Let's not underestimate. Let's be prepared for the worst.
— Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Sunday morning on C-SPAN
Scott Ritter - doing so well talking about possible Iranian nuclear developments in a measured and sensible way, and fairly analysing American impulses re this etc - has just gone majorly, majorly downhill, and started talking minimising, apologetic (and in some cases downright inaccurate) shite about certain elements in Iran, wrt their views on Israel.
oh Scott.
Scott Ritter - doing so well talking about possible Iranian nuclear developments in a measured and sensible way, and fairly analysing American impulses re this etc - has just gone majorly, majorly downhill, and started talking minimising, apologetic (and in some cases downright inaccurate) shite about certain elements in Iran, wrt their views on Israel.
oh Scott.
"The Saturdays' Saturday Night...
...Party Top 50. Vanessa, Una, Mollie, Rochelle & Frankie take you through the Saturday of all Saturdays as they give us their soundtrack to the perfect Saturday night party!"
can i say i watched/listened to the above programme on British music channel TMF (a subsid of MTV) earlier today and by jove it was freaking awesome
...Party Top 50. Vanessa, Una, Mollie, Rochelle & Frankie take you through the Saturday of all Saturdays as they give us their soundtrack to the perfect Saturday night party!"
can i say i watched/listened to the above programme on British music channel TMF (a subsid of MTV) earlier today and by jove it was freaking awesome
Saturday, 3 October 2009
i am a little uncomfortable w his (too monolithic, too imprecise, not politically correct enough for me at the very least, to be blunt; something like 'first generation immigrants from Muslim-majority states' would clearly be less snappy, to be fair) usage of "Muslim" in the penultimate paragraph (though his "population of alienated Muslims" following that is clearly accurate), but this June 2005 Peter Bergen article on The Power of Nightmares is definitely worth a read.
also on same, and as equally deserving of attention, is David Aaronovitch, writing in late 2004.
"September 30, 2009 (BOR) – Authorities in Twic East County say villagers are fleeing the area following rumors of a new attack from the Lou Nuer who had already attacked the same locality last month.
Armed men from the Lou Nuer in Jonglei on Twic East on August 28 killed 40 people, also more that 160 people were killed by the same tribal elements in another attack on Dok Padiet on September 20.
Southern Sudan officials were alarmed by the escalation of violence in Jonglei. Following a visit to the affected area, the southern Sudan interior minister, Jonglei governor and UN coordinator for the semi-autonomous region agreed they attack had been directed to the government forces and institutions. They all also spoke about a structured and heavily armed militia.
However following the attack, Lou Nuer dismissed the emergence of an organized militia in the area accusing the southern Sudan and Jonglei authorities of taking Dinka’s side. They further said by the attack had been carried out by angry armed civilians who decided to take the law into their own hands as a result of their unresolved grievances that accumulated since 2006.
The southern Sudan army deployed an additional battalion of some 700 soldiers in the area to prevent further escalation of the situation there.
Twic East Commissioner Diing Akol Diing says days are being counted down for possible attack and "there is general fear." Unconfirmed reports claim the Lou Nuer armed men gave 9 days ultimatum to Twic East citizens in Panyagoor to prepare for war or quit.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune by phone from Panyagoor, Twic East headquarters, Mr. Akol says the situation is tense and there is uncertainty about security situation."
Armed men from the Lou Nuer in Jonglei on Twic East on August 28 killed 40 people, also more that 160 people were killed by the same tribal elements in another attack on Dok Padiet on September 20.
Southern Sudan officials were alarmed by the escalation of violence in Jonglei. Following a visit to the affected area, the southern Sudan interior minister, Jonglei governor and UN coordinator for the semi-autonomous region agreed they attack had been directed to the government forces and institutions. They all also spoke about a structured and heavily armed militia.
However following the attack, Lou Nuer dismissed the emergence of an organized militia in the area accusing the southern Sudan and Jonglei authorities of taking Dinka’s side. They further said by the attack had been carried out by angry armed civilians who decided to take the law into their own hands as a result of their unresolved grievances that accumulated since 2006.
The southern Sudan army deployed an additional battalion of some 700 soldiers in the area to prevent further escalation of the situation there.
Twic East Commissioner Diing Akol Diing says days are being counted down for possible attack and "there is general fear." Unconfirmed reports claim the Lou Nuer armed men gave 9 days ultimatum to Twic East citizens in Panyagoor to prepare for war or quit.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune by phone from Panyagoor, Twic East headquarters, Mr. Akol says the situation is tense and there is uncertainty about security situation."
Friday, 2 October 2009
re celebrities who i have a high opinion of, Lucy Cavendish interviewed Emmanuelle Béart for the Sunday Telegraph recently, and we all know the woman has a good attitude in defence of immigrants etc in her native France, anyway the final paragraph (Cavendish wrote the woman's English pronunciation as follows, so, eh, whatever!)
Before she leaves I ask her if she is still politically motivated. She worked for 10 years as a UN ambassador and has marched against France’s right-wing government, protesting over legislation that decreed all landlords must declare foreign lodgers. 'Of course I am political,’ she says, opening her eyes wide. 'You ’ave to be don’t you? Every day it is about your future, your right to that future. ’Ow can people ignore this? We ’ave to leave a good world for our children, n’est-ce pas?’
what an utter piece of nonsense that proposed legislation is/was!
racaille indeed.
Before she leaves I ask her if she is still politically motivated. She worked for 10 years as a UN ambassador and has marched against France’s right-wing government, protesting over legislation that decreed all landlords must declare foreign lodgers. 'Of course I am political,’ she says, opening her eyes wide. 'You ’ave to be don’t you? Every day it is about your future, your right to that future. ’Ow can people ignore this? We ’ave to leave a good world for our children, n’est-ce pas?’
what an utter piece of nonsense that proposed legislation is/was!
racaille indeed.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Jamie Oliver's programme in which he goes around the USA (he ate Mexican food in LA, cooked outside in New Orleans, apparently went ranching on the High Plains but i missed that, and he is in the 'Deep South' tonight as i write).
anyway.
Jamie is going up in my estimation all the time catching this (i liked him before anyway), he is really humane and dwells on politics. for instance meeting reformed gang bangers in Los Angeles, he had some really touching (and sensible, from the structural point of view) thoughts to camera afterward.
a white person just said "n*****" in his presence of an evening when he was hanging out with some folks, and the morning after Jamie is talking to the camera in his rented gaff (or wherever he is), and you can tell he is really, deeply, deeply troubled by it (like his voice is almost breaking).
at the time it happened he just froze or something and remarked on the voice-over he decided to get out of the place ASAP.
he's just said he's in Savannah, GA, incidentally. (of course his friend at the caff the next day - a black woman - tells him in gentle terms to expect that.)
he is cooking bacon, meatballs, collard greens, grits, and shrimps.
anyway.
Jamie is going up in my estimation all the time catching this (i liked him before anyway), he is really humane and dwells on politics. for instance meeting reformed gang bangers in Los Angeles, he had some really touching (and sensible, from the structural point of view) thoughts to camera afterward.
a white person just said "n*****" in his presence of an evening when he was hanging out with some folks, and the morning after Jamie is talking to the camera in his rented gaff (or wherever he is), and you can tell he is really, deeply, deeply troubled by it (like his voice is almost breaking).
at the time it happened he just froze or something and remarked on the voice-over he decided to get out of the place ASAP.
he's just said he's in Savannah, GA, incidentally. (of course his friend at the caff the next day - a black woman - tells him in gentle terms to expect that.)
he is cooking bacon, meatballs, collard greens, grits, and shrimps.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
hellish moments in the sun
you might think this Colin Freeman piece from a couple of weeks ago, about the Dadis Show, drugs, and Guinea, could do with less viewing of the country through the prism of European coke, and maybe you'd be right, but Freeman does not minimise the desperately sad details he notches
while there is a railway for bauxite, no trains for people have run since 1995..."We appreciate his approach against drug trafficking and corruption, but we all want a civilian to come to power and for free and fair elections, not a soldier, because we know the international community will only support a civilian," said Mr Ibrahim.
Diallo Abdullah, 30, who bears a bullet wound in his stomach from the 2007 crackdown, added: "If he doesn't hold elections as he promised, people will take to the streets again, and I fear it will be bloody."
you might think this Colin Freeman piece from a couple of weeks ago, about the Dadis Show, drugs, and Guinea, could do with less viewing of the country through the prism of European coke, and maybe you'd be right, but Freeman does not minimise the desperately sad details he notches
while there is a railway for bauxite, no trains for people have run since 1995..."We appreciate his approach against drug trafficking and corruption, but we all want a civilian to come to power and for free and fair elections, not a soldier, because we know the international community will only support a civilian," said Mr Ibrahim.
Diallo Abdullah, 30, who bears a bullet wound in his stomach from the 2007 crackdown, added: "If he doesn't hold elections as he promised, people will take to the streets again, and I fear it will be bloody."
Monday, 28 September 2009
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Friday, 25 September 2009
ARCHIVE WATCH
k-punk on the splendid Burial debut album
that magnificent cover photo! apparently it's "an aerial view of south London around the area of Wandsworth Prison and the intersection of Trinity Road and Windmill Road"
k-punk on the splendid Burial debut album
that magnificent cover photo! apparently it's "an aerial view of south London around the area of Wandsworth Prison and the intersection of Trinity Road and Windmill Road"
Thursday, 24 September 2009
'Members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), army, military police and police unlawfully arrested and detained suspected opponents of the government. Among those unlawfully held were human rights defenders, journalists, former security personnel and opposition leaders. At least two journalists were forced to flee the country. Three judges were unconstitutionally removed by the President and then later reinstated. The government ignored a ruling by a regional court to release the missing journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES AND UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
In July the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (CCJ) ordered the Gambian government to release Chief Ebrima Manneh, a former reporter from the Daily Observer arrested in 2006, and pay him US$100,000. The government ignored the ruling and continued to deny that he was in their custody.
The fate of Kanyiba Kanyie, an opposition supporter arrested in September 2006, remained unknown as the government continued to deny knowledge of his whereabouts. A former detainee who was held with Kanyiba Kanyie in Mile 2 prison in 2007 stated that he was released in early 2007, but there was no further news of him.
Six other people remained disappeared, and it was feared that they may have been extrajudicially executed. They were Momodou Lamin Nyassi, Ndongo Mboob and Buba Sanyang, arrested in 2006, and Marcia Jammeh, Haruna Jammeh and Jisacha Kujabi, arrested in 2005.
"...President Yahya Jammeh threatened to expel or kill lesbian and gay people..."
There was no investigation during 2008 into the fate of five men, including former NIA Director General Daba Marena, initially arrested in connection with the March 2006 foiled coup plot. The men were alleged to have escaped during a prison transfer in April 2006. It was suspected that they had been extrajudicially executed.
ECOWAS and the UN formed a team to investigate the deaths of 55 foreigners allegedly killed unlawfully by Gambian security forces in 2005. The victims were 40 Ghanaians, 10 Nigerians, two Senegalese, one Togolese, one Congolese and one Ivorian. No results emerged by the end of 2008 and no suspects were brought to justice.'
- from the introduction and first section of the same publication's Republic of the Gambia section
+
The Gambia
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,300 (2008 est.)
The UK
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$36,500 (2008 est.)
(source for both figures above: CIA World Factbook)
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES AND UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
In July the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (CCJ) ordered the Gambian government to release Chief Ebrima Manneh, a former reporter from the Daily Observer arrested in 2006, and pay him US$100,000. The government ignored the ruling and continued to deny that he was in their custody.
The fate of Kanyiba Kanyie, an opposition supporter arrested in September 2006, remained unknown as the government continued to deny knowledge of his whereabouts. A former detainee who was held with Kanyiba Kanyie in Mile 2 prison in 2007 stated that he was released in early 2007, but there was no further news of him.
Six other people remained disappeared, and it was feared that they may have been extrajudicially executed. They were Momodou Lamin Nyassi, Ndongo Mboob and Buba Sanyang, arrested in 2006, and Marcia Jammeh, Haruna Jammeh and Jisacha Kujabi, arrested in 2005.
"...President Yahya Jammeh threatened to expel or kill lesbian and gay people..."
There was no investigation during 2008 into the fate of five men, including former NIA Director General Daba Marena, initially arrested in connection with the March 2006 foiled coup plot. The men were alleged to have escaped during a prison transfer in April 2006. It was suspected that they had been extrajudicially executed.
ECOWAS and the UN formed a team to investigate the deaths of 55 foreigners allegedly killed unlawfully by Gambian security forces in 2005. The victims were 40 Ghanaians, 10 Nigerians, two Senegalese, one Togolese, one Congolese and one Ivorian. No results emerged by the end of 2008 and no suspects were brought to justice.'
- from the introduction and first section of the same publication's Republic of the Gambia section
+
The Gambia
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,300 (2008 est.)
The UK
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$36,500 (2008 est.)
(source for both figures above: CIA World Factbook)
- from the introduction to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia section in Amnesty's 2009 world report
"There is no freedom of speech, no freedom of movement, no freedom of worship, and much of the adult male and female population is conscripted into indefinite national service where they receive a token wage. Dissent is not tolerated. Any criticism or questioning of government policy is ruthlessly punished. Detention, torture and forced labour await anyone who disagrees with the government, anyone who attempts to avoid military service or flee the country without permission, and anyone found practising or suspected of practising faiths the government does not sanction."
This is a tragedy not just for the 4 million people who live in Eritrea (and the many who have fled, because despite its size it is a leading source of refugees) but for everyone who championed the Eritrean cause during its great struggle for freedom.
- from The Guardian editorial,
Eritrea: The world's biggest prison, Friday 17 April 2009
'EIGHT illegal immigrants arrested at the MediaCity building site in Salford have been jailed.
The group of Africans had been working as labourers at the Salford Quays project.
They were charged with using false documents, thought to be passports, which they used to deceive their employer.
The men were arrested this month during a UK Border Agency operation carried out with the co-operation of Connolly Construction, which employed the men.
The firm will face no further action.
The group consisted of one Gambian, four Ethiopians and three Eritreans.
They are: Abdulie Maki Mbye, 48, of Horstead Walk, Levenshulme; Alemseged Gebremeskel, 49, of Tyldesley Street, Moss Side; Seifu Wondeyohannes, 28, of Waterloo Road, Cheetham Hill; Abdoo Rashid Shuukuur, 33, of St George's Court, Hulme; Johnson Ogbazghi, 38, of Romney Street, Salford; and Bahta Haile, 43, Zelalem Asebha, 23, and Elias Fithamik, 28, all of no fixed address.'
"Why has the MEN printed their names when they have no way of proving who these men actually are? I know local lads who are out of work and couldnt get on this site. Its disgusting that companies like this are getting away with it, on a JIB site aswell. TUT TUT TUT."
"Theowolfe is obviously a member of NuLabour or some other International Socialist group of Communists.....why else would be write such nonsense as make illegal immigration legal? Tip of the iceberg just to kid Brits on that the Government is acting 'tough'!"
"This is the project that boasted it was creating thousands of jobs for local people. I know they say the world is shrinking but Ethiopia is not on the Metro route as far as I know."
"yawn! yet more wasting of tax payers money! why cant we adopt a stricter policy on illegals? they are a drain on our system. watching the news on the french jungle camp all the refugees want to come here because we have human rights laws that protect them more than they protect the actual people from that country! if we keep on allowing this we'll end up in a third world country ourselves."
"Just get them out of the country that way it won't cost us anything and then start checking other sites and establishments in the city. Or better still just have spot checks on the 219 bus route."
"Why imprison them in the UK at the tax payers expense and THEN deport them. deport them no, straight away"
Connolly Group was established in 1981 and has developed from the demolition and reclamation experience.
Key Projects are divided by region. Dark blue regions show where Connolly CF have been working. Use the map to navigate your way around the various regions of the UK.
England North West
Media City
Client: Bovis Lend Lease
Scope: Site Logistics, Waste Management, Delivery Management, Operative Supply and Security
Abito 2
Client: Carillion Building
Scope: Waste Management
Blackpool Football Club
Client: Blackpool Football Club
Scope: Demolition
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Cient: Shepherd Construction
Scope: Waste Management
Liverpool St Paul's Square
Client: Shepherd Construction
Scope: Waste Management
Liverpool Airport
Client: Peel Holdings
Scope: Demolition
Manchester United Football Ground
Client: Birse Construction
Scope: Demolition
Manchester Olives Paper Mill
Client: Persimmon Homes
Scope: Demolition
Rawtenstall ASDA
Client: Laing O'Rourke
Scope: Demolition
Oldham - Rose Mill
Scope: Demolition
Manchester Green Quarter
Client: Shepherd Construction
Scope: Operative Supply and Waste Management
three of the blokes no fixed abode.
no fixed abode.
Europe 1 Africa nil.
CCF are constantly on the look out for talented professionals.
The group of Africans had been working as labourers at the Salford Quays project.
They were charged with using false documents, thought to be passports, which they used to deceive their employer.
The men were arrested this month during a UK Border Agency operation carried out with the co-operation of Connolly Construction, which employed the men.
The firm will face no further action.
The group consisted of one Gambian, four Ethiopians and three Eritreans.
They are: Abdulie Maki Mbye, 48, of Horstead Walk, Levenshulme; Alemseged Gebremeskel, 49, of Tyldesley Street, Moss Side; Seifu Wondeyohannes, 28, of Waterloo Road, Cheetham Hill; Abdoo Rashid Shuukuur, 33, of St George's Court, Hulme; Johnson Ogbazghi, 38, of Romney Street, Salford; and Bahta Haile, 43, Zelalem Asebha, 23, and Elias Fithamik, 28, all of no fixed address.'
"Why has the MEN printed their names when they have no way of proving who these men actually are? I know local lads who are out of work and couldnt get on this site. Its disgusting that companies like this are getting away with it, on a JIB site aswell. TUT TUT TUT."
"Theowolfe is obviously a member of NuLabour or some other International Socialist group of Communists.....why else would be write such nonsense as make illegal immigration legal? Tip of the iceberg just to kid Brits on that the Government is acting 'tough'!"
"This is the project that boasted it was creating thousands of jobs for local people. I know they say the world is shrinking but Ethiopia is not on the Metro route as far as I know."
"yawn! yet more wasting of tax payers money! why cant we adopt a stricter policy on illegals? they are a drain on our system. watching the news on the french jungle camp all the refugees want to come here because we have human rights laws that protect them more than they protect the actual people from that country! if we keep on allowing this we'll end up in a third world country ourselves."
"Just get them out of the country that way it won't cost us anything and then start checking other sites and establishments in the city. Or better still just have spot checks on the 219 bus route."
"Why imprison them in the UK at the tax payers expense and THEN deport them. deport them no, straight away"
Connolly Group was established in 1981 and has developed from the demolition and reclamation experience.
Key Projects are divided by region. Dark blue regions show where Connolly CF have been working. Use the map to navigate your way around the various regions of the UK.
England North West
Media City
Client: Bovis Lend Lease
Scope: Site Logistics, Waste Management, Delivery Management, Operative Supply and Security
Abito 2
Client: Carillion Building
Scope: Waste Management
Blackpool Football Club
Client: Blackpool Football Club
Scope: Demolition
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Cient: Shepherd Construction
Scope: Waste Management
Liverpool St Paul's Square
Client: Shepherd Construction
Scope: Waste Management
Liverpool Airport
Client: Peel Holdings
Scope: Demolition
Manchester United Football Ground
Client: Birse Construction
Scope: Demolition
Manchester Olives Paper Mill
Client: Persimmon Homes
Scope: Demolition
Rawtenstall ASDA
Client: Laing O'Rourke
Scope: Demolition
Oldham - Rose Mill
Scope: Demolition
Manchester Green Quarter
Client: Shepherd Construction
Scope: Operative Supply and Waste Management
three of the blokes no fixed abode.
no fixed abode.
Europe 1 Africa nil.
CCF are constantly on the look out for talented professionals.
Coalition deaths in Afghanistan
(source: the Daily Express, 24th Sept '09 morning edition, so obviously only as current as its publication date)
i shouldn't have to say this but just to make it patently plain that i am not an utter cock, yes, the above figures don't include ISAF troops who have been injured (appalling injuries that may affect people for the rest of their lives and entirely alter the nature of the rest of their life), the above figures don't include ANA troops, indeed and verily the above figures don't include insurgents, the above figures don't include Afghan authority figures and employees such as police officers (i realise i may now be sounding like the worst kind of obvious dullard, some bizarre sixth-form moralist or such), the above figures don't include civilians or contractors working to build up Afghan institutions, be they locals or foreigners, the above table most importantly doesn't include any reckoning of all the humanitarians and Afghan people who have been killed, injured, affected, since the invasion of Afghanistan and overthrow of you know who, but, it is a table of - at time of writing - the amount of ISAF troops who have died in that mission, and that is what it is, an unadorned list of the numbers of human beings who have been killed because they signed up to ISAF, including a cursory 'other nations' reference that does not tell you anything about the, at time of posting, two South Korean troop deaths, the one Belgian soldier dead, the one Finn dead and the one Lithuanian national dead
FORCE SIZE FATALITIES
USA 103,000 835
UK 9,000 217
Canada 2,800 130
Germany 4,050 38
France 3,160 31
Denmark 700 27
Spain 780 25
Italy 2,795 21
Netherlands 1,770 21
Poland 2,000 13
Australia 1,090 11
Romania 1,025 11
Estonia 150 6
Norway 485 4
Czech Republic 340 3
Latvia 165 3
Hungary 310 2
Portugal 90 2
Sweden 430 2
Turkey 730 2
Other nations 820 5
TOTAL 135,690 1,409
(source: the Daily Express, 24th Sept '09 morning edition, so obviously only as current as its publication date)
i shouldn't have to say this but just to make it patently plain that i am not an utter cock, yes, the above figures don't include ISAF troops who have been injured (appalling injuries that may affect people for the rest of their lives and entirely alter the nature of the rest of their life), the above figures don't include ANA troops, indeed and verily the above figures don't include insurgents, the above figures don't include Afghan authority figures and employees such as police officers (i realise i may now be sounding like the worst kind of obvious dullard, some bizarre sixth-form moralist or such), the above figures don't include civilians or contractors working to build up Afghan institutions, be they locals or foreigners, the above table most importantly doesn't include any reckoning of all the humanitarians and Afghan people who have been killed, injured, affected, since the invasion of Afghanistan and overthrow of you know who, but, it is a table of - at time of writing - the amount of ISAF troops who have died in that mission, and that is what it is, an unadorned list of the numbers of human beings who have been killed because they signed up to ISAF, including a cursory 'other nations' reference that does not tell you anything about the, at time of posting, two South Korean troop deaths, the one Belgian soldier dead, the one Finn dead and the one Lithuanian national dead
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
"Q: Do the family have Irish citizenship?
A: In 1990, Khalid Bin Mahfouz availed himself of the opportunity under the laws of the Republic of Ireland to obtain Irish citizenship for himself and other members of his family."
from the Other Issues section of the FAQs of the Bin Mahfouz Information website: This Bin Mahfouz information site is designed to provide accurate information for accredited journalists, governments and NGOs about Khalid Bin Mahfouz and his immediate family.
(page accessed 14:26 GMT 23 September 2009 *)
'Though Bin Mahfouz sought to protect his "reputation" in the English courts, he was not English. Nor was he a Saudi. In 1990 he had bought Irish passports for himself and 10 members of his family over lunch at the Shelbourne hotel in Dublin with the then Irish Taoiseach Charles Haughey.'
from the 'Ratbiter' column in Private Eye, no. 1245, 18 September - 1 Oct. 2009
* Blogger time-stamps the publishing time of a post as when that post was started, not when it is actually finished and uploaded onto the blogger's site
A: In 1990, Khalid Bin Mahfouz availed himself of the opportunity under the laws of the Republic of Ireland to obtain Irish citizenship for himself and other members of his family."
from the Other Issues section of the FAQs of the Bin Mahfouz Information website: This Bin Mahfouz information site is designed to provide accurate information for accredited journalists, governments and NGOs about Khalid Bin Mahfouz and his immediate family.
(page accessed 14:26 GMT 23 September 2009 *)
'Though Bin Mahfouz sought to protect his "reputation" in the English courts, he was not English. Nor was he a Saudi. In 1990 he had bought Irish passports for himself and 10 members of his family over lunch at the Shelbourne hotel in Dublin with the then Irish Taoiseach Charles Haughey.'
from the 'Ratbiter' column in Private Eye, no. 1245, 18 September - 1 Oct. 2009
* Blogger time-stamps the publishing time of a post as when that post was started, not when it is actually finished and uploaded onto the blogger's site
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Benny B kicking it with the '96-'97 speed garage mix, absolutely monster
1. Do me baby (Sixty Brown mix) - New Horizons (500 Rekords)
2. Deeper part 1 - Abstrac & Lady P (Confetti)
3. Let it on (Mystery mix) - Lady Penelope & Abstrac (Emitta Sounds)
4. Over Here - M-Dubs (Babyshack)
5. Come into my heart - G.I. Sly (Zest 4 Life)
6. Ripped in 2 - Unknown white label
7. Watch your bass bins - G.O.D. (Nice & Ripe)
8. All of the girls (All Ai-Di Girl Dem) (R.I.P. Club mix) - Carnival Feat. R.I.P. vs. Red Rat.
9. This is it > pt. 1 (Nu Birth Never Dub) - State of Mind (Ministry of Sound)
10. Electric Runnings - Groove in Motion (DFL)
11. Wake Up (Banana Republic Dub mix) - Maximum Style (Vital Essence)
12. Just 4 U London - Unknown White Label
13. Anytime (Tuff & Jam’s Kick Dub) - Nu-Birth (Locked On)
14. Boom - D.C. Sensation (Nice & Ripe)
15. Pressure On (Sixty Four 2 Da Floor Mix) - Sixty Brown (Sunday Morning Music)
16. Play with voices - Alias (V.I.P.)
17. Rumours - Fabulous Baker Boys (White Label)
18. Deep Inspiration - R.I.P. (Ice Cream Records)
19. Freak Me (Sly & Poolio’s Cut Up Dub) - Another Level (Maximum Productions)
number 12 is gorgeous, and 17 is outstanding
love it love it love it
1. Do me baby (Sixty Brown mix) - New Horizons (500 Rekords)
2. Deeper part 1 - Abstrac & Lady P (Confetti)
3. Let it on (Mystery mix) - Lady Penelope & Abstrac (Emitta Sounds)
4. Over Here - M-Dubs (Babyshack)
5. Come into my heart - G.I. Sly (Zest 4 Life)
6. Ripped in 2 - Unknown white label
7. Watch your bass bins - G.O.D. (Nice & Ripe)
8. All of the girls (All Ai-Di Girl Dem) (R.I.P. Club mix) - Carnival Feat. R.I.P. vs. Red Rat.
9. This is it > pt. 1 (Nu Birth Never Dub) - State of Mind (Ministry of Sound)
10. Electric Runnings - Groove in Motion (DFL)
11. Wake Up (Banana Republic Dub mix) - Maximum Style (Vital Essence)
12. Just 4 U London - Unknown White Label
13. Anytime (Tuff & Jam’s Kick Dub) - Nu-Birth (Locked On)
14. Boom - D.C. Sensation (Nice & Ripe)
15. Pressure On (Sixty Four 2 Da Floor Mix) - Sixty Brown (Sunday Morning Music)
16. Play with voices - Alias (V.I.P.)
17. Rumours - Fabulous Baker Boys (White Label)
18. Deep Inspiration - R.I.P. (Ice Cream Records)
19. Freak Me (Sly & Poolio’s Cut Up Dub) - Another Level (Maximum Productions)
number 12 is gorgeous, and 17 is outstanding
love it love it love it
my lovely, gorgeous friend Ollie was telling me recently about people moving to London back in the day just for the pirate radio stations.
out to the pirates.
out to the pirates.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
one of those 2-step mixes i keep listening to, listed
god bless (insert what you want before 'bless') Benny B of that fine city of Newcastle (Benny B wot mixed it)
1. Telefunkin (First Steps remix) -
2. Street Life (London's Unique 3 dub) - Daryl B & Mark Yardley (Planet Phat)
3. Freaky (Chris Mack’s Freakin Dub) - Another Level (Maximum)
4. Fire in my heart - Pied Piper (Fifty First recordings)
5. I know you got soul - ?
6. Wake Up (Templeton Peck dub) - Maximum Style (Vital Essence)
7. The Rain (Breakbeat mix) - Ray Hurley feat. Simone (Quench)
8. Saturday (Dubaholics Smasher remix) - Joey Negro feat. Taka Boom (Yola records)
9. Get Out (Wideboys Wider Still mix) - Felon (Serious)
10. Loverboy (MJ Cole’s London Dub) - Mariah Carey (Virgin)
11. Think About Me (United Grooves Collective Straight out of Stratford Dub) - Artful Dodger feat. Michelle Escoffery (Public Demand)
12. Out of the Rain (Dubaholics vocal dub) - Aora (W10)
11 into 12 is lovely, and just lovely, deeply so
Alesha Anjanette Dixon and friends
and much love to gremino of Helsinki for
01. hard stepz part 1 - people hold on
02. feet first productions - pushing dope
03. groovebug feat. louise renae - take me away (original vocal mix)
04. j.k. size - runaround
05. shadow kabinet feat. champagne bubblee - southern freeze (vocal mix)
06. chris mack feat. mc nuts - baby gonna rock dis (2 step dub)
07. slip'n'slide vol.1 - trigger finger
08. sixty brown - pressure on (ron pressure mix)
09. hard stepz part 1 - he is the joy (jam hot dub mix)
10. leee john - your mind, your body, your soul (sas 2 step remix)
11. greg stainer - understand this (501 two step mix)
god bless (insert what you want before 'bless') Benny B of that fine city of Newcastle (Benny B wot mixed it)
1. Telefunkin (First Steps remix) -
2. Street Life (London's Unique 3 dub) - Daryl B & Mark Yardley (Planet Phat)
3. Freaky (Chris Mack’s Freakin Dub) - Another Level (Maximum)
4. Fire in my heart - Pied Piper (Fifty First recordings)
5. I know you got soul - ?
6. Wake Up (Templeton Peck dub) - Maximum Style (Vital Essence)
7. The Rain (Breakbeat mix) - Ray Hurley feat. Simone (Quench)
8. Saturday (Dubaholics Smasher remix) - Joey Negro feat. Taka Boom (Yola records)
9. Get Out (Wideboys Wider Still mix) - Felon (Serious)
10. Loverboy (MJ Cole’s London Dub) - Mariah Carey (Virgin)
11. Think About Me (United Grooves Collective Straight out of Stratford Dub) - Artful Dodger feat. Michelle Escoffery (Public Demand)
12. Out of the Rain (Dubaholics vocal dub) - Aora (W10)
11 into 12 is lovely, and just lovely, deeply so
Alesha Anjanette Dixon and friends
and much love to gremino of Helsinki for
01. hard stepz part 1 - people hold on
02. feet first productions - pushing dope
03. groovebug feat. louise renae - take me away (original vocal mix)
04. j.k. size - runaround
05. shadow kabinet feat. champagne bubblee - southern freeze (vocal mix)
06. chris mack feat. mc nuts - baby gonna rock dis (2 step dub)
07. slip'n'slide vol.1 - trigger finger
08. sixty brown - pressure on (ron pressure mix)
09. hard stepz part 1 - he is the joy (jam hot dub mix)
10. leee john - your mind, your body, your soul (sas 2 step remix)
11. greg stainer - understand this (501 two step mix)
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Eye 1245, 18 Sept - 1 Oct 2009
“As human rights violations by the FARDC are so significant, failure at the political and operational levels to act to remedy the situation in and of itself constitutes a serious human rights violation,” the publication said.
A report published recently by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine shows that under President Niyazov the health system in Turkmenistan deterioriated, but there are signs that it could improve under the new president
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
over at Max Dunbar's blog during a discussion of Question Time, the BNP, etc, there are a couple of sentences i want to quote that are extremely, incredibly good and to-the-point on the yeah but-type contextualising of its subject you often get (something i have done plenty of myself, i admit, the whole 'protest vote for some aye yes fair enough')
"There is significant electoral support for racist and fascist politics in this country. You can make excuses about immigration and multiculturalism and political correctness and the victimhood of the white male as much as you like, the fact is that there is support for racist and fascist policies in the UK electorate and you have to face that."
P.S.
what i wrote about Mark Steyn. politically, he is, of course, for the most part, ridiculous (to be kind), but you know what i mean.
"There is significant electoral support for racist and fascist politics in this country. You can make excuses about immigration and multiculturalism and political correctness and the victimhood of the white male as much as you like, the fact is that there is support for racist and fascist policies in the UK electorate and you have to face that."
P.S.
what i wrote about Mark Steyn. politically, he is, of course, for the most part, ridiculous (to be kind), but you know what i mean.
Friday, 4 September 2009
"The government sees no problem with suspending operations as of 9 pm Friday evening (1800 GMT)," a spokesman of the Supreme Security Committee said in a statement on the ruling party website "September 26"...U.N. aid agencies say more than 100,000 people, many of them children, have fled their homes during the surge in fighting.
that scene in Battlestar Galactica (2004) where the lawyer (surely named for the world's first genocide scholar?) asks the cylon woman - after describing, in quite poetic language, about his broken heart - whether her love hurts like his, and she looks very upset, and says "yes".
and the President watching says words to the effect of she feels a part of their world has just collapsed.
fuck me.
and the President watching says words to the effect of she feels a part of their world has just collapsed.
fuck me.
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote an epitaph for one neighbour in the cemetery, Alice Cottrell, who died aged one in 1849:
'And here, among the English tombs,/ In Tuscan ground we lay her,/ While the blue Tuscan sky endomes/ Our English words of prayer.'
...
Like many in the cemetery, Clough died young, in 1861 at the age of 42, long before his poem 'Say not the struggle naught Availeth' had found fame. The Italian climate, supposedly so good for dying Englishmen, was fatal, with its searing summers and River Arno damps. Not far from Clough is Fanny Hunt, dead at 33 after a blissful single year of marriage to the painter Holman Hunt. Hunt designed the pleasant, swelling lines of her sarcophagus.
I spent several happy hours trawling through the cemetery, digging up, as it were, splendid figures: Charles and Thomas Otley who, with Charles's son 'il biondo Enrico', founded Florence's jockey club in the mid-19th century. Princess Laura Pandolfina di Temple (died 1877), a British woman who married a Sicilian prince, lies near the poet Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864).
...
The pomegranates she has planted next to the three poets are flourishing, as does the papyrus grown to recall the Egyptian theme on Clough's tombstone.
...Playing on their surname, she is planting giglio - or lilium regale - which appears on the family stemma. She is also keen on using iris pallida - the three-stemmed purple iris that is the symbol of Florence - to line the cemetery's central path...Wild strawberries will grow alongside Roman camomile; forget-me-not and rosemary for remembrance next to golden thyme.
Miss Salt has also brought over a mixed bunch of English daffodil bulbs to recall the faraway home of many of those lying in this giardino Inglese-Italiano, so redolent with the air of both countries.
-Harry Mount, in the Spectator, some years ago
'And here, among the English tombs,/ In Tuscan ground we lay her,/ While the blue Tuscan sky endomes/ Our English words of prayer.'
...
Like many in the cemetery, Clough died young, in 1861 at the age of 42, long before his poem 'Say not the struggle naught Availeth' had found fame. The Italian climate, supposedly so good for dying Englishmen, was fatal, with its searing summers and River Arno damps. Not far from Clough is Fanny Hunt, dead at 33 after a blissful single year of marriage to the painter Holman Hunt. Hunt designed the pleasant, swelling lines of her sarcophagus.
I spent several happy hours trawling through the cemetery, digging up, as it were, splendid figures: Charles and Thomas Otley who, with Charles's son 'il biondo Enrico', founded Florence's jockey club in the mid-19th century. Princess Laura Pandolfina di Temple (died 1877), a British woman who married a Sicilian prince, lies near the poet Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864).
...
The pomegranates she has planted next to the three poets are flourishing, as does the papyrus grown to recall the Egyptian theme on Clough's tombstone.
...Playing on their surname, she is planting giglio - or lilium regale - which appears on the family stemma. She is also keen on using iris pallida - the three-stemmed purple iris that is the symbol of Florence - to line the cemetery's central path...Wild strawberries will grow alongside Roman camomile; forget-me-not and rosemary for remembrance next to golden thyme.
Miss Salt has also brought over a mixed bunch of English daffodil bulbs to recall the faraway home of many of those lying in this giardino Inglese-Italiano, so redolent with the air of both countries.
-Harry Mount, in the Spectator, some years ago
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
from Christian Aid News, Issue 42, Winter 2008
Saturday, 29 August 2009
last week it was reported that "About one hundred and sixty destitute northerners have been dumped on the outskirts of the Kaduna metropolis, allegedly by the Lagos State government, in its drive to free the state of the destitute and beggars, and who are mostly from the northern part of the country.
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND reliably gathered that the destitute were secretly dumped on Thursday at around 7 pm at Abuja Junction, along the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, very close to the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna. The group included men, women and children, mostly crippled, deaf, blind, lepers and others with serious disabilities.
This correspondent has it on good authority that they were evacuated by policemen of the state security outfit Operation Yaki, to the Kano Road resettlement camp of people living with disabilities at around 9 pm the same Thursday, while some of them have taken refuge in other parts of the metropolis."
i see the coming Tory storm, and it fills me with dread.
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND reliably gathered that the destitute were secretly dumped on Thursday at around 7 pm at Abuja Junction, along the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, very close to the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna. The group included men, women and children, mostly crippled, deaf, blind, lepers and others with serious disabilities.
This correspondent has it on good authority that they were evacuated by policemen of the state security outfit Operation Yaki, to the Kano Road resettlement camp of people living with disabilities at around 9 pm the same Thursday, while some of them have taken refuge in other parts of the metropolis."
i see the coming Tory storm, and it fills me with dread.
Sunday, 23 August 2009
Thursday, 20 August 2009
30 seconds lads
Louis Carter, born Nuneaton, died near Sangin, aged 18 years of age, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Simon Annis, born Salford, died near Sangin, aged 22 years of age, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
James Fullarton, born Coventry, died near Sangin, aged 24 years of age, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Louis Carter, born Nuneaton, died near Sangin, aged 18 years of age, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Simon Annis, born Salford, died near Sangin, aged 22 years of age, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
James Fullarton, born Coventry, died near Sangin, aged 24 years of age, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Traces of the Western Slopes.
"The sound of magic music in his ears
Videoed by a bus load of tourists
Shiny shellsuits on, and drinking lemonade."
(latter brought to you by sd yt.)
"The sound of magic music in his ears
Videoed by a bus load of tourists
Shiny shellsuits on, and drinking lemonade."
(latter brought to you by sd yt.)
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
some of the news that is fit to print
individual moral agents with brains, spines and the capacity to doubt, who have been flattered with the respectful term insurgents, chose to murder, in cold blood, at least ninety-five of their fellow human beings, in Baghdad.
a spokesperson for the insurgents was not available for comment. colleagues of theirs did similar - if on a less horrific scale - in Kabul, and were rewarded with a truly disgraceful line from J Mirsky of West 11 in the middle of a well-meaning letter.
individual moral agents with brains, spines and the capacity to doubt, who have been flattered with the respectful term insurgents, chose to murder, in cold blood, at least ninety-five of their fellow human beings, in Baghdad.
a spokesperson for the insurgents was not available for comment. colleagues of theirs did similar - if on a less horrific scale - in Kabul, and were rewarded with a truly disgraceful line from J Mirsky of West 11 in the middle of a well-meaning letter.
Monday, 3 August 2009
Sunday, 2 August 2009
actor Ralph Fiennes is an ambassador for Unicef's UK arm.
the London Telegraph publicised his visit to Chad in May this year. the man's diary of that trip is here.
(now, i'm sure it's very easy to be cynical about celebrities, and i'm sure Mr Fiennes would admit he's no expert on the conflict there - at least before his visit - but, just. hey.)
reading this last Sunday i realised his accommodation in N’Djamena was a member of the same hotel group i had recently stayed in elsewhere. and that very morning i had been reading a Novitel pamphlet about all their outlets worldwide and found out they had a gaff in the Chadian capital. then hours later i read Fiennes describe drinking in its bar. the first and second times in my life i knew that N'Djamena had a Novitel.
don't you think that's a bit odd, the timing i mean?
well i did anyway.
At passport control I’m greeted by Michel, Unicef's Head of Security. He guides me through immigration and then takes me and Coco Campbell, a Unicef officer, to our accommodation, a Novitel Hotel, about five minutes drive from the airport. I can’t see much in the gloom save for some sparse lighting and a few fleeting figures on bicycles or motorbikes.
In the lobby of the hotel I meet up with another member of Unicef, Shima Islam, and Marco di Lauro from Italy, a dynamic adrenalised photo-journalist. We have a drink in the hotel bar which is full of Spanish soldiers. I walk to my room down a long dark open air passageway. My room is muggy. An ancient AC unit chugs away on the wall like a demented lawn-mower.
note: there's a broken link on the Unicef UK page between his fourth and fifth entries. the fifth, final entry is here.
the London Telegraph publicised his visit to Chad in May this year. the man's diary of that trip is here.
(now, i'm sure it's very easy to be cynical about celebrities, and i'm sure Mr Fiennes would admit he's no expert on the conflict there - at least before his visit - but, just. hey.)
reading this last Sunday i realised his accommodation in N’Djamena was a member of the same hotel group i had recently stayed in elsewhere. and that very morning i had been reading a Novitel pamphlet about all their outlets worldwide and found out they had a gaff in the Chadian capital. then hours later i read Fiennes describe drinking in its bar. the first and second times in my life i knew that N'Djamena had a Novitel.
don't you think that's a bit odd, the timing i mean?
well i did anyway.
In the lobby of the hotel I meet up with another member of Unicef, Shima Islam, and Marco di Lauro from Italy, a dynamic adrenalised photo-journalist. We have a drink in the hotel bar which is full of Spanish soldiers. I walk to my room down a long dark open air passageway. My room is muggy. An ancient AC unit chugs away on the wall like a demented lawn-mower.
note: there's a broken link on the Unicef UK page between his fourth and fifth entries. the fifth, final entry is here.
Saturday, 1 August 2009
from BBC News, Friday, 31 July 2009
A series of bombings outside mosques in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has killed at least 29 people, Iraqi police sources say.
More than 130 people were injured when the six apparently co-ordinated bombs struck five Shia mosques as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers.
It was one of the deadliest attacks in recent weeks.
The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the attacks, saying targeting places of worship was unjustifiable.
The bombings come exactly one month after the US troops pulled out from cities across Iraq, handing over security to Iraqi forces.
They also come just days after US defence secretary Robert Gates said, during a visit to Iraq, that the security situation there had improved "amazingly" in the past three years.
He said the US might be able to withdraw troops a little more quickly than planned.
The attacks took place within a short period of time at mosques in northern, eastern and south-eastern Baghdad.
The deadliest attack struck a mosque in the Shaab area of northern Baghdad, killing at least 23 people and wounding about 107.
At least four people died in almost simultaneous twin blasts near Rasoul mosque at Diyala bridge in the south of the city, while 17 were injured.
One died in Zafaraniya, while several more were hurt in the Kamaliya and Ilam areas of the city, reports said.
And in a separate attack in the northern city of Kirkuk, two people were killed when a car exploded in a market.
The UN's Mr Ban condemned the attacks.
"Attacks against places of worship cannot be justified by any political or religious cause," he said in a statement.
"These attacks appear to be aimed at provoking sectarian strife and undermining stability in Iraq."
A series of bombings outside mosques in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has killed at least 29 people, Iraqi police sources say.
More than 130 people were injured when the six apparently co-ordinated bombs struck five Shia mosques as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers.
It was one of the deadliest attacks in recent weeks.
The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the attacks, saying targeting places of worship was unjustifiable.
The bombings come exactly one month after the US troops pulled out from cities across Iraq, handing over security to Iraqi forces.
They also come just days after US defence secretary Robert Gates said, during a visit to Iraq, that the security situation there had improved "amazingly" in the past three years.
He said the US might be able to withdraw troops a little more quickly than planned.
The attacks took place within a short period of time at mosques in northern, eastern and south-eastern Baghdad.
The deadliest attack struck a mosque in the Shaab area of northern Baghdad, killing at least 23 people and wounding about 107.
At least four people died in almost simultaneous twin blasts near Rasoul mosque at Diyala bridge in the south of the city, while 17 were injured.
One died in Zafaraniya, while several more were hurt in the Kamaliya and Ilam areas of the city, reports said.
And in a separate attack in the northern city of Kirkuk, two people were killed when a car exploded in a market.
The UN's Mr Ban condemned the attacks.
"Attacks against places of worship cannot be justified by any political or religious cause," he said in a statement.
"These attacks appear to be aimed at provoking sectarian strife and undermining stability in Iraq."
ROBIN CARMODY-STYLE INTERLUDE *
a recent issue of The Week (UK edition) - that weekly news anthology magazine - had a cover story and inside editorialising on the British inequality report hoo-hah. the editorial did its usual of rounding up and excerpting a few leader columns and so on discussing same, before an excerpt from the final leader column and conclusion, which is always where the anonymous leader writer of The Week appears to finally display their true sympathies.
(it's a bit shitbag, in a way. at least any other anonymous leader column in a proper newspaper is from the start clearly marked out, preferences wise, not this undergraduate essay style and/or **.)
David Goodhart from Prospect magazine was the person garlanded for his pointing out that set beside some other European relations, Britain doesn't do too badly, and historical trends about social mobility have to be viewed wrt the 40s-70s being a period of great change (de-industrialisation, the rise of the welfare state, the rise of the managerial and clerical classes), and that - finally - it is nonsense to claim we are doing that badly. (i would take issue with a lot of what Goodhart said in terms of, for instance, a higher proportion of British pensioners live below their national poverty line than seniors in many other EU countries).
but, hang on.
isn't Britain one of the most unequal societies in the developed world?
hasn't Britain been getting more unequal in the last decade and a half?
these two incredibly important objections were not mentioned in The Week's cosy and indefensibly complacent editorial.
since at least the US-led invasion of Iraq - when The Week editorialised in its favour, which was unremarkable, but then went on to claim, and this was remarkable, that opponents of the war were less nice people than supporters, they suspected (for balderdash, bizarre and incredibly offensive reasons that might have held water if George Galloway was a model anti-war opponent ***) - i have been a bit suspicious of this rag.
the careless and robust language here wrt the central implications of some recent notable research about British inequality continue to not endear it to me.
* with all due respect to Robin Carmody who i have not read for some time although the last time i did i gather there had been something of a change of direction at his gaff, so fair play, if that course is still being held to- and with the usual 'what do i know?' disclaimers
** i realise this sounds absolutist, which is funny given the one time David Goodhart has been praised around here it was when he was rightly criticising Hitchens for being too absolutist, not interested in incremental progressive gains etc. (whether that portrait of Hitchens is always fair and accurate, i take the fifth.)
*** well, perhaps George is a very nice bloke (i'm sure he is), but you know, not a total political thicko anyway, etc etc
a recent issue of The Week (UK edition) - that weekly news anthology magazine - had a cover story and inside editorialising on the British inequality report hoo-hah. the editorial did its usual of rounding up and excerpting a few leader columns and so on discussing same, before an excerpt from the final leader column and conclusion, which is always where the anonymous leader writer of The Week appears to finally display their true sympathies.
(it's a bit shitbag, in a way. at least any other anonymous leader column in a proper newspaper is from the start clearly marked out, preferences wise, not this undergraduate essay style and/or **.)
David Goodhart from Prospect magazine was the person garlanded for his pointing out that set beside some other European relations, Britain doesn't do too badly, and historical trends about social mobility have to be viewed wrt the 40s-70s being a period of great change (de-industrialisation, the rise of the welfare state, the rise of the managerial and clerical classes), and that - finally - it is nonsense to claim we are doing that badly. (i would take issue with a lot of what Goodhart said in terms of, for instance, a higher proportion of British pensioners live below their national poverty line than seniors in many other EU countries).
but, hang on.
isn't Britain one of the most unequal societies in the developed world?
hasn't Britain been getting more unequal in the last decade and a half?
these two incredibly important objections were not mentioned in The Week's cosy and indefensibly complacent editorial.
since at least the US-led invasion of Iraq - when The Week editorialised in its favour, which was unremarkable, but then went on to claim, and this was remarkable, that opponents of the war were less nice people than supporters, they suspected (for balderdash, bizarre and incredibly offensive reasons that might have held water if George Galloway was a model anti-war opponent ***) - i have been a bit suspicious of this rag.
the careless and robust language here wrt the central implications of some recent notable research about British inequality continue to not endear it to me.
* with all due respect to Robin Carmody who i have not read for some time although the last time i did i gather there had been something of a change of direction at his gaff, so fair play, if that course is still being held to- and with the usual 'what do i know?' disclaimers
** i realise this sounds absolutist, which is funny given the one time David Goodhart has been praised around here it was when he was rightly criticising Hitchens for being too absolutist, not interested in incremental progressive gains etc. (whether that portrait of Hitchens is always fair and accurate, i take the fifth.)
*** well, perhaps George is a very nice bloke (i'm sure he is), but you know, not a total political thicko anyway, etc etc
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