited me to post it at her site. It might be of some interest to you, particularly the comments by Newmania and Tom Paine, which add to the overall picture.

If you like the piece and if you'd like more, then maybe one day Ellee will invite me again.

[airbus] a camel designed by a committee

Airbus is a troubled monster.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has revealed he'd talked with Chancellor Angela Merkel about the problems at Airbus and confirmed it is seeking to cut 10,000 jobs, saying, "This company is largely Franco-German, very European and there needs to be an equitable distribution of efforts between the countries."

Translated, that means that while profits need to be slanted France's way, job losses must be equitably distributed. Germany's Financial Times Deutschland has said that German carmaker DaimlerChrysler was responsible for halting the planned restructuring because it was worried France would keep too much of the manufacturing work and had concerns over the cost-cut targets.

American Thinker says that Reuters notes:

Franco—German friction is at the heart of a management feud that has gripped parent firm EADS and stalled appointments of a new Airbus chief executive, new EADS co—CEOs and a boss for its defence business.

The BBC notes:

Sad but true - the news of yet more delays to the Airbus A380 comes as little surprise. In recent weeks there has been widespread speculation that the problems revealed by the company in June were just the tip of the iceberg.

AM goes on to say:

Airbus has always been an odd entity, cobbled together from formerly—autonomous aerospace manufacturers in France, Germany, and Spain, with additional participation by British Aerospace. Airbus headquarters remain in Toulouse, France, Sud's former home base. It may be a European company, but to many it looks quite French.

Therein lies the squabbling plus one other factor - the French obsession with glory. A glance at my own field of sailing reveals that the French are at the heart of speed records, new concepts such as variable geometry trimarans and so on. For the French, it is shining glory which counts, rather than structural integrity and thus the A380 monster was born:

Because the new airplane is both massive and extensively employs state—of—the—art composites in its structure, the nightmare scenario would involve threats to its structural integrity. The smaller Boeing Dreamliner also employs composites, but its smaller size means that stresses due to sheer mass will be less of an engineering obstacle.

If you have only two major players in world aviation, namely Boeing and Airbus, then it is logical that the statistically few crashes around the world will be down to one or other of these. And yet, in Airbus' case, it is the nature of the structural failure which garners such attention. Not pilot error, not airport difficulties - structural errors. It has always been so. Look at some of the continuing disasters:

New York, leading to this Federal directive, Jamaica, Irkutsk, the Persian Gulf, Moscow, Canada, the list goes on.

The best way I can summarize it is Alec Issigonis' comment that the camel is an animal designed by a committee. When design and construction teams must comprise politically acceptable elements from the various nations, the result is not a think tank but a mish-mash.