tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52340312011-04-21T14:46:52.742-07:00The Price of FishGiles WardGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comBlogger3501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1109818463041778152005-03-02T18:52:00.000-08:002005-03-02T19:02:26.253-08:00Yellow PaperElection coming up and after a serious review Labour announces that the License fee will be renewed for 10 years. Unlikely to be connected.THE BBC won a ten-year extension to the licence fee from the Governmentyesterday for the modest price of seeing its board of governors split in two.From 2007 the corporation will be regulated by a BBC trust, to be headed bythe current chairman, GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1109808753035542162005-03-02T16:08:00.000-08:002005-03-02T18:56:01.996-08:00Super Bowl of RiceLooking at the Way Condi was turned out in her European tour I was afraid that we were going to have a Janet Jackson moment. In fact for a moment I thought saw glimpse of a tit; then I realized she was just shaking hands with Gerhard Schroeder.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1104106336815862412004-12-26T16:05:00.000-08:002004-12-26T16:12:16.816-08:00Everyone Wants to be Heard
There’s some controversy raging over at the Belmont Club over the statement by Jack Stokes that
“Insurgents want their stories told as much as other people”
And it turns out that this sentiment is relatively widely held, Frank Gardner, who was recently shot in Saudi Arabia says in an interview in the Telegraph:
"Ironically, said Mr Gardner, Arab contacts later toldGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1104104387691075882004-12-26T15:34:00.000-08:002004-12-26T15:39:47.690-08:00VME
From a world you couldn't make up:-
"The Metropolitan Police will no longer describe black people as black, as part of a new attempt to counter charges of racism in the force. Both black and Asian people will in future be referred to as "visible minority ethnics"....."The official claimed that the term would allow these communities to be distinguished from others - such as the Irish and the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1103762957833019582004-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:002004-12-22T17:13:51.913-08:00Tail Wags Dog
Reporting on the release of the two French hostages the Times report contains an embarrasing typo:-
"France managed to get the Islamic organisations on its side, and then to arrange a discreet hand-over in Baghdad."
Er other way round mate -
"Islamic organisations managed to get France on its side, and then to
arrange a publicity stunt in Paris."
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1103762157911723792004-12-22T16:34:00.000-08:002004-12-22T16:35:57.910-08:00All that is required for evil to prevail is that good (wo)men do nothing.
“A Home Office minister suggested yesterday that the violent protests that forced the cancellation of a play about Sikhs would ultimately benefit the author and the show.
Fiona Mactaggart refused to offer support for either the theatre, which came under siege, or the author, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, who is in hiding after GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1103668513169386922004-12-21T14:23:00.000-08:002004-12-21T14:35:13.170-08:00The Muppets Puppets
Ok so you’re doing an report on free speech and want to quote an expert to well, I don’t know, give the impression you know what you’re talking about – dumb girl in glasses idea. So who you going to call? Well if you’re the BBC you’d call in Index for Censorship – yep the very same group that celebrated the murder of Theo Van Gogh.
Needless to say the expert's views are GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1103503739486278092004-12-19T16:46:00.000-08:002004-12-19T16:48:59.486-08:00Standards Slipping
"CANDIDATES for sainthood will be exonerated from the requirement to have performed a miracle under guidelines being considered by the Pope. "
So I'm eligble now then?
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1103408334547838142004-12-18T14:06:00.000-08:002004-12-18T14:21:47.980-08:00Oi Look At that Cute Fuselage
The British Council to celebrate its 70th birthday
“..asked people learning English with us all over the world to tell us their most beautiful English words.”
40,000 votes from 102 countries yielded the usual smalch such as “cherish, freedom, liberty, serendipity” but a couple of interesting ones crept in. At 67 we have “fuselage”!?? I can quite picture the contextGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1103404673319802522004-12-18T13:06:00.000-08:002004-12-18T13:17:53.320-08:00The Stuff of Nightmares
The BBC series “The Power Of Nightmares” made the rather fantastical claim that actually the cold war was a CIA inspired plot. Yeah right no one would believe that? No. Well yes. One month later and Lord Hoffman delivers the rather extraordinary judgment that the
“Indefinite imprisonment in consequence of a denunciation on grounds that are not disclosed and made by a GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1085804600215466322004-05-28T21:15:00.000-07:002004-05-28T21:54:45.816-07:00AN EASY MISTAKE TO MAKE
The Guardian corrects a slightly misleading headline:”. It read: "Hungary foils 'Jewish' terror plot." Sharon up to his old tricks again? In fact "On April 13, the Hungarian police arrested three Arabs suspected of planning to attack a Jewish museum in Budapest." But shurely the idea that the Jews would want to bomb Budapest is patently absurd? Actually it was "Only GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084942775329337682004-05-18T21:53:00.000-07:002004-05-18T22:20:09.343-07:00MINISTER OF THE SPINELESS
After a couple of days of tough talk about “red lines”, Jack Straw reverts to form Britain yields to EU over criminal justice
The Government signalled yesterday that it was willing to breach the first of its "red line" safeguards on the European constitution by agreeing to cede Britain's veto over sensitive areas of criminal justice.Oh well red lines, yellow lines, GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084942310904463152004-05-18T21:40:00.000-07:002004-05-18T21:51:50.903-07:00UBIQUITOUS WMD
The explosion of sarin shell of in Iraqi raises a couple of interesting questions. Firstly who used it: it was either a member of the former regime or a freelancer. The first possibility can probably be discounted since they would not want to jeopardise the propaganda value of the lack of WMD. If it’s the second then that suggest that chemical weapons are probably quite commonGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084768655252800042004-05-16T21:32:00.000-07:002004-05-16T21:37:35.253-07:00A FEDERATION
A good article by Peter Galbraith argues
”A federation of Shia, Sunni and Kurdish states will avoid civil war”
Its worth remembering that the United Arab Emirates, a federation, is one of the few successful states in the Middle East.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084686337466415712004-05-15T22:45:00.000-07:002004-05-15T22:45:37.466-07:00IF YOU CANT BEAT ‘EM JOIN ‘EM
This looks pretty desperate
“KERRY-McCAIN AGAIN....More speculation about a Kerry-McCain ticket, this time on the front page of the New York Times.”
Maybe Bush should put Michael Moore on his ticket to show that he can take criticism?
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084685629680777522004-05-15T22:25:00.000-07:002004-05-15T22:33:49.680-07:00Update Hey, just watch Kerry work his magic on John: zzzzzzzz.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084682977742056822004-05-15T21:48:00.000-07:002004-05-15T21:57:50.816-07:00HEY HEY
The Good News:
“The British bloke is slobby, saggy and self-deluded... and that's just the way we like him!” “
The bad news it’s a guardian moose that feel this way.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084680566480316742004-05-15T20:59:00.000-07:002004-05-15T21:09:26.480-07:00THE EMPERORS NO CLOTHES
The clothes are starting to come off Brown’s economic miracle :
”Frank Hoole, 50, was last in a job 11 years ago. That was the year he was made redundant from his job with TSB, the bank subsequently taken over by Lloyds.
He is one of 2.4m people in Britain on incapacity benefit. Add the 311,000 who receive the government’s severe disablement allowance and 2.7m are on GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084679801051835732004-05-15T20:51:00.000-07:002004-05-15T20:56:41.050-07:00A DOUDLE EDGED SORWD
The Guardian reports
“Encouraging schoolchildren to experiment with oral sex could prove the most effective way of curbing teenage pregnancy rates, a government study has found.”
And will also increase the demand for interns.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084424757989847402004-05-12T22:03:00.000-07:002004-05-12T22:09:26.596-07:00REPORTING OR INCITING?
While debate on the media’s attitude to the Iraqi news rages, I’m surprised that this excerpt from escaped hostage Thomas Hamill hasn’t received more attention:
“COSBY: We’re looking at a picture of you now, Thomas, on TV when the Australian TV [crew] came over to you and you were interviewed briefly. That’s how we all knew that you were taken hostage. What did they say to GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084246585009175542004-05-10T20:33:00.000-07:002004-05-10T20:36:25.010-07:00 THE MOONBAT IS HORNY
Was Abu Gahrib caused by a breakdown in command, Donald Rumsfeld or inadequate training? No, stop trying to being so reasonable. According George it was the result of "> sexual abstinence:
“America's virgin soldiers are on their way - ignoring the dangers of abstinence for teenagers” But before you break down in laughter, there’s a warning:
“The flame of sexual GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084245580037583202004-05-10T20:19:00.000-07:002004-05-10T20:19:40.036-07:00 REALITY IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
“SHAMEFUL photographs showing British troops abusing Iraqi prisoners ARE fake, the Government confirmed yesterday.”
No surprises there . But why pay any attention, Blair likes apologising and the pinckos love bashing him. Win win.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084243544344170912004-05-10T19:45:00.000-07:002004-05-10T19:45:44.343-07:00COLGATE CARE
The march of employees’"> self esteem the primary goal of work gathers pace in the public sector
“The younger generation of specialised nurses is in danger of losing touch with the basic principles of the profession by becoming "too posh to wash", the Royal College of Nursing was warned yesterday.
Beverly Malone, the college's general secretary, said at its annual congress in GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084243236009473452004-05-10T19:25:00.000-07:002004-05-10T20:08:43.233-07:00THE MIDDLE PATH
A very good article by Charles Moore
“I was grimly amused to see this confirmed by the letter from a British serving officer in Saturday's paper, who said the people of Basra were constantly urging torture upon him, in order to deal with the gangsters who make their lives a misery.
The Americans think the British – and those in their own State Department and the CIA who think GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084241381838986172004-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:002004-05-10T19:20:44.883-07:00THE NEW ELOI
The Telegraph reports
“Mothers are rejecting equality in the workplace and prefer the idea of becoming full-time housewives - but not ones who actually do housework……
And what we're seeing is a serious gender divide regarding women in the workplace. This time around, it is the women who want to stay at home and the men who want to keep them in the offices and factories."
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084163916980416082004-05-09T21:36:00.000-07:002004-05-09T22:18:30.146-07:00WHATS IN A NAME
The right to change your nameis a fundamental human right.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084159796620454412004-05-09T20:19:00.000-07:002004-05-09T21:00:02.726-07:00COLGATE CAPITALISM
The childish drive towards “caring” capitalism under new Labor continues unabated. Patricia Hewitt of the DTI is trying to introduce something called the Operating and Financial Review which is “going to oblige all listed companies to provide details of factors affecting future performance, including the social and environmental risks they face.”
Neil Collins in the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1084158555625822812004-05-09T20:08:00.000-07:002004-05-09T20:12:14.453-07:00MUCH ADO ABU GHRAIB
I’m still waiting to read the first article about Abu Ghraibigatthat doesn’t include the obligatory injection of the word “atrocity” “abhorrent” or whatever the journalist’s random superlative thesaurus generates. As an old public school boy I’d have to say much of the so-called “torture” wouldn’t have even made afternoon tea gossip. Add the perspective that many of these “GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1083727799512051922004-05-04T20:29:00.000-07:002004-05-04T20:43:17.090-07:00Seperated At Birth?
The Times reports that “A POWERFUL committee of MPs is expected to question Piers Morgan, the Editor of the Daily Mirror, over the authenticity of pictures depicting alleged abuse of an Iraqi prisoner that military commanders last night insisted were “fake.”…..
Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces Minister, warned MPs in the Commons that the lives of British soldiers had been GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1083124831087407312004-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:002004-05-04T20:33:44.090-07:00A Game Theory Gordian Knot
“ Econopundit is having a debate on whether game theory is pant or not. This seems like a good test:
“Suspected al-Qa'eda gunmen launched co-ordinated attacks on a diplomatic district of Damascus last night, sparking a fierce battle with security forces on the streets of the Syrian capital.”
Lets get this right; Saudi Arabia is its sponsor – Al Quaida attacked it;GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1083123721630768852004-04-27T20:42:00.000-07:002004-04-27T21:30:57.153-07:00Don Quixote Rides Again
When it comes to upholding economic principles the EU continues to take a tilt at the windmills
“ “Europe's new economic affairs commissioner yesterday signalled he intended to take a hard line against countries that breach the Stability and Growth Pact”
A tough stance indeed; expected answer – non.
Nonetheless out of this pathos we get some comedy from economic GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1076476313369044302004-02-10T21:11:00.000-08:002004-04-27T20:45:08.216-07:00THE PATHETIC SHARK:
“"> The victim of a bizarre shark attack swam 300 metres, jumped in his car, then walked to get help - with a 60 centimetre wobbegong shark still attached to his leg.
And it took a while for lifesavers on the New South Wales central coast to help Luke Tresoglavic prise the shark off his leg. “How? “They eventually drowned it with a hose. “
Sounds like someone got GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1076467642684894992004-02-10T18:47:00.000-08:002004-02-10T21:16:43.106-08:00WHY OH WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A BETTER DATA? In his on going “why oh why can't we have a better press corps?” Brad Delong seems to finaly be getting the figures into sense.
“Aha. Now it becomes clear, looking at Table C-2.* 4% per year real GDP growth plus +0.4% for the fact that the nonfarm business sector is projected to be an increasing share of the economy -3.0% for employment growth = 1.4% per GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1076373918935028092004-02-09T16:45:00.000-08:002004-02-09T18:58:29.920-08:00EXTREMELY LIKELY: A dog whistle seems to have gone up that the Economic Report Of The President has made absurdly wild projections regarding the forecasted changes in the non farm payroll numbers. Calpundit comes running:
"Brad DeLong, demonstrating once again why he's an economist and I'm not, explains that the latest job growth figures from the White House are actually more peculiar than I GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1076306694283377712004-02-08T22:04:00.000-08:002004-02-09T16:49:18.326-08:00FISCALLY RECKLESS OR RECKLESS WITH THEIR FIGURES: There seems to be a bit of a myth that Bush has let discretionary spending get out of hand. Most, like Brad Delong, come to this conclusion by basing their argument on current dollars i.e. not adjusted for inflation. However even looking at the real dollar figures is misleading since this does not take into account economic growth, which GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1076299832173253012004-02-08T20:10:00.000-08:002004-02-09T16:50:39.390-08:00FREE TRADE: It’s A-day in world trade and Bush’s free trade credentials are restored:
“ AUSTRALIA and the United States today signed a free trade deal eliminating duties from more than 99 per cent of American manufacturing exports to Australia”
This great news, not only is the deal of immediate effect for the majority of trade, it gives some much needed impetus to the free trade cause whichGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1076298960005956872004-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:002004-02-09T17:03:50.623-08:00GOOGLE FISHING: I’ve back again, sorry for the break, I’m sure you didn’t miss me. Its interesting that, even when you don’t post anything, you still get traffic – thanks to google searches for Saddam, Bush or whatever. So here’s my bait for the google fish.
The Hutton enquiry has cleared Jacques Chirac of removing veil from one of Janet Jackson’s Howard Deans at the Super Quagmire. The neo GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061682949983759552003-08-23T16:55:00.000-07:002004-02-08T19:59:14.436-08:00GA GA: If you had any doubts that Germany is seriously troubled society, read this: “GERMANS would be given the vote at birth under a bizarre proposal to be considered by parliament next month. Under the plan, designed to combat voter apathy, parents would be entitled to cast the additional ballot on their child’s behalf until they reached 18; they would be legally bound to explain political GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061681987271506852003-08-23T16:39:00.000-07:002003-08-23T16:40:06.516-07:00THE REAL OPPOSITION: Latest revelations in the Kelly affair reveal the extent to which the BBC thought it was in fact the official opposition, directing the Tories as a useful minor coalition partner"Documents released by the Hutton inquiry reveal Richard Sambrook, the BBC’s head of news, knew that Gilligan, the defence correspondent of Radio 4’s Today programme, was briefing Richard Ottaway, a GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061579668890061262003-08-22T12:14:00.000-07:002003-08-22T12:14:28.883-07:00STOCKHOLM SYNDROME: After the curious refusal of the UN to request US troops even after they’d been warned that an attack on a soft target was planned, we discover that:“ Most of the U.N. security guards at the compound had been placed there by the Saddam security service before the war and reported on U.N. staff movements at the Canal Hotel, headquarters for U.N. inspectors looking for weapons GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061521348582476722003-08-21T20:02:00.000-07:002003-08-22T12:16:45.403-07:00EVOLUTION: How the worm evolved.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061515796582854782003-08-21T18:29:00.000-07:002003-08-21T18:29:56.580-07:00GETTING THE POINT: Mary Ann Sieghart points to the missing name in the Hutton Enquiry: “So who is to blame? The BBC or the Government? Andrew Gilligan or Alastair Campbell? Geoff Hoon or Tony Blair? But one crucial name is missing. Ploughing through the evidence that the Hutton inquiry posted on its website yesterday, I could not help but conclude that the finger of blame points just as GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061349009443874642003-08-19T20:10:00.000-07:002003-08-19T20:14:11.393-07:00BEWARE OF BRITS BEARING TITS: This seems a little harsh from the culture that gave us naked, oiled, man on man wrestling:”An 18-year-old woman from Bath was at the centre of an increasingly bitter culture clash between residents of the Greek island of Rhodes and rowdy young British holidaymakers yesterday after she was sentenced to eight months in jail for removing her top in a crowded bar. “GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061348784853851512003-08-19T20:06:00.000-07:002003-08-19T20:08:02.260-07:00HUTTON ENQUIRY: After today’s evidence, The Times concludes that: ”Lord Hutton will deliver an opinion on ensuing events, in particular, the fact of, and the fashion of, the naming of Dr Kelly. It may be that he holds ministers predominantly responsible or decides that the BBC was as culpable for what happened. It does not seem probable, though, that he will deem Mr Campbell to be guilty of the “GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061348183057071262003-08-19T19:56:00.000-07:002003-08-19T19:56:51.193-07:00WHOSE LIP?: David Aaronovitch has an interesting take on who now holds the stiff upper lip now:
” First was the power failure that blacked out a third of the cities in north America last Thursday, covering nearly 10,000 square miles and 50 million people. The traffic lights stopped, the street lights went out, the freezers unfroze, trains in the subways conked out and their passengers had to GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061341644088712242003-08-19T18:07:00.000-07:002003-08-19T18:07:24.086-07:00FULL BACKING: The BBC reporter arrested for infiltrating the police feels confident that he’ll be vindicated:"The subject matter is hugely important and I think the BBC is fully justified in sanctioning such a project. I know I have the full backing of the BBC and that they are going to throw all their weight behind me.” I seem to recall Gilligan felt the same way too.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061085612801026862003-08-16T19:00:00.000-07:002003-08-16T19:00:12.636-07:00WRONG: I’m tired of the accepted myth, as Max Hastings writes in the Telegraph today, that Bush was motivated to take out Saddam because of 9/11 - :“George Bush claimed to be troubled by a tyrant, al-Qa'eda, and weapons of mass destruction, when he simply wanted to punish somebody for September 11.”And yet as this partisan piece recognises:“go back to December 1999 when Bush was still governorGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061081230843246362003-08-16T17:47:00.000-07:002003-08-16T19:01:56.416-07:00BBC PARANOIA: Contrary to Instapundit and Idler postings, Tom Mangold has not actually filed suit against Newsweek, he’s merely instructed his lawyers to do so. Gilligan issued a similar threat against Phil Woolas, a labour MP over his accusation that Gilligan had misled the select committee . In light of the evidence the Hutton enquiry has heard to date, its not surprising that we haven’t GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1061004643925575662003-08-15T20:30:00.000-07:002003-08-15T20:32:10.146-07:00WHERE IS THE IRAQI ERHARD?: Samizdata posts an upbeat email from Iraq, but behind the upbeat bravado, a more depressing scenario is hidden:“The article highlights the fact that the fuel price are too low and this is a situation we inherited from the old regime. Whole Basra economy is based upon it and so it is very difficult to change in such a short time. Also, it is not in our mandate, we justGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060785517872330502003-08-13T07:38:00.000-07:002003-08-13T12:11:54.030-07:00UH-OH: The BBC's case starts to unravel:"Reporter Susan Watts told an inquiry into Kelly's death the scientist did not tell her in a telephone conversation that Blair's closest adviser Alastair Campbell transformed a dossier on Iraq's banned weapons to help make the case for a war most Britons opposed.
She also accused BBC bosses of pressuring her to make her report tally with that of her GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060737868758491762003-08-12T18:24:00.000-07:002003-08-12T20:23:34.070-07:00ICH BEIN EIN BERLINER: Following in the footsteps of JFK’s vacuous assertion and the weasily 9/11 declaration in the French press that “we are all Americans”, now Silvio has a pop at it: “Signor Berlusconi told Bild newspaper last week that he considered himself “almost a German”. Since German newspapers have caricatured him as the heir to Benito Mussolini, the comment did not go down too well GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060736930455391542003-08-12T18:08:00.000-07:002003-08-12T20:34:24.290-07:00THE GILLIGAN: Gilligan has now stated, on record, that Kelly lied:-“Lord Hutton then asked Mr Gilligan: “You put the question, ‘Was it to make it sexier?’ and Dr Kelly replied, ‘Yes, to make it sexier’.” Mr Gilligan replied: “Yes.”
Lord Hutton said: “Are you clear in your recollection that you asked how was it transformed and that the name Campbell was first spoken by Dr Kelly?” Mr Gilligan GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060732890348797372003-08-12T17:01:00.000-07:002003-08-12T18:39:53.093-07:00THE GOVERNORS: Day 2 of the Hutton Enquiry was more interesting, as the BBC notes: “the inquiry heard that the BBC governors had noted that Mr Gilligan's [report/story/editorial] had not used "careful language". Yet in their July statement the governors concluded: In summary, the governors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the BBC upholds the highest standards of impartiality and GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060655291243888832003-08-11T19:28:00.000-07:002003-08-11T20:45:35.750-07:00LITIGATION PSYCHOSIS: This is a strangely poignant tale of the dangers of litigation psychosis. While I have only worked on one similar case, I suspect that instances where a claimant goes mad as a consequence of pursuing a claim that some incident traumatised them are far more common than is often acknowledged. “A psychiatrist suffering from schizophrenia stabbed to death a former colleague GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060649639462278412003-08-11T17:53:00.000-07:002003-08-11T19:59:45.810-07:00THE KELLY ENQUIRY: It would appear that there was no sexing up of the dossier, even though there may have been some discussion about it’s contents:“THE way that key information in last year’s dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction was presented caused concern to intelligence staff at the Ministry of Defence, the inquiry into the death of David Kelly was told yesterday. .However, the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060572226316456572003-08-10T20:23:00.000-07:002003-08-10T20:23:46.240-07:00THE BATTLER: Paul Kelly has a brilliant article on the genius of John Howard, probably the most accomplished world leader today and with lessons to right wing opinion everywhere:"In attacking the progressive interpretation of our history as "little more than a disgraceful record of imperalism, exploitation and racism", Howard delegitimised the elites and empowered the mainstream. For Brett, GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060564165789441532003-08-10T18:09:00.000-07:002003-08-10T18:10:05.623-07:00USEFUL : The Guardian has some useful analysis for the Democrats:“ Democratic party pollsters have identified single women as a key new demographic group that it must galvanise if it is to recover the White House next year. Nicknamed the "Sex in the City voters", single women are less likely to turn up to the polls than married women but more likely to vote Democrat if they do: a potentially GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060560770467292072003-08-10T17:12:00.000-07:002003-08-10T18:11:26.320-07:00DRINK: Is it worth it?:“Workers who enjoy a drink earn more than their teetotal colleagues, according to a study of people aged 45. Moderate drinkers make, on average, 17 per cent more money than abstainers, researchers at Stirling University found…..Even heavy drinkers, defined as men who drank more than 50 units of alcohol a week and women who drank more than 35 units, earned five per cent moreGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060484327399581272003-08-09T19:58:00.000-07:002003-08-10T17:02:29.306-07:00KYOTO: Is it worth it?: “For the cost of implementing the Kyoto Protocol in the single year of 2010, we could permanently satisfy the world's greatest need: we could provide clean drinking water and sanitation for everybody.” GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060483356265992672003-08-09T19:42:00.000-07:002003-08-09T19:42:36.126-07:00PRO MARRIAGE?: The Labour government often claims to be in favor of marriage but: “David Blunkett, the home secretary, has told immigration officials that women from Thailand, the Philippines and other countries in the region should be banned from entering Britain as tourists or students unless they first sign a pledge not to marry British men. “Now no one can have an objection to people who GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060482306239493822003-08-09T19:25:00.000-07:002003-08-09T19:26:17.220-07:00THE HOPELESS; Edward Luttwak of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies has written an article that just cries out for a fisking. He begins:“It is now three months since Bush declared that the war in Iraq was over. The occupation is costing almost $4 billion a week” That’s 200 billion a year – more than 2/3rd s of US military expenditure. I think he mean a month, but what’s time whenGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060141139070732272003-08-05T20:38:00.000-07:002003-08-05T21:08:31.890-07:00GAY MARRIAGE: The biggest problem with gay marriage is not that homosexuals will abuse it but that heterosexuals will, as shown when France enacted the Pacte Civile de Solidarit in 2000 which recognised homosexual couples and recognised their right to live and work close together:“The most recent criticism is based on widespread news media reports and claims that the law is being used by some GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060139070882136412003-08-05T20:04:00.000-07:002003-08-05T21:08:57.953-07:00PROJECTION: Krugman asks
>“instead, their job is to rationalize decisions that have already been made. And more and more, they find that they are expected to play up evidence, however weak, that seems to support the administration's case, while suppressing evidence that doesn't.
Am I describing the C.I.A.? The E.P.A.? The National Institutes of Health?”Or yourself?
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060138613417843402003-08-05T19:56:00.000-07:002003-08-05T21:06:57.453-07:00Brewers Asked to Create Beer for Women: It’s called Chablis.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1060137271839965632003-08-05T19:34:00.000-07:002003-08-05T21:09:35.630-07:00BREAKDOWN: It seems that a misunderstanding lies at the heart of Waltermittigate: “Mr Kelly believed, it seems, that his conversation with journalists was off-the-record and for "background" and would therefore not be reported. Such non-attributable conversations happen all the time at Westminster.
He appears to have been under the impression that the discussion was part of one setting out the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059343945440876712003-07-27T15:12:00.000-07:002003-07-27T15:12:25.443-07:00I'm away for most of this week so Bloggin will be light.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059161036448537292003-07-25T12:23:00.000-07:002003-07-25T12:23:56.380-07:00DUTY: Tom Watson thinks that there are two principle issues arising from the Kelly affair - the role of Select Committees and the Role of the BBC. At the risk of appearing tackless; I think that there is a third - the neutrality of the civil service. Dr Kelly was a civil servant and whatever he actually said, it appears he was briefing against the government he served and in breach of the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059100629141886092003-07-24T19:37:00.000-07:002003-07-24T21:14:19.323-07:00WHY THE TORIES LOOSE: This edition of The Spectator illustrates why the Covenservates are now the natural party of opposition. The Kelly affair raised many questions about both the BBC’s news reporting and the Blair governments modus operandi. It should have presented a sitting duck for any conservative pundit. So the Spectator runs 5 articles attacking those conservative pundits who’ve GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059096960138034222003-07-24T18:36:00.000-07:002003-07-24T18:42:35.466-07:00GUNG HO? This anecdote pops the gung ho GI media meme:“More recently, American soldiers have been charged with the sensitive task of searching those who enter the Palace district of Baghdad. One Shi'ite mullah felt it a great dishonour to be searched. The soldier responsible, Captain Wolford, agreed to take him round the back of the building and search him in private. Once there, the mullah GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059095619956276602003-07-24T18:13:00.000-07:002003-07-24T18:13:39.930-07:00A BATTLE OF COMPETENCE: One of the main tenets of guerrilla warfare is that you disperse your command to avoid knockout blows– so having two of your most senior commanders in the same house at the same time for a couple of weeks is either a sign of supreme over-confidence or supreme incompetence.
Evidence for the latter is the largely ineffective guerrilla campaign waged so far: intelligence GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059018389343217812003-07-23T20:46:00.000-07:002003-07-24T06:20:14.543-07:00FREE MILITARY COMPETITION: There has been debate about whether the British Basra strategy in the south or the American Baghdad strategy in the heartland is best. In reality it is like comparing the actions of two surgeons dealing with two totally different patients. The Shia South is a patient suffering from relatively mild Baathsim and the “non-invasive holistic” approach adopted by the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059016687031608822003-07-23T20:18:00.000-07:002003-07-23T20:18:07.076-07:00UNWELCOME HOUSE GUESTS: Looks like the story was that the Saddam brothers overstayed their welcome or at the least were unwelcome house guests. The Indie give a good account of the events:“Neighbours and witnesses of the US attack have offered anecdotes that seem to confirm he was host to the two brothers. For instance, Mr Zaydan, who was hardly popular in the area, has been spending unusual GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059009615741236622003-07-23T18:20:00.000-07:002003-07-23T18:20:36.000-07:00GUESS WHO? “His popularity reached a high of 74 per cent during the war in Iraq, ….. but according to a poll …… it has fallen to 53 per cent this week. More significantly, 68 per cent of people think he should be more involved in domestic politics. “Bush? Blair? No Chirac.GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059008819396896942003-07-23T18:06:00.000-07:002003-07-23T18:06:59.220-07:00WHAT DUTY: Mr Guy Thornton letter to the Times asks: Sir, A government employee gives unauthorised briefings to journalists. Many people appear to believe that the employer then became duty-bound to keep the employee’s name secret.
Why?
Yours, etc,
Because it advances their cause, etc.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1059008442800759902003-07-23T18:00:00.000-07:002003-07-23T18:01:29.316-07:00CONFLICT OF INTEREST: And interesting reason why the Tories choose to go after Campbell and the government not Gilligan and the BBC: “The leading critic of Alastair Campbell’s alleged role in the “sexing-up” of the Iraqi dossier was John Maples, the suave former Tory minister. While most MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee floundered, Maples pursued Campbell with admirable vigour and wasGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058993746621352332003-07-23T13:55:00.000-07:002003-07-23T16:08:32.443-07:00DOWNTIME: In case you’re wondering where I went, it looks like I got hacked yesterday. Anyway NeverCalm -the site the hackers had partially set up as a mirror - kindly helped me sort the problem out. So click here to check out a great photoblogg!GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058932701582257502003-07-22T20:58:00.000-07:002003-07-23T15:42:41.630-07:00I've been hacked!GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058930504292652062003-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:002003-07-22T20:21:53.533-07:00CRACKS?: After first defending the BBC’s behaviour in the Kelly affair, even Peter Ridell concedes that there is a problem with the BBC’s status: "But any such organisation must be properly accountable. The BBC is not. Its governors are straightforward non-executive directors. As the annual report shows, they support the BBC lavishly and, in return, are entertained and massaged by BBC GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058929919244228252003-07-22T20:11:00.000-07:002003-07-22T20:18:45.316-07:00LIVE BY THE SWORD: Signs of strain or a confident new spin? Having spent the past six years campaigning for the resignation of every Tory party leader, countless ministers and most recently the Prime Minister himself, the BBC’s Andrew Marr now want to suggest that resignation and responsibility is passé:
“Everyone should resign. Tony Blair; Geoff Hoon; Alastair Campbell; Alastair Campbell's GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058929374357971162003-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:002003-07-22T20:02:54.336-07:00THE CAKE: It takes an outside opinion to sift the spin and hysteria from the story. Eoghan Harris of the Irish Indie has this to say:
“Already the Blair camp seems to be, stupidly, signalling it wants a truce, when this is the best chance it will ever get to reform the BBC. Likewise, Duncan Smith and the Tory press are laying off the BBC in the insane belief that the Tories might get a better GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058928100724873912003-07-22T19:41:00.000-07:002003-07-23T21:34:59.410-07:00MORAL HAZARD:
“President Charles Taylor's allies issued what appeared to be inflated casualty figures yesterday as the troubled Liberian regime stepped up its campaign to draw foreign peacekeepers into the country's civil war.” There seems to be a pattern here – the dictators and warlords have realised that there’s a reckless willingness in the Western media to accept at face value inflated GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058927411772186202003-07-22T19:30:00.000-07:002003-07-22T20:30:24.640-07:00A SLIP OF THE TONGUE: Richard Sambrook, the BBC’s Head of News who knew Dr Kelly’s identity, said on June 26 that Mr Gilligan’s story came from “one senior and credible source in the intelligence services”. The spokesman said: “That was a slip of the tongue.”
Fortunately this is a problem that can now be cured - First human tongue transplant succeeds
Update: And here’s another slip of the GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058849337455468412003-07-21T21:48:00.000-07:002003-07-21T21:48:57.283-07:00PRIVATISE THE BBC: Jeff Jarvis is running the line that the only solution is to privatise the BBC. I’m not convinced that this is the solution either as a matter of principle or one of practice.
As a matter of practice, the simple fact is that the majority of public opinion does not support such a move. This weekend’s YouGov poll indicated that it still retains a high degree of trust GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058587495243239512003-07-18T21:04:00.000-07:002003-07-18T21:07:07.393-07:00THE BAHA’I CONNECTION: Dr Kelly was it appears a member of the Bahai faith:
“Dr Kelly was said to be a practising member of the Baha'i Faith and a former treasurer of the Oxfordshire Spiritual Assembly.”
I haven’t heard of them before but they are apparently a sect originating in Persia, have been banned in Muslims states as heretical. This is because they have violated a cardinal principle ofGILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058584377519178412003-07-18T20:12:00.000-07:002003-07-18T20:12:57.493-07:00THE BLAME: The death of Dr Kelly is to be regretted, caught in the cross fire of what appears to be a savage war between the Blairites in New Labour and the Browintes in the BBC. And in this internecine warDr Kelly found himself a pawn:
“But Robert Jackson, Dr Kelly’s local MP, said that if he had committed suicide, the BBC was to blame. The corporation should have confirmed that Dr Kelly was GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058414107886614902003-07-16T20:55:00.000-07:002003-07-16T20:55:07.700-07:00THE AGENDA: European educated Magnus Linklater catches the zeitergiet at a European conference:-
"I think of myself as a fully paid-up European…. But my beautiful relationship has been damaged….It was, I suppose, to be expected that the war in Iraq should loom large in our discussions. What I had not anticipated was that this single event should now so clearly define European attitudes, that GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058413300099834442003-07-16T20:41:00.000-07:002003-07-16T20:44:53.766-07:00TRUSTED: A small but significant development:
“A small, but significant, political fact: asked to name Britain's most honest politician, listeners to the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 picked William Hague.”
A sign that frankness is returning to British politics? Peter Riddell outlines the task.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058322211460201262003-07-15T19:23:00.000-07:002003-07-15T19:24:19.343-07:00THE STING: In the Times today, Simon Jenkins explains the uranium sting:
“It seems bitterly ironic that the falling out should be over Niger uranium “intelligence”. The source, I understand, was France, with close links to Niger’s mining industry. Britain should have been deeply sceptical of anything French at this juncture before the war, hence perhaps the reluctance to reveal the source to GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058240561205173732003-07-14T20:42:00.000-07:002003-07-14T21:03:43.303-07:00I AM KIM: On that other little crisis, Tony Jones and Kim Myong Chol, the executive director of the Centre for Korean-American Peace have an interesting exchange:
"TONY JONES: Kim Myong Chol, Australia and the US plan to begin, as we've said, these naval exercises in the very near future to practice interdicting North Korean ships. What reaction do you expect from Pyongyang to these practice GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058237490377904012003-07-14T19:51:00.000-07:002003-07-14T19:51:30.370-07:00GIFTS: Interesting article on the gifts Bush gets:
“The Saudis presented President George Bush with a million-dollar oil painting. From the Italians he got an exquisite alabaster sculpture depicting the Allegory of the Triumph. Tony Blair gave him a toilet bag…. It's not entirely clear what the bag of toiletries from Mr Blair represented - possibly a witty echo of Mr Bush's remark at their GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058236681386079242003-07-14T19:38:00.000-07:002003-07-14T19:38:01.360-07:00AN UNETHICAL BAN: This goes against everything the pasty pommy tourist stands for:
“The high street chemist chain Lloydspharmacy, which has cleared its shelves of sunscreens below factor 15, said its "ethical stance" had protected consumers against the risk of skin cancer….”
and will also stop Brits in Bondi and the Costa standing out so much.
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058236063475157972003-07-14T19:27:00.000-07:002003-07-14T19:27:43.456-07:00STRAW MAN: British Foreign secretary discloses:
“Britain cannot tell the United States how it knew that Iraq tried to get uranium from Niger because the information originated from a third country, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, without identifying the country….
He added, however, that Britain was not at liberty to tell the US where it got the information, because it had come from "foreign GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1058235341583855352003-07-14T19:15:00.000-07:002003-07-14T19:15:41.570-07:00NON SEQUITER: this reveals a pretty limited understanding of what constitutes a “separation of powers”:
Lord Falconer, the Constitution Secretary, said the Government's preference was for a Judicial Appointments Commission that would recommend a single name for each vacancy. As Secretary of State, he would have the right to reject that name and require the commission to recommend someone else….GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057896697166313992003-07-10T21:11:00.000-07:002003-07-10T21:11:37.143-07:00THE NEW TALIBAN: New Labour’s Kafkaresque attitude to sex continues:“A bill due before parliament next week will make it a criminal offence for two 15-year-olds to kiss in public, the Home Office said last night…But officials said those below the age of consent were unlikely to be prosecuted if both were enjoying the embrace. ..But officials such activity could carry a prison sentence of up to GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057890086408228612003-07-10T19:21:00.000-07:002003-07-10T19:24:09.303-07:00BOLLOX, SIR: Sometimes it seems that kids are more perceptive when something’s amiss than adults:
“Boys do less well than girls in virtually every subject throughout their school lives because they are less tolerant of bad teaching, the education watchdog Ofsted said yesterday….
Boys respected teachers who imposed firm discipline, had high expectations, gave them plenty of individual attention, GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057889419792839672003-07-10T19:10:00.000-07:002003-07-10T19:25:44.286-07:00ANOTHER DICTATORSHIP, ANOTHER DEAL:“President Jacques Chirac negotiated a secret deal to protect Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general accused of Europe's worst atrocities since the Second World War, according to evidence submitted to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
M Chirac allegedly agreed to sabotage the extradition of Gen Mladic to face genocide charges for his role in GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057888388284581822003-07-10T18:53:00.000-07:002003-07-10T18:53:08.263-07:00HOLIDAY AT HOME: It looks like Schroder’s petulant gesture is backfiring at home:-
“Chancellor Gerhard Schröder came under attack yesterday for cancelling his holiday in Italy over jibes from a junior minister in Rome. Most of the more serious German newspapers criticised the decision, made after the Italian politician, Stefano Stefani, claimed that German tourists were blond, GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057803058851126972003-07-09T19:10:00.000-07:002003-07-09T19:43:58.060-07:00OVER-WORKED: And loving it. This article puts paid to the notion that working long hours is bad for the family and bad for personal satisfaction:
“Research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies contradicts the prevailing wisdom that working long hours damages a person's health and relationships. The study found one in four dads who put in more than 60 hours a week are highly satisfied GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057723729707960262003-07-08T21:08:00.000-07:002003-07-09T19:41:26.740-07:00MATT’S BBC DIARY, AGE 11 ½: This diary by the “Washington correspondent” [?] Matt Frei is a great study in the neotic journalism of BBC news today:
“Senegal! This former French colony remains one of the most Francophile countries in Africa - cafe au lait, baguettes and crepes for breakfast and virtually no English spoken.”
Hey, quelle suprise for a francophone country!
“Considering the recent GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234031.post-1057721098022556562003-07-08T20:24:00.000-07:002003-07-08T20:27:58.533-07:00THANK YOU, BRITISH PRESS, #135: from a story in The Scotsman entitled "Boys planned Matrix-inspired massacre,":
"The New Jersey trio were planning to kill randomly in the streets of Oaklyn, which has inhabitants."
(This, presumably, cannot be taken for granted with respect to mass teenage killing sprees in the Highlands....)
entirely via Oxblog
GILEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747796467792729289noreply@blogger.com