Taliban: the return of the taliban

So it looks like we’ll probably not succeed in Afghanistan. Let’s be honest the Taliban are in for the long haul and we have no stomach for sacrificing our young men and our money in any other cause than self-interest (possibly quite rightly). The goals of the Afghan conflict, in as much as they are clear just don’t chime with public sentiment.

The stated goal is to make Britain safer but that’s a tough sell, the real goal seems to be to help the non-Taliban Afghans stop the Taliban retaining control of the country. Nasty as the Taliban are, is that something the British working man’s taxes should be spent on? Maybe, maybe not.

But we can’t have it both ways; we can’t pull out of Afghanistan then moan to politicians that we should be doing ‘something’ about the oppressive Taliban regime. We have to be honest about what we really want. We want to purge our consciences by moaning to leaders and media that they aren’t doing enough to help the poor people we see on TV. But we don’t want that to actually involve nasty wars, which are bad and we are against. As soon as any of these nasty people around the world take issue with our ‘helping’ thus turning into a ‘war’ which we are of course against, then its white poppy a go-go.

So its welcome back Taliban, here’s reminder of the manifesto

The enviroment is the new kids

Is it just me or … (that’s an ominous way to start a blog post)

…is ‘its good for the climate’ the new ‘do it for the kids’

It used to be if you wanted to convince people do something or stop doing something one would throw in a vague reference to an ill defined benefit or detriment to future generation of tiny cute children. But now all one needs to do is introduce some vague ill defined benefit or detriment to the environment.

Sorry darling, I don’t want to walk to the shops to get some Flash wipes, because that will take energy , and then I will need to eat more food, which contributes to global warming.

I’d love to go to visit your parents tonight instead of watching the football, but think of the carbon footprint in terms of travel and rich teas.

Can I have some money please? it’s for the environment and the kids.

define me… DEFINE ME!!

Too many people will blog about this,  so i won’t

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/03/tim-nicholson-climate-change-belief

…only to say that i still don’t understand how he was discriminated against due to his alleged beliefs

The danger of a weak body of MPs

I started to get a shiver up my spine as I watched Harriet Harman, leader of the house of commons speak to Andrew Marr about the new Independent Expenses Watchdog. She kept saying that this and that would be a matter for the watchdog not the commons, that she hoped they would be fair and balanced but it was a mater for them.

I started to think -  hang on a minute -  take a step back, this is a democracy, and I vote for an MP to represent me, to make the laws of the land. Parliament is supposed to be sovereign, who the **** is this ‘independent watchdog’ accountable to if my MP isn’t even allowed a vote on its proposals? I happen to think that MPs are underpaid and that its a bad thing for our democracy, now who do i vote for to make that happen?  is the watchdog going to canvas my vote?

I’m quite aware that MPs have lost all credibility due to the expenses scandal but that’s no excuse for giving in to every whim and abuse from the public/media. Democracy is too important for that (sidebar: the only way to have purged the problem would have been for The Queen to have immediately dissolved parliament when it became obvious that trust had been lost. But that too would have been undemocratic, because who elected her!).

Politicians are in a difficult position of needing to represent as well as to lead, but I’m starting to see how dangerous it is to have a morally discredited parliament because it means it’s hesitant to tell us what we don’t want to hear, its constantly apologizing and grovelling to us, as opposed to leading us. Which is something along the lines of … if we don’t want it to just be a job for rich people, and we want to encourage more woman and family providers then its perfectly reasonable for them to have a Westminster home paid for by the taxpayer, and to have a salary in line with their responsibilities – perhaps equivalent to senior lawyer or doctor.  Above all, they most decide these things for themselves, not outsource decision making to an unelected body because they think a pay rise will lose them votes!

On easy offense and complaining

via Nick Cohen in the Observer

A mob fighting a good cause is still a mob. To fight back, you need to remember that although the internet age is hugely expanding the number of complaints, the old rules still apply. Whether you are the owner of a tiny blog or the editor of a national newspaper, if someone points out an incorrect fact, you correct it; if someone challenges an argument, you argue back; and if someone says that you must think what they think, you ignore them.

What do we want?

Happiness,

when do we want it?

all the time

 

…but not exactly all the time, other wise we wouldn’t appreciate it. To appreciate happy growth we need to experience a happiness recession once in a while.

How to kill a good idea

 

If you ever wish to discredit or malign a well evidenced and righteous discovery, theory or idea… over sell it

Gore Vidal – what the f**k!?

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910u/gore-vidal

I can’t decide if this interview is a send up or not.  Maybe he’s going senile.

a taster…

 

on Polanski…

I really don’t give a fuck. Look, am I going to sit and weep every time a young hooker feels as though she’s been taken advantage of?

 

What happens with the online self doesnt die with its real world host?

 

is there such a thing as a will & testament for your online self?

is there a way to leave information about accounts/passwords for all your online real estate and data?

if there’s not, then there should be.

Proof if proof were needed

Quranic Verses ‘Appear’ on Baby’s Body – Russians flock to see ‘miracle’ baby

TWW vs TTOI

The new series of  The Thick Of It starts this Saturday

The difference between The West Wing and The Thick Of It, says much about the British cynical view of themselves and their political class

What i want from formal education

This is (with 2 mins thought) what I’d like my future kids to have a basic knowledge of by the age of 16.

• General Creativity & Discipline
• Reading, Writing & IT Literacy
• Language
• Basic Maths & Engineering
• World/Local History & Geography
• General Scientific theory & Practice
• Art/Music Theory & Practice
• Philosophical & Religious History
• Economic & Political Theory

From 16 – 20yrs, specialise in a particular area of interest

No vocational training at all, until they have left formal education and decided what they want their first job to be. Expecting to re-train and re-job once or twice a decade as economic circumstances dictate.

Thats quite a lot actually, not what i expected when i started the list!

Slightly intra topic, but Madeline Bunting mentioned in her Guardian column an interesting ethics book being used in schools

Listen or don’t listen to the BNP?

Maybe victory over the BNP doesn’t come by harassing and silencing them, it comes from answering their questions and assertions in the public arena. This week they are appearing on Question Time, rightly in my view. It’s not for the BBC to get into deciding which legally elected political party they allow on their show, it’s all very well when they ban a party we don’t like, but when happens when they ban a party we do like? If the BBC is to avoid becoming Fox News it must hold its nose and remain neutral and independent.

In the 1980s the government decided to ban the leaders of Sein Fein from being heard on British media. This became immediately ridiculous when actor’s voices where allowed to overdub the words! I propose that the reason why we banned Adams from the airwaves was because in a lot of what he said, frankly he had a point, and that made us uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because a lot of what he said was also abhorrent, as were the actions of the IRA thugs. It’s difficult to listen to someone who spouts 90% deranged anti social diatribe, but 10% reasonable truth that maybe we need to address. The adage” I’ve met with the enemy, and he’s partly right” is maybe a starting point to dealing with the BNP. Maybe it would disarm and eventually defeat them. Or maybe I’m an appeaser.

Historal Homicde Statistics

I’m a data freak.  So i love the Guardian Data Blog

Here’s some random stats.  Add your own analysis!

.	Homicide Rates per 100,000 people
.		England	Netherlands	Italy
.	13th c	23	47	56
.	16th c	7	25	47
.	19th c	1.7	1.6	13
.	1900-49	0.8	1.5	3.2
.	1950-94	0.9	0.9	1.5

Monday Morning Reality Check

The great majority of people will never again go back to paying for music. It has become an anathema to the young, and kids who are tweens today will find it arcane that people used to have to pay for each song and album. In fact, ‘album, what was that daddy?’ is what they’ll say.

People WILL pay for a good media delivery service. Being a musician may no longer be the career option it once was, but maybe then we’ll get better/less art.