Dec
26
2005
There are few souls more deserving of attention than the mariner who works on Christmas Day.
As I sat on the cliffs by Astwood Cove on Saturday I saw a large blue car ship five miles offshore, leaving the island and very very slowly heading South West, away to the Caribbean, or maybe to Panama and then across to the Pacific... And I thought just how strange it might be to be at sea at Christmas, with a family (of sorts) but not your own...
Dec
20
2005
The President of the United States of America, George W. Bush has defended the tapping of phone lines in the name of preventing future terrorist activity. He did this in the period after the 11th September attacks in 2001, and I would bet that the majority of Americans support this. Why? They have already seen the carnage and experienced the loss of the terrorists attacks in 2001, and they will naturally and quite understandably support anything that prevents this from happening again.
There can never be a sense of 'moving on' or 'closure' in terms of 11th September whilst the war in Iraq continues. I am not saying by this that I am against the war in Iraq, just that it has its affects nonetheless. I feel uncomfortable saying that there might ever be 'closure', but I think it would be right to say that there will eventually be political closure but that the wounds created will never heal for the relatives and friends of victims.
The war in Afghanistan and the subsequent war in Iraq means that there has always been some form of military continuation of the response to the 11th September attacks. Understandably, Americans have become a lot more protective of their country and their identity, and this is in their head when they voice their opinions on Bush administration policy.
Whenever matters like these arise (phones being tapped, infringements on personal liberty etc.) the civil rights organisations are quick to criticise, and yet slow in coming up with viable alternatives to preventing future terrorist attacks. America has already witnessed the devastation of thousands of deaths, and they are unlikely to stand up for personal liberty considering they do not want a repeat incident. It would be fair to add that only those thought to be connected with terrorist organisations or potential terrorist activity have had their telephones tapped. Yet what about those who were simply making innocent international phone calls and yet had the Bush administration listening in on the line? It's annoying, definitely; some may argue that this is hardly a major infringement on civil liberty.
It is important, nevertheless, that this policy does not go further than necessary, and that it is used for a defined period in response to specific intelligence.
In considering whether this action was fair and appropriate, it would be helpful to research how effective phone tapping is in the fight against terrorism; if it leads to a definite success rate in preventing terrorism then that may be an argument in support of it.
Technorati Tags : george+bush, george+w+bush, civil+liberty, liberty, politics, phone+tapping, america, whitehouse, bush+administration, david+stewart, conservative
Dec
19
2005
Today is a good day. The Barclay Brothers have sold the
Scotsman newspaper to Johnston Press. According to BBC News the sale also includes Edinburgh Evening News, Scotland on Sunday and the free Edinburgh Herald & Post.
Under the ownership of the Barclay Brothers and the stewardship of Andrew Neil, the Scotsman has lurched to the right and has ceased to reflect mainstream Scottish opinion. It is extremely doubtful that Andrew Neil will stay on in any capacity and this can only be a positive move.
Having even one major Scottish broadsheet move from a Conservative perspective to a neutral footing prior to 2007 would doubtless leave the
Scottish National Party looking at the Scottish Parliament elections with renewed optimism and setting about their task with renewed vigour.
At this time of upheaval in Scotland's newspapers it may be worth reiterating that there is no major newspaper which supports the
SNP. Will this change? It could be that this would increase the circulation of whichever newspaper is brave enough to grasp the thistle. Thirty percent of the electorate is a large sector to consistently ignore and their enthusiasm for newspapers may be rekindled if they see a newspaper finally reflecting their views.
Dec
15
2005
This is a particularly special time for the Conservative party. After years of being labelled as 'in the wilderness', there is a feeling across the spectrum that the Conservatives could be heading for success. David Cameron's election is no doubt the best thing to happen to the party for years, and under his leadership the future is looking bright. Even those who were previously against the Conservatives are now saying thing like 'well I might possibly vote Conservative now that I've seen what Cameron had to say.' We are also 1% ahead of Labour in the polls, now that's only 1% and it's very early days, but it's good news nonetheless.
This is a Conservative party that is changing. We are keeping the ideas that work, and adopting policies that will help the country, and we are also changing the feel and look of the party. Michael Howard put us on the road to unity and direction, and David Cameron is now building a party that can win the next General Election. But let's not forget that we are not aiming to win for the sake of not losing, we are aiming to win in order to change this country for the better. We have seen unfair and ludicrous policies implemented under Labour and in the forthcoming period we will be setting out how we intend to get Britain back on track.
As David Cameron said, it isn't going to be easy. We need to appeal to a younger audience, that means adopting a more optimistic and friendly approach. David Cameron has begun this by leading the way in a more civilised approach to debates; when he agrees with the Government he will say that he agrees, and when he becomes aware that a policy is bad for Britain he was hold the Government accountable and provide better alternatives. This is about mature politics, it is about putting people before political point scoring. There has been a lot of talk recently about 'Punch and Judy politics' and Cameron has been right to criticise the conduct in the House of Commons as it is at times unhelpful to debate. There is nothing wrong with a lively atmosphere and a joke now and then, that is what makes Prime Minister's Questions so entertaining to watch, but first and foremost politicians are paid to represent the people of the country.
I didn't think that Ken Clarke's criticism of Cameron over Europe and the E.P.P. was particularly helpful. Criticism is healthy but what exactly did Clarke hope to achieve? Was he assuming that Cameron would say "Oh thank you Ken, my policy was completely wrong and I'll adopt your proposal ... in fact, why don't you just take over the leadership?" The Conservative party needs to stay united and in the first week of the new leadership we see a public show of disapproval from a former minister on our own side.
Overall, however, things are good. We need to continue this bright and friendly approach.
The only way we can lose, is if we listen to those who tell us we can't win.
Technorati Tags : winning+team, conservatives, conservative+policy, british+politics, david+cameron, david+davis, william+hague, house+of+commons, policy, british+conservative+party, conservative+party, david+stewart
Dec
12
2005
Along with countrymen Die Toten Hosen, Die Ärzte were the founding members of Germany’s old-school punk generation. The Berliners still command massive respect.
13
(100% native)
Cracking pace throughout with enough sing-along choruses to keep the pissheads of the Berlin Kellers swaying in unison for years to come. Standout tracks: Ein Lied Für Dich (Song for You), Liebe Und Schmerz (Love & Pain), Rebell.
I wouldn’t say they were as versatile as DTH but that’s no insult. Die Ärzte do what they do very well, never, ever take themselves too seriously (important for any punk band) and realise the calming effect of humour in music. They can often surprise: Männer sind Schweine [Men are Pigs] from 13 is a tongue-in-cheek, jaunty number in the style of the German Schläger of old. It was a massive hit in the late 90’s and I still remember the disconcerting sight of a girl of about seven skipping along the road in Meerbusch happily singing the chorus.
Devil
(100% native)
A 2005 re-release of Die Ärzte’s first ever album (Debil) which was on restricted distribution for “Kinder und Jugendliche sozialethisch zu desorientieren”, that’s socially corrupting children and youngsters to you and me. Standout tracks: Micha, Roter Minirock (Red Mini-skirt).
The second album listed here is well-known in Germany for two songs whose lyrical content eventually caused it to be taken off the shelves by the authorities in 1984. Both songs are pretty stupid and typical of the kind of puerile, tongue-in-cheek stuff today’s punk bands like The Bloodhound Gang and Blink 182 are still capable of carrying off. ‘Claudia Hat ‘nen Schäferhund’ is about a lass’s saucy antics with her dog while ‘Schlaflied’ concerns a vampire and features intentionally pathetic ’slurp’ sound effects which must have sounded as dumb 20 years ago as they do today. The geezer the band got to update the liner notes is a tad over-earnest in his attempt to retrospectively apply ‘meaning’ to these songs — personal responsibility and the value of life respectively. Why not admit they were just trying to do what every good Punk band worth its salt should always be aiming for, having fun by irritating authority? Unbelievably the ban on the album was only lifted in 2004.
