Blogpower- Defending the Blogosphere

On Christmas 2.0, Or, Who Might Be The New Santa?

2011-12-26T14:35:00.001Z

I’ve been thinking a lot about the evolution of Christmas, and I’ve been thinking that there is a lot about the current practice that we can admire.

Peace and good will, of course, and cookies and candy canes, and happy kids – and this is also the time we think the most about those less fortunate, as do Jews and Muslims, who also have holiday celebrations this time of the year that include a component of charity.

But if there is anything that I could change about the modern practice of Christmas, it would be the installation of Santa Claus as an icon of consumer spending, more or less to the exclusion of everything else.

As an intellectual exercise, I started thinking about what a different Santa might be like; today’s story lays out who a few candidates might be for “Santa 2.0” and why.

So go grab a cookie, and, perhaps, a refreshing beverage…and let’s have some post-Christmas fun.

Chipmunk Family Reunion…
…someone stole the nuts…
…squirrel jail…
…Justice.

--“Flo”, the Progressive Insurance Representative, in a recent commercial

To help everyone understand my choices, I’m partial to the kind of Santa who might be inclined to be a force for good in society, even when Christmas isn’t around; that concept’s central to these selections.

I also tried to pick folks who would make the gift-giving role Santa fills interesting and, above all, fun; with all that in mind let’s jump right in and see where this thing goes:

In a tough economy, you want to save where you can, with that in mind my first nomination for the new Santa is Michael Moore, if for no other reason than he fact that he already fits the suit.

He’s from Michigan, you know, so the cold weather up there at the North Pole is something he’s already used to – and you can imagine that the Elves will finally be getting the health care and retirement benefits that they’ve been negotiating for these past several years.

But beyond that, I could see Mike coming down the chimney and giving people jobs if he could apply the Santa power that way, and I figure he likes cookies and milk, too, so we wouldn’t have to change that part of the deal – and all that suggests he’d be really good for the economy.

Plus, if he had all of Santa’s powers, he’d always know where Roger is, and that’s pretty cool, too, eh?

Now our next choice is a bit unusual, but I think we’re on the right path nonetheless, and that’s Meghan McCain, daughter of the Senator from Arizona.

She seems to be a really nice person, which is a good place to start, she’s blonde, which, again, works with the red suit, and I get the impression that she’d be OK with dealing with kids all day.

As for her Santa power…she’s an outspoken critic of the Crazy Right, and it’s entirely possible that she’ll bring some degree of rationality and reason from way up North to the GOP, which would be a present we could all use.

Some of y’all might be a bit put off by the idea that she appears to be the kind of person who, if a 13-year-old boy asked, would get him a gun, but I got a Godson who was given his first rifle younger than that, and he turned out to be a nonviolent person, so, you know, maybe Santa would turn out to support the Second Amendment, but that doesn’t automatically have to be a bad thing.

For our next nomination, we’re going way off the track to select someone you’ve probably never heard of: Yetta Kurland.

Ye-who What, you say?

Yetta Kurland is an attorney in New York City, and for the past few years, if you are a member of the LBGT community, and you’re interested in civil rights litigation, Yetta Kurland’s has been a pretty good name to know.

But beyond that, Yetta’s been working as a member of the National Lawyer’s Guild as one of the on-site attorneys for Occupy Wall Street, right down there at New York City’s Zucotti Park – and that means our Santa nominee’s been working day and night, literally out on the barricades, fighting for the rights of every one of us.

Animal rights are also a big focus for Yetta, and that suggests a Santa who would be thinking about all the kids, even the ones covered in fur…and that also means a Santa who might be particularly interested in bringing good homes to abandoned animals, which is as worthy a cause as anyone could wish for.

The best part is that Kurland is already interested in the arts, as is the potential Ms. Claus (Kurland’s partner, Elizabeth Koke); that’s good news for the Elves going forward, and for anyone who would be getting presents designed and manufactured at the North Pole Workshops.

Finally, the nomination for Claus 2.0 that I consider the most serendipitous – and potentially the most interesting of all: Lady Gaga.

She’s already known, loved, and admired around the world, which is exactly what you want in a Santa, she’s bound to do something interesting to the costume every year, which seems like a “great leap forward”, and she’s already used to dealing with great volumes of fan interaction – and if Lady Gaga were the next Santa, you could expect social media to become a big, big, deal at the North Pole.

It was entirely coincidental, but I happened to catch ”Gaga by Gaultier” the other night, and as it turns out Gaga is looking to recreate The Factory, the storied workshop and studios of Andy Warhol…which could not be more perfect for a Santa with artistic ambitions, since the North Pole Workshops are full of skilled technicians who have been cranking out a mixture of art and fun as long as there’s been a Santa Claus, for Goodness sake.

As for her Santa power: imagine if someone could visit all the bullied boys and girls, all in one night, just to let them know that things can “get better”…and leave coal and access to social services for the bullies…well, that’s a pretty good power, and if Santa could do all that while singing “I Was Born This Way” – then I think we may have a winner.

So how about that? Four alternative Santas, each with a set of unique qualifications, all of whom could make things fun even as they’re stirring things up a bit, and all of whom bring their own interesting personality characteristics to this thought exercise.

Toss it around in your head a bit, see what you think, and let’s have a bit more fun fleshing out the thinking here in an effort to see who might really be the best choice for Santa 2.0.

In other words, now that I’ve reported – you decide.

On Helping Republicans, Or, Next Time You Need A Bad Idea, Try These

2011-12-19T17:50:00.003Z

I have spent a number of years complaining about the interactions between Democrats and Republicans, but after the recent events involving the Keystone XL and civil liberties cave-ins, I’ve decided it’s time to stop complaining and embrace the madness.

But I also feel like there’s an ugly edge to all this…that hasn’t really been fully exploited.

I mean, Republicans have tried to force through a lot of disgusting ideas this Congress as they’ve held various bills hostage, but it seems like, if they really tried, they could do so much more.

But I’m not here to complain, I’m here to help; that’s why today we’ll be trotting out a few ideas of our own that Republicans can attach to bills throughout 2012, with the assistance of certain errant Democrats.

It’ll be fun, it’ll be festive, but most of all…it’ll be an exercise in Civic Responsibility, and in these difficult times, that’s something we could sorely use.

1) Above all, the needs of the army need to be taken into consideration. For instance, it will scarcely be possible to avoid, here and there, leaving behind some trade Jews who are absolutely essential for the provisioning of the troops, for lack of other possibilities. But in each case the proper Aryanization of these enterprises is to be planned and the move of the Jews to be completed in due course, in cooperation with the competent local German administrative authorities.

--From a planning document written in 1939 by Reinhard Heydrich, as reported in the book “Documents of the Holocaust”, edited by Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman, and Abraham Margaliot

So let’s start with the economy: the Census Bureau tells us that nearly half the population is now poor or near-poor, and something needs to be done. With that in mind, I’d propose the “Economic Freedom and Upward Mobility Act” (HR 4377), which would establish a series of military catapult sites along the US border where carefully selected poor folks would be given, literally, economic freedom and upward mobility, even as we instantly reduce the number of impoverished persons in the United States.

Civil rights are important, but not at any cost; that’s why the “Election Cost Control Act” (HR OU812) would allow States to empower local officials to preselect winners in various elections, saving the taxpayer the time and expense of having to count the votes for all those losing candidates.

Messaging matters, and there’s no reason Republicans have to be the bearers of all the bad news: Mississippi Congressman Hatesem Lotsabunch confirmed to me in a phone call yesterday that he will take my suggestion and introduce the “Voter Education Act”, which would require President Obama to wear a giant red, white, and blue dog whistle on a thick silver chain every time he appears in public between the date of passage and November of 2012. (For the record, I actually suggested a gold chain; he thought that was a bit “uppity”.)

We have a serious immigration problem, but I think we can take a page from the Newt Gingrich playbook and introduce the “Guest Worker Protection and Identification Act” (GWIPA).

Here’s the idea: Gingrich has proposed creating a class of persons (“worker residents”?) who are allowed to live and work in the USA, but are never going to be allowed to have US citizenship. The problem is that it will be impossible to quickly tell who is a legal worker resident and who isn’t. Under GWIPA, government-issued armbands would be provided for all legal worker residents to hold their photo ID; as long as they always wear the armband, they’ll be protected from having to show papers to law enforcement officials as they go about their daily business.

Governors as diverse as Rick Perry, Jan Brewer, and Robert Bentley have demanded that the Federal Government finally get serious about “securing the border”; the “Nuclear Assault Mine/Border Legislation Act” (NAM/BLA) is my “if you’re crazy enough to support Rick Santorum, why not this?” proposal to make that happen. The new law would order the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to work together to develop, manufacture, and deploy small “assault-sized” nuclear land mines along the Mexican border as a way to deter illegal immigration.

"Well you look perfectly idiotic in those clothes!"
"These aren't my clothes!"
"Well, where are your clothes?"
"I've lost my clothes!"
"Well, why are you wearing these clothes?"
"Because I just went GAY all of a sudden!"

--Cary Grant, as David Huxley, from the 1938 movie “Bringing Up Baby”

Finally, let’s take a moment and consider one of the vital social issues of the day.

It is apparently still possible to lock down some GOP votes by going “hard negative” on the LBGT community, if what I’m hearing from the candidates is to be believed (I was particularly struck by Mitt Romney’s ability to twist on this issue: in the last GOP debate, in one single sentence, Romney said he felt there should be no discrimination against the LBGT community…but that there should be no same-sex marriages), and I have a proposal that allows the GOP to appear to be moving to a better place while ensuring that nothing ever changes at all:

The “Mitt Romney Legal Access Beyond Intimidation Act” (MRLABIA) would do two things: it would repeal the Federal Defense of Marriage Act – and, in the Mitt Romney tradition, it would also add a new provision into law that prevents same-sex couples from entering into contracts for the purposes of marriage, thus ensuring “a perfect flip-flop, every time”, as they might say on an infomercial somewhere.

So there you go: instead of relying on the usual “poison pills”, I’m challenging the GOP to try out a few of these ideas – and I’m also challenging much of the American media to try and tell the difference between some of these ideas and the present reality; just at the moment that won’t be easy, and, all humor aside, I think that might actually be the saddest part of this whole exercise.

On The Question Of Virginity, Or, “Starter? I Can’t Make Her Stop!”

2011-12-08T20:31:00.001Z

I got a weird little story about my friend Blitz Krieger to bring to you today.

He’s had a crazy car problem, he has, and over the past few months he thought he had found a solution – in fact, he thought he had found the solution of his dreams – but in the end, he’s discovered that the things you dream about often don’t go according to plan.

The way it’s worked out for him so far, it’s been a lot of anticipation followed by a sudden wave of frustration, but I feel like he’s a lot better off having his particular problem with his car…because if he’d had cancer instead, he’d surely be dead by now.

The community is always embarrassed by the drag queens because straight society says, “A faggot always dresses in drag, or he’s effeminate.” But you got to be who you are. Passing for straight is like a light-skinned woman or man passing for white. I refuse to pass. I couldn’t have passed, not in this lifetime.

--Sylvia Rivera, describing the founding of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), quoted in the book “Becoming Visible: An Illustrated History of Lesbian and Gay Life in Twentieth-Century America”

So here’s what happened to Blitz: he waited forever to buy his first car because he wanted, more than anything else in life, to drive his “perfect” car: a 1982 American Motors Eagle SX/4.

It’s a wild car: it was designed as a small hatchback…with a V-8 engine…and “switchable” 4WD…which allowed it to travel easily in snow in a way that virtually no other passenger car at the time could manage.

So he waited all this time, and two years ago, in California, he literally found a little old lady from Pasadena who sold him his “Dream Car”, which, ironically, was the same brown color as Al Bundy’s Dodge.

It drove great for about six months, but it’s been suffering from a strange malady that presents as a horrible grinding noise when he tries to start the car. He has no idea what to do – and standing in the way of a solution is an obsession that I find a bit strange:

He is absolutely determined that he is not going to go to just any mechanic.

Instead, Blitz told me that since it’s the first time the Dream Car needs to be repaired, he intends to go to a mechanic who has never worked on any car before his – and he says he wants to do this because he feels the experience of having the work done this way will make it more “special” for the both of them.

It took him almost a year to find someone, but when he did, it was truly perfect: he met a woman named Jenna Talia who wanted more than anything to be a mechanic.

She’d been studying through one of those “learn at home” programs, and, amazingly, she had an attitude similar to my friend Blitz’s: she knew about how to fix a car from what she’d read in a book, but she refused to actually repair one until she got the chance to work on her Dream Car – and even more amazingly, her Dream Car…was a 1982 American Motors Eagle SX/4.

They actually met on the bus (Blitz, naturally, refused to drive any other car except the Dream Car), and after a few months of knowing each other, Blitz proposed that Jenna might work on his car in his garage, and she agreed.

Fun Fact I Just Made Up: In a recent poll, 32% of voters thought the Iowa Caucuses were a country located near the former Soviet Georgia.

So we’re going out last Saturday night, and I get a call from Blitz asking if I could come by and pick ‘em both up there at his house, and I’m OK with that, because with two drinks in a night being a big evening for me I’m more or less a permanent designated driver.

I was wondering how it was going with the car, and what I saw was stunning: the upper half of the engine was sitting in the living room, entirely disassembled. There were rockers and rods and all kinds of stuff there, neatly arranged for easy reassembly, and it looked like they had really put a lot of effort into the thing, but it was clear that they just couldn’t get it quite figured out…which isn’t surprising, considering it was the first time for both of them.

And you could see, in just that first second, that the two of them were some kind of frustrated. But it gets worse: Blitz told me that this was her third “diagnosis”, and that, now that she was actually face-to-face with a real car, she seemed to be entirely confused about exactly what to do.

Apparently things had gone so bad that Jenna wouldn’t even leave his house at night to go home until she could get things figured out…and, from what he’s telling me, he’s ready to throw her out, buy a different car, and get that car fixed by a mechanic who’s been there and done that – a lot.

To put it another way, he’s ready to dump his virgin mechanic…for a slut.

Now here’s the really crazy part of the story: I’ve had a bit of experience with cars breaking down over time, and I knew what was wrong from the beginning, as many of you probably did, too: the starter was bad – and that’s located on the very bottom of the engine, not the top, which means everything they’d been doing was pretty much pointless.

But I couldn’t tell them that in the beginning…because, again, it would’ve just spoiled the experience…and I sure wasn’t gonna say “I told you so” now…so even though I could have offered them both useful advice about how ignorance ain’t bliss, they surely didn’t want to hear it.

So look, folks, we could have a lot more fun following out this comic premise, but there’s a bigger point: I don’t want a virgin mechanic, and surely not a virgin doctor – and they don’t even allow virgin pilots to carry passengers.

What is it about sex (and politics, for that matter) that makes people think they’ll be able to simply “get it” with no experience at all? What is it that makes them think that celebrating their own ignorance is the best way to show they’re ready to take on something that, frankly, requires a bit of trial…and error…before you really get it right?

I don’t know the answer, but the next time someone tells you how their ignorance makes them a lot smarter about something, do me a favor and think about Blitz and Jenna and the Dream Car – and the living room full of engine parts – and if that person’s running for office, run the other way. Quickly.

I’d appreciate it; so will you – and if I know Blitz, he will, too.

On The Emergence Of China, Or, Zhou Knew This Was Coming

2011-11-29T07:42:00.002Z

After doing a bit of mountain hiking a few days back, I had a chance to get involved in a great afternoon conversation with the Alliance for American Manufacturing’s Mike Wessel, who also serves as a Commissioner with the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; the conversation was about how we’re doing when it comes to our relationship with China.

As it turns out, the two events went well together, because what I’m hearing from these guys is that we have a great big ol’ mountain to climb if we hope to get back to a level playing field in our interactions with this most important country.

There’s news to report across a variety of issues; that’s why today we’ll be talking about trade, human rights, cybersecurity, poverty and development, and the methods by which you can apply “soft power” to achieve hard results.

The entirely unanticipated result: all of this will reveal the naïveté of Ron Paul when it comes to foreign policy; we’ll discuss that at the end.

The King of China's daughter
So beautiful to see
With a face like yellow water
Left her nutmeg tree

--From the song “The King of China’s Daughter”, by Natalie Merchant

So let’s start with the background stuff: the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission exists today because of the legislative wars surrounding China being granted Most Favored Nation status back in the day.

At the time, there were concerns about the way China does business on the international stage, and the Commission provides a follow-on monitoring program to examine questions regarding the Chinese human rights record, issues related to economics, cybersecurity issues, the intentions of the Chinese military, and lots more.

The Commission issues annual reports to Congress, and this year’s report has just been released.

Now normally I would present a point of view, followed by a counterpoint; today, we’ll do the opposite: there are folks I listen to out there, including Thomas P. M. Barnett, who would tell you that you are not going to be able to keep spending $900 billion a year on the defense budget if you can’t find an opponent worth $900 billion a year, and China looks like that kind of opponent, in a number of ways that Al Qaeda never could…even if, in Barnett’s opinion, China is a great big paper tiger.

Al Qaeda will never build aircraft carriers, or intercontinental ballistic missiles; they’ll never put to sea in submarines or build a stealth fighter, and they darn sure aren’t going to be mounting military operations in space or engaging in cyberwarfare.

And yet, if you’re a defense contractor, a General, or an Admiral, that’s where all the money is; naturally, if the money goes away, some of those Generals and Admirals are not going to have the chance to “graduate” from the military and become defense contractor representatives themselves.

Put it all together, and some would tell you that the biggest battle facing the Military/Industrial Complex today…is making sure we’re always nervously looking under our beds at night, just to be safe.

You should also know that our first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, convinced his brand-spanking-new country to put in place a series of protective tariffs. The intent was to foster manufacturing in the then-agrarian United States; this was intended to create a climate favorable for non-farm businesses and to allow a far more disparate group of immigrants to come to the new Nation than what would have occurred if the only major business activities around the country were farming-related.

So with all that in mind, let’s talk China.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (the USCC) wants you to know that China is very much on a knifedge: the country is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (the PLA).

The USCC would tell you that the primary goal of the CCP and PLA leadership is to “protect their phony-baloney jobs” and the corruption that goes with ‘em (thanks for the line, Mel Brooks), and that they have to do a few things to keep those jobs safe: they have to find a way to make 900 million near-peasants into a middle class, quickly, because the peasants have seen how the other 300 million live, to secure markets and resources China has to begin to project power around the world, by military or other means, and they have to make extra sure that nobody in China, except the CCP, gets the opportunity to take over the political conversation – in other words, ensure that the “Arab Spring” doesn’t become the “Jasmine Spring”.

There’s more: in a country without something like Social Security, China’s population will age faster than any in history, and many of the 900 million seem to want to move from the country to the city in numbers so large that they literally can’t build cities fast enough.

So how does the Chinese Government deal with all this?

What China has been doing is seeking internal “quietude” by growing the economy through manufacturing, and they have decided to choose certain industries as the linchpin of “valuing up” that growth, so that China’s low-tech manufacturing becomes more high-tech. (Think computers and telecommunications, space, alternative fuel vehicles, aviation, green energy technologies, that sort of thing.)

China has decided that virtually the only way a foreign company can do business in any of the “chosen” areas is to mandate technology transfers that allow Chinese companies to obtain the methods and tools needed to compete with the foreign supplier down the road. (This is officially against WTO rules; China disputes that assertion. The USCC says they now make these demands in subtle ways that are less “enforceable”.) Chinese buyers are told to give preference to “state-innovated” technologies.

China also uses their currency as a way of “preferencing” the local economy. The Renminbi (RMB) is, according to most observers, deliberately undervalued in order to make Chinese goods cheap overseas and imported goods expensive at home. Mike Wessel would tell you it’s about 40% undervalued, and that that “trade tax” (my term, not his) costs the US budget about $500 billion a year, with a similar impact on State budgets. Despite much USA pressure and some recent upward valuation (roughly 6% last year), it looks like China is not going to move much on the RMB anytime soon.

Wessel anticipates China will spend about $1.5 trillion on anti-poverty subsidies to quell unrest over the next 5 years; that would become a lot more difficult if a revaluation were to occur.

During the 1990s China began to move to a free-market model that emphasized the growth of privately-owned businesses; Wessel says today China is going back to promoting the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to the detriment of a free market.

This has been bad for our own industrial strategy, such as it is, which assumed we would be selling China lots of high-tech goods, even as they sold us cheap goods. That has not worked out; in fact, China is now the largest market for cars and cell phones, among other products…and those products are not being manufactured in the USA.

It’s reported that the theft of intellectual property is the normal way business is done in China; as an example Wessel notes that something like 80% of the software on Chinese corporate computers is stolen.

We are told that the PLA is looking to create an “area of influence” that extends from the South China Sea to space; to this end the first Chinese aircraft carrier is being readied for service, a stealth fighter is in development, antiship missile systems are being upgraded, and a “counterspace” capability has been demonstrated. (The idea is that Chinese satellites explode near other satellites, thus disabling them. The USA and Russia seem to have similar capabilities.)

Chinese military doctrine, Wessel tells us, advocates shutting down the “network-centric” model of US military operations; it is believed that a significant campaign of computer-based intrusions and attacks on the USA have already taken place, including two events that took place at Department of Defense-operated satellite-control facilities that seem to have been external attacks.

Wessel anticipates that a war with China would begin with China attempting to disable various USA computer networks and infrastructure; the resulting confusion would be used to China’s advantage.

Beyond that, Wessel worries that we’re buying so much of our telecommunications and computing infrastructure from China that we may be vulnerable to being spied upon by our own laptops; he cited two examples of this problem: a computer sale to the State Department that involved Lenovo laptops and classified data, and a sale of network equipment by Huawei to Sprint that might have allowed classified computer traffic to be compromised.

Chinese spying, Wessel would tell you, is widespread and not limited to government: trade secrets are up for grabs in a big way, and even the US Patent and Trademark Office had to upgrade its security after it discovered patent applications were being snatched out of the system and appearing as Chinese products, with Chinese patents, before the applications could even be acted upon in the USA.

Wessel also wants you to understand that China uses “soft power” to advance its interests: there are lots of “hosted” opportunities to study in China, former military officers of various nations, including the USA, are recruited as “representatives”, and there are lots of “get to know us” opportunities that have been created around the world; all of this is intended to “sell” China in ways we do not.

And with all that said, let’s talk about Ron Paul.

Paul’s attitude toward China seems to be that we should allow free, unimpeded trade, and that the currency manipulations about which many complain would not exist if we went back to a gold standard. Paul stated in 2001 that:

Concern about our negative trade balance with the Chinese is irrelevant. Balance of payments are always in balance. For every dollar we spend in China those dollars must come back to America. Maybe not buying American goods, as some would like, but they do come back and they serve to finance our current account deficit.

Free trade, it should be argued, is beneficial even when done unilaterally, providing a benefit to our consumers.

If I’ve been paying attention during the recent Republican debates, this is still what Paul believes about China, and here are a couple of thoughts about how he’s got it entirely wrong:

Paul may not like it, but Hamilton succeeded when he used tariffs to jump-start a manufacturing economy in this country, and not having free trade is working pretty well for China as well. Unfortunately, it’s working very badly for us.

On the one hand, Wal-Mart and all the others who import less-expensive products from China have done a great job of masking the fact that incomes have been either stagnant or declining for about 99% of us, but Wessel would say that’s been at the cost of sending millions upon millions of jobs to a country that is working hard on every level to ensure we can never again compete as a manufacturing nation – and while we thought we would make up that difference with our high-tech advantages, theft and spying and a devalued currency and “partnerships with benefits” and protectionist “state-innovation” rules have made sure we don’t.

A gold standard won’t fix this, and simply advocating that we allow China unfettered access to USA markets while they rob us blind seems a bit like suggesting everyone leave their houses unlocked so that the market can more efficiently decide which ones are the best for burglars.

So we’ve covered a lot of ground today, and let’s wrap this thing up with a summary of where Commissioner Wessel says we’ve been:

We have a competitor in China who will do more or less anything to keep its current political leadership in power, even as that leadership is forever worried that 900 million of its citizens will discover that you can overthrow a government.

The PLA is busy as well, with the South China Sea and everything above being the “area of influence”; computer warfare seems to be the next phase.

“Soft power” is also being applied; we have former military officers and Chinese language students and lots of other folks either hearing or telling China’s story all over the world and we don’t do a good job of answering back.

All the while, the CCP is working hard to create a higher-tech Chinese economy, by hook or by crook, and that’s putting the future of our own economy at risk, not to mention the operations of our government.

We, as a people, seem to be unaware of all of this, and that plays out in the form of ignorance in our politicians, with Ron Paul being a recent prominent example.

So now it’s up to you to figure out what all this means: is this really a substantial threat that we have to defend against (and there’s lots of evidence to suggest it is), or is this an effort to find a way to keep spending that $900 billion every year?

My take: Wessel’s not a defense lobbyist, even as he is trying to promote manufacturing in the USA, and there is a lot of evidence to support his thinking; with all that in mind I’m more inclined to believe he’s sending a warning we better pay attention to than he is seeing Commies under the bed.

Nonetheless, there are lots of folks who would like to keep stackin’ that big cheddar, at your expense, and even as we think very hard about China, we better also keep in mind that Northup Grumman could be just as dangerous.

On Fear: The Islam Edition, Or, Do You Know My Friend Wa’el?

2010-09-22T01:25:00.002Z

We last got together about ten days ago, when I put up a story that hoped to explain to the Islamic world that, Qur’an burning aside, we don’t really hate either them, or our own Constitution.

I pointed out that, just like everywhere else, about 20% of our population are idiots, that this means about 60,000,000 of us might, at any time, be inclined to burst into fits of random stupidity, such as the desire to burn Qur’ans to make some sort of statement, and that the same First Amendment that protects the freedom of stupid speech also protects the rights of Islamic folks to freely build mosques…and finally, that this apparent “paradox of freedom” is exactly why the US is the kind of country that many Islamic folks the world over wish they lived in as well.

I then went off to enjoy my Godson’s wedding, and I ignored the posting until the next Monday.

On the two dozen sites where it could be found, this was apparently considered to be a fairly innocuous message…with one giant exception, which is what we’ll be talking about today.

Long story short, some portion of this country’s population has some bizarre ideas about Islamic folks…but maybe if they knew my friend Wa’el, they might see things a bit differently.

This world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those that feel

--Horace Walpole, Fourth Earl of Orford, in a letter, August, 1776

So all of this took place at Newsvine…and if you’re not familiar with how things work there, users may “seed” a story that they find of interest, so that it may attract the interest of others. What happens is that the user reposts a shortened version of the original story, along with a link back to the source.

My original posting on the site had fewer than ten comments, but by Monday Newsvine user btco’s seeded version of my story had about 300 comments; today there are more than 625.

Those who were not liking the story basically came down to one of a few categories of responders; here’s one example…

…I live a few minutes from Dearbornistan in Michigan and I can tell you that, as a place with a great deal of Muslims, they barely speak out against the Islamofacists that kill. There is outrage; however, but that outrage is aimed at America instead of the Islamofacists that should be the target of the aforementioned outrage. In fact, Dearborn has seen Muslims verbally attack Christians and forbid them for handing out Christian pamphlets, their 1st amendment right to do so, as this goes against the @!$%#ed up Sharia Law. Until Dearbornistan demands that they will abide willingly with the constitution and ignore the racist and misogynic crap that is Sharia law, then Dearbornistan Muslims side with the enemy and that enemy is Islam.

…and here’s another:

Christianity underwent reformation and was tamed by enlightenment period (during which, BTW, was harshly criticized).

Islam is in its original forms, claws and all.

And people like you, who for some dubious reason think it should be allowed to be what it is are doing great disservice for Muslims whose minds are set for the reforms and who want to live like normal, 21 century people, but are forced to "submit" to medieval dogma.

The idea that all Islamic folks worship a Moon God, that neither democracy nor any other religion can co-exist alongside Islam, that after beating them, all Islamic men send their four wives out to distribute “terror tomatoes” among the infidel population, and that, for adherents of Islam, both the Bible and the Constitution are immoral and corrupt all seems to be accepted wisdom for a bunch of the commenters (except for the “terror tomato” part, which I made up myself); it all seems to come from an apparently long-circulating email that was posted in the comments over and over that purports to prove that Muslims can’t be good Americans.

So is all this true?

Well…let’s start with the question of whether Islamic people can co-exist with democracy…and to help answer that question, let me introduce you to my friend Wa’el.

Wa’el Nawara has been trying to advance the interests of democracy in Egyptian politics for many years now, in the form of his work for the El-Ghad Party, in the face of an Egyptian Government that has been ruled, since the end of King Farouk’s reign, by just one political party, the (secular) NDP. The founder of El-Ghad, Ayman Nour, was imprisoned and tortured for basically getting 8% of the vote in a 2005 Presidential election against the current President, Hosni Mubarak.

To prevent this from happening again, it is also alleged that the Egyptian Government helped to orchestrate a temporarily successful “takeover” of the party from within. (This is not uncommon; the Egyptians security apparatus has acted against numerous parties, including the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood.)

Shortly after Wa’el and I became acquainted (I had been researching a series of stories about Egyptian politics when we were introduced) he was inside the offices of his own Party, which were burned by a mob that was allegedly associated with Egyptian State Security (an event that was recorded, live, by people across the street). Afterwards Wa’el, along with many of the 30 other people who were in the building, were arrested and detained for…you guessed it…suspicion of arson.

It’s not just Wa’el, or the other members of his Party…nor the other members of other Parties, either.

If were to take the time, you’d find out there’s a Center for Democracy in Lebanon, you’d discover that Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and even Saudi Arabia have all held recent local elections, and you’d find out there’s even a debate in the UAE as to whether adopting democratic reforms might be appropriate.

Outside the Gulf, India’s current President is their third Muslim President, Indonesia, which is 80% Muslim, elects their Presidents (even as they struggle with sectarian violence)…and all of that tells me that anyone who thinks Islam and democracy are incompatible should do some more reading.

Can Islam accept the presence of other religions?

One answer can be found in what is today’s Spain, but what used to be Andalucía (or Al-Andalus, if you prefer Arabic), where Moors ruled for centuries over Jews with far more compassion and respect than they ever received under Christian dominion; another, in today’s Egypt, where Christian Copts and Muslims have lived together for thousands of years, even as tensions have increased recently between the two groups.

Does Wa’el beat his four wives?

Not as far as I can tell—and if his one wife ever found out he had three other wives…I’m guessing that wouldn’t go so well for Wa’el.

Is the Bible corrupt to those who follow Islam?

Those who follow “mainstream” Islam believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but they don’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God, or that He was crucified. Is that corruption? I don’t know, and I guess you’ll have to decide that one for yourself.

Now we need to be fair here, and acknowledge that one branch of Islam does indeed represent much of what my most conservative friends are afraid of: Wahhabi Ikhban. Here’s what the Library of Congress has to say about the sect:

Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab was concerned with the way the people of Najd engaged in practices he considered polytheistic, such as praying to saints; making pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques; venerating trees, caves, and stones; and using votive and sacrificial offerings. He was also concerned by what he viewed as a laxity in adhering to Islamic law and in performing religious devotions, such as indifference to the plight of widows and orphans, adultery, lack of attention to obligatory prayers, and failure to allocate shares of inheritance fairly to women.

When Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab began to preach against these breaches of Islamic laws, he characterized customary practices as jahiliya, the same term used to describe the ignorance of Arabians before the Prophet. Initially, his preaching encountered opposition, but he eventually came under the protection of a local chieftain named Muhammad ibn Saud, with whom he formed an alliance. The endurance of the Wahhabi movement's influence may be attributed to the close association between the founder of the movement and the politically powerful Al Saud in southern Najd (see The Saud Family and Wahhabi Islam, 1500-1818 , ch. 1).

This association between the Al Saud and the Al ash Shaykh, as Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab and his descendants came to be known, effectively converted political loyalty into a religious obligation. According to Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab's teachings, a Muslim must present a bayah, or oath of allegiance, to a Muslim ruler during his lifetime to ensure his redemption after death. The ruler, conversely, is owed unquestioned allegiance from his people so long as he leads the community according to the laws of God. The whole purpose of the Muslim community is to become the living embodiment of God's laws, and it is the responsibility of the legitimate ruler to ensure that people know God's laws and live in conformity to them.

So what have we learned today?

Well, we learned that there is a community of Americans out there who are profoundly afraid of Islam, or anything connected with it, and the odds are that they know very little about the religion, other than what they’ve seen and copied and pasted, over and over, in a particularly ignorant email.

My friend Wa’el, on the other hand, lives a life that disproves those myths: in addition to being the target of a mob, he’s been jailed, along with many of his friends and associates, for trying to create a more democratic Egypt, he has just the one wife, who lives as an equal in their house, and his own country, Egypt, is one of numerous Islamic countries that have other religions well-established within their borders.

We also learned that numerous countries with Islamic populations are countries with varying degrees of representative democracy…and that the world’s largest democracy just inaugurated their third Muslim President.

Now the question that we’re addressing today is whether Muslims can be good Americans—and the fact is that Wa’el and his family would make great Americans…even though they’re not…and if I can point to Muslims who would make great Americans and live halfway around the world…how much you wanna bet we can find tens of thousands more in the heart of Dearbornistan?

Sad News for Blogpower -- Mutley

2010-05-23T16:03:00.010Z

The following news was left on the post below early this morning:

To all readers of Mutleythe dogsdayout

I am so terribly sorry to break this news:

Rob, the author here on blogger of mutley the dog, and my beloved partner in life died peacefully in his sleep in the early hours last Friday, the 21st of May.

I would have preferred to email readers privately. That would have been best, I know. So sorry. Simply it is this - I am heart-broken.

At some near time I will post properly, as Rob would wish - a celebration!

Regards

Kate

9:22 AM, May 23, 2010

Mutley was such an integral part of Blogpower for so long and his humourous and sometimes silly posts always brought a smile to our faces. He had a large following who always entered into the fun with equally amusing and outrageous comments, every one of which he answered.

Our condolences to Kate and to his beloved children.

http://robert.chambers.gonetoosoon.org/

Intermission

2010-02-07T03:53:00.001Z

Theo brings some advice for 2010

2010-01-11T08:20:00.000Z

Old Farmer's Advice:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life.. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around..

Live simply . . . Love generously . . . Care deeply . . . Speak kindly . . . and don't never pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill
you.

The Twelve (Alt Text) Days of Christmas - Cafe Grendel

2009-12-25T01:21:00.003Z

From Grendel.

As you may know, most web sites use alt-text, or alternative text to describe key images that can be used by people with vision impairment to enrich the online experience. Not a lot of people notice alt-text and sometimes it may not always be what you expect. Take this example from a website depicting the well known “12 Days of Christmas” carol.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me A partridge in a pear tree.
alt="What a crappy tree! The image shows a bloody twig with a curled leaf and a partridge that looks like a magpie has ripped half it feathers off. If this was my true love I’d be wondering what message they are trying to send"

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.
alt="Same tree and ragged bird but this time beside it are two ratty looking pigeons that have crapped all over the twig the author laughingly refers to as a ‘tree’"

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.
alt="There’s enough in frame now that the image is landscape and in addition to the existing birds three battery hens are depicted looking like refugees from an animal rights ad for free range"

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.
alt="Yawn, this is one of those images that makes me envy those reading this who have a vision impairment. The authors have added four tired-looking budgies to the already sad collection of avian specimens"

You can read the rest here.

I know that this is all a bit geeky, but in the spirit of trying it out I have included some alt text in this Traditional Scottish Advent Calendar. Hope you all have a great holiday season and a good 2010.

Getting to Grips with Depression - Ellee Seymour

2009-11-26T22:25:00.000Z

Depression is one of those terrible illnesses we handle so badly.
Mental illness is sadly still tabooed, and it is only when we hear about those who can no longer live with their tortured minds and commit suicide, like Germany’s famous goalkeeper Robert Enke, or the beautiful Korean model Daul Kim, that this difficult issue is publicly debated.
But what can be done to help those suffering from depression, those poor, helpless souls who would rather be anywhere instead of plummeting deeper their dark abyss?
These were two young and talented people who seemingly had it all with their successful careers. But they couldn’t cope with their depression, like countless others. Their fame and fortune couldn’t save them.
Tragically, even when you work in the profession, it seems little help is at hand, as this poignant letter in today’s Times describes, written by the bereaved father of a man who was severely depressed:
Sir, Your leading article (“Working minds”, Nov 23) about the need for depression to be accepted in the workplace has particular resonance for my wife and me because we lost our son to a severe depressive illness in 2005. He was a clinical psychologist, but as his illness developed he was desperate to keep it secret from all the mental health professionals who knew him or might have contact with him in the future. He insisted that his career depended on this because there was a strong prejudice in the profession against anyone who had suffered from mental illness: they were perceived as not “tough enough” for the job.
We found this hard to believe — the mental health profession seemed the last place on earth where such attitudes were likely to be found — but we were assured by others that it was so. Not only did this worry add to the burden of an already terrifying illness, whose features are so accurately and movingly described by Giles Andreae in times2, but it made our son reluctant to seek treatment and, when he did seek it, prevented him from making use of good local facilities that might have helped him. The treatment which he did accept was unsatisfactory and, in the end, unavailing.
Surely it is clear that someone who survives a depressive illness is enhanced rather than diminished by the experience, and that the insight which results may be of advantage, particularly in the field of mental health.
Richard Oerton
Bridgwater, Somerset

Hey Rupert (You speak with Forked Tongue) - Fake Consultant

2009-11-23T16:59:00.000Z

Our favorite irascible media tyrant is in the news once again, and once again it’s time for me to bring you a story of doing one thing while wishing for another.

In a November 6th interview, Sky News Australia’s David Speers spent about 35 minutes with the CEO of NewsCorp, Rupert Murdoch; the conversation covering topics as diverse as software piracy, world economics, the role of Fox News (and Fox NewsPinion©) in American politics, a strange defense of Glenn Beck, and, not very long afterwards, an even stranger defense of immigration.

We have heard a lot about the…how can I put this politely…challenges Murdoch seems to face associating factual reality with his reality, and we could have lots of fun going through his factual misstatements—but instead, I want to take on one specific issue today:

Rupert Murdoch says he hates it when people steal his content from the Internet to draw readers to their sites…which is funny, if you think about it, because he has no problem at all stealing my content (and lots of yours, as well) for his sites.

More here

Berlin Wall Juke Box - Pub Philosopher

2009-11-16T20:58:00.001Z

Another installment in the occasional Friday Pub Juke Box series.

In my post on Monday I said that, on the whole, I believe that the collapse of the Eastern Bloc was a good thing. That's not to say that there weren't winners and losers though. I don't often agree with Seumas Milne but he makes some good points here. The experiment in bandit capitalism which followed the break up of the Soviet Union was a disaster. Replacing apparatchiks with oligarchs is not what Russian and east European dissidents died and went to prison for.

So today's juke box reflects the opposing views of 1989. The first is the optimistic "Winds of Change" from Germany's Scorpions, which became the unofficial anthem of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Inevitably, they were playing it on Monday evening in Berlin.

The second is the less well known and much more pessimistic Lurhstaap from Britain's New Model Army. Written in 1989, Lurhstaap warned that 'these changing winds can grow cold and hostile'. The lyrics might seem eerily prescient to those who feel they were robbed after 1989.
And in the shadows of the crowded square, a thousand paper deals go down
And hungry sharks from everywhere smell the blood and head for town
I like both tracks, which perhaps reflects the mixed feelings I had then and still have now. On the whole, I'm glad communism collapsed but we really missed an opportunity afterwards.

Da Videos Ya?

Show Us Yer Tits! Mutley hits the big Four Double O

2009-11-11T10:04:00.000Z

Congratulations to Mutley for his contribution to Blogpower and the overall tit blogging experience. Here at Defending the Blog we are not far behind. That said, this blog is a good deal more boring. So in the spirit of sharing...

"Many famous people have viewed your Blog - which is somewhat infamous because of your irritating inane comments on other peoples blogs, over the last 400 posts - and if you had just once written something insightful, moving, witty, clever, sexy, charming or funny you would have been at least been mentioned in The Guardian or The Sunday Times as they are desperate for copy. But as you are a boring tit, you have squandered this opportunity by writing such complete inconsequential shit!" My friend Mr Beast confided this in me over a pint of his favourite port, tequila and sheep milk at my 400th post blog party last weekend. I am afraid he was rather in his cups, as we say in the South, and there was a distinctly unhealthy sweaty sheen to his skin.

However, my whip thin friend Giles a.k.a Lady Ga-Ga seemed also determined to bury the knife deep. He went on and on about how my tedious interest in Supermarkets and toothache was enough to drive a Nun to suicide (which I once did - but thats another story!) and that 'I should welcome the comfort of obscurity' - odd turn of phrase if you ask me.

Much more great stuff here.

Ruthie reflects on Fort Hood

2009-11-08T21:06:00.000Z

So here I am, writing my thesis about how domestic terror attacks are made foreign in the media, when this happens. Some (probably not very articulate) musings:

I've been studying these kinds events for almost two years now, and after writing three papers on the subject and reading thousands of news articles and transcripts (which, I should mention, have driven me back into the arms of reality TV, if only for my own sanity), one big trend I'm noticing is that after one high-profile event (a major school shooting or an attack like the one on Fort Hood) there is almost always another attack, if not several more attacks, within a week. There were weeks in 2007 and 2008 when there were 3-4 shootings. Then none for months. The day after the Fort Hood attack there was a major rampage shooting in Orlando.

Anyway, I think the copycat phenomenon is alive and well.
Articles like this one annoy me to no end. All of a sudden, the military is "rethinking" Muslim soldiers? Really? Because William Kreutzer, ANOTHER soldier who opened fire on a military base, was a Christian... and so was Sgt. John Russell of the recent Camp Liberty shootings... to name two. But did those shootings somehow force the military to rethink Christian soldiers? No.
The Fort Hood shooter was as American as I am. Relatively recent immigrant roots, but born here. Raised here. If someone with my ethnic and religious background (Italian, European, Christian, Protestant) committed this kind of attack, how would the narrative be different? I know it would be. I'm just more interested than ever in finishing my thesis. The topic has suddenly become more relevant than it was last week.

Should the Scots have their own Tundra Time Zone?

2009-10-25T21:40:00.001Z

As summer kicks in in the Antipodes the combination of grimmer oop north weather and the changing of the clocks has Pub Philosopher grumpy. Does it make sense for the UK to align with the rest of Europe in time zone?

Pitch dark by 5 o'clock today.

I've said all I'm going to say about the annual stupidity of putting the clocks back to daylight wasting time. The case for keeping our clocks one hour ahead of the sun in winter is overwhelming. Our lives are different from those of our ancestors. We get up later and go to bed later.

As Sir Alistair Horne said, if the Scots want to have their own Tundra Time, let them go ahead. Just don't drag the rest of us into the dark too.

The Last Ditch: Tom's day of heavenly peace

2009-10-17T20:37:00.001Z

Tom has an interesting account of his first trip to Beijing and a chance to see some of the city.

I walked around the city for five hours. At several points, I paused to reflect how lucky I am to have such a life; to have the chance to visit the far-off places I dreamed of as a boy. My whole family has lived in one square mile of what is now Wales, probably, since prehistory. It seems to be my destiny to improve our averages when it comes to travel.

The Forbidden City was not quite what I expected. Yes, it's huge and impressive and oozes history. Yet it also feels rather sad. It's as if the Emperor had just walked away and no-one had quite decided what to do with it. Renovation of such a complex must be a huge burden. It covers 7.8 million square feet and comprises 980 buildings. It is a city within a city. A city that feels, in parts, abandoned and neglected. Some structures are quite dilapidated, although crews were working on others. The task of maintenance is eternal. While it's a "World Heritage Site" and rightly so, I can't help feeling it would be better put to use. Such wonderful spaces should be occupied and enjoyed, not just gawped at by the likes of me. The occupants would also pick up on minor repairs that would otherwise become major while waiting for scheduled maintenance.

It was crowded, particularly at entrance and exit where I was pressed closer to a mass of strangers than any Englishman can well endure (yet without ever feeling in danger, or worrying about my wallet). After a while, the masses de-merged into family groups and I could observe the Chinese at leisure. My main impression was of extended families. I saw some old people so thin and drawn that it was hard to believe they were mobile. Yet they were cheerfully led, or pushed around by their families and looked happy in their company. The welfare state in Britain has destroyed so much. Such skeletal specimens would be in a "home", out of sight and out of mind. Here they cheerfully chatted to the family's infants, who seemed completely relaxed (as they should be) in the company of the old and frail.

Basking happily in the bright sunshine in their leisure wear, many Chinese wore English slogans. I never understand why our language has such glamour for strangers. Apart from the usual brand names (paid for or otherwise) there were random English words. One lady had "Praisworthy" (sic) emblazoned on her blouse. I don't know why our scruffy leisure costume has been adopted at all. Traditional Chinese clothes are so much more attractive, but I only saw a few people - usually very old - wearing them. Even most of the very elderly sported trainers and jeans. I noticed the cheap and brightly coloured baseball hats handed out by tour organisers so they can recognise their flock in crowds were lined with the attractive check that Burberry has now pretty much had to abandon, so "common" has it become.

More here

Pauli Finds Out People Just Want To Have Fun

2009-10-17T00:52:00.000Z

Thanks Pauli

Garbo Dissects the Tory Conference -Wardman Wire

2009-10-09T13:53:00.002Z

If the Labour party conference was expected to be a disaster but in the end turned out just about alright, you might say the expectation for the Tory conference were very high, but the results have been very similar to their counterparts. This week has been just about alright for the Tories, nothing like the barnstorming affair we might have expected but certainly not a disaster either.
Things kicked off in the traditional manner – a row over Europe. This is a debate that will run and run and will continue to plague the Tories. It is not a so much a matter that the Tories are split or wrong or anything else. It is more that they simply do not have a coherent policy. They want to change Europe but at the same time do not want to be part of it. They want a referendum on Lisbon, but at the same time won’t commit to one. They have a leader who knows that Britain needs Europe but a party who does not want to be dictated to by it. It is a problem that has only been slightly eased by the Irish yes vote, but only very slightly.

Then came the cuts talk. As I wrote yesterday, Osborne should be applauded for taking the bull by the horns. But it has not pleased much of the party faithful. David Cameron’s suggestion that if the deficit has not been scratched by cuts, then taxes will have to rise. Well Osborne’s announcements tackled just 12% of one year’s deficit over a five year period. That sounds like tax rises are on the way then. It has been said before – if the Conservatives are not the party of low taxation, then what are they? It is an honest and tough approach, and the polls suggest they have not been too harmed by it just yet. But it has provided the government with plenty of ammunition and very probably upset grassroots supporters and a few floating voters alike.

Continues here and here

Graccii on Roman Polanski

2009-10-02T21:43:00.000Z

Something worries me about the Roman Polanski case- and it is not his arrest, it is the reaction to it. As far as I can see, Polanski admitted to comitting a crime thirty years ago, he then fled before he could be punished- now at last justice has caught up with him. You may think that there should be a statute of limitations as in Italy and that is a fair view but it is not a view to be argued about right now because of the emotiveness of this case. There seems to be no doubt that there is no miscarriage of justice involved here: simply put a fugitive from justice has been arrested and placed in a cell prior to extradition to the jurisdiction which originally condemned him. It is for the courts to decide what punishment to administer.

And yet apparantly petitions are being drafted, the French society of film actors is talking about freedom of speech and Whoopi Goldberg about rape rape as opposed to rape. I find this rather strange. There is no freedom of speech issue here: Mr Polanski's crime was to have sex with an unwilling teenage girl- rape is not as far as I can remember freedom of speech and nor is it included in any meaningful definition of this film. Secondly thepetition: again what injustice are they petitioning about- if Mr Polanski were not guilty of the crime or if he were being prosecuted for something that should not be a crime I could understand it, but the petition is being drafted apparantly because he is Mr Polanski. He is a child rapist full stop- you either believe that child rapists should face punishment and therefore that Mr Polanski should or you do not, can we take it that anyone who signs this petition- Mr Scorsese, Mr Allen, Miss Argento and others- beleive that child rape is acceptable? I do not think they do, but their actions are worrying.

More here.

Duck Joke from Tuscan Tony

2009-09-24T21:58:00.003Z

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," replied the vet.

"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room.

He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever.

As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.

A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "£ 250?" she cried, "£ 250 just to tell me my duck is dead?"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been £ 20, but that's the price with the with the Lab Report and the Cat scan."

Ta Da

Thanks Tony

Keith Floyd Tomato Sauce Inspiration for Welshcakes RIP

2009-09-17T22:34:00.003Z

Welshcakes remembers a culinary influence.

Keith Floyd, author, flamboyant TV chef and bon viveur par excellence, died of a heart attack last night. I loved his style; the man even managed to die stylishly, having enjoyed a last meal of oysters and partridge with champagne. I had a Bristolian's affection for this honorary West Country man who opened his first restaurant in that town of my childhood. And what a "cook's cook" he was, rarely giving precise quantities, instructing you to "whack this in there" or "throw some of that in the pot", encouraging you to have the confidence to make your own judgements, as often as not with a full glass in his free hand as he did so.

A fitting tribute to Floydie on this blog, I feel, would be to write about some of my favourite Floyd recipes and so I shall do just that:

I think the first Floyd TV series I followed was Floyd on France and from the 1987 book of the series I was inspired to cook, for the first time, a chicken roasted with masses of garlic. I have tried many recipes for such a dish since, and many of them - their authors losing their nerve, it seemed to me - told you to count your garlic cloves and use 12, or at the most 20. Any experienced cook will realise that this is ridiculous, as the authors cannot possibly know how pungent the garlic is in your part of the world, or how big the cloves are. There's no such wimping out in Floyd's book, however, and you are instructed to use a kilo of the stuff. And it is to Floyd's recipe that I return again and again.

From Floyd on Italy [1994] I learnt to make tomato sauce and it is this recipe that forms the basis of my own to this day. In the introduction to this volume, Floyd writes:

"What is Italian food? Spaghetti bolognese, lasagne with coleslaw and deep-pan pizzas filled with culinary garbage? No. A thousand times no...... Whereas thinly rolled dough spread with chopped tomato and topped with anchovies and cheese and zapped into a wood-fired oven is heaven - you just don't need prawns and artichoke hearts, mushroom and chicken tikka pieces in a pastry shell and even if you do you can't call it a pizza. "

He goes on to describe what Italian food really is and I have yet to read a better description.

More Floydie memories here.

JMB Goes to Washington

2009-09-10T23:20:00.004Z

I lived in the Washington DC area off and on for over ten years. I never did snare a White House invitation. JMB was able to have a look around. She tells the story on her blog.

We were very lucky to obtain tickets for a tour of the White House since usually they can not be obtained closer than one month to the date. Our friend arranged it through the office of the Senator for whom he works so we were I think considered visitors from Maine.

We fronted up very early on the morning and were checked off the list and had to show our passports and go through all kinds of security before we were conducted through a long corridor filled with photos of presidents lining the walls. As I said previously I could not take photos so these are all thanks to Wikimedia.

Only a few public rooms of the White House are included on the tour which is to be expected. But let me begin with a few facts about the house. It is the oldest public building in Washington DC and every president except George Washington has conducted business there. Although it has undergone many changes the basic structure, which was begun in 1792, has been kept. It was not occupied until 1800 when John Adams did so after the capital was moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, even though the building's interior was not completed at that time.

In 1814 the British forces captured Washington and burned the White House and the sandstone walls and interior brickwork were all that was left standing. But it was rebuilt by 1817 and over the years many other presidents have made structural changes to make it what it is today, including the addition of a third floor in 1927.

More here

Tom Paine: A Very British Death

2009-09-03T21:03:00.003Z

Continuing our occasional highlighting of Blogpower bloggers, I came across this on The Last Ditch. Interesting and confronting reading.

I didn't know how to be more than vaguely uneasy about this story when I read it yesterday. Anna Raccoon (post linked above) explains from a position of knowledge and experience. If you are a British reader, there is a very high chance that she is describing how your life will end; put onto a "care pathway" (a euphemism for being deprived of food and water under sedation) by state employees as a form of healthcare rationing.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has been enlarged and updated to include medical care for similar reasons – to provide legal cover for Doctors and Nurses to take the actions they have always taken; but because we wouldn’t allow an honest debate regarding euthanasia or assisted suicide, it took the only route open to it – that of empowering Doctors to follow the ‘Bland‘ formula, and starve you to death when you were no longer economically sustainable.

It is important to note that food and water administered by a doctor counts as "medical care." As Anna says;

Dying of malnutrition – starvation – or lack of hydration – extreme thirst – is a painful and obscene manner in which to die. It has now become the ‘gold standard’ in end of life care. It has come about because as a nation we refuse to discuss euthanasia or assisted suicide in a reasonable or responsible manner. We become both emotional and obscurist, hiding our true views behind a cloak of carefully crafted language.

The rest is in the linked article.

Only a Dog

2009-08-08T22:21:00.001Z

It was a grey and blustery October morning, half term, and as a house parent I had decided to make the children go out with the dog for a walk along the beach. At Whitstable steep pebble beaches descend to greet the waves between high wooden breakwaters. On that day we were walking along the waterline with a sucking tide falling rapidly – the sea green and grey and a surf that was rough and bounding.

I saw a plank in the surf, a heavy one like might be used for floors or for roof beams. In a second I simply gave it a kick and it floated momentarily in the tide, before the rip of the outgoing wave took it. In the same moment the dog had grabbed it and was afloat, a corner gripped with grim determination to return it to the shore. It was his game after all. Jump in the sea and bring back things. A great game.

In a moment the plank was beyond the end of the breakwaters, rolling in the deep waves, already out of depth. The little dog holding tight of course. And after that the rip tide took the wood. It was out of my control anyway but not of the tides. I was in the ice cold sea up to my waist then my chest shouting. To no avail. The water took the plank and its passenger – heading out into the sea towards the distant Isle of Sheppey. All at once the waves intervened and the sodden head of the dog was disappearing at a fast pace on his doomed vessel.

All at once a man was by me shouting.

“ I have told the bloody coastguards – bloody idiots – I said there's a dog lost in the waves – they said we cant scramble a lifeboat for a dog, its only a dog” He paused, eyes angry. I remember he had white stubble on his chin, and some kind of hat. The sky was silver and grey behind him. “Only a dog– only a dog?” Her seemed lost for words. Catching in his throat.

I was strangely calm. Already ice cold with exposure. Imagining seeing my working wife !”How was the day – ok -went for a walk drowned the dog, came home....”

In the leaping waves the dog is almost lost – up to a mile out I later learnt.. “Only a dog?” My friend is muttering under his breath. And as I watch there's one final wave and the tiny almost invisible white spot which is all that's left of the dog is gone. And for an aching moment he is gone. Then suddenly – a little white spot reappears moving slowly on the water between the waves. Unbelievably his course is exactly a reverse of that which took him out into a busy shipping channel. Its much too far for him to see and the waves too high. He's following his own scent trail still hanging in the air. Now. Imagine the strength to fight a roaring Thames rip tide and the courage to even try. And then against all odds . He is getting closer – now the children were in hysterics. Crying and shouting – he's been gone thirty minutes easy. Its a long winding course and he keeps vanishing beneath the surf, for seconds at a time. He is close and I wade out out to meet him- waves breaking against me. And as his curve took him into the land he suddenly spotted me and his tail flew like a flag - one final wag.

And I had him suddenly, surprisingly in my arms. Safe.

And My God he puked. Great body wrenching shuddering. He had always known it was OK, he would be safe, just find his safety. Of course he couldn't stand up and I was ice cold, shivering. I would never see him in such a weak and damaged state again until his last few days. We staggered home thankfully only a few short yards and lit the gas fire and placed his little person like an offering. And roasted stewing steak to nourish him and booked one of his few vet visits to be diagnosed with salt poisoning. And of course he did get better. He ate his steak and gazed around with groggy eyes, but the next day rare autumn sun warmed the day and he was up and about as usual – though he eyed the sea with newly learnt respect

The Budget -- My Thoughts --- Andrew Allison

2009-04-25T01:34:00.002Z

I called Alistair Darling's pre-budget statement as 'Darling in Wonderland.' It was and so was his economic forecasts today. In 1945 we had just helped defeat Nazi Germany. The country was - understandably - in tatters. What is Brown and Darling's excuse in 2009? All we hear are the usual mantras: global recession, unprecedented times, global response, the UK is in an advantageous position to weather the recession, etc. What we heard from the Chancellor of the Exchequer today was nothing to help the British economy. It was tired and lacked imagination, just like the rest of government policy.

Already the IMF has stated it disagrees with the Chancellor's predictions. How a serious politician, holding one of the great offices' of state can stand up in the House of Commons and say in two years' time the UK economy will move from negative growth of 3.5% to growth of 3.5% is amazing. It is a ridiculous statement to make and is purely designed as a political gesture; vainly hoping the electorate can be conned into giving this shower a fourth term in office.

Assuming the Chancellor's predictions are incorrect - which is a safe assumption to make - what will the actual level of borrowing be in a year's time? He is predicting 12% of GDP for this year. What will it be? Probably more like 14-15%. And where is he getting the money from? Who will want to loan the government this money? How long will it take before he has to go cap in hand to the IMF?

Continued at Andrew Allison - A Conservative View.

Time to Catch up Post --- Age is all in the Mind

2009-04-22T07:34:00.004Z

Not having posted for rather a long time - I don't seem to feel inclined but rather tend to favour reading all of my favourite blogs instead - I thought I would do a bit of a catch up.

Redundancy / Retirement
The saga of the official paperwork (or should I say lack of it) continues so I still do not have a final date yet. The departmental reorganisation has completed so I don't have any official work to do and am on 'Gardening Leave'. Suits me, getting paid to do what I want to do which is .........

Guitar Playing
It is improving my playing no end having some additional free time to get practice in
Current pieces under the cosh are Highway to Hell, AC/DC, Pride & Joy, Stevie Ray Vaughan and getting to grips with some music theory which I didn't ever think I would enjoy but is adding to my practical work. It's amazing how much better it is when you understand how it all works :-)

Golf
Managing to get out 2 or 3 times a week now instead of the lone Saturday morning round and boy does it show. I'm still nowhere near threatening Tiger but hey he better watch out, I'm coming.

Continued at Age is all in the Mind.

On Angst, Or, We Meet A Tea Party Protester --- Advice from a Fake Consultant

2009-04-17T08:34:00.006Z

So if you're like me, you have been wondering just exactly what all this "tea party" stuff is about. There's going to be some sort of protest, that we know; but beyond that the whole thing seems a little...vague.

Alternatively, it's possible that you were unaware that "tea party" has recently become a word reborn in conservative political circles.

Well, whether you knew it or not, April 15th was indeed a day of protest, with citizens gathering for what were reported to be a series of grassroots events across the nation that was intended to invoke the spirit of the Boston Tea Party.

In an effort to find out exactly what is motivating these folks, and to find out what they are trying to accomplish, I took my handy recorder and captured a conversation with a "tea bag" protester.

We will review that conversation, and we will follow it up with a few thoughts about how this group of voters might impact electoral politics going forward.

Let's begin by setting the stage: the city of Issaquah, Washington (population about 17,000) is more or less 15 miles east of downtown Seattle, in eastern King County. It's a bedroom community, for the most part, with some light industrial and stores like Home Depot. The Costco corporate headquarters is located over where the old skydiving airport used to be, and I-90 bisects the city.

Seattle's eastern suburbs have been a good source of reliable Republican voters, and the Representative from the District (WA-08) is former Sheriff Dave Reichert (R-Ineffectual), who defeated Darcy Burner in one of the more closely watched Congressional races of both the '06 and '08 cycles.

Continued at Advice from a Fake Consultant.

20 Stupid Questions asked by Tourists --- Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe

2009-04-15T05:57:00.001Z

via telegraph.co.uk

Very entertaining.

Crossposted at Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe

The Sad Death of Ian Tomlinson -- A Conservative's Blog

2009-04-10T09:14:00.003Z

I have to say that I was saddened by the death of Ian Tomlinson when I heard about it. At the time I thought nothing more of it. After all, he died of ¨natural causes¨.

However I am deeply disturbed by the footage shown. He appears to be walking around posing no threat to anyone trying to get home on a bad day in London when he was assaulted for no obvious reason by some one in a uniform.

Whilst it is not possible for me to say whether the assault and heart attack are linked, heart attacks can be brought on by difficult circumstances.

That officer has now come forward, presumably because he can be pinpointed. It does him no credit that he did not come forward earlier.

The police do also need to rid themselves of people who break the law and give them all a bad name.

The state has to have a monopoly on violence, or else there is anarchy, but that violence must be used lawfully. I have to say that it does not appear to have been so in this case.

The BBC has this.

Crossposted at a Conservative's Blog.

The Courtly Reich --- Westminster Wisdom

2009-04-08T08:34:00.000Z

Power does not change its forms as much as we think. Whether it is a state which controls vast resources and populations or a state which has shrunk to the level of the city or the village, the means of exercising power and its problems are often similar. A state has to use levers to exert force- the image is exact because the order of a single politician has little to no power, it is the way that that is converted into the actions of hundreds, thousands or millions that is the key to his power. The Third Reich in that sense is an interesting example of what a state can do- insane and destructive policies which led to hideous human rights abuses and the holocaust, not to mention the destruction of Germany and much of Europe in the bloodiest war ever seen. Amongst the central issues anyone has to confront when they look at Hitler's regime is how such insanity- and such unstable clowns- came to govern a civilised and educated state for 12 years and become intensely popular, not merely in Germany but also abroad. How did they exert that influence- what kind of levers did they pull?

Continued at Westminster Wisdom here

Membership Changes

2009-04-05T02:32:00.002Z

Crushed by Ingsoc is no longer a member of Blogpower.

JMB will be updating blogrolling shortly to reflect the current membership.

Photographs of Policemen, Section 76 and the G20 Demos: Ministers have their heads in the clouds ---- Matt Wardman

2009-04-03T10:49:00.000Z

These are a small selection of photos taken at the G20 Climate Change demonstrations.

Others will be covering the big political issues around the G20 itself. I'm going to focus on the rights of photographers not to be harrassed as they go about their work, and the rights of the public to receive full reporting of demonstrations from all sides.

First of all, remembering that Section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2009 makes "Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etc" an offence, this post can probably be *deemed* to be a Criminal Offence, and me a supporter of "The Terrorists" (cue Jaws music). And that is the problem - creating uncertainty creates insecurity and room for intimidation of the photographer, whether snapper or pro.

Under the section heading "Terrorist Offences", we have:

(1)A person commits an offence who—

(a)elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been—

(i)a member of Her Majesty's forces,
(ii)a member of any of the intelligence services, or
(iii)a constable,which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or

(b)publishes or communicates any such information.

(2)It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action.

Continued at The Wardman Wire with photos

Membership Voting Issue

2009-03-29T20:30:00.003Z

We are currently in the process of voting on a membership issue. If you would like to participate, please hop on over to the mailing list and cast your vote. You can also vote directly with the administrators. Voting closes at 11.59pm Wednesday April 1.

Recently David Hadley (A Tangled Rope), Heather Yaxley (Green Banana) and Chervil (Green Living)resigned from Blogpower. We wish them well.

Gems of Blogpower

2009-03-07T23:44:00.004Z

It's been a while since the last Roundup, so I thought I'd inflict one upon you all.

But I thought I'd use this one to showcase the Blogpower blogs which do exactly what I believe blogs should do.
Admittedly, this is a personal opinion. But I read so much about how blogging is a dieing medium. I do not believe that to be the case. I believe that this medium truly is the future of human intercommunication, I believe that it has the potential to change human society and I believe that certain blogs have GOT IT, if you like, and others are tentatively trying to understand the medium.

The mainstream media can never give us truth. The reasons are numerous, and some of the reasons I would give would relate to my own political outlook and would be contentious, so I will avoid those. The one with which I'm hoping you'll agree, is that by definition, MSM has to hit a catchall median. So even if it attempts to be candid (which I would dispute), it cannot be. It has to gear itself and its message. One message, one size fits all.

Let me tell you what READING blogs give me in terms of understanding. Time was when I started my day, once I'd got to the office, with a skim read of the Daily Telegraph. Then I'd chat to the admin girls, listen to how their weekend went. I didn't know it, but what I was doing was synthesising stories. I'd read what the Telegraph had to say about events on the Macro scale, now I was hearing about trips to Safeway, what a certain pub was like, the real events of peoples lives.

Everything that the Telegraph reports is about the combination of many such lives. When we use MSM blindly to tell us what is happening in our world, we miss the point. We fail to understand popular psyche. The reality of all those lives on the ground. The lives which combined, tell us why it is that our governments can say, convince enough people that war in Iraq is justified.

Blogging is the first serious attempt to make the personal the political.

We show the working- or good blogs do.

These days, I get most of my understanding of the world from Google Reader. But the blogs I will never miss a post on, are the ones that take the extra step: Merge the personal with the political. Show why they it is we should listen to them. Because They don't seek to supplant The Sun, they're not an online equivalent. But nor are they an online diary.
Those extremes will die.

The magic of blogging is in it's union of the macro with the micro, in it's ability to create COMMENTARY, whether it be political, social, historical or sexual, which is unashamedly personal; it allows all of us a greater ability to understand the human condition.

The blogs I've come to regard with most respect are those which on the one hand go in depth in to areas of human experience and perspective people don't generally like to express, but also expand on that in the wider context, cross boundaries and actually say 'It is just me? Or is this something we all feel, because I think we do. And I think that it's like this because...'

So I'm going to show you the sort of blogs that we already have in Blogpower, which exemplify exactly what ONLY blogging can do, and WHY.

Colin Campbell

Under rated blog, by a long way. I didn't used to take him seriously, I'll admit. Until I saw the brilliance of it. I'm not sure Colin himself would see why this is a great blog. I only realised its greatness the day after the Aussie election. Colin ran a post showing Kevin Rudd with the caption 'I was worried you'd blow it. You didn't. Well done mate'
Or something like that. Resonance. Short statements that resonate. This blog is a deluxe version of Twitter, and entirely run by one man. It truly is a GREAT blog.

Advice From a Fake Consultant

This is an unashamedly intellectual blog. Which is why it doesn't get the coverage it deserves. It's not, however, PURELY intellectual. The author comes across. But without being Dickensenianly annoying. A very clever example of how an author can come across and show their principles without grating on you. The guy is clearly a profound thinker but also- nice. He's a nice guy. He doesn't get on his high horse and pontificate, he doesn't hit those of opposing opinions below the belt. It's well thought through and the author backs himself up. If other bloggers can get over the desire to only read blogposts of a few lines so they can leave a polite comment and then move on, this is truly a good blog.

Bob Piper

I don't always agree with what he writes. But he's certainly not a party apparatchik. So yes, illuminating world view. I never miss what he has to say, precisely BECAUSE he's a fairly typical Black Country Labour politician. He's actually very straight and candid. If you don't read his blog because you don't like New Labour, please think again. He doesn't give much away about himself, but being a councillor I can understand that. Fact is, he's straight. Much as I hate New Labour, I'd vote for him. A throwback from the days when people sought office to represent their people. Have a read- he's straight as a die.

Critical Faculty Dojo

A nice guys blog. One can actually pick up a fair bit about Phil from it. He doesn't post often, but he's very much Mr Everyman. I don't think he cares who read him. Which is why people should.

Cynical Chatter From the Underworld

I don't pretend to get this blog. Which is why it mesmerises me. Fascinatingly honest individual. You cannot put him in a box. At once apolitical and yet very political. He is quite a succinct writer. And complex. I find it hard to form a definite opinion on him and more to the point, I'm not sure I either need to or want to. He is not a flowerbeds and honeycombs writer. But the glimpses he shows into his perspective are very rich indeed.

Kizzie

I'm not sure how many BP readers have discovered Kizzie. Not as many as should have done, methinks. It's been increasingly hard for her to post regularly of late due to complicated realities (both personal AND political), but I'm assured she will be posting frequently again soon. Why should you read her? Well, because it would open your eyes. Kizzie is a devout Muslim AND a feminist. And that's a hard battle. But it's the reality that I would say that a MAJORITY of Muslims face. Trying to reclaim their faith from hardliners in the face of a western perception that Islam itself is evil. Kizzie feels the same way about so-called hardliners the way I feel about Creationists. Kizzie represents what is, in my opinion, the TRUE voice of the Muslim in the street- not just in Cairo, bit in Birmingham, in Paris, in Kabul, in New York. Get reading.

Mutley

Mutley is just a joke blog...
If that is how you see it, you've missed the point. Satirical comedy is dead in the mainstream TV networks. We will never again have Monty Python or the Young Ones or Blackadder. Fear of risk taking amongst those who allocate air time. There is no cutting edge comedy prepared to piss on totems. Mutley take the piss out of HIMSELF. His life. But in doing so, he puts the whole thing up to scrutiny.
Be honest, when Mutley was out of work, did you not, as a reader, truly UNDERSTAND what it was like for the first time?
This a first rate satirical blog in the peter Cook strain of pushing the envelope.
Blogpower members should see it more as a Blogpower triumph than they do.
It's 'That was the week that was' The Blog.

Norfolk Blogger

This is trumpeted as a Liberal Democrat blog. Certainly, the author is very conscious of it. And yet...it's actually not, really. It's actually an anti-establishment blog which emphasises stupidity in our systems of administration on the part of someone who feels so strongly about that that he has joined the only party of the main three that can't win. The author is actually a liberal of the very old school. One nineteenth century author, I forget who, argued that the day would come, once universal manhood suffrage was achieved, when the task of true liberalism was to defend the rights of the individual against Parliament, which now believed itself to be always right. Norfolk Blogger seems in my view, to belong to that school of thought. He's actually very insightful. Don't approach it as a political blog. Approach it as a source of axiomatic wisdom, and it's very good indeed.

Sicily Scene

Cleverly done. Juxtaposition. Do you know, I don't think she does it deliberately either. I think it's actually totally natural. It might seem a fairly lightweight blog mainly devoted to food and simple anecdotes. Bit read closely. There's actually a lot of in depth political commentary. And you're more likely to read it, because it only comes up when related to real events in the life of the author, or at least, ones she can connect to. You're more likely to emote to what this author has to say on the issue of asylum seeking than you are many of the dry 'current affairs' bloggers. This blog PROVES that the personal is political.

The Last Ditch

In some ways, Tom is a fairly stereotypical libertarian, of the more right wing variety. His posts, I find, emphasise how foolish it is to try use a simple left right spectrum to understand opinion. From my point of view, blogs like Tom's emphasise just how much debating ideas is far more worthwhile than dividing into narrow camps based on 'I'm red, you're blue'. Comparing Tom's posts I find that I can violently disagree one day and vehemently agree the next. In my case, it's because I'm what may be seen as a left libertarian. But in my view, it proves the point that we should use the blogging phenomenon less to shout eachother down and more to try and discuss the value of ideas. I read Tom and think 'Yes, bang on, you really hit that point.' And next day I think 'No, Tom! No!' In terms of presenting an argument succinctly, Tom's blog is a good 'un.

The Poor Mouth

I don't know whether Jams chose his title ironically. If you wanted to name a theme for this blog, at first glance, you'd be pushed. But nevertheless, he succeeds as a QUALITY blogger, in my opinion, because he clearly has several interests and whilst he doesn't state that the blog is devoted JUST to those, they come up often enough. Perhaps I only notice those. I like his post on nature and on aspects of European history. He clearly likes those topics, they are HIM topics. And he is passionate about them. Maybe he feels he is a 'poor' mouth, because he just blogs what he wants to. But why not? Isn't that the point of it? stream of consciousness? Free your best thoughts?

The Tin Drummer

Stream of consciousness blogging? For sure. TD is a man who just...writes what he wants. Dr Who, Cricket, Stella, New Labour. Not your average combination. It's real. I mean, seriously, this blog is REAL. He just sits down and types. Now let me just state WHY this blog is worth reading. It's not well thought out, in the sense that he plans what he's going to write. It's well thought. There's a difference. As in, incisive thinking. And it's sent out raw. It has a primal quality, it springs from an inner voice behind the tongue, it is heartfelt, it is sincere, it is lacking in contrived qualities, it is rich in its rough edges, this blog, this blog is Fight Club in blog format.

Theo Spark

I know Theo Spark is kind of puzzling. Fact is it's a very successful blog. 'Hat Tip' Theo Spark, one sees it everywhere. I don't pretend to see complex in depth philosophical points there. What I do see is a blog which is now widely seen as a rich archive for the more right of centre blogger if they want something catchy. I'm not a right wing blogger myself, but I damn well wish those of my political persuasion had an equivalent of Theo Spark. People can criticise Theo Spark all they want, but in reality, he's probably the best known BP blogger.

Westminster Wisdom

A great blog. Not a great deal to do with Westminster you might think, only it is. It's actually a quite theoretical blog which mainly deals with the theory behind government, clearly of interest to the author. The history of political theory is inportant to him. I don't think I've seen a weak history post on there. In many ways- and I hope he doesn't take offence at the comparison- he reminds me of Simon Schama. This is NOT a day to day blog, it is a blog about the wider structure of human society, seen through understanding how perceptions and structures originated. But do not be fooled into thinking this a dusty academic blog. The author never loses sight of what the past teaches us about the present. Sometimes, I fear, this is too subtly stated to catch the general reader's eye. This blog IS political, because it's about the history of politics. It is one of Blogpower's intellectual heavyweights.

Prepare for Global Geopolitical Dislocation - Wolfie

2009-03-04T15:06:00.003Z

The last few weeks we have been hearing a lot about stimulus packages and historic decisions but what might have many people puzzled is that these bold pronouncements don’t seem to be cheering the markets very much, in fact they have been heading south faster than ever. So why are the markets not responding to the stimulus now and are they going to in the near future? Well this very issue was picked-up by European think-tank leap2020 last week and their prognosis does not look good.

Beginning of Phase 5 of the global systemic crisis: phase of global geopolitical dislocation.

Due to the global leaders’ incapacity to fully realise the scope of the ongoing crisis (made obvious by their determination to cure the consequences rather than the causes of this crisis), the global systemic crisis will enter a fifth phase in the fourth quarter of 2009, a phase of global geopolitical dislocation.

A. Two major processes:
1. Disappearance of the financial base (Dollar & Debt) all over the world
2. Fragmentation of the interests of the global system’s big players and blocks

B. Two parallel sequences:
1. Quick disintegration of the current international system altogether
2. Strategic dislocation of big global players.

…

In the United States, as in Europe, China and Japan, leaders persist in reacting as if the global system has only fallen victim to some temporary breakdown, merely requiring loads of fuel (liquidities) and other ingredients (rate drops, repurchase of toxic assets, bailouts of semi-bankrupt industries,…) to reboot it.

More depressing thoughts at the Two Wolves Blog

Some Announcements for your Information

2009-02-22T08:28:00.000Z

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

2009-02-22T08:26:00.008Z

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.

<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>

RBS Bonuses “Limited” --- The Thunderdragon

2009-02-20T06:27:00.002Z

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

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

2009-02-18T09:58:00.002Z

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

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

2009-02-13T08:02:00.003Z

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.

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

2009-02-11T17:05:00.004Z

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.

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

2009-02-06T18:24:00.004Z

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?

Best Blogpower Posts of 2008, Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves

2009-02-01T06:24:00.009Z

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.

United by Grief --- Sicily Scene

2009-01-30T07:09:00.002Z

Today has been the fourth day of a general strike on the beautiful but troubled island of Lampedusa. For newer readers, Lampedusa is often the destination of would-be illegal immigrants from North Africa. Some manage to get as far as its shores unaided whilst many others are rescued from their inadequate boats or from the sea itself and are taken there. The island has a "welcome" centre built for 800 but currently said to be providing accommodation for 1,800 people. The residents of Lampedusa are fed up, as the situation affects their tourist trade and of course changes their lives in other ways not of their choosing.

Now the Italian Government wants to build a second centre on the island and claims that this centre will be used to identify and deport the clandestini more quickly. The inhabitants of Lampedusa believe this will only make matters worse and, at the end of their tether, they began a general strike on Sunday and are also staging protests, led by their Mayor. 600 detainees temporarily escaped from the original centre on Sunday and joined the protest, as they are unhappy about their treatment, especially given the overcrowding. Thus the interests of these two groups strangely coincided and the residents applauded the clandestini.

Continued at Sicily Scene.

x

My Longest Journey ---Sally in Norfolk

2009-01-28T05:46:00.008Z

On June 13th 2009 I will make the longest Journey of my life.

I will fly from Heathrow to Lima in Peru.

That's a 14hour flight all on my own and I have never even been to Heathrow Airport.

The reason for this trip is to meet up with Geoff and spend two weeks in Peru which will include walking the Inca Trail.

Once I have met up with Geoff in Lima we will make our way to Cuzco to meet up with Emily, who is doing some voluntary work there from April 1st.

Now you will be wondering where Geoff is off to.

Well on April 7th he is off on a three month trip which will include going to Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands before he finally meets me in Lima.

My emotions about this trip are all over the place, excited, scared, amazed, shocked, and also sad, sad at the thought of Geoff being away for 3 whole months.

Most of all I am very excited as I know this will be the most amazing trip for both of us.

Once he returns from Les Gets we have 2 months to get the trip planned, which will be a very exciting time.

Crossposted at Sally in Norfolk.

Academic Writing --- Zaftig

2009-01-23T09:28:00.003Z

Once, in a moment of exhaustion after 12 hours of finals-week grading, and after reading a hilariously pretentious academic study about the neoliberal racial rhetoric of America's Next Top Model, another grad student and I semi-jokingly decided to conduct a study titled: "Multiparadigmatic gender modes of hegemonic ape feces in subaltern counterpublics."

We just want to see if we can get a journal to publish it.

A recent post from Ruthie at Zaftig

As our banks collapse, Britain must learn to do something else --- The Pub Philosopher

2009-01-21T09:57:00.004Z

The Iceland on Thames quip made by Brown ally Will Hutton yesterday seems to have struck a chord with a number of people.

Like Iceland, Britain's economy is dwarfed by its banking sector which threatens to drag the whole country down into the the swamp of endless debt. At £2000 billion, RBS's balance sheet is bigger than the UK's annual GDP which, according to yesterday's EU economics data, is just over £1400 billion. Taken together, the UK banks make our economy look puny. 80% of their business is overseas, yet it is the British taxpayer that will pick up the bill for bailing them out.

Via Laban Tall, I discovered this wonderfully pessimistic blog UK Bubble. Yesterday, its author Alice Cook said:

Today was an historic moment. The RBS and its barely comprehensible loss signaled the end of an era. The days when finance was the engine of the UK economy are definitively over. The UK banking sector has become the 21st century equivalent of coal mining; over-staffed, over-paid, and profoundly unproductive.

Continued at the Pub Philosopher, plus you will find many interesting links not reproduced here.

Palestinians as Noble Savages? --- Observations from a Hillside

2009-01-16T06:05:00.007Z

On my way home from work tonight I walked past a pro-Palestinian nutjob trying to drum up support for a protest "to stop the Israeli attacks in Gaza". I have no problem with people protesting about anything (providing it's done in a legal and peaceful manner) as it's a legitimate part of political participation; but in this case it's pointless because no matter how hard this nutter and others like him try to brush over it, their attitude implicitly recognises a fundamental barrier to a long-term resolution.

Many of the things that the Israeli's are currently doing in Gaza are wrong, I have no doubts about that, but in demanding the Israeli's fall back, whilst not making any demand that Hamas (which is supposedly a democratically elected political party) stamp out the virulently anti-Semitic jihadi nutjobs who continually attack random targets inside Israel, they are merely recognising that the Palestinians are not in control of their own behaviour.

I posted earlier this week about the double standards on display, but the more ludicrous articles I see from apologists for this violent anti-Semitism, especially the truly disturbing ones that try to make some (sometimes thinly veiled) comparisons with the Holocaust, the more I draw the conclusion that many of these apologists see the Palestinians as little more than modern day "noble savages" (though what's noble about violent ant-Semitism is beyond me).

Continued at Observations from the Hillside

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T18:20:00.002Z

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
MAY 2009 BRING ALL THAT YOU WISH FOR.

Blogpower Roundup - Chopping Down the Christmas Tree Version

2008-12-25T21:48:00.017Z

Ta Ta Santa?

Going Cheep?

Ho Bloody Ho and all that from warm and sunny Adelaide. I am sure you are ready for something different by now. Let me prolong the agony one more day. It is Proclamation Day, a Public Holiday here in South Australia, where we celebrate becoming a British Province in 1836.

Matt Wardman has some very clever canines do his Christmas prep work.

Speaking of wild beasts lots of great animal shots on Deejays blog.

Wild Beasts?

Speaking of odd animal news angles, David Hadley has obviously been watching too much CNN as he speculates on the newsworthyness of an attack of chocolate mint covered Psycho Penguins.

As usual, Fake Consultant has dived into weighty issues like the constitutionality of roadside sobriety checks. Heavy stuff, a bit like my Granny's Christmas Dumpling (tasty too), but if you are interested... He has a lovely festive picture of an ice crystal for those looking for a quick fix however. Not too much ice here at the moment.

Andrew Allison weighs in on important issues, that of Christmas Tree price inflation. I know that our Christmas tree was about 15 dollars more expensive than last year for a similar tree. It is grown about 5 kilometres away and we picked it up ourselves, so what is driving those costs?

Cafe Grendel weighs in with the observation that christmas tree purchasers in Western Australia are downsizing by implementing a programme of size deflation.

On other economic matters, Louis ponders the bizarre ownership turnaround that sees Governments owning banks and private companies running the utilities.

Capitalists@Work has a pretty depressing economic quiz. Bad to disastrous outlook for the next few years for the UK by the looks of these learned chaps. Some pretty downbeat predictions from their commentators.

Perhaps they just have to be more hopeful as Thunderdragon picks up on the Spanish National Lottery, El Gordo.

Hopefully you wont have to emulate the Cuban way of surviving hard times for over 40 years from Corporate Presenter.

And even Mutley has been fired just before Christmas. Mean Google. Naughty Google.

And in other political matters, Cornish Democrat points me in the direction of a new mainstream Celtic Australian Political Party for me to consider if I ever get around to becoming a citizen. Bring on the Revolution my Celtic Brothers (Not!). I don't remember the link between Aborigines and the fight for Scottish Independence (Mel Gibson?)

And what about those mean Green Scary Santa Clauses? You can blame Coke for the change to red and what happens in bed. Chervil doesn't like Green Scary Advent Calenders , Jams likes Scary Green Creatures to send Christmas Cheer and you can blame George for this Christmas Day Disaster.

You may be surprised that Ellee prefers dirty laundry to diamonds at Christmas, Wolfie just wants to chill out and Ruthie just wants a simple family life.

And the most miserable Christmas message? Thunderdragon covers the very caring and sharing broadminded views of the leader of the Catholic Church.

And finally let us hope Santa doesn't come to your house this year. Evil hath no parallel.

It has been an interesting year for Blogpower. I wish you all well as we move forward into 2009, the year I hit the big 50.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

2008-12-25T05:59:00.006Z

To everyone who is celebrating this feast, may we wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas.

Christmas Lunch at my House --- Nobody Important

2008-12-19T05:23:00.004Z

You would think that people who have lunch together every Thursday after walking would not do a special Christmas luncheon but it's a long time tradition and it has been at my house for the past three years. This year some people were away and some had more pressing commitments but last Thursday whoever could come gathered together to celebrate our friendship and the Christmas season.

Welcome to my house for the annual Thursday Walking Group Christmas Luncheon

Continued with photos of good food at Nobody Important

Is this an Idealogy Yet? ---- Never Trust a Hippy

2008-12-17T07:26:00.001Z

I've always thought that the sociology of politics - the associations and backgrounds of the people who are politically active and influential - is more relevant than a lot of political theorists are prepared to admit. And I wonder if an important development in the sociology of politics is being overlooked at the moment?

Writing on 'The Liberty of Thought and Discussion', John Stuart Mill made what is, I hope, a fairly uncontroversial claim by today's standards. Mill argued that the a vibrant free market of ideas, uninhibited by excessive censorship, was a public good by anyone's standards. That the more people wrote, thought, argued, debated, and so on, the better.

The collaborative authorship of the Internet has given a new impetus to this idea. Whatever people said about e-commerce removing a lot of the inflexibility that impeded the development of the free market in goods and services, it would be a great deal easier to argue that this is true in the market for ideas. So we have Open Source development and the Open Rights Movement. We have Wikinomics. We have The Wisdom of Crowds, The Long Tail and all sorts of other fashionable nonsense interesting new ideas.

Continued at Never Trust a Hippy

Fear and Loathing in Lyme Regis -- Mutleythedogsdayout

2008-12-12T06:24:00.000Z

A savage journey to the heart of the Dorset Dream!

We were somewhere around Redruth on the edge of the moors when the drugs began to take hold..it was mainly lucozade and white lightning - a brew known locally as Wizz... and a voice was screaming "Oh Crikey - what are those animals?" Giles was driving the Morris Minor - "What the hell are you murmuring about?" He replied snidely...

"We can't stop here." I found myself commenting, "This is bat country!"

And so it is. The pipistrelle, the long eared, and my fave!! The Mouth Organ playing Bat - a porcelain bat which lives on window cleaners step ladders and in top hats!

I was on my way to do some exciting xmas shopping and to do my bit to beat the 'recession' as we must now call it. Luckily I will be paid early this Xmas - allowing we 'wage slaves' to spend Januarys' money in December - this sure to halt the credit timebomb!

Continued at Mutley's site.

Another slice of Childhood Gone -- Looking for a Voice

2008-12-10T05:04:00.007Z

The death was announced this morning of Oliver Postgate, creator of Noggin the Nog, Bagpuss and the Clangers. Those of a certain age will remember these characters. This was an age when the Government was not teaching sex education at five, children walked to school largely without fear, climbed trees without the intervention of the Health and Safety Police, and were encouraged to dress like tarts and gangstas at eight.

The rate we are going on we are eventually going to need a State funeral for John Noakes.

More images at Guthrum's site.

Merkel shows the international leadership that Brown can only dream of

2008-12-05T04:33:00.000Z

Dear Angela Merkel,

Even though I am deeply suspicious of anyone who supports a Federalist European state, I take my hat off to you for the manner in which you have gone about resurrecting the struggling German economy. Recession has already tightened its grip on your nation and it may get worse still, yet you have remained strong throughout. As I'm sure you have noticed, Gordon Brown has been prancing around the globe pretending to be our saviour or Moses or whatever. Instead of chasing the limelight, you have simply stuck to your task and put together a fascinating set of proposals to get Germany back on its feet.

First and foremost, I applaud your decision not to get drawn into this farcical contest of government intervention. To the US and UK governments, it might seem ridiculous to inject just a few billion euros over the next two years into your economy while refusing to cut VAT. Although a further 500 billion euros has been put aside to guarantee bank savings, these funds will only be provided with tough restrictions. Compared to the $800 billion US bailout and the £500 billion UK bailout with accompanying VAT cut, your support package is relatively tiny. However, my respect for you rocketted when you said in your annual party conference speech yesterday that you are not prepared to take part in a "senseless" competition of spending billions of euros to boost your economy. Now that is what I call leadership. Only a few days ago, you let the Bush, Brown and Sarkozy bandwagon pass you by when you said that "excessively cheap money in the US was a driver of today's crisis [and] I am deeply concerned about whether we are now reinforcing this trend through measures being adopted in the US and elsewhere and whether we could find ourselves in five years facing the exact same crisis." Talk about brave! All of a sudden, I had a horrible thought. What if you're right? What if all these hundreds of billions spent around the globe sink the financial markets so low that we could be creating the next bubble as we speak?

Continued at Letters from A Tory

x

Cultural Genocide:- why the Arabic language is problematic in the Sudan

2008-12-03T14:17:00.007Z

Is colonialism really over? A question asked many times by the Southern Sudanese and other marginzalied ethnic groups. Officially, Sudan is no longer Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, but it is still a colony. A colony of the Arabized Northerners.

The colour of the colonial masters is different, but their actions are not.

Our new masters speak Arabic, practice Islam and read Naguib Mahfouz. They wear the toub and look down on "tribal" languages and custom.

My father learned the Arabic language at the age of 7. Before that, he lived with his grandmother in a village in Nubian-sudan and spoke Nubian.
Then came the move to Port Sudan. His father was working there at the time, so he left his village to join them. School was difficult, it was in another language. You couldn't speak a language other than the Arabic language there. If you break the rule, teachers beat you.
You are abused into learning a language.
He never taught me Nubian though. We always spoke Arabic at home.

Continued by Kizzie at I have no Tribe, I'm Sudanese

x

What to do when its raining

2008-11-30T13:08:00.006Z

Its absolute madness out there (in London- apologies to you if its lovely wherever you are)- so if like me, you don't fancy the wind and rain or just want a lazy Sunday afternoon- what better to do than to go round the Blogpower television network. First you turn on the television- and its on the cookery channel where the Fake Consultant is busy offering you recipes for cooking birds- particularly Turkey (incidentally happy thanksgiving to any of our American readers). Mutley is worried about the price of pickles, and our roving reporter Welshcakes has been spotting anti-pasta in Sicily. Oh and that cup of coffee- why not make it a bit different- fancy a central American cup. Cookery programs, pah I can hear you saying, I want the real meat out there with the documentaries.

Well switch the channel then- and have a look at Matt Wardman's analysis of the current efforts by the Church of Tom Cruise to send people to help with (capitalise on) the suffering of the victims of Mumbai. Fancy something more domestic- well Ruthie's got an agonising tale of the American welfare system. And Ellee's telling tales of the connection between the credit crunch and drugs and alcohol abuse. The Thunderdragon is focusing even closer to home: heard about the cold war between Eakring and the next village in Nottinghamshire- he has the details

Switch channels and its over to the breaking news: Ordovicius is giving up blogging. It gets worse- apparantly communism is coming back. I wouldn't be that happy with that myself, having just seen what the Baader Meinhof gang did in the fine film out about them. Lets get back to the serious stuff, away from frivolous movies- Bob doesn't reckon much to Cameron- he has just spotted a strategical mistake by the Tory leader. The current issues surrounding Damien Green receive some attention to, as a conservative wonders if the Police have breached Parliamentary Privilege, and a hippy argues that unrestrained leaking doesn't help government. Tom wants the Home Secretary to go, and stop with the excuses.

Intelligent discussion programs are also available: change the channel and you'll find a wonderful discussion of Martin Amis's House of Meetings. Jams though responds by thinking about how the Italian Job really ended. Whereas Kori thinks that a new mode of consciousness is emerging- represented both by Barack Obama and the new mayor of Vancouver. Kizzie explains that the Arabic language is a political subject in the Sudan- and has the details to back up her case. Overall though things must be put into a historical context, like that that Heather Yaxley puts the car industry's marketing into.

Oh its all far too depressing- all our stations are delivering is an unremitting gloom. At least whenever the TV is too depressing, we can turn it off and relax. Lets look at some pictures: Rodin or the Berlin Sony Centre: take your pick. Or why not put on a CD, Grendel has a suggestion for us. Its rousing stuff- and so this roundup has been- the weather in London may be bleak, but this week's stroll round the blogpower channels has been pretty inspiring. I don't agree with everything I read, but I did appreciate it all and there are posts I've missed- why don't you go and explore as well- forget the rain and the cold and get going round that sidebar- there is plenty to see and enjoy.

Could India Collapse - Pub Philosopher

2008-11-28T01:15:00.000Z

Photo from Pan African News Service

Yesterday, I had one of my regular meetings with my accountant. Originally from India, he is a very well read and well informed chap. We usually spend twenty minutes talking about business and the next forty discussing politics and world affairs.

After we had discussed the Chancellor's budget, about which he was unimpressed, we got onto the subject of the rise of India and how soon it will assume its place as an economic and military superpower. Far from being optimistic about the prospects for the country of his birth, he fears for its future stability and, in the worst case, its fragmentation into warring regions.

His rationale goes something like this.

Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are close to collapse. Climate change, leading to rising sea levels and the faster melting of snow in the Himalayas, leaves Bangladesh vulnerable to flooding. Millions of people could be displaced in a country which is already one of the most densely populated in the world. Where would they go? To India, of course. They speak the same language as their neighbours in West Bengal and there are already large Muslim populations in many Indian cities. The collapse of Bangladesh could see tens of millions of people migrating to India and there would be little the Indian government could do to stop it.

More at Pub Philosopher.

Empty Wessels --- Grendel

2008-11-26T01:47:00.002Z

Thank you all for your kind comments in reply to my previous post. Mutley wondered whether I had been anywhere and actually no. Life had just carried on as normal just minus a few hours hunched in front of a monitor hoping that the muse of the blog would touch me with a piece of inspiration.

I have spent quite a bit of my time off blogging doing quite a bit of reading. Just revisiting a few of my favourite books that I hadn't read in years.

One such was Shirer's 'Rise and fall of the Third Reich'. If you don't know the work (which I'm sure you probably will) the title pretty much gives away the content. As I ploughed through the bit about the 1920's I came across the reference to Horst Wessel the SA street thug who, although killed like so many others on the streets of Germany at the time became posthumously famous for his marching song "Die Fahne hoch" which is also known as the 'Horst Wessel Lied'. The song which became the second German national anthem between 1933 and1945.

It occurred to me that I had never knowingly heard the piece so with nothing other than minor curiosity searched on YouTube to see if it was posted on there.

Of course this was a bit of a mistake. Still being a touch naive about the interweb I had of course forgotten that YOUTube is not a repository of fascinating audio and visual information posted for general interest but is rather a showcase for the bizarre and a vehicle for the self aggrandising.

Continued at Grendel

King Colin Holds a Feast of Blogpower (Or a Round Up, if you like)

2008-11-22T20:12:00.004Z

T'was Pentecost and King Colin did call a feast at Camelot.
He did summon far and wide for the Knights of Blogpower.

T'was a fine and verdant day of May when the Knights arrived.
'Forsooth' said King Colin 'Tis seven summers since such a throng of worthy knights did to Camelot repair! Great deeds indeed shall be recited in these halls as the embers burn low!'

And the knights and their ladies did dine, on mostarda and Christmas cake!

Once the company was feasted, King Colin did decry 'Tell me, my good knights, what deeds hast thou done that have made the realm of Blogres sing with the valour of the sword, what deeds hast thou done that shall make men accord us mickle worship!'

First rose Sir Mutley of Bridport. 'My liege, I have found the Holy Aura! Ten leagues east of the Kingdom of the radioactive Howler Monkeys it lies, beyond the forest of Complex Office Relationships.'

And there was much rejoicing.

Then arose Sir Cafegrendel of Aus. 'The Golden Bean, my liege, is within my grasp!'

Then with bloodied torso, entered Sir Tiberius of Westminster. 'The Gauls are defeated, he cried!'

'Let us toast to that with a bottle of Valpolicella!' cried the Queen of Western Plain.

'Wouldst I could' said Sir Kori of Brus. I must depart before midnight to return to the dark side of recycling.

'And I' cried Sir Tome Paine 'I must cleanse the House of Commons of vermin!'

Then the doors of the hall flung open and there entered on foot, his cloak torn, his staff raised, t'was the wild man of the O'Donnell.

'Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! The realm of Blogres will not find peace till ye solve ye the riddle! One nut or two?'

King Colin turned to Merlin Wardman and asked what the wildman meant. Merlin replied 'The nut signifies the BNP. One or two signifies, do we have a right to know? Was the leak inspired by God or the evil one?'

'The evil one' cried the Knight of the Thundrous Dragon 'Tis of naught who is Knight of the Party of the Britishnational!'

'I stand by him' said the Knight of the Philosophical Pub.

Sir Bob Piper laughed and cried 'Let them be judged as they do judge'.

Sir Cynical of the Morning Star shook his head. 'Half right, half right, he said'.

Sir Guthrum the Wise arose amidst the voices 'I have seen the Devil's whore!'

Confusion broke loose in the halls as the knights reached for the swords, the unity of the table broken.

Sir Tony of Tuscany, that darkest of Sorcerors, took the chance to turn his lady into a car.

Whilst the Knight of the Investment bank and Sir Jeremy Jacobs decided to depart and find that evil cad, Sir Jonathan Ross, despoiler of the good name of many a damosel.

Indeed it seemed the peace of the Kingdom was doomed to fail until...

Who is this riding across the drawbridge in his green livery and his Saxon helm?

Which brave knight is this and what puissant deeds does he have to tell?

Tis Sir Grendel!

And the return of the much loved warrior brought peace to the hall.

'Sir Grendel! Where hast though been these seven months!' cried King Colin.

'My liege, I have been making my own Worm Farm'

And all did nod with wisdom.

King Colin turned to those assembled. 'Let us reflect, my friends of the great wisdom we have learned'.

And there was great rejoicing.

If Anything Matters, Everything Matters ---- In Search of High Places

2008-11-21T00:20:00.002Z

Meaning, meaning, meaning.

Have you ever driven into a parking lot and just cranked the wheel as far as it will go? Round and round you spin. You may have noticed at that point that even though you have the steering wheel pegged you never end up repeating the exact same circle twice? There's always a bit of drift—just enough to keep things interesting...

Okay, maybe not, but anyone who's been around here awhile knows where I'm going with this. Matt and I have been going round on the meaning of life since the very first (with the help of many others along the way). Indeed, we may well sound like broken records at times. Still there is this "drift," subtle shifts in the direction of the conversation and an unshakable feeling that there is more to be said—that it's still a conversation worth having. Or maybe that's just me? I don't know.

Starting back in July there was a rash of "meaning of life talk" that broke out. First here. Then here. From these two conversations two theories of meaning were purposed (well, more than that actually, but these were the only two that stayed in the discussion):

Continued at In Search of High Places

I love Penguins...... Hercules

2008-11-19T07:02:00.000Z

The three-week-old was given a toy penguin for company after having be separated from a brother .

Staff at Living Coasts zoo Torquay, Devon, are hand-feeding the penguin named Pingu.

Head keeper Tony Durkin said: "The chick wasn't getting enough food. The toy is its surrogate family."

Crossposted from Hercules

Can PR manage Trust? Heather Yaxley - Greenbanana views of public relations and more

2008-11-14T09:30:00.004Z

The BBC reports that energy prices "could fall soon" - I just received an unsolicited telephone call from British Gas offering to save me money. Was the call to tell me the company was reversing the horrendous 35% increase introduced this Summer? Of course not, the telesales chap simply wanted me to sign over my electricity supply too.

Boris Johnson reports a similar call - seems British Gas think the answer to customer satisfaction is to annoy us with the heavy sell. I told the caller that I was happy with my electricity supplier and that I didn't want to receive calls from British Gas selling me things (I am registered with the telephone preference service, but apparently that doesn't protect me against sales calls from companies I buy from!).

The guy then started into a sales pitch to counter my response - so I told him that at 4.30pm, I was working and didn't want to take his call. He seemed confused that someone could be working from home - does he think everyone who answers the phone during the day is unemployed or a housewife?

Last week, I received a package from British Gas containing some low energy light bulbs, with a patronising remark about energy efficiency. I didn't ask for these and don't need them as I already use such bulbs. Indeed, they cost pennies in the supermarkets and they generally last for years. How dare British Gas lecture me about saving the planet when it has used resources to send me something I don't need using marketing money from the extortionate bills it charges.

Do I sound like I like British Gas, let alone trust it?

If I visit the British Gas website, the green messages keep on coming - all one way regarding how it can help us to save energy, blah, blah, blah.

Continued by Heather at Heather Yaxley, Greenbanana view of Public relations

Making Sustainable living ..... Sustainable --- Green Living

2008-11-12T04:42:00.002Z

When a dear friend of mine (single male, no kids) asked me quite innocently some weeks ago whether I was "doing any work these days?" I felt like I had been slapped in the face. I had been running on empty for a while, often feeling dizzy when working in the garden, forgetting what I meant to get when I went into another room, and with a general feeling of being rather overwhelmed. You see, I am a "stay-at home mom", so therefore - in the eyes of society - I am not working.

I felt this myself, despite the fact that I have three young children, one still in (cloth-)nappies, I am homeschooling my six-year old, I am in the process of planting a permaculture garden on our 3 acres block and grow almost all the vegetables we eat, I bake all our own bread, I cook from scratch every day, and I have no grandparents or other relatives around who might be able to look after the kids for a couple of hours so that I can get a break.

I was an academic in my former (pre-children) life, and the endless amounts of washing and cleaning, of wiping bottoms and feeding my insatiable boys (who seem to get hungry again as soon as they finish one meal!) simply don't seem to have the same kind of "work appeal" as typing away at the computer or lecturing a group of students.

Of course you can now say - well, that's your choice, so just stop whingeing and get on with it, or get a proper job! Believe me, I tried. For a while (when I had only two kids) I was teaching part-time at the university. Financially, this made no sense whatsoever - I ended up being worse off by the time I had factored in the cost of child-care, petrol and parking.

Continued by Chervil at Green Living.

On The New President, Or, The World Doesn’t Change All In One Day

2008-11-11T09:38:00.001Z

Those who follow this space closely will know that we, from time to time, scout around and see what the other members of my blogging community are up to.

The "Blogpower" bloggers are primarily based in the UK, but others are located in the US, Canada, Australia, Italy…and even the Sudan.

We’ll see how they reacted to the US elections—and we’ll discover that while many are happy, it’s not all strawberries and cream out there.

We’ll meet the happy, we’ll meet the silly—and we’ll meet the not-so-very-happy as well.

So with that said, let’s head over to the UK, shall we?

"When as the rye reach to the chin,
And chopcherry, chopcherry, ripe within,
Strawberties swimming in the cream,
And schoolboys playing in the stream..."

--George Peele, “The Old Wives Tale”

Not quite 100 miles north of London, and roughly 100 miles west of Amsterdam lies a whole bunch of lovely farm country, which includes Norfolk, where the "Norfolk Blogger" is one of the happy. No longer will the USA seem as though we are “putting two fingers up to the world”, we are told (for the benefit of Americans, the “peace sign” is not always seen as peaceful…); and in fact, it’s “Now for America to become the "good guys" again”, as the blog’s title reminds us.

Our friend Ellee Seymour, besides being one of the happy, is also the one who is checking up on her fellow bloggers’ predictive skills, as she reviews who was more right about the outcome, and those who were, shall we say, not exactly right at all.

There is advice to be had, as well. Matt Wardman, over at the “Wardman Wire” cautions us that “landslide” talk is helping no one. (Be sure to follow the comment thread for a most informative list that shows the margins of victory for every Presidential election since 1900.)

Thunder Dragon notes the problem of Presidential lame dickitude and the apparent pointlessness of the G20 economic summit--unless Obama attends.

Some offered advice just before the election, as well. Our friend Hercules presented cautions that seem to have also been well represented in the official John McCain message…and Ruthie Zaftig suggested people like Hercules should basically get over it.

And on a completely different subject “The Tangled Rope” blog reminds us that the Fifth Annual Worldwide Admire Your Genitals Day was celebrated November 6th…

More analysis: “A Conservative’s Blog” is worried about possible protectionist tendencies from an Obama Administration, “The People’s Republic of Birmingham” hopes that expectations are not impossibly high, and Andrew Allison reminds us that voting against Obama is not a sign of racism…even as he expresses his appreciation that the US has elected a President “…who can string a few words together in grammatical English…”

Analysis of the day: the “Capitalists @ Work” blog compares the 2008 and the 1860 Presidential election maps, creating some serious electoral déjà vu…and suggesting the possibility of “Republican dreams gone with the wind”.

"It must be some measure of the catastrophic decline in Australian cricket that there are blokes in the squad these days who have not even published an autobiography, let alone a barbecue cookbook."

--John Huxley, “The Sydney Morning Herald”, Nov 10, 2008

Australia’s “Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe” offers Obama two llamas and three bananas, along with the observation that Obama wasn’t the only world leader who acceded to power this past week.

Vancouver, BC’s “The Conscious Earth” reminds us that political apathy is often related to the question of who’s running…

Returning to the UK…the Emperor Camillus, the conquest of the Etruscans, and the never-ending question of how a Senate deals with a fiscal windfall are questions addressed by the most excellent “Westminster Wisdom” blog.

Tuscan Tony, the master of mixing the moderately naughty with Conservative politics, brings us the truly important electoral results: Whirl of Change has defeated Straight Talk Crunch in the Baskin-Robbins “Flavor Debate ’08!”, marking the sixth and seventh times politically inspired flavors have been tried at the ol’ 31 Flavors.

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.

--Gautam Buddha

I am myself forever guilty of this habit…and it is fair to say that I would not be here today if it were not for my habit of doubt—and there are two members of my community who have substantial doubts about this new President.

From “The Two Wolves” come concerns that the US has become a nation that votes based on race…and from the “Pub Philosopher” we are asked, basically, just how happy should liberals really feel if Obama is elected and California passes Proposition 8 on the same day?

We’re almost at the end, and since we are talking about doubt I wanted to bring to your attention a blog from the Sudan that is not a part of our Blogpower community, “Soul Searching”; who sees the election’s demonizing of “Muslim” Obama as a setback for Arab-Americans.

The final blog: my own. I challenged myself to dress Sarah Palin in the finest of clothes, from Saks’ and Neiman’s no less; and to do it for a mere $43,000—2/3 off the Republican National Committee’s expenses.

The point: could you trust an Administration to spend $150 billion if they couldn’t handle $150,000? Two stories full of Oscar de la Renta and Miu Miu later, not only did we do it, we did it under budget.

So there you go…we learn a bit about what folks are thinking, we get a few cautions, and we are reminded that this is our chance to redeem ourselves…if we don’t screw it up.

Sandi Toksvig for Doctor Who! --- Finding Life Hard?

2008-11-07T01:10:00.003Z

Amidst all the media brouhaha about Brand and Ross last week I missed hearing the most important news of the week. It took Younger Son to tell me that David Tennant is retiring from his role as Doctor Who.

I had a quiet little weep.

But then, on the News Quiz on radio 4, I heard something that perked me up no end. The panellists had been discussing the fact that it was public pressure that made the BBC act in the lewd phone calls affair. And Sandi Toksvig said she was going to ask Radio 4 listeners to write in to demand 'Sandi Toksvig for Doctor Who!'

Now wouldn't she be perfect? She has just the right quirky eccentricity to carry it off and in the age of a black American president, maybe it's time for a female Doctor.

Write to the BBC if you agree!

Posted by Liz at Finding Life Hard?

From Food to Fuel --- Ellee Seymour

2008-11-05T07:10:00.002Z

Sainsbury's is to stop dumping thousands of tons of waste food at landfill sites and will instead use it to generate its own electricity by converting it into methane gas. This gas will be used to provide light and heat for its stores.

What concerns me about this is the quality of wasted food they are throwing out, that they are forced to dump good food because of sell-by dates.

Is any of this food offered to homeless organisations, or families and pensioners living in poverty? Could we not have social network groups which collects left over supermarket food at the end of the day, let them take anything for free if it still looks edible rather than dump it.

At present, Sainsbury's sends a whopping 60,000 tons of food waste to landfill every year from its 800 stores. It has been forced to consider alternatives because of soaring landfill tax costs; it presently stands at £30 a ton, but is set to rise to £38 next year and to £46 in 2010. It will cost them an extra £1 million in the next two years.

As well as recycling its waste food, Sainsbury's also plans to recycle all of its 20,000 tons of non-food waste, including metal, plastic and paper packaging. From next year, Sainsbury's intends to become the first leading British retailer not to send any waste to landfill sites.

Yes, I know Sainsbury's is being very proactive and responsible. But please don't throw out good food. I notice how the reduced food shelf always has a flock of people pushing each other out the way to grab a bargain. I hate to think of good food ending up at landfill or in an anaerobic digester plant.

Posted at Elle Seymour

King Arthur and the Mutability of the Past -- Crushed by Ingsoc

2008-10-31T01:45:00.001Z

The past is a funny kingdom. People look at history as if it's an exact science. Of course, it isn't.
The past really is mutable, or has been up till now. Archaeology blends into history which blends into historical myth.

Even in the twentieth century, historical myths have been peddled. History has often been used to justify political concepts, indeed it is STILL used to justify political concepts. And it's not just in the case of Israel, which I think we've covered to death here, but even in concepts such as Welsh Nationalism. Political movements often use history to justify claims which are, in fact, fallacious.

A classic twentieth century case of historical myth concerns the ruined city of Great Zimbabwe in the country that now carries it's name. Under white rule, it was seriously maintained that the city actually was the Ophir of the bible, the legendary mines of King Solomon. It was taken as read that native Africans just couldn't have built it. And the white settlers used this concept to justify their claims that Rhodesia had belonged to a 'superior' people before the 'savages' had come in.

Historical myth as a political tool is as old as history itself. After all, the history of Herodotus starts with an allusion to the Trojan war as the first battle between Greece and Asia. We call Herodotus the father of History, but in truth, much of what he writes of events much over a century before his time, is wildly inaccurate, a mish mash of oral legends. His account of the Kings of Egypt, for example, has no real historical value whatsoever.

Continued here at Crushed by Ingsoc.

French appeal to the ref over Agincourt -- Critical Faculty Dojo

2008-10-29T05:34:00.001Z

I find revisionist so-called 'historians' truly incredible.

Now it seems they have set their sites on Agincourt of all things.
The fact is the French were thrashed by a numerically inferior force, thanks to a large extent to the longbow and the trained English archers who used it to such effect.

Apparently French revisionists are trying to excuse the defeat by claiming the poor French were the outnumbered underdogs and the English 'war criminals', though there is nothing to suggest the English violated the rules of war that existed at the time. Talk about sore loosers…

The documentary evidence in favour of the accepted versions is pretty solid. Maybe they should concentrate on finding the historical equivalent of the urban myth.

Posted by Phil A. at Critical Faculty Dojo.

Blogpower Roundup: Best Wishes Edition

2008-10-27T18:16:00.007Z

Time for another roundup of the best of the Blogpower blogs over the past week...

Here in the UK, much of the media's attention has once again focused on links between oligarchs and politicians. Ordovicius looks at the reaction on the Tory side, and Labour councillor Bob Piper takes a more generally cynical overview. Tuscan Tony makes short work of Peter Mandelson.

Mike Ion takes a look at the problems facing David Cameron; Never Trust A Hippy the troubled Tribune newspaper. On a tangentially related note, Norfolk Blogger argues for driving tests for over-75s.

Government waste and stupidity are two perennial blog topics. Andrew Allison has an example of the former; Ellee Seymour news a possible mitigation of one of the most notorious examples of the latter - the EU's disastrous fishing policy. There's details of a new liberties campaign at Looking For A Voice; this is placed in a wider context by The Last Ditch.

This week's star Letter From A Tory is addressed to US Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, while The Fake Consultant discusses Barack Obama's running mate.

Bearwatch has, as you might expect, been posting some very interesting material during this bear market, such as this post. Critical Faculty Dojo looks at the bailout from a taxpayers' point of view. Pub Philosopher opines on the regulation of corporations. Brummie Republic and No Clue offer different perspectives on poverty.

Some more philosophical blogging over at Calum Carr, who discusses the morality of suicide; and An Insomniac, who considers the argument that environmentalism is a form of religion. Crushed By Ingsoc offers his own unique perspective on sex education.

Here's Nobody Important, making me relieved that I never got into the virtual world of 'Second Life'. Corporate Presenter has some tips on interviewing celebrities; Sempiternal Horizons on writing short stories.

On that specific form of writing we are so familiar with: Miss Wagstaff Presents the 7 Deadly Sins Of Blogging. The Thunder Dragon asks: Is blogging dead? Bearwatch has a particularly funny American version of a joke that has done the rounds of the blogs a few times.

Around the world with Blogpower! From Las Vegas (Deeply Blasphemous), via Banff, Canada (Finding Life Hard?), over to Niger in Africa (The Poor Mouth), all the way to Australia - where the sensible ones can take in a cup of coffee (Cafe Grendel) while the not-so-sensible can have a go on the high wire (Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe).

This week's post illustration was provided by Sally In Norfolk. On behalf of the Blogpower community, the flowers come with best wishes to Welshcakes of Sicily Scene, who had to go to hospital last week.

Blogpower- Encapsulating The Power of The Blog

2008-10-12T02:08:00.002Z

Who are Blogpower, they say? What is Blogpower they ask?
The answer’s in the question, honeybunny, the answer’s in the question.

Maybe none of us are ever going to change the world. But as bloggers, we all believe that our thoughts are worth sharing. And we believe in the power of people communicating. So is Blogpower people power?

Is this indeed, a vision of great significance?
Yes, I think so.

Blogpower has no political axe to grind. If you have not yet met our current guiding lights, come do so. We have Colin Campbell, who shows here just why the sprit of Python with the anarchic wit of Spike Milligan will never die. And we have jmb, our stolid, sensible grandmother. One of the benefits of BP, is many of us have equally talented co-authors too and jmb has one of the best, the sassy, quick witted Moggs, shown here at her best and most thought provoking.

We have our political bloggers. But do not think this is an organisation of one particular shade. Bob Piper is by far the most objective of the Labour Bloggers out there I feel. Read this honest post and you get a feel for the quality of debate available in BP blogs. Political bloggers who can assess the faults of their own side, yes, BP gives that. And not just on the red side. I like Norfolk blogger mainly because of his own readiness to analyse the failures of the Lib Dem advance. But I also like his cutting ability to make my smile at the oddities of positions based solely on political allegiances and ideology devoid of reality. And the Tories have a powerful voice in Letters From a Tory. How we are we to see him? Is the proverbial Surrey Colonel writing his ‘annoyed of Godalming' letters? I suspect not. Does it matter? Because he does it in a way that hits the nail, as he does here in a very incisive piece about Cameron. And as for other less trodden parts of the spectrum? Miss Wagstaff is one of the best, A Michael Dobbs for the Welsh assembly, and I think we all need to congratulate her here on a job well done.

Come meet Paulie, of Never Trust a Hippy. Don’t tell me Hippies don’t think, not if you’ve read this thoughtful piece on bank nationalisation. And meet Thunderdragon. Short, to the point, gets his point across. Can’t argue with that.

Tin Drummer is a good writer, because he thinks. Often after Stella, as he himself admits. But I’ll say this. Though I myself use a lot of Orwell Imagery, there are passages in 1984 had me ponder. And what the Drummer writes here, I had to agree with. Bang on, TD, bang on.

Another interesting blogger is Jams over at the Poor Mouth. Interesting, because I think he just blogs what interests him. And why not? I liked this little offering.

If you’ve missed out on Gracchi’s excellent, and I mean excellent set of posts on Livy, a series of posts that belongs in an Oxbridge thesis, don’t allow this to happen. Here’s the latest.

From Tuscan Tony and his lingerie to Mutley and his campaigns, life in BP is never dull.
You get Finance News from Capitalist@work, you get a unique take on Sport from a Brummie Republic.

Why do you need to buy a paper?

And of course we have Tom Paine. Is he the real Tom Paine? I don’t know. I’ve read the Rights of Man, and I read Tom’s posts and sometimes I’m not sure...

And we have our own little furry heroine, to be found here- no, no, no, I don’t mean Welshcakes, a heroine of cuisine though she is. But we all go to be taunted at what we’re not getting to eat and to hear once again, about the indomitable little dog that is Simi.
And it’s always good to have experts. I’d love a cup of coffee from this guy. I think he’d know how to make one, and I love my coffee. And when politics is personal, the personal is political, as this post shows.

Have you met No Clue? Here she is on the Barnstaple Clock Tower. In BP it really is true, you can learn something new every day.

From the new, to the returned- Beaman’s back!
And Ruthie's still here, she assures us.
And our Featured BP blogger is reading a book when she can get round to it.
And lastly, never forget that Age really is all in the mind, that nature will always be beautiful, that consultants not in the BP family, are often a let down, but you could do a lot worse than get advice from a fake consultant.

Blogpower.

I do not agree with everything you say, my friend, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.

Roundup

2008-10-05T01:48:00.003Z

What is Blogpower? When it was started I remember that it was about the smaller blogger and attempting to get him or her a bit of the limelight and to be supportive of each other. Going round Blogpower this evening I learnt a hell of a lot- and perhaps the most important lesson I learnt was how good the blogs in Blogpower are. This roundup was pretty easy- and if I missed you off it was because I didn't have to look hard for posts at all and so being a lazy blogger, didn't. Anyway to business.

When thinking about the high profile bloggers- lots of them from Iain Dale to Andrew Sullivan have become minor celebrities- as David Hadley writes this concept of the celebrity is something that we all should be thinking about, it dominates our landscape (and renders me suspicious that larger bloggers can ever provide the change in perspective that the Tin Drummer wants to see). The thing you miss with celebrity bloggers though is that they only take on celebrated issues- smaller bloggers are often more interesting- just take a look for example at the Fake Consultant's post on Egyptian elections- its an issue which will never make the tabloids but which we need to understand. On a similar theme, the Cornish Democrat posts a fascinating essay from Tom Nairn on the concept of nationalism- this is exactly the kind of thing that small blogs do well, disseminate academic work which often gets lost. If you stray from the mainstream (like Messrs Dale, Fawkes, Conspirators, Kos and Sullivan to mention a few), you also think about new and interesting issues- like why for example there are so few famous female artists, whether a sexual orientation really can have a duty to vote one way or another, why national symbols can be counter-productive (this is a long and exceptionally interesting article), whether assisted suicide should be made legal, whether cricket can conquer America- small bloggers do this whilst also providing concise and thoughtful reformations of current issues (like this summary of the arguments against the bailout and David Keen's guide to the British conferences is essential reading for those who weren't there). Coming out of the party conferences- Louis shows the Tories the way forward, Bob marvels at Gordon's gamble of a reshuffle, Mike questions Cameron's links to the hedge funds and Andrew praises the Libdems.

Away from such stuff- politics is not life and bloggers do not just blog about politics. Tom puts politics in perspective this week. My own recent post on Cincinnatus attempts to go back into Roman history and reinterpret this figure's place within that history. Others are also in the business of reading stuff, so you don't have to- Heather has been reading Esure press releases about cars and comes to some interesting conclusions. I like Crushed's unconstrained enthusiasm for the film, the Libertine, he also compliments one of my favourite actresses Samantha Morton which is a mark of good taste, and prompts me to want to see the film. If Crushed is ecstatic, perhaps he needs to listen to this piece of music whose sad movement is the perfect audio post. JMB doesn't need sad music, she has computer shops to contend with. But at least she doesn't live in Rabat, where sexism in Ramadan seems to thrive nor face the gloom of British adverts- bah humbug. Morning star just keeps the gloom going by discussing pain during diabetic eye tests. But even in dark times, we need humour- I loved this post of bad spellings and misplaced sentences. Jams helps by bringing us news of British triumphs at the IG Nobels. Just to surprise everyone Welshcakes has yet again posted some pictures of a pure cullinary delight (he says feeling his stomach rumbling). On a serious note, Liz posts about support in the blogosphere and how important it can be: Callum suggests the very act of blogging can be helpful in bad times. We should never lose sight of the fact that its humans writing blogs- and humans get ill, have bad times and good times: one who hasn't been having it so well recently is Mutley who's been to hospital- here's to him getting well again.

This may seem all a bit ideological but I think there is a point here- whether you agree or disagree with the posts above (and I agree with some and disagree with others) you can find a lot there to make you think. As the Pub Philosopher notes, we face at the moment a gap in information about things that are important to our live- he is talking about politics but could be talking about any number of things- I beleive that good blogs can help shrink that gap. I'm sure I've missed good posts- but this is what I saw this week and this reassures me that there is a hell of a lot of good thinking and writing going on- and that's without even including some of my favourite blogpower blogs that didn't post over the last couple of days.

And with that pious paean to the small blogger, that's all folks till next week's roundup!

At Last!

2008-10-01T09:06:00.002Z

Last week I promised to take a turn at a Blogpower roundup, and naturally enough my network packed up. However, it may be late but it is done (and my network is still non-functional for the desktop although the notebook is linked in quite nicely.

The bloggers below are an interesting crew and while I don't agree with all their views, I do love reading them!

The Two Wolves are howling at Recession, the 5^th horse of the apocalypse. Tuscan Tony is also looking at things in the toilet, but this time focusing on a search engine for the location of the nearest necessity.

Tom Paine's been ignoring the prophets of doom and gloom and been driving his Maserati across Europe – all right for some! A Tory has been speeding lines in the other direction and posted an open letter to John McCain suggesting he needs a new strategy. Heather Yaxley does some strategic analysis of her own of a campaign that is likely to annoy the very group it is targeting. Jams over at The Poor Mouth has managed to find something awful of his own – some 1874 poetry by Theophile Marzials.

Welshcakes is also getting into language this week and coming to grips with the challenges of pronunciation while Pauli at Never Trust a Hippy is asking if bloggers are putting journalists under pressure to publish leaks by being an alternate and immediate source of leaks themselves.

Meanwhile I have just discovered that Sally in Norfolk has in fact sallied out from Norfolk this week. Crushed by Ingsoc examines the ecstasy of orgasmic raptures, or is that the rapturous ecstasy of orgasm. I'm still not sure!

Ellee Seymour ask whether or not “The Secret” is mumbo jumbo while ThunderDragon reckons describing Tony Blair as 'Churchillian' is definitely stretching the bounds of belief.

Adelaide Green Porridge marks the passing of JB Jeyeratnum, one of the few who consistently stood up to the ruling PAP in Singapore. DeeJay at Age is All in the Mind has linked to a beautiful piece of music – Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings and An Insomniac wonders whether Apple are stringing us all along and wants to know whether or not the iPod touch is any good.

Blogpower Roundup --- An Eclectic Mix

2008-09-21T07:31:00.002Z

Yes, the image is from one of the posts below

most of which did not have an image to use

After the very comprehensive roundups of recent weeks, this time you will find a more relaxed compilation of the random picks of the my butterfly mind, as I cruised through the Blogpower folder on my Bloglines feed during this past week. So in no particular order, with no rhyme nor reason whatsoever, may I present this and that from some of our members.

Deejay of Age is all in the Mind is gearing up for a Charity Run of 10km in October. Well it is actually a serious athletic club run but he's decided to raise some money for the British Heart Foundation in the process. You can donate via a widget in his sidebar if so inclined.

Ellee Seymour, as her elder son stands at the beginning of his university studies in Economics, wonders How useful is a degree today? Well there is no doubt in my mind that it is much more than useful. It's not too late to add your thoughts to the comment section.

Matt the Insomniac asks How influential is the TV we watch? in his post highlighting a Belgian study on the influence of medical shows on teenage viewers. Turning them into hypochondriacs? But he is not so sure the results are all due to television.

Calum Carr, in Stefan's story, looks back on an incident in his life which obviously still haunts him to some degree. Could he have done more to help Stefan? Should he have? At the time it also inspired him to write some poetry which he included with the story.

Odiyya (or Kori Brus) of the Conscious Earth, now back in Vancouver after extensive travels shares a slideshow of places he's been, things he's seen, in 8 months of photo highlights. Enjoy the show.

Did you know that Liz has gone to Canada for her vacation? She did mention it I think before she left, once or twice. Reporting in This is really me she tells us what she has been up to so far along with her plans for the near future. In case you missed it, Liz and I met for lunch in Vancouver earlier in the week, along with Leslie, another local blogger.

After a long two years or more of run-up the Presidential election in the USA is finally getting close and blogging on the topic has heated up, especially with the controversial choice of Sarah Palin for Republican Vice Presidential nominee. In fact the topic has drawn out Hell's Handmaiden from his hiatus as he writes on the topic in a flurry of posts. One which quite shocked me was his highlighting of some spurious election practices planned by certain Republicans in Let's steal an election.

A. Tory does not mince words on the topic of McCain's choice of running mate in Sarah Palin is a joke, why can't everyone see it? You'll get no disagreement from me there Mr Tory although some of your commenters took you to task and there was quite the debate in the comment section.

Even Crushed took up the US election topic as he supports Obama and explains why he thinks it's America's chance to usher in something new .

None of us can ignore the crises which shook the very core of the financial world this past week, causing a stock market meltdown followed by a surging rebound as the USA cobbled together a dubious rescue of AIG, the world's biggest insurance company. Cityunslicker followed the week's happenings. Among his posts, Learnings from a day of chaos in which he worries about the effects on UK banks, prior to the news of AIG's rescue.

While Sacherson in his turn worries about the ramifications of the AIG solution in Not the end, as long as you and I breathe, highlighting his frequent source Karl Denninger's announcement of the potential end of America's government. Take a look at Karl's rather interesting video.

The Pub Philosopher ponders about Morgan Stanley approaching the Chinese government for a bail-out in Banks ask for state aid - any state will do. Now doesn't that boggle the mind?

In On Dodgy Minicabs MJW, observing from the Hillside, tells a personalized story of a young foreign student having been ripped off by a Croydon minicab driver who absconded with his change of 45 pounds. What kind of first impression of the UK does that give to this young man?

Instead of his usual style of humourous posts Mutley has been in a more serious frame of mind lately. No more so than in When you know it is time for a divorce... Sadly for Mutley he knows whereof he speaks so I think you can trust him on this one. Of course it is from the man's point of view.

Devonshire Dumpling of No Clue has a stream of consciousness post in Bloody Sheep as during a bout of insomnia she finds that counting sheep is not the answer.

I really admire and secretly envy people who are have a way with words. So I am enjoying the blog of BP's newest member, David Hadley at a Tangled Rope, with his fragments of prose and poetry. A snippet which I found quite meaningful was Secret Places, some thoughts that will resonate with many of us.

On occasion Jams of the Poor Mouth highlights the work of an Iranean woman poet, Forough Farrokhzad, who sadly died forty years ago aged 32 and this week he posted another called To my sister. Just a taste but please read the whole of this very powerful poem.

Seek your rights, Sister,
from those who keep you weak,
from those whose myriad tricks and schemes
keep you seated in a corner of the house.

I would like to conclude with this post from Crushed, History -It's You, one of his best posts in my opinion. In it he talks about the generation gap, comparing his own history with that of his Irish grandmother and contrasting his own experiences with an unnamed twenty three year old. As progress advances ever more rapidly the generation gap becomes apparent with a much smaller difference in age.

Yes, well it was only going to be a short roundup, but like Topsy it just grew and grew.

Crossposted at Defending the Blog and at Nobody Important.

Blogpower roundup - interesting first impressions

2008-09-14T12:28:00.007Z

Running around Blogpower for a roundup, I've taken just seconds to gain an impression of what's interesting at various sites this week. They say first impressions count, but it's always worth taking more time to get a better understanding of any person or place, so please explore these posts at your leisure.

It is hard to think of New York without immediately recalling the sights of 11th September 2001 and Devonshire Dumpling at NoClue marked the 7th anniversary by remembering the survivors and those who lost their lives - although she notes most people just treat the day as normal. Which is perhaps the best response to such terrorist attacks.

Theo Spark who might normally be judged for his eye for the female form, marked Thursday by one simple post.

Leaving Mutley to promote the male perspective on life – now what impression do these rules give? Well if women are from Venus, then Crushed by Ingsoc gives an impression of life on Mars in 3 parts.

Some female impressions of life this week include Gracchi's long look at Gone with the Wind summing up its appeal with the observation that a struggle impresses, Ruthie at Zaftig struggles with her impressions of an expected visitor and Braveheart gives a fascinating insight into a visit to the hammam.

Sally in Norfolk is sooo excited about picking up her new car two weeks earlier than initially promised by the dealer – let’s hope her first impressions last (and that she finds reasonably priced car insurance for her son).

Thunderdragon rages about the way in which some people increasingly jump to label others as paedophiles - in this case, on the basis of unsubstantiated, anonymous claims, which the "accused" must then seek to disprove. Matt Wardmann Wire terms the trend to accumulating such "evidence" as data rape.

Never trust a hippy is annoyed by lovey actresses who stereotype working class women on screen. Letter from a Tory berates Harriet Harman for a speech making stereotypical statements about background whilst ironically stereotyping the minister by noting she is the niece of the Countess of Longford and attended one of the country's most prestigious private schools.

Also on the topic of judging politicians Ordovicius comments on the pig and lipstick simile. The Tin Drummer has an interesting reflection on how politicians seek to convey impressions of themselves and their rivals, how this relates to blogging and mainstream media and the impact of all this on Gordon Brown. Mind you, Bel returns from a blogging break to find her impressions of UK politics haven’t changed much.

Norfolk blogger provides some free PR advice to Nick Clegg in respect of impressions the Lib Dem leader has given of schools in Sheffield. Bill Quango MP cleverly twisted the scientific news of the week at Cern into a dig on the scientific exploits of "Professor Brown". (Update: As a dodo has a great take on the end of the world)

Bearwatch offers instant advice on making investments - the way to make a fortune this week is to buy gold. We may need this expertise since Looking for a Voice tracks back how the taxpayer will pick up the tab in the XL travel firm’s collapse (as we will for the government's energy package too - as I noted).

Andrew Allison sticks up for junior doctors with a post that seems to prove bullying hospital consultants are more than just a stereotype. Ian at Question That reveals how breaking the law may depend on who you are, as climate protestors caught red-handed in the act of vandalism walked free from court.

Stereotypes of the paralympics might lie behind the media's shocking lack of coverage of the participants' success, so Question That offers much needed praise at a time when there's ongoing hype for the able-bodied Team GB athletes who are busy increasing their earning power as minor celebrities all over the mainstream media.

Media stereotyping of missing adults and children led to Ellee Seymour starting her marvellous focus on the topic last year and she continues this by highlighting reports of the hopeful finding of a young girl who disappeared in Italy four years ago.

Nobody important takes impressions of the term “grass widow” and explains its real and many meanings. Linguistic musings are offered by Welshcakes regarding impressions of evolving language, particularly when that involves English words encroaching into Italian.

Finally Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe and Liz at Finding life hard? marked their 2,000 blog posts this week - many congratulations to them both. And if you want to know what impressions your blog is creating, Café Grendel ponders the blog template, leaving Sally in Norfolk to reveal all with a wordle.

Round-up by Heather Yaxley of Greenbanana.

Blogpower Roundup: It's Raining, It's Pouring Edition

2008-09-07T14:01:00.001Z

As the saying goes, if it weren't for the weather the British would be left with nothing to talk about. This is seldom more apparent than when the skies are grey and going outside leaves you soaking wet. Guthrum raises the subject of flood defences, while more prosaically Liz regrets going out without a coat.

Fortunately the saying isn't entirely true, or this would be a short roundup indeed. There is political polemic from a British libertarian perspective this week from The Last Ditch: Stop trying to make an omelette with a JCB! Until we stop imploring the state to 'do something', QUANGOs will never be uprooted (Pub Philosopher). Also on a related note, here is The Tin Drummer on why people with nothing to hide can still have everything to fear.

British party politics: Parliament may be on holiday, but the partisan bloggers are not. Norfolk Blogger finds some common ground between the Liberal Democrats and the SNP. Mike Ion imagines giving this speech to the upcoming Labour conference. Andrew Allison makes a Tory pitch for UKIP supporters. Cornish Democrat takes a Toynbee-esque line on 'fuel poverty' with the help of a press release from the Celtic League. Mutley follows a similar line in a post simply entitled 'Poverty'. Bob Piper slams Charles Clarke, while Bel slams just about every other Labour MP. Letters From A Tory has the funniest political poster I've seen all year.

An Insomniac makes an argument for religious education in schools; Matt Wardman in defence of Carol Ann Duffy. Lady MacLeod discusses the arrival of Ramadan, as did Gordon Brown - Guthrum wasn't impressed! Heather Yaxley comments on a PR stunt that courted controversy and gained maximum publicity for Electronic Arts in London.

Blogging about the 'blogosphere' is something of an indulgence, but sometimes the temptation is irresistible. Iain Dale's lists always generate this type of post, exemplified by Miss Wagstaff's series covering every Welsh blog to have made the charts. Blogger feuds, too. Ian_QT called out serial feuder Tim Ireland this week, while Calum Carr hit out at Donal Blaney. Devonshire Dumpling has information for all of the bloggers using Sitemeter to track their stats. CityUnslicker discusses the entry into the browser market of Google's 'Chrome'; Grendel suggests that it might help you make better coffee (in a metaphorical kind of way)

One topic that will continue to dominate the political blogging world for another couple of months is the US Presidential Race. Although we Brits cannot influence it (not that this hasn't stopped some trying), The outcome undoubtedly have a great influence on the whole world. The Blogpower members are split fairly evenly between supporters of McCain (e.g. Theo Spark, who reproduces some Republican cartoons here) and Obama (e.g. Ordovicius). This week has seen the arrival on the scene of Sarah Palin, McCain's surprise VP pick. Hercules, Paulie and Colin Campbell give 3 very different perspectives on how she could shift the conversation surrounding the race. Sackerson comments on the responses of female commentators to Sarah Palin's arrival. Finally, US Democrat supporter Fake Consultant introduces the Sarah Palin drinking game.

The Paralympics started yesterday: the Thunder Dragon anticipates some tremendous sporting achievements and another great performance from Team GB. Newcastle United fans, on the other hand, anticipate a long, fraught season ahead after the departure of Kevin Keegan - Benedict comments on the reporting which may have contributed to the farcical events of last week at St James's Park. Welshcakes Limoncello describes her experience with an activity of a rather less prestigious kind: DIY. Chervil has a handy tip for urban gardeners, and MuseInMeltdown talks socks.

The picture at the head of this week's Roundup is one that will have all the Brits green with envy. It was provided by JMB's blog 'Nobody Important' - She was out walking in West Vancouver this week.

Blogpower's newest member David Hadley has an amusing satirical post on postmodernism. Crushed ponders the meaning of 'single'; Alex ponders the meaning of life, with the help of some TLAs (three-letter acronyms).

Finally, my choice for post of the week this time around is from the very last blog on the blogroll- that of Gracchii (at Westminster Wisdom) - who discusses a fascinating insight into the mind of a tyrant.

New Member ---- A Tangled Rope

2008-09-06T19:01:00.001Z

It gives me great pleasure to welcome David Hadley, of A Tangled Rope as our newest member of Blogpower. I know he has some links already to members of this group but if you are not familiar with his site please go over and explore and introduce yourself in the comment section.

His site has now been added to the blogroll and I am sure he will be displaying it along with the BP banner very shortly, as a fully fledged member. Could anyone displaying the html BP blogroll please make this addition to it?

Blogpower Members and Iain Dale's Lists

2008-09-04T12:24:00.001Z

I might live in the boondocks but even I know who Iain Dale is and how "important/influential" he is with his lists of top blogs and how secretly everyone is tickled pink to be on them. These lists have been coming down lately and I found that some of our Blogpower members have featured very prominently in some of these lists. I'm sure the rest of you will join me in congratulating the following members:

Top 100 Right of Centre Blogs

21. Letters from a Tory
26. Capitalists@Work
41. Ellee Seymour

43. Matt Wardman

47. The Last Ditch
65. Newmania
71. Question That
72. Andrew Allison

Top 100 Left of Centre Blogs

19. Ordovicius
25. Bob Piper
31. Never Trust a Hippie

The Total Politics Top 100 UK Political Blogs

36. Letters from a Tory
37. Norfolk Blogger
52. Capitalists@Work
61. Ordovicius
72. Miss Wagstaff Presents
78. Bob Piper
87. Ellee Seymour
92. Matt Wardman
97. Never Trust a Hippie
100. Last Ditch

I just want to say that reading the lists made me rather crosseyed so please let me know of any errors or omissions. I know I should link your names to your blogs but frankly I am going to let everyone just use the BP blogroll in the sidebar.

Application for Membership --- A Tangled Rope

2008-09-04T00:52:00.003Z

We have a new application for membership from a blogger who is a little different from our usual applicant, namely David Hadley, who blogs at A Tangled Rope. Writer and poet, published in fact, he certainly could lift the tone of the group with his literary fragments, poetry and book reviews. I rather liked this cheeky quote by Kingsley Amis in his header: "If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing." Of course, he doesn't mean us, does he?

Please take a look at A Tangled Rope and make your feelings known in the comment section here. Any objection will move the discussion and voting to the mailing list, with comments subsequently being closed here.

Blogpower Roundup: Back to School Edition

2008-09-01T15:38:00.021Z

Can you believe it? Another six week summer holiday has come to an end and teachers, students and associated hangers-on find themselves back in the business of nurturing young minds/ having their young minds nurtured or taking advantage of increasing governmental bureaucracy in our education system. With this in mind, I thought I would play the teacher for once and have a back to school themed roundup. Now I appreciate some of you will not have been near a school for sometime, so here is a picture of what children look like just to remind you, courtesy of Lady Macleod.

…

I face a class full of beaming faces, eager to start a new year at the Blogpower School for the Gifted and Talented, based this week in Birmingham. As the name suggests, the school has a lot of very talented bloggers who do not always get the exposure they deserve. Part of this is because they are lazy.

“So I hope you have all remembered to do the homework I set you at the end of last term” I ask expectantly, waiting for some interesting responses.

Some blank faces stare back at me.

“You know, the one where you nominate posts you have read from blogs in Blogpower?”

More blank expressions meet my gaze.

“You know, Blogpower, a community of bloggers that supports each other by reading and commenting on each others blogs”

Again silence. I get that sinking feeling again.

“Surely you are not expecting me to do all the work of researching and reading these blogs for you all on my own?”

What a stupid question.

“Very well”, I say resigned to losing the rest of my weekend and maybe more, “I will research and write a roundup for you of the best posts in Blogpower this week, but the very least you can do is spend some time reading it. There really are some very good posts.”

Sometimes I wonder why I bother.

….

We start the day with an extended form period discussing what we all did over the summer. Guthrum has just got back from holiday and spends his time moaning about what has happened when he was away. Not a great start to the day but at least he is here. Both Tuscan Tony and A Tory have taken their breaks during term time. No doubt I will get the blame if they fail their exams.

Chervil shows me some wonderful photos from her Dad’s garden, while JMB recounts a dinner she had with her wonderful twin. Ellee Seymour tries to convince me she received a cheque from a politician for a good cause, something I find hard to believe until I am assured the politician did not stump up the money. Two Wolves finds it hard to pay attention and starts reading some cartoons. Detention! You can do that in your own time!

Not everyone has had a good holiday however. The Morningstar tells us he has been diagnosed with having diabetes and is very critical of the (lack of) help and advice he is being given over it. This starts Calum Carr of on a rather justified rant of how badly one of his family members had been treated. One of Matt Wardman alter-egos interrupts and lets us know what the actual problems with the NHS are and how we could solve them. He speaks a lot of sense that boy, it is a pity such people never actually get to be health secretary.

We then start a discussion about the Olympics that continues until break. Miss Wagstaff may be Welsh, but she has no problem congratulating Team GB. Tin Drummer uses the opportunity to have a go at Alex Salmond. No Clue cringes at Boris and Britain’s part in the closing ceremony, which start me off on a characteristic moan about the prospect of having the Olympics in London. Calum Carr is particularly worried about the prospect of a GB United team, and its impact on Scotland’s sovereignty in the beautiful game. I tell him not to worry; it’s not as if the Scots are ever going to win anything, is it?

History brings break to a close, and the brilliant Gracchi enthuses us with his thoughts on the English enlightenment. Not everyone is so gifted in this subject however, and Colin Campbell has trouble remembering events in his lifetime. Bob Piper picks up on the theme of the Whigs mentioned by Gracchi and brings us to modern day politics. Suddenly, everyone is a lot more interested.

The Thunderdragon is unhappy with the modern electoral system and suggests some sensible amendments. The move onto politics has clearly upset me, but two students cheer me up by arguing some excellent ideas that are close to my heart. Firstly Ordovicus explains why socialism and decentralisation are not mutually exclusive. The Cornubrian follows this with some thoughts about why Welsh, Scottish, Cornish (and Brummie) nationalists should be republicans. The Thunderdragon, bemused by all this talk of nationalism, blames the idiots who want to define Britishness for helping to get us into this mess. Kizzie is more concerned about the similarities between her native Sudan and Pakistan. Such a clever girl, she has been interviewed twice by the media this week, once by the Arab Press Network and once by the BBC.

This does not move the argument away from politics however and Mike Ion starts to give Gordon Brown some advice on how he can fight back in the autumn. Oh, dear. The unholy trinity start a three-pronged attack on the government. Pub Philosopher believes Darling has lost it. Nick Drew of the Capitalists at Work collective wonders whether Labour is in the pockets of the insurance industry. MJW is more bothered about the state of the roads, and economic incentives to minimise disruption.

Class clown Bob Piper decides this is the point to resurrect a new version of an old joke that has been doing the rounds for quite a few years. The only type of economics Mutley is interested in is Home Economics, but we should remember that is astonishingly advanced for a dog.

The bell rings for lunchtime and I go to the staff room to meet up with some of my colleagues. Mr Starling is wearing his rose-tinted specs today and harking back to a time when the August Bank Holiday was something you could enjoy, unlike this year. Special needs teacher Mr Sackerson seems more concerned with the potential for house price falls. I tell him not to worry and ask him how his class is performing. Very well apparently; Deejay is now up to F in the alphabet, but Café Grendel is having concerns with a different kind of ABC, one involved in childcare. Another student having problems with childcare is Ruthie Zaftig, who has discovered undergraduates can get support but postgraduates cannot. Meanwhile, Crushed decided he does not like happy endings and has rewritten Rapunzel for a modern audience. Such a realist, that boy.

After lunch, I have an RE lesson with the class. As usual, on the first day someone has thrown up and I start by thanking Liz for her act of kindness. Sally in Norfolk pipes up and points out that Liz is not the only one who has performed an act of kindness this week. Welschcakes Limoncello voices her opinion that acts of kindness can be more commonplace and more subtle.

What is that I see? Jeremy Jacobs and Theo Spark looking at girly pictures? In an RE lesson as well? Give me a reason please, boys, why I should not put you in detention straightaway? Mr Jacobs remains silent, but young (bright) Spark claims it is actually a picture of the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee. Don’t be so ridiculous, I say, that is an attractive biker chick and everyone knows that conservatives are old fuddy-duddies. Surprisingly, Fake Consultant, our American exchange student, backs him up and starts dishing the dirt on the Republican VP nominee. He clashes with Andrew Allison, who claims that this decision ensures there will be a Republican in the White House next year. Such an imaginative child! However, this appears to be an argument that Question That has some time for, and he reminds me that unlike Florida in 2000, this election in not necessarily a done deal. Matt M remains unimpressed with the position of Vice-President, and brings the discussion back to the part of the anatomy that triggered off the discussion, but suggests using the other function of this important part instead.

Heather Yaxley uses the opportunity to think about what might lower the virility, and possibly the libido, of these lusty young men. Tom Paine moves the discussion from sex onto paedophilia, and gives some very mature views on the subject not normally seen in adults let alone children.

We finish the RE lesson with Matt M exploring the question of the existence and divinity of Jesus. Jams O’Donnell uses his Poor Mouth to tell us that the Dead Sea Scrolls may soon be making an appearance online. Then something really surprising happens. Can you believe it? The bell goes for the end of the day and the children clear off as quickly as possibly, leaving a messy, empty classroom and one exhausted teacher.

So there you go. Obviously as a teacher, albeit only one day, and therefore obviously a leftist socialist loon, I have been incredibly equitable and picked at least one post from everyone who posted in the last week, except for this one by Paulie, which I simply did not know where to put. Everyone’s a winner!

Now bugger off, children. Teacher has a lot of important government forms to fill in.

On Touring The World, Or, Blogging-It’s A Collective Thing

2008-08-25T21:36:00.003Z

For the past two weeks we have paid more attention to the rest of the world than usual, what with the Olympics drawing our attention to Asia, and the conflict in the Balkans forcing us to learn that Atlanta is not in danger…that indeed, there is another Georgia—and how events in that Georgia could affect life in our Georgia.

As it happens, I belong to an international blogging collective (the Blogpower community) with voices that happen to be especially well-placed and often powerful to boot…a combination that will be most helpful for today’s exercise.

We are going to take a journey, Gentle Reader, all the way from India to Australia. We’ll visit Canadian friends, then we have much to discuss in the UK…and we get to meet a friend in the Sudan—and just for fun, we’ll toss in a few discussion questions based on Russian history.

Finally, through the miracle of Facebook, we’ll meet an actual volunteer soldier from South Ossetia who will describe the Georgian attack on his city.

There’s a lot to cover, so put on your travel hat, grab your virtual passport, and let’s hit the road.

There are 61 bloggers currently associated with Blogpower, but we will only be visiting about 20 of those today. There’s a full list of the community members available, and I would encourage you to dive in to the list and visit all of them.

And speaking of visiting…

Kori Brus, publisher of “The Conscious Earth”, has been travelling India these past few weeks, from south to north, and now finds himself in Ladakh, an area of India that is primarily Buddhist…and covered by a far more extensive network of trekking routes than highways.

He tells us that despite the fact that India is a nation of more than 900 million people, it is quite solitary indeed for him on this trip…which has advantages he might not have anticipated as he visits a temple around the time of morning prayers.

We continue with the theme of culture and religion on a visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, where we find jmb’s “Nobody Important” blog awaiting our arrival.

In May of 2008 the city’s Museum of Anthropology was robbed, the object of the theft being spectacular pieces created by Bill Reid, an artist of Haida descent who trained as a sculptor and a goldsmith. (His work can also be seen at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., should you get the chance to visit.)

Some of the objects had been recovered, but I am now happy to report (again, courtesy of jmb) that when it comes to art thievery, the Mounties get their brooch; with all the missing objects now recovered. (Well, to be exact, a fraction of one object is missing…so visit the link for details, he said, teasingly.)

Ruthie “Zaftig” offers us a tour of the morality questions present in the movie “The Dark Knight” that begins as a general discussion of good and evil, but then becomes an evaluation of how terror affects human judgment—and addresses the additional question of how much freedom should we be willing to sacrifice for security…which might be the freedom to live in fear.

For your consideration: would Peter the Great have made a good “Dark Knight” Batman? Try to include a few words regarding the “Tsar as Father Figure” mythology in your response…

Immorality also figures in a story from Khartoum: Kizzie explains how bribery is endemic in Sudan—and she tells us how a judge was apparently bribed in an eviction case that has cost her family three years of their time, thousands of dollars in legal fees…and had them wondering if hiring a few well-armed “friends” to resolve the problem “extrajudicially” might have been the better solution.

She also reminds us of the death of Levy Mwanawasa, President of Zambia—one of two notable recent deaths in the region; the other being the death of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. Both are major events unreported in US media…so visit the links and follow these stories.

In Iran the level of repression applied to union activists is increasing…and as of now the crime of union organizing can get you 30 lashes…or 50…or 70…plus jail time. Or it could get you the death penalty.

All of this is reported to us by our man in Corkadorogha, Ireland (…”where the the torrential rains are more torrential, the squalor more squalid, the hopelessness more utterly hopeless than they are anywhere else”…), Jams “The Poor Mouth” O’Donnell. (By the way Jams: “rains more torrential”? Spend a year in the rainforest around Queets, Washington and you may reconsider that position…)

Everyone is blogging these days…including a former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, John Prescott (fired by Tony Blair, no less!). Mike Ion, himself a former Labour candidate for Parliament (from Shrewsbury…home of Darwin and the Cartoon Festival), discusses the impact of the growth in the medium on UK politics and beyond—and for those who don’t know, there is as much reaction to political bloggers over there as there is over here…and in the UK, that makes Mike Ion a bit of a “must read”.

All citizens of England have access to health care, unlike the US, but this is hardly a perfect situation. Should we hope to adopt a national health care model we might do well to learn from their experience, and some of that insight can be found in the following two stops on our tour:

An agency of the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service) that tries to balance the costs and benefits of drugs and procedures that the NHS will pay for is the subject of a recent discussion at the “Letters From A Tory” blog.

CalumCarr has been telling us for years now about the troubles faced by those who seek help from the NHS for mental disorders (a problem that has touched his own family), and a new report from the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland describes grievous flaws in the system—including a case of “Not My Problem” culture that is so serious that the report itself is entitled "Not My Problem - The Care and Treatment of Mr. G".

Leadership is sometimes a matter of committee, and we are given the view from the other side of the table as Grendel recounts his experience on hiring and purchasing committees. We learn a bit of British slang (“…use the word “prat” in a sentence, please…”), we consider the absurdity of dreams, and we are offered a few words on unintentional non-disclosure disclosures.

Have you ever wanted to go to a job interview and tell the interviewer you’re looking for a new job because you hate your current job? You have a friend in Grendel.

The UK portion of the journey continues as we visit Sackerson’s “Bearwatch” blog. He reminds us that our desire to restrain Government through the vehicle of the Constitution is well-recognized—and well-respected—around the world…and he brings to the table a question raised in this election cycle by Ron Paul: what is legal tender?

For your consideration: what effect would a strict Constitutional reading of “legal tender” have on credit expansion? Would we, on balance, have been better off with such an interpretation? A few words on the impact of home ownership on personal wealth—good and bad—would add some “seasoning” to the rhetorical stew you could create…

Theo Spark’s friends (the “Last of the Few”) combine Conservative thought with the sorts of adult images (adult images is code for “maybe the younger kids shouldn’t be going there unsupervised…”—you have been officially warned) that one might see on Page 3 of a British newspaper; and the blog makes the point that Basra is on the road to reconstruction through the use of a striking image taken in the At Tannumah district of the city.

The great “what is mind versus what is matter?” debate, originally begun by Descartes and Hobbes (and later revisited by Homer Simpson), is one element of a conversation from Gracchi at the “Westminster Wisdom” blog. Can security ever exist for the masses when the masses are ruled by anyone other than an autocrat? That question, also addressed by Hobbes, is an important second pillar of the sturdy philosophical structure presented in this piece.

For your consideration: is security worth the cost? Just how much cost might you be willing to accept for how much security? Can anything actually approaching total security be achieved, or does the effort to create total security inevitably create insecurity? Using the Russian word grozny correctly in your answer will get you extra points…

We need to take a step back from all of this deep thinking, and my friend Colin Campbell has just what we need. His “Adelaide Green Porridge Café” blog features an image of military maneuvers that make me wonder if the Australian commander might be smarter than ours. (I’d also be curious what the commander has to say about global warming…).

Is Wales a part of the UK? Or is it, like the Duchy of Cornwall, destined to be an independent nation? “Miss Wagstaff Presents” this issue, and others, in her ongoing quest to analyze the question of whether the political relationship with the UK is serving the Welsh people…or instead, serving only the political needs of the Labour Party. (For those unsure, Wales is located roughly 20 miles east of Dublin, just across the Irish Sea. It’s the same Wales that has a famous Prince.)

Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer (and fifth in the world in 2006), is the source of the next bit of humor, thanks to “Sally in Norfolk”…and I will consider this story every time I freeze a grill. (She also visits a lead mine…another fascinating story.)

“Hercules” notes the considerable resemblance between the current Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, and the only current resident of the Meadowlands end zone, Jimmy Hoffa.

Which brings us to the final stop on our tour.

Ellee Seymour wants us to visit the “ProActive PR” blog and meet Alan, a 26 year-old student who was in Tskhinvali, the largest city in Georgia’s disputed South Ossetia region when Georgian forces advanced on the city.

Power had been mostly cut off, as had water, but Alan was able to send messages by cell phone which Ellee’s friend Katarina was able to translate into English. The story begins August 4th, where he describes seeing three dead bodies, victims of either Georgian mortars or artillery fire.

The diary gives an hour-by-hour recap of the events of August 7th, including a street battle just a few blocks away—and a description of being so tired that grenade explosions up the block could not wake Alan up.

The diary includes pictures taken on scene…and no matter what you may think of the positions of either side, this is a soldier’s story in the end…and that makes it a very human story, indeed.

Well there you go: we’ve seen a bit of the world, we have some things to think about…and we had a few laughs to boot.

If you have nothing to declare, continue through Customs to catch your ride home…and thanks for flying Blogpower.

Blogpower- Defending the Blogosphere

On Christmas 2.0, Or, Who Might Be The New Santa?

On Helping Republicans, Or, Next Time You Need A Bad Idea, Try These

On The Question Of Virginity, Or, “Starter? I Can’t Make Her Stop!”

On The Emergence Of China, Or, Zhou Knew This Was Coming

On Fear: The Islam Edition, Or, Do You Know My Friend Wa’el?

Sad News for Blogpower -- Mutley

Intermission

Theo brings some advice for 2010

The Twelve (Alt Text) Days of Christmas - Cafe Grendel

Getting to Grips with Depression - Ellee Seymour

Hey Rupert (You speak with Forked Tongue) - Fake Consultant

Berlin Wall Juke Box - Pub Philosopher

Show Us Yer Tits! Mutley hits the big Four Double O

Ruthie reflects on Fort Hood

Should the Scots have their own Tundra Time Zone?

The Last Ditch: Tom's day of heavenly peace

Pauli Finds Out People Just Want To Have Fun

Garbo Dissects the Tory Conference -Wardman Wire

Graccii on Roman Polanski

Duck Joke from Tuscan Tony

Keith Floyd Tomato Sauce Inspiration for Welshcakes RIP

JMB Goes to Washington

Tom Paine: A Very British Death

Only a Dog

The Budget -- My Thoughts --- Andrew Allison

Time to Catch up Post --- Age is all in the Mind

On Angst, Or, We Meet A Tea Party Protester --- Advice from a Fake Consultant

20 Stupid Questions asked by Tourists --- Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe

The Sad Death of Ian Tomlinson -- A Conservative's Blog

The Courtly Reich --- Westminster Wisdom

Blogroll Issues and an Updated HTML Blogroll

Membership Changes

Photographs of Policemen, Section 76 and the G20 Demos: Ministers have their heads in the clouds ---- Matt Wardman

Membership Voting Issue

Gems of Blogpower

Prepare for Global Geopolitical Dislocation - Wolfie

Some Announcements for your Information

Updated HTML Blogroll

RBS Bonuses “Limited” --- The Thunderdragon

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

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

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

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

Best Blogpower Posts of 2008, Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves

United by Grief --- Sicily Scene

My Longest Journey ---Sally in Norfolk

Academic Writing --- Zaftig

As our banks collapse, Britain must learn to do something else --- The Pub Philosopher

Palestinians as Noble Savages? --- Observations from a Hillside

Happy New Year

Blogpower Roundup - Chopping Down the Christmas Tree Version

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Christmas Lunch at my House --- Nobody Important

Is this an Idealogy Yet? ---- Never Trust a Hippy

Blogroll Issues

Fear and Loathing in Lyme Regis -- Mutleythedogsdayout

Another slice of Childhood Gone -- Looking for a Voice

Merkel shows the international leadership that Brown can only dream of

Cultural Genocide:- why the Arabic language is problematic in the Sudan

What to do when its raining

Could India Collapse - Pub Philosopher

Empty Wessels --- Grendel

King Colin Holds a Feast of Blogpower (Or a Round Up, if you like)

If Anything Matters, Everything Matters ---- In Search of High Places

I love Penguins...... Hercules

Can PR manage Trust? Heather Yaxley - Greenbanana views of public relations and more

Making Sustainable living ..... Sustainable --- Green Living

On The New President, Or, The World Doesn’t Change All In One Day

Sandi Toksvig for Doctor Who! --- Finding Life Hard?

From Food to Fuel --- Ellee Seymour

King Arthur and the Mutability of the Past -- Crushed by Ingsoc

French appeal to the ref over Agincourt -- Critical Faculty Dojo

Blogpower Roundup: Best Wishes Edition

Blogpower- Encapsulating The Power of The Blog

Roundup

At Last!

Blogpower Roundup --- An Eclectic Mix

Blogpower roundup - interesting first impressions

Blogpower Roundup: It's Raining, It's Pouring Edition