tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124531192024-03-14T02:21:22.351+00:00Fishy TalesMore rant and the occasional bit of whimsy from Adam, creator of the original and highly organic <a href="http://www.fishonabike.com">fishonabike.com</a> (TM)Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05833657876291835481noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-69543288020951915632008-09-23T11:11:00.007+00:002008-09-23T12:03:39.299+00:00LiberalisationI'm unsure how much readers should attribute my long-term absence to abject laziness and how much to my being totally and utterly dispirited by the rise (and even the fall) of the loathsome Brown, and the continuing and shameful decline of almost everything I love about my country.<br /><br />Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself inspired by <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7621045.stm">Nick Clegg's speech to the recent Lib Dem conference</a>.<br /><br />I commend it to you.<br /><br />One of those "If only" moments...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-82606852552614797132007-06-06T15:54:00.000+00:002007-06-06T16:45:50.764+00:00A New Restoration?Well I have to get in a comment to wish a <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ARB20070512&articleId=5622">bloody good riddance </a>to Tony Blair. Sadly I think the damage has been done, and this country is no longer the place it was. A certain special individuality, bloody-mindedness and (by the same token) tolerance has been lost by us allowing ourselves to be infantilised. Aspects of the loss may well be permanent, enforced as part of the 'war against terror'. As a consequence I am less free than ever before in my life, and our children are likely to have to live with the UK electorate's collective failure to get off its arse.<br /><br />Sigh.<br /><br />However, there are glimmers of something positive in the inevitable backlash against Blair's style of government. The huge loss of trust in politicians, and even more obvious loss of interest in politics, can't be ignored forever, after all.<br /><br />So Gordon Brown is talking about introducing a written constitution and is implying <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article336096.ece">several other significant changes</a> to the way Government works.<br /><br />And the Tories' <a href="http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=democracy.taskforce.page">Democracy Taskforce</a> is turning out some very well-considered ideas, some of which are almost identical to Brown's, making them very likely to materialise. Its current paper, <a href="http://www.conservatives.com/pdf/DTF_Sofa_Government.pdf"><span style="font-style: italic;">An End to Sofa Government</span></a> is well worth a read in my opinion.<br /><br />The only problem with all this is that to realise the significance of what is being changed, I've had to do some serious Wikipedia research into stuff like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom">Parliament</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative">Royal Prerogative</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom">Prime Minister</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_the_United_Kingdom">Cabinet </a>etc etc, with an occasional detailed foray into stuff like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Laws_of_England">Fundamental Laws of England</a>. How many people are likely to do the same, and therefore have a real opinion on what has been changed, and therefore an interest in what happens? And to how many people will it just be water off a duck's back?<br /><br />I suppose we'll see.<br /><br />For the record, I actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">don't</span> want a written constitution (as promised by Brown). This country operates, and has operated for hundreds of years, under an understanding of what our rights are, without them needing to be spelled out. That's about confidence, trust and common sense. Not only would a written constitution undermine all those good things further, it would undoubtedly leave plenty of loopholes and enable many legalised forms of abuse if instituted, as now, at a time when terrorist threats are all the rage.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Extreme</span> accountability and <span style="font-style: italic;">Extreme</span> devolvement of power are, however, things to which I most strongly subscribe. Whoever introduces both of those may well get my vote.<br /><br />Well, unless it's Brown!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-8818085923464489262007-03-02T16:06:00.000+00:002007-03-02T16:25:54.254+00:00Panto SeasonHappy 2007 to all readers - just a little belated!<br /><br />But as a last furious gasp of the festivities that mark the transition from Winter to Spring, please do check out the <a href="http://allthingsbrightonbeautiful.com/panto2007/panto2007.html">Lewes Arms Dramatic Society's Panto</a>, which is coming up on 6th-10th March. This is a unique, inventive and very funny, very <span style="font-style: italic;">adult</span> offshoot of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime">Pantomime </a>tradition, and comes highly recommended precisely because it doesn't take itself seriously. Though come to that, not many traditional pantomimes do, either.<br /><br />But let's never forget that "amateurs" by definition do whatever they do out of love for it - all money raised goes to local good causes. This is LADS' 3oth year and panto, and as such they hope to add significantly to the £30,000+ so far raised for charity.<br /><br />If you live anywhere near Lewes, then please do check out the link above, and I hope to see you there.<br />Book your tickets before the chance is <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Behind You!</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1120166783761869382006-12-01T23:01:00.000+00:002007-03-26T21:54:03.600+00:00Smoke SignalsAs well as thinking <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/04/important-discoveries.html">beer</a> is one of humanity's greatest creations, I greatly enjoy smoking.<br />Here in New (Labour) Britain I immediately feel inclined to apologise for that statement, which is indeed a pathetic state of affairs. But yes, I do <span style="font-weight: bold;">enjoy</span> smoking, as opposed to reluctantly cater for my nicotine addiction, hoping someone will help or force me to give up. I started smoking as an adult (19 years old if memory serves). I made an adult choice, and as an adult I continue to make that choice.<br /><br />As of July 2007 I am to have that pleasure removed from me, and here's the rub - even in places like private clubs (let alone specifically licensed establishments), where everyone concerned is guaranteed to be of similar mind and prepared to accept the consequences. You don't have to look too far to see the implications of this. If the current Government decides that a pastime is high-risk, it is perfectly happy to ban it outright regardless of the fact that only consenting adults take part and that they endanger no-one but themselves. To how many pastimes could that principle be applied?<br /><br />Jimbob McGinty summarises it excellently on the relevant <a href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4836&&edition=1&ttl=20061201110225">BBC Have Your Say</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>to paraphrase Martin Niemoller<br /><br />When Nu-labour came for the huntsmen,<br />I remained silent;<br />I was not a huntsman.<br /><br />When they locked up the demonstrators,<br />I remained silent;<br />I was not a demonstrator.<br /><br />When they came for the smokers,<br />I did not speak out;<br />I was not a smoker.<br /><br />When they came for me,<br />there was no one left to speak out.<br /><br />I'M WORRIED THAT ONE DAY I'LL WAKE UP AND EVERYTHING THAT ISN'T COMPULSORY IS FORBIDDEN</blockquote><br />Along the same lines I reckon all concerned should read <a href="http://www.joejackson.com/">Joe Jackson's</a> excellent article <a href="http://www.joejackson.com/smokingissue.htm">The Smoking Issue.</a><br />Many of his points are cogently summarised in the <a href="http://www.joejackson.com/stubbingout.htm">Daily Telegraph</a> (incidentally, where <span style="font-style: italic;">were</span> the Tories when this legislation was voted through?? Certainly they weren't remembering Martin Niemoller, except perhaps for <a href="http://backword.me.uk/2005/January/nooneleft.html">Boris Johnson</a>).<br /><br />Let's not forget it's about facts and their abuse, as well as personal liberties. <a href="http://www.davehitt.com/facts/">Dave Hitt</a> is good on this, but also sharply points up the similarity between the current attitude and the actual historic <a href="http://www.davehitt.com/nov02/nicotine.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Nicotine Nazis</span></a>.<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>As <a href="http://www.forestonline.org/output/Page303.asp">Joe Jackson</a> pithily puts it:<br /><blockquote>Smokers are now the only minority whose minority status is quoted as justification for abuse.</blockquote>-which maybe reflects the fact that to be critical of almost any other group is illegal these days, and that we simply <span style="font-style: italic;">must</span> have our scapegoats.<br /><br />Dr Michael Fitzpatrick continues the theme from a cogent medical viewpoint in <a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA7A4.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">We have ways of making you stop smoking</span></a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>For the anti-smoking zealots, the loss of civil liberties resulting from their widening range of bans and proscriptions is justified by the anticipated health gain. Yet, as the great microbiologist Rene Dubos observed, health should not be considered an end in itself, but as 'the condition best suited to reach goals that each individual formulates for himself' [The Mirage of Health (1960)]. <span style="font-weight: bold;">By curtailing the autonomy of the self-determining individual, authoritarian public health policies infantilise society, weaken democracy and diminish humanity.</span><br /></blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">[my emphasis]</span><br /><br /><br /><br />I hope all this isn't prophetic about the near future. But it certainly reflects the direction in which this once proud and individualistic country is heading.<br />Pity us.<br /><br />Alternatively you could take part in a little direct democracy, and <a href="http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/smokers-united/">sign an online petition at Number 10</a> :<br /><blockquote>We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to cease the persecution of smokers and allow indoor smoking areas in private establishments. </blockquote>Small but important steps in the right direction.<br /><br />Incidentally, no-one should con themselves into thinking there is any scientific evidence that passive smoking harms anybody. Please <span style="font-weight: bold;">do</span> research this yourselves on the Web (obviously ensuring you take in both sides of the argument, e.g. <a href="http://www.ash.org.uk/">ASH</a> and <a href="http://www.forestonline.org/">FOREST</a>, and try to locate original sources) because we need more people checking out facts for themselves. But a cogent <a href="http://www.junkscience.com/news/euwsjets.html">summary</a> is provided by Lorraine Mooney, a medical demographer, for the Wall Street Journal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1163434246948462542006-11-13T14:34:00.000+00:002007-03-26T16:05:21.184+00:00Bitter Words from Greene KingA fine example of the kind of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublespeak">doublespeak</a> you get from governments and corporations these days is <a href="http://www.greeneking.co.uk/">Greene King</a>'s statement that it wants to <span style="font-weight: bold;">"provide its customers with greater choice"</span> by removing the much-loved Lewes-brewed beer <a href="http://www.harveys.org.uk/">Harvey's Best</a> from the much-loved Lewes local the <a href="http://www.lewesarms.org.uk/">Lewes Arms</a>.<br /><br />What <a href="http://www.greeneking.co.uk/">Greedy King</a> means by these words, of course, is that it wants to <span style="font-weight: bold;">ignore</span> an 80% Arms' <span style="font-weight: bold;">customer choice</span> and impose <span style="font-weight: bold;">its own</span> will by stocking its own choice of beers. It's very much dictatorship rather than democracy. Yes, we get thrown the sop that Harvey's may appear as a Guest Ale from time to time if we're good boys and girls, but that, too is a slimy political move that postpones protest until it's too late.<br /><br />I dearly hope - as should <a href="http://www.greeneking.co.uk/">Greede King</a> - that the pub doesn't shed so many of its key regulars for enough of the time that its viability as a real community pub (which, incidentally, raises a great deal for local charities) is affected. But I have to note that my own winter attendance at the pub was reduced significantly by the loss of Harvey's Old soon after Greene King took over, and the fact is that the exceptionally good pint of Harvey's Best served at the Arms is inextricably tied up with my perceptions of the pub. It's also a bit relevant that I think Greene King's standard ales these days barely qualify as real ales in terms of character and interest. They've been homogenised for the mass market.<br /><br />The whole grisly story is summarised by the superbly well-run <a href="http://lewesarms.blogspot.com/">Lewes Arms blog</a> or, of course, the <a href="http://www.lewesarms.org.uk/">Lewes Arms website</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Addendum</span><br />26 March 07: <br />I'm fairly pleased to note progress of the campaign to reinstate Harvey's at the Arms after a few months. There has been a boycott of the pub which has seriously impacted on sales there, but at the same time (and most importantly in my opinion) most of the pub's many activities are continuing "in exile". The Lewes Arms Community is alive, well and drinking Harvey's elsewhere until either Greene King sees the light on the road to Damascus or the Arms is passed on to more sensible owners.<br /><br />Greene King is still receiving a constant trickle of negative publicity as a result of its inflexibility, capped recently by articles in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2041086,00.html">Guardian</a> and <a href="http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=16&storycode=54733">the Publican</a>. I also note that a <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=20&hl=en&q=greene+king&btnG=Search&meta=">Google for Greene King</a> now produces a negative hit down the bottom of the first page of results. Also the situation at the Arms is summarised on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greene_King#The_Lewes_Arms">Wikipedia's entry for Greene King</a> which although completely verifiable and objective doesn't put GK in a good light.<br /><br />Feet and guns come to mind. And even in a hard-nosed business sense Greene King's strategy up to now has proved a real loser. Time to reassess and regroup, which may be part of the thinking behind the <a href="http://www.greeneking.co.uk/newsitems/item14.pdf">Greene King restructure</a> . Well, we can hope!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1154105541030166222006-07-28T14:24:00.000+00:002006-07-28T16:52:21.106+00:00Learning from (bitter) experienceI'm very grateful to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/newstalk/correspondent_biographies/256153.stm">Jim Muir</a> of the BBC for having summarised the current war in Lebanon so cogently in 2 articles:<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5222154.stm">History repeats with a vengeance</a><br /></li><li> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5223210.stm">Washington risks a wider conflict</a></li></ul>He's saved me having to find words to capture my own incoherent and inchoate feelings on the matter, but more importantly he puts it in a historic context that makes the most likely consequences of current actions scarily apparent. I sincerely hope that - despite his wealth of experience and unarguable authority on such matters - he is completely wrong.<br /><br />There's a simple question I'd like to put to all readers: out of the IDF and Hezbollah, which army is subjecting the greater number of innocent civilians to the most terror?<br /><br />I imagine the response from pro-<span style="font-style: italic;">War Against Terror</span> people would be along the lines of Hezbollah having caused the current war, and Hezbollah using "cowardly" tactics like hiding amongst civilians, therefore Hezbollah is responsible for all the suffering and death endured by innocent Lebanese civilians. But that's tantamount to saying Israel has no choice in the matter; in its exact response, its targets, the weapons it uses, the intensity of its attack.. everything, really. Which in turn means that Hezbollah effectively tells the IDF what to do. Doesn't really wash, does it?<br /><br />I'm afraid that Israel increasingly makes me think of abusive parents that were once themselves abused children. Unsure exactly what role the US and (shamefully) the UK play according to that analogy. The UK would probably be a crap representative from Social Services who talks the talk but is too lily-livered to confront the abusive parent until the evidence of abuse is completely irrefutable, e.g. the child is mortally wounded. The US, perhaps, would be the recent male rape victim who wants the opportunity to exact a particularly slow, painful and nasty vengeance on the rapist when it finds him. Most people tell the US this vigilante action would be illegal and may well make it as bad as the rapist, but Israel slaps him on the back and says it's a damn fine idea.<br /><br />Other answers on a postcard, please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1152716244874548652006-07-12T14:49:00.000+00:002006-07-12T14:57:24.890+00:00Poetic justice for Iraq?I always had a soft spot for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lear">Edward Lear</a>'s <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://ingeb.org/songs/theywent.html">The Jumblies</a>, so I'm bound to react well to a rewrite that says it all about Iraq:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2004/12/27/the-godlies.html">The Godlies</a></span><br /><br />Simultaneously very funny and very painful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1145981220904115372006-04-25T11:20:00.000+00:002006-04-25T16:07:00.986+00:00Nighthealing - music by John WilliamsWell, you <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2006/02/good-for-soul.html">can't say I didn't warn you</a>! My friend <a href="http://nighthealing.com/">John Williams</a> - no, not the <a href="http://www.johnwilliamscomposer.com/">famous composer</a> - although John is indeed a composer and will doubtless be just as famous in the near future (and not the fairly famous <a href="http://plum.cream.org/williams/">guitarist</a> either, although John does indeed play guitar as well as keyboards) - has seen reason and ceased providing a <span style="font-style: italic;">free download</span> of his most popular piece of music, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://nighthealing.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Nighthealing</span></a>. Now you'll have to buy it from <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/williamsjohn?">CD Baby</a> (or email John and arrange purchase, pending other outlets like UK ones coming on board).<br /><br />The good news is that even those who <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> already downloaded a copy will miss out on (a) The extensive remastering and (b) The cool & funky packaging. Definitely worth just under $13, or about 8 quid in real money.<br /><br />This is good stuff, and if you like music that takes you on a journey, tells a story and in which you can lose yourself - and especially if you like gazing at the night sky from time to time - then this is for you. Give the samples a listen, either on the <a href="http://nighthealing.com/">Nighthealing site</a> or on <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/williamsjohn?">CD Baby</a>, and you'll see what I mean.<br /><br />My personal favourite is the closing track <span style="font-style: italic;">Lunar</span>, primarily because I love the slightly jungly rhythm and the healthy slug of (less ambient) <a href="http://www.tangerinedream.org/">Tangerine Dream</a> in it. <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Nighthealing</span> itself appeals in a different way. It's more relaxing and absorbing, transporting and transforming. Much like the second half of <a href="http://katebush.com/">Kate Bush</a>'s CD <span style="font-style: italic;">A Sky of Honey</span>, it captures a journey into and through the night. It begins with the <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek/zodiac.html">Zodiacal Light</a> just after sunset, witnesses a <span style="font-style: italic;">Moonrise</span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://moonsystem.s8.xrea.com/images/moonrise.jpg">link to cool picture</a></span>, then looks out and becomes lost in the stars (<a href="http://nighthealing.com/night-music.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Stars in their Sockets</span></a>), on into <a href="http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/daoism&human-civilization/daoism-literature&art/pg5-2-5-23-16.asp"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Butterfly's Dream</span></a>. For you, like for the Taoist, <a href="http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/chuang.htm">Chuang Tzu</a>, the dream of being a butterfly (or of flying among the stars?) is so perfect that, on waking, you wonder whether the dream is in fact that you are a person. Your doubts grow as the stars thin out and fade, and in this darkest part of the night (<span style="font-style: italic;">Dark Matter</span>) you look back and mourn the loss of the stars and of their innocent joy. But exactly as you come down completely from the trip, as the night breathes its last and all is lost, the sun comes up. And with the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dawn</span> everything is - epically - reborn.<br /><br />I'm probably heavily overplaying the mysticism here. The appeal of <span style="font-style: italic;">Nighthealing</span> is actually quite straightforward - it's nice to listen to! If you must have a comparison, I keep thinking of <a href="http://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/">Jean Michel Jarre</a>'s old albums, <a href="http://www.sleepbot.com/ambience/page/jarre.html">Equinoxe and Oxygene</a> (the latter to a lesser extent), especially the more atmospheric, "sweeping" parts.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Freefall</span> has a distinct sound again, and provides a nice counterpoint and break from the other pieces, which are more visual. It's a kind of meditative piece or mantra, building around a single simple phrase that gradually unfolds and evolves into something much more intricate and colourful. It works quite nicely as a background piece, but once you start listening to a particular line you get thoroughly absorbed. Hmm, actually a lot of John's music is like that..<br /><br />Anyway, I've said my bit. Give <a href="http://nighthealing.com/">Nighthealing</a> a listen (for a proper listen rather than a taster, of course, you'll need to buy it!) and let us know what you think. <br /><br />Oh, did I say that I like it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1140629242756500282006-02-22T16:28:00.000+00:002006-04-21T11:13:45.653+00:00Good for the SoulI'd like to plug some worthy musical endeavours by a couple of friends, so I will. Especially directed at those who, like me, find an occasional soak in mellow acoustic stuff good for the soul.<br /><br />First there's <a href="http://www.tunetribe.com/Artist?artist_id=19612">Inky</a>'s new track <a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.tunetribe.com/Album?album_id=334803">Balfour Street</a> (which you can hear at the link) sung by <a href="http://www.fxproject.net/annabellamb/index.html">Annabel Lamb</a>, with guitar by <a href="http://www.stevehackett.com/">Steve Hackett</a> , subtly backed by <a href="http://www.stevehackett.com/acoustic2005/acoustic2005dates.html">Roger King</a> on cello. Very nice indeed, and worth much more than the 99p being asked for - especially as that is all going to the charity <a href="http://www.hope-for-children.org/">HOPE for Children</a>. So check out <a href="http://www.hope-for-children.org/NEWS/2006/INKY.html">Inky's message</a> on the HOPE site and see if you feel inclined to contribute another few quid to a good cause.<br /><br />Second there's <a href="http://musicofthetrees.com/biography.html">Paul Forrest</a>'s long-awaited album <a style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" href="http://musicofthetrees.com/">Music Of The Trees</a>. The title says it all, really, though I should say that Paul has made the trees a wee bit more vocal than you may be used to, with the aid of various string, wind and percussion instruments. The result is most relaxing - possibly even "healing" as advertised! Check out the <a href="http://musicofthetrees.com/listen.html">track samples</a> and see what you think.<br /><br />Oh, and I still reckon my mate <a href="http://www.nighthealing.com/">John</a> is mad - or at least extremely generous - to leave <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.nighthealing.com/">Nighthealing</a> available for free, most especially the last two tracks <span style="font-style: italic;">Freefall</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Lunar</span>. I advise all readers to get this stuff downloaded before he comes to his senses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1138363996412956662006-01-27T09:50:00.000+00:002006-04-25T11:19:42.190+00:00Voting for Terrorism?The resounding <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4650788.stm">victory of Hamas</a> in the recent Palestinian elections puts the West in a bit of a pickle. It's very much a self-created pickle, and to be honest I was expecting this kind of situation to arise in Iraq (Home of Western Democracy in the East <span style="font-size:78%;">TM</span>). Which isn't to say it <span style="font-style: italic;">won't</span> happen there at some point..<br /><br />Anyway, it's a straightforward quandary: what happens if, once you give/allow people the freedom to decide their own destiny, they choose a path directly contrary to everything you stand for?<br /><br />This is a bit like a classic parent/teenager thing - once teenagers are allowed to make their own choices the first choices of many are highly likely to test that new-found freedom. If the parents step in and say "you can't do that", then of course they prove themselves unchanged - still the same oppressors, who never genuinely care about what their children want, and who will do their damnedest to maintain their grip. So this is a test, and to a degree it's a test of faith. Faith that the children will ultimately make good choices, even if they're not <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> choices.<br /><br />Let me emphasise that I don't mean to belittle the Palestinians here, or imply that they're "just children" (big word, "just" isn't it?). No-one has suggested that the election was in any way invalid, the Hamas victory was decisive at almost 60% of the vote, and you can't argue with a 77% turnout. Hamas has a much greater mandate than the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/constituencies/default.stm">current UK Government</a> (35.3% of vote, 61.3% turnout).<br /><br />And there's the whole problem - because to refuse all dialogue would be to seriously "dis" the Palestinian people; and even democracy itself. This has been a fair victory by the West's own rules, and we should be very wary of changing those rules after the fact to suit our own purposes. That would close out the only chance for peaceful resolution of the core Middle Eastern conflict. If the (international) system is fiddled so that the Palestinian people's opinion can never really be expressed, how should they interpret that, except as oppression? And more chillingly, how can they overcome that perceived oppression if the cards for a legal and peaceful solution are always stacked against them? What would we do in such an apparently hopeless situation? It's easy enough to see that many would find a slave's life unbearable, or at least fairly valueless. And if those people genuinely believed their sacrifice (according to a greater plan) could help their loved ones -or even country - escape slavery, then there are obvious conclusions. Oh, belief in an afterlife helps, too.<br /><br />So I hope that our glorious leaders tread very carefully and sensitively on this one, because it could be a make-or-break moment in Middle Eastern history. It will dictate relationships with the West for years to come.<br /><br />Incidentally, it's interesting that a "terrorist government" (which is the new Palestinian government according to Israel) is no longer one that terrorises its own subjects, but rather one that condones terrorism against other countries. Formerly known as a Rogue State in the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1935644.stm">Axis of Evil</a>, in fact..<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />Addendum</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">25 April 2006</span>: I'm glad to see that, following yet another <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4940908.stm">horrific terrorist attack</a> on an Egyptian tourist resort, Hamas - aka the Palestinian Government - has nailed its colours to the mast <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4941100.stm">in no uncertain terms</a>:<br /><blockquote>Our government strongly condemns this criminal act which flouts our religion, shakes Palestinian national security and works against Arab interests. </blockquote>The significance is that a lot of the Bad Guys (like al-Qaeda) would doubtless like to gain the kind of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4937232.stm">popular support among Arabs</a> that the Palestinian cause enjoys. By explicitly standing against them, and pointing out - <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/07/north-wind-and-sun.html">as have other Arab commentators</a> - that this kind of action actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">flouts</span> Islam, Hamas is doing some notable good here. Of course there is a healthy bit of self-interest involved as well, but isn't there always?<br /><br />Either way I expect many Arabs are increasingly frustrated with how such terrorists acts work against them and effectively destroy their livelihoods. I'll bet the terrorists themselves are seen as impatient - possibly even self-indulgent - mavericks. And, Arab or not, we'll all be glad to see them rot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1136311345937728542006-01-03T14:51:00.000+00:002006-01-03T18:02:25.983+00:00Happy BeginningsA couple of things that, for me, made 2006 start out very pleasantly, and which I'm happy to plug to death:<br /><ol> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon">Joss Whedon</a>'s <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_%28television_series%29">Firefly</a>. Yep, I know this aired on UK television well over two years ago, but that was only on subscription services. It took until now for me to buy the complete series on DVD (cheapskates note, well over 12 hours entertainment for just £15.99 at <a href="http://www11.cd-wow.com/detail_results_2.php?product_code=10490">CD-WOW</a> !) as an Xmas present for my wife. Honestly didn't expect to be so impressed myself. I did enjoy<a href="http://www.serenitymovie.com/"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Serenity</span></a>, the movie that arose from and significantly rounded off the series, but the series is much much better, because you get the chance to know and love the characters and settings and really appreciate how fantastically well-crafted everything is. A gloriously successful mix of science-fiction, western, adventure, morality tale, comedy, romance, sexuality, space opera and more, but all uniquely character-driven by some very unique, plausible and well-defined characters. Clearly a labour of love for all concerned, and such a shame that Whedon never had the chance to develop the story of the movie over several TV series. However, DVD sales of the Complete Series and the movie may just make it so that we do see more of this universe in some shape or form. I sincerely hope so.</li> <li><a href="http://www.katebush.com/">Kate Bush</a>'s new album <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BEPLUE/qid=1136309751/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/202-9361618-5951012">Aerial</a>. A present to me from my wife, which was on my Xmas list more as a curiosity than a must-have. So my expectations happily confounded again, because this is a blindingly good (double CD) album, which I've played time and again all the way through without yet finding tracks that I'm happy to skip. You can check out the <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=20&hl=en&q=kate+bush+aerial+review&btnG=Search&meta=">reviews</a> out there, but I think it's really something you just have to hear, and its appeal is certainly not limited to Kate Bush fans. I've not really gone crazy over Kate Bush myself since the Ninth Wave (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004R7TP/qid=1136309751/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_11_3/202-9361618-5951012">Hounds of Love</a> B-side), which was over 20 years ago. But Aerial really does it for me - more of an orchestrated, classical work or immersive soundscape than a mere collection of (very good) songs by a (very accomplished) female artist. But the real beauty is that you can have it both ways, depending upon how you listen.</li> </ol> Oh, I also decided over the last couple of months that <a href="http://www.adriandenning.co.uk/radiohead.html">Hail to the Thief</a> is at least as good as <a href="http://www.adriandenning.co.uk/radiohead.html">OK Computer</a>, and may be better. But that's another story.<br /><br />What, me? A lover of progressive music? Never!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1134054219127444222005-12-08T14:02:00.000+00:002006-02-23T12:33:33.700+00:00Moral VictoriesAfter 3 months in Rip Van Winkle mode I awake to good tidings: the Law Lords ruling I first mentioned back in May's <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/05/tortuous-thread.html">Tortuous Thread</a> has <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4509530.stm">found in favour</a> of common decency and morality over fear and control-freakery (my words, of course). More specifically it has specified that secret evidence which <span style="font-style: italic;">might have been</span> obtained by <span style="font-weight: bold;">torture</span> cannot be used in UK courts. This includes some evidence obtained in US detention camps, which is significant.<br /><br />I like part of Charles (Big Brother) Clarke's response:<br /><blockquote>Mr Clarke said it was "one thing to condemn torture as we all do" but another to "find a solution to the question that this case raises which occupies the moral high ground but at the same time serves the public interest and is practicable"</blockquote>No, mate, I'm sorry - it really is as simple as the Law Lords made it sound. It is <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> going to be in the public interest to condone torture, however implicitly. And if the definition of 'torture' were that unclear, how come <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4386290.stm">memoranda of understanding can be agreed</a> with other countries that meaningfully guarantee people deported back to those countries will not suffer torture, persecution or other unarguable abuses of human rights?<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4509250.stm">Condoleeza Rice is currently playing a very similar game</a> for the US. The attitude is something like "Well, of course that has been our approach all along - how could you ever doubt us and suspect us of playing fast and loose with human rights??" But I would stake money on the fact that there is a heck of a lot of running around cleaning up and covering up tracks behind the scenes. And an unequivocal statement in this area is equivalent to backing down, and thereby changing a policy. - a policy that really was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene">obscene</a> .<br /><br />I'll sleep a little easier tonight.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Addendum<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">23rd February 2006</span>: The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4742644.stm">BBC reports</a> that the <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/foreign_affairs_committee.cfm">ForeignAffairs Committee</a> has turned out some very pithy and stinging comments in its report on Human Rights.<br /><blockquote>We conclude that the government has a duty to enquire into the allegations of extraordinary rendition and black sites under the Convention against Torture, and to make clear to the USA that any extraordinary rendition to states where suspects may be tortured is completely unacceptable.</blockquote>and<br /><blockquote>They also turn their fire on America's Guantanamo Bay prison camp, arguing that the centre "diminishes the USA's moral authority and is a hindrance to the effective pursuit of the war against terrorism". </blockquote><blockquote> "We recommend that the government make loud and public its objections to the existence of such a prison regime," say the MPs.</blockquote>Hear, hear. If we really are a good friend to the US we should be able to tell it straight. Agreement without question is for creeps. Or cowards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1125966071980743462005-09-05T23:53:00.000+00:002005-12-18T20:13:47.676+00:00Balmy StuffI confess to having been a little glum for the last couple of days, having just come back to earth with a bump from a near-perfect holiday in <a href="http://visitbath.co.uk/site/home">Bath</a>, <a href="http://www.salcombeinformation.co.uk/">Salcombe</a>, <a href="http://www.penzance.co.uk/">Penzance</a> (taking in <a href="http://www.stives-cornwall.co.uk/">St Ives</a> and notably <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/">the Tate</a> where I fell for the work of <a href="http://www.redfern-gallery.com/pages/thumbnaillist/13.html">Paul Feiler</a>), and - last but foremost - <a href="http://www.coverack.org.uk/">Coverack</a> (where you simply must go <a href="http://www.coverack.co.uk/">windsurfing</a>).<br /><br />So I deeply appreciated my bro Steve (creator of the world-famous <a href="http://www.undounderwear.com/">UndoUnderwear</a>) (for his sins) sending me the following and putting a great big smile on my face:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.jcbsong.co.uk/jcbvideo.asp"><span style="font-weight: bold;">JCB Song</span></a><br /><br />Check it out.<br />And then we can all go <span style="font-style: italic;">Ahhhhhh</span> together!<br /><br />The band is <a href="http://nizlopi.com/">Nizlopi</a>, by the way, and you can buy their album using a link from the video page.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Addendum</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">18th December</span>: ..and now the JCB Song is Number 1 in the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/singles.shtml">UK Charts</a>.<br />A <span style="font-style: italic;">Top Laugh</span> indeed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1123691391922310622005-08-10T15:34:00.000+00:002005-10-05T12:26:34.756+00:00Future HistoryA little follow-up to <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/05/bloody-oil.html">Bloody Oil</a>.<br /><br />I stumbled across a BBC magazine article that emphasises <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4135122.stm">our utter dependence on oil</a>, and how rising oil prices will affect everyone. This again got me thinking about how the security of every country (and therefore of the world) is indeed dependent upon its access to oil now and - crucially - for as long as possible into coming years. I'm near-certain that future history lessons will show many current foreign policy decisions, and especially wars, as being part of the <a href="http://wolf.readinglitho.co.uk/mainpages/oilwars.html">Oil Wars</a> that commenced with Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait, <a href="http://www.studyworld.com/biography/historical_figures/saddam_hussein.htm">largely for its oil</a>. <span style="font-size:85%;">[just in passing, check out <a href="http://www.exmosis.net/id.25"><span style="font-style: italic;">How Saddam should have invaded Kuwait</span></a> - very clever]</span><br /><br />As pointed out by <a href="http://wolf.readinglitho.co.uk/index.html">Wolf at the Door</a>, coming wars will focus on (or rather be focussed by) <a href="http://wolf.readinglitho.co.uk/mainpages/oilwars.html#future">the US</a> - which has a particularly strong army allied with a particularly strong need for oil allied with particular supply problems.<br /><br />...which in turn takes me back to a conversation I had last weekend wherein a friend pointed out the importance of the US having bases in the Middle East, saying that he would be very surprised if the US <span style="font-style: italic;">ever</span> pulls out of Iraq. Well at least while there's still oil in the region.<br /><br />I note that a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=9385">new base is currently being set up</a> to "assist the Iraqis in controlling their borders", housing 1.800 soldiers. And we should note that the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/08/28/wsaud28.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/08/28/ixworld.html">US pulled out of Saudi Arabia</a> back in 2003, so is fully committed to Iraq if it <span style="font-style: italic;">does</span> want a base in the Middle East.<br /><br />The proof is in what happens. But what are the bets that continuing "security problems" will justify the maintenance of a garrison of US troops in Iraq for many years to come, and that nobody will ever quite get on top of the insurgents?<br /><br />It seems to me that those who want to establish Iraq as a Muslim state ("fundamentalists" for want of a better term) play right into the hands of the US here, as they will always be fighting against those Iraqis who want a more secular state, thereby creating a security situation which <span style="font-style: italic;">justifies</span> the presence of US troops rather than leaves it exposed as an anomaly. If they had any sense at all - and possibly if they really wanted what they claim to want (i.e. freedom from occupation) - they would be playing a more subtle, longer-term game.<br /><br />I don't usually subscribe to conspiracy theories, but suspicious, isn't it?<br /><br />Of course, it might be that they're all just a bunch of unsubtle and impatient nutters who long for nothing more than a quick fix of martyrdom.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Addendum</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">16th August</span>: An interesting article, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4077802.stm">'Peak Oil' enters mainstream debate</a>, shows <a href="http://www.peakoil.org/">Peak Oil</a> is no longer a fringe subject. Given that <a href="http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0406/feature5/fulltext.html">National Geographic</a> took the subject very seriously over a year ago, it's most definitely no longer <span style="font-style: italic;">lunatic</span> fringe. On the contrary, its increasingly general relevance is striking.<br />I'm reminded of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming">(anthropogenic) global warming/climate change</a>, which 20-30 years ago was mostly dismissed as a rather dramatic hypothesis, but mutated to become a generally-accepted fact, indeed one that scientists had supposedly subscribed to all along. <a href="http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhnsnap.html">Kuhn</a> was spot on - history gets rewritten and the <a href="http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhn.html#chapter11">scientific revolution becomes invisible</a>. <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/jcls1701.htm">Plus ça change..</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5th October</span>: BBC - <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4308980.stm">US faces up to energy cut-backs</a><br /><blockquote>Hurricanes Katrina and Rita appear to have achieved what green campaigners and the California energy crisis of 2001 could not, namely the belated conversion of the Bush administration to energy efficiency..</blockquote>Hmmm, maybe some things <span style="font-weight: bold;">can</span> change.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1122480236856293202005-07-29T15:54:00.000+00:002005-10-05T12:34:52.666+00:00Rumours of WarWords matter.<br /><br />I was inordinately pleased to read that the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4719169.stm">US Government is to abandon the phrase "War on Terror"</a>.<br />A Whitehouse spokesman clarified:<br /><p></p><blockquote> The 'war' is more than a military response, it is a battle of ideas and a struggle against extremism, and all aspects of the US Government and its allies around the world need to be called upon in fighting it. In Afghanistan, the extremist Taleban regime no longer has a base of operations, a clearly identified location that requires a war ... It's a different situation again in London where you've got, say, a second generation British Muslim influenced by the preachings of a radical cleric.</blockquote>Absolutely. When one key "tactic" may be to engage disenchanted sections of the electorate (e.g. through <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/05/changes-for-better.html">electoral change</a> and by providing more <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/06/monsters-from-id.html">direct democracy</a>) the language - and thus approach - of war is not only inappropriate, but counter-productive. If you try to <span style="font-style: italic;">force</span> integration the result is likely to be further <span style="font-style: italic;">dis</span>integration. You can't impose freedom; you can only set aside and protect the space in which it can thrive.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/871kbaxp.asp?pg=1">Irwin M. Stelzer</a> clearly sees as a weakness<br /><blockquote>...the unwillingness of the majority of the British people to recognize that they are indeed in a <span style="font-weight: bold;">war</span>. The flak-jacketed, heavily armed men and women lining my road to Heathrow last week were cops, not troops. America is at war, Britain is playing cops and criminals.<br /><br />[Blair] is the prisoner of a dominant political class that is preventing Britain from responding to the threat the nation faces--and that threatens the durability of the Anglo-American alliance.<br /><br /> <span style="font-size:85%;">[My emphasis]</span><br /></blockquote>And <a href="http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/printer_050714-elder-what-terrorists-want.php">Larry Elder</a> (thanks for the reference, <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/05/what-terrorists-want.html">Anon</a>) sees the current situation as an almost apocalytic war, and so defined by Muslim law:<br /><br /><blockquote>Islamic Sharia law says Muslims must present non-Muslims with the three choices from Sura 9:29 of the Koran: conversion, submission to Islamic rule with second-class status and a special tax called the jizya, or death.<br /><br />For those of us who support freedom, minority rights, women’s rights, religious freedom, rule of law, transparent government, and separation of religion and state — they want mass suicide. Nothing less.<br /></blockquote><br />Strong stuff. Not to mention scaremongering. Check out my old mate <a href="http://www.aol40.com/ac5.htm">Osama Abdallah</a> (<a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/07/north-wind-and-sun.html">again</a>), who would, I reckon, take exception to Mr Elder's somewhat selective use of the Quran.<br /><br />In "<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-terrorism/understanding_2692.jsp">Terrorism: not who but why?</a>" Turi Munthe looks at and untangles the primary causes of recent terrorism, and proposes future policies that may help remedy the situation. Unsurprisingly, none of these involve acts of war. Such idealism, eh?<br /><br /><br /><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1122570138243246102005-07-28T15:57:00.000+00:002005-07-28T17:02:18.250+00:00Political TerroristsSo the IRA has <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4724599.stm">formally ordered an end to its armed campaign</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">About bloody time.</span><br /><br />Personally, I'm amazed that the UK's very own friendly neighborhood terrorists have had the nerve to continue to exist at all since September 11th, when some of their strongest supporters experienced terrorism first-hand.<br /><br />The continued barrage of bombings by "insurgents" fighting the "occupation" in Iraq - with the subsequent death of so many innocents, including many children - should also have given some IRA apologists food for thought. Any comparisons?<br /><br /> And the icing on the cake is that the <span style="font-style: italic;">last</span> London bombings - 1996 bus bomb, 2001 car bombs - were , of course, acts of the IRA and "Real" IRA, respectively. <br /><br />Blair's comments about <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4718223.stm">al-Qaeda being entirely different to the IRA</a> are plain foolish, a desperate attempt,perhaps, to justify the government's communication with the IRA when officially speaking there can be <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3673028.stm">no negotiation with terrorists</a> these days. Any difference is more quantitative than qualitative (though that's only from a global point of view - in UK terms the IRA has killed far more innocents than al Qaeda as matter stand).<br /><br />We should note that the IRA maintain their so-called <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4724599.stm">"armed struggle" was entirely legitimate</a>. So we can expect no acknowledgement of error or apology. What's more the IRA is most definitely <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> disbanding. Could be business as usual any time. So let's see what happens with weapons as a first big step.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sluggerotoole.com/">Slugger O'Toole</a> is an excellent site for all things Northern Irish. Highly recommended point of reference as matters progress (and for details on crucial matters past at that). Here's <a href="http://www.sluggerotoole.com/archives/2005/07/first_impressio.php#more">Mick Fealty's first take on the IRA statement</a>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1122396525363516122005-07-26T15:49:00.000+00:002005-07-26T21:34:56.170+00:00The North Wind and the SunVery worrying: I'm actually in partial agreement with <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4716505.stm">Tony Blair today</a>.<br /><br />Indeed, the war in Iraq - or more accurately, the continuing presence of British troops - <span style="font-style: italic;">cannot</span> be used to justify the London bombings and the slaughter of innocents. No matter <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html">Bin Laden's slippery statements</a> (2002) about the American people (and by extension anyone in a democratic country) being "the ones who choose their government by way of their own free will; <span style="font-weight: bold;">a choice which stems from their agreement to its policies</span>" - that's just trite over-simplification and obfuscation. How many of those murdered actually voted for the current government? How many marched in protest against government foreign policy? How many may have been actively pushing for change of policy, possibly even succeeding in some small way? Many were Muslims, of course. You can't justify that other than by saying God knows his own and will give them a good afterlife ; small comfort to their bereaved families.<br /><br />The other justification used is that tens of thousands of innocent Muslims (including very many women and children) have died as a result of British/US foreign policy, with <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4694123.stm">Iraq being a case in point</a>. Suicide bombings etc merely return the compliment. Well, I certainly wouldn't argue with the fact that an obscene number of innocents died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed the original <a href="http://www.fishonabike.com/rant.htm">rant page</a> that led to this blog was obsessed with the matter. But what is an appropriate response by those wronged, or rather one to be made on their behalf? Does it really make them feel better to see the same suffering inflicted on other innocents? I'd expect them to be more strongly in favour of preventing such atrocities ever happening again. Mothers are mothers, fathers are fathers, brothers are brothers and sisters sisters no matter where you are in the world, regardless of race, culture or creed. Would one mother who had lost her son want <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> other mother to lose hers, save perhaps another who had actually committed the murder, or at least had unarguable direct responsibility? Surely the love of family is a powerful force for good, something to be deeply revered even within what is seen as a corrupt and/or decadent society?<br /><br />Perhaps it comes down to good old-fashioned vengeance, underwritten by God, as according to <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html">Bin Laden</a>:<br /><blockquote>Allah, the Almighty, legislated the permission and the option to take revenge. Thus, if we are attacked, then we have the right to attack back. Whoever has destroyed our villages and towns, then we have the right to destroy their villages and towns.... And whoever has killed our civilians, then we have the right to kill theirs.</blockquote>But this doesn't tally at all with, say, <a href="http://www.answering-christianity.com/no_personal_revenge.htm">Osama Abdallah of Answering Christianity</a> (who would certainly appear to be a seriously devout Muslim and dedicated student of the Quran):<br /><blockquote>Whether people speak evil of you, in your presence or behind your back, or they do evil to you in either of those ways, all is known to Allah Almighty. It is not for you to punish. Your best course is not to do evil in your turn, but to do what will best repel the evil. Two evils do not make a good.</blockquote>Osama backs this up with copious quotes from the Quran. He does the same in speaking powerfully against the <a href="http://www.aol40.com/ac5.htm">interpretation of Jihad</a> so beloved of so-called Islamic terrorists. A highly recommended read.<br /><br />The bombings can't even be justified as a means of preventing further atrocities against Muslims, for the simple reason that <span style="font-style: italic;">they will never change anything</span>. Part of me is delighted to be able to say this, because it means that we will never allow our decisions to be dictated by terrorists. Part of me is deeply saddened, because I would personally like to see the UK out of Iraq as soon as possible, and now it won't happen for quite a while. If anything the bombings will have served to keep us there for longer. It's a bit of a <a href="http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/north.html">North Wind and Sun</a> thing - the more we're pushed, the more obdurate we will become, and the more we will draw together against a common enemy. <br /><br />So wasn't Spain's response to the terrible Madrid Bombings <a href="http://www.davidstuff.com/incorrect/crespo2.htm">appeasement</a>, letting Al Qaeda get what it wanted? <a href="http://www.reason.com/links/links031704.shtml">Certainly not</a>. And it's very important that everyone realises that.<br /><br />Because if any terrorist group is ever seen to be getting what it wants by murdering innocents then the killing will never ever stop.<br /><br />And I couldn't disagree more with <a href="http://www.j-n-v.org/London_Blasts/L_B_rapid_rebuttal_050710_part2.htm">Justice not Vengeance</a>:<br /><blockquote>British withdrawal from Iraq is a fundamental building block for creating a safe and vibrant Iraq, free from exploitation and violence. We should withdraw from Iraq because it is the right thing to do, and it so happens that this will also increase the security of the British people.<br /></blockquote>If only it were true.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1121788689165330482005-07-19T17:00:00.000+00:002005-07-19T16:00:06.066+00:00Thank God for SatireJust (re)discovered the highly satirical UK web publication the <a href="http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/">Rockall Times</a>, and have been laughing my head off. Excellent stuff, does wonders for the soul. And, incidentally, is a fine example of freedom of speech in action. The day this kind of writing is threatened or damaged by legislation (e.g. the proposed <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3873323.stm">Religious Hatred Law</a> , <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4112118.stm">just possibly</a>) is the day we must stand up for our right to send up, regardless of how powerful the people or organisations in the firing line.<br /><br />Anyway, in the latest article in the RT, <a href="http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2005/07/18/brits-battle-on.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Defiant Brits Battle On</span></a> there is a paragraph which I just have to share:<br /><blockquote>..the problem lies in the Koran's failure to explicitly rule out suicide bombing as a legitimate weapon of <em>jihad</em>. One scholar told <cite>The Rockall Times</cite>: "Apart from the bit about not killing people, the Holy Scriptures are notoriously vague on the matter of killing people. You Christians have the same problem with the Bible, I understand."</blockquote>Ouch!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1121186964742848182005-07-12T11:29:00.001+00:002005-07-12T16:49:24.750+00:00Situation Normal..Generally speaking I've been making a point of completely ignoring the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2005/london_explosions/default.stm">London Attacks</a>. There are plenty of good reasons, but the main one is that I've not been personally affected in the slightest. That may sound selfish and/or unsympathetic, but in my opinion you can never really empathise with the victims of such atrocities; so unless you have actually been invited to watch or listen, any involvement is as an intrusive audience. And that kind of involvement all too easily turns into nothing better than "<a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA6D0.htm">grief pornography</a>"- the ghastly fascination of a car accident, the need to find out how, exactly, people died, the need to get under the skins of their nearest and dearest and feel their pain and grief, especially if they're at all like you, the need for detailed descriptions, and especially for photographs. It could be we actually <span style="font-style: italic;">need</span> the (vicarious) proximity of death to feel emotionally alive, our lives being so shallow. Though that's putting it ungenerously - if, by submerging ourselves in horror, we emerge with a deep and lasting appreciation of how lucky and blessed we are, it's probably no bad thing.<br /><br />However, to the extent that the media is obliged to cater for our hunger for more information and to grab our attention, there is certainly the danger that it can play right into the hands of terrorists at times like this. I find myself (and this is becoming a habit) in very strong agreement with <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1688040_1,00.html">Simon Jenkins in the Sunday Times</a>:<br /><span class="textcopy"><blockquote>The terrorist’s objective is not to kill but, by doing so, to publicise a cause and incite a violent and repressive response... It is one thing to report, another to wallow in grief pornography as if the bomb itself were a celebrity. Such massive publicity feeds terror’s first objective and incites its second.</blockquote></span><br />I also agree with his tying in Blair's adoption of (Bush's) catastrophically stupid term "<a href="http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page1599.asp">war against terrorism</a>"<br /><blockquote>Blair’s desire to associate the London bombs with the global war on terror leads him into dangerous territory...Such confusion leaves Britain vulnerable to a lethal moral calculus. It invites critics worldwide to set the number of dead Londoners against the number of Iraqi civilians killed each month by coalition forces. It asks how many Muslims have British forces killed. It asks why the West waxes hysterical over London’s dead “innocents” and not over equally innocent corpses piled in the morgues of Baghdad as a result of British policy. </blockquote>And to quote <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4672425.stm">Robin Cook</a>:<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>I think the problem with George Bush's approach is that he does keep talking about it as a war on terror as if there is a military solution and there isn't.</blockquote></span>I suppose the point is that we need to genuinely know our enemy and avoid simplistic conclusions like "They're all nutters who will attack us in any way they can regardless of anything we do", the former view shared by <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4671099.stm">Brian Walden</a>. For Blair to attempt to dissociate the London Attacks completely from British foreign policy of the last few years (decidedly similar to American foreign policy) is at least <a href="http://www.j-n-v.org/London_Blasts/L_B_rapid_rebuttal_050710_Would_Have_Happened_Anyway.htm">disingenous</a>, but is dangerous to the extent it fosters ignorance.<br /><br />And he'd better keep to his word and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4666311.stm">not bring in strict new security laws</a> on the basis of these attacks.<br /><br />Anyway, life goes on more or less as normal, and there's the beauty of it, and long may it reign in London and throughout this little bunch of islands in the North Atlantic just off the coast of Europe.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Damn. All I originally intended was to say that I like the idea of everyone setting up universally recognoised <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4674331.stm">Emergency Contact (ICE) Numbers</a> on their mobiles. Ah well.<br /></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1120064007557968342005-06-29T14:33:00.000+00:002005-07-27T14:11:21.883+00:00Monsters from the IDExcuse the punny reference to <a href="http://www.phenry.org/movies/movienight/forbiddenplanet.php">Forbidden Planet</a>, but it's certainly true that, from not very far below the surface of the latest <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4053453.stm">proposal for ID cards</a> in the UK, <a href="http://www.perfect.co.uk/2005/06/id-cards-the-second-reading">monsters are indeed emerging</a>.<br /><br />Perhaps surprisingly, I'm <span style="font-weight: bold;">for</span> the principle of ID cards (or rather a central ID register) overall - but I do have ulterior motives. For one thing I like the idea of reducing form-filling and red tape, and therefore the number of civil servants required, and therefore the expense, of pulling together data that is already held on me by the government. Much better if, when I wish to claim benefits or whatever, I can choose to allow one department to exchange details with another using the common reference ID - in much the same way as I currently allow financial organisations to perform credit checks. My proposal is already pretty different to the proposed UK ID register however, in that it suggests I have full control over what use is made of my personal details. But let's leave that aside for now.<br /><br />I also like the idea of snap referendums and NGO petitions through which verified members of the electorate can have their say and, if their numbers are substantial enough, amend government policies. With the web and a new interest in phone voting, <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=20&hl=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lr=&cr=countryUK%7CcountryGB&oi=defmore&q=define:Direct+Democracy">direct democracy</a> could become a reality. And rather than having to support a particular party and therefore its manifesto 100%, we can all pick and choose on the issues that really matter to us (<a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/05/straw-poll.html">I've talked about this before</a>). Nice idea, but you can bet that our Glorious Leaders will resist any attempt to join up verified identity and democratic rights. Just look at the <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/05/electoral-reform.html">resistance to standard referendums</a> or indeed anything that threatens the status quo.<br /><br />Anyway, according to a <a href="http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs4/Id_Cards_Briefing.pdf">Home Office Briefing</a> the proposed ID scheme appears to be intended more to <span style="font-style: italic;">prevent negatives</span> than to produce positives:<br /><br /><blockquote>An ID cards scheme will help the UK counter<br /><ul> <li>Identity Theft</li> <li>Illegal Immigration and Working</li> <li>Misuse of Public Services</li> <li>Organised Crime and Terrorism</li> </ul> </blockquote><br />A <a href="http://www.greenparty.org.uk/files/reports/2004/1ID%20card%20briefing.html">summary by the Green Party</a> takes all of these apart very well, as does the <a href="http://www.no2id.net/IDSchemes/whyNot.php">NO2ID Campaign</a>, I'll selectively quote from both and trust them not to mind (you should still check sources):<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Identity Theft</span><br /><blockquote>Both Australia and the USA have far worse problems of identity theft than Britain, precisely because of general reliance on a single reference source.<br />Costs usually cited for identity-related crime here include much fraud not susceptible to an ID system.<br />Nominally 'secure', trusted, ID is <em>more</em> useful to the fraudster.<br />The Home Office has not explained how it will stop registration by identity thieves in the personae of innocent others.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Illegal Immigration and Working</span><br /><blockquote>People will still enter Britain using foreign documents - genuine or forged - and ID cards offer no more deterrent to people smugglers than passports and visas. Employers already face substantial penalties for failing to obtain proof of entitlement to work, yet there are only a handful of prosecutions a year.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>Asylum seekers have to be enrolled, background-checked and use a "smart" card to claim regular income benefits. People who defraud the benefits service usually do so by lying about finances and illegal work.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>Many people working illegally do so with the full knowledge of their employers.</blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Misuse of Public Services</span><br /><blockquote>The overwhelming majority of benefit fraud occurs from people lying about their economic circumstances and health, not about their identity. ID cards will make little difference unless the data on the cards is expanded to include financial, medical and employment records.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>Identity is "only a tiny part of the problem in the benefit system." Figures for claims under false identity are estimated at £50 million (2.5%) of an (estimated) £2 billion per year in fraudulent claims.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Organised Crime and Terrorism</span><br /><blockquote>Most crime is unsolved because the perpetrator hasn’t been caught, rather than because they haven’t been identified. In the UK last year, over 75% of 4 million reported crimes went "undetected" – no-one was even<br />arrested, much less charged or convicted.<br /><br />Faking ID cards is no object at all to sophisticated terrorist and money-laundering groups: the perpetrators of the 9/11 atrocities were all either in possession of legitimate identification documents or held compelling forgeries. Those who are active in terrorist networks may well have the appearance of being typical law-abiding citizens in other aspects of their lives. The French government discovered that fraudulent production of their new "unforgeable" smartcard quickly became one of the most profitable criminal activities in the country in the mid-1990s.<br /><br />Identity is not the key to preventing crime or terrorism. So unless the cards are used for greater "stop and search" police powers, or unless it becomes compulsory to carry them, it is difficult to see how they can affect crime figures.<br /></blockquote><br />We should also note that setting up an ID Register means implementing and maintaining about the biggest, baddest and most critical IT system you can get. Do we trust the current government to make a good job of it, or to bring in the right people to do the job? <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1669480,00.html">Simon Jenkins in the Sunday Times</a> draws attention to plenty of past <span style="font-style: italic;">and current</span> form which means you could bet your shirt on yet another outrageously wasteful and expensive IT fiasco, probably courtesy of the Government's favourite IT Services provider <a href="http://www.eds.com/">EDS</a>. Which, being an American company, ensures we maintain our "special relationship" with the US i.e. we give them our money but fail to hold them to account when they fail to deliver. Admittedly Government specifications are usually wooly and variable, as witness the amount the goalposts have already moved around regarding the proposed ID Register. I'll bet they never stop moving.<br /><br />Even once a proposed ID Register is up and running, IT Systems aren't magical. To repeat the old phrase "<a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/25/messages/996.html">garbage in, garbage out</a>". People need to be registered on the system by other, fallible, people who have to look at other, possibly fallible or fraudulent, evidence of identity and trust it's worth.<br /><br />"Ah," I hear you ask, "but won't Biometrics sort this out - fingerprint recognition, iris recognition and so on? So people will only be able to register once and will always be uniquely identifiable?"<br />In short, no, because biometrics aren't reliable enough in themselves; even according to the <a href="http://www.iafb.org.uk/">International Association of Biometrics</a> as quoted in the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4393">New Scientist</a> back in Nov 2003:<br /><blockquote>Bill Perry, of the UK's Association for Biometrics, agrees that there is an upper limit to the reliability of iris scans. There are too many environmental variables: scans can be affected by lighting conditions and body temperature, so much so that a system can fail to match two scans of the same iris taken under different conditions.<br />"It's not an exact science," says Perry. "People look at biometrics as being a total solution to all their problems, but it's only part of the solution."<br /></blockquote><br />I've found what I consider <a href="http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/biometrics/">a brilliant critical appraisal of biometrics</a> courtesy of the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). As with a lot of science - certainly more than we're led to believe - biometrics are about probabilities rather than certainties; specifically the probabilities of false accepts (someone incorrectly identified as someone else) and false rejects (a failure to correctly identify someone). You can "tune" a biometrics system so that it tends to over-accept or over-reject, and for a system to be even reasonably effective, that's exactly what you need to do. After all, a mere 1% error rate spread over the entire population of the country makes for a lot of people who will be identified incorrectly or be plain unidentifiable. This means that you <span style="font-style: italic;">must</span> have a clear idea of how exactly a biometrics system will be used so you can tune it correctly.<br /><br />So how the hell do you do that with something as generalised, wooly and Hydra-headed as the UK Government's proposed ID Register? I suggest it simply can't be done. One size can never fit all.<br /><br />But - I'll bet that the proposed system, should it ever be created, will be tuned towards a higher "false accept" rate. That way the system is less likely to let a bad guy or gal slip past. Sure there's a much higher number of innocent people drawn into the same net and potentially hauled over the coals, but better safe than sorry, eh? And the Government clearly believes we value safety over freedom any day, as witness other poorly considered and rushed <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4347921.stm">Anti-Terrorist Legislation</a> . You can't argue with the fact that New Labour still won the election straight after pushing that legislation through.<br /><br />Anyway, my conclusion is that despite wanting some kind of ID Register, I would rather eat cold sick than accept an ID system implemented by a centralisation-mad government that is consistently driven by fear, and that takes the opinions of public servants (e.g. police) more seriously than those of the public itself. That's a recipe for an oppressive and powerful authoritarian state, not for a proud country in which individuality and certain fundamental freedoms are cherished.<br /><br />If you feel the same way, you really should <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ican/A2319176">Act</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Addendum</span><br />19th July: Very amusing <a href="http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2005/07/04/id-card.html">vision of the future of ID cards</a> found in the <a href="http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/">Rockall Times</a>. Highly recommended!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1119483299139790282005-06-22T22:36:00.000+00:002006-04-21T11:29:22.083+00:00Holesome SnackToday at lunchtime my mate <a href="http://www.nighthealing.com/">John Williams</a> (who, incidentally, has some great music on his website - <a href="http://www.nighthealing.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Nighthealing</span></a> is especially recommended) noted the ingredients of his Ham & Swiss Cheese Bagel with some amusement. Because I didn't believe him when he rang to tell me about it, he took a snap with his moby and emailed it over:<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://blog.fishonabike.com/images/holemeal.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(Look closely!)<br /></span><br /><br />So cheers, <a href="http://www.bagelman.co.uk/">Bagelman</a> of Brighton, for bringing a chuckle to my day - and here's a free plug.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Actually the Bagelman site isn't fully functional yet - so here's a <a href="http://foodguide.theargus.co.uk/review.cfm?id=96">nice short review</a> from the <a href="http://www.theargus.co.uk//the_argus/">Argus</a> to tell you a bit more.<br /></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1119393443737247332005-06-21T21:57:00.000+00:002005-06-21T22:37:23.743+00:00Rowling HomeJust a quick post to reference my favourite <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/about/">Flash</a> site yet. In fact it's so good that it's enough to convert me from being a pure <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=20&hl=en&lr=&cr=countryUK%7CcountryGB&oi=defmore&q=define:HTML">HTML</a> freak to somebody who thinks Flash is - <span style="font-style: italic;">on occasion</span> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">very</span> much better at being an interactive medium.<br /><br />The site concerned is Harry Potter author <a href="http://www.jkrowling.com/">J.K.Rowling's Official Site</a>, and it's bloody marvellous. Well, certainly if you're even vaguely into Harry Potter it is. More like a little game and voyage of discovery than a standard website. And full of character, to boot.<br /><br />I should say that I had been getting a suss on when the next book, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3851127.stm"><span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</span></a>, and the new <a href="http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk/">movie</a>, <a href="http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk/gobletoffire/index.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</span></a>, were coming out, and what was likely to be the content.<br /><br />Well, of course I know what was <span style="font-style: italic;">in the book</span> for the latter, it being my current favourite by far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1118617726856120332005-06-12T21:49:00.000+00:002005-06-15T13:18:51.366+00:00Corruption Kills MusicI had been about to follow up my <a href="http://blog.fishonabike.com/2005/06/made-of-stone.html">rediscovered music post</a> with one about (shock! horror!) <span style="font-weight: bold;">brand new</span> music that I'm getting into, to wit the <a href="http://www.finnbros.com/">Finn Brothers</a>' latest album <span style="font-style: italic;">Everyone is Here</span> and <a href="http://www.coldplay.com/index.php">Coldplay</a>'s latest album <span style="font-style: italic;">X&Y</span> (predictable tastes or what?).<br /><br />Anyway, instead I've discovered a brand new bugbear, to wit (not to woo) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Copy Protected Discs</span>.<br />Look for the Sign of the Beast:<br /><img src="http://blog.fishonabike.com/images/copy_control_logo_.jpg" alt="Copy Protection logo" /><br /><br />Both the above albums were issuedby <a href="http://emirecords.co.uk/">EMI</a> who are pushing through Copy Protection on customers without any real warning and certainly no courtesy. This is despite the technology's obvious flaws, the main one being that these are <span style="font-weight: bold;">not CDs</span>, will <span style="font-weight: bold;">not</span> play on all kinds of CD player (car players especially, but not limited to them) and do not even qualify for the Compact Disc logo. Copy Protection effectively corrupts the Discs. What's more, some forms of Copy Protection will install a virus when first played on your PC - see <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/23/beastie_boy_cd_virus/">this article in the Register</a>, which also details how to disable/remove the malware.<br /><br />Check out the <a href="http://ukcdr.org/issues/cd/quick/">Campaign for Digital Rights CD page</a> for further details. Also check out the <a href="http://www.fedge.net/emi/">EMI Music Anti-Copy Control Information</a> page for loads of useful tips and links on EMI's particular brand of Copy Control and how to fight it.<br /><br />Basically, though, if you end up with one of these discs, you should return it to the supplier and either ask for it to be exchanged for a proper CD without copy protection or, failing that, get a full refund and try to obtain a non-Copy Protected version of the CD elsewhere. Note that online suppliers are under great pressure from the record companies <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> to advertise if discs are Copy Protected, so it's recommended that you email them first and ask. <a href="http://cd-wow.com/">CD-WOW</a> have been as helpful as they can be on this front, and have even suggested to me that I may be able to obtain non-Copy Protected versions of the CDs from retailers who source from within the UK as opposed to from the EU. I'll let you know if I have any joy on this front - but am not currently too optimistic.<br /><br />I'm reminded of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Home Taping is Killing Music</span> campaign of many years back; this campaign (in which EMI played a big part, I'm sure) proved to be Crying Wolf big time, and as noted in <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/30/1072546532286.html?oneclick=true">Forget the Spin, taping is not killing music</a> :<br /><br /><p></p> <blockquote> <p> The recording industry and its brethren have been crying wolf for years. At various times we have been told that the pianola was going to kill sales of sheet music, that radio was going to kill sales of records, that photocopying would kill sales of books, that the VCR would stop people going to movies, and that cheaper imported records would stop people buying Australian music.</p> <p> Along the way we have been told that the use of the latest technology was immoral - everything from the photocopier to the cassette recorder to the VCR.</p> </blockquote> <p></p> However, there is a very real danger that the attitude of people like EMI will push honest customers like yours truly in the direction of file sharers, copy protection breakers etc just so we can obtain what is rightfully ours - a CD that will play properly in all CD players, that we can rip to MP3 format so we can play it wherever we choose. And once we find how easy that is, it's only loyalty to the artists that keeps us buying the official products.<br /><br />Some may even think the artists have sold out and no longer deserve our loyalty. It's obvious where that leads.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Addendum</span><br />15th June: Well, no joy tracking down versions of the CDs without Copy Control. I reckon they're simply not to be found. However, I have managed to rip X&Y to my PC with very little trouble: simply needed to turn off Autorun to prevent the EMI (?) Player being installed, then opened up the CD in Windows Media Player, then ripped away. Don't have any track info, but can always add that retrospectively if required.<br /><br />All this is covered and well described on <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/16/beastie_boys_not_viral/">The Register</a>.<br /><br />Pretty ineffective Copy Control, really, which suits me fine (and probably means I won't be returning my discs to CD-WOW - after all, it would be easy enough for me to generate my own proper CD now as and when I find situations where the "corrupted" disc won't play) (and, of course, it looks like no Copy Control, no music at all).<br /><br />However, I'm still very irritated that EMI (et al) are unilaterally imposing new standards to the detriment of the medium and thereby restricting its accessibility. Not to mention <span style="font-style: italic;">lying to their customers</span> in that, without Autorun off, a message come up when installing the disc saying that the Player <span style="font-weight: bold;">has </span>to be installed to listen to the music on a PC (not true!). And then installing crap and unnecessary software that in no way benefits the customer. Nor does it really prevent piracy at that.<br /><br />But, if you check out the Register article above, we are suffering for the sins of our neighbours, such as the Italians. I'm almost inclined to translate this post into Italian. But then, I don't need to, do I?<br />All concerned will find out soon enough. And then EMI will need to issue a new version of Copy Control which will piss off a new bunch of customers. And so it goes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1118158750481622392005-06-07T15:13:00.000+00:002005-06-07T22:04:13.096+00:00Land of the Setting SunWe Europeans are the original Westerners, and have been for quite some time. That's because the name <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-10344,00.html">Europe</a> is (apparently) derived from the <a href="http://phoenicia.org/me.html">Phoenician</a> term for "where the sun sets" - as opposed to <span style="font-style: italic;">Asia</span>, derived from the Phoenician for "where the sun rises".<br /><br />I don't think the Phoenicians meant anything insulting by making us inhabitants of the land of the setting sun, but then again.<br /><br />Sure enough the <a href="http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm">EU</a> is a pretty crap institution, though I reckon that 's just because it tries to create a coherent unity out of a gloriously rich diversity - <span style="font-style: italic;">European Union</span> could be seen as a contradiction in terms. So much for my thoughts. The view of the EU itself is that a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2950276.stm">new constitution</a> will sort everything out.<br /><br />I had mixed feelings about both France and the Netherlands declining to ratify the new constitution in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3954327.stm">recent referendums</a>. On the one hand I thought "Yay! Nice one!" but on the other hand, I strongly suspected Blair and his cronies would use the No votes as an excuse to pull out of giving us Brits a referendum.<br /><br />And what do you know? That's exactly what happened, courtesy of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk_politics/4612021.stm">my old mate Jack Straw</a>.<br /><br />Why is that a problem? Simply because our government continues to stand by the principles of the new constitution (a good <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2950276.stm">summary of the constitution</a> here, courtesy of the BBC), which probably means that there will be a variety of back-door agreements which move us decisively towards a situation where we may as well vote Yes when we do get the referendum. The damage will already have been done, and commitments already made without our say so.<br /><br />The government has plenty of form on that front. The reason that the new constitution <span style="font-weight: bold;">is</span> as Straw put it a while back, "a tidying up exercise" is because the EU already has more power over us than we would probably choose to give it. Check out the BBC summary of the constitution, linked above, to see what I mean.<br /><br />A very telling point from Straw when he was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2999674.stm">arguing against a referendum</a> around the same time as he declared the new constitution a tidying-up exercise:<br /><br /><blockquote>Mr Straw argued that referendums are reserved for major constitutional changes - such as membership of the EC in 1975 or a future poll on joining the euro.<br /><p>"Our default setting is that it is for elected parliaments to make decisions," he said.<br /></p><br /></blockquote>But that is exactly the problem. There's a creeping death approach to constitutional change that consists of making a number of poisonous <span style="font-weight: bold;">little</span> agreements - it's the cumulative effect that kills.<br />After all, how did the EU come about as the officious bureaucratic monster it now is, when all we agreed to back in 1975 (well not me personally, as I was only 12) was a Common Market?<br /><br />So, I would say that we want a referendum so we can do more than reject the new constitution; we also want to say No to further integration. But perhaps we want even more than that the chance to say <span style="font-weight: bold;">No to the EU</span> overall; to reject all the EU has become without our having any say in the matter, with the complicity of our own governments. Death to the monster!<br /><br />Yes trade, Yes culture.<br /><br />But, for me anyway, there it ends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12453119.post-1117754683197539662005-06-02T22:18:00.000+00:002005-06-02T23:24:43.210+00:00Made of StoneI've been on a bit of a voyage of rediscovery for the last year, due primarily to having to drive 40-odd miles to work. That's meant that I've needed music, and it didn't take long before I'd wandered away from the tried and trusted into the old and rather unappreciated (sounds familiar).<br /><br />Anyway, perhaps due to my being in a more receptive state, some of the old CDs have undergone an amazing resurrection whereby I enjoy them even more than - shock! horror! - new CDs.<br /><br />A case in point, and what got me writing, is the <a href="http://thestoneroses.co.uk/">Stone Roses</a>' album <a href="http://thestoneroses.co.uk/discography/albums/secondcoming.asp"><span style="font-style: italic;">Second Coming</span></a>.<br /><br />Before I go any further I must mention that, like many other people, I think the Stone Roses' eponymous <a href="http://thestoneroses.co.uk/discography/albums/thestoneroses.asp">first album</a> is an all-time classic, and would definitely place it well into my top 5 albums of all time. And what's more, unlike many others [smug mode] I can claim to have appreciated how good it was at the time it came out (1989) rather than a few years later when fashion caught up with the band. And here I have to lay great respects upon a little shop in Harrow called <a href="http://www.jammingwithedward.com/main.htm">Jamming with Edward</a>. I bought the album from there simply because I greatly admired Steve the owner's taste and it was plain to see on the shelves. I'd never even heard the Stone Roses before. But what an album! It was everything that music hadn't been for much too long, like waking up from a murky dream. <span style="font-style: italic;">I am the Resurrection</span>, indeed (which is itself well into my top 5 tracks of all time).<br /><br />I suppose it was inevitable that anything the band did afterwards would be a let-down by comparison, especially when it came more than 5 years (!) after the first album. A lot can change in that time. And yes, it seemed it <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> mostly a let-down. The notable exception was the track <span style="font-style: italic;">Love Spreads</span>, which is arguably the closest in spirit to the band's first album.<br /><br />But as I've been listening to <span style="font-style: italic;">Second Coming</span> in the last month or so, other tracks have emerged as classics.<br />First it was <span style="font-style: italic;">Breaking into Heaven</span>... (for a bit)<br />Then it was <span style="font-style: italic;">Driving South</span>... (even if it does sound quite similar to <span style="font-style: italic;">Love Spreads</span>)<br />Then it was <span style="font-style: italic;">Tightrope</span>... (for quite a bit longer, and I took the time to work it our on guitar)<br />Then it was <span style="font-style: italic;">Daybreak</span>... and I'm still cooking on that one, but it's been joined going round and round in my head by <span style="font-style: italic;">Begging You.</span><br /><br />So - suddenly I have a new favourite album that's really just a dusty old album listened to with new ears.<br /><br />As a good friend once said (and do get in touch if you're reading this, Paul):<br /><blockquote>A change in attitude refreshes the parts a change in lifestyle cannot reach.<br /></blockquote><br />I'll say Aye to that one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0