Monday 10 August 2009

National Allotment Week and Prince Kropotkin

Birkdale Focus has a superb post by Iain Brodie Brown that starts by noting that this is National Allotment Week, goes on to quote Peter Kropotkin and ends by reminiscing about the glory days of the Young Liberals:

For our generation it was not only Kropotkin's ideas around "Mutual Aid" that we establish attractive but his 'green' ideas especially in his book "Factory Fields and Workshops". This publication did impact on Liberals at the times especially those like Howard developing the idea of 'garden suburbs'.

The book was republished in 1974 with a commentary by Colin Ward. In the book-and this is where we get back to allotments-Kropotkin argued that if food manufacture was small scale "allotment-like" then the level of manufacture would dramatically expand. His ideas influenced Gandhi and Tolstoy as well as the Dig for Victory campaign.

Colin Ward is a favourite of mine. He manages to make disorder sound a) common sense and b) thoroughly British. There was a good article on him in the Guardian a few years ago.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a remarkable final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the most excellent ever tennis player, his performance was once more brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick put up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he kept going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his tenacity and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an amazing record unlikely to be compressed for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and given his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a tournament that produces some great matches each year, and this day was negative exception. As a tennis devotee I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully after that day will be different but nothing can be taken away from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Great Recession for whom?

rdan(Re-printed with consent from the author, James Taylor, and David Zetland from The Great Recession Conspiracy)
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

INDONESIA MATTERS

The best book about Indonesia is Culture Shock - Jakarta by Derek Bacon and Terry CollinsIn August 2009, lubricate have to start to flow from the enormous Cepu oilfield in the centre of Java.Exxon Mobil, Pertamina and Petrochina are all involved in lubricate production in this area.(Indonesia's Texas? Rural Java braces for lubricate boom)Don't believe the stories about Indonesia (or Scotland) running out of oil.Indonesia is the fourth biggest country in the world and its economy is rising and it has valuable minerals.(Indonesia's Growth May Have Been Near Fastest in Southeast Asia) IndonesiansThe USA has been interfering violently in Indonesia for a lot of years.Back in the 1950s, the CIA and MI6 were working with Moslem groups and sections of the Indonesian military to try to destabilise the Indonesian president.President Sukarno was seen as being neutral rather than hostile towards Russia and China, and this did not suit the US and UK.In 1958, CIA planes were violence Indonesia, in the hope that the bombs would be blamed on Moslems. (Indonesia 1957-1958 KH)"A plane bombed a ship in the harbor of the isle of Ambon ... as well as hitting a church ...700 casualties had resulted from this single run..."A CIA plane bombed the Ambon marketplace, murder a large number of civilians on their way to church..."Three days later, during another violence run over Ambon, a CIA pilot, Allen Lawrence Pope, was shot down and captured."Thirty years old, from Perrine, Florida ... was to use four years as a captive in Indonesia before Sukarno acceded to a request from Robert Kennedy for his release."Pope was captured carrying a set of incriminating documents, including those which recognized him as a pilot for the US Air Force and the CIA airline CAT."

Blair knows a number of the Indonesian generals.Here's a useful blog about Indonesia: tbelfield.wordpress.com/.Here's a quote from it:Ralph McGhee, a senior CIA operations manager... supposed Indonesia was a 'model operation…You can trace back all major, bloody events run from Washington...' (Jakarta (Jakarta is coming))A few years ago, at Inside Indonesia, Kurt Biddle wrote about Indonesia - US military ties :"The Pentagon seems to be chomping at the bit for military involvement in Indonesia..."Paul Wolfowitz ...has frequently argued that Washington have to help Indonesia fight terrorists..."It remains to be seen if and how the US will be involved in Indonesia, but with 600 US military 'advisers' on the ground in the neighbouring Philippines, some see Indonesia as the next battlefield."Enter Noordin Top, allegedly a friend of the CIA.

Wolfowitz was once the US ambassador to Indonesia.Here's single of a lot of sites about Indonesia that appears to discourage any serious link between violence and the CIA in Indonesia? http://www.indonesiamatters.com/CIA & FBI Conspiracy Theories are made fun of?And here's another that appears to discourage links between violence and the CIA: indahnesia.com - Welcome to indahnesia.com - Discover Indonesia OnlineETAN is a valuable source on Indonesia: http://www.etan.org/news/default.htmSome favourite blogs and news sites on Indonesia:Jakartasshttp://www.allannairn.com/http://www.insideindonesia.org/More links can be found at Jakartass.This fine blog, http://pbgiltner.blogspot.com/ , "is in violation of Blogger's Terms of Service."It must have been telling the truth about something important?~~


Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a remarkable final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every bit as good. In winning, Federer has to be the best ever tennis player, his performance was once more brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick put up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he kept going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his stubbornness and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an amazing record unlikely to be compressed for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a tournament that produces some great matches each year, and this day was no exception. As a tennis addict I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing missing this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray missing out on the final. Hopefully after that day will be different but nothing can be taken absent from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Sunday 9 August 2009

Wayne Madsen Discusses Ongoing US Coverup of 9/11


Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a remarkable final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the most excellent ever tennis player, his performance was once additional brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick place up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he reserved going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his tenacity and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an astonishing record unlikely to be compressed for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a tournament that produces some great matches each year, and this day was no exception. As a tennis addict I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully next day will be different but nothing can be taken away from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

CBO’s Long-Term Projections for Social Security: 2009 Update

by Bruce WebbSummary from Director's Blog CBO’s Long-Term Projections for Social Security: 2009 UpdateFull Report: Long-Term Projections for Social Security: 2009 UpdateThis newest report on the long-range physical condition of Social Security shows a shape not much distorted from last year's but with some changes in the full dates and numbers. Per this report Social Security will be able to pay out "scheduled benefits" until Trust Fund tiredness in 2043 and thereafter will be able to pay out "payable benefits" at a rate starting at 83% of scheduled benefits and then gradually plummeting to 78% by 2083. Even after adjusting for price rises benefits after 2043 will be better than retirees get nowadays in real terms even though they will be a lesser replacement percentage. That is our children's retirement will be materially better than that of their grandparents if not quite custody up with the working life gains of their own grandchildren. And this even if we do not fix Social Security along lines suggested by the Northwest Plan for a Real Social Security Fix.If we did decide to fix Social Security on the income side we are faced with a gap scored by CBO of 1.3% of payroll compared to the 2.0% SSA score. That is where the NW Plan, based as it is on the additional conservative SSA number, would have a day two greater than before tax of around $1.50 for each week for the average income household, under CBO information that would be down to just around a $1.00. (If anyone is paying attention in seeing why CBO and SSA come up with these different scores please consult App. B on pages 33-34.)Important note. CBO figures typically show the 80% likelihood band, meaning there is a 10% chance that outcomes will be additional positive and an equal chance they will be additional negative. That is when examining Figure 1 above note that there is a small chance that Social Security will in fact self-fund without changes even within the 80% band (the medium blue area of overlap) plus a small chance that it would even be overfunded once you add in the higher 10%. Also note that this distribution is somewhat stricter than a lot of where a 90% band would be additional typical.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a extraordinary final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the best ever tennis player, his performance was once additional brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick put up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he kept going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his stubbornness and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an astonishing record unlikely to be beaten for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a contest that produces some great matches each year, and this day was no exception. As a tennis addict I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully after that day will be different but nothing can be taken absent from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Intermediaries

"When the Indonesia required something made in Israel, e.g. spy drones, they bought through intermediaries in the Philippines and elsewhere." - First Israeli business delegation visits IndonesiaPolice yet to ask Arina to identify Noordin's body PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT.Mark Lester, star of 'Oliver', has noticed a growing similarity between his own offspring Harriet and Michael Jackson's offspring Paris.JACKO: I'm real dad of Paris, says performer Mark Lester / 'I'm Paris' real dad': The astonishing claim from Michael Jackson's ... / Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, is my child, performer Mark Lester says / I'm the dad of Jacko's daughter, says Oliver! star Mark LesterEx-employees claim Blackwater pimped out young Iraqi girlsBugger Broadstairs for a holiday

Lording It Up At A Rothschild Mansion: The Man Who’s Supposed To Be Running The UK

Iceland: Lessons to be Learned from The Economic Meltdown

Arctic: Canada Leads NATO Confrontation With RussiaTreasury says negative to Forth bridge cash Does Scotland Need Nuclear Power? BBC Landward

KINSEY AND THE JEWS

~


Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

My favourite Liberal England posts of the year

Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice is attractive Lib Dem bloggers to nominate their favourite posts from their own blogs over the past year. This is aid the judging in the "best posting" category in the Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards.He writes:This is in fact my favourite award for the simple reason that it recognises writing talent, pure and simple. By which I don’t mean that the prose has to be commendable of a Booker nomination; rather that the article has to attract, engage and provoke readers â€" elevate our thinking, if you like.Last day the New Statesman described this blog as:an eclectic mix of melodic choices, random news items from Shropshire (where he doesn’t live), and supporting news and views. It’s also a mine of information on Liberal Party history and characters.So, concentrating on the supporting views, at this time are five posts from the last day that bear a second read:
  • In defence of insinuation - and against Jonathan Ross
  • House Points: David Miliband goes bananas
  • Carol Thatcher, praying nurses and the abolition of private life
  • Trainspotting, autism and what it means to be normal
  • Norwich North was a triumph for Rennardism
A couple of these first appeared in print (David Miliband goes bananas in Liberal Democrat News; Trainspotting, autism and what it means to be normal in Clinical Psychology Forum) which may be against the spirit of the competition, if not the rules.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Employment report follow up

By Spencer,Yesterday in describing the employment report I said:Moreover, the manufacturing work week rose from 39.5 to 39.8 hours and eventually hours were 2.9 hours versus 2.8 in the second quarter. Much of this was auto and confirms the previous reports that at smallest amount auto production is rebounding.I was criticized and accused of political bias since I was placing too much stress on the auto industry. According to my critics the increase in the auto hours worked should be ignored since it was due to government meddling and did not reflect what was really occurrence in the economy.Moreover, it was implied that the auto industry was atypical and was not representative of the rest of the economy. The BLS publishes the hours worked for ten sub industries of durable manufacturing. So what happened to them? In nine of the ten industries the work week long-drawn-out last month and four industries switched from falling hours worked to rising hours worked.Moreover, in the private service providing industries, hours worked long-drawn-out 0.3%, the first monthly increase since August, 2008. Just to place this in perspective, employment in the private service providing industries is 112,788,000 otherwise roughly ten times employment of 11,817,000 in all manufacturing:So the criticism that the hours worked just reflected the impact of the money for clunkers on the working of the economy is clearly completely wrong.Yes, as I pointed out the hours worked increase was impacted by the auto sector, but it was extensive through out the economy. The improvement in the service sector was particularly significant and that had nothing to do with the auto sector.Moreover, I specifically pointed out that hours worked is a most important indicator of future employment. At negative time did I say that the depression was over. That was the reason I characterized the employment report as encouraging. Compared to a lot of previous privateanalysts, especially on Wall Street, I thought my analysis was very tempered.I do not see where it was politically biased, and the argument that hours worked long-drawn-out only since of the auto sector just reflects ignorance.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Saturday 8 August 2009

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a extraordinary final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the best ever tennis player, his performance was once additional brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick put up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he kept going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his tenacity and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an astonishing record unlikely to be compressed for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a tournament that produces some great matches each year, and this day was no exception. As a tennis devotee I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully after that day will be different but nothing can be taken absent from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Bowstring Bridge to be demolished next month

Leicester City Council plans to get free rotten the Bowstring Bridge with unseemly haste. The feeling that it regards the city's industrial past as a dirty secret is hard to resist.According to the Leicester Mercury yesterday, destruction is intended to begin on 21 September:The only obstacle left is an application complete by Leicester Civic Society to have the bridge listed, which would block the demolition. A decision on that is imminent.The photograph shows the neighbouring Pump and Tap pub, which is scheduled for destruction by De Monfort University.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a remarkable final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the most excellent ever tennis player, his performance was once additional brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick place up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he reserved going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his tenacity and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an astonishing record unlikely to be compressed for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a contest that produces some great matches each year, and this day was negative exception. As a tennis devotee I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully next day will be different but nothing can be taken away from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

"The army is behind the jihad"

Noordin Top is the Malaysian supposed to be behind the Jakarta bar bombings of July 2009.He might well have links to the security services. (NOORDIN TOP WORKS FOR THE SECURITY SERVICES?)On 7 July 2009, Indonesian police reported that two men, who were believed to be Noordin Top's bodyguards, had been arrested in a workshop in a market in Temanggung and had led police to a house in the same area.(Wanted Terrorist Noordin M Top Believed Dead)TV footage showed police from the anti-terrorism unit creeping towards the house.This looks like a well-planned psyop?Reportedly the police shot Noordin dead.Indonesia's Tempo magazine, 4 August 2009, reports on the Small World of Noordin Top, a Big Fugitive. From this we learn that Noordin Top has lived in Pasuruhan rural community in the Cilacap district in Indonesia.Indonesia's Kopassus division trains in Cilakap.Koppasus are suspected of being behind the decades of violence in Indonesia.(aangirfan: Kopassus, Cilacap and the Jakarta bar bombs.)On 8 July 2009, at a house in Bekasi, "two suspected militants were killed and three were arrested" during a police raid. (Indonesian Police Kill 2 Suspected Militants Outside Jakarta, Find 500 kg of Bombs)Officers "seized explosives and a car bomb"."The two men killed in the raid were identified as ex-prisoner Air Setyaawan, believed to be connected to the bombard attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004, and Eko Peyang, suspected of being a bombard assembler."How easy is it to get a captive to become a patsy?The Jakarta Post reports that the Police thwarted a plot to slay the Indonesian president"National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri supposed the fear group deliberately rented a house in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi, which is located 12 minutes drive from the president’s private house in Cikeas in the West Java town of Bogor.“Why Jatiasih? Because it is located just about 12 minutes drive from the president’s [private] residence. It’s a legal fact that the target is the president’s house,” Bambang told a media conference on 8 August 2009.Police claim to have identified "the two suicide bombers responsible for the July 17 attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta". (Police Identify Jakarta Hotel Bombers)Bogor resident Dani Pramana, old 19, has been identified as the bomber responsible for the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel.Iwan Maulana, 28, from Pandeglang has been identified as having bombed the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.Were they patsies? (aangirfan: THE USE OF PATSIES IN THE JAKARTA HOTEL BOMBINGS? )Dr George J. Aditjondro is the most important expert on Indonesian politics.Aditjondro wrote, in October 2002, that Indonesia's military and business elites have very close ties to Israel and Mossad.Here is an extract from a program produced by SBS, Australia's Special Broadcasting Services (Inside Indonesia's War on Terror):George Aditjondro says that in every Indonesian hotspot, the army foments trouble by funding and arming together sides. In the case of Central Sulawesi, together Muslim and Christian militia.GEORGE ADITJONDRO: So the money does not have to come from rich people like Osama bin Laden and the weapons do not have to come from southern Philippines otherwise from other exotic places but is in fact coming from the official sources and that is why I am proverb that the kind of violence which we see in Indonesia is home grown terrorism. It's a kind of duel function otherwise triple function of the carrying weapons forces.The late reverand Agustina Lumentut told me in 2001 that the Indonesian military was using substitute armies to do their dirty work.THE LATE REVEREND AGUSTINA LUMENTUT: It is for sure, for sure that the army is behind the jihad, otherwise in front of jihad, yeah. No other interpretation.It was proved further than all doubt that one of the extremist groups, the Laskar Jihad, was supplied, elated and incited by the central administration to go on its murderous spree.THE LATE REVEREND AGUSTINA LUMENTUT: Who dare among them to say "Stop going that." Because they have reason for action that, they are registered officially by the government, the central government.Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is applauded in Australia as a moderate Muslim most important the fight against fear in Indonesia. But as the influential coordinating minister for politics and security, he chose not to stop the Laskar Jihad and was even partisan them.Jakarta bombard suspect death in doubtDNA tests to confirm Noordin dead~~
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

How to be a Communist and a Fascist at the Same Time

by Bruce WebbThose of us with a passing knowledge of the development of Communism and Fascism within the larger context of the Popular Revolution vs Reaction tend to scratch our heads when people blame Obama and his whole program of being both. After all in Europe, the historical cradle of each, the actions have seen to be the Left and Right anchors of a supporting range that has various democratic flavors in between: Social Democrats, Liberal Democrats, Christian Democrats and the like. But that is the result of looking at his through a narrow lens focussing on who is in otherwise out of supporting power and/or which party is holding the balance. There are alternative analytical plan that break this down in very different ways. To exemplify the mind-set that animates some, but by negative means all, of the keen opposition to Obama I would like to give you this from a review of Friedrich Hayek's The Road to SerfdomThis spell-binding book is a classic in the history of liberal ideas. It was unusually responsible for initiation an important debate on the relationship between supporting and economic freedom. It complete the author a world-famous intellectual. It set a new standard for what it means to be a dissident intellectual. It warned of a new form of despotism enacted in the name of liberation. And though it appeared in 1944, it continues to have a extraordinary impact. No single can consider himself well-schooled in modern supporting ideas without having engrossed its lessons.What F.A. Hayek saw, and what most all his contemporaries missed, was that every step absent from the free market and toward administration preparation represented a compromise of person freedom usually and a step toward a form of dictatorship--and this is true in all era and places. He demonstrated this against every claim that administration control was really only a means of increasing social well-being. Hayek supposed that administration preparation would make society less liveable, additional brutal, additional despotic. Socialism in all its forms is contrary to freedom.Nazism, he wrote, is not different in kind from Communism. Further, he showed that the very forms of administration that England and America were supposedly fighting abroad were being enacted at home, if under a different guise. Further steps down this road, he said, can only end in the abolition of effective liberty for everyone.Capitalism, he wrote, is the only system of economics compatible with person dignity, prosperity, and liberty. To the extent we move absent from that system, we empower the most horrible people in society to manage what they do not understand.For followers of Hayek's custom the enemy is statism and their bulwark, their strength is capitalism. To argue as a lot of leftists do that opponents of physical condition care reform otherwise of increases in minimum wage otherwise any other intevention by the State to improve social otherwise economic justice are just arguing against their own material interests, and that in action consequently they are just siding with the bosses fall on deaf ears. Once you have internalized the twin equations Capitalism=Freedom & Statism=Tyranny you can well understand why Movement Conservatives first discarded the Eisenhower and Rockefeller Republicans who espoused Goo-Goo approaches ('Goo-Goo' being an old, somewhat mocking term for the Good Government movement). For people who followed Hayek the Interstate Highway System was not an instrument for good, the fact that it was administration initiated, funded and maintained complete it additional like a Superhighway to Serfdom.Not all the anger being exhibited has its total roots in this Hayek-Friedman-Libertarian soil, there are clearly cultural and racial roots to much of it as well. But if you think that somewhere behind that shouting face is the committment to single of the original rallying cries of Movement Conservatism, that of Barry Goldwater in his acceptance speech in 1964: 'I would remind you that radicalism in the defense of liberty is negative vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is negative virtue!Not my own cup of tea, I kind of believe in steady pursuit of justice. I just want to point out that this is not just mindless anger, there is at least some coherentness behind it. An insurance claims rep is an agent of capitalism and consequently an friend of Freedom. A administration physical condition care bureaucrat is an agent of statism and consequently an enemy of Freedom. Making an operational argument that either single is getting between you and your doctor doesn't cut any ice. Either you are for Freedom otherwise against Freedom, if that comes with some personal give up sobeit.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Open thread August 8, 2009


Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a remarkable final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the most excellent ever tennis player, his performance was once additional brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick place up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he kept going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his stubbornness and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an amazing record unlikely to be compressed for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a tournament that produces some great matches each year, and this day was no exception. As a tennis addict I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully after that day will be different but nothing can be taken absent from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Organised Secularists are as tedious as Evangelical Christians

The previous day I had the distinction of being the first person to vote in a Lib Dem Voice poll. It asked:"Do you think Radio 4’s Thought for the Day should be opened up tosecularists and humanists?"
  • Yes, open it up
  • No, keep it for religion
  • Just scrap Thought for the Day
I voted to scrap it, confident that I would be in the majority.Not a bit of it. Yesterday Liberal Democrat Voice in print the results of the poll. The results were:
  • Yes 384
  • No 122
  • Scrap it 134.
I have never been entirely sure what a humanist is, but for a secularists to demand to be accommodated in a religious slot is downright bizarre.My own religious position is settled. While I love Church of England architecture and music, that does not mean that its policy true. And to take on an intellectualised form of Christianity consequently that I could enjoy them - proverb that when we talk about life after death we are really proverb something profound about this life - would be dishonest.Besides, though I find Evensong in a cathedral moving, on the rate occasions I have been grateful to go to previous services I have establish the lecture worthless and the melody a dirge. And I seriously hate the Evangelical, Christian Union style of belief. I have seen it do great harm in my own family.The trouble is that organised secularists resemble no one consequently much as these happy-clappy Christians. They are just as boring and in much the same way. Hence the new atheist summer camp for children, for example.There was a time when I was paying attention to the secularist movement, but I establish them stopped up minded. They took it for decided that if you agreed that there was no God or deity then you would share a their views on a raft of subjects like abortion and euthanasia. For me, that simply did not follow.And have these people ever heard Thought for the Day? It is dull beyond endurance. Its short length and the demand for blandness slay any interesting ideas stone dead, and I don't see that atheist would manage with it any better. The most excellent you could hope for would be to mirror the rebarbative confidence of Anne Atkins.I can only recall only one good Thought for the Day. I think it came from Rosemary Harthill, who was then the BBC's religious correspondent and she talked about faith at school. At secondary train you were obtainable a wet, New Testament sort of God and kept your eyes open during prayers to show you did not believe. At primary school, by contrast, God was a fierce, Old Testament figure. He was a God of revenge who might conceivably take your side against the headmistress.What is most offensive about Thought for the Day is the attempt to insinuate faith into the very experienced Today programme like an aspirin in a teaspoon of jam. It would be better by far to give Christians and previous believers - and non-believers - their own programmes.I still regret that Radio 4 no longer broadcasts the service of Compline late on Sunday evenings: Brethren, be sober, be vigilant; because your opponent the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith.That is the stuff to give the troops. Not nonsense like Thought for the Day, secularist or not.
Watch Live TV on your Laptop or Desktop PC!

Friday 7 August 2009

A butterfly in Little Bowden

This afternoon, as England were throwing away the Ashes, the butterflies were enjoying my buddleia in the sun.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Federer winning Wimbledon

What a extraordinary final - now I thought last day was good, but this match was every small piece as good. In winning, Federer has to be the best ever tennis player, his performance was once additional brilliant, even if it took until the 77th game to break the Roddick serve. I thought Andy Roddick put up a great show, even after squandering four set points in the second set tiebreak he reserved going right to the end and to lose the final set 15-13 and showed his tenacity and perseverance. For Andy Roddick to lose three Wimbledon finals must be pretty hard to take, but Federer is a brilliant player, and to win fifteen Grand Slams is an astonishing record unlikely to be beaten for a long time to come. I can even see Roger Federer getting to twenty, and known his age he has every chance of achieving even more. Wimbledon is a contest that produces some great matches each year, and this day was negative exception. As a tennis devotee I am always glued to the TV set during Wimbledon fortnight, the only thing absent this day was not seeing Nadal being able to defend his title, and Murray absent out on the final. Hopefully after that day will be different but nothing can be taken absent from the triumph of Roger Federer in winning again.
Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!

Enabling Machinery

Indonesia has had elections.

"A witness from North Sumatra showed a video of a child at a polling station who was about to cast a vote."The witness also supposed 20 brood were reported to have voted at single polling station in Central Tapanuli district."A Central Tapanuli village chief, Beni Batubara, also supposed a person there had been tried in court and convicted for voting for Yudhoyono 51 times."Chairul Anwar, a witness for Megawati from Bengkulu, supposed that in Kepahyang district, 99 percent of voters had negative inhabitant registration numbers, and the rest all had the same number." - Indonesian Election Dispute: Witnesses Join Voters List FrayJakarta Bomb Suspect Noordin Top in Central Java Shootout: Report

Rick Perry, Governor of Texas"According to the Austin American-Statesman, the source code for the site included additional than 2,200 hidden phrases, including express combinations with Hutchison's name and Rick Perry, the name of the incumbent.

"The newspaper supposed it also included the phrase 'rick perry gay.'" - Google Bans and Buries Web Sites: 6 Search Engine Showdowns"Keep a tight hold of by-elections in Scotland, using ‘enabling’ machinery to win every by-election, regardless of the result." - Operation 'Scorched Earth': Progress Report

Democratic Party Win Could Revitalize Japan

CHINA: "Shares are trading at 35 era earnings. Banks in the last six months have lent additional than the whole gross domestic product for the period...

"It has been clear for a decade that Chinese public information exaggerate the country's growth rate, so that the apparent 16% growth in the second quarter of 2009 is mainly fictional. Indeed, income tax receipts information suggest that growth in the first quarter may have even been negative.

"The most likely form of meltdown to occur is that of a banking system collapse" - Even China faces meltdown

US military base plan fuels Latin American tensions Freedom of thought - a French traditionIcelanders Say No to the EU!U.S. private army boss accused of murder and weapons smuggling in 'crusade to wipe out Muslims'Debunking a YouTube hit~~


Watch live TV on your laptop or desktop PC within seconds!