Woof!

Rachel from North London

Rachel from North London writes about her experiences after the 7/7 explosions. Some of it is interesting, a lot of it is complaining about how the Government hasn't done enough to help her. Those of us who were affected by IRA bombings in London (I think in paricular of St Mary Axe) didn't get any help. But we also didn't bang on endlessly about it, demanding that everything was sorted out for us.

One thing we certainly didn't do, in our position as a sacred cow of the weeping left was to move into politics and start whinging about how other people could do their job better. Sure, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but these are opinions concealed within a Trojan horse of other values and views. If it was a pre-conceived method to push an agenda it would be clever, as it is it is merely opportunistic. And crass opportunism at that.

One might even call it lazy and deceitful.

ODPM

...and what about that secretary in Tory Central Office?

Bored with Blaine

And so it continues

"Magician David Blaine has announced plans to spend seven days submerged in a water-filled container in New York.

The illusionist, who spent 44 days in a glass box for a starvation stunt in London in 2003, will use lines giving nutrition and air to stay alive"

The truly magical thing about these events is how on earth does he make money? Who is it who is interested enough to part with cold hard cash to view this talentless tw*t.

Comment is Free Saves the World

In the opinion of Will Hutton Comment is Free is the reason blogging will now assume a greater importance:

"British political internet and blogging are years behind America's. Even now, according to the British Market Research Bureau, 30 per cent of internet users have never heard of a blog. British culture is less instinctively democratic and empowering of individual voices and far more ready to mock the self-appointedly serious than, say, American society.

But with the launch of the Guardian's blogging website ('comment is free'), it may be that we have reached a tipping point. I googled Euston.Manifesto and it posted more than 200,000 results. It is beginning to attract attention not just in Britain, but in the USA, and for a good reason. Although wrong in disabling ways and philosophically illogical, it redeems itself with one golden thread in its thinking: democracy is a universal principle that must be upheld."

I rather suspect that the reason an awful lot of people have heard of Comment is Free is because of the blogs, rather than a lot of people hearing about blogs because of Comment is Free. Hey ho.

Monkey Business

Dear Recess Monkey

White text on a black background isn't good. It looks messy and is a complete pain to read.

That is all.

Yours ever

Woof!

Pot calling Kettle

Martin Kettle has an interesting article about the Euston Manifesto in the Guardian.

"It is also time that both sides looked the question of the United States more fully in the eye. America is not the problem; on that the manifesto is right. But the Bush administration unquestionably is. The pro-war school, both among the authors and in the British government, never properly acknowledges the historic rupture represented by Bush. But it would not have been like this if Al Gore had won in 2000."

Bizarre. Is Al Gore really the messiah, and the American people chose to spurn him? Unlikely, he was a less than effective politician who didn't command a majority in the US and was rightly rejected.

The Bush administration represents a very important departure in US politics. It will be seen as the point at which the US actually began to play a role in the world. Legions of administrations had previously peeked at the wider world from behind net curtains, only coming out after the neighbours had spent time hammering on the door demanding that they come out and help sort out the rowdies from down the road.

The world needs a strong US. There are problems that we've allowed to develop for decades and which we've only just started to address. Hiding within our own borders isn't enough any more. It's time for dictators and rogue states to be afraid, very afraid.

Wheelin' n Dealin'

Where's Charlie Wheelan these days?

No2junkmail No2id

An interesting email reaches me:

"Dear webmaster

As a political web Blog I thought you may well be interested in the eBay auction

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9509747282&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:UK:31

It is designed to highlight the consequences of ID cards and help promote the pressure group NO2ID www.no2id.net. The idea is to encourage people to watch the auction and as a result for it to appear on eBay pulse to in the hope to generate additional publicity for NO2ID.

Many thanks

Michael Cole

--
Stop The Database State

http://www.no2id.net"

Having never even been to or subscribed to the no2id website, I can only presume that this email, correctly identified by my software as junk mail, was compiled by way of a...errr, database.

Oh dear.

Wanted: third rate useless manager

This is, so it seems the short list for the job of manager of the English football team:

"Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren, Bolton's Sam Allardyce, Charlton's Alan Curbishley and former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill"

What a sorry shower of shite. And get this:

"McClaren remains the bookmakers' favourite following Boro's run to the semi-finals of both the FA and Uefa Cups."

Remind me again where 'Boro are in the league?

Brown's political debt

If Gordon Brown ever actually makes it to Number 10, he's going to owe an awful lot of favours to an awful lot of people.