Saturday, January 31, 2009
Cuthbert, Johnson and McKinnon
Or, "How many divisions Has Boris Johnson ? "
Johnson's outspoken defence of Gary McKinnon in his extradition fight has been criticised by a former security consultant, who complains he was denied such support when he himself was charged with hacking offences. Daniel Cuthbert was convicted in October 2005 of breaking the Computer Misuse Act by "hacking" into a tsunami appeal website in December 2004, and fined £400 plus £600 in costs.He was subsequently forced to change career after the prosecution, which was widely (and probably rightly) seen by his peers as misguided. Cuthbert seems to have been a victim of badly applied legislation. Cuthbert now wants to know why he wasn't shown any support from politicians of the kind lent to McKinnon by Johnson.
The London mayor wrote a barbed critique of attempts by US authorities to drag McKinnon over to the US to answer for charges of hacking into US military systems, rather than be tried in the UK for his admitted offences, in an opinion piece in The Daily Telegraph on Monday. Johnson argues that treating McKinnon as a "cyberterrorist" rather than a hacker with out-there beliefs is itself lunacy.
IMO: This is presumably because Johnson wants to criticise Tony Blair because he kowtowed (unreasonably much) to George W. Bush over security matters. And it is true. The UK should want the status corrected and refined.
In answer to the question "How many divisions has Boris Johnson ?" The answer so far seems to be "Less than Melchizedek, but still rather more than ElReg, CgiSecurity, ZDnet and a fair proportion of computer enthusiasts, all combined. In short, a little better than slim to none."
IMO: A journalist politician with a sister who is into sex writing should to do better, and I'm rather sorry for Cuthbert, McKinnon and the other victims of whitecollar lunatics. I certainly do not think that there is good evidence there that sensible people should vote Tory, however bad Tony Blair was.
Or, "How many divisions Has Boris Johnson ? "
Johnson's outspoken defence of Gary McKinnon in his extradition fight has been criticised by a former security consultant, who complains he was denied such support when he himself was charged with hacking offences. Daniel Cuthbert was convicted in October 2005 of breaking the Computer Misuse Act by "hacking" into a tsunami appeal website in December 2004, and fined £400 plus £600 in costs.He was subsequently forced to change career after the prosecution, which was widely (and probably rightly) seen by his peers as misguided. Cuthbert seems to have been a victim of badly applied legislation. Cuthbert now wants to know why he wasn't shown any support from politicians of the kind lent to McKinnon by Johnson.
The London mayor wrote a barbed critique of attempts by US authorities to drag McKinnon over to the US to answer for charges of hacking into US military systems, rather than be tried in the UK for his admitted offences, in an opinion piece in The Daily Telegraph on Monday. Johnson argues that treating McKinnon as a "cyberterrorist" rather than a hacker with out-there beliefs is itself lunacy.
IMO: This is presumably because Johnson wants to criticise Tony Blair because he kowtowed (unreasonably much) to George W. Bush over security matters. And it is true. The UK should want the status corrected and refined.
In answer to the question "How many divisions has Boris Johnson ?" The answer so far seems to be "Less than Melchizedek, but still rather more than ElReg, CgiSecurity, ZDnet and a fair proportion of computer enthusiasts, all combined. In short, a little better than slim to none."
IMO: A journalist politician with a sister who is into sex writing should to do better, and I'm rather sorry for Cuthbert, McKinnon and the other victims of whitecollar lunatics. I certainly do not think that there is good evidence there that sensible people should vote Tory, however bad Tony Blair was.
New supersonic air transport
NASA is working on this, it seems.
Modern sonic techology may make the boom less likely, but it is early days as to whether such aircraft will effectively "boomless" or simply sufficiently less boomy to be tolerable in some circumstances.
NASA is working on this, it seems.
Modern sonic techology may make the boom less likely, but it is early days as to whether such aircraft will effectively "boomless" or simply sufficiently less boomy to be tolerable in some circumstances.
More news on the Pope
Strange yet stirring news. I have actually had complaints about my last blog entry, usually to the effect that "Well the Pope may be a real old bastard but he did not actually say that he was a Holocaust denier". Too true, as in the EU he could go to jail for that. I agree that it appears that the alleged comment was apparently made on his behalf, common enough for the rich and famous. And, of course, the Pope would find his way clear to deny it (the comment, but not necessarily the Holocaust, as per EU law). And of course we do not know the Pope's real attitude on the issue, which will doubtless be modified by events in any case.
Recent comments suggests that the Pope is not prepared, in fact, to accept as his own the view of the recently reinstated person who apparently made the comment. (Indeed he seems that he has said this, FWIW).
I would wager that there are plenty of people in Gaza who would see the Holocaust as a good idea by now, but the entire topic is deplorable, with real guilt on all sides.
Certainly Lauren Booth (Tony Blair's sister-in-law, and presumably yet another Catholic) also seems to have adopted an extraordinary viewpoint.
IMO: I have always agreed that it can be wrong to judge any group by its mavericks. I certainly would never have judged the Catholic Church by the eccentric Lord Longford, for example, a wealthy publisher who apparently openly attended porn displays and befriended ongoing criminals. At the same time one finds the trend of religious matters disturbing.
Strange yet stirring news. I have actually had complaints about my last blog entry, usually to the effect that "Well the Pope may be a real old bastard but he did not actually say that he was a Holocaust denier". Too true, as in the EU he could go to jail for that. I agree that it appears that the alleged comment was apparently made on his behalf, common enough for the rich and famous. And, of course, the Pope would find his way clear to deny it (the comment, but not necessarily the Holocaust, as per EU law). And of course we do not know the Pope's real attitude on the issue, which will doubtless be modified by events in any case.
Recent comments suggests that the Pope is not prepared, in fact, to accept as his own the view of the recently reinstated person who apparently made the comment. (Indeed he seems that he has said this, FWIW).
I would wager that there are plenty of people in Gaza who would see the Holocaust as a good idea by now, but the entire topic is deplorable, with real guilt on all sides.
Certainly Lauren Booth (Tony Blair's sister-in-law, and presumably yet another Catholic) also seems to have adopted an extraordinary viewpoint.
IMO: I have always agreed that it can be wrong to judge any group by its mavericks. I certainly would never have judged the Catholic Church by the eccentric Lord Longford, for example, a wealthy publisher who apparently openly attended porn displays and befriended ongoing criminals. At the same time one finds the trend of religious matters disturbing.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Praise to Adolf Hitler from Pope
According to supposedly reliable sources (probably not joking) last week, the Pope made a controversial comment regarding the Holocaust. "I believe that the historical evidence ... is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler".
IMO: Maybe this is a use of weasel words by the Pope but in any case I would see such statements making it hard for any decent Christian to remain a Catholic, bearing in mind that it is not substantially at variance with other comments made by other Popes and also paralleling his position on unrelated matters. One can certainly sympathise with many things the Pope has said, for example on the use of traditional music in church, but that is not really enough. This sort of comment may also hinder the plight of those in Gaza, where there seems to be breaching of the rules of war on both sides. What we need is to stop the conflict in Gaza and more should be done about that, not making fools of members of minorities as the Pope so often seems to do.
According to supposedly reliable sources (probably not joking) last week, the Pope made a controversial comment regarding the Holocaust. "I believe that the historical evidence ... is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler".
IMO: Maybe this is a use of weasel words by the Pope but in any case I would see such statements making it hard for any decent Christian to remain a Catholic, bearing in mind that it is not substantially at variance with other comments made by other Popes and also paralleling his position on unrelated matters. One can certainly sympathise with many things the Pope has said, for example on the use of traditional music in church, but that is not really enough. This sort of comment may also hinder the plight of those in Gaza, where there seems to be breaching of the rules of war on both sides. What we need is to stop the conflict in Gaza and more should be done about that, not making fools of members of minorities as the Pope so often seems to do.
South Asia Huge Brown Cloud Is Homemade
There is a huge, gunky brown cloud that lingers over south Asia and the Indian Ocean each winter. It’s been known to cause respiratory diseases and even cancers in India and China.
It has recently been discovered that a large percentage of the soot, from almost half to two-thirds, comes from burning biomass like wood and dung for cooking and heat, rather than from coal power plants. These particles only remain in the atmosphere for a few days or weeks at a time.
IMO: The answer could be to reduce biomass burning - and this should also reduce global warming and will probably save money by reducing the cost of health measures.
There is a huge, gunky brown cloud that lingers over south Asia and the Indian Ocean each winter. It’s been known to cause respiratory diseases and even cancers in India and China.
It has recently been discovered that a large percentage of the soot, from almost half to two-thirds, comes from burning biomass like wood and dung for cooking and heat, rather than from coal power plants. These particles only remain in the atmosphere for a few days or weeks at a time.
IMO: The answer could be to reduce biomass burning - and this should also reduce global warming and will probably save money by reducing the cost of health measures.
Science and Industry
On Friday the British Minister of Science, Paul Drayson, visited the science area of Oxford University to give a short speech and take questions.Drayson very confidently suggested that more scientists should just become entrepreneurs, or should at least go into industry.
Activist Nick Anthis comments: "I don't know what sort of market there is out there right now for scientific "entrepreneurs". At the very least, the demand for this niche endeavor is most certainly not more than the demand for career academic scientists, and I highly doubt that pushing more people into entrepreneurship would do anything to alleviate the overabundance of highly-trained scientists struggling to find academic jobs... especially not in the current economic climate. That's not even taking into account the fact that entrepreneurship is often something that stems from work done in conjunction with another more stable position and not something that someone can generally just go out and do on their own". And he says much more as well.
IMO: Drayson seems sincerely and legitimately interested in science and scientists. But all my life I have heard this tale, that scientists should go into industry, innovate etc. The system in the USA seems to work well for entrepreneurial scientists, perhaps not so well for pure scientists. But we have to remember that the USA is a highly directed and controlled economy. I can see hundreds of chances in USA that do not exist in the UK and never have or can or that one would wish for, and the UK cannot just say that they will do things like the USA because of the very different infrastucture. India has had the same sort of problems, again modified because of the essentially different nature of the economy, and the US approach very easily is much worse than what they had in the past. It has given us Singur and Nandigram for a start, in industry. One could go so far as to say that the blinkered view of the oligarchies in India towards the peasantry has led quite directly to problems for UK Jaguar cars, as an example.
In general terms, things actually seem worse for scientists in India than they were - e.g. greed isn't good, despite the notion given to young men that greed must be good, by the same purveyors of luxury goods that represent so much of world industry. And it is feeble and specious to mislead potentially great fundamental scientists that greed is good, as it wastes so much of their brilliant years in finding out that the modern equivalent of door to door sales more often leads to poverty than profit - unlike what the US popular literature likes to say.
On Friday the British Minister of Science, Paul Drayson, visited the science area of Oxford University to give a short speech and take questions.Drayson very confidently suggested that more scientists should just become entrepreneurs, or should at least go into industry.
Activist Nick Anthis comments: "I don't know what sort of market there is out there right now for scientific "entrepreneurs". At the very least, the demand for this niche endeavor is most certainly not more than the demand for career academic scientists, and I highly doubt that pushing more people into entrepreneurship would do anything to alleviate the overabundance of highly-trained scientists struggling to find academic jobs... especially not in the current economic climate. That's not even taking into account the fact that entrepreneurship is often something that stems from work done in conjunction with another more stable position and not something that someone can generally just go out and do on their own". And he says much more as well.
IMO: Drayson seems sincerely and legitimately interested in science and scientists. But all my life I have heard this tale, that scientists should go into industry, innovate etc. The system in the USA seems to work well for entrepreneurial scientists, perhaps not so well for pure scientists. But we have to remember that the USA is a highly directed and controlled economy. I can see hundreds of chances in USA that do not exist in the UK and never have or can or that one would wish for, and the UK cannot just say that they will do things like the USA because of the very different infrastucture. India has had the same sort of problems, again modified because of the essentially different nature of the economy, and the US approach very easily is much worse than what they had in the past. It has given us Singur and Nandigram for a start, in industry. One could go so far as to say that the blinkered view of the oligarchies in India towards the peasantry has led quite directly to problems for UK Jaguar cars, as an example.
In general terms, things actually seem worse for scientists in India than they were - e.g. greed isn't good, despite the notion given to young men that greed must be good, by the same purveyors of luxury goods that represent so much of world industry. And it is feeble and specious to mislead potentially great fundamental scientists that greed is good, as it wastes so much of their brilliant years in finding out that the modern equivalent of door to door sales more often leads to poverty than profit - unlike what the US popular literature likes to say.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Pricewaterhouse Coopers Auditors Arrested
Over Satyam fraud inquiry. Pricewaterhouse Coopers is a huge company and actually audits 40 percent of companies in the FTSE 100 Index. They audit everyone from aerospace & defence contractors to general retailers and chemical goods manufacturers. Scary news.
IMO: I understand that "Satyam" is truth (or ultimate truth) in Sanskrit, the "language of the Gods". And it is not the Gods who are lying, it is PWC, generally taken as a US multinational. Bad for India and bad for us all. The US elites depend on companies like PWC to understand what is going on in big organizations. If PWC is compromised, that means the US elites are effectively flying blind, like Madoff. What price the greenback now ?
Over Satyam fraud inquiry. Pricewaterhouse Coopers is a huge company and actually audits 40 percent of companies in the FTSE 100 Index. They audit everyone from aerospace & defence contractors to general retailers and chemical goods manufacturers. Scary news.
IMO: I understand that "Satyam" is truth (or ultimate truth) in Sanskrit, the "language of the Gods". And it is not the Gods who are lying, it is PWC, generally taken as a US multinational. Bad for India and bad for us all. The US elites depend on companies like PWC to understand what is going on in big organizations. If PWC is compromised, that means the US elites are effectively flying blind, like Madoff. What price the greenback now ?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Bush regime summary
Fine article on George W. Bush in "Vanity Fair".
Sample content as follows:
Clarke: That night, on 9/11, Rumsfeld came over and the others, and the president finally got back, and we had a meeting. And Rumsfeld said, You know, we’ve got to do Iraq, and everyone looked at him at least I looked at him and Powell looked at him like, What the hell are you talking about? And he said - I’ll never forget this - There just aren’t enough targets in Afghanistan. We need to bomb something else to prove that we’re, you know, big and strong and not going to be pushed around by these kind of attacks.
And I made the point certainly that night, and I think Powell acknowledged it, that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. That didn’t seem to faze Rumsfeld in the least.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. It really didn’t, because from the first weeks of the administration they were talking about Iraq. I just found it a little disgusting that they were talking about it while the bodies were still burning in the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center.
IMO: Of course, selective comments of that sort of nature can often be culled into an apparently authoritative but really biassed article after the event. That is how successful propaganda often works. But overall I did get the weary feeling that such shenanigans really encompassed the Bush regime. Signs are mildly promising that Obama will be somewhat better, but it is very early to speculate, and even with Obama, we must wait and see.
IMO: As for the particular extract above from the "Vanity Fair" article, that is how I also thought it probably happened at the time of 9/11. And it did seem one obvious way to proceed. We were probably lucky that the regime pussyfooted most of the way after that, relatively speaking. The use of nuclear bombs had then looked a reasonably sound option if you are handling things the way the Bush regime did, IMO. That is if they were really trying to succeed. Bulldozing a lot of guys into mass graves whether they have 'done it' or not is always likely to be a good way to tidy things up in such circumstances. I had thought to try to write a film scenario about the situation but decided it would be a non-starter. Maybe it could have been called "All the President's dogs", and bits included about dogs and Mohammed but it was a bit twee, compared to reality which usually wins hands down. The comparison would also have been unfair to dogs.
Fine article on George W. Bush in "Vanity Fair".
Sample content as follows:
Clarke: That night, on 9/11, Rumsfeld came over and the others, and the president finally got back, and we had a meeting. And Rumsfeld said, You know, we’ve got to do Iraq, and everyone looked at him at least I looked at him and Powell looked at him like, What the hell are you talking about? And he said - I’ll never forget this - There just aren’t enough targets in Afghanistan. We need to bomb something else to prove that we’re, you know, big and strong and not going to be pushed around by these kind of attacks.
And I made the point certainly that night, and I think Powell acknowledged it, that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. That didn’t seem to faze Rumsfeld in the least.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. It really didn’t, because from the first weeks of the administration they were talking about Iraq. I just found it a little disgusting that they were talking about it while the bodies were still burning in the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center.
IMO: Of course, selective comments of that sort of nature can often be culled into an apparently authoritative but really biassed article after the event. That is how successful propaganda often works. But overall I did get the weary feeling that such shenanigans really encompassed the Bush regime. Signs are mildly promising that Obama will be somewhat better, but it is very early to speculate, and even with Obama, we must wait and see.
IMO: As for the particular extract above from the "Vanity Fair" article, that is how I also thought it probably happened at the time of 9/11. And it did seem one obvious way to proceed. We were probably lucky that the regime pussyfooted most of the way after that, relatively speaking. The use of nuclear bombs had then looked a reasonably sound option if you are handling things the way the Bush regime did, IMO. That is if they were really trying to succeed. Bulldozing a lot of guys into mass graves whether they have 'done it' or not is always likely to be a good way to tidy things up in such circumstances. I had thought to try to write a film scenario about the situation but decided it would be a non-starter. Maybe it could have been called "All the President's dogs", and bits included about dogs and Mohammed but it was a bit twee, compared to reality which usually wins hands down. The comparison would also have been unfair to dogs.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Conservapedia
Conservapedia seems to be a truly worrying site, as it clearly has the implication that Republicans are turned into neoStalinists. Often needless personal greed is the motivation. It is a somewhat similar trend as has been found in CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)) where again the promotion of oligarchies was an important motivation and could lead to the disgrace and humiliation of the GOP, in America as it is beginning to do in India.
Typical extract is the list for assassination, mentioned also in Wonkette: "Currently the Democrats hold a 58 seat majority in the Senate. If these Senators were unable to complete their terms and were replaced by qualified Republicans by their Republican governors, the Republican party would regain a commanding majority in the Senate sufficient to prevent Barack Hussein Obama ....." [then gives names: the temptation is to say that some are fair game, Feinstein in particular, but that feeling must be resisted]. In a violent country like USA, this is no joke.
Their key phrase is probably "unable to complete their terms". Well Russia has its pseudo left lunatics and it has been clear since the days of Senator Joe McCarthy that the USA has a bigger, better list of pseudo right wing lunatics.
Conservapedia seems to be a truly worrying site, as it clearly has the implication that Republicans are turned into neoStalinists. Often needless personal greed is the motivation. It is a somewhat similar trend as has been found in CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)) where again the promotion of oligarchies was an important motivation and could lead to the disgrace and humiliation of the GOP, in America as it is beginning to do in India.
Typical extract is the list for assassination, mentioned also in Wonkette: "Currently the Democrats hold a 58 seat majority in the Senate. If these Senators were unable to complete their terms and were replaced by qualified Republicans by their Republican governors, the Republican party would regain a commanding majority in the Senate sufficient to prevent Barack Hussein Obama ....." [then gives names: the temptation is to say that some are fair game, Feinstein in particular, but that feeling must be resisted]. In a violent country like USA, this is no joke.
Their key phrase is probably "unable to complete their terms". Well Russia has its pseudo left lunatics and it has been clear since the days of Senator Joe McCarthy that the USA has a bigger, better list of pseudo right wing lunatics.
Shiv Sena open to alliance with NCP
With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in hospital, the Shiv Sena couldn't have chosen a worse time to back Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar as their choice for Prime Minister.
Shiv Sena MP Bharatkumar Raut speaking to TIMES NOW that his party, in principle, supports Sharad Pawar's candidature for the top job. He, however, said that if Pawar wanted their support, he would have to ask them.
IMO: I'd have done the same. I think, as per my earlier comments on Jan 13 and Jan 14th. At least Shiv Sena do not support Modi/Advani.
With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in hospital, the Shiv Sena couldn't have chosen a worse time to back Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar as their choice for Prime Minister.
Shiv Sena MP Bharatkumar Raut speaking to TIMES NOW that his party, in principle, supports Sharad Pawar's candidature for the top job. He, however, said that if Pawar wanted their support, he would have to ask them.
IMO: I'd have done the same. I think, as per my earlier comments on Jan 13 and Jan 14th. At least Shiv Sena do not support Modi/Advani.
IMF view on recession in UK
AFAIK it is this: Essentially they thought the recession would run its course over a year or two and we would come out of it with a huge bill in terms of the national debt.
IMO: Seems correct, UTAP, thus the printing of some more money should ease the pressure as I have said earlier. Because this could in turn make a renewal of prosperity likely, and could be done gingerly, it MAY not have a very adverse effect on the UK exchange rate. Hardly a view for optimism, but not for blind pessimism either.
AFAIK it is this: Essentially they thought the recession would run its course over a year or two and we would come out of it with a huge bill in terms of the national debt.
IMO: Seems correct, UTAP, thus the printing of some more money should ease the pressure as I have said earlier. Because this could in turn make a renewal of prosperity likely, and could be done gingerly, it MAY not have a very adverse effect on the UK exchange rate. Hardly a view for optimism, but not for blind pessimism either.
George W. Bush's dog not on facebook - White House after Dubya
No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Calls to the main White House switchboard were greeted by a recording, redirecting callers to the presidential Web site. A number of reporters were also shut out of the White House because of lost security clearance lists.
It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs.
IMO: Anyway that is what they are saying and until now they have been pretty generous with Bush comments. Every political group and its dog is on Facebook though I, doubtless like many equally sincere individuals, must admit I have not had time to use it yet.
No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Calls to the main White House switchboard were greeted by a recording, redirecting callers to the presidential Web site. A number of reporters were also shut out of the White House because of lost security clearance lists.
It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs.
IMO: Anyway that is what they are saying and until now they have been pretty generous with Bush comments. Every political group and its dog is on Facebook though I, doubtless like many equally sincere individuals, must admit I have not had time to use it yet.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
UK Govt drops plans for MPs expenses vote
Downing Street has shelved a controversial vote to keep MPs' expenses private. The government had said Labour MPs would be forced to vote through a bill banning the release of ministers' expenses, denying them a free vote of conscience on the issue tomorrow.
But the vote was unceremoniously dropped today, with parliamentary insiders confirming Gordon Brown's suggestion to the Commons that the government was shocked by the Tories changing their position on the subject 24 hours ago. The move may have been a bid to avoid Labour rebels embarrassing the government. An early day motion tabled by Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson and backed by a number of Labour MPs including David Winnick, Kate Hoey and Lynne Jones.
One Labour MP told politics.co.uk he would have considered voting against the party line because the measures did not have a "wider remit" covering other senior public officials.
Such concerns are now irrelevant following the government's U-turn, leaving it facing criticism for its initial stance on the issue. "This is a humiliating climbdown for Gordon Brown after he was forced to accept that people will not tolerate MPs continuing to act like members of a secret society," said Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.
IMO: At least Brown has eventually listened to the poor and the needy, who deplore the fat cat politicians and the way they are living off the poor, having reneged continually on their promises to them. It doesn't matter what the Lib Dems claim they would do, as they obviously will not be in office anytime soon, and on previous Tory policies, which almost always let down the weak, the poor, and the old anyway, the only reason for the Tories to be against the bill would be that they can afford expensive accountants to cover up for their fiddles. Think of how much tax the very rich (through marriage, not hard work) Cameron must be avoiding anyway, whatever bill is passed. It is rumoured that hopefully a few politicians will have to resign because of their fiddles. Unfortunately they are probably only Labor ones, who can't afford good accountants.
Downing Street has shelved a controversial vote to keep MPs' expenses private. The government had said Labour MPs would be forced to vote through a bill banning the release of ministers' expenses, denying them a free vote of conscience on the issue tomorrow.
But the vote was unceremoniously dropped today, with parliamentary insiders confirming Gordon Brown's suggestion to the Commons that the government was shocked by the Tories changing their position on the subject 24 hours ago. The move may have been a bid to avoid Labour rebels embarrassing the government. An early day motion tabled by Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson and backed by a number of Labour MPs including David Winnick, Kate Hoey and Lynne Jones.
One Labour MP told politics.co.uk he would have considered voting against the party line because the measures did not have a "wider remit" covering other senior public officials.
Such concerns are now irrelevant following the government's U-turn, leaving it facing criticism for its initial stance on the issue. "This is a humiliating climbdown for Gordon Brown after he was forced to accept that people will not tolerate MPs continuing to act like members of a secret society," said Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.
IMO: At least Brown has eventually listened to the poor and the needy, who deplore the fat cat politicians and the way they are living off the poor, having reneged continually on their promises to them. It doesn't matter what the Lib Dems claim they would do, as they obviously will not be in office anytime soon, and on previous Tory policies, which almost always let down the weak, the poor, and the old anyway, the only reason for the Tories to be against the bill would be that they can afford expensive accountants to cover up for their fiddles. Think of how much tax the very rich (through marriage, not hard work) Cameron must be avoiding anyway, whatever bill is passed. It is rumoured that hopefully a few politicians will have to resign because of their fiddles. Unfortunately they are probably only Labor ones, who can't afford good accountants.
David Miliband
A comment by Guido Fawkes is worth quoting here in part. I could see Milliband's point at the time but was, of course, cynical of his views on Kashmir as he seems to be, perhaps unconsciously, pandering to a hostile group of UK Paki voters who are no way going to vote for him, against the sad facts, present and historical.
IMO: I do wish Milimuddle would get it right more often as he could become quite a worthwhile MP in time. Such attention as Milimuddle got in the Indian press was not favorable, despite his doubtless muddled intentions.
Fawkes's comment: Miliband travels the world stepping from one banana skin to another. After insulting Manmohan Singh in his own drawing room, resulting in the worst diplomatic flap with India in living memory. (IMO: no, there have actually been worse).
The Indian PM has, Guido understands, written a "frank letter" to Gordon Brown conveying New Delhi's disappointment over the behaviour and comments of the "arrogant" Foreign Secretary.
Miliband gave a speech a few days ago, perhaps hoping to curry favour with the incoming administration, by dissing and disavowing the outgoing George Bush's "War on Terror". Miliband said the notion of the "War on Terror" is misleading and mistaken. That would be the "War on Terror" which British soldiers are dying fighting.
So what did Obama say about the subject yesterday?
He said;Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.... We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
Obama will fight on, perhaps without Miliband
A comment by Guido Fawkes is worth quoting here in part. I could see Milliband's point at the time but was, of course, cynical of his views on Kashmir as he seems to be, perhaps unconsciously, pandering to a hostile group of UK Paki voters who are no way going to vote for him, against the sad facts, present and historical.
IMO: I do wish Milimuddle would get it right more often as he could become quite a worthwhile MP in time. Such attention as Milimuddle got in the Indian press was not favorable, despite his doubtless muddled intentions.
Fawkes's comment: Miliband travels the world stepping from one banana skin to another. After insulting Manmohan Singh in his own drawing room, resulting in the worst diplomatic flap with India in living memory. (IMO: no, there have actually been worse).
The Indian PM has, Guido understands, written a "frank letter" to Gordon Brown conveying New Delhi's disappointment over the behaviour and comments of the "arrogant" Foreign Secretary.
Miliband gave a speech a few days ago, perhaps hoping to curry favour with the incoming administration, by dissing and disavowing the outgoing George Bush's "War on Terror". Miliband said the notion of the "War on Terror" is misleading and mistaken. That would be the "War on Terror" which British soldiers are dying fighting.
So what did Obama say about the subject yesterday?
He said;Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.... We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
Obama will fight on, perhaps without Miliband
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Leaks undermining Home Office, says top official
A string of leaks from the Home Office which prompted officials to call in the police and led to the arrest of the Conservative front-bencher Damian Green was "completely undermining" the department's work, its most senior civil servant said yesterday. Sir David Normington defended his decision to call in Scotland Yard, saying he was "completely frustrated" by 20 leaks over a two-year period. He told the home affairs committee that whoever was leaking the material was "despicable and disloyal".said: "We were completely frustrated and very concerned about the situation. We seemed to have somebody or some people who were deliberately and maliciously leaking material for political purposes." Sir David said he believed he had followed proper procedure by ordering an internal investigation and then calling police. Officers arrested a junior official, Christopher Galley, on 19 November. Mr Green was arrested and his offices searched eight days later. Prosecutors are considering whether they will face charges.
IMO: At least one of these leaks related to National Security and I suspect some prominent UK newspapers (including the Guardian) have misreported this matter in a way that could be shockingly unfair to the UK Government. Not that anyone believes the wretched self-serving lies and humbug of the Press by now anyway. Bloggers can give a much clearer picture overall
A string of leaks from the Home Office which prompted officials to call in the police and led to the arrest of the Conservative front-bencher Damian Green was "completely undermining" the department's work, its most senior civil servant said yesterday. Sir David Normington defended his decision to call in Scotland Yard, saying he was "completely frustrated" by 20 leaks over a two-year period. He told the home affairs committee that whoever was leaking the material was "despicable and disloyal".said: "We were completely frustrated and very concerned about the situation. We seemed to have somebody or some people who were deliberately and maliciously leaking material for political purposes." Sir David said he believed he had followed proper procedure by ordering an internal investigation and then calling police. Officers arrested a junior official, Christopher Galley, on 19 November. Mr Green was arrested and his offices searched eight days later. Prosecutors are considering whether they will face charges.
IMO: At least one of these leaks related to National Security and I suspect some prominent UK newspapers (including the Guardian) have misreported this matter in a way that could be shockingly unfair to the UK Government. Not that anyone believes the wretched self-serving lies and humbug of the Press by now anyway. Bloggers can give a much clearer picture overall
IBM faces EU monopoly probe
IBM is likely to face a full European Union investigation into its mainframe business as a rival firm formally complains to the Competition Commission. t3 Technologies alleges IBM abused its dominant market position by tying sales of its operating system to sales of its hardware. The company, which dubs itself "the other mainframe company", makes rack servers aimed at small and medium-sized data centres as well as mainframes.European Commission has been investigating IBM for since October 2007 following a complaint by Platform Solutions (PSI). IBM bought PSI but the EU investigation continues.
IMO: India should really have some sort of Competition Commission of this sort, but clearly technical and administration problems may rule this out so far. Firms the size of Coca Cola are getting away with too much, as anyone can see.
IBM is likely to face a full European Union investigation into its mainframe business as a rival firm formally complains to the Competition Commission. t3 Technologies alleges IBM abused its dominant market position by tying sales of its operating system to sales of its hardware. The company, which dubs itself "the other mainframe company", makes rack servers aimed at small and medium-sized data centres as well as mainframes.European Commission has been investigating IBM for since October 2007 following a complaint by Platform Solutions (PSI). IBM bought PSI but the EU investigation continues.
IMO: India should really have some sort of Competition Commission of this sort, but clearly technical and administration problems may rule this out so far. Firms the size of Coca Cola are getting away with too much, as anyone can see.
Joe Biden
Apparently Jill Biden told Oprah Winfrey that Barack Obama told Joe Biden he could decide whether he wanted to be Vice President or Secretary of State. Would Hillary Clinton be our new VP? Probably not! Barack Obama is not that dumb. He probably would have picked, who knows, maybe Bill Richardson? Which could have been a disaster, on account of his New Mexico investigation into crookedness.
Another option would have been boring types like Evan Bayh or Tim Kaine, who would not have given America half the laughs we have already wrung from Joe Biden.
Apparently Jill Biden told Oprah Winfrey that Barack Obama told Joe Biden he could decide whether he wanted to be Vice President or Secretary of State. Would Hillary Clinton be our new VP? Probably not! Barack Obama is not that dumb. He probably would have picked, who knows, maybe Bill Richardson? Which could have been a disaster, on account of his New Mexico investigation into crookedness.
Another option would have been boring types like Evan Bayh or Tim Kaine, who would not have given America half the laughs we have already wrung from Joe Biden.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Debt Repudiation
Repudiation of debts by a sovereign nation is sometimes regarded as a last ditch defense in the face of adverse circumstances, just as a 'phony war' (leading to a faux 'peace in our time') is sometimes regarded as the last ditch defense to the problem of a real war. Or as the acceptance of homosexuality into the Christian faith is regarded as a last ditch defence to the continuance of the existence of Christianity. The latter case immediately supplies us with a more suitable analogy - we might well ask 'Who was Jesus' most loved apostle ?' The clear answer seems to have been the 13th apostle - Mary. I will not go into details about this matter - for example I am unaware of the current situation around Miami beach or Jacksonville, Florida - but I know what it used to be like - crack houses, prostitution and muggings - and I cannot see any of these being popular with Jesus Christ. At the same time, whilst I hold the views of neoliberals like George Lakoff (or even, if you like, George Soros) in deep respect, and think Mary Magdalene (if she ever existed) must have been truly great, the idea of a victimless crime to me, on the face of it, seems absurd. Tolerance is a great and deeply respectable virtue, but like so many virtues, it can be played in to a 'reductio ad absurdum' style position.
So, bearing in mind the way the UK economy has been ransacked by criminals and frauds, as becomes apparent with the Royal Bank of Scotland debacle, where relative unknowns are said to have absconded with billions of pounds and the bank's alleged debts have become unreasonable, the correct answer may be that of, I think Harry S. Truman - 'Walk softly but carry a big stick' - for vigorous use if need be, in this case even a nuclear stick. In other words, when toxic debts are very large - repudiate them. The Chinese have recently applied the death sentence in extreme financial cases but it may be necessary to envisage going much further.
Repudiation of debts by a sovereign nation is sometimes regarded as a last ditch defense in the face of adverse circumstances, just as a 'phony war' (leading to a faux 'peace in our time') is sometimes regarded as the last ditch defense to the problem of a real war. Or as the acceptance of homosexuality into the Christian faith is regarded as a last ditch defence to the continuance of the existence of Christianity. The latter case immediately supplies us with a more suitable analogy - we might well ask 'Who was Jesus' most loved apostle ?' The clear answer seems to have been the 13th apostle - Mary. I will not go into details about this matter - for example I am unaware of the current situation around Miami beach or Jacksonville, Florida - but I know what it used to be like - crack houses, prostitution and muggings - and I cannot see any of these being popular with Jesus Christ. At the same time, whilst I hold the views of neoliberals like George Lakoff (or even, if you like, George Soros) in deep respect, and think Mary Magdalene (if she ever existed) must have been truly great, the idea of a victimless crime to me, on the face of it, seems absurd. Tolerance is a great and deeply respectable virtue, but like so many virtues, it can be played in to a 'reductio ad absurdum' style position.
So, bearing in mind the way the UK economy has been ransacked by criminals and frauds, as becomes apparent with the Royal Bank of Scotland debacle, where relative unknowns are said to have absconded with billions of pounds and the bank's alleged debts have become unreasonable, the correct answer may be that of, I think Harry S. Truman - 'Walk softly but carry a big stick' - for vigorous use if need be, in this case even a nuclear stick. In other words, when toxic debts are very large - repudiate them. The Chinese have recently applied the death sentence in extreme financial cases but it may be necessary to envisage going much further.
Lashkar hints at ending jihad
According to Times Now, LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavis has hinted at ending jihad in Kashmir.
IMO: If this actually turns out to be the case, it could have very interesting implications.
According to Times Now, LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavis has hinted at ending jihad in Kashmir.
IMO: If this actually turns out to be the case, it could have very interesting implications.
Mamata and Sonia
Mamata Banerjee will meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi later this month to thrash out what might turn out to be an alliance in her favour with the state Congress. Mamata, in keeping with her stand, has refused to meet any state level leader regarding any alliance for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
IMO: We do not want a split vote. The land acquisition matter should not sidetrack this issue, and can probably be resolved ultimately in a constructive way. The Serious Fraud Office investigation into Satyam, for example, makes it clear that such matters must not be rushed through in two days. Mamata is to meet Sonia, apparently through the mediation of Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Mamata Banerjee will meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi later this month to thrash out what might turn out to be an alliance in her favour with the state Congress. Mamata, in keeping with her stand, has refused to meet any state level leader regarding any alliance for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
IMO: We do not want a split vote. The land acquisition matter should not sidetrack this issue, and can probably be resolved ultimately in a constructive way. The Serious Fraud Office investigation into Satyam, for example, makes it clear that such matters must not be rushed through in two days. Mamata is to meet Sonia, apparently through the mediation of Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
UK Politicians: 'absurd and degrading' (Cable)
According to Vince Cable : "What we need now is the maturity and solidarity that the British public shows in wartime. Yet the British political debate on this profound crisis is mostly on a level that would be considered infantile even in a kindergarten.
Gordon Brown's Government insists it has made no mistakes and that all our problems are due to 'global recession'. The Conservative Opposition insists our problems are entirely the Government's fault and that the rest of the world does not exist. That's just Yah Boo! politics.
This absurd and degrading pantomime, masquerading as serious politics, is played out at noon every Wednesday in our increasingly irrelevant Parliament.
It must now be obvious to most people that there is a global crisis, but that there was also complacency in the British Government about the build-up to the crisis, in excessive household borrowing and a widely overvalued housing market, pumped up by irresponsible bank lenders."
IMO: All this does not surprise me and I could certainly write much more if I had the time. I am afraid I can see a lack of moral fibre and determination throughout the system. We have been gypped by rogues and the system must be related more closely and correctly to the real world status.
According to Vince Cable : "What we need now is the maturity and solidarity that the British public shows in wartime. Yet the British political debate on this profound crisis is mostly on a level that would be considered infantile even in a kindergarten.
Gordon Brown's Government insists it has made no mistakes and that all our problems are due to 'global recession'. The Conservative Opposition insists our problems are entirely the Government's fault and that the rest of the world does not exist. That's just Yah Boo! politics.
This absurd and degrading pantomime, masquerading as serious politics, is played out at noon every Wednesday in our increasingly irrelevant Parliament.
It must now be obvious to most people that there is a global crisis, but that there was also complacency in the British Government about the build-up to the crisis, in excessive household borrowing and a widely overvalued housing market, pumped up by irresponsible bank lenders."
IMO: All this does not surprise me and I could certainly write much more if I had the time. I am afraid I can see a lack of moral fibre and determination throughout the system. We have been gypped by rogues and the system must be related more closely and correctly to the real world status.
Outspoken Journalist Killed in Sri Lanka
Amnesty International report that on 8th January, a brave Sri Lankan journalist paid the ultimate price for freedom of expression. Lasantha Wickramatunga, the editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, was shot by unidentified gunmen while on his way to work. He died a few hours later of his injuries. The Sunday Leader newspaper is known in Sri Lanka for its articles exposing political corruption in privatization deals and for drawing attention to human rights abuses in connection with the recent upsurge in fighting between the government and the opposition Tamil Tigers.
This isn’t the first time that the Sunday Leader and its staff have come under attack. In 2006, Mr. Wickramatunga was threatened with arrest over an article critical of the president. In 2007, the printing presses of the Leader group of publications were attacked by 10 armed men who threatened employees and set fire to some of the equipment.
Mr. Wickramatunga’s murder occurred just two days after the privately owned MVC/MTV television studios were ransacked by a gang of thugs. MVC/MTV had also been critical of the government.
At least 14 journalists or other media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka over the past three years. More than 20 journalists have left the country due to death threats. Others have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured and disappeared while in custody of the security forces.
Amnesty International suggest: Please take a few minutes out of your day to email President Rajapaksa (priu@presidentsoffice.lk or modadm@sltnet.lk) and Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya (slembassy@slembassyusa.org ). Tell them an independent investigation into Mr. Wickramatunga’s murder and the other attacks on journalists is urgently needed now. His killers must be found and tried. Otherwise, they may have more stories like this one to report in future.
IMO: Presumably this suggestion refers to all, and, I would have thought, in particular to Tamilians, who may be need to acqaint Delhi with the sort of regime in Colombo they continue to support. Lets face it, any thinking person who knows the background can soon work out some of the causes of the Gandhi assassinations, and we do not want the necessity for more deaths of that kind, either.
Amnesty International report that on 8th January, a brave Sri Lankan journalist paid the ultimate price for freedom of expression. Lasantha Wickramatunga, the editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, was shot by unidentified gunmen while on his way to work. He died a few hours later of his injuries. The Sunday Leader newspaper is known in Sri Lanka for its articles exposing political corruption in privatization deals and for drawing attention to human rights abuses in connection with the recent upsurge in fighting between the government and the opposition Tamil Tigers.
This isn’t the first time that the Sunday Leader and its staff have come under attack. In 2006, Mr. Wickramatunga was threatened with arrest over an article critical of the president. In 2007, the printing presses of the Leader group of publications were attacked by 10 armed men who threatened employees and set fire to some of the equipment.
Mr. Wickramatunga’s murder occurred just two days after the privately owned MVC/MTV television studios were ransacked by a gang of thugs. MVC/MTV had also been critical of the government.
At least 14 journalists or other media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka over the past three years. More than 20 journalists have left the country due to death threats. Others have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured and disappeared while in custody of the security forces.
Amnesty International suggest: Please take a few minutes out of your day to email President Rajapaksa (priu@presidentsoffice.lk or modadm@sltnet.lk) and Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya (slembassy@slembassyusa.org ). Tell them an independent investigation into Mr. Wickramatunga’s murder and the other attacks on journalists is urgently needed now. His killers must be found and tried. Otherwise, they may have more stories like this one to report in future.
IMO: Presumably this suggestion refers to all, and, I would have thought, in particular to Tamilians, who may be need to acqaint Delhi with the sort of regime in Colombo they continue to support. Lets face it, any thinking person who knows the background can soon work out some of the causes of the Gandhi assassinations, and we do not want the necessity for more deaths of that kind, either.
Interesting book on Sierra Leone
Written by Craig Murray, former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan. The book can be found here, as a free download, and here are some of the threats made concerning its publication. It is called, strangely "The Catholic Orange Men of Togo".Tony Blair comes out as a real turd, some Mafia connections and a lot of mass murders of the innocent referred to. Sandline, Sierra Leone and all the rest.
IMO: Worth a read. All or most politicians are surely not this bad, though one can conceive it as being true for many UK politicans.
Written by Craig Murray, former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan. The book can be found here, as a free download, and here are some of the threats made concerning its publication. It is called, strangely "The Catholic Orange Men of Togo".Tony Blair comes out as a real turd, some Mafia connections and a lot of mass murders of the innocent referred to. Sandline, Sierra Leone and all the rest.
IMO: Worth a read. All or most politicians are surely not this bad, though one can conceive it as being true for many UK politicans.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Maybe Gordon Brown should be using Boy George's methods on the bankers.
Boy George was last night starting a 15-month jail term for handcuffing a male escort to a wall and beating him with a chain. Gordon Brown, however, is UK Prime Minister and circumstances dictate he should have more liberty.
IMO: The financial regulator, the FSA, decided, with spectacularly bad timing, to allow previously banned short selling: Why? Is there a reason, or just bad timing again ?
Boy George was last night starting a 15-month jail term for handcuffing a male escort to a wall and beating him with a chain. Gordon Brown, however, is UK Prime Minister and circumstances dictate he should have more liberty.
IMO: The financial regulator, the FSA, decided, with spectacularly bad timing, to allow previously banned short selling: Why? Is there a reason, or just bad timing again ?
Home minister is justifying mob violence
State home minister Jayant Patil has come under fire from concerned citizens for tacitly supporting the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) action against Pakistani comedian Shakeel Siddiqui. The artiste, who was shooting for a reality show at Andheri, was evicted from the studio by MNS activists on Wednesday and taken to the airport, from where he left for Pakistan the following day.
"The anguish of the common citizen is understandable,'' said lawyer Majeed Memon. "Even though India and Pakistan relations are at its lowest ebb, the high-handed act to chase away artistes need to be condemned. Unless the government declares that no Pakistani artiste should work in the city, this episode only manifests the lawless behaviour on the part of certain political parties.'' Obviously referring to MNS Sena etc.
IMO: Shakeel Siddiqui's visit was an intentional red rag to a bull, but constraint was needed. What would suit India is a quiet, decent Pakistan and the US is wasting US taxpayers funds to encourage the opposite. US trade policy, as in Latin America, seems to be to encourage divide and rule in potential competitors and since the US economy has gone down the drain thanks to an incompetent President only there by nepotism, we could expect the worst. What we need is a supportive, co-operative Pakistan like we used to have with the Taliban against the British occupation. Now the US is trying to play the tricks it learnt whilst destroying Latin American economies for its own benefit. Its like they used to say about USSR ... 'nothing wrong with individual Russians but their Government is not all it should be in some respects".
State home minister Jayant Patil has come under fire from concerned citizens for tacitly supporting the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) action against Pakistani comedian Shakeel Siddiqui. The artiste, who was shooting for a reality show at Andheri, was evicted from the studio by MNS activists on Wednesday and taken to the airport, from where he left for Pakistan the following day.
"The anguish of the common citizen is understandable,'' said lawyer Majeed Memon. "Even though India and Pakistan relations are at its lowest ebb, the high-handed act to chase away artistes need to be condemned. Unless the government declares that no Pakistani artiste should work in the city, this episode only manifests the lawless behaviour on the part of certain political parties.'' Obviously referring to MNS Sena etc.
IMO: Shakeel Siddiqui's visit was an intentional red rag to a bull, but constraint was needed. What would suit India is a quiet, decent Pakistan and the US is wasting US taxpayers funds to encourage the opposite. US trade policy, as in Latin America, seems to be to encourage divide and rule in potential competitors and since the US economy has gone down the drain thanks to an incompetent President only there by nepotism, we could expect the worst. What we need is a supportive, co-operative Pakistan like we used to have with the Taliban against the British occupation. Now the US is trying to play the tricks it learnt whilst destroying Latin American economies for its own benefit. Its like they used to say about USSR ... 'nothing wrong with individual Russians but their Government is not all it should be in some respects".
Microsoft still in breach of EU antitrust laws
Current complaint is made by Opera.
According to a statement issued by the European Commission: "The evidence gathered during the investigation leads the Commission to believe that the tying of Internet Explorer with Windows, which makes Internet Explorer available on 90 percent of the world's PCs, distorts competition on the merits between competing web browsers insofar as it provides Internet Explorer with an artificial distribution advantage which other web browsers are unable to match. The Commission is concerned that through the tying, Microsoft shields Internet Explorer from head to head competition with other browsers which is detrimental to the pace of product innovation and to the quality of products which consumers ultimately obtain. In addition, the Commission is concerned that the ubiquity of Internet Explorer creates artificial incentives for content providers and software developers to design websites or software primarily for Internet Explorer which ultimately risks undermining competition and innovation in the provision of services to consumers."
IMO: Clearly many measures taken by the EU must seem annoying to US patriots, but they certainly seem to be in the right over this matter, AFAIK.
Current complaint is made by Opera.
According to a statement issued by the European Commission: "The evidence gathered during the investigation leads the Commission to believe that the tying of Internet Explorer with Windows, which makes Internet Explorer available on 90 percent of the world's PCs, distorts competition on the merits between competing web browsers insofar as it provides Internet Explorer with an artificial distribution advantage which other web browsers are unable to match. The Commission is concerned that through the tying, Microsoft shields Internet Explorer from head to head competition with other browsers which is detrimental to the pace of product innovation and to the quality of products which consumers ultimately obtain. In addition, the Commission is concerned that the ubiquity of Internet Explorer creates artificial incentives for content providers and software developers to design websites or software primarily for Internet Explorer which ultimately risks undermining competition and innovation in the provision of services to consumers."
IMO: Clearly many measures taken by the EU must seem annoying to US patriots, but they certainly seem to be in the right over this matter, AFAIK.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Bank nationalisation again
I have said for some time that tougher measures with the banks were needed, probably without complete nationalisation.
Since the drop of 25% in Barclays a few minutes ago, it has gone up a little due to improved profits forecasts, but more and more prominent bloggers are speaking in favor of nationalisation.
Buiter, for example, argues that the only way to get banks lending again is to nationalize them. Otherwise, they'll simply hoard liquidity in a desperate attempt to avoid being nationalized.
IMO: UK and US Governments should act soon, but there are several less dubious methods than complete nationalisation, none of which top bankers will like as much, however.
I have said for some time that tougher measures with the banks were needed, probably without complete nationalisation.
Since the drop of 25% in Barclays a few minutes ago, it has gone up a little due to improved profits forecasts, but more and more prominent bloggers are speaking in favor of nationalisation.
Buiter, for example, argues that the only way to get banks lending again is to nationalize them. Otherwise, they'll simply hoard liquidity in a desperate attempt to avoid being nationalized.
IMO: UK and US Governments should act soon, but there are several less dubious methods than complete nationalisation, none of which top bankers will like as much, however.
UK Parlimentarian's expenses
The UK parliamentary authorities are suppressing full disclosure of MPs expenses. Further, Jacqui Smith has (without reference to parliament) given herself the right to read Guido's Fawkes's email without a warrant. Anyone with any sensitive correpondence, howverharmless, can see what an enormously bad effect such actions can have, and how they would appear to contravene normal reasonable laws of society.
Yet MPs in contrast are changing the Freedom of Information laws to allow them to obscure our view of their petty fiddles. There is no other credible explanation. They claim that it would be too expensive to account for all expenditure - try putting that on your tax return. Some MPs are taking it upon themselves to voluntarily publish ALL their expenses, some will not, draw your own conclusions.
IMO: My conclusion is that the Tories usually have amenable accountants. But any Government which has been in power for some time, tends to be high-handed to cover its own fiddles, if for no other reason. One job of back-benchers of all persuasions, and of opposition parties, should be to prevent this. Otherwise we all suffer.
The UK parliamentary authorities are suppressing full disclosure of MPs expenses. Further, Jacqui Smith has (without reference to parliament) given herself the right to read Guido's Fawkes's email without a warrant. Anyone with any sensitive correpondence, howverharmless, can see what an enormously bad effect such actions can have, and how they would appear to contravene normal reasonable laws of society.
Yet MPs in contrast are changing the Freedom of Information laws to allow them to obscure our view of their petty fiddles. There is no other credible explanation. They claim that it would be too expensive to account for all expenditure - try putting that on your tax return. Some MPs are taking it upon themselves to voluntarily publish ALL their expenses, some will not, draw your own conclusions.
IMO: My conclusion is that the Tories usually have amenable accountants. But any Government which has been in power for some time, tends to be high-handed to cover its own fiddles, if for no other reason. One job of back-benchers of all persuasions, and of opposition parties, should be to prevent this. Otherwise we all suffer.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Milliband
UK foreign secretary, David Miliband, yesterday declared that the use of the phrase "war on terror" as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks had been a mistake that may have caused "more harm than good".
Easy to say, now that Bush is on the way out, but nonetheless probably good to hear.
He then said : "The more we lump terrorist groups together and draw the battle lines as a simple binary struggle between moderates and extremists or good and evil, the more we play into the hands of those seeking to unify groups with little in common, and the more we magnify the sense of threat."
IMO: True enough. The Taliban has certainly changed over the years, for example, and we cannot compare bankrupt Pakistan's lies and empty threats with the somewhat equivalent position of the British prior to Indian independence from the bad behaviour of the UK. The two really are quite different.
UK foreign secretary, David Miliband, yesterday declared that the use of the phrase "war on terror" as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks had been a mistake that may have caused "more harm than good".
Easy to say, now that Bush is on the way out, but nonetheless probably good to hear.
He then said : "The more we lump terrorist groups together and draw the battle lines as a simple binary struggle between moderates and extremists or good and evil, the more we play into the hands of those seeking to unify groups with little in common, and the more we magnify the sense of threat."
IMO: True enough. The Taliban has certainly changed over the years, for example, and we cannot compare bankrupt Pakistan's lies and empty threats with the somewhat equivalent position of the British prior to Indian independence from the bad behaviour of the UK. The two really are quite different.
124 arrested in Pakistan after Mumbai attacks: Gilani aide
Given time, some faith in Pakistan, despite the fraud and duplicity of some of its leaders, could eventually, as part of a slow process, be reestablished.
Obviously, many in Pakistan will hope India may accept this possibility, so as to allow US aid to continue to this failed nation, its money actually being siphoned into the pockets of the Musheraff types, who have every reason to want to retain militancy.
IMO: Hmm.... We could hope it is a start. But simply as an example, what about the 700 muhajidaats (women) the Pakis are are said to have in training as suicide bombers for India ? I imagine some decent clean unmarried men, often good Hindus, having 'seen this sort of thing on television', may even consider for their own reasons, marrying a Muslim woman, who might at some point, even appreciate the ways of the Lord Ganesh. Then BANG ! So there is still a lot of room for people like Advani, Moti, and others of that stripe. The sooner the Paki politicians can behave reasonably, the better for all concerned.
Given time, some faith in Pakistan, despite the fraud and duplicity of some of its leaders, could eventually, as part of a slow process, be reestablished.
Obviously, many in Pakistan will hope India may accept this possibility, so as to allow US aid to continue to this failed nation, its money actually being siphoned into the pockets of the Musheraff types, who have every reason to want to retain militancy.
IMO: Hmm.... We could hope it is a start. But simply as an example, what about the 700 muhajidaats (women) the Pakis are are said to have in training as suicide bombers for India ? I imagine some decent clean unmarried men, often good Hindus, having 'seen this sort of thing on television', may even consider for their own reasons, marrying a Muslim woman, who might at some point, even appreciate the ways of the Lord Ganesh. Then BANG ! So there is still a lot of room for people like Advani, Moti, and others of that stripe. The sooner the Paki politicians can behave reasonably, the better for all concerned.
Sarah Palin Not Invited To McCain Dinner
Apparently because she was a woman. Obama was invited, of course, and so was a black Northeastern communist Massachusetts black governor Deval Patrick, who will be the master of ceremonies.
IMO: McCain and his crowd sound as sexist as the early bible scholars who refused to allow the "whore's gospel" - the Gospel According to Mary Magdelene - into the Holy Bible. Christ seems to had the decency to give poor Mary first viewing after the crucifixation but evidently American politicians are not quite as tolerant.
Apparently because she was a woman. Obama was invited, of course, and so was a black Northeastern communist Massachusetts black governor Deval Patrick, who will be the master of ceremonies.
IMO: McCain and his crowd sound as sexist as the early bible scholars who refused to allow the "whore's gospel" - the Gospel According to Mary Magdelene - into the Holy Bible. Christ seems to had the decency to give poor Mary first viewing after the crucifixation but evidently American politicians are not quite as tolerant.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Advani or Modi ?
Is the BJP going to advocate Advani or Modi ?
IMO: Both are far too old for a job which should involve a lot of hard work.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Advani believes Hindus are pushed into violence by the sheer political favouritism towards Muslims. His arch enemies he calls pseudo-secularists. On the other hand, Modi proclaims an acidic anti-Muslim policy. Loud and clear.
Of the two, the views of Advani seem more likely to be useful to India. But I would suggest that the BJP should be seeking someone younger than either with more modern views, less likely to cause turmoil and unrest, but nonetheless in fair accordance with modern Hindutva.
Modi's problem is that he so clearly acts for interests like "Sailor Boy" Tata, and not for the voting public, and this ought to lose him the election for the BJP.
Also, because Modi has to try to kowtow to big business, much of what he says is unrealistic, even to small businesses who are not oligarchies. “Vibrant Gujarat is a myth, it is a creation of Modi and the (ruling) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reality is that Gujarat is one of the most indebted states of India," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. "In 2007, the indebtedness of Gujarat stood at Rs.94,000 crore (Rs.940 billion) which makes it one of the most indebted states in India. In the last 11 months, 62,000 small and medium industries have shut down in the state," Tewari said.He also pointed out "lots of discrepancies" in the agreements signed, involving Modi.
IMO: It is not so long ago that a very small earthquake in Guj caused real havoc, partly because of shoddy buildings and because the state couldn't afford to help the victims. Still, largish firms went broke.
Is the BJP going to advocate Advani or Modi ?
IMO: Both are far too old for a job which should involve a lot of hard work.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Advani believes Hindus are pushed into violence by the sheer political favouritism towards Muslims. His arch enemies he calls pseudo-secularists. On the other hand, Modi proclaims an acidic anti-Muslim policy. Loud and clear.
Of the two, the views of Advani seem more likely to be useful to India. But I would suggest that the BJP should be seeking someone younger than either with more modern views, less likely to cause turmoil and unrest, but nonetheless in fair accordance with modern Hindutva.
Modi's problem is that he so clearly acts for interests like "Sailor Boy" Tata, and not for the voting public, and this ought to lose him the election for the BJP.
Also, because Modi has to try to kowtow to big business, much of what he says is unrealistic, even to small businesses who are not oligarchies. “Vibrant Gujarat is a myth, it is a creation of Modi and the (ruling) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reality is that Gujarat is one of the most indebted states of India," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. "In 2007, the indebtedness of Gujarat stood at Rs.94,000 crore (Rs.940 billion) which makes it one of the most indebted states in India. In the last 11 months, 62,000 small and medium industries have shut down in the state," Tewari said.He also pointed out "lots of discrepancies" in the agreements signed, involving Modi.
IMO: It is not so long ago that a very small earthquake in Guj caused real havoc, partly because of shoddy buildings and because the state couldn't afford to help the victims. Still, largish firms went broke.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Praise for Modi - redux
As mentioned in the previous "Praise for Modi" blog, maybe the obvious intuition regarding Ratan Tata's apparent friendship with Modi has significance. I unearthed the following from a blog about well-known English poofter Mandelson
Tuscan Tony says: 'Wonder if Mandy's very good friend at Tata Motors, Ratan "Sailor Boy" Tata (funny he never married), is anything to do with the loan?
IMO: Here in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena don't even like Xmas cards, and reasonably enough claim very high and appropriately Hindu standards. I wonder how Ratan "Sailor Boy" Tata and Modi rate with them now.
As mentioned in the previous "Praise for Modi" blog, maybe the obvious intuition regarding Ratan Tata's apparent friendship with Modi has significance. I unearthed the following from a blog about well-known English poofter Mandelson
Tuscan Tony says: 'Wonder if Mandy's very good friend at Tata Motors, Ratan "Sailor Boy" Tata (funny he never married), is anything to do with the loan?
IMO: Here in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena don't even like Xmas cards, and reasonably enough claim very high and appropriately Hindu standards. I wonder how Ratan "Sailor Boy" Tata and Modi rate with them now.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Praise for Modi
Ratan Tata today drenched the chief minister in praise at an investor meet, holding Modi and his state up as a model for the rest of the country. By the time Tata was through, the industrialist found himself locked in a hug with Modi who strode across the podium with open arms. “I have to say that today there is no state like Gujarat. Under Modi’s leadership, Gujarat is head and shoulders above any state,” Tata, who last year moved his small-car project from Bengal to Gujarat, told the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit in Ahmedabad.
Tata said a state would normally take 90 to 180 days to clear a new plant “but in the Nano case, we had our land and approval in just two days”. In his “humble experience, it had never happened before”, Tata added, seizing another opportunity to extol the “speed and transparency” with which Modi worked.
IMO: I'm rather worried because of the unfavorable reports I have heard of somewhat similar behaviour on behalf of US companies in Pune. As the "Calcutta Telegraph" says of the allegedly arrogant communist gangster Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee "Breathe easy, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Forget Nandigram, forget toxic air, forget the roasting your government gets in court every now and then. All will be forgiven if you can give land in two days". I think Modi is at least not a communist, but the relationship between Modi and Tata, who are shown in photographs sharing an over friendly hug, does not sound altogether healthy. I'm sure Didi would not have approved of their public behaviour
Ratan Tata today drenched the chief minister in praise at an investor meet, holding Modi and his state up as a model for the rest of the country. By the time Tata was through, the industrialist found himself locked in a hug with Modi who strode across the podium with open arms. “I have to say that today there is no state like Gujarat. Under Modi’s leadership, Gujarat is head and shoulders above any state,” Tata, who last year moved his small-car project from Bengal to Gujarat, told the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit in Ahmedabad.
Tata said a state would normally take 90 to 180 days to clear a new plant “but in the Nano case, we had our land and approval in just two days”. In his “humble experience, it had never happened before”, Tata added, seizing another opportunity to extol the “speed and transparency” with which Modi worked.
IMO: I'm rather worried because of the unfavorable reports I have heard of somewhat similar behaviour on behalf of US companies in Pune. As the "Calcutta Telegraph" says of the allegedly arrogant communist gangster Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee "Breathe easy, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Forget Nandigram, forget toxic air, forget the roasting your government gets in court every now and then. All will be forgiven if you can give land in two days". I think Modi is at least not a communist, but the relationship between Modi and Tata, who are shown in photographs sharing an over friendly hug, does not sound altogether healthy. I'm sure Didi would not have approved of their public behaviour
Zimbabwe again
The UK Government is about to try to invent the money to pay the bills.
Now, in normal times you pay for this invention with inflation, but inflation isn't a problem in the UK -- quite the opposite, the UK and the Western world are having a massive going out of business sale. Prices are going down. Certainly home prices are going down. Think they're low this week? Wait till next week, they'll be even lower. And wait is what people do, and that drives the prices lower. It's like inflation in reverse. Worrying about inflation now is like a starving man worrying about getting fat if he eats too much. You'll take your calories any way you can get them. Anything that makes people want to buy things now is a good thing for the economy. One way to do that is to give them money by hiring them.
IMO: Well, its a theory. Could work UTAP, within reason.
The UK Government is about to try to invent the money to pay the bills.
Now, in normal times you pay for this invention with inflation, but inflation isn't a problem in the UK -- quite the opposite, the UK and the Western world are having a massive going out of business sale. Prices are going down. Certainly home prices are going down. Think they're low this week? Wait till next week, they'll be even lower. And wait is what people do, and that drives the prices lower. It's like inflation in reverse. Worrying about inflation now is like a starving man worrying about getting fat if he eats too much. You'll take your calories any way you can get them. Anything that makes people want to buy things now is a good thing for the economy. One way to do that is to give them money by hiring them.
IMO: Well, its a theory. Could work UTAP, within reason.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Zimbabwe here we come !
The 1844 Banking Bill ensured transparency in the operations of the Bank of England. It has been good enough for over 164 years.
The Bank of England will soon be able to print extra money without having legally to declare it under new plans which will heighten fears that the Government will secretly pump extra cash into the economy.
The Government is set to throw out the 165-year old law that obliges the Bank to publish a weekly account of its balance sheet a move that will allow it theoretically to embark covertly on so-called quantitative easing. The Banking Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, abolishes a key section of the law laid down by Robert Peel's Government in 1844 which originally granted the Bank the sole right to print UK money.
With the Bank rate now at 1.5pc, most economists suspect the Government and Bank will soon be forced to start quantitative easing directly increasing the quantity of money in the economy in a drastic attempt to prevent a recession of unprecedented depth.
Lord James of Blackheath said: "Remove [this] control and there is nothing to stop an unreported and unmonitored flooding of the money market by the undisciplined use of the printing presses.we went down that path we would be following a road which starts in Weimar, goes on through Harare and must not end in Westminster and London. That is the great fear that the abolition of that section will bring about but the Bill abolishes it."
IMO: Zimbabwe here we come ! The new billion UK pound notes will be only fit to wipe our noses on. Tories would do worse though. Maybe Vince Cable, who regards the Tories as "bizarre" would be the man for the job.
The 1844 Banking Bill ensured transparency in the operations of the Bank of England. It has been good enough for over 164 years.
The Bank of England will soon be able to print extra money without having legally to declare it under new plans which will heighten fears that the Government will secretly pump extra cash into the economy.
The Government is set to throw out the 165-year old law that obliges the Bank to publish a weekly account of its balance sheet a move that will allow it theoretically to embark covertly on so-called quantitative easing. The Banking Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, abolishes a key section of the law laid down by Robert Peel's Government in 1844 which originally granted the Bank the sole right to print UK money.
With the Bank rate now at 1.5pc, most economists suspect the Government and Bank will soon be forced to start quantitative easing directly increasing the quantity of money in the economy in a drastic attempt to prevent a recession of unprecedented depth.
Lord James of Blackheath said: "Remove [this] control and there is nothing to stop an unreported and unmonitored flooding of the money market by the undisciplined use of the printing presses.we went down that path we would be following a road which starts in Weimar, goes on through Harare and must not end in Westminster and London. That is the great fear that the abolition of that section will bring about but the Bill abolishes it."
IMO: Zimbabwe here we come ! The new billion UK pound notes will be only fit to wipe our noses on. Tories would do worse though. Maybe Vince Cable, who regards the Tories as "bizarre" would be the man for the job.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Lies by Pakistan Prime Minister
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday that the Indian dossier had been examined and a response has been passed on, it turns out that no one has even contacted the Lahore outlet from where the outboard motor for the 11-seater inflatable dinghy was bought. India had provided the address in the dossier.
"I have no knowledge about this. No investigating agency has come to us and I am not duty-bound to tell you anything. If some official agency approaches us, we will give the answers,” said Tariq Mahmood, owner of Business & Engineering Trends, when contacted by The Sunday Express over the phone.
IMO: If they do not even look in detail at obvious evidence, the Pakistanis have therefore not "examined" the dossier. Presumably the Pakis are already aware of the truth.
"When you map WMD and terrorism, all roads intersect in Pakistan," Graham Allison, a Harvard professor and a leading nuclear expert on the commission, told the author of the book titled 'The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and Challenges to American Power'."
IMO: And those people were supposed to be George W. Bush's best allies in the area in the war on terror. People apparently regarded in Harvard as the worst terrorists in the world - including Hamas.
Highly restricted reports described how foreign- trained Pakistani scientists, including some suspected of harbouring sympathy for radical Islamic causes, were returning to Pakistan to seek jobs within the country's nuclear infrastructure, presumably trying to burrow in among the 2,000 or so people who have "critical knowledge" of the Pakistani nuclear infrastructure, it says.
One of the most senior officials in Bush administration, who had read all of the intelligence with care, is quoted as saying that he had a worry -- what happens "when they move the weapons."explained that the US feared that some groups could try to provoke a confrontation between Pakistan and India in the hope that Pakistani military would transport tactical nuclear weapons closer to the front lines, where they would be more vulnerable to seizure.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday that the Indian dossier had been examined and a response has been passed on, it turns out that no one has even contacted the Lahore outlet from where the outboard motor for the 11-seater inflatable dinghy was bought. India had provided the address in the dossier.
"I have no knowledge about this. No investigating agency has come to us and I am not duty-bound to tell you anything. If some official agency approaches us, we will give the answers,” said Tariq Mahmood, owner of Business & Engineering Trends, when contacted by The Sunday Express over the phone.
IMO: If they do not even look in detail at obvious evidence, the Pakistanis have therefore not "examined" the dossier. Presumably the Pakis are already aware of the truth.
"When you map WMD and terrorism, all roads intersect in Pakistan," Graham Allison, a Harvard professor and a leading nuclear expert on the commission, told the author of the book titled 'The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and Challenges to American Power'."
IMO: And those people were supposed to be George W. Bush's best allies in the area in the war on terror. People apparently regarded in Harvard as the worst terrorists in the world - including Hamas.
Highly restricted reports described how foreign- trained Pakistani scientists, including some suspected of harbouring sympathy for radical Islamic causes, were returning to Pakistan to seek jobs within the country's nuclear infrastructure, presumably trying to burrow in among the 2,000 or so people who have "critical knowledge" of the Pakistani nuclear infrastructure, it says.
One of the most senior officials in Bush administration, who had read all of the intelligence with care, is quoted as saying that he had a worry -- what happens "when they move the weapons."explained that the US feared that some groups could try to provoke a confrontation between Pakistan and India in the hope that Pakistani military would transport tactical nuclear weapons closer to the front lines, where they would be more vulnerable to seizure.
Prince Harry apologises over racist video
Prince Harry has apologised for using the word "Paki" about a member of his platoon. A spokesman for St James's Palace said: "Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause".
IMO: Doesn't sound offensive to me, just a normal abbreviation. Things seem to have got ridiculous in the UK - if they were ever different. Perhaps in the UK they are afraid of everyone by now, and may well have good reason. However in another account it is also suggested that in the video concerned Harry also used the mildly offensive term "raghead". One is minded of the number of often quoted occasions where Princess Anne allegedly uses the term "naff off" where in fact more informed sources say the phrase she uses is "f*ck off". Whitewashing in such matters often makes one suspect far worse of some of the royals, as if it matters. ···
Prince Harry has apologised for using the word "Paki" about a member of his platoon. A spokesman for St James's Palace said: "Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause".
IMO: Doesn't sound offensive to me, just a normal abbreviation. Things seem to have got ridiculous in the UK - if they were ever different. Perhaps in the UK they are afraid of everyone by now, and may well have good reason. However in another account it is also suggested that in the video concerned Harry also used the mildly offensive term "raghead". One is minded of the number of often quoted occasions where Princess Anne allegedly uses the term "naff off" where in fact more informed sources say the phrase she uses is "f*ck off". Whitewashing in such matters often makes one suspect far worse of some of the royals, as if it matters. ···
Friday, January 09, 2009
Trinamool wins Nandigram seat
Citizens voted with their feet to oust the Leftists. The Trinamool Congress’s victory by a whopping 39,551 margin clearly signals the beginning of decline of the Left in West Bengal.
IMO: Thank goodness for that! The end of Buddha-nomics I hope. And those who seek SEZs anywhere, will, I hope, rethink their strategies. As well as the Nadigram victory, Modi in Gujerat has been exposed by Tehelka, apparently for fascism and racism amongst other things (here in Maharashtra a copy of Tehelka can be hard to find) and Modi had publically expressed a desire to turn the whole of Gujerat into an SEZ.
Police enthusiastically aided the cadre’s efforts. There were cold blooded murders, rapes and humiliation of the people of Nandigram.The CPM paid a heavy price for this political high handedness in its progressive constituency as it exposed the party’s ugly underbelly. The “re-capture” of Nandigram that was how the party defined the cadre action against dissenters tore down its carefully cultivated “progressive” face.
Even fellow travellers of the Left, who had always stood by its side in their efforts to muzzle opposing viewpoints, were left aghast. Unable to digest that the CPM could apply brute force so blatantly to make the farmers give up their land, its friends and allies in the Left Front CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP, alienated themselves from the party.
IMO: So Didi gets the Muslim vote, and after all, a vote is a vote in a democracy.
Citizens voted with their feet to oust the Leftists. The Trinamool Congress’s victory by a whopping 39,551 margin clearly signals the beginning of decline of the Left in West Bengal.
IMO: Thank goodness for that! The end of Buddha-nomics I hope. And those who seek SEZs anywhere, will, I hope, rethink their strategies. As well as the Nadigram victory, Modi in Gujerat has been exposed by Tehelka, apparently for fascism and racism amongst other things (here in Maharashtra a copy of Tehelka can be hard to find) and Modi had publically expressed a desire to turn the whole of Gujerat into an SEZ.
Police enthusiastically aided the cadre’s efforts. There were cold blooded murders, rapes and humiliation of the people of Nandigram.The CPM paid a heavy price for this political high handedness in its progressive constituency as it exposed the party’s ugly underbelly. The “re-capture” of Nandigram that was how the party defined the cadre action against dissenters tore down its carefully cultivated “progressive” face.
Even fellow travellers of the Left, who had always stood by its side in their efforts to muzzle opposing viewpoints, were left aghast. Unable to digest that the CPM could apply brute force so blatantly to make the farmers give up their land, its friends and allies in the Left Front CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP, alienated themselves from the party.
IMO: So Didi gets the Muslim vote, and after all, a vote is a vote in a democracy.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Israel attacks UN with rockets
A video from 2007 - produced by Israeli propaganda services but nonetheless seemingly accurate - shows a Palestinian terrorist firing a mortar from a UN school (the Beit Hanoun Elementary School for Boys) in which he was sheltering. A clear breach of the laws of war. Those on the extreme left accusing Israel of genocidal intent should ask themselves why then it is that Palestinian children are today being treated in Israeli hospitals.
The UN said there were no Hamas gunmen in the compound yesterday - when they were hit by Israel - whereas they condemned Hamas for their actions in 2007. The UN have no reason to lie; the Israelis every reason.
IMO: Israel's methods leave a lot to be desired and will more than likely create a new generation of terrorists and prolong the conflict.
It now seems that the rocket attack was by Palestinians just outside the compound. It is also now claimed that the explosions in the UN school that killed Hamas militants and civilians were mostly the impact of exploding Hamas explosives being set up as a trap for Israeli troops.
IMO: If there was evidence of a UN building (or its very close vicinity) being used by terrorists, why didn't Israel let the UN know about it before now ? Of course it could have been difficult in the present turmoil, but no side in the matter comes out well in this. People often complain about the UN,because of expense and for other reasons, but we can imagine what things would be like in the area if the UN was not there. I would have thought that using women & children as shields, as Hamas do, is a war crime. At the same time it is a bit much to turn people out of their country on the grounds that one's distant ancestors lived somewhere locally so they have a divine right to it !
A video from 2007 - produced by Israeli propaganda services but nonetheless seemingly accurate - shows a Palestinian terrorist firing a mortar from a UN school (the Beit Hanoun Elementary School for Boys) in which he was sheltering. A clear breach of the laws of war. Those on the extreme left accusing Israel of genocidal intent should ask themselves why then it is that Palestinian children are today being treated in Israeli hospitals.
The UN said there were no Hamas gunmen in the compound yesterday - when they were hit by Israel - whereas they condemned Hamas for their actions in 2007. The UN have no reason to lie; the Israelis every reason.
IMO: Israel's methods leave a lot to be desired and will more than likely create a new generation of terrorists and prolong the conflict.
It now seems that the rocket attack was by Palestinians just outside the compound. It is also now claimed that the explosions in the UN school that killed Hamas militants and civilians were mostly the impact of exploding Hamas explosives being set up as a trap for Israeli troops.
IMO: If there was evidence of a UN building (or its very close vicinity) being used by terrorists, why didn't Israel let the UN know about it before now ? Of course it could have been difficult in the present turmoil, but no side in the matter comes out well in this. People often complain about the UN,because of expense and for other reasons, but we can imagine what things would be like in the area if the UN was not there. I would have thought that using women & children as shields, as Hamas do, is a war crime. At the same time it is a bit much to turn people out of their country on the grounds that one's distant ancestors lived somewhere locally so they have a divine right to it !
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Mumbai Bombings
A lot of thought-provoking reading here and here, of an anthropological nature, for those who take the time to read it, but many people have formed their opinions on the matter already.
A lot of thought-provoking reading here and here, of an anthropological nature, for those who take the time to read it, but many people have formed their opinions on the matter already.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
New prosperity in USA
"If you had $100,000 in a basic fund that tracked the Standard & Poor’s benchmark index, you would be up $23,800 today, just six weeks later. That’s probably enough to buy your neighbor’s foreclosed house from the mortgage company!”
"If you had $100,000 in a basic fund that tracked the Standard & Poor’s benchmark index, you would be up $23,800 today, just six weeks later. That’s probably enough to buy your neighbor’s foreclosed house from the mortgage company!”
Saturday, January 03, 2009
India, world ecology and how to vote at Nandigram
Here is an issue of tremendous importance.
The problem is that the Calcutta High Court had ordered the government to ban from January 1, 2008, all the 60,000 autorickshaws that use two-stroke engines as these emit huge amounts of smoke.
Now these will need replacement, both from the standpoint of the rickshaw drivers and the general community. At this point the spectres of oligarchy and forced land conviscation rear their ugly head.
Who would replace these rickshaws ? Obviously perhaps, so far reasonably aware firms like Tata and Bajaj. But Tata have just fallen out with the Bengalis (and in particular with Trinamul Congress) over the matter of forced land purchase, and Bajaj (along with HDFC) now appear to support bankers at the expense of the general community, after a recent (alleged only so far) bank fraud.
What then is the practical situation with regards to mobility ?
On management, I would take both Tata and Bajaj as roughly representing the old GE policy, involving such matters as job retention and community awareness. In fact the Tata Pimpri/Cinchwad facility has been compared to the historical Port Sunlight attempt in Liverpool, England. But with regards to innovation, I am tempted to refer to Alfred P. Sloan's classic "My Days with General Motors" where we have air cooling for cars, for example, put back for many years, right to the date of the rather unsuccessful air-cooled Chevy I roughly recall, whilst air cooled Volkswagens flourished worldwide. Well, maybe aircooling is not a very good idea anyway. But currently Tata are (supposedly) trying out their rather doubtful 'greenish Nano', powered by bottles of air, and this seems to stir the memory about GM's so called 'copper cooling' which was seemingly never intended to work, but used as a ploy to put management into a backwater. And Bajaj have an electric bike, which sales suggest is anything but popular, even though general motorbike sales in India appear to be booming. Things are so bad I even thought of buying a Nano and putting an electric engine in it myself in the Institute's laboratory, but major manufacturers really seem to want to pollute India - and fill their pockets with loads of money at the expense of the entire world. There is definitely something wrong when major firms like Tata destroy the environment and leave it to private owners to innovate.
Now we have TMC rioting on the streets on behalf of the rickshaw drivers, because at best only a few of the rickshaws will be replaced as an interim measure by small Tata (or similar) cars, which, because of the land grab Tata tried to advantage itself by, will have to be purchased outside of Bengal. Furthermore if these cars are anything like the ones used in Goa, they may reduce a few emissions and certainly be slightly safer in principle, but will not improve matters much overall.
Environmental improvements could have happened, but for the greed of the oligarchies. From a practical point of view, voting at Nandigram should be for Trinamul Congress.
Here is an issue of tremendous importance.
The problem is that the Calcutta High Court had ordered the government to ban from January 1, 2008, all the 60,000 autorickshaws that use two-stroke engines as these emit huge amounts of smoke.
Now these will need replacement, both from the standpoint of the rickshaw drivers and the general community. At this point the spectres of oligarchy and forced land conviscation rear their ugly head.
Who would replace these rickshaws ? Obviously perhaps, so far reasonably aware firms like Tata and Bajaj. But Tata have just fallen out with the Bengalis (and in particular with Trinamul Congress) over the matter of forced land purchase, and Bajaj (along with HDFC) now appear to support bankers at the expense of the general community, after a recent (alleged only so far) bank fraud.
What then is the practical situation with regards to mobility ?
On management, I would take both Tata and Bajaj as roughly representing the old GE policy, involving such matters as job retention and community awareness. In fact the Tata Pimpri/Cinchwad facility has been compared to the historical Port Sunlight attempt in Liverpool, England. But with regards to innovation, I am tempted to refer to Alfred P. Sloan's classic "My Days with General Motors" where we have air cooling for cars, for example, put back for many years, right to the date of the rather unsuccessful air-cooled Chevy I roughly recall, whilst air cooled Volkswagens flourished worldwide. Well, maybe aircooling is not a very good idea anyway. But currently Tata are (supposedly) trying out their rather doubtful 'greenish Nano', powered by bottles of air, and this seems to stir the memory about GM's so called 'copper cooling' which was seemingly never intended to work, but used as a ploy to put management into a backwater. And Bajaj have an electric bike, which sales suggest is anything but popular, even though general motorbike sales in India appear to be booming. Things are so bad I even thought of buying a Nano and putting an electric engine in it myself in the Institute's laboratory, but major manufacturers really seem to want to pollute India - and fill their pockets with loads of money at the expense of the entire world. There is definitely something wrong when major firms like Tata destroy the environment and leave it to private owners to innovate.
Now we have TMC rioting on the streets on behalf of the rickshaw drivers, because at best only a few of the rickshaws will be replaced as an interim measure by small Tata (or similar) cars, which, because of the land grab Tata tried to advantage itself by, will have to be purchased outside of Bengal. Furthermore if these cars are anything like the ones used in Goa, they may reduce a few emissions and certainly be slightly safer in principle, but will not improve matters much overall.
Environmental improvements could have happened, but for the greed of the oligarchies. From a practical point of view, voting at Nandigram should be for Trinamul Congress.
India Sleepwalks Into a Surveillance Society
IMO: All we will need is to have the CP(M) running the country and the place will become a totally miserable oligarchy, probably run by the USA. Present Indian leadership is not too bad - seemingly - but things could quickly become deplorable if more care is not taken with legislation.
The legislation that is being discussed was known as "The Information Technology (Amendment) Bill". The posting says that under these new laws and amendments, the government is now allowed to "intercept messages from mobile phones, computers and other communication devices to investigate any offence. Not just cognizable offence, the kind you witnessed in Mumbai 26/11, but any offence."
Those two sentences alone sounds like the US's FISA act on steroids. It could very well have been inspired by laws from the United States, but other provisions discussed sounds more like provisions currently being proposed in Australia. A blogger writes, "Around 45 amendments have been made to the original Act, which now treats both publishers of online pornography and its consumers on equal footing. A law so sweeping in its powers that it allows a police officer in the rank of a sub-inspector to walk in or break in to the privacy of your home and see if you were surfing porn or not."
It's an observation that would make just about any digital rights activist's skin crawl. The blogger creatively sums up a number of provisions with the following: Thou shall not author a joke. Not even forward one ; Thou shall not surf Bollywood news : Thou shall not watch porn". As reported by MediaNama, the bill passed the lower house in a hurry and without debate.
IMO: All we will need is to have the CP(M) running the country and the place will become a totally miserable oligarchy, probably run by the USA. Present Indian leadership is not too bad - seemingly - but things could quickly become deplorable if more care is not taken with legislation.
The legislation that is being discussed was known as "The Information Technology (Amendment) Bill". The posting says that under these new laws and amendments, the government is now allowed to "intercept messages from mobile phones, computers and other communication devices to investigate any offence. Not just cognizable offence, the kind you witnessed in Mumbai 26/11, but any offence."
Those two sentences alone sounds like the US's FISA act on steroids. It could very well have been inspired by laws from the United States, but other provisions discussed sounds more like provisions currently being proposed in Australia. A blogger writes, "Around 45 amendments have been made to the original Act, which now treats both publishers of online pornography and its consumers on equal footing. A law so sweeping in its powers that it allows a police officer in the rank of a sub-inspector to walk in or break in to the privacy of your home and see if you were surfing porn or not."
It's an observation that would make just about any digital rights activist's skin crawl. The blogger creatively sums up a number of provisions with the following: Thou shall not author a joke. Not even forward one ; Thou shall not surf Bollywood news : Thou shall not watch porn". As reported by MediaNama, the bill passed the lower house in a hurry and without debate.
Nandigram goes to Kolkata.
It is hardly Frankie goes to Hollywood.
Kolkata High Court had ordered the government to ban from January 1 all the 60,000 autorickshaws that use two-stroke engines as these emit huge amounts of smoke. But autorickshaw owners and drivers, backed by CPM's trade union wing CITU, had refused to go off roads anyway. Sources in the environment and transport department said the draft ban notification was prepared after officials engaged in several rounds of discussion between May and July, chalking out a timeline that was viable, practical and could be implemented. The draft was then sent to the law department for approval.
The violence on Saturday was centred around the Park Circus seven-point crossing. Fearing trouble, a large police force, including RAF platoons, was deployed. But when protesters ambushed buses, cops were taken by surprise. Trinamool activists, who supported the rickshaws CPM didn't virtually illegally license, set up roadblocks at many places, goons started dragging out passengers from taxis and disappeared before cops could get to them. A brick smashed through the windscreen of a government bus and the protesters dragged out the driver and passengers and set the vehicle on fire. Police arrested about a dozen protesters, bringing to about 30 the total number of arrests in three days of protests.buses were torched and three more wrecked on Saturday.
Banerjee is adamant. She wants a direct confrontation with Buddha of Bengal. This time the showdown is not in Nandigram. It is right here in Kolkata, the influence zone of Mamata Banerjee. People of Kolkata proper are in general are anti-communist. The prime leaders of Bengal CPI(M) are mostly from elite class of Kolkata but common people are educated enough in Kolkata not to support raw communism that works as agents of Indian oligarchs.
Operators of illegal autos bursts into violence in Kolkata. The show of force was backed by the Trinamool Congress, whose leader Mamata Banerjee squatted at a crossing that leads to the chief minister’s home to press for the release of 16 persons arrested for rioting. Trinamul led from the front in most areas where auto drivers blocked roads, damaged vehicles and prevented commuters from taking other forms of transport.
IMO: The rickshaw drivers certainly need protection from CPI(M) and Kolkata needs a fume free environment and accident reduction. This was found necessary in Mumbai and eventually autorickshaws had to be banned in central Mumbai. Nandigram Assembly by-elections are to be held on January 5, and TMC has to act with regards to those. A difficult situation all round.
It is hardly Frankie goes to Hollywood.
Kolkata High Court had ordered the government to ban from January 1 all the 60,000 autorickshaws that use two-stroke engines as these emit huge amounts of smoke. But autorickshaw owners and drivers, backed by CPM's trade union wing CITU, had refused to go off roads anyway. Sources in the environment and transport department said the draft ban notification was prepared after officials engaged in several rounds of discussion between May and July, chalking out a timeline that was viable, practical and could be implemented. The draft was then sent to the law department for approval.
The violence on Saturday was centred around the Park Circus seven-point crossing. Fearing trouble, a large police force, including RAF platoons, was deployed. But when protesters ambushed buses, cops were taken by surprise. Trinamool activists, who supported the rickshaws CPM didn't virtually illegally license, set up roadblocks at many places, goons started dragging out passengers from taxis and disappeared before cops could get to them. A brick smashed through the windscreen of a government bus and the protesters dragged out the driver and passengers and set the vehicle on fire. Police arrested about a dozen protesters, bringing to about 30 the total number of arrests in three days of protests.buses were torched and three more wrecked on Saturday.
Banerjee is adamant. She wants a direct confrontation with Buddha of Bengal. This time the showdown is not in Nandigram. It is right here in Kolkata, the influence zone of Mamata Banerjee. People of Kolkata proper are in general are anti-communist. The prime leaders of Bengal CPI(M) are mostly from elite class of Kolkata but common people are educated enough in Kolkata not to support raw communism that works as agents of Indian oligarchs.
Operators of illegal autos bursts into violence in Kolkata. The show of force was backed by the Trinamool Congress, whose leader Mamata Banerjee squatted at a crossing that leads to the chief minister’s home to press for the release of 16 persons arrested for rioting. Trinamul led from the front in most areas where auto drivers blocked roads, damaged vehicles and prevented commuters from taking other forms of transport.
IMO: The rickshaw drivers certainly need protection from CPI(M) and Kolkata needs a fume free environment and accident reduction. This was found necessary in Mumbai and eventually autorickshaws had to be banned in central Mumbai. Nandigram Assembly by-elections are to be held on January 5, and TMC has to act with regards to those. A difficult situation all round.
Friday, January 02, 2009
15-coach rakes for Vasai ?
Trials are being conducted in the dead of night on Western Railway (WR).
It is possible for WR to run 15-coach trains without waiting for fresh investments or technical changes at all stations which would essentially be a long-term target. Mail and express trains from Mumbai Central already halt at Andheri, Borivali, Vasai Road, Virar and Dahanu. With WR all set to start new terminals at Dadar and Dahanu by mid-2009, 15-coach trains could well run between these two points in the near future.
IMO: Even 2 or 3 such trains an hour could cause major improvement, some say, but will it happen like that ? After years of effort and grief, we got track quadrupling. But it did not improve matters much.
Trials are being conducted in the dead of night on Western Railway (WR).
It is possible for WR to run 15-coach trains without waiting for fresh investments or technical changes at all stations which would essentially be a long-term target. Mail and express trains from Mumbai Central already halt at Andheri, Borivali, Vasai Road, Virar and Dahanu. With WR all set to start new terminals at Dadar and Dahanu by mid-2009, 15-coach trains could well run between these two points in the near future.
IMO: Even 2 or 3 such trains an hour could cause major improvement, some say, but will it happen like that ? After years of effort and grief, we got track quadrupling. But it did not improve matters much.
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