[the blogosphere] marginalizing itself into oblivion

You might like to read this first.

Right, now my post:

For quite some time I’ve been wondering about how the blogosphere is allowed to go on when it almost certainly militates against the powers that be.

I mean, at some point, surely they’ll have to pull the plug, as in China.

At least, that’s what I thought.

At a simplistic level, party politics and government, they don’t have the power yet in this country or the U.S.A. to close us down on a pretext although there’ve been attempts, not least the two tier blogosphere and other proposals.

What does seem to be happening is that it’s killing itself off and it’s marginalized. Let’s face it, we don’t go to any blog to hear or see the news – we go to the MSM, in my case the Telegraph first, followed by Reuters, the BBC, Google for the U.S. news and The Age for the Australian. Don’t remember the last time I looked at the Guardian.

If we want analysis, we have our blog of choice – Dale, DK, Denninger, whoever. The rest of us, busily typing away, are at best marginalized, no matter how perspicacious we may claim to be. We don’t reach anyone except those wanting a quick, thirty second grab.

Therefore, the powers that be, the genuine ones, Them, have relatively little to fear, which won’t stop them fearing, as all totalitariansm does in its own paranoid way.

Perhaps the blogosphere peaked in late 2006/early 2007 – certainly I saw a lot more cut and thrust around that time.

I wonder how you see it these days?

[cymru] cyfriniol cenedl

In this ongoing Ignorant Travel Guide, I wrote that I was going to do Ireland next.

I lied.

The first thing about Wales is that online Welsh translators are rubbish. The second is; 'r Cymraeg ydy da boblogi.

In this mystic land, things are not as they seem:

Names are not always what they seem. The common Welsh name BZJXXLLWCP is pronounced Jackson. [Twain]

Yes but what do the Welsh actually look like?

Welsh in general have dark features i am Welsh and I'm from Welsh speaking Wales were you get more dark complexion than light maybe this is because foreign tribes never really made it this far into Wales. I have dark brown/black hair, Brown eyes, I am medium sized and have darker skin. When I'm in Spain the Spaniards always come up and speak to me in Spanish.

That's interesting because in Sicily, people were forever coming up to me asking directions in Italian.

What do the Welsh think of themselves?

I rather like my reputation, actually, that of a spoiled genius from the Welsh gutter, a drunk, a womanizer; it's rather an attractive image. [Richard Burton]

What do the non-Welsh think of them?

"The Welsh," said the Doctor, "are the only nation in the world that has produced no graphic or plastic art, no architecture, no drama. They just sing," he said with disgust," sing and blow down wind instruments of plated silver. They are deceitful because they cannot discern truth from falsehood, depraved because they cannot discern the consequences of their indulgence. Let us consider," he continued, "the etymological derivations of the Welsh language...."

Apparently, everyone wants to move there:

The jobs are already held by Civil Servants around the country who will be expected to relocate to Wales or lose their jobs.

Which leaves us with the obvious question – did Owain Glyndŵr ever use the expression: ‘Sod the English?’

Finally, who is the sexiest Welsh woman afloat?

Answer

Personally, I prefer this one.

[secession] who stands to gain

Theo has quite a bit up about the secessions.

With only a few days to the ceding of the powers of he U.S. to the equivalent of the NAAC, it's interesting that this is coming to a head now. Working on the basic premise that the CFR and other heavenly bodies are well into the breaking up of the union, then it is logical that secessionist movements would be viewed favourably by them.

With non-President Obama a tool in the hands of those in charge of the U.S.A., secession is understandable for lovers of the constitution but unfortunately, it's also a power thing with one set of pollies wanting to run the show and to have a slice of the pie.

The question still remains though - who stands to gain if all these states [or even a few of them] secede?

[love] underrated

10 years ago i thought love was over-rated, today i think it is under-rated.

[silent sunday] captions please

[the crimean war] and the persistence of old issues

For a look at this conflict, try this site.

How much has really changed?

A glance through key elements of the wiki version of the Crimean War show that the old issues are still alive and well.

“The Crimean War lasted from 28 March 1854 to 1856. It was fought between Russia and an alliance of the United Kingdom, France, and the Ottoman Empire, joined somewhat tardily by Piedmont-Sardinia. The majority of the conflict took place on the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea.

The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1856).”

My exit from Russia, not fancifully I would suggest, had some of its antecedents in Britain’s traditional rivalry with Russia. The war also confirms continued support for the Muslims at governmental level and in many other sections of British society.

Basically, Russia wanted to solve its Eastern question and to score some much needed victories for home consumption. It had a vehicle for victory in Admiral Nakhimov or so it thought.

It was a fiasco and many things resulted from it, such as “the mass exodus of Crimean Tatars towards the Ottoman lands, resulting in massive depopulation in the peninsula. Crimean Tatars became a minority in their homeland.”

“The roots of the war's causes lay in the existing rivalry between the British and the Russians in other areas such as Afghanistan (The Great Game). Conflicts over control of holy places in Jerusalem led to aggressive actions in the Balkans, and around the Dardanelles.”

So what’s changed?

“Florence Nightingale came into prominence during the Crimean War for her contributions in the field of nursing during the war.”

A positive effect in the field of nursing.

In the light of coming events in our era, it’s interesting that Britain supported the side against the anti-Muslims in the Crimean War and subsequently in the Middle-East and North Africa. It’s interesting how, while Italy is vehemently anti-Muslim for the most part, to the extent of banning the proliferation of mosques and Islamic schools, Britain sees no need for such things.

The gates of Vienna clearly has had little effect on British foreign policy. Yes, it’s interesting but in the context of the forces really driving Europe and this island nation, it’s not at all puzzling.