So ends the literal cliffhanger at the end of The Italian Job. We never get to know about the idea that Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) has just thought up. And this makes for endless fun, where we can guess what happens after the credits roll.
The concept of the Great Idea that doesn’t get explained is one that politicians must find attractive: no explaining means that the punters don’t need to waste time over that explanation, that there’s no need to worry or think about it. Trust us, we’ve got a Great Idea.
So it is that I find David Cameron’s slogan “a man with a plan” both intriguing and suspicious. It’s a slick and memorable strapline – you’d expect nothing less with Andy Coulson at his side – but it doesn’t tell you what he’d actually do if the electorate presented him with the opportunity to govern.
To find a clue, we have to go back to the last time a Tory government replaced a Labour one – 1979. In the run up to that year’s general election, the Tories made much of the “winter of discontent”: one can hardly blame them for pushing open that door. There was the “Labour isn’t working” poster campaign. What there was not was any warning of what was really in store.
Had the electorate known of the swingeing cuts in public spending, the almost doubling of VAT, of over reliance on monetary policy with 17% interest rates, of inflation peaking at over 20%, and ultimately an unemployment level reaching beyond three million, and remaining there for the rest of the 1980s, they may not have voted as they did.
So perhaps this time the more enquiring journos will at least try and get to the heart of David Cameron’s plan. It may well be a fruitless quest. The noises coming from the Tory Party suggest that nothing has been learned in the intervening thirty years, and that an economy turning down will be made worse by rounds of spending cuts, inducing yet more unemployment, reducing economic activity yet further.
If only the budget were brought into balance. It’s a mantra that some still believe. I will return to this subject with the kind of examples with which today’s politicians should be familiar, if not necessarily comfortable.
Friday, 17 April 2009
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Mr Green’s Gate
The media’s attention moves on today to the news that Tory MP Damien Green will not be facing charges over information leaked to him by civil servant Christopher Galley. So that brings the matter to an end, does it?
No, of course it doesn’t.
Not least because Green himself, and his party, do not want the matter to be brought to an end. They want the story to have its shelf life prolonged. This suits their line that, under the present government, there has supposedly been an erosion of civil liberties. Further, Green himself has put the blame for the police becoming involved at the government’s door.
Have civil liberties been eroded during the past twelve years? I’m personally concerned that catching a police officer in the shot may allow the forces of law and order to arrest me for deploying a digital camera with intent, but it hasn’t yet happened – and this is the problem for the Tories and organisations such as Liberty. For the vast majority of citizens, there has been no tangible change. No, I don’t agree with increasing the time that suspects can be held without trial – it’s pointless trimming in the direction of the legendarily foul mouthed editor of the Daily Mail – but this also does not impinge on most lives.
Neither do I consider there to be any value in the Identity Card scheme – this is, plainly, a waste of time and money. But here too, most ordinary folk are not affected.
So it is difficult for any political party – I say “any” as the Lib Dems are also deeply sceptical of the government’s direction here – to keep this story at the top of the news agenda. This brings me to the second of Green’s assertions: the inference that the government are behind his arrest. Think I’m misrepresenting him? Here is Green in his own words, quoted by the BBC:
"That [his action] has led to the first arrest of an opposition politician for doing his job since Britain became a democracy ... I cannot think of a better symbol of an out-of-touch, authoritarian, failing government that has been in power much too long."
His arrest a symbol of this government? What other conclusion can be drawn, other than that he is pinning the arrest on that government? So, fair enough, let’s see him stand that one up with some solid facts. Having done that, I for one would have no problem with Pa Broon and Jacqui Smith facing the consequences of their actions.
However, the flip side should also hold true: if Green cannot stand up his story, then he should say so, and like Pa Broon, be expected to say sorry. We may be in for a long wait.
No, of course it doesn’t.
Not least because Green himself, and his party, do not want the matter to be brought to an end. They want the story to have its shelf life prolonged. This suits their line that, under the present government, there has supposedly been an erosion of civil liberties. Further, Green himself has put the blame for the police becoming involved at the government’s door.
Have civil liberties been eroded during the past twelve years? I’m personally concerned that catching a police officer in the shot may allow the forces of law and order to arrest me for deploying a digital camera with intent, but it hasn’t yet happened – and this is the problem for the Tories and organisations such as Liberty. For the vast majority of citizens, there has been no tangible change. No, I don’t agree with increasing the time that suspects can be held without trial – it’s pointless trimming in the direction of the legendarily foul mouthed editor of the Daily Mail – but this also does not impinge on most lives.
Neither do I consider there to be any value in the Identity Card scheme – this is, plainly, a waste of time and money. But here too, most ordinary folk are not affected.
So it is difficult for any political party – I say “any” as the Lib Dems are also deeply sceptical of the government’s direction here – to keep this story at the top of the news agenda. This brings me to the second of Green’s assertions: the inference that the government are behind his arrest. Think I’m misrepresenting him? Here is Green in his own words, quoted by the BBC:
"That [his action] has led to the first arrest of an opposition politician for doing his job since Britain became a democracy ... I cannot think of a better symbol of an out-of-touch, authoritarian, failing government that has been in power much too long."
His arrest a symbol of this government? What other conclusion can be drawn, other than that he is pinning the arrest on that government? So, fair enough, let’s see him stand that one up with some solid facts. Having done that, I for one would have no problem with Pa Broon and Jacqui Smith facing the consequences of their actions.
However, the flip side should also hold true: if Green cannot stand up his story, then he should say so, and like Pa Broon, be expected to say sorry. We may be in for a long wait.
The Sadness of Priorities
We all have to prioritise our lives. And it was through this prioritisation that I made last night’s Thai curry. This was as enjoyable as it was hot – as you’d expect when using a Penang paste, with red chillies as its lead ingredient.
Organisations also have to prioritise, and that includes those in the media. Stories have shelf lives. Some may have longer lives than others, but ultimately the whole thing moves on to other stories. So it has been, and clearly to the dislike of some in the blogosphere, with Smeargate (alternative titles in yesterday’s posts, in case anyone’s interested).
Why should there be such a dislike of how the media mainstream prioritises stories? Here the blogosphere reaches the limit of its power, singly or collectively: the original story was newsworthy enough – and serious enough – to command the highest billing, and as a result of the resultant furore there was a resignation from within Downing Street. There is a feeling among some bloggers that there should have been more resignations, with rather more folks involved, but the simple and sad fact is that not enough concrete facts could be marshalled to this end. So the story slipped down the list of media organisation priorities.
Equally sad was the problem that many in the blogosphere had with accepting that Smeargate had dropped off the news radar. The thirst for more scalps needed to be sated: if the mainstream would not keep the story high on the agenda, there must be some kind of sinister conspiracy at work. There wasn’t, of course, and here the blogosphere does itself no favours: out comes the usual, and slightly paranoid, thought that the government, BBC and Guardian (together with any other organisations that let the story drop) are moving as one to conceal some kind of truth – although what kind of truth that is, we don’t know, as nobody has managed to stand any story up.
And, in any case, even bloggers have to move on – today we have the fallout from yet another gate – Greengate. Mustn’t be left behind, eh?
Organisations also have to prioritise, and that includes those in the media. Stories have shelf lives. Some may have longer lives than others, but ultimately the whole thing moves on to other stories. So it has been, and clearly to the dislike of some in the blogosphere, with Smeargate (alternative titles in yesterday’s posts, in case anyone’s interested).
Why should there be such a dislike of how the media mainstream prioritises stories? Here the blogosphere reaches the limit of its power, singly or collectively: the original story was newsworthy enough – and serious enough – to command the highest billing, and as a result of the resultant furore there was a resignation from within Downing Street. There is a feeling among some bloggers that there should have been more resignations, with rather more folks involved, but the simple and sad fact is that not enough concrete facts could be marshalled to this end. So the story slipped down the list of media organisation priorities.
Equally sad was the problem that many in the blogosphere had with accepting that Smeargate had dropped off the news radar. The thirst for more scalps needed to be sated: if the mainstream would not keep the story high on the agenda, there must be some kind of sinister conspiracy at work. There wasn’t, of course, and here the blogosphere does itself no favours: out comes the usual, and slightly paranoid, thought that the government, BBC and Guardian (together with any other organisations that let the story drop) are moving as one to conceal some kind of truth – although what kind of truth that is, we don’t know, as nobody has managed to stand any story up.
And, in any case, even bloggers have to move on – today we have the fallout from yet another gate – Greengate. Mustn’t be left behind, eh?
Madrid - the Sights of the City
I’m still running a bit late on the travel front: it was last month that I spent a most agreeable few days in Madrid, a city which gives every sign that it could stage the Olympics tomorrow, if recently completed infrastructure projects are anything to go by.
Once again, there is no need for an exchange rate health warning: if you really have to spend lots of money, you can, but evening eats for under ten Euro are easy to find, and B&B in a suitably grand Edificio on the Gran Via can be had for fifty Euro a night.
And when it comes to sightseeing, you can cover the city without having to expend more than a little shoe leather. True, there are the Thyssen, Prado and Reina Sofia galleries, and very fine their collections are, but these are optional stops on the tourist circuit.
Here is a personal tour of the city in pictures; and a few tips and warnings follow.
Most folks will arrive at Barajas airport. It’s a big airport: there is a lot of walking to do, whatever the mode of onward travel.
If you must use taxis, remember that the driver will more than likely make an additional charge for luggage, and if your case is in the boot, it may be locked in until you pay up.
The Metro is safe, modern and clean. The airport line (8) uses modern space train sets. There is a one Euro supplement for the two airport stations, which makes the cost of a journey downtown a whole two Euro (bit cheaper than London, then).
There are city tour buses – at a suitable premium – but most of the sights are within walking distance from one another. Get a map and use the ordinary city transport.
Some sights demand that bit more time. Allocate half a day for the Retiro Park, and do it during the week.
Transport anoraks can check out new projects like the Parla Tram and regret that, not even in London, can the UK manage anything similar nowadays.
And finally – the flip side of the UK versus USA rule applies: just because they don’t speak English as their first language doesn’t mean they aren’t our friends. Enjoy!
Once again, there is no need for an exchange rate health warning: if you really have to spend lots of money, you can, but evening eats for under ten Euro are easy to find, and B&B in a suitably grand Edificio on the Gran Via can be had for fifty Euro a night.
And when it comes to sightseeing, you can cover the city without having to expend more than a little shoe leather. True, there are the Thyssen, Prado and Reina Sofia galleries, and very fine their collections are, but these are optional stops on the tourist circuit.
Here is a personal tour of the city in pictures; and a few tips and warnings follow.
Most folks will arrive at Barajas airport. It’s a big airport: there is a lot of walking to do, whatever the mode of onward travel.
If you must use taxis, remember that the driver will more than likely make an additional charge for luggage, and if your case is in the boot, it may be locked in until you pay up.
The Metro is safe, modern and clean. The airport line (8) uses modern space train sets. There is a one Euro supplement for the two airport stations, which makes the cost of a journey downtown a whole two Euro (bit cheaper than London, then).
There are city tour buses – at a suitable premium – but most of the sights are within walking distance from one another. Get a map and use the ordinary city transport.
Some sights demand that bit more time. Allocate half a day for the Retiro Park, and do it during the week.
Transport anoraks can check out new projects like the Parla Tram and regret that, not even in London, can the UK manage anything similar nowadays.
And finally – the flip side of the UK versus USA rule applies: just because they don’t speak English as their first language doesn’t mean they aren’t our friends. Enjoy!
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Dolly the Slaphead
Twice recently I’ve declined to mention Derek Draper. But at the third attempt I’ve been foiled.
A friend has emailed to put me straight on the subject. He writes:
“I would like to mention Derek Draper.
He was a fine centre forward in the baldy tradition of the 1970s and served Chester City well over several seasons in the old 4th division.”
Now that you won’t see in any other blog. So it’s an exclusive, folks!
A friend has emailed to put me straight on the subject. He writes:
“I would like to mention Derek Draper.
He was a fine centre forward in the baldy tradition of the 1970s and served Chester City well over several seasons in the old 4th division.”
Now that you won’t see in any other blog. So it’s an exclusive, folks!
May the Blogs be With You
As he surveys the fallout from emailgate (or McBridegate, or Smeargate, or even Redraggate), David Cameron might initially feel rather pleased. But young Dave, as befits anyone who took a First in PPE, is not daft. He knows that there is a difference between a body of opinion that opposes the government, and one that supports the opposition. Thus the blogosphere.
Blogs are not a new phenomenon. But they are a recent one. Check out the timelines: in 1997, the last time the party in power changed, we had the Web, and we had email, but blogs were not yet on the radar. So there was no body of opinion expressed in the manner of present-day blogs organised against the government of “Shagger” Major, although the feeling may have been there.
Were there to be a change of governing party, what would happen to the present loose coalition of anti-Labour blogs? The worry for Cameron and his pals is that, put directly, we don’t know. At present, there is a commonality between blogs that are generally Tory supporting, and those which are, more or less, looking to inflict damage on Pa Broon and his entourage.
I’ve previously considered that, on the strength of noises coming from the Tories, the country under their control could be in for spending cuts and increased unemployment. In this scenario, any coalition of bloggers featuring Tory supporters and government haters will quickly come under pressure as an incumbent Tory party has to confront a series of difficult choices, losing popularity and membership as it does so.
Tory supporting blogs will face the choice of becoming apologists, or breaking with the party mainstream. Government hating ones will have to choose between retaining their credibility and losing it – and I predict here and now that this choice won’t detain the main protagonists for long. If the mood in the country becomes anti, then the blogs that do not address that sentiment will cease to lead that particular corner of the blogosphere.
Use the blogs, Dave? That’s the problem – you can’t.
Blogs are not a new phenomenon. But they are a recent one. Check out the timelines: in 1997, the last time the party in power changed, we had the Web, and we had email, but blogs were not yet on the radar. So there was no body of opinion expressed in the manner of present-day blogs organised against the government of “Shagger” Major, although the feeling may have been there.
Were there to be a change of governing party, what would happen to the present loose coalition of anti-Labour blogs? The worry for Cameron and his pals is that, put directly, we don’t know. At present, there is a commonality between blogs that are generally Tory supporting, and those which are, more or less, looking to inflict damage on Pa Broon and his entourage.
I’ve previously considered that, on the strength of noises coming from the Tories, the country under their control could be in for spending cuts and increased unemployment. In this scenario, any coalition of bloggers featuring Tory supporters and government haters will quickly come under pressure as an incumbent Tory party has to confront a series of difficult choices, losing popularity and membership as it does so.
Tory supporting blogs will face the choice of becoming apologists, or breaking with the party mainstream. Government hating ones will have to choose between retaining their credibility and losing it – and I predict here and now that this choice won’t detain the main protagonists for long. If the mood in the country becomes anti, then the blogs that do not address that sentiment will cease to lead that particular corner of the blogosphere.
Use the blogs, Dave? That’s the problem – you can’t.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Most of the so-called “Election Communications” from the Crewe and Nantwich by-election went in the bin. The only thought applied was whether the things were too glossy to go in the grey bin, in which case they went into the black one. Thus the politicos did their bit for recycling.
However, the most jaw-droppingly optimistic leaflet has been retained. And it comes courtesy of the Lib Dems.
On first glance, it looks like a proper newspaper, the “Crewe Courier”, complete with silhouette of steam locomotive (note to Chris Rennard: none of these have been built in Crewe since 1958). But it’s the headline that takes the biscuit.
SHENTON SET FOR AMAZING WIN
And there was a smiling candidate posing for the camera along with “Shagger” Clegg.
The truth, alas, was more prosaic: the Lib Dems do well in local elections in Crewe (they currently hold two of the three seats in the St John’s ward) but have regularly failed to do better than third in parliamentary ones. This was no different.
Still, give a whistle, eh?
However, the most jaw-droppingly optimistic leaflet has been retained. And it comes courtesy of the Lib Dems.
On first glance, it looks like a proper newspaper, the “Crewe Courier”, complete with silhouette of steam locomotive (note to Chris Rennard: none of these have been built in Crewe since 1958). But it’s the headline that takes the biscuit.
SHENTON SET FOR AMAZING WIN
And there was a smiling candidate posing for the camera along with “Shagger” Clegg.
The truth, alas, was more prosaic: the Lib Dems do well in local elections in Crewe (they currently hold two of the three seats in the St John’s ward) but have regularly failed to do better than third in parliamentary ones. This was no different.
Still, give a whistle, eh?
Shop Soiled
Anyone thinking that online shopping is boring and humourless need look no further than this selection from Amazon, which a friend of mine passed on:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0385514352
The book itself, in these less than certain times for the property market, has a rather optimistic title, but the thing to check out is the review further down the page.
A word of advice: put the coffee down first.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0385514352
The book itself, in these less than certain times for the property market, has a rather optimistic title, but the thing to check out is the review further down the page.
A word of advice: put the coffee down first.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Class Warriors?
It’s good to know where the target is, and that it’s clearly marked. Then it can be more easily and accurately reached. So it is with the concept of class war. This is an area on which the Tories are extremely sensitive, and so they and their cheerleaders have addressed it robustly. Such attacks, they reckon, are the politics of envy. They are, sad to say, totally wrong.
Unfortunately, the Tories have been reading from the wrong book. Their assumption is that their leader, David Cameron, and his chums Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, and the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne (heir to the seventeenth Baronet) are envied by the lumpen proletariat merely because they have had a good education and obtained good degrees from a good university. It’s just jealousy.
The truth is not only rather different, but will make uncomfortable reading for young Dave and his pals. Because the book to which they should have paid attention is not Das Kapital, but The Theory of the Leisure Class. And therefore the tendency against which they need to guard is not jealousy, but ridicule. It’s not about envy of that good education, but ridicule of the tendency of (for instance) Buller Men to indulge in acts of conspicuous consumption.
The idea that they might be thought of in Veblenian terms, as a kind of anthropological curiosity, will not be easy or comfortable to accept. Moreover, the focus on conspicuous consumption leads directly to their being thought of in the same way as Premiership footballers, Reality TV “stars”, minor slebs and other nouveaux riches. Average folk don’t envy them: the gossip columns and glossy mags may provide a few minutes’ interest around the water cooler, but nothing more.
Still need convincing? Harold Macmillan didn’t need any reminder after seeing Peter Cook personally and very directly ridicule him. Monty Python gave us the Upper Class Twit Of The Year. And Boris’ reception on Have I Got News For You wasn’t exactly reverential. The spirit of Thorstein Veblen is out there, ready to bring another generation of conspicuous consumers down to earth.
[I’ll consider the so-called Class War in taxation terms later]
Unfortunately, the Tories have been reading from the wrong book. Their assumption is that their leader, David Cameron, and his chums Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, and the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne (heir to the seventeenth Baronet) are envied by the lumpen proletariat merely because they have had a good education and obtained good degrees from a good university. It’s just jealousy.
The truth is not only rather different, but will make uncomfortable reading for young Dave and his pals. Because the book to which they should have paid attention is not Das Kapital, but The Theory of the Leisure Class. And therefore the tendency against which they need to guard is not jealousy, but ridicule. It’s not about envy of that good education, but ridicule of the tendency of (for instance) Buller Men to indulge in acts of conspicuous consumption.
The idea that they might be thought of in Veblenian terms, as a kind of anthropological curiosity, will not be easy or comfortable to accept. Moreover, the focus on conspicuous consumption leads directly to their being thought of in the same way as Premiership footballers, Reality TV “stars”, minor slebs and other nouveaux riches. Average folk don’t envy them: the gossip columns and glossy mags may provide a few minutes’ interest around the water cooler, but nothing more.
Still need convincing? Harold Macmillan didn’t need any reminder after seeing Peter Cook personally and very directly ridicule him. Monty Python gave us the Upper Class Twit Of The Year. And Boris’ reception on Have I Got News For You wasn’t exactly reverential. The spirit of Thorstein Veblen is out there, ready to bring another generation of conspicuous consumers down to earth.
[I’ll consider the so-called Class War in taxation terms later]
Reality Check
Today’s big event? Packs of peppers are half price at Asda!
Uh? What? But there’s still an email row!
So what? Riddle me this: how many shoppers, on average, pass through Crewe Asda on a weekday? Now, how many of this non-trivial number of people give a flying foxtrot about Damian McBride, Tom Watson (allegedly), or any of the rest of this particular dramatis personae? Then, how many of them are watching their pennies and up for a bargain? The latter number might be significantly larger. So they might just prefer their politicians to be concentrating their efforts in that direction.
It might also be that your average voter is rapidly getting turned off the whole sordid business. Does anyone outside the Westminster village or that particular corner of the blogosphere care whether Gordon Brown expresses regret or says sorry? Worse, we all know that, even if he did say sorry, there would be a queue of Tory MPs ready to shout him down and say something along the lines of “that’s not good enough – we want bigger and better sorry and he’s also got to jump through all these hoops that we just thought up”.
The “hoops” would include the sacking of anyone linked to the emails that have been trailed in the Screws this weekend. So who was copied in? You don’t know? Never mind, make it up. A game of between two and two hundred players, no need to score a six to start, hours of harmless fun. Harmless because the number of folk not switching off and going over to Asda to do the shopping rapidly diminishes. Those left may then blame the BBC, the Guardian, and any other convenient media target, while failing to realise that some folk in this world have a life.
Anyway, back to the peppers. Thai chicken curry tomorrow evening, made of course with coconut milk, and with Thai sticky rice on the side. There’s more to life than politics. Hint.
[No, I’m still not mentioning Derek Draper. So there]
Uh? What? But there’s still an email row!
So what? Riddle me this: how many shoppers, on average, pass through Crewe Asda on a weekday? Now, how many of this non-trivial number of people give a flying foxtrot about Damian McBride, Tom Watson (allegedly), or any of the rest of this particular dramatis personae? Then, how many of them are watching their pennies and up for a bargain? The latter number might be significantly larger. So they might just prefer their politicians to be concentrating their efforts in that direction.
It might also be that your average voter is rapidly getting turned off the whole sordid business. Does anyone outside the Westminster village or that particular corner of the blogosphere care whether Gordon Brown expresses regret or says sorry? Worse, we all know that, even if he did say sorry, there would be a queue of Tory MPs ready to shout him down and say something along the lines of “that’s not good enough – we want bigger and better sorry and he’s also got to jump through all these hoops that we just thought up”.
The “hoops” would include the sacking of anyone linked to the emails that have been trailed in the Screws this weekend. So who was copied in? You don’t know? Never mind, make it up. A game of between two and two hundred players, no need to score a six to start, hours of harmless fun. Harmless because the number of folk not switching off and going over to Asda to do the shopping rapidly diminishes. Those left may then blame the BBC, the Guardian, and any other convenient media target, while failing to realise that some folk in this world have a life.
Anyway, back to the peppers. Thai chicken curry tomorrow evening, made of course with coconut milk, and with Thai sticky rice on the side. There’s more to life than politics. Hint.
[No, I’m still not mentioning Derek Draper. So there]
Dig This
It was back in September than I visited Berlin, but I receive a reminder of my journey to Schönefeld Airport all too often. The latest came over Easter weekend.
Why so? Simple. Network Rail are digging up the network yet again. After all the years of disruption, there was the thought that we might get the mythical seven days a week railway on the West Coast Main Line. But over Easter, that line was closed south of Crewe, with buses ferrying punters to Birmingham. Also it was closed to the north, so buses for folks travelling to Warrington, Wigan and Preston. The closure to the south was still there on Easter Monday.
Strangely, in other countries there seems to be an ability to run services even when there is engineering work going on. My journey back to the airport in Berlin involved changing to the S-Bahn at Adlershof: here you can see that this service continues to run while construction work is in progress.
After the journey back from Berlin? I arrived at Liverpool Airport to find that the journey back to Crewe had to be made via a bus into central Liverpool, and even then it had to conclude by coach. Train service with no trains involved.
The trains that have been running through Crewe over Easter have been busy: given that those using them are being asked, over time, to pay more for their journeys, it might be a good idea to allow more of them to use the train throughout. And with a minimum of diversion.
Why so? Simple. Network Rail are digging up the network yet again. After all the years of disruption, there was the thought that we might get the mythical seven days a week railway on the West Coast Main Line. But over Easter, that line was closed south of Crewe, with buses ferrying punters to Birmingham. Also it was closed to the north, so buses for folks travelling to Warrington, Wigan and Preston. The closure to the south was still there on Easter Monday.
Strangely, in other countries there seems to be an ability to run services even when there is engineering work going on. My journey back to the airport in Berlin involved changing to the S-Bahn at Adlershof: here you can see that this service continues to run while construction work is in progress.
After the journey back from Berlin? I arrived at Liverpool Airport to find that the journey back to Crewe had to be made via a bus into central Liverpool, and even then it had to conclude by coach. Train service with no trains involved.
The trains that have been running through Crewe over Easter have been busy: given that those using them are being asked, over time, to pay more for their journeys, it might be a good idea to allow more of them to use the train throughout. And with a minimum of diversion.
Monday, 13 April 2009
Horse through Open Stable Door Horror
My new laptop runs Windows Vista. So what? Well, for starters, it isn’t as vulnerable as older operating systems to deliberate hacking, or users’ carelessness. Any bells ringing yet?
Here’s an opinion and nothing more (after all, I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of the Official Secrets Act): there is a strong possibility that desktop IT in Downing Street is based around Windows XP Service Pack 2, with Internet Explorer 6 as the browser of choice. And probably not the latest IE6 either.
And here’s another opinion: it might be a pain, but keeping up to date with the monthly Microsoft patch updates is, on balance, A Good Thing. I don’t have a comprehensive list to hand of everything from the past couple of years, but what I do know is that a whole raft of what are commonly termed “vulnerabilities” have been addressed during that period.
And finally ... the phrase “cut and paste” might sound innocuous, but a whole lot of information can be transferred from source to target in such operations.
Clang.
Here’s an opinion and nothing more (after all, I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of the Official Secrets Act): there is a strong possibility that desktop IT in Downing Street is based around Windows XP Service Pack 2, with Internet Explorer 6 as the browser of choice. And probably not the latest IE6 either.
And here’s another opinion: it might be a pain, but keeping up to date with the monthly Microsoft patch updates is, on balance, A Good Thing. I don’t have a comprehensive list to hand of everything from the past couple of years, but what I do know is that a whole raft of what are commonly termed “vulnerabilities” have been addressed during that period.
And finally ... the phrase “cut and paste” might sound innocuous, but a whole lot of information can be transferred from source to target in such operations.
Clang.
Sunday, 12 April 2009
British Broadcasting Clearout?
Here’s a health warning for Guardian haters: I’m about to reference yet another one of their stories. And, for good measure, it’s about another deeply subversive organisation, the BBC. In this article, Marina Hyde looks across the Atlantic at Fox TV, a creation that could only happen in a land where there is no equivalent to the Beeb, and isn’t going to be.
It’s all too relevant: so many across the political spectrum, as well as commentators in the print and other broadcast media, and especially the blogosphere, don’t like the Beeb. They want it to be at least smaller, and often to be either broken up or simply removed. Following such an act, there would be an awfully big void to fill. So what would be put in its place?
If Ms Hyde’s article is broadly accurate, then the phrase “dumbing down” would be an understatement of some scale. More, we know the political direction of anything called Fox. Way to go, Rupe!
I don’t concur totally with the detail, though: the Beeb needs to stop any recurrence of the Brand/Ross business, not through being cowed by outside pressure, but because effing and blinding, and phone pranks, are not “edgy”, “pushing the envelope” or even necessarily funny. Such actions merely allow the likes of the Daily Mail, where effing and blinding is an ambiguous area, to kick the BBC to its own advantage.
And one final thought, for those who oppose the licence fee: the income of Sky is far greater than that of the BBC. So where is the original programming coming from?
It’s all too relevant: so many across the political spectrum, as well as commentators in the print and other broadcast media, and especially the blogosphere, don’t like the Beeb. They want it to be at least smaller, and often to be either broken up or simply removed. Following such an act, there would be an awfully big void to fill. So what would be put in its place?
If Ms Hyde’s article is broadly accurate, then the phrase “dumbing down” would be an understatement of some scale. More, we know the political direction of anything called Fox. Way to go, Rupe!
I don’t concur totally with the detail, though: the Beeb needs to stop any recurrence of the Brand/Ross business, not through being cowed by outside pressure, but because effing and blinding, and phone pranks, are not “edgy”, “pushing the envelope” or even necessarily funny. Such actions merely allow the likes of the Daily Mail, where effing and blinding is an ambiguous area, to kick the BBC to its own advantage.
And one final thought, for those who oppose the licence fee: the income of Sky is far greater than that of the BBC. So where is the original programming coming from?
Quick Fire Round
That’s Quick as in Bob. And fired he certainly has been. The Assistant Commissioner put the ball in his own net by letting anyone with a half decent digital camera snap a supposedly secret document he would have done better to keep covered.
The announcement of his departure was pre-empted by Mayor of London Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, apparently without giving the Home Secretary or the Commissioner of the Met first go. Boris then followed up his announcement by assuring the gathering that there wasn’t anything political in it, that the Tories hadn’t pushed him.
Oh what a giveaway.
Had there been no political pressure, why go to such lengths to trowel on the denial? Quick angered the Tories over the Damien Green arrest; he then embarrassed Jacqui Smith over terrorism. Therefore he lost the support of both government and opposition. They’re both political entities. What kind of pressure do they therefore generate?
But the worrying thing is the way in which Boris Johnson has given the impression, deliberately or otherwise, that he is running the Met. He isn’t. And he should not be so suggesting.
In the meantime, the anti terror operation that Bob Quick was overseeing has gone ahead. Hopefully the intelligence will be better this time than with the botched operation against two innocent men in Forest Gate, where the impression was given that their only crimes were “Possessing beards with intent” and “Reading the Qur’an with malice aforethought”.
The catch all of “Walking on the cracks in the pavement” was no doubt allowed to lay on file.
The announcement of his departure was pre-empted by Mayor of London Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, apparently without giving the Home Secretary or the Commissioner of the Met first go. Boris then followed up his announcement by assuring the gathering that there wasn’t anything political in it, that the Tories hadn’t pushed him.
Oh what a giveaway.
Had there been no political pressure, why go to such lengths to trowel on the denial? Quick angered the Tories over the Damien Green arrest; he then embarrassed Jacqui Smith over terrorism. Therefore he lost the support of both government and opposition. They’re both political entities. What kind of pressure do they therefore generate?
But the worrying thing is the way in which Boris Johnson has given the impression, deliberately or otherwise, that he is running the Met. He isn’t. And he should not be so suggesting.
In the meantime, the anti terror operation that Bob Quick was overseeing has gone ahead. Hopefully the intelligence will be better this time than with the botched operation against two innocent men in Forest Gate, where the impression was given that their only crimes were “Possessing beards with intent” and “Reading the Qur’an with malice aforethought”.
The catch all of “Walking on the cracks in the pavement” was no doubt allowed to lay on file.
Damian – Bad Omen
Cast your mind back to July 10 1995. No, not a Major administration sleazefast, but the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Guest that evening: Hugh Grant. Priceless opening line from Leno: “What the hell were you thinking?”
What indeed. So what was Damian McBride thinking? Was he thinking?
All the major political parties indulge in what may politely be called questionable tactics, mainly during election campaigns, and otherwise on an ad hoc basis. Politicians themselves are, to an extent, fair game: the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the seventeenth Baronet, being a prime example over Tavernagate (or whatever title you give to the Rothschild and Deripaska business), and his refusal to withdraw his autism slur against Pa Broon.
And that is where it all should stay. Any idea of extending such tactics to Frances Osborne, merely because she is married to George, is out of order. Full stop, no qualification needed, no asterisks, no footnotes.
More, it appears that McBride had been communicating his, er, information using the resources of Downing Street. That is also out of order (full stop, as above).
Yet until yesterday, Pa Broon had been apparently happy to continue having this fellow inside the tent. Apart from remembering an alleged nugget of Lyndon Johnson scatology on the subject, there seems no good reason to have someone of such character – or lack of it – on board.
Once again, the judgment of Gordon Brown appears suspect. I considered this last month in this post – and, having observed events over the last few days, have had my misgivings reinforced superbly.
[Anyone disappointed at the non-appearance of Derek Draper in this post should bear in mind that making a cuppa and putting the washing out are far more important]
What indeed. So what was Damian McBride thinking? Was he thinking?
All the major political parties indulge in what may politely be called questionable tactics, mainly during election campaigns, and otherwise on an ad hoc basis. Politicians themselves are, to an extent, fair game: the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the seventeenth Baronet, being a prime example over Tavernagate (or whatever title you give to the Rothschild and Deripaska business), and his refusal to withdraw his autism slur against Pa Broon.
And that is where it all should stay. Any idea of extending such tactics to Frances Osborne, merely because she is married to George, is out of order. Full stop, no qualification needed, no asterisks, no footnotes.
More, it appears that McBride had been communicating his, er, information using the resources of Downing Street. That is also out of order (full stop, as above).
Yet until yesterday, Pa Broon had been apparently happy to continue having this fellow inside the tent. Apart from remembering an alleged nugget of Lyndon Johnson scatology on the subject, there seems no good reason to have someone of such character – or lack of it – on board.
Once again, the judgment of Gordon Brown appears suspect. I considered this last month in this post – and, having observed events over the last few days, have had my misgivings reinforced superbly.
[Anyone disappointed at the non-appearance of Derek Draper in this post should bear in mind that making a cuppa and putting the washing out are far more important]
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Lies, damn Lies, and Campaign Leaflets
I’ve got a lot of time for the Tory party. Oh yes I have. And to prove it, I have given pride of place to one of their leaflets from the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. This pamphlet is entitled “Change”, and has this jaw-dropping first paragraph:
“As the by-election campaign turns nasty, Conservative candidate Edward Timpson has chosen to rise above the tactics of the Labour campaign”
It’s a pity that the rest of the Tory team didn’t follow suit. On Page 3 of this priceless leaflet is “Out and about in Crewe and Nantwich – Edward Timpson’s campaign diary”, and the entry for Thursday 8 May caught my eye:
“It is Gwyneth Dunwoody’s funeral today and so, as a mark of respect, we paused our campaigning. She was a real one-off who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. My thoughts are with her family”
Why should this stand out, apart from the faux respect for someone whose reselection he was whingeing about only months earlier?
Why indeed. On the morning of Thursday 8 May, I had to negotiate my way round one Edward Timpson (the man with marginally more charisma than a Burton’s dummy) en route to the station. Timpson and his supporters were, er, campaigning outside. After I had declined the offer of a leaflet, he spluttered “have a nice day” as I walked on. There’s an orator in the making.
I detect the hand of Fat Eric in the wording of the leaflet: note the use of the word “paused”. This can be interpreted in more than one way, in case an inconveniently minded hack were to pick up on it: a “pause” does not have to be for a day, does it?
“Mark of respect”? Pass the sick bag.
“As the by-election campaign turns nasty, Conservative candidate Edward Timpson has chosen to rise above the tactics of the Labour campaign”
It’s a pity that the rest of the Tory team didn’t follow suit. On Page 3 of this priceless leaflet is “Out and about in Crewe and Nantwich – Edward Timpson’s campaign diary”, and the entry for Thursday 8 May caught my eye:
“It is Gwyneth Dunwoody’s funeral today and so, as a mark of respect, we paused our campaigning. She was a real one-off who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. My thoughts are with her family”
Why should this stand out, apart from the faux respect for someone whose reselection he was whingeing about only months earlier?
Why indeed. On the morning of Thursday 8 May, I had to negotiate my way round one Edward Timpson (the man with marginally more charisma than a Burton’s dummy) en route to the station. Timpson and his supporters were, er, campaigning outside. After I had declined the offer of a leaflet, he spluttered “have a nice day” as I walked on. There’s an orator in the making.
I detect the hand of Fat Eric in the wording of the leaflet: note the use of the word “paused”. This can be interpreted in more than one way, in case an inconveniently minded hack were to pick up on it: a “pause” does not have to be for a day, does it?
“Mark of respect”? Pass the sick bag.
The Rough Game
That phrase was coined not about today’s politics, but those of the 1940s. So it might be concluded that nothing much changes.
Yes and no. The nature of the game, as witness Adlai Stevenson’s probing of the character of one Richard Milhous Nixon in the run up to the 1956 US Presidential Election, is as before. Perhaps we in the UK didn’t get as direct as electoral participants in the USA until more recently, but there are, especially in high profile contests, seemingly no holds barred.
So to today’s news: the blogosphere is filled with traffic (that’s as in the small amount of news and the much larger amount of comment) about an alleged Labour dirty tricks email campaign. The intended victims include the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the seventeenth Baronet. I am not surprised. It was, after all, Osborne who smeared the Prime Minister with the suggestion of autism: that one will be in the book for payback.
Not that I am suggesting such behaviour is legitimate: merely that it’s entirely understandable. It’s nothing new. What is new is the speed at which events can unfold nowadays.
For many years, the conduit for this kind of thing would have been Private Eye. But the Eye is print media, and the alleged campaign is an electronic one. Also, the Eye comes out every fortnight, with the next issue published on April 17, so routing anything that way would have to wait: the blogosphere is there now.
Also, the blogosphere is a law unto itself. And it will be so, whatever the stripe of the governing party.
Meanwhile, the real world intrudes: shopping takes precedence this afternoon. Priorities, priorities.
Yes and no. The nature of the game, as witness Adlai Stevenson’s probing of the character of one Richard Milhous Nixon in the run up to the 1956 US Presidential Election, is as before. Perhaps we in the UK didn’t get as direct as electoral participants in the USA until more recently, but there are, especially in high profile contests, seemingly no holds barred.
So to today’s news: the blogosphere is filled with traffic (that’s as in the small amount of news and the much larger amount of comment) about an alleged Labour dirty tricks email campaign. The intended victims include the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the seventeenth Baronet. I am not surprised. It was, after all, Osborne who smeared the Prime Minister with the suggestion of autism: that one will be in the book for payback.
Not that I am suggesting such behaviour is legitimate: merely that it’s entirely understandable. It’s nothing new. What is new is the speed at which events can unfold nowadays.
For many years, the conduit for this kind of thing would have been Private Eye. But the Eye is print media, and the alleged campaign is an electronic one. Also, the Eye comes out every fortnight, with the next issue published on April 17, so routing anything that way would have to wait: the blogosphere is there now.
Also, the blogosphere is a law unto itself. And it will be so, whatever the stripe of the governing party.
Meanwhile, the real world intrudes: shopping takes precedence this afternoon. Priorities, priorities.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Kings of the Talgo
Spelling mistake it is not. Since the 1950s, many of the Spanish rail network’s premier passenger services have been provided using products of Patentes Talgo. At first, these light and articulated trains were designed for good speeds on less than ideally maintained track. The low centre of gravity also helped.
Later, Talgo developed variable gauge axles. So what? Well, the network in Spain and Portugal uses a wider gauge than that elsewhere in western Europe. So changing trains at the French border, or waiting while coaches were jacked up for bogies to be changed, was the norm. The new technology meant that trains could run between Spain and France, merely by going through the gauge changer at the border.
So when the Spanish high speed network was developed using what we would call standard gauge, this was not as perverse as it seemed. Trains operating only on the new network, initially between Madrid and Sevilla, could use off the shelf technology: in the first instance, that of the French Train à Grande Vitesse, or TGV. For trains that had to complete their journey on the broad gauge network, Talgo once again upgraded their offering to provide sets that could operate at up to 220 km/h on the new network – and so not get in the way – and then, after going through the gauge changer, also use the broad gauge one.
Also, to make journeys a little more comfortable, Talgo developed a tilt system to enable curves to be taken a little faster. This system is passive – which means that there is no need for any extra equipment to push the coach bodies into the tilt position. This also keeps the weight down.
In a country that has decided to be serious about rail travel, it’s useful to have companies that have an equally serious commitment to establishing a technology, moving it on, and doing the problem solving along the way.
[A Talgo set, doing the perversely Spanish move of backing in to a terminal station, can be seen here, and Talgo’s latest variable gauge train here]
Later, Talgo developed variable gauge axles. So what? Well, the network in Spain and Portugal uses a wider gauge than that elsewhere in western Europe. So changing trains at the French border, or waiting while coaches were jacked up for bogies to be changed, was the norm. The new technology meant that trains could run between Spain and France, merely by going through the gauge changer at the border.
So when the Spanish high speed network was developed using what we would call standard gauge, this was not as perverse as it seemed. Trains operating only on the new network, initially between Madrid and Sevilla, could use off the shelf technology: in the first instance, that of the French Train à Grande Vitesse, or TGV. For trains that had to complete their journey on the broad gauge network, Talgo once again upgraded their offering to provide sets that could operate at up to 220 km/h on the new network – and so not get in the way – and then, after going through the gauge changer, also use the broad gauge one.
Also, to make journeys a little more comfortable, Talgo developed a tilt system to enable curves to be taken a little faster. This system is passive – which means that there is no need for any extra equipment to push the coach bodies into the tilt position. This also keeps the weight down.
In a country that has decided to be serious about rail travel, it’s useful to have companies that have an equally serious commitment to establishing a technology, moving it on, and doing the problem solving along the way.
[A Talgo set, doing the perversely Spanish move of backing in to a terminal station, can be seen here, and Talgo’s latest variable gauge train here]
Which Side of the Wall?
In the Middle East, you would expect to hear of women being told that they shouldn’t have the vote, or run for public office. But would you expect that story to be coming out of Israel?
The group photo of Binyamin Netenyahu and his cabinet may look harmless enough, but it’s proved too much for two Israeli journals, where the two women members have been airbrushed out. Here is the story as reported in last Saturday’s Guardian.
As one commentator noted, the ultra orthodox sector in Israel “ ... does not believe that women should have a public life, or even vote”.
I personally found the phrase “creeping religiosity” worrying, but that, ultimately, is the business of Israel and its citizens.
But it shows that antediluvian attitudes towards women are not confined to only one of the Abrahamic religions.
The group photo of Binyamin Netenyahu and his cabinet may look harmless enough, but it’s proved too much for two Israeli journals, where the two women members have been airbrushed out. Here is the story as reported in last Saturday’s Guardian.
As one commentator noted, the ultra orthodox sector in Israel “ ... does not believe that women should have a public life, or even vote”.
I personally found the phrase “creeping religiosity” worrying, but that, ultimately, is the business of Israel and its citizens.
But it shows that antediluvian attitudes towards women are not confined to only one of the Abrahamic religions.
Spanish Practices
Why are the Spanish so keen on new rail links? What is it with higher speeds? They must be perverse – look at the terrain!
Distances, for starters. It’s 490 kilometres from Madrid to Valencia, and a heck of a lot further from the capital to Barcelona. Also, the “inherited” network isn’t exactly awash with capacity – much of it outside the largest cities is still single track. So new build is the Big Thing. Consider one example.
Alacant (or Alicante in Castellano) looks to have a well appointed terminus and approach, until you realise that the two tracks serve two different routes. Curving away to the left, and without the benefit of electrification, is one track which arcs round to the waterfront station of San Gabriel, where trains must reverse to continue their journey to Elx and Murcia. Despite this line being almost completely single track, on weekdays it often has to cope with two or even three trains each way every hour. Timekeeping is actually quite good – speed is not.
The track to the right twists and turns as it climbs up to the plain, past the towns of Elda and Villena. This, too, the route to Madrid and Valencia, is single track. Only after passing the wayside station at Caudete does it branch into two spurs which then join the upgraded double track line from Albacete to Valencia – which is straight enough for speeds of up to 220 km/h. So you get decent speeds for part of the way, but timekeeping on the single track part is not good: I travelled from Alacant to Valencia and back twice recently, and only one of four sectors was on time. The other three were at least ten minutes late.
Capacity for more trains, consistent timekeeping, and the kind of speed that brings cities within three hours of Madrid. These clear objectives are being carried through into the program of new build rail links. Also, the Spanish have no problem with their new railways being built to a gauge which is different to their inherited network. How so? I will return to this subject with an explanation.
Distances, for starters. It’s 490 kilometres from Madrid to Valencia, and a heck of a lot further from the capital to Barcelona. Also, the “inherited” network isn’t exactly awash with capacity – much of it outside the largest cities is still single track. So new build is the Big Thing. Consider one example.
Alacant (or Alicante in Castellano) looks to have a well appointed terminus and approach, until you realise that the two tracks serve two different routes. Curving away to the left, and without the benefit of electrification, is one track which arcs round to the waterfront station of San Gabriel, where trains must reverse to continue their journey to Elx and Murcia. Despite this line being almost completely single track, on weekdays it often has to cope with two or even three trains each way every hour. Timekeeping is actually quite good – speed is not.
The track to the right twists and turns as it climbs up to the plain, past the towns of Elda and Villena. This, too, the route to Madrid and Valencia, is single track. Only after passing the wayside station at Caudete does it branch into two spurs which then join the upgraded double track line from Albacete to Valencia – which is straight enough for speeds of up to 220 km/h. So you get decent speeds for part of the way, but timekeeping on the single track part is not good: I travelled from Alacant to Valencia and back twice recently, and only one of four sectors was on time. The other three were at least ten minutes late.
Capacity for more trains, consistent timekeeping, and the kind of speed that brings cities within three hours of Madrid. These clear objectives are being carried through into the program of new build rail links. Also, the Spanish have no problem with their new railways being built to a gauge which is different to their inherited network. How so? I will return to this subject with an explanation.
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