[weekend poll] up until late this afternoon

I've been asked if I would leave the poll up for a bit longer, to allow those who were out for the weekend to vote. I shouldn't imagine many would want but it will stay open until 17:00 today and thanks to those who have voted so far. Thanks also for the entertaining comments.

[not a personal perspective] just the facts please

Cherie called her piece 'Personal Perspectives' and that's what she would have liked it to have been. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way and produced reactions like this. Ubermouth made out that this was one person's 'opinion' which shouldn't be 'denigrated'.

No, it's not a question of opinion – it's a question of facts and whether they are right ... or whether they are not, either partially or in toto.

This is what political comment entails.

This is what research entails.

One doesn't have an opinion of one's own, in isolation. One has drawn a conclusion from what was found in the research and as that research is ongoing, therefore the opinion is changeable and could conceivably become the opposite of what the researcher now holds, if facts should come forth which show it to be so.

If the scholar is not this flexible, then he/she is dogmatic.

Just such a thing did occur during my own research on this matter. Initially dipping into the abundance of data which shows that these two visitors to Palestine really were, let's say 'carriers of' piffle, highly coloured and dangerous piffle at that, in that it swayed readers into accepting conclusions which were palpably false and served the propaganda purposes of the hosts – as I say, initially dipping into this, I also came across quite a bit of contra-data.

For a start, and you can be sure I've read the Palestinian material on this as well as the Israeli material, it seems incontrovertible that the Israelis do act towards the Palestinians in a most pointedly harsh manner in certain key areas whereas, away from flashpoints and corridors, where they appear to have lived together for such a long time, there seems no need for this harshness.

This can be further illustrated by the place I used to live, in Russia, where Muslim and non-Muslim, including Jews, live in relative harmony. Why can they manage that and yet in the Middle-East, they can't? There's obviously another factor in the mix, isn't there?

Israeli phosphorus

I found something else out which many already know. Israel used white phosphorus clouds over a residential area. As those who've read up on it are aware, it is primarily for illuminating areas where known enemy activity is taking place – Taliban and Iraq used it, the Americans used it, they all used it. The problem is the collateral damage if it touches the skin – it is a nasty anti-personnel weapon.

Now you can discount the slanted pro-Hamas videos with hysterical claims which show burnt bodies. You can discount the propaganda side of it – those bodies were more than likely the very people who were firing at Israel, the terrorists themselves and quite legitimate targets.

The thing is – you don't definitively know and I don't know but I do know you can't trust anything the western media or Hamas say because they will only show their own slant. I'd say those victims more than likely were either terrorists or their unfortunate human shields.

The weapon itself is awful and inhumane, highly nasty in its effects. One vid of Palestinian boys playing around with smoking phosporus on the ground shows the smoke is not harmful but a direct hit by one of these shells is. They were fired from the air and there was no way it might not have hit civilians, particularly as Hamas love putting children into the firing line and then allowing the media to make a video and providing spokespeople to denounce Israel over it.

The hardest thing of all is to shut out the rhetoric of the Hamas/western media propaganda machine, with their slanted video 'evidence' and rely on what you see ALONE.

Last evening I watched a video I can't find now, dammit, but it was the best of all of them because there was no commentary, just footage form a balcony showing a residential area, with phosphorus lighting up the sky. Israel certainly used white phosphorus, that's a given. The target was residential and a known area where firing was coming out of. This is the Hamas tactic – to fire at Israel from schools and hospitals – with people inc. children still there, inviting Israel to fire back.

Israel stepped over the line here and they seem to know, themselves, that they had better stop doing this. They lost a lot of credibility and the damage to the humans themselves was horrific. As a tactic itself, as well, it was pretty poor.

Ubermouth and I actually agreed the other night on something. We agreed that there was a need for the fighting and killing to stop. After she'd made her point about the poor Palestinians – she means the women and children whereas I mean Hamas and the PLO – I referred her to the history of Palestine around 1947/8 and the fact that the Palestinians were offered, not only a homeland but a good homeland alongside Israel and that the Arab nations rejected it.

On the grounds that they hated the Jews so much, they refused to accept a recognized homeland for the Palestinians.

Now that's not perspective, that's not opinion, that's not denigrating anyone in the blogosphere – that is pure, unvarnished fact. It happened. Someone who would still prefer to 'believe' the opposite is in denial over something which has been shown to be so. Belief such as this can be discounted.

To drive this point home, I don't want to personally believe the Israelis did an anti-humanitarian thing but it sure looks like it with this white phosphorus. At an absolute minimum, it was too indiscriminate.

Faced with the facts, one cannot keep on believing the opposite point of view.

Unfortunately, it is quite easy for those on the left of politics and who back the Hamas/media machine, including the Beeb, to do so. The mental set of this side of politics is one of idealism and emotion – I should know because I was on this side in the past, lived and worked day by day with these people so I could give a good character sketch of the mindset.

I used to help at Labour Party elections, was in the room at the victory parties later, spoke to the candidates and party workers – it's not that I don't know what I'm talking about here.

Apology

No one in his right mind would try to intimate that the pro-Palestinian western left are 'stupid'. I don't think so for one moment and I'm going to pause here and issue an apology to Cherie if the impression was allowed to come across that I thought she was.

If I had allowed that impression to come across that that's what I thought, then I have been grossly negligent.

Anyone observing this neck of the blogosphere knows that I have only the highest opinion of the capabilities of Cherie Pie and anyone who can keep all those trade unionists in line and focused on the job in hand needs a medal.

In Bloghounds, we have a smooth-running little group, with almost no fuss. That's Cherie's doing, not mine. You can see here that I'm feistier and more provocative. I don't wish to get sycophantic but while she is obviously wrong on the facts of the Palestinian situation, as presented, I have only the highest regard for her abilities and sharpness of intellect.

But even geniuses can be wrong at times. What was it Cromwell said?

I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.

To not misconstrue Cherie, let me quote her:

I actually don’t take either of the regimes side in this. Trade Unionists support other Trade Unionist no matter what country they are in. I would have no problem posting similar articles from other countries.

OK, so there it is. Let's move on.

Further evidence on Gaza

Legal perspective:

Let us look at the Gaza War in light of the concept of justification as it applied during World War II. For the past seven years the Hamas political organization in Gaza has been firing rockets into Sderot and neighboring Israeli communities west of the Negev. The rockets have zero accuracy even if directed at military targets — which they are not. The rockets are fashioned from common metal pipes filled with explosives and propellants. The fuel is made of fertilizer and sugar. The rockets are built in simple metal shops and garages. The rockets that descend upon Israel bring unspeakable terror but not much destruction.

As of March 2008 more than 500 people had been wounded by the attacks; miraculously only twelve had been killed. However, the townspeople have lived in fear of the rockets, and have confined themselves most of the time to shelters. The bombardment of undefended towns and villages is one of the oldest codified war crimes; it was prohibited by the Hague Convention of 1907.

Imagine for a moment if U.S. cities and towns near the Canadian and Mexican borders were hit by similar rockets fired by radical terrorist groups in Canada and Mexico. Would the United States tolerate such attacks for seven years? Or even seven days?

… and:

On the Egyptian side, 700 people and 10 trucks with medical aid from Arab countries were waiting to enter. Some 550 people waited to cross the other way, with priority given to those needing urgent medical treatment.

Gaza has been blockaded by Israel, and much of the time by Egypt, for two years since Hamas took control there. Despite considerable criticism in the Arab world, the Egyptian government has kept Rafah largely shut since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

WHY?

Why has a member of the Arab League blockaded its own fellow Arab nation on its own side, for two years? Let's not, as Ubermouth says 'gloss it over' but actually answer this question in your own head. Why did this blockade begin the moment it was clear Hamas was at the reins?

Next one:

Obviously, the west and the NGOs have to come up with novel reasons why no one is investigating Hamas war crimes. Amnesty says:

Human rights groups argued Wednesday that a detailed probe into Hamas’s firing of Kassam rockets at Israeli communities is not necessary, because it constitutes such a “blatant” war crime. By contrast, Israel’s actions are more complex, and therefore do require such investigation, they said... said Sarit Micha’eli of B’tselem... “It is quite clear that [Hamas is] attacking and targeting civilians... With Israel things are more complicated because Israel states it does not deliberately target civilians and that it safeguards them. With Israel, you have to investigate each specific incident because even if a civilian is killed in an attack...” “The Israeli authorities deny everything, so one has to prove what happened in a way that you don’t need to do with the Palestinian rockets,” said Donatella Rovera of Amnesty International.

The Hamas mindset:



What brave freedom fighters, booby-trapping their own families in their own homes while the brave warrior is otherwise engaged.

The ambulance drivers:

Mohammed Shriteh, 30, is an ambulance driver registered with and trained by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

His first day of work in the al-Quds neighbourhood was January 1, the sixth day of the war. "Mostly the war was not as fast or as chaotic as I expected," Mr Shriteh told the Herald. "We would co-ordinate with the Israelis before we pick up patients, because they have all our names, and our IDs, so they would not shoot at us."

Mr Shriteh said the more immediate threat was from Hamas, who would lure the ambulances into the heart of a battle to transport fighters to safety.

Human Rights Watch:

“These attacks by both Hamas and Fatah constitute brutal assaults on the most fundamental humanitarian principles,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch. “The murder of civilians not engaged in hostilities and the willful killing of captives are war crimes, pure and simple.”

New York Times article et al:

Hamas, with training from Iran and Hezbollah, has used the last two years to turn Gaza into a deadly maze of tunnels, booby traps and sophisticated roadside bombs. Weapons are hidden in mosques, schoolyards and civilian houses, and the leadership’s war room is a bunker beneath Gaza’s largest hospital, Israeli intelligence officials say.

Unwilling to take Israel’s bait and come into the open, Hamas militants are fighting in civilian clothes; even the police have been ordered to take off their uniforms. The militants emerge from tunnels to shoot automatic weapons or antitank missiles, then disappear back inside, hoping to lure the Israeli soldiers with their fire.

In one apartment building in Zeitoun, in northern Gaza, Hamas set an inventive, deadly trap. According to an Israeli journalist embedded with Israeli troops, the militants placed a mannequin in a hallway off the building’s main entrance. They hoped to draw fire from Israeli soldiers who might, through the blur of night vision goggles and split-second decisions, mistake the figure for a fighter. The mannequin was rigged to explode and bring down the building.

New Israeli weapon:

A new Israeli weapon, meanwhile, is tailored to the Hamas tactic of asking civilians to stand on the roofs of buildings so Israeli pilots will not bomb. The Israelis are countering with a missile designed, paradoxically, not to explode. They aim the missiles at empty areas of the roofs to frighten residents into leaving the buildings, a tactic called “a knock on the roof.”

But the most important strategic decision the Israelis have made so far, according to senior military officers and analysts, is to approach their incursion as a war, not a police operation.

Civilians are warned by leaflets, loudspeakers and telephone calls to evacuate battle areas. But troops are instructed to protect themselves first and civilians second.

The other antagonists

Uber and I, as mentioned earlier, actually agreed on something and that was that the fighting must stop. The first and most telling step is for Hamas and Hexbollah to stop the rockets, which give Israel, under international law, every pretext to do whatever they like to defend themselves.

Look at this video from a retired British officer:



If the rockets stopped, then Israel has no pretext for harsh or invasive action against Palestine and the whole focus could then be on its actions.

That's the first point.

The second is that Them, the war machine, the multi-billion dollar global MIC, they wish for the unrest and mayhem in the Middle-Eastto continue because out of the the melting pot will come the same result that the EU is striving for, the genocide in Africa, the propping up of tin despots around the world and the maniac in Iran.

Stopping these people is a considerably taller order. Israel thinks it is being befriended by this power. They seem to have no clue that this Power is violently anti-Jewish and is the same power which allowed Hitler to rise in the 30s. Same families, same money.

Either that or Israel is arrogant enough to think it can play this power at its own game, with Jewish elements already at the head of it. This is very heavy stuff now and outside the remit of this post. Another time.

Solution

1. Hamas/Hezbollah cease the rockets;

2. All leaders, no exclusions, sit down in Paris and thrash out the boundaries, which are signed, no refusals, such boundaries a compromise between the original 1940s/50s proposals;

3. All parties are to withdraw to their own territory by a certain date;

4. An International Watch Commission is appointed, of maybe 200 people from all interested parties, representing all groups, with a brief that, if any member of that commission raises a violation, it is investigated;

5. The U.S.A., Britain, Iran and the Arab League show that they're actually serious about peace by insisting on this agreement being signed.

[my ideal holiday] by walter mitty esq.

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Walter Mitty and I'm your host this evening for the 'Holiday of a Man's Dreams' [actually, the holiday of MY dreams].

Let's say you've scraped up the requisite dosh over a three year period and unfortunately, that's all there is. You're going to have to be pretty careful, aren't you? If I were going on this holiday [had to work this in somewhere], there'd be a masterplan, to make sure things would never go wrong, hee hee.

1. The very first and most vital decision is to set your sights on a woman who's just right for the journey, say your wife, girlfriend or if you lack one of those, some lady further afield.

Whoa, not so fast! You might like the lady in the photo below but do remember your financial position.

I always find a good rule of thumb is that you'll know her by her flat footwear, well cut jeans and elegant floral blouse [the rest probably follows too], a lady who insists on paying her half but then accedes to your calm insistence that it's your treat, that you'll pay and there are no strings attached whatsoever.



2. Good, that's done. You now have to steer the itinerary reasonably carefully while not appearing to do so. Obviously you can only put up with flying cattle-class one way, which frees up a bit of capital for the other direction. The Orient Express above might be a little out of your league but there are many lovely trains, even going the steam route could be quite romantic, which is where your choice of lady comes in - you will have made sure she is minus just the right number of complexes and has no environmental qualms about steam.

Now - which way for the train? Out or in? If you take the train out, you will have played one of your semi-luxurious trump cards early and when you get to the canoe part later, she might feel let down. Also, at the end of the holiday, tired, happy but irritable, which would you rather face - the train or cattle-class?



3. Let's say you both opted for cattle-class out and you've sold this part of the trip as an "adventure holiday". The next stage is the canoe trip, being very careful that there are no riverboats or ferries in the vicinity - for goodness sake, do your planning! Disguise your tightfistedness by hiring a whole load of local lads to also paddle their canoes along with you, providing that much needed "atmosphere".

Yes, of course you're going to point out to me that, at the end of a long-haul flight, the last thing a real lady is going to want to do is jump into a canoe, even one with a solid bottom and paddle 10 km.

Well, of course, I forgot to mention - you actually stayed one night in a four star in the capital and went window shopping, which a number of times threatened to break into Real Shopping but you pointed out that these items were hardly fit for carrying in a canoe.

On the way downriver, make sure there is adequate scenery - Obama's country retreat or similar and perhaps the occasional crocodile, for that sense of adventure.



4. You haven't exactly reached the lowest point of your trip yet - that comes later - but she and you will be pretty knackered by now, so you need to up the romance level. From your landing stage, it's up the giant tree's spiral stairway, under that magnificent leafy canopy in the rain - up, up, up - your guides carrying all the baggage and you carrying your lady in a fireman's lift.

At the top, it's out with the waterbottles and a cunningly mixed cocktail will give that burst of energy for the final triumphant stage in the gloaming - the treetop skyway! Yes, through all that mist and rain, one hundred metres above the forest floor, on a swaying walkway, this is your final triumphant approach to your accommodation.



5. The Accommodation. Stressing the Adventure Holiday aspect once again [and more frequently now], you finally arrive at your luxury treehut in its exclusive location, far from any other tourists [who wouldn't have dreamed of coming here], naturally airconditioned, close to a source of water [when the stream flows], authentic building materials ... er ... um ... lovely view ..........

Anyway, the point is that you're now here and here's where you drop your first big surprise - you actually packed, among your clothes, a dresser mirror, which now sits proudly on the "dresser" you construct from bamboo or tea-tree, showing off your scouting skills to best advantage. Don't forget, you'll need those skills when you start the fire later for supper [having caught the fish en route on the river].



6. So there you have it - seven idyllic days, far from the madding crowd and all you have to do is keep her happy and offer to take her anywhere she likes [except home].

That sad, fateful day must now, alas, arrive and you ready yourself for the return journey.

But what's this?!!! Your lady thought she was going to have to paddle back to civilization but instead, you cunning old devil, you ordered an armed military helicopter [necessary to be armed, to fight off indigenous ground to air missiles as you fly over foreign territory, the missiles launched as a result of your being armed and failing to respond by radio].



7. You've kept this bit of excitement to the end and as she and you are winched out of your treehut, as she shouts, "Can't you leave that bloody mirror here?#*!" and you, in a magnificent gesture, fling it to the four winds and hear it smash to smithereens below on the forest floor, as the copter lowers you, with two loud thuds, onto the roof of the already moving Orient Express, as you unattach yourselves and race along the roof to the ladder between the third and fourth carriages, you can rest assured that cocktails are now the order of the day and you have two days of relaxing and duty free shopping before you.

Did my ideal holiday pass muster?

[the new woman] vampire abuser in the night

Via Vox:

New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics figures show that over the past eight years, the number of women charged with domestic abuse has rocketed by 159 per cent. In 2007, 2,336 women fronted court on domestic violence charges, compared to around 800 in 1999.

Vox comments:

The ironic thing is that these self-emasculated men claim their passivity stems from their chivalry, but that can't possibly be true because chivalry requires honor. And a lady, for that matter. Speaking of honor, it's not hard to imagine that female-initiated domestic violence cease to be an issue soon enough now that the concept of honor-killing has reached the USA and Europe.

I commented at Vox's site:

I find this bleating astounding. In my own life, I've been mauled, claw-scratched, kicked in the shins, punched and have had her teeth vampired in my neck. So? It's all par for the course, part of the penalty of being a heterosexual, part of life's rich pageant. You just need to say, 'Sorry you feel this way,' and get on with life.

Each to his or her own I suppose.

[weekend poll] mid-poll report

Well, despite protestations from certain ladies about how poor the choices were which had echoes of those famous words 'never satisfied' ringing around the head and plunging me into darkest despair, the poll went ahead and it seems that at least some of the candidates do pass muster.

So far, last I looked, George Clooney has his nose in front, with Giancarlo Giannini and Pierce Brosnan in hot pursuit. Surprise fourth [to me] is the wildcard Mikhail Khodorskovsky. I did vote for him but the other votes came from out there with you lot so someone likes him.

Liz said she judged by many other factors than just the physical and intimated that I did judge by the physical, like all men, I imagine. Well no, I'm halfway between her and many men on this. Truth is I prefer a plainer looking lady with few airs and an interest in me. Plus brains. Plus responding to chivalry. Plus being ladylike in deportment until we get to 'those moments', at which point she needs to become a wild beast.

Think that covers it.

But it does show that the relentless diet of perfect young bodies, tans, and dulled brains in the media, in the shops, on the beaches and in novels and films does not move everybody to the same extent.
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[what have they done] the so-called educators

On Friday, I went to McDonalds, for personal reasons revolving round the observation of human nature and the rich parade of people from all walks of life. As usual, there was a quiz question on the radio:

'What is the capital of Greece?'

'Er ... Rome?'

Leaving that aside and entering the hallowed halls of learning, Deogolwulf informs us:

In an A level history exam, on Hitler's role in Nazi Germany, apparently the phrase “despotic tyranny” has caused some upset:

“[I]t is elitist . . . to assume every history student is going to have come across such a term.” [2]

“The use of the term ‘despotic tyranny’ excludes students of a lower ability.” [3]

“I understand that to be an A level history student you need to have a wide grasp of specialised vocabulary but can i realy be blamed for never hearing the word despotic before? I have never read it, let alone had it taught to me and i was under the impression that exams should be based on a student’s knowledge of a topic not on their knowedge of a word.” [5]

????????

Footnotes are at Deogolwulf's blog.

Sigh.

[thought for the day] saturday evening

“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals.

“Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone?

“But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted-and you create a nation of law-breakers-and then you cash in on the guilt.”

[Bob G]

All right, all right, it was Ayn Rand.

[know your stately homes] part two of new series

1. Founded around 1140 as a Cistercian monastery, having been one of the most learned and wealthy monasteries for four hundred years. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536-41 it came into private ownership, and has been a charming country house ever since. The house is famous for its plaster ceilings, fine pictures and furniture. The gardens from late 18th C. and the highest powered fountain in England are all well worth a visit.

2. Started as a hunting lodge built in 1616/17 by the 13th Earl of Northumberland, in the Georgian period it was the country seat of the glamorous Lennox sisters. Notable are the State Apartments, with an Egyptian State Dining Room, grand Yellow Drawing Room and a breathtaking Ballroom. The walls are lined with fine collection of paintings (including a number from Van Dyck, Reynolds, Stubbs and Canaletto). Certain outdoor activities are also famous nearby.

3. King Edward I of England built it in the late 13th century, later to become a parliament. A long siege here during the Wars of the Roses inspired a stirring song. During the Civil War (1642-48), it was a Royalist stronghold.

4. Designed by Sir Charles Barry, visitors can trace the steps taken by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon when in 1922 with the Egyptologist Howard Carter he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. The parkland by 'Capability' Brown is spectacularly beautiful, featuring magnificent lawns, a walled garden, glasshouses and a fermery.

5. Was founded in 1120 for defense with walls six metres thick and in the 14th century the castle was transformed into a palatial home. During the English civil war Cromwell's troops demolished it. Scott was inspired to set a novel here. The Penny Magazine - July 31, 1835 had a long article about it.

Answers

Forde Abbey, Goodwood House, Harlech Castle, Highclere Castle, Kenilworth Castle

[iran election anomalies] could it be in the digits

Interesting stuff from Bruce Alderman:

Political scientists Bernd Beber and Alexandra Scacco have found some peculiarities in the Iran election results. While many people around the world are questioning the validity of the results, Beber and Scacco have gone a step further and looked at some statistical anomalies.

Beber and Scacco looked at the final digit of the results from each province for the top four candidates, and found two anomalies. Since there are ten possible digits, we would expect each number 0 - 9 to appear in about 10 percent of all the precinct totals, give or take a few percentage points due to random variability.

The statistical anomalies continue and then they conclude:

[W]e would expect to see results like this in only one of every two hundred fair elections.

[ferrari] why didn't they ask me

How would that be, eh? Sigh. I'm green with envy.
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