[blogosphere] last bulwark against the luminaries

It seems to this blogger that there is a tendency to what I hesitate to call provincialism amongst political bloggers.

The Americans are concerned with their own elections, as are the British and French and local issues dominate, e.g. the destruction of the British NHS and the U.S. southern border issue.

Brits look at EU issues only in terms of themselves and things like the French elections because of proximity to France and because of Segie.

Unwittingly, this is helping the anti-globalist cause immensely. Nationalistic meddling stymied the EU constitution which Jacques promised his masters would go through, like the Paris Olympics. Now, in slipping it through the backdoor, Merkel and Co. are openly showing their disdain for the "sheep".

Further to this, botching of the NHS and DTI big brother proposals has been a godsend in global terms, [though admittedly not too much fun for the victims] and Bush's attempts to sell his country down the drain [the SPPNA, March, 2005] are also meeting increasingly fierce local resistance.

Basically, it's clear that blogging, though lacking political power at this point, is still producing more highly educated computer users and these are practically the majority of sentient beings in the community.

This is good stuff.

One blogger doing a fine job looking both at local issues and the bigger picture is Croydonian but even he appears to be looking overseas with a local focus.

Increasingly, it's becoming necessary to see why, for example, the French election has ramifications down the track. A Sarko victory pressurizes Turkey's accession to the EU, already under threat and this, in turn, is threatening the moderate secularists in that country.

The continued hesitation on the part of the EU is playing into the hands of the extremists, hence the probability that the first cleric is about to be elected and Ataturk's legacy is under threat.

As students of British history and Gallipoli know, the Turks lie at the crossroads of all the coming action and they cannot be dismissed. It would be terrible if Turkey went the way of Iran. We personally are quite worried about this.

Cassandra, over at the Lighthouse, goes into some detail:

Taken at face value, this is an unbelievable statement: the Turkish military have the constitutional duty to safeguard Kemalist democracy and secularism in Turkey against the inherently undemocratic Islamic machinations of the AK Party, a wolf in sheep's clothing if ever there was one!

You might say that may well be so but what can we do on a personal level?

The answer is anything which stymies the globalist agenda, e.g. parochial nationalism, the demand for the English parliament, [this blogger has shifted on this once he thought through the implications fully], the globalist human inefficiency, sheer greed - these things are galling to the global luminaries and are really the last bulwark.

They're doing most of the damage themselves. Merkel's Bruderheist suggestion that the pan-European army is best left under the guidance of the Germans was wonderful.

Prince Charles's position, as confirmed by "The Illustrious Lineage of the Royal House Of Britain" [First Published in 1902 by The Covenant Publishing Co., Ltd., London] and with further confirmation by The College of Heralds, is that he is the the 145th direct descendant of King David and also, coincidentally, descended form the Prophet Mohammed [peace be upon him].

Naturally, this led to his application, just before full unification in 1993, to become the EU King of Europe but strangely, this was turned down by the European parliament.

According to Prince Charles at the time: "I am sure that many people consider that the United Kingdom is in an ideal geographical and historical position to act as an interpreter and mediator between the United States and Europe."

The Daimler-Benz scuppering of the joint Airbus project for fear of French dominance also helps the cause.

It's all good stuff.

Trade is particularly encouraging. National self-interest has scuppered Doha and now threatens to do the same within the next round, whilst at the same time reducing tensions by its very nature.

The World Bank [Wolfowitz] and WTO are coming in for enormous stick and the "sheep" are currently on a roll. But the "wolves" are not going to concede as easily as that. Keep an eye, for example, on the pan-EU security force and the constitution-which-is-not-a-constitution. You can do the latter by clicking on EU Sceptics in my sidebar.

Given that the MSM is controlled, [ex-boss Katie Graham and the Washington Post alone illustrates this],then the Blogosphere is the only medium still holding out against the luminaries and long may it be so.

Thinking small is thinking big in this situation - small nationhood, small government, local issues,focus on family and friends, lots of lovemaking and the imbibing of a modicum of the fermented beverage will scupper the agenda like nothing else.

Fortunately, this comes naturally to most people.

[misty rain] gleaming swish of asphalt

It's 19:22 on a Saturday evening and the light is slowly fading.

The air is full of misty rain which has covered the dereks, the three new buildings at various stages of construction and the concrete fence surrounding the vast earth-dug site.

The sound of the swish of tyres on asphalt through the open balcony door is all the sound there is, except for the idiot drilling in the wall in the flat above. I'll go up shortly to terminate him.

The ecologically sound lamp in the living room gives a sulphur yellow glow to an already golden parquet floor and I sit adjacent, typing this to you.

At least I was.

Actually, I've just skipped onto the balcony and the scene below is pure cityscape and yet I recall it twelve years ago here - the edge of geography, the new housing area with the road petering out into a sand dune which ran down to the river.

Now they call it the Riviera and it features casino, Imax theatre, skating rink and a foreshore of Miami type housing. I prefer it the way it was.

Do you hunger for rain as I do? All my bitter-sweet moments were in such rain - I don't know, it stirs something inside and helps one forget.

I wish there were a pub somewhere within walking distance.

[marshall tucker band] laid back music

The Marshall Tucker Band were from the early 70s and played a flute, fiddle and piano dominated, very laid back and some said, quite loose and rambling music. Closest bands and singers of a similar ilk were Allman Brothers, Elvin Bishop and maybe the Eagles to an extent.

For a Britisher who didn't exactly grow up with American country music, I still liked their harmonies and there was one song which stood out for me: "In my own Way" which was quite relevant to a certain wife of mine:

I know sometimes you think I don't love you ... but I can't act like we just met all the time

And I can say without a doubt you're the only love I'd ever find

There's a special place in my heart that’s occupied by you;

There ain't no one on God's earth gonna take your place

And I can say without a doubt you're the only love I'd ever find

And in my own way I love you

And in my own way I need you

And in my own way I've got you

... and your love.

The lyrics were one thing but the totally unhurried nature of the song and the almost conscious way they dropped into minutes long instrumental phases twice, as if they were gathering their thoughts for the next verse, was quite appealing.

Sadly, I can't access this song on the web but I have found one of their other numbers in emasculated, awful midi form. I'm using Midi Shrine to give readers 48 hour access to "Heard it in a Lovesong", which was their only commercial success.

This can be accessed by clicking here.

I'm gonna be leavin’ at the break of dawn.

Wish you could come but I don't need no woman tagging along.

So I'll sneak out that door couldn't stand to see you cry.

I'd stay another year if I saw a tear drop in your eye.

Heard it in a love song [chorus repeated].

The Marshall Tucker Band.

[saturday quiz] opening lines of novels

Half a mark for the book, half for the author:

1 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,....

2 It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him. Yossarian was in the hospital with a pain in his liver that fell just short of being jaundice.

3 At the beginning of July, during a spell of exceptionally hot weather, towards evening, a certain young man came down on to the street from the little room he rented from some tenants in S--- Lane and slowly, almost hesitantly, set off towards K---n Bridge.

4 Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

5 It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

6 It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

7 Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery.

8 Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

9 Mr. Sniggs, the Junior Dean, and Mr. Postlethwaite, the Domestic Bursar, sat alone in Mr. Snigg's room, overlooking the garden quad at Scone College.

10 It ws one of the mixed blocks, over on Central Avenue, one of those blocks that are not yet all negro. I had just come out of a three-chair barber shop where an agency thought a relief barber named Dimitrios Aleidis might be working. It was a small matter. His wife said she was willing to spend a little money to have him come home.

Answers here.

[blogfocus saturday] here's to your good health

1 Tom Paine minces no words when he is annoyed about something and this is no exception:

The prigs at Alcohol Concern believe (like so many other Statist swine) that they know better than us how to bring up our children. Both my daughters were introduced gradually to alcohol from a young age in the French manner, with a view to their learning to appreciate quality wine in joyful moderation. Understandably, Alcohol Concern's demand to criminalise such an approach, has brought Devil's Kitchen into full, fine, fulminating, foul-mouthed form.

2 Spicy Cauldron also has something to say on the Alcohol Concern matter:

Introducing alcohol from an early age, educating children as to its proportionate usage and enjoyment, is a far more effective barrier to drink problems developing in later life than banning alcohol outright until a child is no longer a child at all, but an ill-informed adult with an awareness that the taboo can then be indulged in with gay abandon and little in the way of social controls, next to no risk of a prison sentence for anti-social and extremely violent behaviour.

Alcohol Concern, please take note: a call for greater education would have been warmly received as sensible and considered. Prohibition and criminalisation never work, and it is only right that you receive flak for suggesting these as appropriate courses of action for government to take.

3 Russell Roberts, at Café Hayek,gets sooty on coal:

I love it when the bootlegger and the Baptist are the same guy. The WSJ ($) reports:

The founder of a group that ran a series of newspaper ads attacking the coal industry for selling a product that they called "filthy" says the campaign is ending.

The effort, promoted as pro-environment, was sponsored by a rival energy company, a natural-gas-production company, and sparked a round of protests from members of Congress and trade associations.

4 The only problem with what is otherwise, here, an excellent blog is Tony Emmerson's refusal to take comments. Still, the post is good, for all that:

For years my dear Grandfather kept a daily record of his barometer readings. I remember as a child seeing the book in which he noted and plotted the twitch of a needle. The world was a small place then. All the boffins doing their sophisticated works at the Met Office (apart from that hot weather girl who was the sister of somebody famous) could tell me nothing more important than the contents of that slim and faded volume. There was something profound laid in those years of carefully drawn lines of different coloured inks, even if they told a story that everyone around me already knew: Buxton has crappy weather.

5 Dr Crippen cannot be accused of succinct posts. They cover every current news item, ramification and every twist of every NHS issue. You want NHS? Go to The Crip:

Bloody, whinging, whining junior doctors. It is all your fault. Add you onto the lazy GPs, the fat-cat, swan-eating, port-swilling, golf-playing consultants and those useless nurses, and you can see why the NHS has failed.

It must be true. My Lord Warner says so.

Lord Warner, has launched an extra-ordinary attack on all those who work in the NHS. He cites "productivity" issues and resistance to change within the NHS as the major causes for the failure of Labour's investment programme and programme of reform.

6 Electrolicious is an electrically delicious journo-poet and she's focussed on Gen X and Y just now, the DNA of future society as we know it:

As part of my new job, I've been reading a lot about the work-styles of Gen Y (aka the Millennials). Although my birth-year (1975) technically puts me into Gen X territory, after reading various articles discussing how Gen Y is hyper communicative and assertive but also plagued by narcissism and an obsessive need for connectivity, I would like to proclaim that I identify more with Gen Y. Then I wonder if perhaps this is because I spent so much time at raves in my early 20s — raves where most everyone was 5 years younger than me. Is Gen Y contagious?

7 On the grounds that we should reperesent all point of view in the Blogfocii, may I present the Urban Commando, Will, in all his red star glory. The Young Ones would be proud:

The majority (yes - that's right - you heard me correctly) of the left (or what passes itself off for that distinguished tradition) has thoroughly botched its job on this most crucial of matters. This manifest truth is apparent if one examines the 'anti-war movement' in this country and most others - it is the enemy of the World's working class, the enemy of the Jews, the enemy of the Afghan people, the enemy of Palestinians, the enemy of Iraqis, the enemy of the Kurdish people and the enemy of everything I've ever f---ing well fought for or cared about. Capitalism is truly puking up undigested barbarism these days (truefact).

8 Let's finish up, this evening, with one of our own - Calum Carr - and his take on the Scottish issue:

Nothing new about this. Not even newsworthy. He spoke therefore he lied: that’s the Blair we all know.

In today’s Times (26 April 2007, sorry no link) he accused Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP and likely to lead the largest party after next week’s election, as follows:

“When Alex Salmond gets up in the morning what is on his mind is fighting England.”

Fighting: this from Mr Military man. “Who’s up for a fight?” “We are”, says Tony. “Well, not me, of course, but “my” troops are up for it”. He has no shame!

“Fighting England”, he says. What absolute rubbish! I have seen or heard nothing to suggest there is any truth in this.

I have seen reports that the SNP will try to manufacture issues on which they can claim that the Westminster government is not acting in the interests of Scotland.

Dem's fighting words and more of these on Tuesday evening, the national day over here. So crank up those old gramophones and dust off your copy of The Internationale. Go out to the garage and find 1] a hammer and 2] a sickle.

Bye for now.

[kryptonite] curse of lex luthor

Love those tights.

You'd expect that with my mindset I'd take the Superman Curse onboard and you'd be right. I do indeed think there is something in it but not as much as Wiki has tried to ascribe to it.

Now a new warning has been backed by science:

Warning to Superman: Stay clear of Ottawa. With the help of our very own National Research Council, scientists have identified a mineral with virtually the same composition as kryptonite, the space rock that makes the Man of Steel more like a man of straw.

It all started in Serbia, where geologists working with mining giant Rio Tinto unearthed a drill core of a rock they couldn't match to any known mineral. So they contacted Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London's Natural History Museum.

But when Dr. Stanley typed the composition of the new mineral -- sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide -- into Google, he was astonished to find that it matched up with kryptonite. "He said, 'I nearly fell off my chair,' " says Dr. LePage. "And we had a good laugh."

The rock will be named jadarite, after Jadar, the place in Serbia where it was discovered, Dr. Stanley said.

I think this stinks. It should be called Kryptonite or White Kryptonite and tried on Arnie. If found relatively harmless, it should next be tried on the black-faced Lizard Queen to discover if she bears any resemblance to humankind.

Or not.