Facts About Jeremy Hunt

1. He appears to have not made any effort to be impartial in a his quasi-judicial role overseeing the takeover bid for Sky by Rupert Murdoch.
2. He should be asked to resign.
3. He is a mate of David Cameron.
4. He won't be asked to resign.

Footballers- A Bit Sleazy

One of the problems with rape cases is that it is usually one person's word against another's- which ought to be  insufficient for a conviction. In the case of someone who is too drunk to consent then there is the added problem that the alleged victim's evidence is inherently flawed.

Unless of course the perpetrators are thick and arrogant enough to film themselves- like recently jailed footballer Ched Evans whose friend and brother filmed him having sex with a girl too drunk to consent (if he loves group sex that much he's going to love prison).

The victim's (who was irresponsible for getting herself paralytically drunk and alone on a night out) version of events does seem similar to other cases involving footballers, extremely drunk women and group sex where no convictions have been made. I'm not saying they're all guilty but there does seem to be a certain culture involved in the game.

Eric Joyce- Nutter.

This interview by ex-Labour MP Eric Joyce is jaw dropping: I can't just excerpt a few choice quotes, the whole thing has to be seen to be believed.

He genuinely sees himself as some kind of hard man.

Argentina-Why It Is Basketcase.

When Argentina's president, Christina Kirchner, started causing trouble over the Falklands, a lot of people surmised that this meant she was trying to stir up xenophobia and nationalism to distract from domestic problems.

The "nationalisation" of the Spanish oil company, Repsol's Argentinian assets on grounds that are frankly nonsensical confirms this. It has been known for a few years that the Argentinian government under Christina and her late unlamented husband Nestor has been corrupt and cooking the books (they actually to criminalise economists who calculate the inflation rate honestly).

In other words they are headed for another financial crisis less that 15 years after the last one.

Some countries have undergone a bigger relative decline that Argentina in the last 100 years- but these have mostly been nations that have been under the boot of crazed ideologies like communism. Argentina's unique achievement is to have achieved the same level of decline under mostly democratic rule.

A clue to why this happens is listening to reports about Argentinian election candidates- it's soon obvious that most of the contenders describe themselves as "Peronist".Unfortunately Juan Peron was an ideological charlatan with no fixed beliefs beyond the idea that he should be in charge. Wikipedia describes Peronism as:

The pillars of the Peronist ideal, known as the "three flags", include: Social justice, Economic Independence, and Political Sovereignty. 

• Social Justice AKA empowering politicians to lie and acquire more power in the name of the poor.
• Economic Independence AKA refusing to conform to standards enforced by impartial outside bodies who cannot be controlled 
• Political Sovereignty AKA empowering politicians to lie and acquire more power in the name of loving their country.

 With an ideology like that no country could prosper.

Owen Jones: Buffoon

In the Independent Owen Jones* rightly praises the words of Norway's Prime Minister after the massacre of last year:

Even when the country remained in a state of shock just five days after 77 civilians were murdered, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg struck a defiant note that would have been unthinkable in many countries. "The Norwegian response to violence is more democracy, more openness and greater political participation," he said. No crackdowns on civil liberties, but a pledge not to allow a fanatic to succeed in eroding Norway's democracy.

Praiseworthy indeed. This is how his article opens:

Would the British political establishment have been able to resist demands for the restoration of the death penalty if such a horrifying massacre had taken place here? Support for capital punishment remains largely passive, but widespread; it occasionally surges in the aftermath of horrifying crimes, particularly when children are involved, such as the Soham murders in 2003.

Uh huh, isn't the establishment "resisting demands" of the public pretty much the direct opposite of "more democracy"?

* Think 1970s ideas in a 21st century wrapping.

Quote Of The Day

Julie Bindel writes of women:

Not only are we half the population, each and every one of us is united in the reality or fear of violence from men