Although many enthusiasts despised Richard Beeching, he of the famous report, those who worked for and with him gave a different view. Gerry Fiennes, whose seminal work “I Tried To Run A Railway” is known to many inside and outside the industry, called Beeching “The Great And Good Doctor”.
This may have been because Beeching at least gave some purpose to the railways, some idea that the industry major in things it did well, where it could show an advantage over its competition. Since his day, there have been yet more “reports” into our rail system, the latest coming from the body thought to be Young Dave’s favourite think tank.
That body calls itself Policy Exchange, and describes itself as “Using centre-right means to progressive ends”, which sounds suspiciously like a contradiction in terms. The group has just published a “research note” called What To Do About Trains In Britain (the PDF file is available to download).
What is proposed is the elimination of the subsidy paid to Network Rail, through the injection of cherished free-market ideas such as competition and localism, although the idea that local authorities and community groups are going to step in and find the money to run rail services might leave some in and around the industry with a credibility gap.
Moreover, there is a not particularly subtle hint as to how costs may be drastically reduced: Page 9 of the “research note” observes that 50% of stations currently generate 3% of revenue. And, even if infrastructure costs were reduced by the 40% that is inferred, that would not eliminate the subsidy.
Like much that the free-market think tank sector produces, it all seems remarkably simple. But the result for many communities, where rail is the only decent public transport option, may not be a pleasant one.
[It may be noted that Tim Leunig, the author of this “research note”, co-authored Cities Unlimited, a 2008 Policy Exchange report that told of failures in urban regeneration in northern towns and cities, urging instead that the Government should encourage internal migration to the south east. Even Young Dave recoiled from this, describing the report as “insane” and “complete rubbish”]
Monday, 27 September 2010
When Leaks Are Not Leaks – 2
Following last week’s supposed “leak” of a list of quangos facing the axe has come the inevitable investigation. We are told that the hunt for whoever did the leaking has been ordered personally by Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell. I am sure he will make all the right noises, and after due passage of time, let the matter quietly drop.
Because, as I observed earlier, this “leak” gives every impression of being nothing of the sort. What gave the game away was that the article in the Maily Telegraph did not mention the L-word once. Fat Eric has declared that he does not know how accurate the supposedly leaked list is, which does nothing to dispel the thought that he may not be too unhappy that the information found its way to the Telegraph and the Beeb.
Moreover, all the flurry of information about the “leak”, which came on the heels of the initial disclosures on Friday, seems to have died down. Nor, conveniently, was any detail of savings to be made from abolishing the various bodies given in the supposedly leaked document, nor any estimate of job losses.
All of which is consistent with the “leak” having been deliberate and selective, and no more than a device for frightening civil servants and trade unions. The difference between the Beeb and Telegraph lists is merely indicative that the exercise being undertaken by the Government is a work in progress which is not yet complete.
One more giveaway on the sidelines of this affair is the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (representing less than one tenth of taxpayers, and still not publishing accounts or a list of donors), in blithely stating that they believe many more quangos should be abolished, has admitted something I have been asserting for some time: whatever cuts are made, they will then be back for more.
Because the TPA is solely dedicated to the demonisation of Government. They aren’t interested in smaller or better Government, and whatever Government there is, they will be putting the boot into it. This is a malign organisation, answerable only to its overmonied, greedy and cowardly backers. The interests and welfare of the general public do not enter.
Because, as I observed earlier, this “leak” gives every impression of being nothing of the sort. What gave the game away was that the article in the Maily Telegraph did not mention the L-word once. Fat Eric has declared that he does not know how accurate the supposedly leaked list is, which does nothing to dispel the thought that he may not be too unhappy that the information found its way to the Telegraph and the Beeb.
Moreover, all the flurry of information about the “leak”, which came on the heels of the initial disclosures on Friday, seems to have died down. Nor, conveniently, was any detail of savings to be made from abolishing the various bodies given in the supposedly leaked document, nor any estimate of job losses.
All of which is consistent with the “leak” having been deliberate and selective, and no more than a device for frightening civil servants and trade unions. The difference between the Beeb and Telegraph lists is merely indicative that the exercise being undertaken by the Government is a work in progress which is not yet complete.
One more giveaway on the sidelines of this affair is the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (representing less than one tenth of taxpayers, and still not publishing accounts or a list of donors), in blithely stating that they believe many more quangos should be abolished, has admitted something I have been asserting for some time: whatever cuts are made, they will then be back for more.
Because the TPA is solely dedicated to the demonisation of Government. They aren’t interested in smaller or better Government, and whatever Government there is, they will be putting the boot into it. This is a malign organisation, answerable only to its overmonied, greedy and cowardly backers. The interests and welfare of the general public do not enter.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
That’ll Cost You, Sport – 20
As Rupe and Junior prepare to put the website of the Screws behind a paywall, with the Sun to follow, the feedback does not look good. Advertising agencies are deserting the Times site, as they can get a better audience elsewhere.
And one of the most important sources of web traffic has now gone: Google no longer returns results from the Times website on searches. So, when you Google a story, public figure or event, the Times effectively does not exist, except to try and get punters to sign up.
Moreover, up to date figures for readership of the Times website are right now proving elusive. Had the signs been good, it would not be like the Murdochs to be backward in coming forward with the news.
After all, there is never any reticence in letting the punters know about the latest ratings for Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).
And one of the most important sources of web traffic has now gone: Google no longer returns results from the Times website on searches. So, when you Google a story, public figure or event, the Times effectively does not exist, except to try and get punters to sign up.
Moreover, up to date figures for readership of the Times website are right now proving elusive. Had the signs been good, it would not be like the Murdochs to be backward in coming forward with the news.
After all, there is never any reticence in letting the punters know about the latest ratings for Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).
Let’s Not Do The Timewarp
Hardly had Mil The Younger been elected Labour leader before the hatchet jobs started. And away and running has been the obedient hackery of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre, with an extraordinary piece in today’s Mail On Sunday. The younger Miliband, thunders the headline, is “living with his family out of wedlock”.
Briefly concerned, I consult the calendar, and am reassured to see that it is still 2010. For a moment, the thought occurred that I had been taken back in time half a century. What to make of this ratcheting up of righteousness? Many of the MoS’ readers may have to look that one up. But, as the man said, there’s more.
Mil The Younger is “the son of a North London Marxist intellectual”. Wow. Triple whammy here: “Marxist” is clearly bad, “North London” compounds the sin, and “intellectual” is the most heinous of crimes – well, to an editor who revels in the nickname of “The Vagina Monologue”, it is.
We are told that the Miliband brothers grew up in a “large house”, for which MoS readers must now feel the obligatory envy, especially given their father was, remember this well, a Marxist. And the suburb of Primrose Hill, in the retelling, is “bohemian”, rather than the more prosaic “convenient for the Morrisons by the canal”.
Elsewhere, Dacre’s obedient hack is unable to get his names right: Corporal Clegg’s wife is referred to as “Miriam Clegg”, which she is not. She is Miriam González Durántez, and when the Dacre hackery is otherwise minded, is routinely pilloried for being one of those dastardly Spaniards.
And Justine Thornton, Mil The Younger’s partner, is given a less than subtle warning by the MoS: she will now “feel the full glare of media interest in her style, behaviour and pronouncements”, which translates, more or less, as signalling that there will be more mean spirited and not necessarily factual hatchet jobs to come.
But then, you need to sell plenty of copy when your managing editor’s remuneration package is over a million and a half notes a year.
Briefly concerned, I consult the calendar, and am reassured to see that it is still 2010. For a moment, the thought occurred that I had been taken back in time half a century. What to make of this ratcheting up of righteousness? Many of the MoS’ readers may have to look that one up. But, as the man said, there’s more.
Mil The Younger is “the son of a North London Marxist intellectual”. Wow. Triple whammy here: “Marxist” is clearly bad, “North London” compounds the sin, and “intellectual” is the most heinous of crimes – well, to an editor who revels in the nickname of “The Vagina Monologue”, it is.
We are told that the Miliband brothers grew up in a “large house”, for which MoS readers must now feel the obligatory envy, especially given their father was, remember this well, a Marxist. And the suburb of Primrose Hill, in the retelling, is “bohemian”, rather than the more prosaic “convenient for the Morrisons by the canal”.
Elsewhere, Dacre’s obedient hack is unable to get his names right: Corporal Clegg’s wife is referred to as “Miriam Clegg”, which she is not. She is Miriam González Durántez, and when the Dacre hackery is otherwise minded, is routinely pilloried for being one of those dastardly Spaniards.
And Justine Thornton, Mil The Younger’s partner, is given a less than subtle warning by the MoS: she will now “feel the full glare of media interest in her style, behaviour and pronouncements”, which translates, more or less, as signalling that there will be more mean spirited and not necessarily factual hatchet jobs to come.
But then, you need to sell plenty of copy when your managing editor’s remuneration package is over a million and a half notes a year.
Nearly The Big Bang
Berkshire. The county of the commuter belt. West of Reading, there are pleasant villages and middling towns: Newbury, Theale, Hungerford, Bedwyn are all conveniently situated and desirable places for City workers to live. And then there is Aldermaston.
The “Ban The Bomb” marches that were a feature of the 1960s targeted Aldermaston with good reason: the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) site is used for the manufacture and storage of nuclear warheads, although of course, Government confirmation of this, and of the numbers involved, are both elusive.
So the inhabitants of all those desirable residences around the area might not have been too happy to read the news that there was a fire at the site, severe enough to require the Berkshire fire service to call for assistance from as far away as London. And the blaze is not one of those events from decades ago that has only come into view under the fifty year rule.
This fire happened as recently as August this year. It broke out in an area where quantities of high explosive are routinely stored. It raged for nine hours. Moreover, at first the AWE declined to call in outside help, and at least two fire service vehicles were initially prevented from gaining access by security officials.
All this happened where the local council has approved the construction of a facility for producing a new generation of nuclear warheads. Were I a local resident, I would by now be seriously concerned. Because if just one nuclear warhead went off as a result of what “Blaster” Bates once called “sympathetic detonation”, there would not be much left of the site, or the surrounding area to a distance of several kilometres.
Given the effect on house prices, one wonders why it’s not made the front page of the Daily Mail.
[My thanks to a Zelo Street regular for the heads up]
The “Ban The Bomb” marches that were a feature of the 1960s targeted Aldermaston with good reason: the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) site is used for the manufacture and storage of nuclear warheads, although of course, Government confirmation of this, and of the numbers involved, are both elusive.
So the inhabitants of all those desirable residences around the area might not have been too happy to read the news that there was a fire at the site, severe enough to require the Berkshire fire service to call for assistance from as far away as London. And the blaze is not one of those events from decades ago that has only come into view under the fifty year rule.
This fire happened as recently as August this year. It broke out in an area where quantities of high explosive are routinely stored. It raged for nine hours. Moreover, at first the AWE declined to call in outside help, and at least two fire service vehicles were initially prevented from gaining access by security officials.
All this happened where the local council has approved the construction of a facility for producing a new generation of nuclear warheads. Were I a local resident, I would by now be seriously concerned. Because if just one nuclear warhead went off as a result of what “Blaster” Bates once called “sympathetic detonation”, there would not be much left of the site, or the surrounding area to a distance of several kilometres.
Given the effect on house prices, one wonders why it’s not made the front page of the Daily Mail.
[My thanks to a Zelo Street regular for the heads up]
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Got That Wrong – It’s Ed
At the very last hurdle in the Labour leadership race, Mil the Elder – who, yes, I reckoned twice would win – stumbled. As Pa Broon’s former confidant “Auguste” Balls was eliminated – on the third round, not the first as some Balls haters were gleefully predicting – the lead changed places.
So it will be Mil the Younger who gives the Leader’s speech to the Labour conference on Tuesday. This year it is being held at the recently renamed Manchester Central, under the single span roof of the former railway terminus. He will also be on tomorrow’s Andy Marr Show (is Marr having his script rewritten to change “David” to “Ed”? Hours of endless fun over something we may never know).
Already there is glee on the right, as Mil the Younger captured far more of the trade union vote than his brother. Thus he will be characterised not only as “Red Ed”, but also as being in hock to the union bosses. Does it matter? My feeling is that there is a limited amount of mileage in this kind of thing before it ceases to have an effect on the electorate.
What is not going to help the anti-Labour media in their attempts to frighten the public over Mil the Younger is that Rupe’s downmarket troops at the Screws and Sun are about to vanish behind a paywall. In an age where more and more folks get their news online, two of the mainstream media’s attack dogs are being muzzled – by order of their owner.
That might just benefit the new Labour leader, who has been in Parliament just over five years – although that is a year better than Young Dave could manage when he became leader of the Tories.
So it will be Mil the Younger who gives the Leader’s speech to the Labour conference on Tuesday. This year it is being held at the recently renamed Manchester Central, under the single span roof of the former railway terminus. He will also be on tomorrow’s Andy Marr Show (is Marr having his script rewritten to change “David” to “Ed”? Hours of endless fun over something we may never know).
Already there is glee on the right, as Mil the Younger captured far more of the trade union vote than his brother. Thus he will be characterised not only as “Red Ed”, but also as being in hock to the union bosses. Does it matter? My feeling is that there is a limited amount of mileage in this kind of thing before it ceases to have an effect on the electorate.
What is not going to help the anti-Labour media in their attempts to frighten the public over Mil the Younger is that Rupe’s downmarket troops at the Screws and Sun are about to vanish behind a paywall. In an age where more and more folks get their news online, two of the mainstream media’s attack dogs are being muzzled – by order of their owner.
That might just benefit the new Labour leader, who has been in Parliament just over five years – although that is a year better than Young Dave could manage when he became leader of the Tories.
Tea Party – More Top Entertainment
The leadership of the GOP must be wondering whether all the primary-winning choices made in the run up to the Mid-Terms will prove helpful, as more video is released showing Delaware Senate hopeful Christine O’Donnell apparently speaking before thinking.
First clip to surface is from Scarborough Country, forerunner of Morning Joe on MSNBC. Here, O’Donnell enthusiastically confirms that she is in favour of stopping the whole country from having sex.
And to prove that this is not an isolated incident, Bill Maher has, as promised, aired another clip of O’Donnell from his late 90s show Politically Incorrect. Here, she dismisses evolution as “a myth”. Her clinching argument against evolution is “why aren’t monkeys still evolving into humans?”.
Eagle eyed watchers may also have noticed the presence on Maher’s Real Time panel of one Andrew Breitbart, of heavily edited ACORN “sting” video notoriety. He is not looking like someone who is about to leap to O’Donnell’s defence when Maher points out that this is someone who could soon be in the US Senate.
And this is what Maher is driving at: it’s not good for democracy to look bad, whether it’s in the UK, the USA, or anywhere else that is being held up as an example to others. I like a lot of things about the USA, but as to the advisability of sending some of the Tea Partiers to Washington, I’m not so sure.
First clip to surface is from Scarborough Country, forerunner of Morning Joe on MSNBC. Here, O’Donnell enthusiastically confirms that she is in favour of stopping the whole country from having sex.
And to prove that this is not an isolated incident, Bill Maher has, as promised, aired another clip of O’Donnell from his late 90s show Politically Incorrect. Here, she dismisses evolution as “a myth”. Her clinching argument against evolution is “why aren’t monkeys still evolving into humans?”.
Eagle eyed watchers may also have noticed the presence on Maher’s Real Time panel of one Andrew Breitbart, of heavily edited ACORN “sting” video notoriety. He is not looking like someone who is about to leap to O’Donnell’s defence when Maher points out that this is someone who could soon be in the US Senate.
And this is what Maher is driving at: it’s not good for democracy to look bad, whether it’s in the UK, the USA, or anywhere else that is being held up as an example to others. I like a lot of things about the USA, but as to the advisability of sending some of the Tea Partiers to Washington, I’m not so sure.
Parish Notice – Comment Is Free
Zelo Street has, until now, allowed anyone to post comments, and to do so anonymously, should they wish. And, for the time being, that will continue. Also, there is no barrier to those who want to post adversely: one cannot object to free dissenting speech.
However, comments that are pejorative or abusive in tone are not welcome. It is for this reason that one such has had to be removed. Hopefully it will be the only instance: I don’t want to have to moderate comments, which would be time consuming and might prove to be a discouragement.
Nor do I want to be less than welcoming to this blog’s audience, particularly in the USA, where there appear to be an increasing number of viewers.
End of parish notice, and on with the blogging!
However, comments that are pejorative or abusive in tone are not welcome. It is for this reason that one such has had to be removed. Hopefully it will be the only instance: I don’t want to have to moderate comments, which would be time consuming and might prove to be a discouragement.
Nor do I want to be less than welcoming to this blog’s audience, particularly in the USA, where there appear to be an increasing number of viewers.
End of parish notice, and on with the blogging!
Friday, 24 September 2010
Travelling Hopefully
There’s one drawback to giving out your email address: it gives others the chance to email you. So it is with Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson, whose latest bulletin arrived this morning. Eddie has decided to go in to bat for Bombardier Transportation, who run the Railway Works – or, to be more accurate, what is left of it.
Fortunately, he’s making more sense than when he accused the previous Government of “exporting jobs to Japan”, when the issue was the building of new trains, something the Works has not done for almost two decades. This time, he is talking refurbishment, which at least is within the capability of the plant.
Eddie is backing the idea of life extending the InterCity 125 train sets, rather than new build, the latter likely to fall victim to spending cuts. Unfortunately, he has overlooked one or two important points.
First, the IC125 power cars have almost all been through a programme of refurbishment already – mainly at Brush in Loughborough. None of them have been refurbished at Crewe. Second, while Bombardier have refurbished coaching stock recently, none of that work came to Crewe either.
And the only part of the Works that Bombardier seem to be interested in right now is the wheel shop – it alone is on a two-shift day. Could the IC125 coach wheelsets be part of that? Well, they already are – so nothing would change.
Just how much Bombardier value Crewe Works was shown recently when a large part of the wall marking the boundary between the south side of the site and the Crewe to Chester main line collapsed. There is no sign of it being repaired. Heck, much of the debris is still lying there.
The workforce would love to do life extension work on the IC125s. Whether Bombardier are about to give them the opportunity is another matter entirely. I do hope that Eddie is not about to trust them without something written and suitably enforceable.
Fortunately, he’s making more sense than when he accused the previous Government of “exporting jobs to Japan”, when the issue was the building of new trains, something the Works has not done for almost two decades. This time, he is talking refurbishment, which at least is within the capability of the plant.
Eddie is backing the idea of life extending the InterCity 125 train sets, rather than new build, the latter likely to fall victim to spending cuts. Unfortunately, he has overlooked one or two important points.
First, the IC125 power cars have almost all been through a programme of refurbishment already – mainly at Brush in Loughborough. None of them have been refurbished at Crewe. Second, while Bombardier have refurbished coaching stock recently, none of that work came to Crewe either.
And the only part of the Works that Bombardier seem to be interested in right now is the wheel shop – it alone is on a two-shift day. Could the IC125 coach wheelsets be part of that? Well, they already are – so nothing would change.
Just how much Bombardier value Crewe Works was shown recently when a large part of the wall marking the boundary between the south side of the site and the Crewe to Chester main line collapsed. There is no sign of it being repaired. Heck, much of the debris is still lying there.
The workforce would love to do life extension work on the IC125s. Whether Bombardier are about to give them the opportunity is another matter entirely. I do hope that Eddie is not about to trust them without something written and suitably enforceable.
When Leaks Are Not Leaks
With suspiciously good timing – just as Ken Livingstone is being confirmed as Labour’s choice to contest the London mayoralty, and with the party’s new leader to be announced tomorrow – comes an apparent leak from the Government. Moreover, a version comes into the possession of the Maily Telegraph, the “quality” paper relatively sympathetic to the Coalition, and with a free to view website.
Also, the leak appears to put flesh on Young Dave’s jolly good idea that there should be a “bonfire of the quangos”: 177 of these bodies are to be abolished. Yet more are still under threat, with others to be merged or sold off. Yes, the new order is being tough on quangos. The right and libertarian part of the blogosphere will be awash with Pavlovian dribbling.
But a reality check on this leak is in order. And, the more the exercise is pored over, the greater the impression is given that this is not a leak at all. The Telegraph article setting out the supposed bonfire is honest enough not to use that term. This has been handed to the Telegraph very deliberately. But who would indulge in such a practice?
Well, he may not be involved personally, but my money, were I a betting man, would be on Fat Eric being behind it. No Government minister is more adept at the cheerleader pleasing gesture, allied of course to his mastery of the casual smear (which holds, in this case, that quangos are uniquely attributable to Labour, and possibly to Pa Broon personally).
What Fat Eric and the rest of the Cabinet will not be able to answer is the question of how the work done by all these bodies will continue to get done: the idea that a quango is something unnecessary, a kind of leftist job creation scheme, is ridiculous.
So what will follow the scrapping of the 177? More power in the hands of central Government departments? More likely there will be an opportunity for private sector outsourcers and consultants to enrich themselves.
That might not save the average taxpayer much, if any, of their contribution to the Exchequer. So it’s gesture politics as usual, then.
Also, the leak appears to put flesh on Young Dave’s jolly good idea that there should be a “bonfire of the quangos”: 177 of these bodies are to be abolished. Yet more are still under threat, with others to be merged or sold off. Yes, the new order is being tough on quangos. The right and libertarian part of the blogosphere will be awash with Pavlovian dribbling.
But a reality check on this leak is in order. And, the more the exercise is pored over, the greater the impression is given that this is not a leak at all. The Telegraph article setting out the supposed bonfire is honest enough not to use that term. This has been handed to the Telegraph very deliberately. But who would indulge in such a practice?
Well, he may not be involved personally, but my money, were I a betting man, would be on Fat Eric being behind it. No Government minister is more adept at the cheerleader pleasing gesture, allied of course to his mastery of the casual smear (which holds, in this case, that quangos are uniquely attributable to Labour, and possibly to Pa Broon personally).
What Fat Eric and the rest of the Cabinet will not be able to answer is the question of how the work done by all these bodies will continue to get done: the idea that a quango is something unnecessary, a kind of leftist job creation scheme, is ridiculous.
So what will follow the scrapping of the 177? More power in the hands of central Government departments? More likely there will be an opportunity for private sector outsourcers and consultants to enrich themselves.
That might not save the average taxpayer much, if any, of their contribution to the Exchequer. So it’s gesture politics as usual, then.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
That’ll Cost You, Sport – 19
How are things on the news website front? Is anyone out there noticing a desperate need for more free to view ones? The question is put because Rupe’s supposedly upmarket troops at the Times and Sunday Times have vanished behind a paywall, yet the groundswell of popular opinion clamouring for their reinstatement to the land of the free has not materialised.
And that may be starting to concern Rebekah Brooks (née Wade), Murdoch’s representative on this particular part of the earth. That thought has occurred after seeing several iterations of a new TV advert, not for the Times newspaper, but specifically for its website. The advert looks tempting, until the end.
There, the difficult subject of payment is broached: only a quid for the first 28 days. Well, big deal. The Maily Telegraph, Independent and Guardian are a quid less, and for rather longer. And after the introductory offer, the Times is one pound for a “daily pass”. Even so, the offer might get a few more punters on board – but only for a month.
Most likely is that the numbers prepared to pay in the days following imposition of the paywall have been so low that Wade and her fellow News Corp managers have been panicked into action to try and reverse a dire trend. The only way that this kind of scheme is going to succeed is if the content on offer is so superior to the competition – or that the competition follow suit.
Well, that competition is so far not following suit, and I doubt that the content is worth anyone opening their wallet. Rupe was warned it wouldn’t work.
And that may be starting to concern Rebekah Brooks (née Wade), Murdoch’s representative on this particular part of the earth. That thought has occurred after seeing several iterations of a new TV advert, not for the Times newspaper, but specifically for its website. The advert looks tempting, until the end.
There, the difficult subject of payment is broached: only a quid for the first 28 days. Well, big deal. The Maily Telegraph, Independent and Guardian are a quid less, and for rather longer. And after the introductory offer, the Times is one pound for a “daily pass”. Even so, the offer might get a few more punters on board – but only for a month.
Most likely is that the numbers prepared to pay in the days following imposition of the paywall have been so low that Wade and her fellow News Corp managers have been panicked into action to try and reverse a dire trend. The only way that this kind of scheme is going to succeed is if the content on offer is so superior to the competition – or that the competition follow suit.
Well, that competition is so far not following suit, and I doubt that the content is worth anyone opening their wallet. Rupe was warned it wouldn’t work.
Inside The Fox
There has been an interesting development coming out of the senate candidacy of Delaware “Tea Party” favourite Christine O’Donnell. As I noted earlier this week, she had cancelled two television appearances on Sunday, but was then persuaded to appear on the Tuesday show of professional loudmouth Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).
But why appear on Fox only two days after cancelling on the same channel’s Fox News Sunday? Over at Media Matters For America (MMFA), they have the answer, reinforced by a source inside Fox. That source has confirmed that O’Donnell would have been given a more sympathetic and easier reception by Hannity. Chris Wallace, who hosts Fox News Sunday, is – a rarity for this broadcaster – thorough and objective.
So the electorate in Delaware see their GOP candidate make an appearance, but not where the questioning might get too difficult. This makes for good fundraising opportunities: MMFA’s Eric Burns has observed that GOP candidates “aren’t going on Fox for an interview, they’re going there for an infomercial to help raise money”.
Burns also stressed, in an interview on MSNBC’s Countdown, that their information on the easier nature of appearing with Hannity had come from an insider at Fox. That is the most significant part of his discussion with Keith Olbermann: if the MMFA source is at all well placed within Fox, there could be yet more interesting information on its way.
And, to add to the fun, there will no doubt be efforts made by Fox management to discover the identity of the MMFA informant.
But why appear on Fox only two days after cancelling on the same channel’s Fox News Sunday? Over at Media Matters For America (MMFA), they have the answer, reinforced by a source inside Fox. That source has confirmed that O’Donnell would have been given a more sympathetic and easier reception by Hannity. Chris Wallace, who hosts Fox News Sunday, is – a rarity for this broadcaster – thorough and objective.
So the electorate in Delaware see their GOP candidate make an appearance, but not where the questioning might get too difficult. This makes for good fundraising opportunities: MMFA’s Eric Burns has observed that GOP candidates “aren’t going on Fox for an interview, they’re going there for an infomercial to help raise money”.
Burns also stressed, in an interview on MSNBC’s Countdown, that their information on the easier nature of appearing with Hannity had come from an insider at Fox. That is the most significant part of his discussion with Keith Olbermann: if the MMFA source is at all well placed within Fox, there could be yet more interesting information on its way.
And, to add to the fun, there will no doubt be efforts made by Fox management to discover the identity of the MMFA informant.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Supermarket Sweep – Update
This afternoon, Crewe’s largest Tesco outlet – the one backing on to the Heritage Centre, that used to be a Safeway – was open for business. But, so what? Well, the successors to Terry Leahy are sitting on planning consent to demolish that store and replace it with a “supermarket on stilts” on the same site. It hasn’t happened yet, despite the consent coming back in December.
The reason for Tesco not pursuing this newly acquired nuclear option can be seen across the main road: the building partially unoccupied since MFI deservedly went bust still has Dunelm Mill in occupation. Getting them out, as I considered back in July last year, will trigger the redevelopment of the site into another “supermarket on stilts” – this one a Sainsbury’s.
It was the action by Sainsbury’s that prompted Tesco into making their move. The problem was that there was nowhere to expand on their current site. Despite the rumours about the future of the Heritage Centre – moving to part of the Works is favourite – there does not appear to be any chance of Tesco getting their hands on that site.
So Tesco, rather in the manner of a Cold War arms race, opted for the same style development as Sainsbury’s, the difference being that the Tesco will have two storeys above its car park. Hopefully any windows facing the Heritage Centre will be permanently sealed, for those occasions when there are boilers being steam tested, or locomotives being lit and coaled ready for charter trains.
So, for now, both retailers await the removal of Dunelm Mill. After that, and in the name of choice, more floor space will be provided for a population that does not give the impression of needing or wanting it.
The reason for Tesco not pursuing this newly acquired nuclear option can be seen across the main road: the building partially unoccupied since MFI deservedly went bust still has Dunelm Mill in occupation. Getting them out, as I considered back in July last year, will trigger the redevelopment of the site into another “supermarket on stilts” – this one a Sainsbury’s.
It was the action by Sainsbury’s that prompted Tesco into making their move. The problem was that there was nowhere to expand on their current site. Despite the rumours about the future of the Heritage Centre – moving to part of the Works is favourite – there does not appear to be any chance of Tesco getting their hands on that site.
So Tesco, rather in the manner of a Cold War arms race, opted for the same style development as Sainsbury’s, the difference being that the Tesco will have two storeys above its car park. Hopefully any windows facing the Heritage Centre will be permanently sealed, for those occasions when there are boilers being steam tested, or locomotives being lit and coaled ready for charter trains.
So, for now, both retailers await the removal of Dunelm Mill. After that, and in the name of choice, more floor space will be provided for a population that does not give the impression of needing or wanting it.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Industrial Dishonesty – 1
My recent travels to London have served as a reminder of one thing that The Railway does very well, and that is the ability to be less than open with the travelling public about service changes, and particularly closures. It is a habit which, as I’ve noted previously, was honed in the 1950s - well before the Beeching Report – and has continued since.
The reminder I received when en route for the capital was when the train passed through the station near the village of Norton Bridge. Had one not been watching Network Rail (NR) closely, and merely relying upon information from their online journey planner, the impression might be given that this station was open.
But it isn’t. Norton Bridge station consists of a single island platform, flanked by running lines. The means of crossing those lines was a footbridge – but this was recently dismantled and has not been replaced. Nor is there any intention to replace it. A bus service has been substituted: nearby Stafford is now half an hour away, rather than six or seven minutes.
There is, of course, a closure procedure which must be followed, but as a replacement bus service has been laid on, the station is officially considered to be still open. But, so what? The French run large parts of their nominal passenger train network with buses. Yes they do. But in the UK, grim experience has taught us that bus substitution is a stepping stone to closure, rather than a way of running marginal services over the long term.
The usual stepping stone on the way to closure is one of discouragement, and for Norton Bridge this box is ticked when one considers the journey to Stoke-On-Trent: passengers have to change buses at Stone (but not at the railway station), and the journey time is almost 70 minutes, rather than 20 or so previously by rail.
It’s entirely possible that the custom on offer at Norton Bridge cannot justify the retention of its station. But, rather than address this possibility and go through the closure process now, NR has embarked on a long and drawn out campaign of softening up – just to make sure. After all, this is the way it has been for over half a century, so why change a winning formula?
[Winning, by the way, does not refer to the travelling public]
The reminder I received when en route for the capital was when the train passed through the station near the village of Norton Bridge. Had one not been watching Network Rail (NR) closely, and merely relying upon information from their online journey planner, the impression might be given that this station was open.
But it isn’t. Norton Bridge station consists of a single island platform, flanked by running lines. The means of crossing those lines was a footbridge – but this was recently dismantled and has not been replaced. Nor is there any intention to replace it. A bus service has been substituted: nearby Stafford is now half an hour away, rather than six or seven minutes.
There is, of course, a closure procedure which must be followed, but as a replacement bus service has been laid on, the station is officially considered to be still open. But, so what? The French run large parts of their nominal passenger train network with buses. Yes they do. But in the UK, grim experience has taught us that bus substitution is a stepping stone to closure, rather than a way of running marginal services over the long term.
The usual stepping stone on the way to closure is one of discouragement, and for Norton Bridge this box is ticked when one considers the journey to Stoke-On-Trent: passengers have to change buses at Stone (but not at the railway station), and the journey time is almost 70 minutes, rather than 20 or so previously by rail.
It’s entirely possible that the custom on offer at Norton Bridge cannot justify the retention of its station. But, rather than address this possibility and go through the closure process now, NR has embarked on a long and drawn out campaign of softening up – just to make sure. After all, this is the way it has been for over half a century, so why change a winning formula?
[Winning, by the way, does not refer to the travelling public]
Phoney War – 2
It’s September, which means party conference season, and that of the Lib Dems is drawing to a close. There has been little in the way of rebellions against the leadership, barring a defeat on the push for more “free schools”, a pet project of Education Secretary “Oiky” Gove. Corporal Clegg is as secure as ever.
So is this a sign that there is nothing to worry about? Well, no it isn’t. As I noted recently, the upcoming spending cuts are being discussed and debated across the political spectrum, but they are not yet a reality in most folks’ lives. Thus there has been little for the Lib Dem faithful to complain about.
As ever, the numbers can be batted to and fro, but it is only when the Government’s spending review reports – next month, I was one out on that previous post – that those numbers are known for sure. Even then, the results of the cuts will not have come to pass: even those job losses will not yet have happened.
And only then will those Lib Dem faithful have their patience and loyalty truly tested. Next year’s gathering may look rather different.
So is this a sign that there is nothing to worry about? Well, no it isn’t. As I noted recently, the upcoming spending cuts are being discussed and debated across the political spectrum, but they are not yet a reality in most folks’ lives. Thus there has been little for the Lib Dem faithful to complain about.
As ever, the numbers can be batted to and fro, but it is only when the Government’s spending review reports – next month, I was one out on that previous post – that those numbers are known for sure. Even then, the results of the cuts will not have come to pass: even those job losses will not yet have happened.
And only then will those Lib Dem faithful have their patience and loyalty truly tested. Next year’s gathering may look rather different.
Monday, 20 September 2010
What Would You Do?
Barack Obama has been pushing back against the rhetoric coming from the so-called “Tea Party” movement. In his latest Town Hall meeting, the Prez has put the question directly to the Tea Partiers: What Would You Do?
The reason for his stance is straightforward: the Tea Partiers are either unable or unwilling to talk in specifics. This has the benefit of making it difficult for the Democrats to pin them down on tax or spending commitments, and whether they would keep or cut certain Government programmes.
It’s interesting to see him looking to press the Tea Partiers on the point, but it will be no surprise if the response is more non-specific and unnecessarily hyperbolic verbiage from his opponents and their backers.
The reason for his stance is straightforward: the Tea Partiers are either unable or unwilling to talk in specifics. This has the benefit of making it difficult for the Democrats to pin them down on tax or spending commitments, and whether they would keep or cut certain Government programmes.
It’s interesting to see him looking to press the Tea Partiers on the point, but it will be no surprise if the response is more non-specific and unnecessarily hyperbolic verbiage from his opponents and their backers.
Triple A – No Surprise There, Then
For the last two years at least – not just in the run-up to the General Election – one way that those on the right kept putting the frighteners on the electorate was to raise the spectre of the UK losing its cherished AAA credit rating. Parallels were drawn with Greece and Ireland.
But it was never going to happen, and today beings news that the AAA status has been confirmed by Moody’s. On the face of it, this seems to be down to the Government’s supposed austerity programme. But the Comprehensive Spending Review which will determine the manner of that austerity is a month away.
So how does Moody’s know that the austerity programme, as they assert, will not affect the economy, which they describe as “flexible and robust”, while undergoing “austere fiscal consolidation”? Put directly, they don’t, which suggests that the way in which a given country’s credit rating is deduced is less than totally rigorous.
In any case, we are told that the UK has retained an AAA rating from Moody’s since that agency first assessed the country’s long term debt back in 1978. That, during the last days of Jim Callaghan’s Administration, was at the time when the UK was held to be the “sick man of Europe”.
So the AAA rating might not be such a big deal after all. And Moody’s would have to mark down the USA before the UK, which isn’t going to happen any time soon.
But it was never going to happen, and today beings news that the AAA status has been confirmed by Moody’s. On the face of it, this seems to be down to the Government’s supposed austerity programme. But the Comprehensive Spending Review which will determine the manner of that austerity is a month away.
So how does Moody’s know that the austerity programme, as they assert, will not affect the economy, which they describe as “flexible and robust”, while undergoing “austere fiscal consolidation”? Put directly, they don’t, which suggests that the way in which a given country’s credit rating is deduced is less than totally rigorous.
In any case, we are told that the UK has retained an AAA rating from Moody’s since that agency first assessed the country’s long term debt back in 1978. That, during the last days of Jim Callaghan’s Administration, was at the time when the UK was held to be the “sick man of Europe”.
So the AAA rating might not be such a big deal after all. And Moody’s would have to mark down the USA before the UK, which isn’t going to happen any time soon.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Mail Order Hypocrisy
Not everyone may have noticed, but Pope Benedict XVI has dropped in on the UK for a state visit. Fair play for the nation’s Roman Catholics, one might think. But there are opportunities here for the Fourth Estate too, whether Catholic or Protestant. The kind of opportunities being taken by the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre and his obedient hacks at the Daily Mail generally involve proclaiming the universal good of Christianity, while kicking the BBC.
And there is no more obedient Mail hack than the appalling Amanda Platell, although her distaste for the Beeb was put aside this morning so she could once again feature on the Andy Marr Show paper review. La Platell, in her latest and customarily mediocre column, paints the BBC as some kind of enabler in a great anti-Christian conspiracy.
This was not merely the view of one overmonied hack: the Mail’s “comment” on 16 September told of “the increasingly ugly and strident secularism being promoted by the BBC ...”, while another editorial yesterday described “... the strident voices of secularism, cheered on by the BBC, which seek to exclude religious values from national discourse”.
Leaving aside the inconvenient fact that the Mail’s website is full of slebs, glamour models and adverts (which might qualify as secularism), whether the Beeb really is anti-Christian might be easily deduced from the lack of coverage they are giving the Papal visit. So I checked it out, and this is what I found:
Thursday 16 September: BBC2, 2 hours 30 minutes
Friday 17 September: BBC2, 2 hours
Saturday 18 September: BBC2, 2 hours 35 minutes
Sunday 19 September: BBC2, 3 hours 10 minutes.
In addition to these timings are the programmes made to fit in with the visit, and chunks of news bulletins dedicated to it. That’s a lot of airtime for such a secular and anti-Christian organisation. Plus right now the Pope is top story on the Beeb website.
But not on that of the Mail. Pass the sick bag.
And there is no more obedient Mail hack than the appalling Amanda Platell, although her distaste for the Beeb was put aside this morning so she could once again feature on the Andy Marr Show paper review. La Platell, in her latest and customarily mediocre column, paints the BBC as some kind of enabler in a great anti-Christian conspiracy.
This was not merely the view of one overmonied hack: the Mail’s “comment” on 16 September told of “the increasingly ugly and strident secularism being promoted by the BBC ...”, while another editorial yesterday described “... the strident voices of secularism, cheered on by the BBC, which seek to exclude religious values from national discourse”.
Leaving aside the inconvenient fact that the Mail’s website is full of slebs, glamour models and adverts (which might qualify as secularism), whether the Beeb really is anti-Christian might be easily deduced from the lack of coverage they are giving the Papal visit. So I checked it out, and this is what I found:
Thursday 16 September: BBC2, 2 hours 30 minutes
Friday 17 September: BBC2, 2 hours
Saturday 18 September: BBC2, 2 hours 35 minutes
Sunday 19 September: BBC2, 3 hours 10 minutes.
In addition to these timings are the programmes made to fit in with the visit, and chunks of news bulletins dedicated to it. That’s a lot of airtime for such a secular and anti-Christian organisation. Plus right now the Pope is top story on the Beeb website.
But not on that of the Mail. Pass the sick bag.
Restoring Sanity – The Rally Is On
After all the pre-announcement announcements, after all the build-up, after the thought that it was all a stunt to get folks to tune in to Comedy Central, has come the news that there really will be a rally on the National Mall next month in Washington DC, hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Those other broadcasters who checked with the authorities found out that Stewart and Colbert had applied for permits for a gathering on October 30 – they were for real. And there will be two competing rallies, which no doubt will add to the fun: this is an event devised by people who have retained their sense of humour.
But there is a serious purpose behind the rallies – “Rally to Restore Sanity” with Stewart, and “March to Keep Fear Alive” with Colbert – and that is to provide some kind of counter to the hyperbolic, angry and frequently irrational tone of the so-called “Tea Party” movement. Will many citizens be there? I think so.
And Stewart is taking his campaign into the lion’s den this week, as he makes another appearance on Wednesday with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse). The feedback to the announcement on the HuffPo alone has been overwhelming – over 12,500 comments so far – and this campaign could really take off.
Which might be no bad thing.
Those other broadcasters who checked with the authorities found out that Stewart and Colbert had applied for permits for a gathering on October 30 – they were for real. And there will be two competing rallies, which no doubt will add to the fun: this is an event devised by people who have retained their sense of humour.
But there is a serious purpose behind the rallies – “Rally to Restore Sanity” with Stewart, and “March to Keep Fear Alive” with Colbert – and that is to provide some kind of counter to the hyperbolic, angry and frequently irrational tone of the so-called “Tea Party” movement. Will many citizens be there? I think so.And Stewart is taking his campaign into the lion’s den this week, as he makes another appearance on Wednesday with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse). The feedback to the announcement on the HuffPo alone has been overwhelming – over 12,500 comments so far – and this campaign could really take off.
Which might be no bad thing.
Innocent Men Get Temporarily Guilty
The appetite within part of the Fourth Estate for frightening their readers with Muslim scare stories was demonstrated very clearly on Friday last, when the Met’s finest arrested a group of street cleaners in central London.
The arrests were as a result of a tip-off, and were classed as “precautionary”. Former head of counter terrorism at the Yard, Bob Quick, stressed “An arrest is a means of investigation – it does not mean someone is guilty of an offence”. But the manner of arrest – apparently at gunpoint – and the suspects being of North African origin set the scare merchants off.
Out of the traps sharpish as the hare of Islamophobia was set running was the Daily Express, with the screaming headline “Muslim Plot To Kill Pope”. It went on: “Islamic terrorists disguised as street cleaners allegedly hatched an audacious plot to blow up the Pope”, but then reassured its readers “The threatened attack was foiled at the eleventh hour”.
Predictably, Rupe’s downmarket troops at the Sun were similarly convinced: “Six In ‘Kill Pope’ Plot” they shouted, helpfully explaining that “North Africa is a hotbed of Islamic Fundamentalism”, in case its readers hadn’t made the Muslim connection. But it wasn’t just the tabloids.
The Maily Telegraph – a supposedly upmarket, quality source of good journalism – splashed “Five suspected Islamist Terrorists arrested over assassination plot”. Except that the men weren’t arrested because they were suspected of being “Islamists”. Moreover, there was no plot. How can we be so sure of this?
Well, because all the men were released this morning without charge. Never mind, though: another excuse to stoke up anti-Muslim sentiment has been gleefully taken up by an assembled hackery that ought to know better.
The arrests were as a result of a tip-off, and were classed as “precautionary”. Former head of counter terrorism at the Yard, Bob Quick, stressed “An arrest is a means of investigation – it does not mean someone is guilty of an offence”. But the manner of arrest – apparently at gunpoint – and the suspects being of North African origin set the scare merchants off.
Out of the traps sharpish as the hare of Islamophobia was set running was the Daily Express, with the screaming headline “Muslim Plot To Kill Pope”. It went on: “Islamic terrorists disguised as street cleaners allegedly hatched an audacious plot to blow up the Pope”, but then reassured its readers “The threatened attack was foiled at the eleventh hour”.
Predictably, Rupe’s downmarket troops at the Sun were similarly convinced: “Six In ‘Kill Pope’ Plot” they shouted, helpfully explaining that “North Africa is a hotbed of Islamic Fundamentalism”, in case its readers hadn’t made the Muslim connection. But it wasn’t just the tabloids.
The Maily Telegraph – a supposedly upmarket, quality source of good journalism – splashed “Five suspected Islamist Terrorists arrested over assassination plot”. Except that the men weren’t arrested because they were suspected of being “Islamists”. Moreover, there was no plot. How can we be so sure of this?
Well, because all the men were released this morning without charge. Never mind, though: another excuse to stoke up anti-Muslim sentiment has been gleefully taken up by an assembled hackery that ought to know better.
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