[blogfocus saturday] lean, mean christmas edition

The theme for the early part this post is, of course, Christmas but one or two other themes have also forced their way into the Blogfocus in the latter stages. Let’s kick off the Christmas theme with a real Mystery Blogger, if ever there was one, whom I’ll call Tony Sharp and his authoritative blog has a cautionary message for all:

1 If people refuse to get the message that drinking and driving increases the likelihood of having an accident then the punishment for those caught needs to be significantly tougher. There is no excuse for anyone driving after drinking. But safety cameras are of little help in catching drink-drivers because they only record speeding motorists. They are ineffective in identifying drunk drivers, those who are driving dangerously and those who are driving unroadworthy or untaxed vehicles.

2 The peerless Man from Croydon ponders the different culture of gift giving in the commercial HQ of the world:

Apparently 80% of our friends on the other side of the Pond would rather have the equivalent of a book token - a gift card - than a normal present for Christmas. Details here. I cannot find any details as to research method, so I'm taking this with a pinch of salt. Pretty miserable nevertheless.

3 From over that side of the pond, Matt has somehow stumbled upon a strange thing concerning the end of the year:

It's amazing the similarities between this time right now and last year. For instance, last year I was at home. I am at home this year. I hadn't done anything of note by this time last year. The same is true of this year. Last year, being my first year at college, was supposed to be that "great" beginning of time. It wasn't, as you all know. This year is better but I still find some things lacking.

Eleven more bloggers here plus the Mystery Blogger …

[stress] take the test

James Higham - Your Stress Level is: 51%

You are somewhat prone to stress, especially when life gets hard. When things are good, you resist stressing over little problems. But when things are difficult, you tend to freak out and find it hard to calm down.

How Stressed Are You?

Thanks Colin Campbell at Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe.

[scotland and england] the new feudalism

This blog is diametrically opposed to the Wilhelmsbad Declaration [1782]: the abolition of all ordered governments, private property, inheritance, patriotism, the family, religion; and the creation of a one world government. The most fundamental reason to oppose it is because of who will control it and yet that is precisely where we are now headed.

Focusing on the first plank – abolition of ordered governments, it’s not too fanciful to suggest that this refers to nationality and the latter plank of abolition of patriotism would seem to support that contention. Three very clear trends:

1] steady erosion of freedoms;
2] move towards continental control of every aspect of citizen’s lives;
3] individual nation states fragmenting, e.g. Britain, Canada.

The first two have been blogged about by almost everyone. On the third, this comes from euro-know:

What on earth is happening to the nation state? Before our eyes it is dismembering itself into the smaller pieces from which it was once composed - not yet quite the 'city-states' of ancient Greece and Renaissance Italy, but firmly in that direction … The triggers for break-up come in many forms.

The trend is simply away from the nation state which, despite its myriad faults, has always been a bulwark against and a major obstacle to globalization and the facilitation of the Wilhelmsbad agenda. Doesn’t matter whether it’s fragmentation into smaller units or incorporation into a larger, the nation state as we know it is on the way out and a new feudalism is replacing it.

The Scottish and English situation follows …

[taliban] almost ready for spring offensive

The Taliban's efforts are focused on next spring, after the harsh winter weather eases, while NATO forces aim to "nip this evil in the bud", using the province of Kandahar as their strategic base. From there, they want to contain and encircle the Taliban in their bases all over southwestern Afghanistan.

Central to this plan is the use of air power, even though the Taliban have come down from the mountains and entrenched themselves in civilian populations in carefully chosen pockets. They also have a headquarters in the rugged mountains of Baghran Valley in Helmand province.

To date, the Taliban have mostly engaged their pawns against NATO, with key leaders based safely in the tribal belt between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once the final push starts, though, they will move to the fringes of the southwestern Pashtun heartland, Baghran, in preparation for the removal of President Hamid Karzai's administration in Kabul.

However, NATO spokesman Mark Laity does not agree with this assessment. "Their [Taliban] intent was to hold the Panjwayee [district of Kandahar province] as a necessary part of their plan to encircle or take Kandahar city. In Helmand [province] they certainly intended to take Sangin, Musa Qala and Nowzad in the north and Garmsir in the south, with the desire to disrupt and isolate Lashkhar Gah [the capital of Helmand province]. In all of these respects, they failed," Laity told Asia Times Online.

Article continues here …

[le brouillard] heathrow dans le chaos

Le Figaro dit: Le "fog" qui recouvre Londres conduit à l'annulation de centaines de vols. Des dizaines de milliers de voyageurs sur le départ à l'approche des fêtes de Noël se retrouvent donc cloués au sol. Une fois de plus, le "fog", véritable "purée de pois" dont la Grande-Bretagne est coutumière, vient gâcher les projets des habitants de l'île.

La compagnie British Airways a supprimé tous ses vols intérieurs et certains vols européens. La totalité de ceux vers Paris et Bruxelles ont été annulés. Et de nouvelles annulations de vols, à destination de Stockholm, Düsseldorf, Hambourg, Sofia, Madrid et Tripoli notamment, sont prévues. Les aéroports de Gatwick, Norwich, Southampton et Coventry sont également touchés. Comble de malchance, le brouillard devrait recouvrir l'Angleterre au moins jusqu'à lundi, le jour de Noël, selon les prévisions météos.

Il semble que le chaos n’est pas seulement Parisien de nature.

[tagging] progress report

I wondered what would happen when I started this meme and some of the lists are quite revealing, some quite moving and some plain funny. One blogger said he couldn't see what was of interest in what he'd posted but I think it was nice to have that little glimpse into another blogger's world.