Risk Management

Like several other people I am very pleased to discover, originally via Mr Paine, the return of Theo Spark in a new blog guise. Not only is it as much of a visual delight as its predecessor, but his much hat-tipped publicising of a very funny presentation on the dangers of blogging was a valuable reminder to go and pay a long overdue visit to the TED website.

I have to admit that for me, Yossi Vardi's warnings of blogging biohazards was pipped at the post by this, from Gever Tulley, on 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do:



I just wish the live audience had been full of UK health and safety fruitcakes, so I could have enjoyed the the thuds of them hitting the floor as they collapsed and the sounds of their heads exploding.

I'm not sure about the idea of giving kids pocket knives but I know I did all of the others and, as much as it may beyond the capability of the killjoy brigade to understand, playing with fire did not make me into an arsonist, driving my dad's car a little in an empty car park didn't make me into a joy rider, and so on and so forth. As for dismantling obsolete domestic appliances, it did actually help create an interest in engineering, even if it was ultimately bacterial genomes that I learned to pull apart at university rather than old TV sets.

The only trouble we got in to from any of these activities was when my friends and I burned a dozen copies of one of our school books. In my defence, I should say this was long before I had any knowledge of the negative connotations of book burning and as an English set-book I still feel that Steinbeck's 'The Pearl' is a rare exception that more than merits such treatment.

Usually when you hear children asked why they get involved in various kinds anti-social behaviour or crime, the word 'bored' appears more often than any appeal about poverty or 'social exclusion'. If I'd grown up in the risk-averse, antiseptic kind of environment the government and a hundred and one self-important campaign groups seem to think is best world for kids I know I'd have been bloody bored too.

Christmas Wishes

Thunder Dragon very politely apologises for tagging me with the '8 Christmas Wishes' line, but he need not have done so...compared to the many less voluntary (at least in my mother's eyes) activities that accompany my annual pilgrimage back to God's own county it is an absolute pleasure to tackle this.

First though, because without it this posting would not be taking place, I must give thanks for the rise of the 'silver surfer'. True, my father cannot remember the password for his own wireless networking, but armed with an old modem cable, a Stanley knife, some Blu-Tack and a vague memory of how a network patch cable should be wired I've managed to secure a direct connection to the router.

Secondly, but chronologically only, my best wishes for the Christmas season to one and all. I'm only just over the six month mark in terms of active participation in this strange blogging world but, from that limited perspective, it's good to know that so many people actually do give a damn about some of the big issues of our time, even if many may come up with very different diagnoses from the same symptoms. Yes, on occasion some may offend from time to time, or even outrage, but better that than the idle indifference or even hopelessness that the fusion of modern politics and the modern mainstream media seems to spawn.

I might agree with the unlikelihood of some of the more political wishes expressed on other blogs coming to pass, and disagree with the desirability of others being inflicted on us all, but for all the more personal hopes and dreams, may they all (subject to any conflict of interest with those listed below) come to fruition in the coming year.

Anyway, back to the task in hand then. I'm not a complete anorak, so like anybody else I have a few hopes and dreams, one in particular, that I'm not prepared to bare my soul, or anything else, over here, so here are the top eight wishes for 2008 I can share here:

• Ken Livingstone to take up the post of Newt Keeper at Caracas Zoo at the personal invitation of fellow crackpot Chavez, as Mayor Johnson orders a job lot of P45 forms from HMCE for his predecessor's trough swillers.


• To borrow one of the several I could have done from TD: For the premises already leased to be used as ID card interrogation centres to be redeployed as low cost office space for innovative start-up enterprises following the scrapping of the scheme by Gordon Brown's third Home Secretary.


• England to take a Six Nations Grand Slam, or at least the title while Saracens win some their first silverware in a decade, or at least get to a final.


• The media, even the 'serious' media, to get the likes of the Beckhams, Winehouses, and without wishing to sound callous Princess Diana and Madeleine, into some sort of perspective.


• Gordon Brown to flip in public, so that even those that would like to see the continuation of a Labour government realise what a potential menace he is.


• For all the trouble spots of the world, but perhaps especially Zimbabwe, Iran and Pakistan, which if they dealt with their respective political problems could very quickly become valued members of the world community, at least some glimmer of hope next year, and for Russia not to have joined my personal list of deeply worrying countries in twelve months time.


• Lib Dem activists to realise that the generation of Conservatives with whom they could not do business are a dying breed, and their alternative in 2008 or 2009 may be to prop up an astonishingly illiberal government for outdated tribal reasons.


• That those who are having a much less comfortable Christmas than most of us serving in the likes of Iraq and Afghanistan understand that for all the fair words and foul deeds of those in power that they have the best wishes of the overwhelming majority of the country behind them.

It's just ticked over midnight as I post this, so I guess it's a bit late to tag anybody. Best wishes to one and all, I'm heading downstairs to raid the wine rack.

If You Don't Ask...

...you don't get.

Today is a great day in the Village marking, as it does the arrival of free wireless Internet access in the Base Camp. No more need I be subjected to the highly variable temperament of Shrek's occasionally evil twin brother who runs the Mother Ship, should I fancy blogging over aseveral pints of Guinness.

I'm chalking it up as a personal victory. I might have, erm...slightly exaggerated the number of regular Internet users at the competing hostelry to the manager here or rather forgotten to mention that most of them were the kitchen staff. Perhaps too, I might be somewhat more familiar with the provenance of some of the e-mail addresses of those suggesting the facility on the pub chain's corporate web site's feedback page than I really should be.

For all of that I feel I've done a valuable service in doing my bit to see that the good burghers of the Village are provided with such a service in an environment free from the Toxic One.

I Demand a Recount

I couldn't resist the What Kind of Leader are You? test I came across at the Devil's Kitchen, but was somewhat disappointed with the result.

Having seen things like this go round before and noted how similar the outcomes have been across most blogs I read it's perhaps not so surprising that not too many have been in a rush to 'fess up on this one.

Here goes though:

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I couldn't work out the psychopathic answers to get the ultimate fail grade at least:

Things could be worse then.

No Joy

Joy Division

I have just been listening to Radio 4's 'The Film Programme', who have just covered the new film 'Control', about Joy Division's frontman, Ian Curtis, when by pure coincidence my news reader brought this from Digital Spy courtesy of the Devil.

For the benefit of a friend of mine who ends up in a fit of rage every time he visits the Devil's Kitchen:

The US distributors of Control have requested the late Ian Curtis performs at the premiere.

...

"[Ex-bandmate Peter Hook] replied, 'Well, the last I heard, the lead singer was dead but I’ll give them a ring and see if anything has changed'."

Source: Digital Spy

Oddly enough the subject didn't crop up on R4's more pretentiousworthy coverage of the film.

Nolo Condere

Shh...no debate please

Dizzy has an interesting bit of gossip about Jon Worth allegedly refusing to take part in a radio debate with the Devil on the subject of the EU Reform Treaty.

If there is any truth to the story it could be simply a case of personal animus, in view of the Devil's memorable reference to Jon Worth on 18DS as "the screechy, whiny one", however, while it isn't a huge story even if true, it would also fit a general pattern of behaviour of extreme Europhiles when it comes to engaging with UKIP supporters.

When those speaking for UKIP were old fashioned, and dare I say it, slightly elderly gentlemen, relying on fairly bumptious appeals to patriotism and distrust of foreign influences the more avid pro-Europeans always seemed happy enough to engage in debate with them. Now they have figures like Farage, who regardless what you may think of him personally is very sharp, and can make a solid, reasoned case for his proposition, and the same people seem much less keen to engage in any form of discussion, preferring to squeal from the sidelines.

As it happens I have voted for UKIP once, in elections to the European parliament when the electoral maths seemed to suggest that the number of Conservatives to be returned from their list was pretty much a given, but a small swing to UKIP could help them win another seat at the expense of Labour or the Lib Dems. I am not though, in a UKIP supporter - I don't want full withdrawal, but I know that the current integrationist agenda tacitly supported by Labour and the Lib Dems is profoundly wrong too.

Just because I don't agree with the UKIP position though doesn't mean that it isn't useful to hear their position clearly explained and argued.

There are voices, like the Devil, who represent an articulate, reasoned Eurosceptic line, and to be fair to Worth, especially when on topics other than the EU, as much as I disagree with most of his positions, he can make a good reasoned argument for them too.

If there is any truth to Dizzy's rumour, it would be a shame. Those that believe in 'the project' should stand up and argue their case, even if it is against more challenging opposition than they have been used to in the past, rather than hoping that by avoiding debate their position will continue to prevail by default. They are losing the argument simply because they are not making their side of it.

Preaching, as so many do, the line of 'inevitability' and 'enormous' (but unquantified) benefits to audiences of the converted will not turn round public hostility to the EU, primarily because it comes over as just that, preaching.

As a postscript I should say that I know the person who e-mailed me in response to my Fantasy Blogging Rugby XV suggesting a fullback berth for Mr Worth, purely in the hope of seeing him creamed in a vicious tackle going for a high ball, and they are in no way connected to any known blogger.

End of Season Review

All over, including the shouting...for now

I've been working at home quite a lot recently so I've had the dubious pleasure of being able to catch a lot of the conference season. It's not that that I'm that much of a political anorak, but when the other option was the "make me rich from crap in the attic with cooking stars in their own eyes" stuff that passes as 'quality' daytime broadcasting on the main channels, there really was no contest.

Probably the last time I caught anything other than news highlights of the conferences was when I was a student, so I have to be honest and say the style of all of the major party conferences was quite a surprise, albeit, in general a pleasant one, when my abiding memory was still one of cliff-face platforms with the seating positions of dour-faced front-benchers in their massed ranks at the cliff top being the main subject of debate amongst the commentators.

I'm not really going to be able to avoid a personal bias entirely, but for me these were the highlights and lowlights, the hero's and villains of the few weeks:

Best Moment (Liberal Democrat)
The succession of speakers from the floor, setting out principled arguments against the surveillance society and the ridiculous 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear' arguments from those who would give away their entire liberty and they grandparents too for a little illusory safety.

Best Moment (Labour)
Dennis Skinner chuntering away to himself during Quentin Davies speech inviting other Conservatives to abandon their principles for a little personal gain and join him in the Supreme Leader's big tent of all the talentless. I must learn to lip read before next year.

A nicer one? There is something about Harriet Harman's delivery that I can't help liking even though much of what she says drives me up the wall.

Best Moment (Conservative)
This is a tough call for me with so many good front bench performances. For me Liam Fox just about edged his boss, Duncan-Smith, Hague and Letwin. I still think he would have been a pretty disastrous leader for the party, but the passion on a subject that he clearly cares so much shone through and I actually found myself warming to him for the first time.

Leaders Keynote Speeches

Cameron - 8/10
Very solid and impressive delivery. I'm not sure about winding up on the National Citizen Service, as I still can't quite envisage sixteen year olds buying into the concept. Perhaps I was hoping for a bit more of a barnstorming performance towards the end, but the personal note played pretty well.

Campbell - 7/10
As I explained in another post I still think Ming could have done better, but solid nonetheless.

Brown - 4*/10
Average and not especially inspiring even before it emerged that the good bits were the work of somebody else.

* Brown deducted two points for plagiarism

Slickest Presentation
I have to go for the Liberal Democrats for this one. The other parties made impressive efforts but they pulled off a couple of cock-ups to blot their copybook. Labour needed someone better qualified to operate a 'kill' switch for the microphone at times and the amount of procedural nonsense that seemed only to be able to be dealt with from the chair was excessive. The Conservatives had widely reported sound problems of the opposite variety to kick off proceedings and didn't always segue always that well between a series of start acts.

Best Non-Party Contribution
This is probably the least fair call of all as timing-wise I missed, I understand, the best efforts at the Lib Dems' and Labour conferences. I was though impressed (and ashamed not to be able to remember his name) by the bloke at the Conservative's conference who ran some kind of mentoring project in Liverpool. His delivery might have woken a few elderly delegates from their slumbers, but it was full of passion, personal commitment and common sense, and it says much for what Cameron has done that his Conservative party can engage with people like this.

Feel Good Moment
I might have enjoyed Liam Fox's speech more but the enthusiastic reception acclaim for Iain Duncan-Smith's performance represented a well deserved rehabilitation of a decent man in the eyes of a once harshly judgmental party. In some ways his contribution may actually have been of greater value at a party level as he was preaching to the not uniformly converted.

Best Blog Coverage
No individual awards here, but I'll go for some the main Labour Bloggers overall, though I will also admit that it may be because of some of those less comfortable with the party line.

The Lib Dem contributions were well written, but just a bit too loyal and predictable for my taste.

The Conservative bloggers, Guido apart, were entertaining, but perhaps a bit too much tittle-tattle focused at times. This isn't much of a criticism as I know I'd be exactly the same if I ever went to an event like that. Iain Dale did much better from the platform, with quite a moving speech on Rwanda, even if it will be better remembered for his introduction as a 'foremost political blagger'.

Winners and Losers
Probably for me it has to be Ming, as the consequences of a bad performance could have been very swift and very serious. I actually think David Cameron had a better speech and his party a better conference, but I was never convinced that the immediate threat to him was as bad as some of the press made it out to be, and the chance of a sub-par performance causing fallout was much lower.

Gordon Brown for all his opinion poll lead has to be the loser of the conference season looked at in microcosm, especially after he compounded his problems over his speech with a political stunt that seems to have left a bad taste in the mouths of friend and foe alike.

I'm sure Brown wants to beat Blair in every respect, but I think he would rather that the fact that this includes outdoing him in spin and dishonesty is something he would prefer was kept a little more quiet.

The Blogging All-Star XV

A team of all the talents?

As the Rugby World Cup moves into its knockout stages I thought it was a good idea to announce the line up of probably the strangest fantasy team that I will ever assemble. Let it not be said that I have too much spare time on my hands!

I know someone has probably done this theme before, more likely for soccer, and that people are probably a bit fed up of blog lists after Iain Dale's prodigious efforts in recent weeks. It seems to be the right time for this list though, and it does have the merit of being based on absolutely nothing sensible whatsoever.

So here are my picks to feature in the Blogosphere team at Rugby World Cup 2011. As many have chosen to remain behind the mask of anonymity the selections make no allowance for physical suitability to play in any particular position.

Props
Props need to be tough and aggressive, often some of the most grizzled players on the field.

It's always handy to have a prop who can play at both sides of the scrum, so clearly a Lib Dem is called for, especially as I've opted someone in the other propping berth that would never play on the right side of the scrum regardless of whether he was playing tight head or loose head:
1 - Bob Piper
3 - Quaequam

Hooker
Many of the same characteristics as props are required, with a greater mobility and a need to lead the pack. It's also a physically very uncomfortable position to play, so it's nice to award it to someone who wrote a somewhat scathing blog post about the sport:
2 - Iain Dale

Locks
The lock is the backbone of the scrum and the primary source of ball at the lineout. In the English game they are also tend to have a disciplinary problem that comes from single minded determination:
4 - John Redwood MP

I was a little bit stuck so I will also remind people that they are the tallest players on the pitch, so err…:
5 - Stephen Tall

Blindside Flanker
The blindside flanker is vital to the securing of ball at the breakdown, even if they have actually caused that breakdown themselves. They also need a solid tackling game to guard the blindside channel, and I can think of only one blogger who I've seen concrete video evidence in this department, even if he was playing the wrong sport at the time:
6 - Boris Johnson MP

Openside Flanker
The chief practitioner of the dark arts round the fringes. Just ask any Irishman his opinion of Neil Back. Someone who loves a bit of plotting and subterfuge then:
7 - Guido Fawkes

Number 8
Always one of the more vocal members of the pack, mainly because half them don't bind properly into the scrum these days leaving them free to hurl abuse at their team mates to get them moving. Plenty to chose from here:
8 - Mr Euginedes

Scrum Half
One of the more thinking positions on the pitch, and an ability to pass off both hands is a major advantage. Most important of all though these days seems to, how should I put it? The requirement to be the most image conscious of the team:
9 - Shane Greer

Fly Half
The most important role on the pitch to most minds. Looking at the team sheet we'd better have the only blogger that I know is currently actually playing the game then, especially when it is one skilled in use of the boot when called for:
10- A Very British Dude (Captain)

Inside Centre
Probably the hardest working position in the backline, often needing to put in a very high tackle rate while still looking for the smallest of gaps to sprint through:
12 - Thunder Dragon

Outside Centre
With a little bit more time and space to work with, the outside centre needs the ability to find the unexpected running lines to stun the opposition. A risky pick here, as I'm sure 10 minutes in the sin bin, alongside this team's number 8 for backchat to the referee is pretty much a certainty:
13 - The Devil

Left Wing
There are mixed strategies with wing selections, with some coaches favouring wings who can come off their own wing and pop up anywhere on the field. I am though going to stick with specialists:
11 - Dave's Part

Right Wing
I worry about the left wing's ability to remember to stay the right side of the touch line, the same applies to his counterpart over on the right, but I will go for the Jonah Lomu figure nonetheless, hoping to see some opponents trampled:
14 - Donal Blaney

Fullback
The fullback needs to be able to take the ball wherever it comes from and put some pace on it, often finding dizzying running lines which pretty much gives the game away:
15 - Dizzy

Replacements
With the likelihood of the entire front row being sent off in the first half for fighting amongst themselves and number 8 and outside centre both being sin-bin candidates replacements will be essential.

The front row replacements would need to have at least one common element that could bond them so I'll go for a thinking eurosceptic line-up of England Expects, Daily Referendum and An Englishman's Castle, with Tom Paine as loose forward cover.

Tim Montgomerie is always well turned out, so he can cover at scrum half. Norfolk Blogger shows an ability to cover a wide range of positions so comes into the team as a utility back, and while there is a lot of debate about webcameron counts as a blog, so can David Cameron, so he takes the final bench spot.

The coaching role would be a tough one, especially with the challenge of making your voice heard over that team. Unfortunately Yasmin Alibhai-Brown doesn't blog as she could probably handle the job, so I'll go for Helen Szamuely who from her 18DS performances seems able to able to make her voice heard in the same way, as well as being able to ensure team harmony, or erm…maybe not. At least the hair dryer performance at half-time should be impressive.

The Sin of Silence

I still feel like a complete newcomer to this whole blogging thing and, if I'm honest, feel a little bit backward at coming forward when others of greater experience, and often greater insight, have already expressed their own very proper rage at a particular event.

Sometimes though the very obvious 'me too' has to be said, and albeit very belatedly I do, over the case of Alisher Usamov's use of a large potential legal fees budget to intimidate a hosting provider into shutting down the sites not only of his immediate target Craig Murray, but also those of such diverse characters as Boris Johnson and Bob Piper.

You can read the story, expressed much better than I can on nearly any other blog that I've ever linked to. I'll pick Iain Dale not for once as a voice of authority, but in view of Mr Dale's somewhat strained relationships with Tim Ireland, who was among the sites affected, to emphasise the uniformity of the chorus of disapproval.

I would perhaps have slightly more sympathy for the company hosting the sites, having once been the victim of an attempt to play the 'our lawyers are bigger than yours' game on a different subject. In my own case, my colleagues and I decided to fight it, and we did, and we won without it ever going to court. It actually didn't cost that much, but in that we were lucky and perhaps on reflection it was a pretty reckless course of action to have taken with all risks considered.

I woke up every morning with an ingrained feeling of fear and foreboding even before the conscious mind had switched on, and I'm not sure I've ever been quite the same person since, and I'm certainly not sure I'd fight in the same way again, no matter how strong the sense of personal indignation was.

Also on the underlying rights and wrongs of how the legal process can be used and abused I would suggest that the Devil's comments on the workings of Libel law on 18DS are very thought provoking. We are rightly proud of much of how our system of law works, but the situation as outlined in this arena, and it seems very much in line with my own understanding, flies in the face of some of the underlying principles of fairness that underpin the system.

It's a little late in the day, but I'm proud to align myself with all of the following no matter how strongly I might disagree with some on nearly everything else:

Curious Hamster, Pickled Politics, Harry’s Place, Tim Worstall, Dizzy, Iain Dale, Ten Percent, Blairwatch, Davide Simonetti, Earthquake Cove, Turbulent Cleric (who suggests dropping a line to the FA about Mr Usmanov), Mike Power, Jailhouse Lawyer, Suesam, Devil’s Kitchen, The Cartoonist, Falco, Casualty Monitor, Forever Expat, Arseblog, Drink-soaked Trots (and another), Pitch Invasion, Wonko’s World, Roll A Monkey, Caroline Hunt, Westminster Wisdom, Chris K, Anorak, Mediawatchwatch, Norfolk Blogger, Chris Paul, Indymedia (with a list of Craig Murray’s articles that are currently unavailable), Obsolete, Tom Watson, Cynical Chatter, Reactionary Snob, Mr Eugenides, Matthew Sinclair, The Select Society, Liberal England, Davblog, Peter Gasston Pitch Perfect, Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe, Lunartalks, Tygerland, The Crossed Pond, Our Kingdom, Big Daddy Merk, Daily Mail Watch, Graeme’s, Random Thoughts, Nosemonkey, Matt Wardman, Politics in the Zeros, Love and Garbage, The Huntsman, Conservative Party Reptile, Ellee Seymour, Sabretache, Not A Sheep, Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, The People’s Republic Of Newport, Life, the Universe & Everything, Arsenal Transfer Rumour Mill, The Green Ribbon, Blood & Treasure, The Last Ditch, Areopagitica, Football in Finland, An Englishman’s Castle, Freeborn John, Eursoc, The Back Four, Rebellion Suck!, Ministry of Truth, ModernityBlog, Beau Bo D’Or, Scots and Independent, The Splund, Bill Cameron, Podnosh, Dodgeblogium, Moving Target, Serious Golmal, Goonerholic, The Spine, Zero Point Nine, Lenin’s Tomb, The Durruti Column, The Bristol Blogger, ArseNews, David Lindsay, Quaequam Blog!, On A Quiet Day…, Kathz’s Blog, England Expects, Theo Spark, Duncan Borrowman, Senn’s Blog, Katykins, Jewcy, Kevin Maguire, Stumbling and Mumbling, Famous for 15 megapixels, Ordovicius, Tom Morris, AOL Fanhouse, Doctor Vee, The Curmudgeonly, The Poor Mouth, 1820, Hangbitch, Crooked Timber, ArseNole, Identity Unknown, Liberty Alone, Amused Cynicism, Clairwil, The Lone Voice, Tampon Teabag, Unoriginalname38, Special/Blown It, The Remittance Man, 18 Doughty Street, Laban Tall, Martin Bright, Spy Blog The Exile, poons, Jangliss, Who Knows Where Thoughts Come From?, Imagined Community, A Pint of Unionist Lite, Poldraw, Disillusioned And Bored, Error Gorilla, Indigo Jo, Swiss Metablog, Kate Garnwen Truemors, Asn14, D-Notice, The Judge, Political Penguin, Miserable Old Fart, Jottings, fridgemagnet, Blah Blah Flowers, J. Arthur MacNumpty, Tony Hatfield, Grendel, Charlie Whitaker, Matt Buck, The Waendel Journal, Marginalized Action Dinosaur, SoccerLens, Toblog, John Brissenden East Lower, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Peter Black AM, Boing Boing, BLTP, Gunnerblog, LFB UK, Liberal Revolution, Wombles, Focus on Sodbury…, Follow The Money, Freedom and Whisky, Melting Man, PoliticalHackUK, Simon Says…, Daily EM, From The Barrel of a Gun, The Fourth Place, The Armchair News Blog, Journalist und Optimist, Bristol Indymedia, Dave Weeden, Up North John, Gizmonaut, Spin and Spinners, Marginalia, Arnique, Heather Yaxley, The Whiskey Priest, On The Beat, Paul Canning, Martin Stabe, Mat Bowles, Pigdogfucker, Rachel North, B3TA board, Naqniq, Yorkshire Ranter, The Home Of Football, UFO Breakfast Recipients, Moninski , Kerching, e-clectig, Mediocracy, Sicily Scene, Samizdata, I blog, they blog, weblog, Colcam, Some Random Thoughts, Bel is thinking, Vino S, Simply Jews, Atlantic Free Press, Registan, Filasteen, Britblog Roundup #136, Scientific Misconduct Blog, Adam Bowie, Duncan at Abcol, Camera Anguish, A Very British Dude, Whatever, Central News, Green Gathering, Leighton Cooke (224), , Skuds’ Sister’s Brother, Contrast News, Poliblog Perspective, Parish Pump, El Gales, Noodle, Curly’s Corner Shop, Freunde der offenen Gesellschaft, otromundoesposible, Richard Stacy, Looking For A Voice, News Dissector, Kateshomeblog, Writes Like She Talks, Extra! Extra!, Committee To Protect Bloggers, Liberty’s Requiem, American Samizdat, The Thunder Dragon, Cybersoc, Achievable Life, Paperholic, Creative-i, Raedwald, Nobody’s Friend, Lobster Blogster, Panchromatica (251), Back off, man…, Dan Hardie, Krusenstern, Brendadada, Freace, Boriswatch, Fork Handles, Chris Applegate, Christopher Glamorgan, West Virginia Rebel’s Blog, Instapundit, Powerpymes, iDiligence Forum, Gizmotastic, Demos, Gary Andrews, Neweurasia , Never Trust a Hippy, sub specie aeternitatis, Bananas in the Falklands, The Sharpener, Virtual Light, Stu News, Scraps of Moscow, Danivon, As A Dodo, La Russophobe, PJC Journal, Mick Fealty’s Brassneck, dead brains don’t dance, A Comfortable Place, Bamblog, Robert Amsterdam, The Customer, No Longer at Ease, Rachel-Catherine, Humaniform, Mike Rouse, Chesus Yuste, anticapitalista, Aderyn Cân, Ulla’s Amazing Wee Blog, Ross200, Disruptive, Internazionale.it, The Obscurer, A Lefty Down Under, Things I Learned or Made Up, Pickled Bushman, Persons Unknown (302).

Update 11AM: Yes, I did pick up a couple of innacuracies in the story somewhere down the line. I guess when something spreads this fast there are bound to be a few cases of Chinese whispers.

Turning Back the Clock

Early Memories

Thunder Dragon has been a cheeky young fire breather, by inviting some us more advanced in years to embarrass ourselves by revealing our earliest political memories.

I'm not that sensitive about age, unless someone points out that by scrapping into the sixties by a few months I am now living in my fifth decade, so I'm happy to have my attempt at the meme, but I'll have to follow the sub-meme of several others by cheating with several offerings. So here we go in rough chronological order:

Earliest Memory of Politicians

I actually do remember something very early on of politicians. It must have been towards the end of the Heath government, and there was some kind of 'Buy British' campaign, kind of thing that would now cause apoplectic fits in Brussels. It sticks in the memory probably because it was launched when I was visiting my grandparents in Scotland, and the local shop was soon bedecked in the appropriate stickers.

It was just one of those places that stick in your memory, something, even then, from another era, where my grandmother would meet friends she had known since she was a schoolgirl, always greeting each other as Mrs This, Mrs That and Mrs The Other as they had done since the day each had got married.

I'm fairly sure it had to be the Heath government, as the main topic of conversation was how meat had crossed the 'pound per pound' barrier which a dull trawling of historical RPI figures suggests happens sometime in the first half of the seventies.

It was also memorable because some of the political promotion on the campaign came, I'm pretty sure, from a figure who was to become a familiar figure in later years. It was certainly off the Education brief, but I guess Mrs Thatcher could do a better impersonation of a concerned housewife than any of her cabinet colleagues.

Earliest Election

I remember elections well as our school was often closed for use as a polling station from around when I was 9. I've got a vague recollection of people talking about the Wilson/Callaghan handover, but the first election I do recall fairly well was 1979 and the arrival of the Thatcher era.

It was a big talking point at school, mainly because a malicious rumour was circulating that Maggie would make us go to school on Saturdays.

The first big event with political connotations that I remember quite clearly was the murder of Airey Neave by the INLA, a few months earlier. Somehow the killing of a senior politician in the very precincts of the Houses of Parliament made a mark, even on a 10 year old, perhaps even more so than the IRA's slaying of Lord Mountbatten earlier that year.

There were other memories from earlier that year, though the political nature of them only became apparent with a fair measure of hindsight. We had a non-teaching assistant who was everyone's favourite 'teacher'. He played the guitar, told stories better than anyone else, and was an all round nice guy. He also told us scare stories about near-accidents in nuclear command and control procedures that had taken us to the point of the UK within seconds of launching an all-out nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. I don't even recall CND, whose lapel badge he proudly sported, making some of the claims he did. He also was somewhat less than enthusiastic about the fact that I picked the USA for a 'countries around the world' project. At least just before I left for the local comprehensive, he had the honesty to accept the state the country was in in those days when he told me to study hard, go to university, and then head accross the Atlantic as there was no real hope for the UK.

First Issue

I suspect the first issue I really felt strongly about at the time it arose centered around the protests against cruise missiles, most notably at Greenham Common. Even at 12/13 unilateral nuclear disarmament seemed, as it still does to me today, simple lunacy. As time progressed the dangers in 'zero option' multilateralism also became clear to me, no matter how sensible it may seem on the surface.

I guess I identify this most concretely as my first real interest in politics, as for the first time it became possible to see that the 'nice' and the 'obvious' thing to do is not always the right thing to do.

This is my first posting in response to a meme, and I know the tradition is to pass it on to others to have their stab at it. I'm afraid thought that I'm one of those people who won't even make a friend request on Facebook until I've checked down the pub with them that it's OK, so shy and retiring I am with such things.

I must admit that I would like to see what his grace would have to say on the matter, especially as in his non-corporeal state he would be able to beat even the oldest of us by over four hundred years, thereby restoring the dignity of we relative youngsters.

Too Merciless on Ming?

I didn't have much time to get online yesterday, but courtesy of the wonders of the Blackberry I did get a couple of e-mails questioning whether I had actually listened to Menzies Campbell's address to the Liberal Democrat conference.

Having a browse through some of the blogs I respect I did appear to be in a minority of one in my description of the performance as lacklustre, with commentators such as Shane Greer, at the time stand-in diarist for Iain Dale, lavishing praise on Ming's performance.

Well yes I did listen to the speech live, and concerned that I might have just been in a foul mood at the time I went and listened to it again, and I have to say I remain largely unmoved.

I suspect the difference in attitude comes down to expectation management. I've never been that convinced that Ming is such a terrible leader for the Lib Dems. It is true that some of his policy announcements of late have left me disappointed at best and pretty speechless at worst. This is hardly surprising coming from a very different political persuasion from the particular wing of Liberal Democrat that Ming represents, and is a wholly different issue from that of the fitness to lead.

I actually think Ming has shown a great deal of dignity in his leadership of the party, especially in view of the circumstance in which in inherited it. Some of the media labelling of him as being somehow older than his years is, in my opinion, just lazy journalism, reporting sheep like a consensus viewpoint that is just as insubstantial as the column inches of David Cameron's supposed lack of substance.

I expected nothing less from Ming's speech than a confidently delivered, often witty and, to the party faithful, inspiring effort. In my opinion that's what we got, but under the circumstances, both personal and for the party as a whole I was expecting something more, which for me simply was not there. Perhaps as is often the case for myself, when listening to Liberal Democrat leaders, the inability to link the generally admirable philosophy of liberalism to policies that always seem to militate towards an ever larger state consuming more of the countries resources.

Perhaps lacklustre was a little harsh, but I guess from my own standpoint there has always been something of a hole in the logic of the type of liberalism represented by the Liberal Democrats, and as such many of their great set piece speeches will always seem to be lacking something.

Moving on from one unfairly criticised from being to old, to one often unfairly criticised as being too young, it is great to see that the aforementioned Mr Greer has started his own blog. Always one of the more considered presenters on 18 Doughty Street, and seeming less focused on the minutiae of internal party politics than some, I'm sure it will be a great read. I might criticise some of his willingness sometimes to accept the argument of state necessity as justification for interference with personal freedoms, but overall I agree with much more of what he says than that which I take issue with.

Reviews and Previews

I was keen to rant about the ludicrous idea proposed today that school children should set and mark their own coursework. This was not some idea from some lunatic fringe think-tank, but from the Government's own exams watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) who only report to the lunatic fringe. The story on state funded breast enhancements for sailors in the Australian Navy was also worthy of a good smutty comment or two.

Sadly though I've run out of energy and many others have had a good laugh at the expense of these half witted ideas already. If you think I've made those stories up, you can find both for the price of one at Thunder Dragon.

That's it for the review section, but just before I hit 'send' the news reader beeped and this came in from the Guardian's Comment is Free:

Hammer the rich? If only Ming, or Gordon, meant it

Lib Dem tax proposals are a blow for sanity in an era of excess. Labour should do better than try to trash them pointlessly

'Hammer the rich!' At last a political leader has the nerve to say what pollsters find most people think. Good for Menzies Campbell.

Source: The Guardian

Yes, who else could it be but the left's halfwit-in-chief Polly Toynbee.

As good as her writing style is, the typical Toynbee diatribe's intellectual argument can usually be picked apart by anyone who has half an idea of how the real world operates. That said, this looks like a juicy specimen and I'm too tired to do a good job so I shall go to bed anticipating how she will be ripped to shreds by more skilled dissectionits than myself.

Once again Polly raises the blood pressure, as she revels in the (largely groundless) fears of ordinary men and women caught up in the Northern Rock situation, but at the same time reassures me in my personal decision to reject the spiteful, hate-fueled wing of politics of which she is the media's standard bearer.

Cue the Conspiracy Theorists

I'm so relieved to find that I am not alone. It seems that many have been afflicted by half of the blogger environment suddenly turning German.

I'm sure that before long it will be written up as an evil EU plot. My suspicions must lie elsewhere, when arguably the country's leading political blogger not only disappears overseas, but is also a known German speaker. That said it would be very rude to accuse Iain Dale of hatching a plot for domination of the blogosphere when he has been kind enough to list this blog in the Top 10 Newcomers list in the upcoming Guide to Political Blogging, 2007/08, where I am truly flattered to be included in such distingushed company.

Oh well, I guess it has been an educational experience. How else would I have ever come to know that 'Tastaturkürzel' was German for 'Keyboard Shortcut'.

Tough Choices

We may may not like its outcome,
but justice has been done

The reaction of significant parts of the UK political blogosphere to the recent ruling that Learco Chindamo, murderer of headmaster Philip Lawrence in 1995, shows the increasing maturity of this form of media, in many cases exceeding that of the dead tree press.

There is no doubt of the horror of Chindamo's crime, and the waves of sympathy to Mr Lawrence's widow is more than justified, so it was hardly surprising that there were a few initial postings hostile to the court's ruling that he should not be deported. The fact that it carried the increasingly suspect tag that this was in the name of his 'Human Rights' only fanned the flames, as did the revolting performance by his lawyer on TV and radio, promoting Mr Chindamo's 'victimhood' and a contrition for his crimes that more neutral sources call very seriously into doubt.

Despite this, it has taken very little time for many more thoughtful reflections on the case to appear, such as those at A Very British Dude and EURSOC, neither exactly hotbeds of support for the Human Rights Act, or its EU genesis. The fact is, whether we like it or not, the court, and these commentators are right. To understand why, all one has to do is consider the newspaper stories that would greet a hypothetical reversed situation:

"An Italian court has ordered the deportation of notorious murderer, XXXXX, to the United Kingdom at the end of his sentence. Mr XXXXX, 27, who left London with his parents for Rome as an infant, killed a policeman at the age of 15."

The hypothetical killer would have been a product of Italian society, as much as, regrettably Chindamo is one of our own.

It's unfortunate that the legal mechanism to assert this obvious fact, is to put it forward as a matter Mr Chindamo's human rights. As far as I'm concerned the like of Chindamo should have very limited human rights, even after release, and to an extent he will find them constrained by a life licence. It is more a matter though of a mature society, or perhaps two society's if you consider the Italian position on the matter, deciding on the best way to deal with a thoroughly unpleasant human being. On this test it is obvious that best of a series of bad options is for him to remain in this country in a closely supervised situation, rather than to send him back to Italy, where he is rootless and all the more likely to disappear in to the woodwork, all the more likely to reoffend, possibly after an return to this country, unknown to the authorities.

The failings here are not of the court, nor of the Human Rights Act per se. There are many reasons to review the operation of the increasingly discredited Human Rights Act, but this case should not be the casus belli for this review. The real culprits here seem to be government, who seem to have made promises they cannot keep to Mr Lawrence's widow, and now seem hell bent on pursuing an appeal, that common sense would dictate is doomed to fail, for purely political reasons. To be even handed, some of the same criticism can be directed to the official opposition too in their response to the case.

Bad Habits

Salmond: Early promise evaporating?

It's becoming a recurring theme since I've been writing this blog, that every time that I try to be open-minded about those with different political persuasions to my own and I give deserved credit where it is merited, that the unwitting recipient recipient of the praise immediately blots his or her copybook.

It's going to be hard to beat
Liam Byrne, who sadly followed up on his admirably swift action over the case of Tul Bahadur Pun VC with his ridiculous pronouncement about ID Cards becoming "A Great British Institution, but Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond seems to be having a damn good go.

I'm reasonably, but not obsessively pro-union, but some time ago I felt moved to pass favourable comment on the style with which the SNP and its supporters campaigned in the recent elections to the Scottish Parliament, much as I might be uncomfortable with some of its policies. After a week or two of Mr Salmond forming his government I was once again pleased to see the it was exercising its first real power in what seemed to be a reasonable, pragmatic manner.

Unfortunately in the last couple of weeks the train really does seem to have come off the rails, or perhaps it might be more accurate to say the train has gone very much back on to the rails that some like I may have always expected it to run down. There have been a sequence of stories suggesting that the nationalist hard core of the SNP's programme is starting to take centre stage.

They began with a number of fairly low key announcements about separations in the functions of elements of the British and Scottish Civil Services. Later on came a more headline grabbing, but perhaps less serious in many ways, demand for a much greater degree of autonomy in broadcasting, specifically the replacement of British (i.e. English as seen through SNP eyes) news coverage with specifically Scottish versions. Now, of course, we await the SNP proposal for a ballot on Independence, due out tomorrow.

The first element of this assault appears designed simply to be a move designed to promote a senses of 'separateness', unaccompanied as it was by any suggestions as how such separations of civil service functions would in any way offer better services or greater efficiency in their delivery to the Scottish people.

The proposal for a separate news service also seems somewhat suspect. I live in a region of the country that has a significantly larger population than the whole of Scotland, and originate from a different one, which though slightly smaller had just as strong a regional identity as Scotland. In neither case has the already significant amount of regional news programming ever really captured my imagination, compared to national coverage. In both cases the few really newsworthy stories always have to be supplemented with swathes of dull parochial dross even to fill half and hour. Scotland may have a little more to offer its viewers, especially with a whole distinct political system to cover, but I've got a feeling it wouldn't entirely escape the limitations of existing regional coverage.

The call for a referendum, is a trickier issue in my mind. Guido, who has also proved my rule in the reverse direction, by making a succession of interesting posts ever since I submitted my Top 20 blogs without him, has turned his mind to the same issue I have on the Scottish referendum question:

Is Guido the only one who thinks it hypocritical of the Tories to be against a referendum on Scottish constitutional affairs and for a referendum on UK independence from the European constitution?

Why is self determination good for the UK but not Scotland?

Source: Guido Fawkes

Well yes, it's a fair point, and one that has been an issue for me when I think about such a referendum. In the end though I really do believe that there is something in my discomfort with a Scottish independence referendum at this time that goes beyond the simple fact that in the case of Scotland I am content with the status quo, and in the other I am unhappy with what the status quo looks set to become.

It is, I think, simply this. In the case of the European ConstitutionTreaty, we have a fair idea of what the consequences of its adoption are likely to be, and were a referendum to take place we would have a precise document to vote for. I do not think that at this time the same applies in the case of Scottish Independence. It is clear that no politician on either side of the debate is fully certain of the consequences, especially the economic ones, to Scotland.

There are often a vague claims from SNP supporters that Scotland would either become like Ireland with its boom of the last decade and more, or like the Scandinavian countries. You can ignore the duplicity in claiming both to be germane to the case at hand and seriously worry if either of these models stand up to close scrutiny. In the former example will the EU be in a position to offer the type of funding to Scotland that it could, and still does to Ireland? I'm sure Brussels would be delighted to see a country opt for 'Independence in Europe' - but in the newly enlarged Europe with so many poorer countries in Eastern Europe, will such largess ever be possible again? In the latter case, are similar latitudes, populations and natural resources a guarantee of having similarly successful societies?

There are many issues beyond the simply economic, such as the voice Scotland might have in the EU as an independent nation, versus that as part of the United Kingdom whose voice would be little weaker without Scotland and may adopt very different positions without the necessity to consider consequences to Scotland. The economic issues alone though are enough, in my mind, to warrant further consideration before pressing for a referendum.

If the SNP were to propose a commission to consider these issues and report to the Scottish people after a year or so, possibly with a view to a subsequent referendum then I suspect, on the grounds of self-determination that Guido alludes to, it would have my support. The step into the unknown that the SNP are likely to propose to the Scottish people is something that I feel all opposition parties have the right to activly opposed, especially considering the limited mandate of the SNP administration.

Everyone else is doing it...

Voting open until 15th August

...so shall I.

As posted in the earlier hours of this morning, I've been finalising my list of 20 blogs for contribution to Iain Dale's search for the Top 100 UK Political Blogs, which will form part of the upcoming book, 2007 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK.

It's been a little more tricky than I expected, as I wanted to apply some kind of objectivity to the subject; like most people I probably read some blogs not in this list, to which I have a greater political affinity, more often than some which I have included as being, in my opinion, the best examples of blogging from a perspective different to my own. Even with that proviso, I will admit it's pretty one sided, perhaps even more so than my own political position actually warrants; I consider myself a pretty moderate EUrosceptic, but I just couldn't ignore too many of the many intelligent blogs which lay into this organisation with such a powerful mix of wit, venom and exasperation.

A also dropped a few on the grounds of a handful of rules I set myself, some in the interests of objectivity, others to do with my idea of what a blog should be. Boris Johnson MP has a brilliant blog, but the postings are a bit too thin on the ground to get much of a dynamic behind it, despite an admirably liberal policy on commenting. CiF Watcher, LibertarianUK.net and
Educational Conscription have all got off to a fantastic start, content-wise, but I felt were a little new to include. Others, like Archbishop Cranmer I enjoy immensely, but I feel really have politics as a secondary theme, woven in as and when necessary.

I've also got a bit of a short term memory when it comes to these things. I regretted leaving out Tom Watson whose usually good blog I disagree with often; only a few recent activities that I felt were beyond the pale spared him from the embarrassment of appearing on such a true blue list. Also, like anyone interested in blogging from a Conservative point of view it felt strange to omit Guido, but as he himself has announced, there are many more important things in his life than blogging right now, and I don't think many would dispute his priorities right at the moment, and he's still a very good read.

I've ended up with a bit of a weird mix of 'best in class' and overall champions, but anyway, after all that rambling, here is the Liberty's Requiem Top 20, in alphabetical order:

• A Very British Dude


• An Englishman's Castle


• Caroline Hunt


• Croydonian


• Daily Referendum


• Daniel Hannan


• Devil's Kitchen


• Dizzy Thinks


• England Expects


• Iain Dale's Diary


• James Cleverly


• Liberal England


• mr eugenides


• Norfolk Blogger


• Nourishing Obscurity


• Paul Linford


• Political Betting


• Sinclair's Musings


• Thunder Dragon


• Tom Paine

If and when my hosting provider unblocks my Blogroll for Facebook Application, and it gets a few more users, I might have to consider a 'blog read compatibility rating' feature...It's been quite interesting, seeing so many other peoples top 20s on various blogs, to work out just how many great, and thankfully rare not-so great minds I think alike to!

The Kids Among You...

Look away now to avoid a plot spoiler for the ending of the latest Harry Potter novel, adults, don't worry...I don't think there's anything that will have JK Rowlings lawyers on your case if you watch it!



H/T EURSOC - An old favourite back on great form.

The EU Finally Delivers

It looks like the Commission have finally given up on trying to 'make the positive case for Europe', and resorted to the oldest trick in the book. As a piece of tax payer funded advertising it's not as bad as some, but I do wonder about what the message on Europe is meant to be. 'We f*** up everything we touch, but at least don't have hang ups about f***ing on screen like the Americans do' comes to mind, but I think they are aiming for the old, vote Europe and you will get laid line.

It will probably play well in some of the more 'traditional' parts of the continent, but it hardly raises an eyebrow here and in other parts of Europe it will probably be played amongst the Tellytubbies trailers without outrage; I say Vive le Differance, now there is a concept that the commission hates.

The bigger question for me suddenly though, is why on a keyboard I have to use '***' so often to write a words that I use in speech at least once an hour especiallyeven in front of valued clients; perhaps I am repressed after all.

Anyway, enjoy...



The real hat-tip belongs to a blogger I can't really mention because there are links that would compromise my attempts at anonymity, so I will have to attribute it to The Croydonian who was credited by the author, and whose blog I also enjoy reading but somehow missed this offering on.

Internet - Myth and Reality

Some of the blogs I read beat my own for quantity, and nearly all do for quality. One that consistently does both is Dizzy Thinks. The video clip he has dug up today made me laugh. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't done so, to go and read the original blog, but I've reproduced the clip below for the terminally lazy.



There is more than an element of truth to it all. One thing that amazes me is the ability of the porn sites to register a domain name for nearly every variant spelling of some of the more heavily used regular sites. I have to admit, I don't quite get it; I mean, just because you misspell the name of your bank when you are trying to get on to your on-line banking system doesn't necessarily mean you're suddenly going to think 'stuff paying that bill, I'll go and have a quick sherman instead'.

Technical Update II

New Browser Support
for Safari 3.0 Beta

This blog has now been tested in the Windows version of the Beta Safari 3.0 browser, and all the dynamic content seems work fine. The fonts look a bit filthy, but it is legible so I'll look for some nicer substitutions later. I still haven't had any chance to test it on a Mac, but judging by how easy it was to get it up on the Windows version of Safari I'd be pretty hopeful that it will work at least in that browser.

In all cases other than Internet Explorer (where it seems fine in both IE7 and IE6) it is only tested in the current latest version of each respective browser.

Good work by Apple, the only bigger branch of Proprietary-R-Us than Microsoft in that it all worked pretty much first pull. It's a pretty looking browser but I think that they've imported a few too many Mac UI conventions for Windows users to be fully comfortable with it. It wouldn't have been too much of a compromise just to stick to more typical drop down menu contents for example, without affecting what they were trying to achieve.

The only currently known issues, other than finding a nicer font for Safari, are minor rendering differences that have no impact in the use of the site so won't be changed, and the faulty rendering of certain extended characters (sorry Lembit!) which is down to the external source data so I may or may not be able to fix.