Sunday, February 22, 2009

Some Announcements for your Information

First of all there is a corrected html blogroll in the post below, which reflects the changes in our membership.

Some bloggers have left Blogpower over the last few months, like No Clue, Bearwatch and Calum Carr while others have closed their blogs, like Question That, Ordovicius and An Insomniac. However, for your interest, the latter two have new blogging projects outside of BP at Welsh Noted and Blog, respectively. In Search of High Places and Grendel are on extended hiatus so have been removed from the active blogroll at DTB.

While within BP Beaman has moved from Beaman's World to Politics & Poetry and Crushed by Ingsoc has moved to Crushed by Ingsoc, now hosted at Wordpress.

Please change your links accordingly if you have any of these in a separate blogroll. Thank you.




Updated HTML Blogroll

I have made changes to the Blogpower html blogroll and although I do not totally understand the process it seems to work. If there are any errors or omissions, please let me know. Otherwise I believe it is ready to use as is. I have tested it at my practice blog so can assure you that it does really work.

Blogrolling.com still has "issues" it seems, but I am ever hopeful for the long haul. The Blogger blogroll in the sidebar here is correct also and I will correct the blogrolling.com one as soon as I am able.


<!-- Blogpower HTML blogroll begins -->
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://aconservatives.blogspot.com/">A Conservative's Blog</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://atangledrope.blogspot.com/">A Tangled Rope</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com/">Adelaide Green Porridge</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://fakeconsultant.blogspot.com/">Advice from a Fake Consultant</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://ageisallinthemind.blogspot.com/">Age is All in the Mind</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://andrew-allison.blogspot.com/">Andrew Allison</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://politicsandpoetry.com/">Politics and Poetry</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.pageflakes.com/tom.paine.ashx">Blogpower Homepage RSS</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://defendingtheblog.blogspot.com/">Blogpower HQ</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://braveheart-does-the-maghreb.blogspot.com/">Braveheart Does the Maghreb</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://brummierepublic.blogspot.com/">Brummie Republic</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://cafe-grendel.blogspot.com/">Cafe Grendel</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://thecornishdemocrat.blogspot.com/">Cornish Democract</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://corporatepresenter.blogspot.com/">Corporate Presenter</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://criticalfacultydojo.blogspot.com/">Critical Faculty Dojo</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://ourspiritwillliveon.wordpress.com/">Crushed By Ingsoc</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.deeplyblasphemous.blogspot.com/">Deeply Blasphemous</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://elleeseymour.com/">Ellee Seymour</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.liz-and-harvey.blogspot.com/">Finding life hard?</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://chervil-earth.blogspot.com/">Green Living</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://grendel-grendel.blogspot.com/">Grendel Grendel</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://greenbanana.wordpress.com/">Heather Yaxley-Greenbanana</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.hercules-28704.blogspot.com/">Hercules</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.wholeheartedly-sudaniya.blogspot.com/">Kizzie</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.lettersfromatory.com/">Letters From a Tory</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://lookingforavoice.blogspot.com/">Looking for a Voice</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://onewalesgovernment.blogspot.com/">Miss Wagstaff Presents</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://mutleythedogsdayout.blogspot.com/">Mutley the Dog</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://nevertrustahippy.blogspot.com/">Never Trust a Hippy</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://nobodyimportant-jmb.blogspot.com/">Nobody Important</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://observationsfromthehillside.blogspot.com/">Observations from the Hillside</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/">Pub Philosopher</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://ruthie-zaftig.blogspot.com/">Ruthie Zaftig</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://sallyinnorfolk.com/">Sally In Norfolk</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.museinmeltdown.blogspot.com/">Sempiternal Horizons</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://sicilyscene.blogspot.com/">Sicily Scene</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://cityunslicker.blogspot.com/">The Cityunslicker</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://consciousearth.blogspot.com/">The Conscious Earth</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.lastditch.typepad.com/">The Last Ditch</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://the-morningstar.co.uk/">The Morning Star</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://norfolkblogger.blogspot.com/">The Norfolk Blogger</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://thepoormouth.blogspot.com/">The Poor Mouth</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://thethunderdragon.blogspot.com/">The Thunderdragon</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://thetindrummer.blogspot.com/">The Tin Drummer</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theospark.blogspot.com/">Theo Spark</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://tuscantony.blogspot.com/">Tuscan Tony</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://blog.twowolves.co.uk/">Two Wolves</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/">Wardman Wire</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://gracchii.blogspot.com/">Westminster Wisdom</a>
</li>
</ul>
<!-- Blogpower HTML blogroll ends -->

Friday, February 20, 2009

RBS Bonuses “Limited” --- The Thunderdragon

Bonuses at the virtually nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland are to be reduced to what is claimed to be the ‘legal minimum’. The bonus bill this year will be £340 million, down from £2.5 billion last year, and all paid in shares rather than cash.

Of the £340 million, £175 million is meet “contractual obligations”. Though quite how this can be justified when they’re lucky to have a job at all is beyond me.

And the other £165 million is to be paid out of a profit share scheme to front line staff. Excuse me, profit share scheme? What profit is this exactly? RBS had to be rescued by the governemnt with our money. They have no profit, just a loss. So how can they be paying out from a profit share scheme for a non-existant profit? It doesn’t matter that it is for front line staff, it’s still our money they’re giving away to peole who should be glad just to have a job.

This is not the ‘legal minimum’ bonus they have paid out. The legal minimum would be £0, not £340 million of our money.


The Thunderdragon



Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Spanish jobs for British Government Agencies --- The Norfolk Blogger

With the economy in such a state and with British firms laying people off by the day, any small thing the government can do to promote British made products really can make a difference.

So why are the DVLA encouraging people to use their online services by offering each and every month as prizes Spanish built Seat Leon cars ?

Surely this would be the ideal time to be offering a Nissan made in Sunderland or a Honda made in Swindon or even a Mini from Oxford ? No. Not this government. It's a Seat from Spain that wins !


The Norfolk Blogger

Friday, February 13, 2009

BBC Commits A Criminal Act --- Cynical Chatter from the Underworld

It isn't the BBC as a whole that has committed a criminal act, it was the programme 'Watchdog.' Though as a flagship programme you might as well title this blog the way it is.

The researchers imported 2, and possibly more, illegal knives into the country and they even broadcast the fact that they did so. The law is very clear, just importing those knives into this country is a crime, so why weren't they arrested? Probably because they were providing propaganda for the police officers who they spoke to. I also have to ask why licence fee payers money was used to carry out this criminal act?

As has been pointed out in the comments on the article, some of the knives are perfectly legal to buy, own and carry in this country. The police aren't going to admit that though, they will just class the lot as offensive weapons and claim there is only one use for them. The programme was also incorrect in saying that the knives were illegal in the USA, the laws vary from state to state, I doubt the researchers checked the laws of each state that the knives came from.

As for the tosser of a presenter, he implies that calling a knife a tool is wrong, a knife is a tool you cretin, the first ones were used thousands of years ago and made from flint, a substance that can still be used today to provide a razor sharp edge. Some of the first articles to be made from bronze were blades for axes and knives as it made a more efficient tool.

So thanks to this cretinous piece of scaremongering we now have ebay shutting down all legitimate knife retailers other than those for kitchen knives. By the way, for those comments on the programme identifying ebay as a retailer, that isn't correct either. So well done Watchdog, a number of knife sellers who had been going about their business in a legitimate and legal manner are now going to be punished, simply because you broke the law and then bragged about it to make a factually innacurate, and sensationalist piece for your programme.

I think it is time to cancel the direct debit for my licence fee.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Use it, or Lose it ? --- The Last Ditch

British teenagers have lower IQs than their counterparts did 30 years ago - Telegraph.

Had the results of this study shown that Intelligence Quotients had risen over the same period, I have no doubt that our educators would have claimed the credit. Indeed they did claim the credit for the previous steady rise in IQ scores. However, they seem to think this reported fall is nothing to do with them. It is all down to bad parenting and video games, apparently. I doubt Britain has a monopoly on those.

Perhaps neither explanation is right? It seems reasonable to theorise that IQ could be influenced by the regular exercise of independent thought. After all, if you fail to exercise any attribute, it will atrophy.

The nanny state; the concomitant move from education to propaganda; the switch from free expression to stock "right on" words and phrases and the indoctrination of all but the most unsophisticated to avoid "bad" words that reveal "inappropriate" attitudes have all arisen in the same period that IQs have fallen. We must beware of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy of course, but could it be the infantilisation of the British population has caused this interesting effect? If all wisdom is received and beyond challenge, where is the need for analysis? In such an environment, is it so surprising IQs should fall?

Sadly, if true, the effect might well be self-perpetuating.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Greenpeace's F-U to Heathrow Expansion -- The Conscious Earth


In one of the best PR stunts I have seen in some time, Greenpeace joined with actress Emma Thompson, comedian Alistair McGowan and conservative political hopeful Zac Goldsmith to buy a plot of land directly in the middle of the proposed site for Heathrow airport's third runway expansion.

And while the current Labour government won a narrow and divisive vote on the issue, Greenpeace's hijinks did not end there. They invited as many supporters as legally allowable to co-own the property with them in the hope that any action taken by the UK government to obtain the land would require them to legally serve each owner in person - whether they live in London proper or the west coast of Bora Bora.

I have offered my opinions on air travel previously, but here is a reiteration. Environmental responsibility is a global value requiring each person to not only act responsibly towards all other human beings, but also to extend that awareness beyond people to the broader world that we all rely on. That requires looking past narrow interests into ever expanding circles of value, and one of the most powerful ways to engender that awareness is to enable others to witness, first hand, the full scope of the world and the diversity of its people.

Airlines should be accountable for their emissions and efficiency like every other sector of society, but moving to restrict or reduce air travel per se is not part of the answer. For without witnessing the world beyond their own shore, why would a person on a beach in Bora Bora care enough about a mile of tarmac in London to play an active role in stopping it?


Sunday, February 01, 2009

Best Blogpower Posts of 2008, Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves

In celebration of the second anniversary of Blogpower we have a repeat of this compilation. Well yes, I do know it is a bit late this year. Jon Swift, whose idea I pinched last year, posted his Best Blog Posts of 2008 way back at the end of December. I see he included images from the Lolcats site. Do you think he nicked the idea of animal images from my last year's post where I featured photos of our members' delightful pets? I thought his compilation was a long standing tradition but in fact it was a first, so both of us are celebrating the one year anniversary of this feature. The only thing I share in common with Jon Swift.

Again, not everyone is represented, no doubt due to real life commitments and time constraints, but those who are, submitted what they considered a post to be proud of, along with their own words about it or occasionally mine. Several were chosen by me in a rather random fashion.

So thanks again Jon for the idea originally and thank you BP members for taking part. Enjoy!


But first of all, let's start off with an image and not just any image. George who supervises Liz at Finding Life Hard? is one year older and wiser than last year when as a puppy he led us off on our journey. George I don't think that is so wise and Liz is going to kill you!



Once again I get to go first since I am putting together this compilation.

JMB of Nobody Important looks back on her fortunate life in her birthday post, Another Year Older.

Gracchi of Westminster Wisdom says about his post, The Lady of Musashino: Films and history are two of my obsessions and the Lady from Musashino unites the two. It is a truly political film- observing the consequences of the changes taking place within Japanese society in the 20th Century and also the effects of world war two. It bears testament to the deep structural changes that we are still living with- deep structural changes that arise out of a century of warfare and industrialisation- and whose outcome are, as the film suggests, still uncertain. In that sense it is a shard of the mirror of art, literature and history (I suppose which my blog is about) which reflects back at us processes and ideas, achievements and failures whose consequences are still with us.

The Fake Consultant of Advice from the Fake Consultant says: Your friendly fake consultant spends a fair amount of his time complaining and griping--but to balance it out he also tries to find real solutions to real problems, which was the point behind the post On Buying Out the Fleet, Or, Here's A Gas War We Can Win.

Mutley, that is the real Mutley from Mutleythedogdaysout, sits here shyly, taking note of all the great posts of 2008. But let's turn to a cat owner.

Jams of The Poor Mouth, although we don't agree, feels that his photos are better than his words and presents us with a two parter of his favourite photos in his Photo Hunt Favourites and Wordless Wednesday Favourites II.

Chervil of Green Living gives us Stop the Madness -- Stop Coal Mining which she describes thus: My forebears came from the villages that lie in the path of a giant monster, set to destroy centuries of German history and architecture and the best farmland in Germany. Two thousand years of history sacrificed on the altar of greed. My forebears' graves will be dug up and crushed under with no respect to the dead. And the monster does more than "just" destroy villages and valuable farmland. It is digging up coal, the biggest contributor to climate change. The crazy thing is that it does not even make economic sense. Germany pays large subsidies to support coal mining. This is money that would be better spent on renewable energy projects, more affordable public transport and better energy efficiency.

Sally of Sally in Norfolk gives us a charming anecdote from her place of employment in True Story.....

Colin of Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe, our intrepid reporter of things Downunder, in Koala Watch tells us, with photos, of a visit to his neighbourhood by a friendly koala.

Heather Yaxley of Heather Yaxley - Green Banana views of Public Relations and More in Do PR Freebies equal blogger relationships? asked a series of questions about the nature of "hospitality" offered to bloggers and in response, many of those involved became very defensive. The fuss seemed to speak volumes - also the campaign went on to win many awards despite little evidence of its effectiveness beyond people saying it was a good campaign. That seems to sum up the nonsense that is a lot of online marketing/PR activities.

Tom Paine of the Last Ditch explores Patriotism versus Nationalism in a three part series. Part 1: A Complicated Subject, Part 2: Virtue or Vice?, and Part 3: The Dark Side.

Welchscakes Limoncello of Sicily Scene says of, My World at 1pm, "This post quite simply reminds me why I love living where I do!"

Paulie of Never Trust a Hippy offers Ignoring Fanatics as maybe not his best post, but he says, "I think that this is something that isn't said enough."

The Cornubian of The Cornish Democrat describes his post Modernising the Magna Carta? Why not start in the bottom left hand corner? as follows: Essentially any constitutional reform that ignores feudal institutions like the Duchy of Cornwall would be a half arsed job.

Deejay of Age is all in the Mind says of his post, The End of a Terrific 10 Days : "This summarises one of the best episodes of the year for me when I have one of the few times with my elderly mother who lives so far away that unplanned trips are not a possibility."

Louis at The People's Republic of Birmingham in ObaMcCainia takes a pre-election look at the candidates in the recent election for the US presidency.

Yes, it's Robyn who eats Jams of The Poor Mouth out of house and home, wondering if that rose is good to eat. Pressing on.

Andrew Allison of well, Andrew Allison - A Conservative View, succinctly sums up his post My Letter to Gordon Brown, in this way: "I think it shows up in glorious technicolour the moral bankruptcy of the British Labour Government."

Lady Mac of Braveheart-does-the-Maghreb talks about education, or rather the difficulties in obtaining it in some parts of the world, in her post, How Big is your World?

Phil of Critical Faculty Dojo in Democracy and the EU criticises the EU's non acceptance of the Irish no vote against the Lisbon Treaty, as they simply ignored the results and continued as if it had never occurred.

Since he misunderstood the instructions another BP member nominated a post by The Morningstar of Cynical Chatter from the Underworld called Extreme Pornography or Sections 63 to 67 of the CIJA 2008. The nominator described it thus: "It is on the surface controversial and highlights the current New-Labour State's desire to control everyone but themselves and that their justifications bear only a passing connection to reality. Tabloid politics. It is clear and well argued."

Mutley of Mutleythedogsdayout in Men's Rules!! issued very serious guidelines for women to follow with their menfolk to ensure an harmonious relationship. Since he considered them equally important they were all labelled Rule number one, despite the fact that there were 26 of them.

Crushed of Crushed by Ingsoc says of his post One in Ten, discussing sexual abuse, "I'm not sure I myself saw it as my best, but it certainly hit a nerve. Which of course, is what makes a good post I guess. In a sense, I guess it sums up what the blog is about, because it's one of the very real problems existing under the carpet in this world we live in, proof that really things are very far from OK."

Miss Simi, who keeps Welshcakes Limoncello of Sicily Scene in line is quite exhausted by clicking all those links and has taken to her bed.

Let's hope you are all of a stronger constitution. Thanks for reading to the end and thanks to those members of Blogpower who contributed their best to this compilation.