At 17:00 today (31/1/12) it was announced that Britain is to strip former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Sir Fred Goodwin of his knighthood.
Anyway it's now around 20:05 and I'm back from the pub with no problems to report. Due to the Palace V Brighton game in the end my father and I decided to go to a different pub. I should point out that this wasn't because of a fear of disorder. It's just that the extra crowds and the police restrictions would have made a trip to the usual pub a lot of hassle.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
A Quick Niggle on Syria.
Yesterday (30/1/12) much of the western media was reporting that there was fresh fighting in the outskirts of Damascus the Syrian capital. Although strictly speaking that day's fighting was new it's actually the end of a cycle of violence in the capital which saw the insurgents spring up in the suburbs of Damascus on Friday (27/1/12) to convince the UNSC that the situation was far more serious then it actually is. What we're seeing now is just the Syrian government mopping up the end of that effort.
You may remember that a similar thing happened in Libya when fighting broke out in the suburbs of Tripoli just before the UNSC met. We were told that this was a sign that Tripoli would soon fall but then the fighting was suppressed and eight months later Tripoli and Qaddafi were still standing. So I think all the fighting in Damascus demonstrated was how closely linked the Syrian insurgents are to the western powers that a taking the matter to the UN in order to sanction a foreign intervention that is already going on.
You may remember that a similar thing happened in Libya when fighting broke out in the suburbs of Tripoli just before the UNSC met. We were told that this was a sign that Tripoli would soon fall but then the fighting was suppressed and eight months later Tripoli and Qaddafi were still standing. So I think all the fighting in Damascus demonstrated was how closely linked the Syrian insurgents are to the western powers that a taking the matter to the UN in order to sanction a foreign intervention that is already going on.
There's a Wasted Opportunity.
Yesterday (30/1/12) European Union (EU) leaders held their first summit since the introduction of December's Europact aimed at solving the Eurozone economic crisis. The thinking behind the scheduling of the summit was that the Greek debt default deal would have been completed. This would have allowed the summit to concentrate on ways to stimulate economic growth. This is particularly relevant to Greece because up until now all their economic reforms and austerity measures have been focused on minimising government expenditure by cutting costs and maximising government revenue by raising taxes in order to pay off the nations debts. With 50% of Greek debt being written off this becomes less of a priority allowing the government to focus it's reforms on restructuring the Greek economy to solve the long term problems that pre-date the debt crisis such as their chronic levels of youth unemployment and youth under employment.
Unfortunately Greece's creditors are still holding up the debt write off meaning that the EU summit was left going over the Europact deal again and again. Being unable to highlight the positive aspects of the plan the Czech Republic got spooked by plans to provide EU oversight for struggling economy's a failed to sign up to the Europact.
Unfortunately Greece's creditors are still holding up the debt write off meaning that the EU summit was left going over the Europact deal again and again. Being unable to highlight the positive aspects of the plan the Czech Republic got spooked by plans to provide EU oversight for struggling economy's a failed to sign up to the Europact.
Monday, 30 January 2012
Afghan Taliban Talks.
Yesterday (29/1/12) it was announced that the Afghan government and the Taliban would meet for face to face talks for the first time in either Saudi Arabia or Turkey. Although talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban is news talks between the United States and the Taliban are now at such an advanced stage the US feel they can have some fun with them. Firstly there was the question of whether the Taliban would set up an office in either Saudi Arabia or Qatar. The subtext here was the US asking where the British Royal Family would like to go into exile. Now the Taliban have set up their office in Qatar the subtext to the question of whether talks with the Afghan government will take place in Saudi Arabia or Turkey is the US floating for discussion whether the Turks or the Saudis will stand a peace keeping force to go into Syria. As Saudi Arabia as part of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) have already pulled out of the observer mission before the wider Arab League did I think it's more a question of whether the US can talk the Turks into standing a peace keeping mission and considering how they behave in Kurdistan would they want them to.
As for the news that RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester has declined his bonus I think it is just what it is. Hester declining his bonus in order to prevent the opposition Labour Party calling a Parliamentary debate over whether he should get his bonus. The only subtext I can think of is it's the Brits saying the guy in charge of bringing the Syria resolution to the United Nations Security Council is going to be punished for failure.
As for the news that RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester has declined his bonus I think it is just what it is. Hester declining his bonus in order to prevent the opposition Labour Party calling a Parliamentary debate over whether he should get his bonus. The only subtext I can think of is it's the Brits saying the guy in charge of bringing the Syria resolution to the United Nations Security Council is going to be punished for failure.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Syria and the UNSC.
On Friday (27/1/12) Britain and France presented an Arab League resolution to the United Nations Security Council essentially calling for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. As the only resolution the UNSC could pass on Syria would be one calling on all nations (especially the US) to respect Syria's territorial integrity by ending their support for the insurgency this effort collapsed faster then the England cricket team's Saturday (28/1/12) innings against Pakistan. The Arab League have now accepted that there will be no UNSC resolution on Syria and on Saturday effectively ended their observer mission in the country. Britain however will persist bringing the issue back before the UNSC on Tuesday (31/1/12) evening when Brighton & Hove Albion FC travel to Thornton Heath for their grudge match against Crystal Palace FC.
At this point I think the most humane thing the UNSC can do is refuse to even discuss the matter further. With the 12 month anniversary coming up if the Syrian insurgents stop receiving international encouragement they may finally get the message that there is not going to be a Libya style intervention and Bashar al-Assad will not be overthrown so by continuing to fight all they are doing is destroying their own county and killing their own countrymen for the amusement of the US, Israel, Britain and Saudi Arabia.
At this point I think the most humane thing the UNSC can do is refuse to even discuss the matter further. With the 12 month anniversary coming up if the Syrian insurgents stop receiving international encouragement they may finally get the message that there is not going to be a Libya style intervention and Bashar al-Assad will not be overthrown so by continuing to fight all they are doing is destroying their own county and killing their own countrymen for the amusement of the US, Israel, Britain and Saudi Arabia.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Operation Oil Theft: Month 11, Week 2, Day 1.
This week a lot of things have happened in Libya. Few of them have been good.
For several months there have been protests against the National Transitional Council (NTC) due to it's perceived lack of transparency and a perceived bias towards western Libya. The heart of these protests has been the Ghar Yunis university in Benghazi. Last Friday (20/1/12) the deputy chair of the NTC Abdelhafiz Ghoga addressed students there to answer accusations that because he switched allegiance from the Qaddafi government to the NTC at the last minute he is nothing more then a self serving political opportunist. His answers clearly didn't go down well with the protesters who physically attacked him forcing him to flee. The following day (21/1/12) a much larger group of protesters from a wider range of backgrounds gathered outside the NTC's HQ in Benghazi and proceeded to attack the building with petrol bombs, grenades and high explosives succeeding in setting fire to the building while the chair of the NTC Abdul Jalil was inside. All further NTC meetings in the east of Libya have been forced to be held in secret. The NTC responded to the violence by suspending all delegates representing Benghazi in a move that is only likely to fuel further accusations of bias. Abdelhafiz Ghoga immediately resigned from the NTC in what appears to be a cynical attempt to boost his popularity in the east which will do nothing to dispel allegations that he is a political opportunist.
Another issue that has fuelled anger towards the NTC is the two week consultation period on the new election law that ended on Friday (20/1/12). In response to the consultation the NTC has rather sensibly dropped a Qaddafi era ban on dual nationals running for political office that excluded most of the talented Libyan diaspora and now intends to divide the country into electoral districts rather then having all candidates compete nationally. More worryingly they also dropped a ban on NTC members standing for election. This creates the risk that rather then doing their job properly NTC members will now abuse their positions in order to make sure they get elected. Most worrying of all though is that the NTC have dropped a quota reserving 10% of seats for women. Normally I'm not a fan of this sort of affirmative action because it often ends up with the minority it's supposed to protect becoming more marginalised as their credibility is reduced. Israel's quota for Palestinians and Iran's quota for Jews being prime examples. However Libyan society has historically been dominated by tribal culture and Islam neither of which place a particularly high value on women's rights. Therefore without a quota there is a very real risk that no female candidate will get elected meaning that women will have no say in the new Libya. The threat from militant Islam was demonstrated on Friday (20/1/12) when hundreds gathered in Tripoli calling for the adoption of a very strict interpretation of Sharia law. This follows and incident in Tripoli on Wednesday (18/1/12) when a militia took it upon themselves to arrest a man for drinking alcohol. His family and friends clearly saw things differently, got their guns and tried to free him leading to a gun battle that left at least one dead.
On Monday (23/1/12) members of Qaddafi's Warfalla tribe in Bani Walid rose up and threw the Zintan Brigade militia out of the town in a battle that left at least four dead. There are currently conflicting reports about who now controls the town. You may remember that along with Sirte and Sabha Bani Walid was one of the towns that kept fighting long after the fall of Tripoli. Then one day it suddenly stopped fighting and allowed the rebels in. This could have been because the townspeople suddenly had a change of heart but it is much more likely that the Qaddafi loyalists simply went into hiding in order to use the town as a base for a fightback once the NATO mission ended. This is supported by the fact that Bani Walid is where Saif al-Islam Qaddafi and Qaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim were arrested. However from the way that tribal elders have been negotiating with the NTC following Monday's uprising suggests to me that rather then being the start of a new war it is simply another example of the Warfalla tribe using violence to win a bigger slice of Libya's wealth. That is a very dangerous route for Libya to go down because if it works then everyone will try it and Libya's dreams of freedom, security and democracy will become a distant memory.
On Thursday (26/1/12) the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented a report on the treatment of prisoners in post-Qaddafi Libya. It expressed serious concern that some 8,500 prisoners are being held without charge or trial and are being tortured in 60 detention centres operated by Libya's various rival militias. It corroborated a similar report by Amnesty International (AI) that found there was systematic torture of prisoners by both militias and apparatus of the NTC in detention centres in Tripoli, Gharain and Misrata. The type of torture included beatings with whips, rubber hoses and metal bars along with the administration of electric shocks. In at least three cases AI found that the level of torture was severe enough to kill the victim. Also on Thursday Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) announced that it would no longer be working alongside the Misrata Brigade militia in their detention centres after being repeatedly asked to treat torture victims between torture sessions in order to prolong their torture.
As for Libya's most famous prisoner on Monday (23/1/12) the Libyan Justice Minister Kablifa Ashour announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had given Libya permission to try Saif al-Islam Qaddafi on their own. He was immediately contradicted by the ICC who said that no decision had been made. The ICC went on to confirm that the NTC had provided them with information about Saif al-Islam's detention by the agreed deadline of 23/1/12. However the ICC refused to release any details so it is unclear if the NTC has been able to confirm who exactly is holding Saif al-Islam prisoner, that he is being humanely treated and is being given access to a legal defence. At this point I have to say that although I understand that there are strong emotional reasons I can think of no practical reason why anyone in Libya would want to try Saif al-Islam themselves. From a Libyan perspective the best case scenario is that Saif al-Islam is executed after a swift and unfair show trial. This will undoubtedly anger Qaddafi supporters and further increasing the already very high internal tensions within the country. It will also totally destroy the international reputation of the NTC and the new Libya. An even worse scenario is that Saif al-Islam is given a fair trial in which he is allowed to run a defence that he only did what he did in order to prevent the revolutionaries committing worse crimes. In light of the OHCHR, AI and MSF reports this is looking like a very plausible defence and could result in Saif al-Islam being acquitted. Even if he is found guilty merely holding a trial of this type will not only anger Qaddafi supporters but will pit revolutionary against revolutionary massively increasing the chances that the new Libya will descend into a Congolese style hell hole.
In fact one of the reasons why the ICC was set up was that once a newly freed nation had got rid of their dictator the ICC would pick up the load of bringing them to justice leaving the nation free to fix the damage the dictator left behind.
For several months there have been protests against the National Transitional Council (NTC) due to it's perceived lack of transparency and a perceived bias towards western Libya. The heart of these protests has been the Ghar Yunis university in Benghazi. Last Friday (20/1/12) the deputy chair of the NTC Abdelhafiz Ghoga addressed students there to answer accusations that because he switched allegiance from the Qaddafi government to the NTC at the last minute he is nothing more then a self serving political opportunist. His answers clearly didn't go down well with the protesters who physically attacked him forcing him to flee. The following day (21/1/12) a much larger group of protesters from a wider range of backgrounds gathered outside the NTC's HQ in Benghazi and proceeded to attack the building with petrol bombs, grenades and high explosives succeeding in setting fire to the building while the chair of the NTC Abdul Jalil was inside. All further NTC meetings in the east of Libya have been forced to be held in secret. The NTC responded to the violence by suspending all delegates representing Benghazi in a move that is only likely to fuel further accusations of bias. Abdelhafiz Ghoga immediately resigned from the NTC in what appears to be a cynical attempt to boost his popularity in the east which will do nothing to dispel allegations that he is a political opportunist.
Another issue that has fuelled anger towards the NTC is the two week consultation period on the new election law that ended on Friday (20/1/12). In response to the consultation the NTC has rather sensibly dropped a Qaddafi era ban on dual nationals running for political office that excluded most of the talented Libyan diaspora and now intends to divide the country into electoral districts rather then having all candidates compete nationally. More worryingly they also dropped a ban on NTC members standing for election. This creates the risk that rather then doing their job properly NTC members will now abuse their positions in order to make sure they get elected. Most worrying of all though is that the NTC have dropped a quota reserving 10% of seats for women. Normally I'm not a fan of this sort of affirmative action because it often ends up with the minority it's supposed to protect becoming more marginalised as their credibility is reduced. Israel's quota for Palestinians and Iran's quota for Jews being prime examples. However Libyan society has historically been dominated by tribal culture and Islam neither of which place a particularly high value on women's rights. Therefore without a quota there is a very real risk that no female candidate will get elected meaning that women will have no say in the new Libya. The threat from militant Islam was demonstrated on Friday (20/1/12) when hundreds gathered in Tripoli calling for the adoption of a very strict interpretation of Sharia law. This follows and incident in Tripoli on Wednesday (18/1/12) when a militia took it upon themselves to arrest a man for drinking alcohol. His family and friends clearly saw things differently, got their guns and tried to free him leading to a gun battle that left at least one dead.
On Monday (23/1/12) members of Qaddafi's Warfalla tribe in Bani Walid rose up and threw the Zintan Brigade militia out of the town in a battle that left at least four dead. There are currently conflicting reports about who now controls the town. You may remember that along with Sirte and Sabha Bani Walid was one of the towns that kept fighting long after the fall of Tripoli. Then one day it suddenly stopped fighting and allowed the rebels in. This could have been because the townspeople suddenly had a change of heart but it is much more likely that the Qaddafi loyalists simply went into hiding in order to use the town as a base for a fightback once the NATO mission ended. This is supported by the fact that Bani Walid is where Saif al-Islam Qaddafi and Qaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim were arrested. However from the way that tribal elders have been negotiating with the NTC following Monday's uprising suggests to me that rather then being the start of a new war it is simply another example of the Warfalla tribe using violence to win a bigger slice of Libya's wealth. That is a very dangerous route for Libya to go down because if it works then everyone will try it and Libya's dreams of freedom, security and democracy will become a distant memory.
On Thursday (26/1/12) the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented a report on the treatment of prisoners in post-Qaddafi Libya. It expressed serious concern that some 8,500 prisoners are being held without charge or trial and are being tortured in 60 detention centres operated by Libya's various rival militias. It corroborated a similar report by Amnesty International (AI) that found there was systematic torture of prisoners by both militias and apparatus of the NTC in detention centres in Tripoli, Gharain and Misrata. The type of torture included beatings with whips, rubber hoses and metal bars along with the administration of electric shocks. In at least three cases AI found that the level of torture was severe enough to kill the victim. Also on Thursday Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) announced that it would no longer be working alongside the Misrata Brigade militia in their detention centres after being repeatedly asked to treat torture victims between torture sessions in order to prolong their torture.
As for Libya's most famous prisoner on Monday (23/1/12) the Libyan Justice Minister Kablifa Ashour announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had given Libya permission to try Saif al-Islam Qaddafi on their own. He was immediately contradicted by the ICC who said that no decision had been made. The ICC went on to confirm that the NTC had provided them with information about Saif al-Islam's detention by the agreed deadline of 23/1/12. However the ICC refused to release any details so it is unclear if the NTC has been able to confirm who exactly is holding Saif al-Islam prisoner, that he is being humanely treated and is being given access to a legal defence. At this point I have to say that although I understand that there are strong emotional reasons I can think of no practical reason why anyone in Libya would want to try Saif al-Islam themselves. From a Libyan perspective the best case scenario is that Saif al-Islam is executed after a swift and unfair show trial. This will undoubtedly anger Qaddafi supporters and further increasing the already very high internal tensions within the country. It will also totally destroy the international reputation of the NTC and the new Libya. An even worse scenario is that Saif al-Islam is given a fair trial in which he is allowed to run a defence that he only did what he did in order to prevent the revolutionaries committing worse crimes. In light of the OHCHR, AI and MSF reports this is looking like a very plausible defence and could result in Saif al-Islam being acquitted. Even if he is found guilty merely holding a trial of this type will not only anger Qaddafi supporters but will pit revolutionary against revolutionary massively increasing the chances that the new Libya will descend into a Congolese style hell hole.
In fact one of the reasons why the ICC was set up was that once a newly freed nation had got rid of their dictator the ICC would pick up the load of bringing them to justice leaving the nation free to fix the damage the dictator left behind.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
There's Been Something of a Coup in Paupa New Guinea.
Although economically tiny the island of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is quite important strategically because it's very close to Australia and could block both Australia's access to the Pacific and the Pacific's access to south east Asia.
In March 2011 PNG's publicly elected Prime Minister and leader of the independence movement that freed PNG from being a British colony Micheal Somare left the country to seek medical treatment for a heart condition. In August the PNG Parliament declared the office of Prime Minister vacant and MP's elected the half Australian Peter O'Neill to the post. In December Somare returned to the country and the Supreme Court declared O'Neill's election unlawful and ordered that Somare be re-instated as Prime Minister. However the Commonwealth nation's Governor General ignored the court's ruling and endorsed O'Neill as Prime Minister. On Monday (23/1/12) the Supreme Court again heard the issue and ruled 3-2 in favour of Somare ordering him to be sworn in a Prime Minister the following day. However security forces loyal to O'Neill arrested Somare and prevented him attending Parliament to be sworn in.
Today (26/1/12) soldiers loyal to Somare and led by Colonel Yaura Sasa stormed the military headquarters in Port Moseby putting the head of the army, Brigadier General Francis Agwi under arrest before Colonel Sasa declared himself head of the army and Somare the Prime Minister. Since then O'Neill has appeared on television declaring that the mutiny has failed, he is still the Prime Minister, Brigadier General Agwi had been freed and Colonel Sasa is "being dealt with" but failed to give any further details.
All this makes for something of an interesting backdrop for the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland until January 29th.
In March 2011 PNG's publicly elected Prime Minister and leader of the independence movement that freed PNG from being a British colony Micheal Somare left the country to seek medical treatment for a heart condition. In August the PNG Parliament declared the office of Prime Minister vacant and MP's elected the half Australian Peter O'Neill to the post. In December Somare returned to the country and the Supreme Court declared O'Neill's election unlawful and ordered that Somare be re-instated as Prime Minister. However the Commonwealth nation's Governor General ignored the court's ruling and endorsed O'Neill as Prime Minister. On Monday (23/1/12) the Supreme Court again heard the issue and ruled 3-2 in favour of Somare ordering him to be sworn in a Prime Minister the following day. However security forces loyal to O'Neill arrested Somare and prevented him attending Parliament to be sworn in.
Today (26/1/12) soldiers loyal to Somare and led by Colonel Yaura Sasa stormed the military headquarters in Port Moseby putting the head of the army, Brigadier General Francis Agwi under arrest before Colonel Sasa declared himself head of the army and Somare the Prime Minister. Since then O'Neill has appeared on television declaring that the mutiny has failed, he is still the Prime Minister, Brigadier General Agwi had been freed and Colonel Sasa is "being dealt with" but failed to give any further details.
All this makes for something of an interesting backdrop for the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland until January 29th.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Look I'm Not Planning to Make a Habit Out of This.
Replying to comments that is.
However in light of the weekends terrorist bombings that killed around 200 in northern Nigeria the comment my "Nigeria's Strike Seems to be Over " post attracted seems rather timely. You've probably read it before me but if you haven't it's still just sitting there below the post. Basically it asks me to think about what would have happened if rather then backing down over the fuel subsidy the Nigerian government had sent in the military to break the strikes. The answer to that is relatively simple.
Up until about 12 years ago Nigeria was actually run by a military government who were perceived to be biased towards the predominately Muslim north. This perceived bias along with other issues fuelled an armed insurgency in the mainly Christian south centred around the Niger delta region. So it would be reasonable to assume that if Nigeria were to return to a period of military rule or even a period of a state of emergency enforced by the military it would generate enough anger to re-ignite the insurgency in the south. This coupled with the insurgency in the north would significantly increase the risk of the nation being split into two.
This is why the current Boko Harem campaign is causing the Nigerian government such problems. With hundreds of people being killed in attacks almost every week they have little choice other then sending in the army to try and quell the violence. However they've got to do that in such a way as the people feel reassured because they see the army locking up the guilty rather then feeling threatened because they see the army brutally arresting innocent people. In short they have to learn to become an army of occupation in their own country.
On the plus though at least the Nigerian government now only have to deal with one massive problem at a time.
However in light of the weekends terrorist bombings that killed around 200 in northern Nigeria the comment my "Nigeria's Strike Seems to be Over " post attracted seems rather timely. You've probably read it before me but if you haven't it's still just sitting there below the post. Basically it asks me to think about what would have happened if rather then backing down over the fuel subsidy the Nigerian government had sent in the military to break the strikes. The answer to that is relatively simple.
Up until about 12 years ago Nigeria was actually run by a military government who were perceived to be biased towards the predominately Muslim north. This perceived bias along with other issues fuelled an armed insurgency in the mainly Christian south centred around the Niger delta region. So it would be reasonable to assume that if Nigeria were to return to a period of military rule or even a period of a state of emergency enforced by the military it would generate enough anger to re-ignite the insurgency in the south. This coupled with the insurgency in the north would significantly increase the risk of the nation being split into two.
This is why the current Boko Harem campaign is causing the Nigerian government such problems. With hundreds of people being killed in attacks almost every week they have little choice other then sending in the army to try and quell the violence. However they've got to do that in such a way as the people feel reassured because they see the army locking up the guilty rather then feeling threatened because they see the army brutally arresting innocent people. In short they have to learn to become an army of occupation in their own country.
On the plus though at least the Nigerian government now only have to deal with one massive problem at a time.
Yep it Went to Penalties.
Palace had McCarthy sent off in the 78th minute but I think the story of the match was Cardiff's M'Naughten going up against Palace's Norwegian number 4. Anyway after another 40 minutes of fairly average football it went to penalty's and due to Parr's miss Cardiff City will go on to meet either Manchester City or Liverpool in the League Cup final.
Does This Help?
Probably not.
Anyway after putting Crystal Palace 1-0 up in the first leg Gardner has decided to level the scores by sticking one into his own net. This prompts me to tell you that today (24/1/12) my Welsh grandmother had the doctor in because she's got a pain in her neck. It's not that I don't care it's just that after a succession of doctors have decided that she doesn't need a psychiatric assessment she's been condemned to living out the rest of her life in intense pain of which the trapped nerve will be the least. So due to the Cardiff manager's constant sniffing I want to see Palace hammer them into the ground in the second half. After all the worst the worst thing that could happen is that it goes to extra time and then penalties.
Oh and I've figured out Jason Issacs in "Brotherhood." It's the no nipple rule isn't it.
Anyway after putting Crystal Palace 1-0 up in the first leg Gardner has decided to level the scores by sticking one into his own net. This prompts me to tell you that today (24/1/12) my Welsh grandmother had the doctor in because she's got a pain in her neck. It's not that I don't care it's just that after a succession of doctors have decided that she doesn't need a psychiatric assessment she's been condemned to living out the rest of her life in intense pain of which the trapped nerve will be the least. So due to the Cardiff manager's constant sniffing I want to see Palace hammer them into the ground in the second half. After all the worst the worst thing that could happen is that it goes to extra time and then penalties.
Oh and I've figured out Jason Issacs in "Brotherhood." It's the no nipple rule isn't it.
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
Tuesday night, back from the pub, no immediate problems. At around 19:45 I'm back early because we left early. Turns out the second leg of the Crystal Palace V Cardiff City semi final is live on BBC. The cup of nations highlights are ITV4.
Never Over Estimate a Prole.
That seems to be British government policy at the moment.
Throughout the post-second world war period Britain has strived to maintain social cohesion through an integrated housing policy. As a result we don't really have rich neighbourhoods and poor neighbourhoods to the extent you get in other countries. This policy has been maintained through planning legislation that requires a certain percentage of units in new housing developments to be affordable housing. It has also been maintained through the housing benefit scheme through which the government gives low income households money to afford to pay the rent in wealthy areas. The planning side of the policy has long been under attack with local councils increasingly being prepared to allow property developers to buy their way out of their obligation to provide affordable housing. The present, unelected, Conservative government is currently at war with the housing benefit side of the policy with plans to put an upper limit or cap on the amount that any one household can receive in benefit payments at £26,000 (USD41,600). This is being done for the simple reason that rich people don't like having to mix with let alone live near too poor people.
What is bizarre is that the government has managed to manufacture a lot of support for this policy from poor people. They've done this by arguing that it will save the ordinary, hardworking taxpayer a lot of money and that it will get tough on the lazy and workshy who live the life of luxury off the benefit system. Both of these arguments are crap. The policy will save the tax payer around £200m (USD320m) per year which sounds like a lot of money but actually is only about half what the government spends on refuse collection every year. Also the lazy and workshy who live off the benefit system often do so by deliberately having lots of children. This pushes them to the top of local council's housing lists and gets them into social housing that is often much better quality then private housing. Although the days when councils owned social housing are largely long gone but they still set the rents. The local councils also pay those rents so obviously keep them very low. Conversely the majority of housing benefits payments are made to the landlords of people living in private housing who obviously keep them very high. Housing benefit is also what is known as a working benefit meaning that the vast majority of people who receive it are working but only earn a low income. So this benefit cap will largely leave the lazy and workshy alone but hit working people who receive a combination of housing benefit, child benefit and child/working tax credits the hardest. Or to put it another way the very same people who are supporting the policy.
At this point I have to declare a slight interest in the issue. If my grandmother were to rent her know vacant property to me and I were to claim housing benefit to pay that rent a housing benefit cap would obviously limit the amount I could claim from the local council. So in a desperate attempt to gain attention ahead of the Olympics the Church of England Bishops in the House of Lords yesterday (23/1/12) set out to defeat the government's policy amid discussions over whether the parliament building's subsidence problems would cause cracks to appear or would the parliament collapse completely? In the end the Bishops did defeat the policy but all that means is that the Crown appointed government will overrule the Bishops when the issue returns to the House of Commons.
Or to put it another way. Boring!
Throughout the post-second world war period Britain has strived to maintain social cohesion through an integrated housing policy. As a result we don't really have rich neighbourhoods and poor neighbourhoods to the extent you get in other countries. This policy has been maintained through planning legislation that requires a certain percentage of units in new housing developments to be affordable housing. It has also been maintained through the housing benefit scheme through which the government gives low income households money to afford to pay the rent in wealthy areas. The planning side of the policy has long been under attack with local councils increasingly being prepared to allow property developers to buy their way out of their obligation to provide affordable housing. The present, unelected, Conservative government is currently at war with the housing benefit side of the policy with plans to put an upper limit or cap on the amount that any one household can receive in benefit payments at £26,000 (USD41,600). This is being done for the simple reason that rich people don't like having to mix with let alone live near too poor people.
What is bizarre is that the government has managed to manufacture a lot of support for this policy from poor people. They've done this by arguing that it will save the ordinary, hardworking taxpayer a lot of money and that it will get tough on the lazy and workshy who live the life of luxury off the benefit system. Both of these arguments are crap. The policy will save the tax payer around £200m (USD320m) per year which sounds like a lot of money but actually is only about half what the government spends on refuse collection every year. Also the lazy and workshy who live off the benefit system often do so by deliberately having lots of children. This pushes them to the top of local council's housing lists and gets them into social housing that is often much better quality then private housing. Although the days when councils owned social housing are largely long gone but they still set the rents. The local councils also pay those rents so obviously keep them very low. Conversely the majority of housing benefits payments are made to the landlords of people living in private housing who obviously keep them very high. Housing benefit is also what is known as a working benefit meaning that the vast majority of people who receive it are working but only earn a low income. So this benefit cap will largely leave the lazy and workshy alone but hit working people who receive a combination of housing benefit, child benefit and child/working tax credits the hardest. Or to put it another way the very same people who are supporting the policy.
At this point I have to declare a slight interest in the issue. If my grandmother were to rent her know vacant property to me and I were to claim housing benefit to pay that rent a housing benefit cap would obviously limit the amount I could claim from the local council. So in a desperate attempt to gain attention ahead of the Olympics the Church of England Bishops in the House of Lords yesterday (23/1/12) set out to defeat the government's policy amid discussions over whether the parliament building's subsidence problems would cause cracks to appear or would the parliament collapse completely? In the end the Bishops did defeat the policy but all that means is that the Crown appointed government will overrule the Bishops when the issue returns to the House of Commons.
Or to put it another way. Boring!
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Egypt's Election Results.
Yesterday (21/1/12) the final results were published in Egypt's incredibly complicated election for it's 508 seat lower house of parliament (Al-Saab). At the moment the only thing that's clear is that no one party won the 255 seats required for an outright majority. However the two biggest blocs are the mildly Islamist Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) who won 234 seats and the more extreme Islamist (Salafist) Al-Nour Party who won 124 seats. This has prompted some concern that Egypt is about to lurch towards becoming an extreme Islamist state like Saudi Arabia. However I think these concerns are somewhat over done because although they are a religious party the FJP are far from extremists. For example their sister party in Algeria is currently leading the campaign to legalise abortion. There are also several significant, non-religious reasons that contributed to the FJP and Al-Nour's success;
Firstly they represent forbidden fruit. Under Mubarak both the Muslim Brotherhood and more extreme Salafist groups were outlawed and the state tried to limit the influence of all religious groups by restricting their activities. So once Mubarak fell and the Egyptian people had won their freedom the first thing that many of them wanted to do was the thing that they'd been banned from doing for so long. You saw this with Christians who proudly paraded their faith through the streets, the protesters who kept on protesting and the hooligans who wouldn't stop rioting. As Egypt is a majority Muslim country many people decided to celebrate their freedom by showing their devotion to Islam. No doubt that shine will wear off as Egyptian politics calms down into more everyday issues such who can provide jobs and who can provide a police force that allows people to feel safe their own homes.
Secondly there was the revolution itself. The Egyptian revolution was a beautiful thing to behold with no leaders or single group responsible. Instead there was just millions of ordinary people all doing their bit and together creating something greater then the sum of it's parts. However when things started getting really nasty in Tahrir Square with rocks, swords, petrol bombs and people getting killed it was the Muslim Brotherhood more then any other group who stood there and took it day after day. So while the Muslim Brotherhood could not have brought about the Egyptian revolution on their own the Egyptian revolution simply could not have happened without them. Therefore they were - I would say rightly - rewarded for that at the ballot box.
Thirdly there was the issue of experience. Under Mubarak everyone knew the elections were rigged so no-one really bothered with them. The Muslim Brotherhood were the exception to that rule consistently contesting elections even when they had to disguise their candidates as independents too do so. As a result they've built up a mass of experience in fighting elections that Egypt's other political parties simply lack. This imbalance will ease as more elections are held and Egypt's 20 plus secular parties streamline into 4 or 5 parties and stop cancelling each other out. In the short term it would have helped if nations from the democratic world had allowed their experienced political campaigners to act as sort of hired guns advising specific parties on their campaigns. Instead they sent NGO's to provide general advice to everyone. Unfortunately as the November violence showed some of those NGO's were more intent on causing problems then providing solutions forcing Egypt's military council to crack down on all the NGO's.
There is now the question of what happens next? Conventional political wisdom suggests that the FJP will form a formal coalition with a party like the liberal Al-Wafd Party or the secular Egyptian Bloc Coalition in order to gain the majority needed to force it's legislation through parliament. However Egypt's current political situation is far from conventional because they've still got to write the nation's constitution. Therefore I think that it would be better for all of the parties to remain independent of each other and only decide to vote together on an issue by issue basis.
As Egypt has the military council to take care of the day to day running of the country it's parliament has the luxury of taking as long as it needs to shape the sort of country they want to have in the next 20, 50 or 100 years. For example the United States - which is probably the model to follow - spent the best part of four years writing up their Constitution and over 200 years making amendments to it.
Firstly they represent forbidden fruit. Under Mubarak both the Muslim Brotherhood and more extreme Salafist groups were outlawed and the state tried to limit the influence of all religious groups by restricting their activities. So once Mubarak fell and the Egyptian people had won their freedom the first thing that many of them wanted to do was the thing that they'd been banned from doing for so long. You saw this with Christians who proudly paraded their faith through the streets, the protesters who kept on protesting and the hooligans who wouldn't stop rioting. As Egypt is a majority Muslim country many people decided to celebrate their freedom by showing their devotion to Islam. No doubt that shine will wear off as Egyptian politics calms down into more everyday issues such who can provide jobs and who can provide a police force that allows people to feel safe their own homes.
Secondly there was the revolution itself. The Egyptian revolution was a beautiful thing to behold with no leaders or single group responsible. Instead there was just millions of ordinary people all doing their bit and together creating something greater then the sum of it's parts. However when things started getting really nasty in Tahrir Square with rocks, swords, petrol bombs and people getting killed it was the Muslim Brotherhood more then any other group who stood there and took it day after day. So while the Muslim Brotherhood could not have brought about the Egyptian revolution on their own the Egyptian revolution simply could not have happened without them. Therefore they were - I would say rightly - rewarded for that at the ballot box.
Thirdly there was the issue of experience. Under Mubarak everyone knew the elections were rigged so no-one really bothered with them. The Muslim Brotherhood were the exception to that rule consistently contesting elections even when they had to disguise their candidates as independents too do so. As a result they've built up a mass of experience in fighting elections that Egypt's other political parties simply lack. This imbalance will ease as more elections are held and Egypt's 20 plus secular parties streamline into 4 or 5 parties and stop cancelling each other out. In the short term it would have helped if nations from the democratic world had allowed their experienced political campaigners to act as sort of hired guns advising specific parties on their campaigns. Instead they sent NGO's to provide general advice to everyone. Unfortunately as the November violence showed some of those NGO's were more intent on causing problems then providing solutions forcing Egypt's military council to crack down on all the NGO's.
There is now the question of what happens next? Conventional political wisdom suggests that the FJP will form a formal coalition with a party like the liberal Al-Wafd Party or the secular Egyptian Bloc Coalition in order to gain the majority needed to force it's legislation through parliament. However Egypt's current political situation is far from conventional because they've still got to write the nation's constitution. Therefore I think that it would be better for all of the parties to remain independent of each other and only decide to vote together on an issue by issue basis.
As Egypt has the military council to take care of the day to day running of the country it's parliament has the luxury of taking as long as it needs to shape the sort of country they want to have in the next 20, 50 or 100 years. For example the United States - which is probably the model to follow - spent the best part of four years writing up their Constitution and over 200 years making amendments to it.
Friday, 20 January 2012
Now There's a Funny Angle.
Today (19/1/12) Martin Shivers has been convicted of killing two British soldiers in a gun attack on the Massereene army barracks in Northern Ireland (NI) in March 2009. His co-accused Colin Duffy was acquitted of the crime despite his DNA being found on the tip of latex glove found inside the getaway car that was caught on CCTV during the shooting. This is now the fifth time that Mr Duffy has been acquitted of a terrorism related murder and terrorism cases in NI are heard in front of single Judge rather then a Jury so it's pretty obvious the Brits are looking out for him.
The only question is; are they looking out for him because he's their man inside the dissident Republican movement or because they're trying to protect their men inside the dissident Republican movement by sending everyone on a wild goose chase. It's worth noting that Mr Duffy is something beardy weirdy so if you catch him in a certain light he looks a bit like Gerry Adams the Sinn Fein leader and one time Presidential candidate in the Republic of Ireland. If you're still in any doubt how cr*p the current crop of dissident Republicans are well Martin Shivers was convicted because his DNA was found on a match which he'd used in an attempt to set fire to the Vauxhall Cavalier car after the murders but he even managed to f*ck that up.
In other news because I know the neighbours have been worried for the last three days I've been watching the first season of US TV show "Brotherhood" on DVD. I've only got as far as the fourth episode but already I know it's only going to lead to bad things not least because my brother is in Norway from 19/1/12 until 23/1/12 but I've been drinking and I mean it's not like we even get Sunday lunch anymore.
Edited at around 23:40 on 20/1/12: Today is in fact 20/1/12 not 19/1/12.
The only question is; are they looking out for him because he's their man inside the dissident Republican movement or because they're trying to protect their men inside the dissident Republican movement by sending everyone on a wild goose chase. It's worth noting that Mr Duffy is something beardy weirdy so if you catch him in a certain light he looks a bit like Gerry Adams the Sinn Fein leader and one time Presidential candidate in the Republic of Ireland. If you're still in any doubt how cr*p the current crop of dissident Republicans are well Martin Shivers was convicted because his DNA was found on a match which he'd used in an attempt to set fire to the Vauxhall Cavalier car after the murders but he even managed to f*ck that up.
In other news because I know the neighbours have been worried for the last three days I've been watching the first season of US TV show "Brotherhood" on DVD. I've only got as far as the fourth episode but already I know it's only going to lead to bad things not least because my brother is in Norway from 19/1/12 until 23/1/12 but I've been drinking and I mean it's not like we even get Sunday lunch anymore.
Edited at around 23:40 on 20/1/12: Today is in fact 20/1/12 not 19/1/12.
Operation Oil Theft: Month 11, Week 1, Day 1.
Although the National Transitional Council (NTC) has promised not to award any new oil contracts until Libya elects a government it has promised to honour existing contracts and announced that it has plans to increase capacity. Former NTC member Ali Tarhouni has also indicated that contracts for this extra capacity will be awarded with a preference given to nations that helped overthrow the Qaddafi government. At present Libyan oil production (for February delivery) is back at it's pre-war levels of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).
This coupled with the immense cost of post-war reconstruction has led many people to predict that Libya will be the world's fastest growing economy in 2012 and could become the Dubai of the Mediterranean by 2017. I'm not sure how Libyans should take that second prediction though because despite it's vast oil wealth Dubai is actually quite shaky economically and keeps needing bailouts from Abu Dhabi. However with a sensible government I can see no reason why Libya can't become one of the richest country's on the Mediterranean providing they remember to award their oil contracts on the basis of getting the best deal rather then rewarding war time allies. Before that though they really need to sort out their internal security problem by disbanding the militias and taking the guns out of circulation.
The NTC is already well aware of that problem and have begun a publicity campaign encouraging ordinary Libyans to hand their weapons back or at least leave them at home and stop shooting them in the air. The NTC has also unveiled a US$8bn fund to re-integrate revolutionary fighters through micro-finance loans to start homes and set up businesses and grants to provide training in trade skills. Both Italy and Turkey have also promised to help the NTC set up and train a Libyan police force. Jordan has also offered to take in revolutionary fighters and train them to be proper soldiers but to me that sounds like a recipe for a disloyal Libyan National Army.
So far these efforts to reign in the militias has only had a limited success. On January 9th (9/1/12) an Algerian provincial governor - Mohamed Laid Khelfi - was kidnapped from inside Algeria near the Libyan border. He was released from captivity unharmed 24 hours later inside Libya. No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping but Libyan militias are obviously suspects. For their part the Algerians have blamed Al Qaeda but then they blame everything on Al Qaeda because if they're fighting Al Qaeda the US will give them lots of money. On January 13th (13/1/12) fighters from I believe the Misrata brigade militia and the al-Asabia brigade militia because one group accused the other of being loyal to the Qaddafis or something. The fighting went on through to the following Monday (16/1/12) leaving 4 dead and 50 injured before a NTC brokered deal saw both sides give their prisoners back and the fighting stopped.
The other issue that is casting a long shadow over Libya at the moment is Saif al-Islam Qaddafi who has not been seen or heard from in almost two months. Former NTC member Ali Tarhouni has announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is perfectly happy for Libya to try Saif al-Islam on it's own without ICC assistance. However to me this sounds like a disgruntled former employee trying to cause trouble because the ICC seem to be taking a very different position. Firstly they've pointed out that because the ICC warrant pre-dates the NTC's jurisdiction it is actually up to the ICC to give the NTC permission to try Saif al-Islam not the other way round. They have also given the NTC until January 23rd (23/1/12) to demonstrate that Saif al-Islam is alive, well and being treated humanely and is being given access to a lawyer. They also need the NTC to clarify whether he is being held as a prisoner of the NTC or as a prisoner of the Zintan brigade militia.
The NTC didn't help strengthen their argument that they're capable of giving Saif al-Islam a fair trial by welcoming Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir as an honoured guest on January 7th. As al-Bashir is currently subject to an ICC arrest warrant Libya should have arrested him and handed him over to the ICC rather then rolling out the red carpet for him. However in the NTC's defence al-Bashir's indictment by the ICC was a highly politicised decision driven by an expensive Israeli publicity campaign that resulted in Sudan being split in two. Given what's currently going on in Nigeria and the simmering tensions between east and west Libya I would say that al-Bashir is exactly the nasty piece of work the NTC needs to be talking too right now.
This coupled with the immense cost of post-war reconstruction has led many people to predict that Libya will be the world's fastest growing economy in 2012 and could become the Dubai of the Mediterranean by 2017. I'm not sure how Libyans should take that second prediction though because despite it's vast oil wealth Dubai is actually quite shaky economically and keeps needing bailouts from Abu Dhabi. However with a sensible government I can see no reason why Libya can't become one of the richest country's on the Mediterranean providing they remember to award their oil contracts on the basis of getting the best deal rather then rewarding war time allies. Before that though they really need to sort out their internal security problem by disbanding the militias and taking the guns out of circulation.
The NTC is already well aware of that problem and have begun a publicity campaign encouraging ordinary Libyans to hand their weapons back or at least leave them at home and stop shooting them in the air. The NTC has also unveiled a US$8bn fund to re-integrate revolutionary fighters through micro-finance loans to start homes and set up businesses and grants to provide training in trade skills. Both Italy and Turkey have also promised to help the NTC set up and train a Libyan police force. Jordan has also offered to take in revolutionary fighters and train them to be proper soldiers but to me that sounds like a recipe for a disloyal Libyan National Army.
So far these efforts to reign in the militias has only had a limited success. On January 9th (9/1/12) an Algerian provincial governor - Mohamed Laid Khelfi - was kidnapped from inside Algeria near the Libyan border. He was released from captivity unharmed 24 hours later inside Libya. No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping but Libyan militias are obviously suspects. For their part the Algerians have blamed Al Qaeda but then they blame everything on Al Qaeda because if they're fighting Al Qaeda the US will give them lots of money. On January 13th (13/1/12) fighters from I believe the Misrata brigade militia and the al-Asabia brigade militia because one group accused the other of being loyal to the Qaddafis or something. The fighting went on through to the following Monday (16/1/12) leaving 4 dead and 50 injured before a NTC brokered deal saw both sides give their prisoners back and the fighting stopped.
The other issue that is casting a long shadow over Libya at the moment is Saif al-Islam Qaddafi who has not been seen or heard from in almost two months. Former NTC member Ali Tarhouni has announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is perfectly happy for Libya to try Saif al-Islam on it's own without ICC assistance. However to me this sounds like a disgruntled former employee trying to cause trouble because the ICC seem to be taking a very different position. Firstly they've pointed out that because the ICC warrant pre-dates the NTC's jurisdiction it is actually up to the ICC to give the NTC permission to try Saif al-Islam not the other way round. They have also given the NTC until January 23rd (23/1/12) to demonstrate that Saif al-Islam is alive, well and being treated humanely and is being given access to a lawyer. They also need the NTC to clarify whether he is being held as a prisoner of the NTC or as a prisoner of the Zintan brigade militia.
The NTC didn't help strengthen their argument that they're capable of giving Saif al-Islam a fair trial by welcoming Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir as an honoured guest on January 7th. As al-Bashir is currently subject to an ICC arrest warrant Libya should have arrested him and handed him over to the ICC rather then rolling out the red carpet for him. However in the NTC's defence al-Bashir's indictment by the ICC was a highly politicised decision driven by an expensive Israeli publicity campaign that resulted in Sudan being split in two. Given what's currently going on in Nigeria and the simmering tensions between east and west Libya I would say that al-Bashir is exactly the nasty piece of work the NTC needs to be talking too right now.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Someone's Got it in For BBC News Today.
Firstly today (19/1/12) the Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech on creating a popular capitalism or something. As is often the case with Cameron's speeches what he was saying was neither particularly relevant or interesting. However the way he gave the speech was interesting. He delivered from behind a podium and in front of a printed backdrop of the Union flag which was as wide as the podium. Behind the backdrop there was large plate glass window covered by a sort of white net curtain.
As the window extended far beyond the printed backdrop on both sides it gave the impression that the speech was being filmed in the wrong aspect ratio. It also looked a lot what the BBC New channel normally do during a big speech where they put up a split screen with the speaker on one side and a white notepad graphic on the other listing the main bullet points of the speech. Clearly the Prime Minister's office is starting object to that level of detail in political reporting.
Then in the last hour or so news wires have started reporting that two babies have died at the Royal's maternity unit of Pseudomonas. The "Royal's maternity unit" is the maternity unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast but sounds like the maternity unit the Royal Family would use. "Pseudomonas"is a type of bacteria that's normally found in clouds and helps turn them into rain but sounds like the sort of disease a fictitious name or pseudonym would die of.
Edited at around 22:35 on 19/1/12:
Within hours of the Royal Victoria Hospital story breaking two bombs exploded in LondonDerry also Northern Ireland with no reported casualties. Although these attacks will undoubtedly be blamed on dissident Republicans they come on the same day the Royal Marines held an Olympic security drill in London and are therefore obviously false flag or pseudo-attacks. That might give the impression that Pseudomonas story was set up by actual Republicans in order to get their denial in early. Either that or the same side did both.
As the window extended far beyond the printed backdrop on both sides it gave the impression that the speech was being filmed in the wrong aspect ratio. It also looked a lot what the BBC New channel normally do during a big speech where they put up a split screen with the speaker on one side and a white notepad graphic on the other listing the main bullet points of the speech. Clearly the Prime Minister's office is starting object to that level of detail in political reporting.
Then in the last hour or so news wires have started reporting that two babies have died at the Royal's maternity unit of Pseudomonas. The "Royal's maternity unit" is the maternity unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast but sounds like the maternity unit the Royal Family would use. "Pseudomonas"is a type of bacteria that's normally found in clouds and helps turn them into rain but sounds like the sort of disease a fictitious name or pseudonym would die of.
Edited at around 22:35 on 19/1/12:
Within hours of the Royal Victoria Hospital story breaking two bombs exploded in LondonDerry also Northern Ireland with no reported casualties. Although these attacks will undoubtedly be blamed on dissident Republicans they come on the same day the Royal Marines held an Olympic security drill in London and are therefore obviously false flag or pseudo-attacks. That might give the impression that Pseudomonas story was set up by actual Republicans in order to get their denial in early. Either that or the same side did both.
I'm Not Dead.
Although I do seem to have coined the term Twitter-ettes.
I've still not received a questionnaire from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) or heard anything further from them. We're getting up to the cut off point where my claim can be stopped for not responding so today (19/1/12) I gave them a call. A note was made in my file, an internal email was sent and I've got to call them again in a week if there's no progress. Hopefully though before then I'll receive written conformation telling me it's all sorted because we can't really leave this up in the air forever.
I've still not received a questionnaire from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) or heard anything further from them. We're getting up to the cut off point where my claim can be stopped for not responding so today (19/1/12) I gave them a call. A note was made in my file, an internal email was sent and I've got to call them again in a week if there's no progress. Hopefully though before then I'll receive written conformation telling me it's all sorted because we can't really leave this up in the air forever.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Nigeria's Strike Seems to be Over.
Yesterday (16/1/12) Nigeria's main trade unions suspended their crippling general strike against the abolition of the government's fuel subsidy. Today (17/1/12) most people appear to have returned to work.
Matters seem to have come to a head towards the end of last week when the oil worker's union threatened to shut down the nation's oil production by joining the strike. This led to crisis talks over the weekend between the government and the unions. It would be nice to pretend that during these meetings the unions suddenly realised that the operations of the largest oil company in the country - Royal Dutch Shell - are largely automated and the people they do employ are non-unionised. Therefore any strike would at best only have a limited impact on their business. It would though have a catastrophic impact on all the other oil operations in the country, the union members they employ and the nation as a whole by starving the Nigerian government of it's oil revenues - the country's main source of income. In fact the spike in the oil price that taking Nigerian oil off the market would cause would actually help boost Shell's profits.
Sadly though the real reason was that the government backed down and re-introduced around 50% of the fuel subsidy bringing the cost of petrol down from 120 Naira (US$1) to a fixed price of 80 Naira (US$0.7). Obviously this compromise is not a real solution for either party because it sees fuel costing twice what it did at the start of the year and means that the government is only able to save around half of the US$8bn that it was planning to re-invest in national infrastructure.
While the fuel subsidy needs to be abolished entirely the suspension of strikes does give the Nigerian government time to consider and calculate the financial, social and practical factors in order to find the best way to gradually phase out the subsidy. One option would be to abolish the subsidy completely but bring in a subsistence level fuel ration that is given away free to Nigeria's poorest. The problem is that this will be massively bureaucratic and time consuming to set up and therefore very expensive to run. It will also create bitter political arguments about who is poor enough to deserve the ration and how much fuel do people need to sustain. A better option would be to reduce the subsidy in increments. So - for example - in two months the current 50% subsidy is reduced by 10% and then by another 10% every two months over the next ten months.
Then once the subsidy is finally abolished and it has the extra US$8bn per year to spend the Nigerian government needs to start work on planning and building an electricity grid powered by conventional power stations. Apart from being much more environmentally friendly this is a much cheaper way to provide ordinary Nigerians with power bringing the cost down from it's current market price of around US$0.40 per kilowatt hour (kwh) to around US$0.08 per kwh. Unfortunately though this approach requires a lot of money to build and takes about 10-15 years to complete.
Actually if the COP17/CMP7 had managed to get the Green Climate Fund up and running this would be exactly the sort of thing it would be doing.
Matters seem to have come to a head towards the end of last week when the oil worker's union threatened to shut down the nation's oil production by joining the strike. This led to crisis talks over the weekend between the government and the unions. It would be nice to pretend that during these meetings the unions suddenly realised that the operations of the largest oil company in the country - Royal Dutch Shell - are largely automated and the people they do employ are non-unionised. Therefore any strike would at best only have a limited impact on their business. It would though have a catastrophic impact on all the other oil operations in the country, the union members they employ and the nation as a whole by starving the Nigerian government of it's oil revenues - the country's main source of income. In fact the spike in the oil price that taking Nigerian oil off the market would cause would actually help boost Shell's profits.
Sadly though the real reason was that the government backed down and re-introduced around 50% of the fuel subsidy bringing the cost of petrol down from 120 Naira (US$1) to a fixed price of 80 Naira (US$0.7). Obviously this compromise is not a real solution for either party because it sees fuel costing twice what it did at the start of the year and means that the government is only able to save around half of the US$8bn that it was planning to re-invest in national infrastructure.
While the fuel subsidy needs to be abolished entirely the suspension of strikes does give the Nigerian government time to consider and calculate the financial, social and practical factors in order to find the best way to gradually phase out the subsidy. One option would be to abolish the subsidy completely but bring in a subsistence level fuel ration that is given away free to Nigeria's poorest. The problem is that this will be massively bureaucratic and time consuming to set up and therefore very expensive to run. It will also create bitter political arguments about who is poor enough to deserve the ration and how much fuel do people need to sustain. A better option would be to reduce the subsidy in increments. So - for example - in two months the current 50% subsidy is reduced by 10% and then by another 10% every two months over the next ten months.
Then once the subsidy is finally abolished and it has the extra US$8bn per year to spend the Nigerian government needs to start work on planning and building an electricity grid powered by conventional power stations. Apart from being much more environmentally friendly this is a much cheaper way to provide ordinary Nigerians with power bringing the cost down from it's current market price of around US$0.40 per kilowatt hour (kwh) to around US$0.08 per kwh. Unfortunately though this approach requires a lot of money to build and takes about 10-15 years to complete.
Actually if the COP17/CMP7 had managed to get the Green Climate Fund up and running this would be exactly the sort of thing it would be doing.
I Have Returned From the Drinking Establishment.
Or to put it another way; It's around 20:10 Tuesday January 17th 2012 and I'm back from the pub with no problems. Earlier today I went the supermarket as usual and managed to buy a copper bottomed saute pan for a very reasonable price. Sadly I'm actually still quite a bit excited about that.
In other news I would like to pretend that I've now written up a "To Do List" detailing the dozen or so really important things that I've got to. Unfortunately I've not even got that far yet.
In other news I would like to pretend that I've now written up a "To Do List" detailing the dozen or so really important things that I've got to. Unfortunately I've not even got that far yet.
Monday, 16 January 2012
Huntsman's Out.
Former US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman has today (16/1/12) withdrawn from the race to become the Republican Party's 2012 Presidential candidate and thrown his support behind Mitt Romney. Failing to attract serious campaign funding and currently polling less then one percent of the vote Huntsman was never likely to actually win the nomination but his decision to withdraw from the race so soon indicates that the US' current policy towards China which he helped to design could well prove an embarrassment to the Republican Party during the campaign.
One element of that policy has been to put pressure on China to allow it's currency the Yuan to be traded on the global market. Also today China has taken a significant step towards that by allowing London to become the first Yuan trading hub outside of Asia. So clearly China want Britain to be the ground for that particular battle.
One element of that policy has been to put pressure on China to allow it's currency the Yuan to be traded on the global market. Also today China has taken a significant step towards that by allowing London to become the first Yuan trading hub outside of Asia. So clearly China want Britain to be the ground for that particular battle.
The Costa Concordia Sinking.
On Friday (13/1/12) the US owned, Italian operated cruise ship the Costa Concordia struck rocks off the Italian island of Giglio holing it below the water line. This left the crew of the ship with two choices. They could immediately evacuate the ship and hope they could achieve that before the ship sank. Alternatively they could try and head for shore before evacuating the ship and hope they reached it before the ship sank. In the end they went with the latter option and more or less made it to shore grounding the ship allowing around 4,400 crew and passengers to be rescued. At the time of writing (16:40 on 16/1/12) six bodies have been recovered and sixteen people are still unaccounted for.
As soon as I heard about the incident I decided that it was just a genuine accident and started to filter it out. Either the ship went too close to the shore or seismic activity created a previously uncharted rock formation. I've avoided commenting on the incident so far because I think it is far too early to start apportioning blame. That and the whole thing got the Brits so confused they just started randomly throwing stories about Royal yachts at it. In fact I only mention it now because countless witnesses have said it was just like the Titanic. What they mean is that it was just like the film Titanic which raises the question of whether I'm the only person to have seen the Poseidon Adventure or more appropriately Beyond the Poseidon Adventure?
As soon as I heard about the incident I decided that it was just a genuine accident and started to filter it out. Either the ship went too close to the shore or seismic activity created a previously uncharted rock formation. I've avoided commenting on the incident so far because I think it is far too early to start apportioning blame. That and the whole thing got the Brits so confused they just started randomly throwing stories about Royal yachts at it. In fact I only mention it now because countless witnesses have said it was just like the Titanic. What they mean is that it was just like the film Titanic which raises the question of whether I'm the only person to have seen the Poseidon Adventure or more appropriately Beyond the Poseidon Adventure?
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Ah You Never Forget Your First.
Mine was a pint of John Smith's extra smooth at around 16:00 swiftly followed by about five more. Since then I progressed on to wine and some Guinness. So at around 00:25 it's either time for me to move on to the bourbon or possibly just go to bed.
Pathetic.
Today (15/1/12) the BBC series Sherlock reached the end of it's second series with a re-telling of the famous Conan Doyle story where Sherlock Holmes dies. Apart playing on the Sun newspaper's paranoia it was largely back to it's original series best only really toying with the people who'd read the original story. Sherlock's arch enemy Moriarty sent out to destroy him by isolating him from his friends, destroying his reputation and sending him horribly burnt ginger bread men.
Unfortunately for the climax they couldn't afford a trip to a German waterfall so they instead had a Spooks style scene on the roof of London's Saint Bartholomew's Hospital. They could have ended it with the cliffhanger of Martin Freeman's Dr Watson standing over Sherlock's grave thinking of his mortgage and begging Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes not to "die" by moving to Hollywood. Instead they ended it by pulling back to reveal a very much alive Sherlock Holmes.
Apart from that I'm trying to watch the film "The Reader" for the first time as it's being shown on Channel 4. So on the occasion of Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globe awards for the second time may I be the first to say that Nataile Portman has really raised the bar for that best actress Oscar.
Unfortunately for the climax they couldn't afford a trip to a German waterfall so they instead had a Spooks style scene on the roof of London's Saint Bartholomew's Hospital. They could have ended it with the cliffhanger of Martin Freeman's Dr Watson standing over Sherlock's grave thinking of his mortgage and begging Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes not to "die" by moving to Hollywood. Instead they ended it by pulling back to reveal a very much alive Sherlock Holmes.
Apart from that I'm trying to watch the film "The Reader" for the first time as it's being shown on Channel 4. So on the occasion of Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globe awards for the second time may I be the first to say that Nataile Portman has really raised the bar for that best actress Oscar.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Apparently I'm Still on Twitter.
And I've got followers and everything which is giving me something of an ideological crisis. I have to confess though I've still not made any progress figuring out how to follow people, how to tweet from my cellphone or generally how any of it works. I am beginning to think though that I could use it for all the tedious signing in and signing out stuff but I'd have to carry my phone with me and doing it while I'm out and about sort of defeats the point. Besides I'm pretty sure providing a running commentary on your own life is a pretty good way of developing schizophrenia.
While I'm here though I should point out that secrecy order relating to my grandmother's case only applies in England and Wales. So if someone outside of those jurisdictions - even somewhere as close as Scotland - somehow managed to obtain copies of the bundle they'd be free to publish them without fear of prosecution or even inquiry. If they happened to be published on the Internet - somewhere like Wikileaks - I could even link to them without risk of prosecution. Alternatively I could just learn how to publish pdf's because somehow I don't think I'll be getting done for contempt on this matter.
This neatly brings me back to the issue of insanity or Einstein's definition therefore of. You see the Americans have given Amir Kahn the right to a straight re-match with Lamont Peterson. The only problem I have with that is I've actually won this case outright twice now. So if there is to be a re-match I'll at the very least require a third party Judge.
While I'm here though I should point out that secrecy order relating to my grandmother's case only applies in England and Wales. So if someone outside of those jurisdictions - even somewhere as close as Scotland - somehow managed to obtain copies of the bundle they'd be free to publish them without fear of prosecution or even inquiry. If they happened to be published on the Internet - somewhere like Wikileaks - I could even link to them without risk of prosecution. Alternatively I could just learn how to publish pdf's because somehow I don't think I'll be getting done for contempt on this matter.
This neatly brings me back to the issue of insanity or Einstein's definition therefore of. You see the Americans have given Amir Kahn the right to a straight re-match with Lamont Peterson. The only problem I have with that is I've actually won this case outright twice now. So if there is to be a re-match I'll at the very least require a third party Judge.
Bast*rd Yankers.
Sounds like Bankers, geddit?!
Back on October 27th 2011 EU leaders agreed to allow Greece to voluntarily default on 50% of it's debt. Today (13/1/12) Greece has been meeting with it's creditors to negotiate the exact terms of that default. Those negotiations have ground to a halt because if the default is voluntary then the creditor's loan insurance - the infamous Credit Default Swaps (CDS) - doesn't pay out. As a result the creditors are now trying to push the nation into an involuntary default so they don't lose any money on their bad investment.
As US banks aren't really that exposed to Greek debt but are quite heavily exposed to CDS's I think it's time for the White House to have a word. After all it doesn't matter how much pressure Standard & Poor's put on the Euro it's simply not going to collapse. So all we're actually talking about is whether a wide range of mainly European banks will take a small loss or whether a narrow group of US banks take a big loss giving the US economic recovery a giant kick in the face in the middle of an election year.
Back on October 27th 2011 EU leaders agreed to allow Greece to voluntarily default on 50% of it's debt. Today (13/1/12) Greece has been meeting with it's creditors to negotiate the exact terms of that default. Those negotiations have ground to a halt because if the default is voluntary then the creditor's loan insurance - the infamous Credit Default Swaps (CDS) - doesn't pay out. As a result the creditors are now trying to push the nation into an involuntary default so they don't lose any money on their bad investment.
As US banks aren't really that exposed to Greek debt but are quite heavily exposed to CDS's I think it's time for the White House to have a word. After all it doesn't matter how much pressure Standard & Poor's put on the Euro it's simply not going to collapse. So all we're actually talking about is whether a wide range of mainly European banks will take a small loss or whether a narrow group of US banks take a big loss giving the US economic recovery a giant kick in the face in the middle of an election year.
Can I Just Take the Rest of the Month Off?
Seriously. Although the weather is being distinctly spring-like it is still the middle of winter and I'm fighting a constant battle against the urge to hibernate. It's fair to say that I'm mostly losing because I'm tired all the time and hungry all the time. So rather then having this constant debate about whether or not I can be bothered to post anything it might just be easier to stop and return a fresh in February. That's not really an option for my little brother because he's off to Norway at the end of the month.
And I haven't forgotten about Libya. I just thought events in Nigeria were more pertinent then the week to week changes.
And I haven't forgotten about Libya. I just thought events in Nigeria were more pertinent then the week to week changes.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
GoodLuck Jonathan.
Because he'll need it.
The current Nigerian President is perhaps the most appropriately named political leader of our time. At around 01:02 on 11/1/12 he presides over a country so fractured by ethnic and religious tensions that traditionally the only way to keep the peace has been to alternate the Presidency between a northern and southern candidate. By being the second southern President in a row Jonathon has been the first to break that cycle. He hopes to go on to solve Nigeria's other problems like being the largest private small arms market in the world and suffering the sort of crushing poverty you get when a nations politicians and civil servants are chosen more by multi-national oil companies rather then the voters they're supposed to represent. So far he's made a good start by doing some things which I'd prefer not to talk about to put pressure on corrupt local politicians and civil servants.
The most controversial thing he's done though is to abolish the government subsidy for retail petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel which many Nigerians use to fuel the generators that provide them with electricity. This issue more then any other highlights how badly Nigeria - Africa's largest oil producer - is being screwed over by multi-national oil companies. Due to the deals that these companies - mainly Shell - have done with previous governments they are more or less able to pump oil out of Nigeria for free and then sell it back to the country as refined petroleum products like gasoline for a massively inflated price. Successive Nigerian governments have tried to cover up this scandal by subsidising the price of gasoline at the pumps so ordinary Nigerians don't notice just how badly they're being ripped off. By scrapping the subsidy Jonathan is trying to save the Nigerian state around US$6bn per year so that money can be honestly re-invested in domestic petroleum production allowing Nigeria to re-claim some of it's sovereignty.
Unfortunately in the short term the abolition of the government subsidy coupled with the fact the oil companies are really not happy about it has seen the local gasoline price sky rocket to US$1 per litre. In a country where more then 70% of the population live below the poverty line of less the US$2 per day this means that most people are now spending more then 50% of their daily wages on a single litre of fuel. Here in the west we describe someone as being in fuel poverty if they are forced to spend 10% of their wages on fuel. I think it goes without saying that the abolition of the government fuel subsidy has annoyed a fair few people and provoked a lot of legitimate outrage with the country entering it's third day of an ongoing general strike and bloody clashes between police and protesters that have killed at least five.
However to see how effective this plan will be in the long term you only need to look at how the western oil companies and their corrupt local politicians fear it. So far they've lept on the issue and turned it into a well orchestrated campaign that has not only brought chaos to the streets and paralysed the national economy but put pressure on President Jonathon to explain in minute detail exactly what steps he intends to take to root out corruption in Nigeria's political class. The protests have even hit the Internet with organisers dubbing it "Occupy Nigeria" in order to trick western liberals into supporting the anti-government protests. Then of course there are the problems created by that elaborate cartographers joke "Boko Haram."*
Although they've been growing in strength and technical organisation since 2009 Boko Haram chose November 2011 to launch a major offensive from their northern strongholds in the Yobo and Borno provinces in preparation for President Jonathan's reforms. On November 5th they launched a suicide bombing, bombing and gun attack against government buildings in the town of Damatura killing between 100 and 150 people. Then there was the Christmas Day (25/12/11) bombings of Churches in Madalla, Jos, Gadaka and Damatura which killed at least 41 - a relatively low score by Nigerian standards. This increased violence in the north fed into an ongoing tribal land dispute that quickly exploded into rioting, fire bombings and shootings that left god knows how many dead. In response the Nigerian government was forced to call a state of emergency in Yobo and Borno on January 1st 2012 closing internal and national borders. In response on January 2nd 2012 Boko Haram issued an ultimatum giving Nigerian Christians living in the north three days to leave. This ultimatum was largely ignored and rejected by the Nigerian government so on January 5th 2012 Boko Haram mounted a localised bombing and shooting campaign. The good news is that so far they've only had limited success with only 10 fatalities reported in Yobo province, - 8 in an attack in a bar tonight (10-11/1/12) The bad news is that at around (02:10) at least one person has been killed in the southern city of Benin suggesting that the Christian south are now starting to take revenge on the Muslim north. A bad idea if I ever heard of one.
*In colonial times a colonial powers actual nation was shown on maps in a particular colour - red in Britain's case. Their colonies were then shown in a paler shade of the same colour which in Britain's case was pink. These paler coloured areas became known as "The Pale." If a colonial power were to try and gain more territory by moving their army outside the lighter shaded area they would cause offense and be said to "have gone beyond the pale." In the 1960's there was a British band named Procol Harum which sounds similar to Boko Haram. They had one hit entitled " A Whiter Shade Of Pale." So I don't care what Boko Haram think they're doing their names already a joke because that's what passes for comedy in MI6.
The current Nigerian President is perhaps the most appropriately named political leader of our time. At around 01:02 on 11/1/12 he presides over a country so fractured by ethnic and religious tensions that traditionally the only way to keep the peace has been to alternate the Presidency between a northern and southern candidate. By being the second southern President in a row Jonathon has been the first to break that cycle. He hopes to go on to solve Nigeria's other problems like being the largest private small arms market in the world and suffering the sort of crushing poverty you get when a nations politicians and civil servants are chosen more by multi-national oil companies rather then the voters they're supposed to represent. So far he's made a good start by doing some things which I'd prefer not to talk about to put pressure on corrupt local politicians and civil servants.
The most controversial thing he's done though is to abolish the government subsidy for retail petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel which many Nigerians use to fuel the generators that provide them with electricity. This issue more then any other highlights how badly Nigeria - Africa's largest oil producer - is being screwed over by multi-national oil companies. Due to the deals that these companies - mainly Shell - have done with previous governments they are more or less able to pump oil out of Nigeria for free and then sell it back to the country as refined petroleum products like gasoline for a massively inflated price. Successive Nigerian governments have tried to cover up this scandal by subsidising the price of gasoline at the pumps so ordinary Nigerians don't notice just how badly they're being ripped off. By scrapping the subsidy Jonathan is trying to save the Nigerian state around US$6bn per year so that money can be honestly re-invested in domestic petroleum production allowing Nigeria to re-claim some of it's sovereignty.
Unfortunately in the short term the abolition of the government subsidy coupled with the fact the oil companies are really not happy about it has seen the local gasoline price sky rocket to US$1 per litre. In a country where more then 70% of the population live below the poverty line of less the US$2 per day this means that most people are now spending more then 50% of their daily wages on a single litre of fuel. Here in the west we describe someone as being in fuel poverty if they are forced to spend 10% of their wages on fuel. I think it goes without saying that the abolition of the government fuel subsidy has annoyed a fair few people and provoked a lot of legitimate outrage with the country entering it's third day of an ongoing general strike and bloody clashes between police and protesters that have killed at least five.
However to see how effective this plan will be in the long term you only need to look at how the western oil companies and their corrupt local politicians fear it. So far they've lept on the issue and turned it into a well orchestrated campaign that has not only brought chaos to the streets and paralysed the national economy but put pressure on President Jonathon to explain in minute detail exactly what steps he intends to take to root out corruption in Nigeria's political class. The protests have even hit the Internet with organisers dubbing it "Occupy Nigeria" in order to trick western liberals into supporting the anti-government protests. Then of course there are the problems created by that elaborate cartographers joke "Boko Haram."*
Although they've been growing in strength and technical organisation since 2009 Boko Haram chose November 2011 to launch a major offensive from their northern strongholds in the Yobo and Borno provinces in preparation for President Jonathan's reforms. On November 5th they launched a suicide bombing, bombing and gun attack against government buildings in the town of Damatura killing between 100 and 150 people. Then there was the Christmas Day (25/12/11) bombings of Churches in Madalla, Jos, Gadaka and Damatura which killed at least 41 - a relatively low score by Nigerian standards. This increased violence in the north fed into an ongoing tribal land dispute that quickly exploded into rioting, fire bombings and shootings that left god knows how many dead. In response the Nigerian government was forced to call a state of emergency in Yobo and Borno on January 1st 2012 closing internal and national borders. In response on January 2nd 2012 Boko Haram issued an ultimatum giving Nigerian Christians living in the north three days to leave. This ultimatum was largely ignored and rejected by the Nigerian government so on January 5th 2012 Boko Haram mounted a localised bombing and shooting campaign. The good news is that so far they've only had limited success with only 10 fatalities reported in Yobo province, - 8 in an attack in a bar tonight (10-11/1/12) The bad news is that at around (02:10) at least one person has been killed in the southern city of Benin suggesting that the Christian south are now starting to take revenge on the Muslim north. A bad idea if I ever heard of one.
*In colonial times a colonial powers actual nation was shown on maps in a particular colour - red in Britain's case. Their colonies were then shown in a paler shade of the same colour which in Britain's case was pink. These paler coloured areas became known as "The Pale." If a colonial power were to try and gain more territory by moving their army outside the lighter shaded area they would cause offense and be said to "have gone beyond the pale." In the 1960's there was a British band named Procol Harum which sounds similar to Boko Haram. They had one hit entitled " A Whiter Shade Of Pale." So I don't care what Boko Haram think they're doing their names already a joke because that's what passes for comedy in MI6.
Promise Broken!
Dropkick Murphy's I love you. If the neighbours hate you at around 00:40 on 11/1/12 that's their problem. Anymore nonsense out of them and they'll be the nigger family from Shameless where the husband committed benefit fraud to train as a teacher but the wife ended up as a social worker.
Anyway HS2 - possibly the most English story in the history of England. Basically the government wants to build a high speed rail link between Birmingham and London. In part this is because China is very big on high speed rail and MI6 want their own train set to play with. Mainly though it's because the previous Labour government want to reverse the managed decline mentioned in the recently released Liverpool papers and the current Conservative government want to continue the idea by encouraging foreign investment to Birmingham by using the slogan "Look we can get you out of Birmingham really quickly." The painfully middle class people who live between London and Birmingham have objected because the trains will spoil the view in their very expensive back yards. It was around this point I started to weep about how insular and self absorbed middle England has become.
So yeah from the noise Britain made about HS2 you would think it was some sort of code but sadly no it wasn't.
Anyway HS2 - possibly the most English story in the history of England. Basically the government wants to build a high speed rail link between Birmingham and London. In part this is because China is very big on high speed rail and MI6 want their own train set to play with. Mainly though it's because the previous Labour government want to reverse the managed decline mentioned in the recently released Liverpool papers and the current Conservative government want to continue the idea by encouraging foreign investment to Birmingham by using the slogan "Look we can get you out of Birmingham really quickly." The painfully middle class people who live between London and Birmingham have objected because the trains will spoil the view in their very expensive back yards. It was around this point I started to weep about how insular and self absorbed middle England has become.
So yeah from the noise Britain made about HS2 you would think it was some sort of code but sadly no it wasn't.
So I Have Twitter.
I have now made my bio "This is not going to end well" and made my first Tweet "So why don't Iran just withdraw from the nnpt?"
I really think though that if I've Tweeted it I shouldn't have to repeat it in my Blogger even if China are on holiday to the middle east tomorrow.
I really think though that if I've Tweeted it I shouldn't have to repeat it in my Blogger even if China are on holiday to the middle east tomorrow.
No More Cocaine.
Generally that's just good advice for life.
However it is also a January promise I've made to myself because I'm about to tell a very boring story; As everyone's going to be a bit fat in January I've decided to take to opportunity to bulk up a bit. This actually only involves adding an extra 10kg but that leaves me eating, sleeping and generally enjoying spending two hours a day sitting very still on the sofa watching a film while my muscles repair themselves.
Until I get it together enough to explain Britain's decision to build a high speed rail system known as HS2 I will just say that by cocaine I definitely meant Ritalin but Jedward were on Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) and it was certainly the one on the right that shagged German X-Factor winner Lena at the Eurovision song contest.
Anyway up for eviction tonight on CBB are Andrew Stone who was an annoying wannabe in Sky1 series Pineapple Dance studios and is currently playing the role of BBC Radio1 DJ and Channel 4 T4 presenter Nick Grimshaw and Georgia someone the Irish glamour model who claims she looks like Kim Kardashian but to me looks more like Nicole Schezinger. I think she should win though because being half Irish and half Greek she clearly needs the money.
At around 00:11 on 11/1/12 I think the HS2 story might have to wait until later.
However it is also a January promise I've made to myself because I'm about to tell a very boring story; As everyone's going to be a bit fat in January I've decided to take to opportunity to bulk up a bit. This actually only involves adding an extra 10kg but that leaves me eating, sleeping and generally enjoying spending two hours a day sitting very still on the sofa watching a film while my muscles repair themselves.
Until I get it together enough to explain Britain's decision to build a high speed rail system known as HS2 I will just say that by cocaine I definitely meant Ritalin but Jedward were on Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) and it was certainly the one on the right that shagged German X-Factor winner Lena at the Eurovision song contest.
Anyway up for eviction tonight on CBB are Andrew Stone who was an annoying wannabe in Sky1 series Pineapple Dance studios and is currently playing the role of BBC Radio1 DJ and Channel 4 T4 presenter Nick Grimshaw and Georgia someone the Irish glamour model who claims she looks like Kim Kardashian but to me looks more like Nicole Schezinger. I think she should win though because being half Irish and half Greek she clearly needs the money.
At around 00:11 on 11/1/12 I think the HS2 story might have to wait until later.
Body of Proof and Shameless: That's What I've Been Watching on TV Tonight.
Body of Proof shown on Channel 5 is the new thing from abc Studios which features Desperate Housewives' Dena Delany playing Megan Hunt the neurosurgeon who was forced to become a pathologist following a road accident that left her hands numb. She was also playing the actress Jewel Stait from Firefly alongside that big bald cop who was most certainly in the Mentalist, that guy from Southland playing a butcher Patrick Jane from the Mentalist and Sonya Sohn from the Wire. I guess that's as close as Jews get to charity - explaining Desperate Housewives to stoners.
Shameless is Channel 4's big effort set on the fictional Chatsworth housing estate in Manchester. The first three series were good but after that they started to lose it so I lost touch. Now we're into about the 15 billionth series I think they're either going to need to give up or get relegated to the NHS channel where they educate dole scum how best to cheat the system.
Mainly though I hope Channel 4 and Channel 5 finally resolve the dispute about the latters stealing of the Big Brother brand. So far all I've managed to see of the current Celebrity Big Brother Series is the behind the scenes show which reveals that I am now clearly much older then most of the production staff so I will try to tread lightly.
Clearly though Gareth Thomas has got to win by virtue of being the only actual celebrity. He's the most capped Welsh rugby player and former captain of both the Welsh team and the British Lions team. He is also the first professional player of a team sport to come out as homosexual and continue playing. If you've ever seen a rugby match that's quite an achievement. As a reward he's in discussions with Mickey Rourke to make a film of his life and has had world famous designer Christian Laboutin dedicate a pair of shoes to him.
Imagine how gutted Micheal Madsen is because 18 years after Reservoir Dogs all he is is Mickey Rourke's stunt double.
Shameless is Channel 4's big effort set on the fictional Chatsworth housing estate in Manchester. The first three series were good but after that they started to lose it so I lost touch. Now we're into about the 15 billionth series I think they're either going to need to give up or get relegated to the NHS channel where they educate dole scum how best to cheat the system.
Mainly though I hope Channel 4 and Channel 5 finally resolve the dispute about the latters stealing of the Big Brother brand. So far all I've managed to see of the current Celebrity Big Brother Series is the behind the scenes show which reveals that I am now clearly much older then most of the production staff so I will try to tread lightly.
Clearly though Gareth Thomas has got to win by virtue of being the only actual celebrity. He's the most capped Welsh rugby player and former captain of both the Welsh team and the British Lions team. He is also the first professional player of a team sport to come out as homosexual and continue playing. If you've ever seen a rugby match that's quite an achievement. As a reward he's in discussions with Mickey Rourke to make a film of his life and has had world famous designer Christian Laboutin dedicate a pair of shoes to him.
Imagine how gutted Micheal Madsen is because 18 years after Reservoir Dogs all he is is Mickey Rourke's stunt double.
Anyway True Story.
When I used to work at Selhurst Park - Crystal Palace's home ground we used to play Cardiff City lots. When Wimbledon were at home it was almost twice a season. Every time my boss and I would play this funny game where he would say; "Your grandmother's still Welsh isn't she?" And I would say "Yes" so he would say "Right you're in the away then. " I can't remember what I used to say then but it was never dull.
Anyway Crystal Palace won the first leg 1-0 with a 43rd minute goal by Gardner which I suppose leads me into a long story about Eric Cantona's bid for the French Presidency. In 1995 whilst playing for Manchester United Cantona famously kung fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan after being sent off. This story neatly explains just how close I live to Selhurst Park. Although I didn't go to the game I was out in the garden having a smoke when there was a loud "Boo!" when Cantona fouled quickly followed by a huge cheer when Cantona was sent off followed by the sound of 26,000 people collectively going "Eh!" when Cantona launched into his kick.
So anyway I've been smoking cannabis so not only have I been drinking with the Palace fan that Cantona kicked I also used to work with the guy who went into the crowd to get Cantona out afterward. If you don't think he's a scary man the big f*cking machete scar all down his back certainly is.
Anyway Crystal Palace won the first leg 1-0 with a 43rd minute goal by Gardner which I suppose leads me into a long story about Eric Cantona's bid for the French Presidency. In 1995 whilst playing for Manchester United Cantona famously kung fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan after being sent off. This story neatly explains just how close I live to Selhurst Park. Although I didn't go to the game I was out in the garden having a smoke when there was a loud "Boo!" when Cantona fouled quickly followed by a huge cheer when Cantona was sent off followed by the sound of 26,000 people collectively going "Eh!" when Cantona launched into his kick.
So anyway I've been smoking cannabis so not only have I been drinking with the Palace fan that Cantona kicked I also used to work with the guy who went into the crowd to get Cantona out afterward. If you don't think he's a scary man the big f*cking machete scar all down his back certainly is.
Blimey it Was Like New Year's Eve All Over Again.
My father and I arrived at the pub at around 19:45 to a scene that looked like a hurricane had just passed through. Well the carpets were wet and the staff looked stunned. It was then we were told that due to police orders they've couldn't serve anyone until 20:00. Anyway 20:00 came and went, we got served and arrived home at around 20:55 with no problems to report except Palace being 1-0 up at half-time.
Let Battle Begin.
No not the New Hampshire Republican primaries. Tonight (10/1/12) my local football team Crystal Palace host Cardiff City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final which is the biggest game in either club's season so far. Apart from being Welsh and possibly because of it Cardiff City are one of those clubs whose fans have a reputation for being a bit boisterous. Needless to say neither me or my father are in a particular rush to go to the pub for dinner.
All Hail Privatisation.
You may remember that back in November 2011 I placed an order with online retailer Amazon which the British postal service The Royal Mail simply didn't bother to deliver so I claimed for the cost of the order against The Royal Mail's insurance. Today (10/1/12) I received a response from The Royal Mail. Although Amazon's UK distribution hub is in Fife, Scotland which is at least for now part of the UK because Amazon's European HQ is in Luxembourg Royal Mail are claiming that it was an international order so I will have to make a claim with Amazon and then Amazon can make a claim from the Royal Mail. I think I may well just drop the issue because that sounds like a lot of hassle. So much hassle in fact that it will probably just reach a point where Amazon decide it's not worth it an simply stop doing business with Royal Mail.
To me that looks like Royal Mail are now actively begging one of their largest customers to put them out of business so the profitable parcel delivery side of the business can be sold of to a private company. Now remind me what was David Cameron's announcement last Friday (6/1/12) about how he plans to bog down NHS nurses with so much needless bureaucracy that patient care collapses and people are forced to seek refuge in private health care providers.
To me that looks like Royal Mail are now actively begging one of their largest customers to put them out of business so the profitable parcel delivery side of the business can be sold of to a private company. Now remind me what was David Cameron's announcement last Friday (6/1/12) about how he plans to bog down NHS nurses with so much needless bureaucracy that patient care collapses and people are forced to seek refuge in private health care providers.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Scottish Independence.
Unfortunately Britain's politicians are today (9/1/12) back at work following the festive break. At a specially convened cabinet meeting at the Olympic park to mark 200 days until the start of the games the Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to allow for a referendum on Scotland leaving the United Kingdom. He went on to urge the Scottish National Party (SNP) who won a majority in the Scottish Parliament at May 2011's election to hold that referendum within the next year to 18 months. Although holding a referendum on Scottish independence is a core founding principle of the SNP they want to wait until 2014/15 because the feeling is that at the moment a referendum would return a no vote that would cause the issue to be closed for a generation. However there is also a growing feeling within the British government that as soon as the Olympics are out of the way things will start getting much worse for Britain increasing the chances of a getting a yes vote for Scottish independence. If that happens then the Queen stands to lose her Balmoral estate and Britain stands to lose it's access to the North Sea oil reserves and it's nuclear deterrent.
OMG! What Have I Done.
Well after waking up the first thing I did was go outside to have a cigarette. As the soles of my slippers have split if it's raining this normally ends up with me starting my day with stinky feet. Fortunately that wasn't an issue today so I had a full moments peace before remembering that I'd signed up to Twitter. I think this means I'm now going to have to spend time finding a way to limit myself to 140 characters or less and think up something to put in my profile. Alternatively I might not bother after all I only really signed up so I can follow other people's feeds which these days is pretty much essential.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
That's Paranoia!
Or possibly just a pair of stinky feet. Anyway I've decided that my previous Twitter name was rubbish so have changed it to Sovereignaka. Now I really think that Twitter should now email all other variants telling them that their accounts have been terminated but until then though at around 00:20 on 9/1/12 I'll be frantically hammering the "Unfollow" button.
The Horror! The Horror!
Although I think I've learned that Caroline Flack is now on the last day of her holiday in Goa Joey Essex still remains a mystery to me and really which one of Little Mix is Perrie anyway? Hopefully the tomorrow (9/1/12) morning will provide us with answers but sadly by picking these three as my first three follows I fear I may have significantly limited my Twitter experience.
Anyway back to Adventureland. Although it's a millennium film set in the 1980's I'm sure I heard more then a little hint of Procol Harum in there somewhere.
Anyway back to Adventureland. Although it's a millennium film set in the 1980's I'm sure I heard more then a little hint of Procol Harum in there somewhere.
Woo Hoo a Christmas Victory?!
I am now on Twitter. Due too all my usual names been taken I'm in under Soveraka. Due to public drunkenness I am now following Caroline Flack, Joey Essex and one of Little Mix.
I feel this is going to get worse before it gets better.
I feel this is going to get worse before it gets better.
Adventureland.
At at around 22:36 on 8/1/12 I have to say that firstly the combination of a TV in my computer room and some fairly average movies being shown on BBC2 is not doing wonders for my productivity.
Secondly having finally got to the bottom of the K-Stew vortex I've finally met her much cheaper British version in the form of Aisling Loftus who played Daniel May's sex interest in "Public Enemies." As only a few weeks earlier we'd seen her paying a very innocent 16 year old in the most recent version of "The Borrowers" I think she made us all feel more then a little bit pervy.
Secondly having finally got to the bottom of the K-Stew vortex I've finally met her much cheaper British version in the form of Aisling Loftus who played Daniel May's sex interest in "Public Enemies." As only a few weeks earlier we'd seen her paying a very innocent 16 year old in the most recent version of "The Borrowers" I think she made us all feel more then a little bit pervy.
Sherlock's in the Sh*t.
Or at least the actor who plays him is. Benedict Cumberbatch is currently attending the UK premiere of Stephan Spielberg's "War Horse" alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Meanwhile tonight's episode was "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Having done a book report on this at primary school I can't say I remember the Baskervilles of the title being a Porton Down style MOD biowarfare research facility run by a Major Micheal Barrymore doing his best Jason Statham impression.
To be honest it started to annoy me when big gay Russel Tovey started asking Mr Holmes to explain what killed his father twenty years ago. When Sherlock started sniffing loudly while trying to encourage the Tovey character to start smoking things started to get hazy. So hazy in fact that I almost missed the debate about female homosexuality versus male homosexuality in a majority heterosexual village pub setting. When the research monkey started doing Hitler salutes things started getting a bit weird. Once that star of multiple series of "Casualty" and one strange conversation with my father on a train Clive Mantle turned up I started to wander off. I guess I'll have to try and catch up with the BBC3 repeat on Saturday.
Last night (7/1/12) I managed to catch up with the previous episode featuring a very nude Lara Pulver before watching "The Girl Who Played With Fire." At only slightly over two hours it was much more tame then the first film. I think it's best described as an intelligent action film in the style of the Bourne films. If the trilogy continues like this I might even allow my father to watch them. The dubbed version rather then the subtitled version though just to annoy him and anyone else who may have been watching.
Anyway if you remember nothing else about this evening remember these three things;
1. I've been drinking since about 19:45.
2. When I say "In pantomime" I mean my mother looked after the horses backstage.
3. Someone's been watching "Alphas" that ironically named TV show that features many characters who look like much cheaper versions of actors you've seen in many sci-fi shows.
To be honest it started to annoy me when big gay Russel Tovey started asking Mr Holmes to explain what killed his father twenty years ago. When Sherlock started sniffing loudly while trying to encourage the Tovey character to start smoking things started to get hazy. So hazy in fact that I almost missed the debate about female homosexuality versus male homosexuality in a majority heterosexual village pub setting. When the research monkey started doing Hitler salutes things started getting a bit weird. Once that star of multiple series of "Casualty" and one strange conversation with my father on a train Clive Mantle turned up I started to wander off. I guess I'll have to try and catch up with the BBC3 repeat on Saturday.
Last night (7/1/12) I managed to catch up with the previous episode featuring a very nude Lara Pulver before watching "The Girl Who Played With Fire." At only slightly over two hours it was much more tame then the first film. I think it's best described as an intelligent action film in the style of the Bourne films. If the trilogy continues like this I might even allow my father to watch them. The dubbed version rather then the subtitled version though just to annoy him and anyone else who may have been watching.
Anyway if you remember nothing else about this evening remember these three things;
1. I've been drinking since about 19:45.
2. When I say "In pantomime" I mean my mother looked after the horses backstage.
3. Someone's been watching "Alphas" that ironically named TV show that features many characters who look like much cheaper versions of actors you've seen in many sci-fi shows.
Good For Them.
The Brits are still pushing ahead with the second volume of the Stepping Hill Hospital story with the police being given more time to question the accused male nurse (Victornio Chua) over three counts of murder, 18 counts of causing by grievous bodily harm by poisoning and multiple counts of tampering with medical records.
Apart from the previously mentioned attempt to write Rebbecca Leighton out of history I think the Brits are still under the impression that because they said no-one can read the paperwork surrounding my grandmother's case no-one has read them. So along with the Luis Suarez/Patrice Evra football racism story they're attempting to re-tell the whole story with me cast as the bad guy. I can't complain too much though because it is nice of them to show what normally happens to people who are caught administering poison with intent to kill and tampering with medical records.
In football today (8/1/12) Patrice Evra's Manchester United were gifted a 3-2 victory over Manchester City in the FA cup following a series of incorrect refereeing decisions. It would be nice to pretend that this was football trying to tell it's own version of the story but it's not. Having been knocked out of the Champions League, the League Cup and struggling in the League if Manchester United don't win the FA cup then this season they won't win anything at all. Ahead of the Olympics that would be very bad for morale. Manchester United have been rewarded with a fourth round tie with Luis Suarez's Liverpool.
Apart from the previously mentioned attempt to write Rebbecca Leighton out of history I think the Brits are still under the impression that because they said no-one can read the paperwork surrounding my grandmother's case no-one has read them. So along with the Luis Suarez/Patrice Evra football racism story they're attempting to re-tell the whole story with me cast as the bad guy. I can't complain too much though because it is nice of them to show what normally happens to people who are caught administering poison with intent to kill and tampering with medical records.
In football today (8/1/12) Patrice Evra's Manchester United were gifted a 3-2 victory over Manchester City in the FA cup following a series of incorrect refereeing decisions. It would be nice to pretend that this was football trying to tell it's own version of the story but it's not. Having been knocked out of the Champions League, the League Cup and struggling in the League if Manchester United don't win the FA cup then this season they won't win anything at all. Ahead of the Olympics that would be very bad for morale. Manchester United have been rewarded with a fourth round tie with Luis Suarez's Liverpool.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Oh Yeah Those Photographs.
Long story short I shot them on my phone. As I cannot connect my phone to my computer I had to take my phone to another computer in order to burn them onto disc. I've finally remembered to copy them onto my computer but due to the quality of the phone camera they are barely readable. This of course will lead into a lenghty debate over what sort of picture enhancement algorithms are accepted by British Courts.
Alternatively though the Judge could have just accepted that in this case there were enough significant questions to justify appointing a special visitor to investigate further.
Alternatively though the Judge could have just accepted that in this case there were enough significant questions to justify appointing a special visitor to investigate further.
Fake Boob Latest.
No it's not the new British series of Celebrity Big Brother it's the PIP faulty breast implant story.
Following France's announcement in December that it will pay for all French women with PIP implants to have the faulty medical procedure reversed the Czech Republic has announced that it will also pay for Czech women to have the faulty implants removed. Although I think the main issue here are genuine concerns about the safety of the PIP implants I like to think that in the timing of their announcement the Czechs are showing me support in the subtext to the story that relates to my grandmother. Today (6/1/12) Britain has announced that it will pay for women who had PIP implants fitted on the NHS to have the implants removed. They have also advised that private clinics that used PIP implants pay to have them removed from their patients with the private clinics insurance companies picking up the bill. So Britain is ignoring the subtext relating to my grandmother and trying to impose it's own one about the August riots and the Riot Damages Act.
Also British boxer Amir Khan has produced documents that he says show he actually won his December 10th fight against US boxer Lamont Peterson. This relates to the fact that I have photographs showing that my grandmother's medical records were altered to disguise the fact that she'd been treated with Haldol - a powerful anti-psychotic - prior to her mini-psychiatric assessment by the elderly care team. Obviously medical records are strictly privileged and therefore confidential so although it never came up at the hearing Britain is trying to argue that those photographs cannot be entered into evidence because they were unlawfully obtained. Again that argument is a non-starter firstly because I was asking the Court to lawfully examine the actual records rather then the photographs as part of a full forensic psychiatric assesment and secondly because I took the photographs in front of both the patient and her appointed guardian so they were obtained lawfully with consent.
The way that Britain has framed the issue is quite interesting though. Obviously because the fight was staged in the US and was won by a US boxer the US has little choice then to argue that there was no problem and Khan lost the fight giving the impression that the US supports Britain on the photograph issue.
Following France's announcement in December that it will pay for all French women with PIP implants to have the faulty medical procedure reversed the Czech Republic has announced that it will also pay for Czech women to have the faulty implants removed. Although I think the main issue here are genuine concerns about the safety of the PIP implants I like to think that in the timing of their announcement the Czechs are showing me support in the subtext to the story that relates to my grandmother. Today (6/1/12) Britain has announced that it will pay for women who had PIP implants fitted on the NHS to have the implants removed. They have also advised that private clinics that used PIP implants pay to have them removed from their patients with the private clinics insurance companies picking up the bill. So Britain is ignoring the subtext relating to my grandmother and trying to impose it's own one about the August riots and the Riot Damages Act.
Also British boxer Amir Khan has produced documents that he says show he actually won his December 10th fight against US boxer Lamont Peterson. This relates to the fact that I have photographs showing that my grandmother's medical records were altered to disguise the fact that she'd been treated with Haldol - a powerful anti-psychotic - prior to her mini-psychiatric assessment by the elderly care team. Obviously medical records are strictly privileged and therefore confidential so although it never came up at the hearing Britain is trying to argue that those photographs cannot be entered into evidence because they were unlawfully obtained. Again that argument is a non-starter firstly because I was asking the Court to lawfully examine the actual records rather then the photographs as part of a full forensic psychiatric assesment and secondly because I took the photographs in front of both the patient and her appointed guardian so they were obtained lawfully with consent.
The way that Britain has framed the issue is quite interesting though. Obviously because the fight was staged in the US and was won by a US boxer the US has little choice then to argue that there was no problem and Khan lost the fight giving the impression that the US supports Britain on the photograph issue.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
More From Stepping Hill Hospital.
You may remember that back in July of 2011 just before my grandmother went into hospital for the first time and the News of the World phone hacking scandal was at it's fictional height there was much drama at the Stepping Hill hospital in greater Manchester. Someone had been killing elderly patients by adding insulin to their saline drips. Eventually a red headed nurse named Rebbecca was arrested but the authorities decided not to prosecute as the whole story sort of got swamped by the terror attacks in Norway.
Well in the last couple of days there has been another spate of patients at Stepping Hill hospital being given dangerous and incorrect doses of drugs. The police have arrested a 46 year old male nurse. To me it looks as though a second killer has been sent to the hospital in the hope that all the killings will be blamed on them rewriting the history books so they don't show that Britain killed a number of it's own subject's in order to wage a campaign to silence the news media. Of course it also puts the law relating to the falsification of medical records and administration of poisons into focus again. Incidentally campaigners are again calling for the legalisation of euthanasia. I don't know what they're getting so excited about though because at this rate not only will it be legal it will be compulsory.
In other news the shadow health minister Diane Abbott has found herself at the centre of a storm in a tea cup. In a Twitter argument in which a poster was attacking the black community in light of the Dobson/Norris verdict she said something about white people loving to play divide and rule. Conservatives and other right wingers have today (5/1/12) been queuing up to accuse her of racism and call for her resignation. Lead amongst them has been Conservative MP Rehman Chisti. In the space of two TV interviews he's managed to imply that only white people can be considered British and referred to the conviction of Dobson and Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence as a "tragedy." I don't think he intended to be racist but he really needs to know when to shut up.
Well in the last couple of days there has been another spate of patients at Stepping Hill hospital being given dangerous and incorrect doses of drugs. The police have arrested a 46 year old male nurse. To me it looks as though a second killer has been sent to the hospital in the hope that all the killings will be blamed on them rewriting the history books so they don't show that Britain killed a number of it's own subject's in order to wage a campaign to silence the news media. Of course it also puts the law relating to the falsification of medical records and administration of poisons into focus again. Incidentally campaigners are again calling for the legalisation of euthanasia. I don't know what they're getting so excited about though because at this rate not only will it be legal it will be compulsory.
In other news the shadow health minister Diane Abbott has found herself at the centre of a storm in a tea cup. In a Twitter argument in which a poster was attacking the black community in light of the Dobson/Norris verdict she said something about white people loving to play divide and rule. Conservatives and other right wingers have today (5/1/12) been queuing up to accuse her of racism and call for her resignation. Lead amongst them has been Conservative MP Rehman Chisti. In the space of two TV interviews he's managed to imply that only white people can be considered British and referred to the conviction of Dobson and Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence as a "tragedy." I don't think he intended to be racist but he really needs to know when to shut up.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Operation Oil Theft: Month 10, Week 3, Day 1.
In Libya the December 20th deadline for militia's to disband or leave the capital Tripoli has come and passed without the militias disbanding or leaving. If anything they're now causing more trouble then ever before. On Saturday (31/12/11) militia fighters crossed into Tunisia and kidnapped four Tunisian border guards. Although three of the guards managed to escape quite quickly and there are reports that the fourth was freed the following day suffering from gunshot wounds this is not the sort of thing that makes for good neighbourly relations between nations. If it continues then it will force the Tunisian government to do something about it. Then on Monday (2/1/12) members of the Tripoli Brigade militia arrested a member of the Misrata Brigade militia in Tripoli on suspicion of theft. On Tuesday (3/1/12) the Misrata Brigade then attacked the Tripoli Brigade in order to free their man provoking a lengthy gun battle that left at least five dead.
Quite apart from the warring militias the security situation in Libya is further threatened by the re-emergence of pro-Qaddafi fighters. On Sunday (1/1/12) the NTC announced that it had captured nine men in possession of high explosives who were said to be attempting to blow up Tripoli's power grid and re-launch the pro-Qaddafi Al Jamahiriya TV station. Although I think the talk of TV stations is actually an attempt to put pressure on neighbouring Egypt to close down another pro-Qaddafi TV station it does seem as though the NTC have foiled a legitimate terrorist attack. However the main worry is that rather then being a genuine attempt to overthrow the NTC the attack was intended as a power play by members of Qaddafi's Warfalla tribe using violence or the threat of violence to increase their political influence.
Despite these challenges that the NTC has succeeded in publishing a 15 page draft law governing the election of the National General Committee for discussion. Although I've been unable to get hold of a copy of the actual document to read from what I gather it takes a very provocative starting position with provisions to exclude some 75% of the Libyan population from the electoral process sowing the seeds for factional divisions and corruption. I also understand that much of the wording governing the formation of political parties and the drawing up of electoral districts is very vague and needs to be both clarified and strengthened.
Also Libya's oil production is up to 305,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is expected to be back up to the pre-war level of 400,000 bpd by the end of the month.
Quite apart from the warring militias the security situation in Libya is further threatened by the re-emergence of pro-Qaddafi fighters. On Sunday (1/1/12) the NTC announced that it had captured nine men in possession of high explosives who were said to be attempting to blow up Tripoli's power grid and re-launch the pro-Qaddafi Al Jamahiriya TV station. Although I think the talk of TV stations is actually an attempt to put pressure on neighbouring Egypt to close down another pro-Qaddafi TV station it does seem as though the NTC have foiled a legitimate terrorist attack. However the main worry is that rather then being a genuine attempt to overthrow the NTC the attack was intended as a power play by members of Qaddafi's Warfalla tribe using violence or the threat of violence to increase their political influence.
Despite these challenges that the NTC has succeeded in publishing a 15 page draft law governing the election of the National General Committee for discussion. Although I've been unable to get hold of a copy of the actual document to read from what I gather it takes a very provocative starting position with provisions to exclude some 75% of the Libyan population from the electoral process sowing the seeds for factional divisions and corruption. I also understand that much of the wording governing the formation of political parties and the drawing up of electoral districts is very vague and needs to be both clarified and strengthened.
Also Libya's oil production is up to 305,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is expected to be back up to the pre-war level of 400,000 bpd by the end of the month.
The Iowa Caucus.
In the United States the Republican Party has begun the long and arduous process of selecting their candidate for November's Presidential election. Technically what they're actually doing is selecting delegates to go to the Republican National Convention (RNC) who will then choose the Presidential candidate. So the results of the Caucuses are non-binding and the RNC can still choose a candidate who's yet to make themselves known. As a result I don't really pay it a lot of attention until much later in the process when the field has thinned and there are fewer names and biographies for me to learn.
However from Iowa it's clear that Mitt Romney has emerged as the business candidate. Rick Santorum has emerged as the religious candidate and Ron Paul has emerged as the Tea Party candidate. John Huntsman and Newt Gingrich will now have to go off and decide whether they have enough of a chance of unseating Romney that it's worth them staying in the race. Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann will also have to decide if they can unseat Paul and then go on to beat Romney and Santorum who are clearly the two front runners with only eight votes between them.
However from Iowa it's clear that Mitt Romney has emerged as the business candidate. Rick Santorum has emerged as the religious candidate and Ron Paul has emerged as the Tea Party candidate. John Huntsman and Newt Gingrich will now have to go off and decide whether they have enough of a chance of unseating Romney that it's worth them staying in the race. Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann will also have to decide if they can unseat Paul and then go on to beat Romney and Santorum who are clearly the two front runners with only eight votes between them.
Is That It.
Gary Dobson and David Norris have just been sentenced for the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
In the UK for an offence of racially aggravated murder you would expect a sentence of a minimum of 30 years in prison. Due to previous convictions for violence and a complete lack of remorse shown in Dobson and Norris' case you would expect that sentence to be much higher.
The Judge clearly disagreed and sentenced Dobson to a minimum of 15 years 2 months and Norris to 14 years and 2 months. That's 3 and 4 years respectively less then the time Dobson and Norris have already wrongly walked free. So it seems to me that while a jury finally convicted them the Judge still saw no need to actually punish them.
In the UK for an offence of racially aggravated murder you would expect a sentence of a minimum of 30 years in prison. Due to previous convictions for violence and a complete lack of remorse shown in Dobson and Norris' case you would expect that sentence to be much higher.
The Judge clearly disagreed and sentenced Dobson to a minimum of 15 years 2 months and Norris to 14 years and 2 months. That's 3 and 4 years respectively less then the time Dobson and Norris have already wrongly walked free. So it seems to me that while a jury finally convicted them the Judge still saw no need to actually punish them.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
No I Don't Want a Fox For a Pet Either
But I think an honourable mention should go to the local for a passable impression of a police siren. Really I've got no idea where they got the idea from.
Anyway my New Year's Resolution is to join Twitter just as soon as Facebook accepts the legitimate spelling of my genuine name.
So at around 00:30 on 4/1/12 I think it's time for bed.
Anyway my New Year's Resolution is to join Twitter just as soon as Facebook accepts the legitimate spelling of my genuine name.
So at around 00:30 on 4/1/12 I think it's time for bed.
Boo! Hiss!
Due to the early verdict in the Dobson/Norris trial the BBC were prevented from showing the first episode of "Public Enemies." This series of three one hour episodes shown over successive nights saw Anna Friel's probation officer attempt to rehabilitate Daniel (the Devil in Ashes to Ashes) Mays prisoner as he was released from prison following a ten year sentence for murdering his girlfriend. While we all know it was going to be rubbish I was looking forward to enduring it while the TV in my head re-played that episode of Pushing Daisy's where they recovered the body from the clown car.
Instead though we were forced to watch the Panorama special on the Stephen Lawrence murder. It featured Doreen Lawrence, her other son and their legal team of Imran Khan (solicitor) and Micheal Mansfield (QC) being followed around by a documentary crew as they first appeared in the High Court for the double jeopardy hearing. The action then moved on to Doreen Lawrence visiting her son's grave in Jamaica and the charitable foundation she'd set up to send young blacks to study architecture and help keep her main son alive. Finally we got her first reactions as the verdict was announced and all the while she seemed a little bit like my grandmother. So I think the message there was don't dare try and seek justice in this sink hole of a nation unless you ready for the world to pick over your bones and the birds to shit on your grave.
As for Stephen Lawrence may he finally rest in peace and may his 5 killers endure the next 40 years in a prison block with all those rioters.
Instead though we were forced to watch the Panorama special on the Stephen Lawrence murder. It featured Doreen Lawrence, her other son and their legal team of Imran Khan (solicitor) and Micheal Mansfield (QC) being followed around by a documentary crew as they first appeared in the High Court for the double jeopardy hearing. The action then moved on to Doreen Lawrence visiting her son's grave in Jamaica and the charitable foundation she'd set up to send young blacks to study architecture and help keep her main son alive. Finally we got her first reactions as the verdict was announced and all the while she seemed a little bit like my grandmother. So I think the message there was don't dare try and seek justice in this sink hole of a nation unless you ready for the world to pick over your bones and the birds to shit on your grave.
As for Stephen Lawrence may he finally rest in peace and may his 5 killers endure the next 40 years in a prison block with all those rioters.
New Year's Detox.
At this time of year many Britons choose to give up smoking and abstain from alcohol in order to cleanse their biological systems in preparation for the year to come. So at around 20:10 on 3/1/12 I've returned from the pub and decided to start on the Heineken. Obviously while we were out we had a visit from some semi-pros but pending a full security sweep I would say that everything is Ok. More then Ok in fact because although my new digital TV aerial is hanging on by a thread the TV's still working.
The only worry is that in light of the Dobson/Norris verdict I did slightly notice the pub polarising between the white loudmouths and the black loudmouths.
The only worry is that in light of the Dobson/Norris verdict I did slightly notice the pub polarising between the white loudmouths and the black loudmouths.
Better Late The Never I Suppose.
Although most people in Britain went back to work today (3/1/12) I'm still being very lazy. So lazy in fact that both my cellphone and iPod ran out of battery power a couple of days ago and I've still not got around to plugging them in to re-charge.
Anyway it was around this point last week that all the news channels were running their reviews of the year trying to pick their moment of 2011. In a year that saw the Tunisian revolution, the Egyptian revolution, the Libyan war, the continuing turmoil in Syria, Britain's Royal Wedding, the killing of Osama bin Laden, Britain's August riots and the crisis in the Eurozone there were certainly plenty to choose from. My moment though was the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster because in those 15 short minutes nature showed us just how irrelevant all those other things can be.
Oh and Gary Dobson and David Norris are set to be sentenced tomorrow (4/1/12) at around 11:30. Considering that they've already wrongly walked free for 18 years they're going to have to serve at least that long before they can even be considered to begin to be punished for the crime.
Anyway it was around this point last week that all the news channels were running their reviews of the year trying to pick their moment of 2011. In a year that saw the Tunisian revolution, the Egyptian revolution, the Libyan war, the continuing turmoil in Syria, Britain's Royal Wedding, the killing of Osama bin Laden, Britain's August riots and the crisis in the Eurozone there were certainly plenty to choose from. My moment though was the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster because in those 15 short minutes nature showed us just how irrelevant all those other things can be.
Oh and Gary Dobson and David Norris are set to be sentenced tomorrow (4/1/12) at around 11:30. Considering that they've already wrongly walked free for 18 years they're going to have to serve at least that long before they can even be considered to begin to be punished for the crime.
There's a Shocker(!)
Today (3/1/12) a British Court has finally convicted David Norris and Gary Dobson of the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence. So that's two down and three to go. Then we can get about bringing the police officers who helped cover up the crime to justice.
Own Up Who Made the Weather Angry?
As everyone returns to work following the festive break Britain is being battered by hurricane force winds. In Scotland and the north of England these winds have been powerful enough to blow down brick built buildings. In the south of England where it's calmer the winds have ripped the roof of the Epsom race course and torn down my newly fitted TV aeriel. On the plus side all the money that will have to be spent on repairs should be good for the economy.
In other news the police have announced that they are treating the body of a woman that was found on the Queen's Sandringham Estate on January 1st as murder. At the risk of spoiling it for everyone this is actually a direct reference to the new episode of Sherlock. It's a case of the people who do this sort digging up a body somewhere else and then placing on the Queen's doorstep to promote discussion about how many bodies lie at the Queens door. There's more fighting in Tripoli btw.
In other news the police have announced that they are treating the body of a woman that was found on the Queen's Sandringham Estate on January 1st as murder. At the risk of spoiling it for everyone this is actually a direct reference to the new episode of Sherlock. It's a case of the people who do this sort digging up a body somewhere else and then placing on the Queen's doorstep to promote discussion about how many bodies lie at the Queens door. There's more fighting in Tripoli btw.
Monday, 2 January 2012
Me and My Exciting Life.
Truth be told the last couple of months started catching up with me around December 26th. As a result the absolute last thing I wanted to do on New Year's Eve was go out and party. Instead I cooked something nice for dinner, opened a good bottle of wine and watched the original version of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" - film almost as long as it's title. While I really think I need to watch it again and I don't think it's the sort of film you're meant to enjoy I certainly feel my life is a better place for having watched it.
Appropriately I haven't got round to watching again or watching the second film in the trilogy because yesterday (1/1/12) BBC1 was showing the first episode of the second series of "Sherlock" - the first big TV event of the year. If you're not familiar with this BBC drama it attempts to re-tell Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries in a modern day setting. A cynic would say that it borrows heavily from the US show "The Mentalist" but then the Mentalist does owe a certain debt to Conan Doyle. The first series of Sherlock was originally shown in the summer of 2010 which is traditionally a quiet time for new TV shows. In part this was done so the second episode could be used to prepare my little brother for his trip to China but mainly it was because the network really wasn't sure how the audience would receive it. They needn't have worried though because the audience immediately fell in love with it and started to demand to know when the second series would start. Unfortunately by that point most of the people involved had already committed themselves to do other things so it took another 18 months for the second series to be shown. That wait was filled with rumours about when it would be shown, who would be in it and what would happen. As a result there was always a risk that story of the making of the second series would be more interesting then the program itself.
The first episode of the second series featured Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr Watson being hired by the Queen of England to find a dominatrix who had photographs of a young Princess engaged in lesbian, S&M sex. Although that sounds quite offensive to the Royal Family it was actually an attempt to ingratiate them with the world's homosexuals or "the feeble minded" as the Royals prefer to think of them. The story then progressed to encompass themes of Islamic terrorism, espionage, false flag terror attacks and the question of whether or not the Queen smokes amid around 540 other things designed to annoy me. The central theme though was the mutual attraction between and Sherlock Holme's growing obsession with the dominatrix, Irene Adler. That character was played by Lara Pulver whose been in "True Blood" and the final series of "Spooks." The important thing to remember about her though is that she is basically a much, much older version of Summer Glau from "Firefly" and "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles." Despite all this I think the team behind Sherlock just about got away with it especially Lara Pulver who, er, well dominated every scene. So much as it annoys me it looks like she's going to get a lot more work. As for Summer Glau if Britain has it's way her agent is going to be getting a call from the producers of the next James Bond film any day now.
I then watched "Hacks" on Channel 4. This totally made up comedy told the story of a British Sunday tabloid and it's Australian owner as it was engulfed in a scandal about phone hacking. With the exception of the owner Stanhope Feast, his idiot son, his Vietnamese wife and British Prime Minister David Bullingdon this was all done in such broad strokes and pantomime style it didn't really target anyone in particular. In fact it featured one the most sympathetic portrayals of Rebekah Brookes that I've seen in a long while.
In something more closely resembling actual proper news an arsonist has been setting fires across California - the heart of the US film and TV industry. This is just the Zionist part of the US state briefing against me. The allegation is that my posts of last Thursday (29/12/11) started metaphorical fires across Hollywood. That's nonsense because the rumours of what I've been up too started the fires. By tackling them head on I actually helped to extinguish most of the fires. However that's not what the Zionist wanted though. While we can argue about the intellectual rights and wrongs of it TV and film but especially TV play an important role in how people vote in elections. The Zionist element was rather hoping then that it could use the fire and fury of New Year's Eve to find out how Hollywood's liberal elite intend to play the 2012 election so the Zionist element can increase the chances of a Republican victory.
Appropriately I haven't got round to watching again or watching the second film in the trilogy because yesterday (1/1/12) BBC1 was showing the first episode of the second series of "Sherlock" - the first big TV event of the year. If you're not familiar with this BBC drama it attempts to re-tell Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries in a modern day setting. A cynic would say that it borrows heavily from the US show "The Mentalist" but then the Mentalist does owe a certain debt to Conan Doyle. The first series of Sherlock was originally shown in the summer of 2010 which is traditionally a quiet time for new TV shows. In part this was done so the second episode could be used to prepare my little brother for his trip to China but mainly it was because the network really wasn't sure how the audience would receive it. They needn't have worried though because the audience immediately fell in love with it and started to demand to know when the second series would start. Unfortunately by that point most of the people involved had already committed themselves to do other things so it took another 18 months for the second series to be shown. That wait was filled with rumours about when it would be shown, who would be in it and what would happen. As a result there was always a risk that story of the making of the second series would be more interesting then the program itself.
The first episode of the second series featured Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr Watson being hired by the Queen of England to find a dominatrix who had photographs of a young Princess engaged in lesbian, S&M sex. Although that sounds quite offensive to the Royal Family it was actually an attempt to ingratiate them with the world's homosexuals or "the feeble minded" as the Royals prefer to think of them. The story then progressed to encompass themes of Islamic terrorism, espionage, false flag terror attacks and the question of whether or not the Queen smokes amid around 540 other things designed to annoy me. The central theme though was the mutual attraction between and Sherlock Holme's growing obsession with the dominatrix, Irene Adler. That character was played by Lara Pulver whose been in "True Blood" and the final series of "Spooks." The important thing to remember about her though is that she is basically a much, much older version of Summer Glau from "Firefly" and "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles." Despite all this I think the team behind Sherlock just about got away with it especially Lara Pulver who, er, well dominated every scene. So much as it annoys me it looks like she's going to get a lot more work. As for Summer Glau if Britain has it's way her agent is going to be getting a call from the producers of the next James Bond film any day now.
I then watched "Hacks" on Channel 4. This totally made up comedy told the story of a British Sunday tabloid and it's Australian owner as it was engulfed in a scandal about phone hacking. With the exception of the owner Stanhope Feast, his idiot son, his Vietnamese wife and British Prime Minister David Bullingdon this was all done in such broad strokes and pantomime style it didn't really target anyone in particular. In fact it featured one the most sympathetic portrayals of Rebekah Brookes that I've seen in a long while.
In something more closely resembling actual proper news an arsonist has been setting fires across California - the heart of the US film and TV industry. This is just the Zionist part of the US state briefing against me. The allegation is that my posts of last Thursday (29/12/11) started metaphorical fires across Hollywood. That's nonsense because the rumours of what I've been up too started the fires. By tackling them head on I actually helped to extinguish most of the fires. However that's not what the Zionist wanted though. While we can argue about the intellectual rights and wrongs of it TV and film but especially TV play an important role in how people vote in elections. The Zionist element was rather hoping then that it could use the fire and fury of New Year's Eve to find out how Hollywood's liberal elite intend to play the 2012 election so the Zionist element can increase the chances of a Republican victory.
Durham Suicide.
At around midnight today (2/1/12) police were called to a house in Durham UK follow reports of gunshots. Inside the house they found the bodies of four people all of whom had suffered shotgun wounds. Sadly this is just a genuine murder suicide. If I'm been totally honest I'm surprised there haven't been more but deep down I know there have been but they just didn't make it on to the news.
Due to the recession or more specifically government policy towards the recession there are an awful lot of people in Britain under an awful lot of stress. Over the festive period those stresses get magnified especially with the promise of a New Year demanding that people cope for another 12 months. Some people decide they can't and kill themselves.
If you must put a political dimension to it all then it highlights the contempt that Britain's government has for it's people because a compassionate person would have changed course by now. Britain though just considers these people acceptable losses.
Due to the recession or more specifically government policy towards the recession there are an awful lot of people in Britain under an awful lot of stress. Over the festive period those stresses get magnified especially with the promise of a New Year demanding that people cope for another 12 months. Some people decide they can't and kill themselves.
If you must put a political dimension to it all then it highlights the contempt that Britain's government has for it's people because a compassionate person would have changed course by now. Britain though just considers these people acceptable losses.
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