Saturday, November 11, 2006

[blogfocus] graphic images bloggers use

This young man’s language is often very graphic

I promised some graphic footage and here it is.

The way bloggers use graphics – pictures, charts and videos - is a time honoured art, certainly not exclusive to the MSM and held in varying degrees of esteem by various bloggers.

We’ll kick off with Mr. Eugenides and his scurrilous Friday caption competition.

Clearly, two great minds had the same idea and here’s Guido Fawkes – also with his scurrilous Friday caption competition.

Graphic footage continued here

[young thugs] learning to love a lout

Minette Marrin says: It is not easy to “love a lout”, to use Labour’s spiteful jibe at David Cameron; and to “hug a hoodie” might be positively dangerous. All the same, something has to be done about the Asbo set, especially as antisocial behaviour orders don’t seem to be working. Indeed they don’t and the problem is not just British. Halls of Macadamia adds, about Canada: Getting rid of the Young Offenders Act and prosecuting these little thugs will do more for Canadian society than harassing hunters and farmers about their rifles. As for me, I think it’s clear that the problem is worldwide – at least in the Anglo-Saxon world. So it has to be due to modern cultural and economic pressures, wouldn’t you think?

[saturday quiz] for deep thinkers

Are you sitting comfortably, two-square on your botty? Then I'll begin:

1…..Two gentlemen whose first names were Laszlo and Georg invented the ball-point pen. What was their surname?

2…..A centennial celebration is 100 years. A bicentennial is 200 years. A sesquicentennial celebrates how many years?

3…..Everyone knows FM Radio but what does FM mean?

Next seven here ...

[deeper into debt] sounds familiar

Debt hell for middle class Victorians are taking out as many as 12 credit cards at a time and using all of them at once, as their personal debts spiral out of control. Oh, those Australians. Here’s more:

Personal Debt Runs Out Of Control in Britain » Netscape.com

Personal Debt Out Of Control; U.S. Economy Awash in Debt
Canadians' Personal Debt at Historic Level

In contrast to the UK's insatiable appetite for credit, many major European countries have a culture of saving, and some, such as France and Germany, are particularly debt adverse.

Why can they do it and we can’t?

[doctor vee] strangers on a train

Doctor Vee’s been having train troubles: …a girl did try to barge her way into a train before everybody (including me) had got out. She was obviously an inexperienced train boarder, so I kind of deliberately stood in her way to hint that what she was doing was wrong. Is that rude? Trains are hotbeds of strange human behaviour, be it the man having a very loud argument with his wife on the phone, the utter arseholes who take up two seats when they’re sleeping, or the strange guy giving everybody a creepy stare (that one’s me).

Once I observed a girl who was just looking at her phone. Nothing unusual there, but all of a sudden she just burst into tears. Had she just been dumped by text? Rudeness all round! And then there are the most annoying people of all — the people who walk up to the ticket barriers and then realise that they actually need a ticket to negotiate the barriers. Doh! Then, instead of politely walking away from the barrier, they just stop dead and proceed to fish around in their bag …
Poor lad. Maybe he should take the copter.

[a big ask] 300 words from you

Make it one of your tasks this weekend - 300 words on your most outrageous moment, your most flagrant piece of chutzpah, which somehow came off. E-mail 'em under whatever pseudonym you like and I'll post 'em. Mine is The Day I Gatecrashed the Prez. [E-mail in profile]

[armistice day] november 11th, 1918, at 11 a.m.

Initiating the armistice negotiations on 4 October 1918, the Germans directed peace feelers towards the U.S. government, led by President Wilson, keen to conclude a peace based upon Wilson's Fourteen Points.

Wilson was naturally willing to conclude a peace based upon his doctrine but the French insistence on massive reparations, Britain’s technical objection, Wilson's insistence upon the abdication of the German Kaiser and Colonel House’s mysterious influence looked to be a stumbling block.

German Chancellor Max von Baden's exasperated decision to announce the reluctant Wilhelm's abdication to the public on 9 November 1918 (subsequently made official by the Kaiser's abdication proclamation on 28 November), cleared the way.

[children] becoming cost prohibitive

The message is clear – don’t have children. Reuters reports that ‘the cost of bringing up children is rising even faster than house prices, with education going up over a quarter in the past year. The cost of kids has soared 28 percent in the past four years and 9 percent in the last year alone -- outstripping an 8 percent rise in UK property prices. Parents will fork out more than 180,000 pounds per child from birth to age 21 - equal to 8,500 pounds per year or 23.50 pounds per day -- the Liverpool Victoria's annual "cost of a child" survey says.’ You could always do as the Japs have done – provide baby flaps to deposit unneeded children. Or else rob a bank.

[wto] russia on verge of joining

"We have an agreement in principle and are finalising the details. This agreement will mark an important step in Russia attaining membership in the WTO," US trade representative Susan Schwab said. The Russian trade ministry confirmed the agreement and said negotiators hoped to have a deal ready to sign at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Hanoi next week. Moscow accused Washington of dragging out negotiations and was disappointed when a deal was not reached in July at the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg. Russia is the largest economy outside the 149-member WTO and its efforts to join have been bogged down in trying to reach an agreement with the US, the last major country whose approval it needs to join. Analysts think Russia's accession might soften its opposition to sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme. I’ll ask the Trade Min about it today.

[denise richards] flinging laptops on old ladies

The blurb from Richmond, British Columbia said: Denise Richards won't face charges for throwing two laptop computers over a balcony in a tussle with paparazzi in western Canada. The actress was accused of hurling two laptops from a balcony at the River Rock Casino and Hotel on Wednesday, hitting two elderly women below. The incident occurred after two photographers tried to snap pictures of Richards by gaining unauthorized access to the set where she's filming a movie with actress Pamela Anderson. The 90-and 81-year-old women were sitting in the lobby when the computers hit them on their arms, causing minor injuries. It's only right - a girl who is famous for her body, rather than her brains must always be forgiven, mustn't she? And the "tussle" with the paparazzi must have made good sport at the time.

Friday, November 10, 2006

[rugby] anomalies in the cecillon shooting

Former French rugby captain Marc Cecillon, 47, who won 46 caps for France, has admitted shooting his wife Chantal with a Magnum revolver in a drunken rage at a party in August 2004 in front of some 60 party guests and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Prosecutor Francoise Pavan-Dubois said: "He could get life in prison, but I am seeking far less than that, asking for 15 years," she said. The jury which determines sentence as well as guilt or innocence in French criminal cases decided on a harsher sentence of 20 years. One headline said: Chantal Cecillon – remarquable de gentilesse. He was called: l'homme tranquille du rugby français. Two very gentle people, it seems. Le Figaro says : « Il n'y avait pas que l'alcool » The daughter pleaded for leniency. How can we know what provocation there was – who knows what little comments were stored up over the years. Doesn’t excuse him but this situation looks quite dodgy to me.

[drug recall] reading between the lines

What started as a piece on a drug recall had me wondering about the U.S. in general. “Yesterday, a company I had never heard of before recalled 11 million bottles of acetaminophen because it found pieces of metal the size of a couple grains of salt in the pills.” The article then mentioned E. coli-tainted spinach, reminding the writer a lot about “where many of the medicines and supplements I take come from. While writing the story, I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out my stash of CVS extra-strength non-aspirin pain reliever.” Her stash? The company that recalled the drug, Perrigo Co., not only makes NyQuil, Sudafed, Claritin and Centrum vitamins which many of you will recognize, widely available at CVS, Safeway, and Wal-Mart but is headed by a man named Joe Papa. The writer then states: “Some of the lots involved in the recall are for pills sold as long as three years ago,” and “Granted, you don't feel the same shock when you learn that one little-known company makes your headache medicine, decongestant and daily vitamin …” What are we dealing with here – a nation of junkies or one very drug-friendly lady journalist?

[terror] open letter to all readers

This is now getting serious.

The head of MI5 has said the scale of the terror threat in the UK will last “a generation”. Eliza Manningham-Buller said that the Security Service was dealing with up to 30 alleged “mass casualty” terror plots against British targets in the UK and abroad, according to BBC reports, with 200 terror cell networks under surveillance. Some of them involved plans for suicide attacks and some were being directed by al-Qaida. Ms Manningham-Buller said MI5 and the British police were tackling 200 groups or networks totalling more than 1,600 identified individuals in the UK who were “actively engaged in plotting or facilitating terrorist acts”.

This blog believes this is War, in the same way that the German 5th column acted before the two European theatre conflicts. It is also clear that those whose culture is not anglo-saxon and who do not embrace the English traditional values [the word was ‘English’], are potentially suspect. Also suspect are those anglo-saxons of a political hue, such as Red Ken and George Galloway, who do not embrace democracy as a concept. On the other hand, Blair and the whole arcane mob behind him are using this as the perfect pretext to curtail liberties for the non-suspect as well.

This blog is diametrically opposed to the attempted tying together, by people above with ulterior motives, of the two separate issues of alien cultures in the UK and the curtailing of ordinary citizens' freedoms.

Such people who are in a cultural frame which displays a proclivity towards terrorism are well known. Everyone knows of whom we speak. In the same way, over here - no matter how much I embrace Russian culture, I must still , by definition, be suspect and so it must also be in the UK and in the US with these people. The concept of internment and deportation is abhorrent and yet it must be considered. Considered seriously. On the other hand, the concept of ID cards and torture is anathema and must be resisted with everything in our power.

Of course we are waiting for the person to arise who will deal with all this. David Cameron? Ming? Arcane Hillary of the Phoenix? Condi? And of course this is no accident that there is a dearth of quality world leadership, just when it is needed most. Then, in will come the knight in shining armour and he or she will be the most suspect of them all. What can we, the people, do about it? Ah - that's the issue which would take a hundred posts or more.

This blog has its ideas and no doubt you do too.

[frigedæg] some other lesser known aspects

In India, Friday is Shukravar. It is based on ShukraVedic god of Venus. In Japan, Friday is Kin-Yoobi: "Gold day" or "money day", and in many asian cultures, paydays are on fridays. In Islam, Friday is the day of public worship in mosques. In some Islamic countries, the week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday, just like the Jewish and Christian week. In most other Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the week begins on Saturday and ends on Friday. In astrology Friday is connected with the planet Venus. This associates Friday with love, peace and relaxation, but also of emotional intensity and quashed dreams. Also of bad luck. This is particularly so in maritime circles; perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday. In one story a Royal Navy ship HMS Friday was laid down on a Friday, launched on a Friday and captained by a Captain Friday and was never heard of again. [Wiki of course]

[environment] concerted action on water needed now

A global action plan under G8 leadership is urgently needed to resolve a growing water and sanitation crisis that causes nearly 2 million child deaths every year. 1.1 billion people do not have access to water, and 2.6 billion lack access to sanitation; thus delivering clean water, removing waste water, and providing sanitation are three of the most basic foundations for human progress.

Across much of the developing world, unclean water is an immeasurably greater threat to human security than violent conflicts, said a UN report entitled Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis. Yet unlike wars and natural disasters, this global crisis does not galvanize concerted international actions.

And this is only part of the problem. If we in our developed countries think, ‘Dear oh dear, those poor Africans and Bangledeshis,’ we are being naïve. To look at the map in the previous post and say, ‘Whew, that doesn’t apply to us, thank goodness,’ is equally naïve. There’s the little problem of cleanliness of our drinking water and it’s rapidly becoming contaminated from elsewhere.
And don't forget the air in our cities. Do you think you're breathing clean air right now? But that's another story.

[environment] 50 aspects of the coming water scarcity


When you're thirsty, what do you do? Reach for a can of coke, reach for a beer, pour a mineral water from a plastic bottle or go to the tap and pour yourself a glass? If you can even countenance doing the last one, then you're blessed, as you'll see from the rest of this article.

We’ve been concentrating on oil as the major source of immense political power but so far have skipped over another resource with the potential to be equally political – albeit further down the track, once oil dwindles - water. Becasue it's down the track, the tendency is to shelve it for now.

The diagram above may be too small to see clearly but red indicates physical scarcity, brown – economic scarcity, blue – little or no scarcity and white not estimated and is a projection, based on a number of studies on the situation vis a vis water by 2025.

A summary of 50 main water facts are here
.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

[un] human development index rankings

Top 20 countries to live in [2006]: 1. Norway (=) 2. Iceland (=) 3. Australia (=) 4. Ireland (↑ 4) 5. Sweden (↑ 1) 6. Canada (↓ 1) 7. Japan (↑ 4) 8. United States (↑ 2) 9. Switzerland (↓ 2) 10. Netherlands (↑ 2) 11. Finland (↑ 2) 12. Luxembourg (↓ 8) 13. Belgium (↓ 4) 14. Austria (↑ 3) 15. Denmark (↓ 1) 16. France (=) 17. Italy (↑ 1) 18. United Kingdom (↓ 3) 19. Spain (↑ 2) 20. New Zealand (↓ 1)

[nancy pelosi] a summary

# Born Nancy D'Alesandro to Italian American parents in Baltimore, Maryland # control freak # tight circle of confidants # demands utter loyalty # stubborn # strong-willed # ambitious late-bloomer # raised five children # now stands second in line of presidential succession # San Francisco liberal # pragmatic and realistic Pelosi family has a net worth of over $25 million # will become speaker of the House in January # supporter of the Chinese democracy movement # long record of being pro-choice # supportive of agriculture # pre 2001 fiscally conservative on government spending on national defense and military programs # after 2001 supported spending for War on Terrorism # votes to restrict the ownership of firearms and concealed weapons # votes to increase Medicare and Medicaid benefits across the board # top priority is to pass the bills that Democrats promised # must decide whether to take sides in a race for Majority Leader between Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the current Democratic whip, and Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a leader of the House Democrats' anti-war faction # Pelosi's bi-coastal political identity formed by hard lessons and lucky breaks # narrowly elected to the House in 1987 special election, at age 47 # now 66 # stickler for good behavior # Catholic # Source material from here and here.

[vodka martini] shaken, not stirred

'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

'Oui, monsieur.'

'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel. Got it?'

'Certainly, monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.

Bond laughed. 'When I'm . . . er . . . concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name.' [Casino Royale, 1953]

[scrap these laws] iain dale gets it right

Iain Dale lists the Lib Dems' ‘Top ten laws to scrap’ and agrees they should be. Which ones do you agree should be scrapped?

1. Restrictions on protests in Parliament Square 2. Identity Cards 3. Extradition to the US 4. Conditions on public assemblies 5. Criminalising trespass 6. Control orders 7. DNA retention 8. Public interest defence for whistleblowing 9. Right to silence 10. Hearsay evidence

For me, nos. 2, 8, 9 and 10 are the most iniquitous.

[france-ordinaire] cuisine, ambience, second to none

L’Ombre goes his own way and posts as he wishes and every so often comes up with a real blockbuster, as he’s done now, writing of the real, as distinct from the touristy France. As I’ve sometimes stayed in the countryside with a French family I’ve known for a long while, I understand what he’s saying here. His post, replete with photos, refers to his ‘local’: If you want to be picky, then I admit the beef could have done with a tad more tenderizing, and the nicotine allergic will hate the air. Also I have no doubt that the wine snob or the (Atkins) dieter will find much to complain about. But you will experience the real France and get a great meal into the bargain. A pleasant walk of about 45 minute-1 hour duration with pleasant views of olive trees, the Grasse valley, the coast and the Esterel may be had either to work up an appetite or to walk off your meal afterwards. He had to get those olive trees in, didn’t he?

[thailand] deposed daddy’s sins visited on the children

Thaksin Shinawatra's children once had money but just lately it's getting a little rough for son Panthongtae and daughter Pinthongta. With daddy deposed and out of the country, it looks as though the pair, both in their 20s, may have to pay $A200 million in tax on the controversial sale of Shin Corp, the family company. Thaksin, who was Thailand's wealthiest man, handed over much of his empire to his offspring to avoid claims of conflict of interest shortly before he became prime minister in 2001 but most analysts believe he continued to orchestrate the family's affairs. Until now. Maybe he still does. Maybe he doesn't.

[levy] blair move sign of guilt or simply wise

Black Quill reports: It is interesting to read that Blair is thought to have consulted Stephen Parkinson — head of Kingsley Napley’s criminal law practice and a former deputy head of the Attorney’s General’s office — over the cash-for-peerages scandal. Quinlan’s point is ‘Why so early?’ Many people are no doubt wondering about indemnity for Blair and whether they’ll allow him to go quietly at the end of his term.

[arnie] back in kahlifoania and greener than green

“I love doing sequels,” said a jubilant Arnold Schwarzenegger after his landslide re-election Tuesday night. There have been plenty to choose from. Since he became governor of California in the madcap 2003 recall election, Schwarzenegger has dished up political drama on a schedule that would thrill the most demanding Hollywood producer, writes Newsweek. “He’s a model for the rest of the country,” says campaign manager Steve Schmidt, a former aide to President George W. Bush. Together with Shriver, his consultants positioned Schwarzenegger as a new brand of eco-Republican, even staying away from typical campaign colors in favor of a soft apple green that went on everything from bumper stickers to his campaign bus. Arnie talked nonstop about his dream of a “hydrogen highway” and his solar-roof initiative. In September, Schwarzenegger signed a landmark bill cutting California’s greenhouse-gas emissions. For his actual policies, see the article. He can well say, ‘I’m back.’

[beijing] one dog night

They already have the “one child policy” and now there is the “one dog policy”. In the Year of the Dog, authorities have imposed a limit on domestic canines in an attempt to stem the rabies plague - in Beijing, some 69,000 people sought treatment for rabies last year, according to state media. In one county in the southwestern province of Yunnan, where three people had died of rabies, authorities killed 50,000 dogs. The usual method is beating to death, with owners present to learn the error of their ways. Dog meat is revered in China as a tonic in winter and a restorer of virility in men so rabies is clearly an issue. Er … don’t they have the Olympics in Beijing next year? Anyone going?

[strange] serpent in the house of worship

Police don't anticipate filing charges in the case of a woman who died after being bitten by a rattlesnake she was handling in church. Police identified the woman yesterday as Linda F. Long, 48, of London. She was bitten in the face at a church service in Laurel County, south Kentucky on Sunday evening and died a little before 11 p.m.. "She was a real good Christian person," said Opal Wagers, who sometimes attends services. Handling snakes in a religious service is a misdemeanor in Kentucky. Points of note: 1] what was a snake doing as part of a church service anyway; 2] why was a Londoner in Kentucky at this particular service; 3] why was this not the first time such things have happened; 4] how does Opal Wagers, [good name she has], judge she was a ‘real good Christian person’; 5] how does one interpret Mark 16:17-18: " In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands," referring to the apostles, as possibly referring to a modern day churchgoer? The serpent clearly didn’t feel it did. Lastly, 6] where is the biblical passage which dictates that a symbol of the Dark Side be brought into a place of worship?

[apple] new super intel-based macbooks

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) released its new line of MacBook consumer notebooks based on the Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Core 2 Duo processors on Wednesday.The lineup includes two models in white - one running at 1.83 GHz and a 2.0 GHz system - and a black 2.0 GHz model. All three models are amped up with the new Intel processors that can run up to six times as fast as the iBook. The new 2.0 GHz models also include double the RAM and greater storage capacity than the previous generation, as well as a double-layer SuperDrive for burning discs. Prices start at US$1,099. The new MacBooks come with the expected package upgrades and new software. The consumer notebook models come with 13-inch glossy widescreen displays that will be more than adequate for viewing videos, DVDs and photos.The MacBook, which is a mere 1-inch thin, includes a built-in iSight video camera that can be used for video conferencing via iChat AV, recording a video podcast or iMovie using iLife '06, or taking snapshots with Photo Booth. The systems ship with the latest release of Mac OS X 10.4.8 (Tiger), which includes the Safari Web browser, Mail, iCal, iChat AV, Front Row and Photo Booth. More in the original article.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

[the art of lockpicking] i’m notsaussure about that

First select the appropriate tools …

Had to laugh. Notsaussure has gone in for the sport of Ethical Lockpicking. As he says: For no other reason than that I’ve always wondered how it’s done, I was fascinated to discover, via Boing Boing, a comic-book guide to lock-picking. He then proceeds to give us the intro but not the full monty. How coy. So, if you've ever been locked out and are wondering how to get back in, get yourself over there now. Update: Go to Notsaussure, scroll to the bottom of the post and there is the link to the guidebook [pdf].

[virginia] as predicted, down to the wire

Hey – I got it right! Yeah, yeah, I know - 20 million others did too. With 99 percent of precincts reporting this morning, Jim Webb, the Democratic challenger, led Senator George Allen, a Republican, by less than 8,000 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast. Virginia’s election laws allow an apparent loser to request a recount if a contest’s margin is less than 1 percent — and the margin in the preliminary results of the state’s Senate election stood this morning at about one-third of 1 percent. While a recount seems likely, though, if it comes it will not come quickly.

[blind faith] interpreting evidence by prejudice

I wrote of Erle Stanley Gardner earlier with regard to economics. Here is another passage from the same book: Mason shifted his eyes to meet the steady inquiry in those of Sheriff Barnes. 'We've been talking quite a bit about becoming hypnotized by circumstantial evidence. After a person once gets a fixed belief, he interprets everything which happens in the light of that belief. It's a dangerous habit to get into, and I'm afraid I haven't been entirely innocent, myself. I've been so busy pointing out the trap to others that I've walked into one myself without noticing what I was doing.' [p290 Iris ed.] Sherlock Holmes also spoke on this matter. Many would say that my Christian perspective and say, Chris Dillow’s leftist, humanistic, pragmatic, economic perspective colour his judgement on spirituality and mine on practical matters. It’s a severe discipline to consider any idea, irrespective of it source and to try to admit its strength and cogency, especially when it does not accord with the perceived wisdom and the fashion of the day.

[pay for policy] put your money where your mouth is

Fabulous piece by Chris Dillow on how much you’re prepared to pay to get a certain policy in place. Chris says: They therefore raise the cost of stupidity, and so should reduce its supply. He goes on to mention two reasons deferring to experts is flawed: 1. Many experts can be wrong, or at least contentious; 2. Democracy is not merely a mechanism for getting the "correct" decision. It's a way of getting a decision we can live with, tolerate. But if people have to pay to express a preference, won't they become more receptive to expert advice and (much more importantly) rationality and evidence? My comment is slightly at a tangent: My own field is consultancy and people must pay to get my opinion [unlike in blogging]. And I'm not cheap but I do deliver results and jealously guard that. My reputation is based on results day by day - I only have to make three misjudgements or mal-assessments in a week and I'm gone. Also, I tend to tune my opinion to the specific ideology of the client, blended as far as possible with “sound principles” – tailor made judgement, if you like.

[asbos] same story, same core reasons, over and over

Minette Marrin: I am no bleeding-heart liberal, yet I do strongly feel that punishing these children — monstrous though their behaviour may be — is rather irrelevant. To understand is not necessarily to forgive, but equally to blame is not necessarily to solve: about 66% of prisoners re-offend and they are only the ones who get caught. Last week’s IPPR report about Britain’s monster teenagers suggested, hardly surprisingly, that their alarming behaviour can be explained by a collapse in family and community life compared with the rest of Europe. Yes and why the collapse in family life? Parents all out for what money can buy, self at the centre. Plus the unit cost of aspired for goods is out of all proportion to income. Simple economics. Money is a great thing to feed and clothe, even to give us vacations but, like fire it’s a good servant but a bad master. Debt is the result. British household debt is currently estimated at 130% of income; up from 87% in 1995 and 37% in 1975. (figures relate to post tax income and similar growth has occurred in Australia and the USA) Unsecured debt is at £213 billion, which is £3,550 per person. This is ultimately unsustainable and comes down to aspiration and mindset in the end. That’s what’s really changed, along with the demise of the Christian ethic.

[housekeeping] posts coming

I'm currently near the end of a mega-post which I'm going to have to break into separate posts. I'm still waiting for a few snippets to arrive from outside and then it will be ready. Good day to do it, Saturday, when almost no one is around.

[global jihad] one needs to look at the total picture

Melanie Phillips states: A global Islamic jihad is now being waged from Bali to Istanbul, from Chechnya to Madrid, from Morocco to Manhattan, from Thailand to Bloomsbury – and … the world that is under attack is deeply in denial about what it is facing. Absolutely correct but too narrow. Why has Islam made undoubted inroads since the end of the last global conflict? It’s always wanted to but was hitherto prevented. Because of the demise of the Christian model for society under heavy assault from humanism which is an offspring of the Enlightenment, the greatest misnomer in human history in terms of its major backer. Also because of the rise of the 3rd player China, who are spreading their particular nastiness around the world just now. China and Islam are easy targets because they are visible. The 4th player, whom virtually no one recognizes, is invisible, though Churchill, McFadden, Wilson, Lindburgh and countless others spoke out about them. Look at reality. How are the Islamists, who can’t organize their way out of a paper bag [Hamas/Fatah, Syria/Lebanon] able to carry out globally coordinated warfare? Because they’re funded and trained by professionals, of course. Money has no conscience.

[iran-china] unholy alliance or the lion and dragon dance

Interesting look at the ties between two major nations: For several reasons, none of the other East Asian countries are as close culturally to Iran as China. The two nations have many things in common. Iran and China are two of the world's oldest civilizations. They were both stops on the ancient Silk Road trade route. The Persian Empire, stretching in its heyday from the Indus River in the east to the Mediterranean in the west and from the Ural Mountains in the north to Egypt in the south, left undeniable impacts on Chinese civilization. Later the Persian Empire was invaded by Muslim Arabs and the Persian crown prince, Pirooz, then fled to China's western borders, lived and later died there. Islam also made its way to China via Persia. Iran, the Middle Kingdom of West Asia, and China, the Middle Kingdom of East Asia, have been historically symbolized by the lion and the dragon, respectively. Like their communist counterparts in China, the Iranian clerics are confronted by the reality that their ideology is no longer working and that they have no option but to improve the country's national power, which was damaged systematically by wrong policies. Further reading here and here.

[china] forever a sincere, unselfish good brother to africa

Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, pledged to double China's aid to Africa from its 2006 level by 2009, promising African nations $3 billion in loans and $2 billion in export credits, as well as creating a $5 billion fund to encourage Chinese investment in Africa. "China will forever be a good friend, good partner and good brother of Africa," Hu said in a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. "Chinese assistance to Africa is sincere, unselfish and has no strings attached," Wen Jiabao, the premier of China's ruling state council, said at a gathering of Chinese and African entrepreneurs held as part of the conference. China - friend of the world.

[oil&gas] anomalies of general interest

I’ve largely kept off this area and that of trade in recent weeks but a few stories are worthy of mention. 1] the Global Petroleum Club. One has to ask why? There is already sufficient consultation at management level upstream and downstream so why the need for a formal club? 2] Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel Monday in Nigeria after Nigerian oil minister and OPEC President Edmund Daukoru said the oil cartel may need to further cut its output. One threat and prices react - that’s volatility, in my book. 3] Halliburton are always news – A Halliburton subsidiary charged the Iraqi government as much as $25,000 per month for each of as many as 1,800 fuel trucks that were to deliver gasoline to Iraq after the 2003 invasion, but the trucks often spent days or weeks sitting idle on the border, says a report released yesterday by an auditing agency sponsored by the United Nations. 4] Russian-British oil firm TNK-BP, half owned by BP , came under new attacks on Tuesday as prosecutors asked to withdraw its top Siberian gas licences, which previously belonged to gas monopoly Gazprom . Reason - multiple ecological and licensing violations at the Novo-Urengoi and East-Urengoi fields, which belong to Rospan. This would have to worry western interests. 5] things like Paladin, First Calgary etc would only be of interest to afficianados, so I won’t expound on them.

[thought for the day] friday evening


A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

[Clearer tomorrow morning]

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

[id cards] fine fisk on the issue

Cleanthes, at The Select Society, has done a fine fisk on the ID card issue, as Timmy Worstall did on the Stern Report. I think you need to head across and view this report. In it, he takes each point one by one: Illegal Immigration, Crime, Terrorism, Identity Fraud and so on and dismantles it. For example: The case for ID cards is a case not about liberty but about the modern world. Wrong: it’s about both, but it is more about the former than the latter. ID cards have been used long before the advent of the new technologies that we are all busy accessing.

[blogfocus] the burning issues


Welcome to another Blogfocus. In a post yesterday, I intimated that there were two main issues this time round and that one of these involved what bloggers had not written. Allow me to explain. Although some of those below have subsequently posted this evening, nevertheless, at the point last evening when I trawled through the blogroll, ten had not posted for days and another five appeared to be feeling the strain. This was interesting.

Non posters:

http://www.samizdata.net/ [Johnathan]
http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/
http://www.minettemarrin.com/
http://freedomandwhisky.blogspot.com/
http://vented-spleen.blogspot.com/
http://jeffreyarchers.blogspot.com/
http://existingactually.blogspot.com/
http://reactionarysnob.blogspot.com/
http://www.di2.nu/blog.htm
http://indecent-left.blogspot.com/

Two of the semi-posters:

http://www.theselectsociety.com/blog/
Philo did say though: Off to the Windy City on Tuesday; may live blog the results if jet-lag allows. Cleanthes hadn’t posted.
http://www.stephenpollard.net/003026.html
Stephen Pollard had posted, albeit on music, music, then music, then said: I'll do my best to post, but it's unlikely I'll be posting anything here until Thursday. Apologies.

I wrote about this in an earlier post here and other bloggers have now had their say here.

[fedex] cancels airbus, orders boeings instead

FedEx Corp., the world's largest cargo airline, has scrapped its order for the troubled Airbus A380 jumbo jet and said it would purchase 15 Boeing Co. 777 jets instead. It was the first cancellation of an A380 order. FedEx, working to meet international shipping demand, scrapped the 10-plane Airbus order after production troubles delayed planned deliveries from January 2009 into 2010. Probably wise anyway. Airbus is a fine aircraft; it’s just that this and this and this and this worry one a little. And did you ever see Tom Hank’s Cast Away?

[russia] winter on the roads 2

The car on the left was my British machine – the joys of open top motoring know no bounds, especially with a lady’s hair streaming beside you, the throaty roar of the 2 litre and a spot of lunch at a nice country pub at the end of the ride. The other car is my no-nonsense Lada 102 with beefed up stabilizers, gas shockers and so on. It’s basic and rugged, especially the brakes and shockers – it’s just the electric system which sometimes lets you down. Never buy an imported car here – it will break in half by the end of the year on these roads. The Lada is known as the Russki Tank and if something does break, there are automarkets all over the place where a few roubles will see you with a new part and a thousand mechanics willing to do the job for about $10.

[russia] winter on the roads 1

In response to Ellee’s question, snow is relatively rare in southern Britain and chains will get you from A to B but in Russia, they’re useless – we need to zip about in the snow for over three months and so everyone has two sets of tyres – summer and winter. It should be the case in Britain as well but ridiculous legislation prevents this safety feature. My winter tyres are Gislaved Nordfrost III 175s [pictured], the best you can get according to Za Rulyom. They have hundreds of little metal studs and the tread gives excellent grip. My summer tyres are Michelin 185s All Weather and they are also outlawed in Britain. Why?!! Today was changeover day and I prefer to change alloy wheels ’n all, so I have ten altogether. In the next post, I’ll show you my little car.

[take-a-toke] new from burger king

As the nation goes to the polls, some eyes have turned to another issue: Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon were in uniform and driving a marked patrol car when they stopped for a meal at a drive-through Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, New Mexico. They ate about half of their burgers before they began to suspect that the meat contained an illegal drug. They used a field test to confirm the substance was marijuana and then went to a hospital for a medical check. Three Burger King employees - Justin Armijo, 19, Robert Nuckols, 21, and manager Joseph Ledesma, 33 - have already been arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and aggravated battery on an officer. They were subsequently indicted. Of course my info is out of date but has anyone been to Burger King in Lewisham? Or at Charing Cross? Burger King is a firm I have misgivings about. Is this just imagination? Incidentally, will the Republicans retain control?

[last chance] les derniers criminels nazis

Le Figaro ecrit: Ils ne sont plus qu'une poignée, mais ils coulent une existence paisible, après plus de soixante années passées à faire oublier leurs crimes. Les derniers criminels de guerre nazis se terrent encore çà et là en Europe, guère inquiétés par les pays d'accueil, qui ne souhaitent pas particulièrement réveiller les démons du passé et se présenter sous un jour défavorable. Mais pour ces vieillards désormais sans histoires, reste un épineux obstacle avant le repos éternel. Le centre israélien Simon-Wiesenthal, ainsi baptisé en hommage au célèbre chasseur de nazis décédé en septembre 2005, a lancé une « opération de la dernière chance » pour leur mettre la main dessus avant qu'il ne soit trop tard. Suivez …

[let’s be racist] are you english or just a mongrel

You’ve no doubt already seen this from the Telegraph: Lord Tebbit, Carol Thatcher and other volunteers thought they were pure Anglo Saxon - until they were DNA-tested. Andrew Graham-Dixon watched their jaws drop on discovering racial origins from Africa, the Middle East, even Mongolia. We are all mongrels now, he says. I understand, in my situation, that I am half English and half Irish but I suspect I might have Jewish blood in there somewhere as well. Don’t have any proof – just feel it. What about you?

[prostitution] throw away the code and indulge

Vox Day continues to come out with surprising things which happen to make sense: As with so many other things, once traditional Christian morality with its fixed basis in Scripture is cast out the window, it is replaced with a whole host of other, more fluid sensibilities. And there's absolutely no reason for any godless individual to take issue with prostitution. On what basis would they object to anyone choosing to engage in such simple and relatively pleasant manual labor? Vox goes on to address the phenomenon of more and more men turning to paid sex without the hassles of a moaning female. Bitter and cruel but the logic is there.

[first real snow] the air is filled with it

Ladies and gentlemen, I just looked out of the window and it’s falling. Yes it is – the wonderful, clean, beautiful, soft flakes falling to earth like someone just tipped a giant bucket over and of course, everyone is caught unawares, as in Britain. A lady client phoned just now and said she’s stuck in Gorky; cars are sliding all over the road on summer tyres, cannoning into one another. Great situation. And here I am, writing to you in the living room.

[tiwesdæg] the day of single combat

Don’t you try it – leave it to Tyr or Tiw or Tew or Tiu to take care of all the combat today, on this Sumerian Gugulanna’s, this Babylonian Nergal’s, this Greek Ares’ and Roman dies Martis. Happy French Mardi and careful not to sacrifice your arm to Fenrir, the wolf, while you’re at it. May you come through today's battles unscathed and may your entry to Valhalla be on another day.

[writing] feeding the blogmonster

DK said it long ago: In that time, I have seen good new blogs flare up, burn brightly and then die after only a few months; some because their writers found that they had said everything that they wanted to say, some because of time pressures and some because of official or family pressure. There are sometimes those who pop up again in a different guise, but they rarely last for long. Lady Ellee, of Ely, said: I am too tired to blog tonight and have lots of studying to do for my PR diploma course on Saturday, I am way behind thanks to blogging. Deogolwulf said: My boss, however, has begun to notice my less than enthusiastic undertaking of the job for which I am employed, and has understandably suggested that I stay offline. AJD said: Took some time off blogging - life got too complicated. Basically, either you’re a professional and blogging fits into your micro-economic plan or else you’re an amateur, like me and the stresses are enormous to keep the blogmonster fed and take care of your other life. Something has to give. Even my Minister, in a veiled criticism, said, ‘You’re quite attached to that webpage, aren’t you?’ Attached? As in a narcotic?

[economics] the science of greed

[Erle Stanley Gardner: The Case of the Perjured Parrot, pp 187-189, Iris Press ed., 2002] Gardner was a lawyer who wrote mystery stories, his best known character being Perry Mason, who used the courtroom for the solution of the mystery; this story was written in the late 40s and reflected on the depression era. An entrepreneur is murdered while away on a fishing trip, Mason is called in and this is a conversation between Mason and the businessman’s grown son. Of interest is that it is a different take on the depression, written closer to the time itself:

‘After Dad returned, he said that we were all too greedy; that we worshipped the dollar as the goal of our success; that it was a false goal; that man should concentrate more on trying to develop his character. You might be interested in his economic philosophy, Mr. Mason. He believed men attached too much importance to money as such. He believed a dollar represented a token of work performed, that men were given these tokens to hold until they needed the product of work performed by some other man, that anyone who tried to get a token without giving his best work in return was an economic counterfeiter. Concluded …

Monday, November 06, 2006

[astronomy] mercury crossing sun on wednesday

Mercury will spend five-hours trekking across the sun starting at 2:12 p.m. EST in America. People in Western time zones of the United States should be able to see the entire trip and it will also be visible in North and South America, Australia and Asia, but not in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, where it will be nighttime. The last "transit of Mercury," as it's called, was in 2003. These events occur about 13 times a century, with the next one happening in 2016, according to NASA. That's more frequent than the transit of Venus, which happens in pairs, roughly twice in each century. (The next one is 2012). Just so you know.

[civility] please skip over this post if it offends you

Australian Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop has called for good manners to be taught in schools, saying there has been a "decline in civility in Australia". Of course there has - not only in Australia - and the blame is fairly and squarely laid at the feet of two generations of godless humanists who have hijacked education, the arts and music, stamped out the Christian ethic in favour of self-fulfilment and the pursuit of the dollar and left youth in a spiritual void which they’re trying to fill but with no guidance from their elders. They’re essentially alone but being young, don’t know it yet. Why are narcotics so rampant in the young, for example? Because humanistic values fulfil them? Give me a break! Where Ms Bishop loses the plot though, is in saying "if we are to institutionalise civility we must ensure that schools are reinforcing community standards and common values." As can be seen from the many blogcomments around the sphere, there is strong resistance in the community to decency and a return to Christian values. It’s the old adage – you can lead a horse to water…

[indignity] and the old gray lady refuses to budge

I’m a sailor and we’re known for being a pretty eccentric bunch, ascribing all sorts of human qualities to our craft and coaxing and loving the ladies as we would do our women. Except for Pacific Proas, which are boys, ships are ladies, after all. So when I read this in the NY Times about Intrepid refusing to budge from its home, I had to chuckle. “Old gray lady Intrepid did not want to heave her home in New York,” Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, said in a televised interview. “She does have to go,” he said. Ha! And ha again! Obviously not a seaman, our Mr. White.