Hiatus

You've probably noticed this blog is on hiatus. There's no special reason it's just that with spending far less time by a computer I have less opportunity to.


I will probably resume it by the middle of September and will be commenting on other blogs etc in the mean time.

Ed Balls Needs To Work On His Interview Technique

Mehdi Hassan writes about the abuse he has to take because he is a Muslim:

A recent interview of mine with the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, elicited the following response: "Get out of my country, goatfucker." 

Racist bastard!

Nice Business You've Got There- Shame If Anything Were To Happen To It

People often think of the relationship between politicians and big business as being business corrupting politicians through the influence of their cash.

In actual fact the relationship seems to be more like a case of politicians seeking rent from business. Politicians know they control the ultimate levers of power and can in effect run a protection racket. As this piece on Microsoft in the late 1990s makes clear:

But it grated on Hatch and other senators that Gates didn't want to want to play the Washington game. Former Microsoft employee Michael Kinsley, a liberal, wrote of Gates: "He didn't want anything special from the government, except the freedom to build and sell software. If the government would leave him alone, he would leave the government alone."

This was a mistake. One lobbyist fumed about Gates to author Gary Rivlin: "You look at a guy like Gates, who's been arrogant and cheap and incredibly naive about politics. He genuinely believed that because he was creating jobs or whatever, that'd be enough."

Gates was "cheap" because Microsoft spent only $2 million on lobbying in 1997, and its PAC contributed less than $50,000 during the 1996 election cycle. "You can't say, 'We're better than that,' " a Microsoft lobbyist told me on Friday. "At some point, you get too big, and you can't just ignore Washington."

"You can sit there and say, 'We despise Washington and we don't want to have anything to do with them,' " the lobbyist said. "But guess what? We're going to have hearings about the [stuff] you do."

It's no shocker that lobbyists think companies should hire lobbyists. But so does Capitol Hill -- Orrin Hatch included.

In a 2000 speech to technology companies, Hatch called Microsoft "knuckle-headed and hard-nosed," according to Wired magazine. "I have given [Microsoft] advice, and they don't pay any attention to it." In that same speech, Hatch warned: "If you want to get involved in business, you should get involved in politics."
"The industry had an attitude that government should do what it needs to do but leave us alone," one Hill technology staffer complained to Business Week at the time. "Their hands-off approach to Washington will come back to haunt them."

After the Hatch hearings, Microsoft complied. Its PAC increased spending fivefold in each of the next two elections. In the 2010 elections, Microsoft's PAC contributed $2.3 million to House and Senate candidates. The PAC has contributed the maximum $10,000 to each of Hatch's last two campaigns.

I would regard the Leveson inquiry as of a similar ilk- News International's behaviour has undoubtedly been poor, but it is hard to believe the fact that Tom Watson- the leading MP behind the attack- is a noted loyalist of Gordon Brown is a coincidence. When he and other Labour MPs went beyond what had been dicussed at the committee and concluded that Rupert Murdoch was not a fit and proper person to run News Corp, it was similarly thuggish- if the press oppose us we try to sabotage their business.

Movie Review- Thor

Thor has hammer- hammer makes Thor strong.

Thor loses hammer- makes Thor weak.

Person who took hammer gives it back- makes Thor strong again.

The end.

"Cannot Be Underestimated".

Surely they mean "over estimated" here.

A poll by the Belfast Telegraph at Sinn Féin's annual meeting last month uncovered majority backing for a handshake – and near-unanimous support for Mr McGuinness to offer regret for the suffering caused by the IRA campaign. The simple clutching together of those hands on Wednesday – hopefully in public – cannot be underestimated in its symbolism and significance.

It's a Guardian leader column as wellm so it is not just a rogue sub editor at work.

Carr Tax

Jimmy Carr is obviously a monumental hypocrite for seeking to avoid taxes while satirising people who avoid taxes.

That said who is worse for the British tax-payer, celebrities who aggressively avoid paying taxes on the one hand or a luvvie who diligently pays every penny asked of him, but whose work is largely funded by the tax payer in the first place?

Jimmy Carr makes close to 100% of his income privately and gives maybe 2% to the public coffers.

Compare him to a film director subsidised by the state who gets 100% of his livelihood from the public and gives 50% back.

It's not the Jimmy Carrs of this world who are depleting the public purse.

Lord Leveson Doesn't Understand Irony

From Lord Leveson:

The judge leading the probe into media behaviour threatened to quit after he was publicly criticised by a Cabinet Minister, senior Government sources claimed last night.
Lord Justice Leveson phoned Whitehall’s most senior mandarin and demanded that Education Secretary Michael Gove – who claimed the inquiry had created a ‘chilling atmosphere’ towards freedom of speech – should be gagged. In the angry call to Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, the judge claimed that if Ministers were not silenced, his inquiry, set up to investigate phone-hacking by Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, would be rendered worthless.

Silencing ministers is a great way to rebut allegations of assaulting free speech.....

Paedogeddan

Does anyone else think this is hysterical bollocks?

Sociopathy

I see that one of Mick Philpott's rivals for the title of most feckless father in Britain is also on a murder charge:

Jamie Cumming has 16 children by 14 women (which begs the obvious question of what the hell is wrong with those women?).

He may be innocent but just consider that the two most notorious baby-daddies in the UK are both currently being charged with murder- it does bear out the notion that having lots of children that you can't possibly support is a sociopathic trait and those who do it should be vilified and despised.

Drift.

As I understand it:

If Greece leaves the Euro then there will probably be a capital flight from other Eurozone countries, a series of financial collapses of institutions which own Greek deby and in the long run Greece will start to recover with a massively devalued Drachma.

If Germany and France commit to keeping Greece inside the Eurozone then Greece's economic and political malaise will drag on but they will be able to borrow with German backing. Greece's fiscal policy would be set in Brussels and Berlin for the forseeable future.

However given that we are talking about the EU here, what happens if nothing is decided at any point? If everything just continues as it is indefinately- with no actual decision one way or the other being made. As far as I can see that is what is likely to happen the Germans are not going to continue to throw money at Greece, the Greeks won't accept the massive levels of cuts that are necessary and the EU won't kick Greece out of the Euro.

60 Years.

The Queen's diamond jubilee seems likely to make the Olympics only the second most hyped event of 2012 (the Mayan Apocalypse is third). Seeing a documentary on ITV which the narrator began with something like "The Thames flows through London much like affection for the Queen flows through the nation" was the last straw, the coverage has become so nauseating and sycophantic that the North Koreans are laughing at us. No doubt the Queen has done a pretty decent job, one which we will appreciate all the more when Charles III takes the throne but basically her achievement in reigning for 60 years just means that she's lived a long time. Still- extra bank holiday!

Owen Meet Beatrix, Beatrix Meet Owen.

The problem with being a rent a quote, ideologue is that you are incapable of learning from your comrades' mistakes:Beatrix Campbell, 2008:

The story of Shannon Matthews' disappearance - and dramatic reappearance, apparently alive and well, today - has confirmed the degree to which class is still the cultural register in our purportedly classless society.

....

Karen Matthews has acted appropriately throughout: she was waiting for Shannon at home; she contacted the police as soon as she had exhausted all the obvious locations. And yet, our eye is drawn to her poverty, numbers of partners, cans of lager going into her household. Everything about Ms Matthews' life has been up for scrutiny.

Owen Jones 2012:

What does it say about modern Britain when the pre-meditated massacre of six children is described as "an accident waiting to happen" on national television? In the early hours of last Friday, someone poured petrol through the letterbox of the Philpott household, unleashing a blaze that ended in one of the most appalling mass murders in our country's recent history. Whoever was responsible must have known the almost inevitable consequences of their actions. No rationalisations exist for this sort of atrocity.

.......

But we rarely see this reality: it is intentionally hidden from us. The Government and much of the media divert anger from those who caused the crisis, to your "scrounging" neighbour down the street. And so we end with Carole Malone arguing that a family whose children died in a fire brought it on themselves. It is beyond shameful. And it must be challenged.

Hey, it's almost as if refusing to draw value judgments about people who live self indulgent and parasitic existences is a flawed way of observing human life and that maybe feckless behaviour is indicative of not being nice people.

Now And Then

Daily Mail, 19th of April:

God only knows what the long-term effects of regularly viewing online  pornography will be on our children and teenagers, because this generation is the first to be exposed to it. 

But most of us have a pretty good idea: a distorted view of sex and human  relations is probably the least of it.
.....
Surely what all the providers should be doing is requiring anyone wanting access to online porn actively to opt in to these deeply degrading services.

Plainly, there’s no substitute for parents keeping a vigilant eye on their children, especially their internet use.

But if the industry won’t regulate itself to deal with this deeply corrosive social menace, it must be forced to do so.

Daily Mail, 14th of May:

An 'absolutely stunning' photograph of Madonna posing naked on a bed while smoking a cigarette has sold for nearly £15,000.

The sum is three times the estimate placed on the image that was taken in 1990 during the period when the singer had bleach-blonde hair and dark eye make-up.

It is a black and white photo and Madonna has her breasts exposed and just a white sheet covering her pudenda while she lies on a bed.

 

Complete with picture of course.

Least Enticing Intro Ever

Filed under the category of "articles I won't read":

London mayoral elections: who are you voting for? Eddie Izzard, Julia Stephenson, Duwayne Brooks and Karen Hampton reveal their choices for mayor in Thursday's election

The Guardian's coverage four years ago was hilarious though.

 Update: I've succumbed just so I could read the comments. This line from Eddie Izzard shows that he is clearly of the Laurie Penny/ Johann Hari school of quoting people:

I have spent many days out on the campaign trail with Ken. I have witnessed first-hand the response he evokes from ordinary Londoners – that "come on Ken, we need you back".

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.