[anti-semitism] in the highest places

Melanie Phillips writes: We know that the British intelligentsia, the British left and an alarming proportion of the British public either propagate or have uncritically swallowed the Big Lie about Israel’s aggression in general and the false view of the Lebanon war in particular … But Ms Beckett is the Foreign Secretary in the government of Tony Blair, supposedly the best friend Israel has in Europe. This is precisely the point and is one reason Gavin Ayling set up his petition. It will never go away though, no matter how many petitions are signed, as it is institutionalized, especially in the FCO.

[cricket] inzamam and the warne-buchanan rift

Colin Campbell wrote that the issue of Inzamam and Pakistan were two separate issues and in re-reading Cricinfo, he's right and yet Inzamam did say: I had an idea that I would face some sort of ban. This is the most lenient ban and I will not appeal against it. I think that says it all. On another matter, the peerless Tim de Lisle is slightly askew when he reported that Shane Warne is at it again - getting into trouble, then wriggling off the hook. Warne was widely quoted last week as saying that Buchanan "over-complicates issues" and has sometimes "lacked a little bit of common sense". The thing is, as I e-mailed Tim, Bill O Reilly once told some boys that if you see a coach coming, hide behind the sidescreen until he’s gone. It’s a long tradition in Australian cricket and doesn’t necessarily point to a rift.

[in brief] thought for the day

Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. [1964]

[eu] open postal market under 50g by 2009

You saw the FT today? Europe’s market for postal services will be thrown open to unfettered competition from 2009, according to proposals to be presented by the European Commission as early as next month. Brussels is keen to sweep away the last remnants of an era in which postal services were dominated by state-owned monopolies, and complete the market’s transformation into a competitive service sector. Britain, Sweden and Finland have already introduced open competition in all postal markets, but are keen to see similar market opening in other countries. France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece and Poland rejected the move. My question to economics bloggers is, 'Is this free market economics or is it another example of EU interference?

[canada] centre on the brink of recession

The Ontario economy has nearly stalled and, with the U.S. slowdown breathing down its neck, Canada's biggest province could possibly fall into recession, a new forecast from economists at Toronto-Dominion Bank warns. “There is a chance of recession in Ontario. We have some numbers that are getting close to the line,” said Derek Burleton, co-author of the bank's latest provincial forecast. A recession is typically defined as two successive quarters of economic contraction, and is frequently associated with rising levels of bankruptcy, company restructuring and job loss across many sectors.

[richard hammond] some better news

Richard Hammond, 36, has been transferred from the West Yorkshire hospital by air ambulance to Leeds-Bradford International Airport. He appeared to be laughing and chatting. "He is continuing to do well and was obviously stable enough to be moved," a Leeds General Infirmary spokeswoman said. Well, thank goodness for that. Some will put the recovery down to his robust constitution. The wise will put it down to his robust constitution and the power of prayer.

[cricket] nambi-pambiness in it's worst form

So Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has been cleared of ball tampering but banned for four one-day matches for bringing cricket into disrepute. What a load of b-ll-cks. Either he was guilty ... or he was not guilty. This blog is vehemently anti-nambi-pambiness in any shape or form and this is one of the more gratuitous examples of it. Add this one to the Pope's little about face on Islam and a store of treasured idiocy is slowly amassing.

[awb charge] western agency funded saddam hussein’s bunker for dead kurds

The AWB could face criminal charges linked to terrorism offences, amid fresh claims some of its staff knew money being funnelled to Saddam Hussein's government could have been used to build bunkers to bury dead Kurds. In its closing stages today, the Cole inquiry has seen an AWB document which reveals the Iraqis in 2001 wanted foreign currency to build 2,000 concrete bunkers. Who is the AWB? American War Board? Association of Women of Britain? No, as every Australian knows, it’s the Australian Wheat Board. Wheat. The stuff we use for bread. What, may I ask, was a wheat board doing with dead Kurds?

[wallace] it wasn’t the question – it was the smirk

That outburst by Bill Clinton last Sunday, when he referred to the smirk on the face of Christopher Wallace, has puzzled many. It’s so easy to understand. He brought Clinton in under false pretences, his attitude from the beginning was mocking behind his obsequious ‘sirs’ and he simply wished to provoke, then turn around and innocently ask of all and sundry, ‘Whatever have I done wrong?’ He placed himself on the same intellectual plane as Clinton and in the smirk was overweaning arrogance and deep disrespect for a man who has strutted the world stage whilst Wallace himself has done zilch in any creative sense. He wasted the other man’s time and time is not a thing any of us have to waste. I’m not a Clinton fan but he was 100% right on this one. And for this last reason of wasted time, over here yesterday, I refused to deal with a particular group of people again. Life’s too short for such rubbish.

[blogging] the long and the short of it

There are nice pieces by Mr. Worstall and Mr. Olives today about blogging as a viable medium. A blogger also e-mailed me today with the view that he preferred the short, pithy piece to the long-winded, e.g. my piece on said Mr. Worstall. Another wrote yesterday that he preferred not to quote or link [if I understood correctly] as it defeated the purpose of a blog. Another answered him that it showed solidarity with the thoughts of the liked writer. A non-blogger said today that the beautifully presented piece in a garden blog setting detracts from its authenticity and that he favoured the scribbled memo style on an awfully designed background, as long as the man is an acknowledged expert. I read and listen and learn as I go.