Conspiracy or Cock-up?

I know it's been a while. About four years I believe since I last posted. I doubt if anyone's going to read this, but what the hell, here goes...

Two days ago an American drone strike obliterated a Taliban leader called Hakimullah Mehsud. This is in line with US strategy of removing the leadership of terrorist organisations to disrupt the chain of command, with minimum risk to American military personnel.

As you will know, Mehsud was due to meet the next day with representatives of the Pakistan government for peace talks. Maybe something would have come of them or maybe not. We shall never know now.

To say that the people of Pakistan are a bit peeved would be an understatement.  A fragile structure - like a house built of playing cards - has been literally blown away, and they are seriously pissed!

So far, so sad, but so understandable.

But

To the world, it looks like the USA has deliberately sabotaged this peace process. And to be honest, I can't see any other way this can be interpreted, other than incompetence. If the drone operators were unaware of the upcoming meeting, then the mission was an unfortunate coincidence. But that implies US intelligence didn't pass on the information.... Nah! I don't think so either.

So what's the strategy?

And why is nobody in America discussing this?

If you Google using keywords such as 'drone strike', 'American reaction', you get plenty about what they're saying in Pakistan, but trying to find out if Americans are for or against it is very difficult. On Yahoo news, the commentators are 99% for! But then I guess they're American.

Dead. But in a good way.
Parents, learner drivers, and now patients in nine English NHS trusts: all that information lost. And with it, the Government's plans to introduce ID cards. They're history. Gordon Brown isn't going to introduce them in this parliament. And after the next general election, the Conservatives will be in power, and that'll be the final nail in the coffin.
It was always a dumb idea put forward by a dumb government. Any purported benefits were massivly outweighed by the drawbacks. People hate the idea. It smacks of totalitarianism and fascism, the very philosophies we were brought up to despise. Besides, Scotland, Wales and Ulster would have voted aginst it anyway.

Rattlin' Sabres

While flicking channels, I came upon The O'Reilley Factor on Fox, where he was chatting with some writer about the best way to bomb Iran. They agreed that if Iran believes the USA has a batshit crazy cowboy for a president, (now what would give them that idea?) then the best thing to do would be to play on that image, and get them to believe that the Americans really would carry out a first strike against Iran. To be fair and balanced, Bill O'Reilley did say that diplomacy should come first, but the fact that they're discussing the possibility of attack without a sense of horror is disturbing.

Digging for victory

The countdown to the invasion of Iran continues. According to this article the US military are doing their utmost to gather every crumb of evidence against Iran to support the case for intervention. They're interrogating Iraqi detainees, with the emphasis on the mantra : "Got to find a link with Iran, got to find a link with Iran." as one official put it.
And all the while, Ares is polishing his red sword.

Warhammer 40K (-- 37,990)

Big stushie just now about Pat Robertson endorsing Rudy Giuliani for the republican nomination. Giuliani's stand on some social issues is anathema to the god squad, but it looks like he's the only candidate who has a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton. So what is a god-lovin' fundy to do? Back a guy who shares your belief system, but doesn't have a hope in hell of winning, or break bread with the antichrist? It looks like Pat is being pragmatic.
Of course, all this conniving and kingmaking will amount to nought if Queen Hillary wins. They'll have to wait at least eight years before getting another shot, if not longer.
But this christianist crapshoot is a sideshow. It's taken people's attention away from where the real action is taking place. Who needs the presidency, when you can have the military? Proselytisation is in full force in the services. It's getting to the stage where promotion depends, not on leadership ability, or strategic expertese, but on how loudly you can pray. It's getting more and more like Warhammer 40,000 every day. They'll be bringing on the inquisitors and the purity seals next.
So what happens when a crusader army decides that the government is not godly enough?

Water torture

Americans have a new Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, who has refused to class waterboarding as torture. Waterboarding is where you pour water on somebody's face, causing them to gag. (See Wikipedia link for details). It's torture. Plain and simple. But if an Attorney General confirms it, then he is legally bound to pursue and prosecute those who have made it military policy - in other words, the executive. Of course, they aren't going to appoint anyone who will confirm it, because as long as nobody says it's illegal, it's legal.
It's wrong. It's unjustifiable. It's evil. But it's legal. And until there's an Attorney general with the cojones to state that it's torture, it'll continue.

Talking politics

So where exactly does Deacon Barry stand on the issues of the day? Where am I coming from politically? I did some political analyses quizzes, and here are the results.
It seems I am both fish and fowl, I appear to be both extremely right wing and left wing at the same time according to one quiz, and an anarchist according to the other. What they do show is that I am very anti-authoritarian. I am opposed to fascism, be it right wing, left wing or religious, but you probably guessed that from my posts. I'm in favour of the free market. I think recreational drugs should be legalised. Prisons should be for rehabilitation. And gay marriage should be universal. Oh, and nurses should get lots more money.

The road to Tehran

The charm offensive is lumbering up. General Petraeus is lambasting the Iranians, claiming they're providing munitions for the insurgents. I'm sure we'll hear more of this in the weeks ahead, as the Neocon-controlled media apply the drip drip drip of propaganda to slowly bring the American public around to the opinion that attacking Iran is a good idea. Don't worry, I'm keeping a watch on the situation. This is instance 2 since the eleventh of September. It's a slow start, but I guess an all out, guns blazing, media frenzy would have been counterproductive. Look out for more on this.

Misere Bellum

Fox news are claiming that Iran will have intercontinental ballistic missiles by 2015. So today, the US military have demonstrated their new interceptor missile.
The rumours don't seem like rumours any more.

No fecking ID 'ere

Be warned, the enemy is at the doorstep. If you thought the battle against creationism was confined to the USA, think again. The DUP in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in the form of Paul Givan, want to have creationism taught in schools there. Because Paul Givan doesn't believe in evolution, he doesn't want anyone else to either, especially the schoolchildren of Lisburn. And some craven blowhards in the Corporate Services Committee have agreed with him, especially Councillor Bill Gardiner-Watson who sees no harm in writing to schools. No harm!?! Ulster is a festering canker of toxic religionism, a sectarian Chernobyl, where the last thing that anybody needs is the infection of crass ignorance from across the Atlantic.
Fortunately, saner heads may prevail. There is opposition from within the committee, but there argument seems to be more that they shouldn't be interfering in schools' curriculae rather than telling Mr Givan that he's a sanctimonious arsehole who's beliefs are a steaming pile of horse hooey which he's trying to foist on schools as part of a theocratic agenda. the guy needs to be publicly ridiculed and hounded from office - and that goes for Gardiner-Watson too.

Wolves in the wires

It looks like it was just a rumour after all. We're nearly a week post 11th September, and the charm offensive against Iran hasn't materialised so far. It's a bit of a relief, because as long as they don't start persuading, then an attack on Iran seems unlikely.
Of course, the rumour could be disinformation. If the Iranians can be made to believe that Bush and his crew are batshit crazy enough to launch an attack, they might take the desired measures to avert conflict, ie halt Uranium enrichment. A few carefully baited nuggets seeded into the blogosphere setting off blogswarms like Roman Candles, gives the illusion of veracity to an imaginary policy of invasion.
Another purpose of manufactured rumour could be to make bloggers cry wolf. If blog rumours are seen as unreliable, then future unintended leaks might be ignored.
The blogosphere is a battleground, and the unscrupulous and machiavellian will manipulate it for their own ends.

Next week's attack on Iran

The Interweb buzzes with rumours of war. Next Tuesday, the sixth anniversary of the Twin Towers tragedy is going to see the launch of a charm offensive by Bushco. The US will see a media blitz demonising Iran. They hope to persuade a third of Americans that their planned attack on Iran is necessary.
Of course, these could be rumours deliberately seeded. If the Blogosphere believe that war is coming and propagate that belief, then the Iranian government might take that belief seriously and capitulate, by scaling down their nuclear ambitions. Or Bush and friends could be spoiling for a fight, and there's nothing anybody can do to prevent it.
The thing to do, is observe next week to see if the charm offensive takes place. If it does, then the rumour is true. If not, then breathe a sigh of relief.

Job for the boy

The Civil Service union FDA are complaining about Jack McConnell's appointment as UK High Commissioner to Malawi. They say he was chosen on the basis of cronyism rather than open competition, which would be their preferred option. Their philosophy is sound, but in this case they've hit the wrong target. Whichever way you choose, the result would be the same. Jack is the right man for the job. Jack is the one responsible for forging close links between Scotland and Malawi. He knows the country. The Malawi Government know him. If he was being offered the post in Kiribati or Martinique, I might wonder what qualified him for those places, but Malawi? No argument there.
He's also a statesman-level politician. You can't get more senior than running a country. This job will allow him to continue the work he started as First Minister, and also to concentrate on it. It's a job he's obviously going to enjoy doing.
Can you think of anyone more qualified?

Blown

Oh dear. The logo for the 2012 London Olympics has been unveiled. Oh dear. It cost £400,000. Oh dear.
Now it's meant to be a stylised representation of 2012, and it's all very trendy, but unfortunately, to a growing number of people, it's putting them in mind of Lisa Simpson giving - how can I say this delicately - sexual favours of the Monica Lewinsky variety.
Now remember, this cost £400K, and for the next five years, people are going to be looking at this and sniggering.
I don't blame Tessa Jowell and Wolff-Olins (the designers) for not seeing this interpretation before the unveiling. It's just an unfortunate placing of the elements that is suggestive to the filthy-minded out here. It could happen to anyone. But if only Wolff-Olin could have come up with a selection of logos for public perusal. This could then have been rejected in favour of something a little less suggestive.
Politicians are not the best people to make artistic judgements.
If you want to know what people think about the logo, click here.

(Via Mr Eugenides.)

RCN Def Con 2

So the RCN are to ballot on industrial action, following the staged pay award in England and Wales. How could the government balls things up so badly, so that this unprecedented turn of events could come to pass?
What the RCN are looking for in their indicative poll is whether there is support for the idea of industrial action, and what form that action ought to take. The answer to the first part ought to be obvious, going by the reception Patricia Hewitt famously got at that conference. And things have gone downhill from there.
But what sort of action should we be contemplating?
The important thing is to hold onto the moral high ground, and to retain the support of the public. If we lose that, we're sunk.
Keep in mind the one objective of this, which is to reverse the staging of the pay award, and have it paid in full. Get that, and the industrial action must be immediately abandoned. The 2.5% is achievable. Anything above that has to wait until the next pay round.
Industrial action should hurt the government, not the patients. Keep the emergency service going, but attack the government's targets and initiatives.
By awarding the pay rise in full to us Scottish nurses, somebody in the Scottish Labour party has committed a tactical error of legendary proportions - not that I'm complaining about it, you understand - it's an error that benefits our case. It weakens the government's justification for staging the award down south. Gordon Brown must be spitting bile. Good. Remember, we owe him nothing. He's behind the staging. Let's force him into a U-turn, then keep the pressure on him so he doesn't shaft us again.

Leaping into action

I'm starting to come round to the idea of reforming the House of Lords. Up until now I've been of the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' persuasion. I see no point in constitutional change just for the sake of it. I'm also against an upper house whose only purpose is to rubber stamp acts passed by the government in power. You get a situation where bad laws go through unchallenged.
Saying that, the current set up is a bit casual. Lords get appointed, but they may have other commitments, that keep them away from the chamber. The upper house is an important check on the runaway aspirations of a party in power, and shouldn't be left in the hands of people who might or might not turn up to vote depending on their schedule.
I would be in favour of a senate made up of one or two senators representing each county, or major city, elected democratically. That way, bills passed upwards from the House of Commons would get the scrutiny required to prevent bad law blighting our land.
But I wouldn't rush it. constitutional change has to be well discussed and examined before implementation, otherwise you end up with a situation worse than the one you tried to fix.

Holy craps at Holyrood

The Lib Dems have just turned down a deal with the SNP. It's the referendum. They're playing hard-ball on this issue. Fair enough. That's what coalition politics is about. The SNP are going to have to jettison some of their manifesto promises if they want to rule Scotland. So it looks like goodbye to the referendum and the local income tax then. I wouldn't take anyone's refusal at the moment to be the last word. It's merely the opening round of the game, entitled 64 vote pickup.
Here are the rules as far as I can work them out.
In this particular match there are six players - for the purposes of clarity, lets call them Mr Yellow, Mr Red, Mrs Blue, Mr Orange, Mr Green and Mrs White.
Each player has a set number of votes given to them by the electorate (those of them smart enough to read the ballot paper anyway).
There are 129 of these votes.
The object of the game is to get half of them, which is 64.
The remaining vote left over belongs to the referee or Presiding Officer, and is put to one side, but you don't want it put on your side.
Mr Yellow and Mr Red have to persuade all the other four players to play on their team.
Mrs Blue, Mr Orange, Mr Green and Mrs White all say they're not going to play on anybody's team, anytime soon, no-siree-bob.
(Actually Mr Green has still to say this, but I guess he's still a bit unsure of the rules)
Mr Yellow and Mr Red then have to carefully and strategically start discarding policies until the other players agree to join their team.
Whoever gets 64 votes after offloading the Presiding Officer card where it'll do the least damage is the winner!

Where do we go from here?

I guess this weekend, the SNP leadership are busy making phonecalls trying to forge some sort of coalition to run Scotland. Everybody's talking about an SNP/Lib/Green alliance as if it's a done thing. That's probably the most likely outcome, but maybe the SNP should be thinking outside the box. What about an alliance with the Conservatives? A marriage made in hell to be sure, but it would put the Lib Dem's gas at a peep, that's for sure. After a disastrous election, what could be worse than to even be denied involvement in a power-sharing government, and see the Tories take their place!
Admittedly, there are two big obstacles to a Tory/SNP coalition. Annabel Goldie said "no" prior to the election, and there is the even more obvious problem of Independence, and the Referendum for.
It's a poor weapon that doesn't cut both ways (Salvor Hardin). A referendum could settle the question of Independence once and for all, and it could quite easily be in favour of the union. Support for a referendum does not equate with support for independence. The Tories could go along with the referendum, on the clear understanding that they would be campaigning against independence in 2010.
The Greens hold the balance of power though. Margo McDonald intends to stay staunchly independent, though even after being dropped by the party, she must surely be in sympathy with their policies.
There's always Labour/Lib/Green plus Tories? The grand unionist rainbow alliance against the SNP? Yeah... like that's going to happen.
We'll see what happens next week after the Monday bank holiday. A second election isn't off the cards yet!

Clearing up the mess after the night before

What a pig's arse of an election! The phrases "brewery", "piss-up" and "couldn't organise" come to mind. It's been over nineteen hours since the polls closed, and we still don't know who's won - apart from the spoiled ballot party, who unfortunately don't have any candidates.
For readers in America, we're trying this novel concept called democracy in Scotland. Unfortunately the organisers underestimated the inherent numptiness endemic in the general populace. It's now official, there are people who are too stupid to vote. We just never had a way of screening them out before. Obviously holding two elections at the same time with completely different voting systems is the way to go about it.
So far, Labour and the SNP seem to be neck and neck. It'll be interesting to see what combinations of parties will eventually make up Government.

Boiling Point

It has been confirmed. Us Scottish nurses are getting the full 2.5% pay award up front, on the dot, in April. English nurses will have to wait until November for the second part of their staged award. I bet Gordon Brown is fizzing. This really puts the pressure on him to do the same down south. I would expect the RCN and Unison to seriously turn up the heat in their campaign for a fair wage. The message to the Government should be clear : If you can't pay the staff, you can't have your targets met!
It would make our life simpler. We could concentrate on patient care without having to bother about ticking the Government's boxes. Target the targets, not the patients!