Total Politics are running their annual Best Blog Poll. I am very grateful to those of you who voted for me last year. The whole thing really passed me by and I was totally surprised to appear in the lists at all.
I absolutely love blogging and I really enjoy the new people I've met, some online and some in real life as a result of it. Even if I'm cast into the blogging wilderness and don't appear on any of the rankings at all, I'll still carry on just because I enjoy it, once I've recovered from the abject humiliation of the rejection, of course.
Having said that, I'd really appreciate it if you'd vote and include me in your top ten. I'd really like your number one slot, but I know there's some seriously good quality stuff out there. If you are wondering what to do with your other votes, my blogroll, on the left has some suggestions.
All you need to do is follow these simple rules:
1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).
2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.
3. You MUST include ten blogs. If you include fewer than ten your vote will not count.
4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
5. Only vote once.
6. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible.
7. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
8. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2009. Any votes received after that date will not count.
Honourable mention must go to Costigan for pointing out the original list's numbers were all wonky.
I quite like this way of doing it because it gives you as the voter the maximum power - you can pick any blogs you want. Iain Dale did ask a few weeks ago for advice on whether to continue to do it that way or for him and his mates to pick a shortlist. I did comment and say it should stay this way to give the real power to the voter and not Iain Dale. At the time it was a genuine and instinctive response and was not intended to be used as a shameless grab for your vote!
So, in the two thousand horse race for the best blog, choose someone who has a record of action and will promise you more; a worker, a winner, who's there all year round and not just at election time:-)
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Malc and Audrey's Marathon Madness
My fellow Scottish blogger Malc has wanted to run a marathon since he was a little boy. My ambitions in that direction are confined to watching the London Marathon every year and in my current condition I doubt I could actually run to the end of my speech.
Anyway, there are many easier ways to see Loch Ness, but he and his friend Audrey have chosen to run 26 miles and 385 yards round it in 12 weeks' time. They are hoping to raise lots of money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland. If you have a few pounds to spare, please donate to their cause. I know from speaking to people who have undertaken these painful challenges before that the donations really spur them on both in the many, many hours of preparation beforehand and during the race itself.
I should also mention their co-trainer for the next few weeks - another stalwart of the Scottish blogosphere, our own Stephen. As an athlete himself, he knows all about preparation and build up for these events.
So good luck to Malc and Audrey as they undertake 12 weeks of hell - it will soon pass, though, and I'll look forward to seeing them cross the finish line and raise lots of money in October.
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Anyway, there are many easier ways to see Loch Ness, but he and his friend Audrey have chosen to run 26 miles and 385 yards round it in 12 weeks' time. They are hoping to raise lots of money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland. If you have a few pounds to spare, please donate to their cause. I know from speaking to people who have undertaken these painful challenges before that the donations really spur them on both in the many, many hours of preparation beforehand and during the race itself.
I should also mention their co-trainer for the next few weeks - another stalwart of the Scottish blogosphere, our own Stephen. As an athlete himself, he knows all about preparation and build up for these events.
So good luck to Malc and Audrey as they undertake 12 weeks of hell - it will soon pass, though, and I'll look forward to seeing them cross the finish line and raise lots of money in October.
LibDig This!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Caron's Corkers
Time for another quick round up of what I think is brilliant on the internet.
First up, and don't run away cos it's Formula One cos there's more to it than that, is Jake Humphrey's blog from the German Grand Prix. It's fascinating because he plays us a good chunk of what the production crew are saying to him as he's presenting. While he's conducting interviews, they are talking in the background, changing the running order with seconds to go, leaving Jake to think on his feet. I don't know how on earth he manages to make it all look so seamless with that rabble going on in his head, but I'm not surprised that he almost got run down by a Toyota the other week. I've never understood until now why he hadn't noticed it coming. This is must-read for anyone who's even remotely interested in working in television.
Next up, the Guardian took a trip to Twitter Towers in San Francisco.
The BBC reports on a research project that states the bleeding obvious - that cats have a special purr which makes us respond to their needs. I just thought it was funny that nobody suggested that cats should be left to "purr it out" like certain childcare gurus think being left to cry is good for babies.
This has been around for a while, but I've only just discovered it - a short film from Liberty about what they've achived over their 75 years and why they're still important.
Finally, Sara saw this rather perplexing sight in a book shop.
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First up, and don't run away cos it's Formula One cos there's more to it than that, is Jake Humphrey's blog from the German Grand Prix. It's fascinating because he plays us a good chunk of what the production crew are saying to him as he's presenting. While he's conducting interviews, they are talking in the background, changing the running order with seconds to go, leaving Jake to think on his feet. I don't know how on earth he manages to make it all look so seamless with that rabble going on in his head, but I'm not surprised that he almost got run down by a Toyota the other week. I've never understood until now why he hadn't noticed it coming. This is must-read for anyone who's even remotely interested in working in television.
Next up, the Guardian took a trip to Twitter Towers in San Francisco.
The BBC reports on a research project that states the bleeding obvious - that cats have a special purr which makes us respond to their needs. I just thought it was funny that nobody suggested that cats should be left to "purr it out" like certain childcare gurus think being left to cry is good for babies.
This has been around for a while, but I've only just discovered it - a short film from Liberty about what they've achived over their 75 years and why they're still important.
Finally, Sara saw this rather perplexing sight in a book shop.
LibDig This!
Should we pay for Alex Salmond's stupidity?
Mr MacNumpty has attacked Lord Foulkes for reporting Alex Salmond to the Standards Commissioner for claiming a proportion of the £14100 paid by a group of MPs for legal advice on whether to attempt to impeaach Tony Blair over the Iraq war out of his office expenses. He argues that Lord Foulkes has asked loads of what he regards as stupid questions of the Scottish Government which have cost far more.
This isn't an issue of relative costs. I think there is a case for MPs being assisted with the costs of holding the government to account and they should have the right to ask whatever questions they like. If their constituents feel that their money is being wasted, then they can contact them and say so, and vote against them if they feel strongly enough.
I also think that there's a case for allowing MPs to claim costs for legal advice as part of the process of holding the Government to account. It's certainly worth looking at.
Now, I was totally opposed to the Iraq war - I think that the damage we have done to our country's international standing is going to take decades to sort out. It cost many, many lives of our soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians. I think it was illegal and immoral and should not have happened, end of story. I find it a quite bizarre irony that Tony Blair, on leaving office, was promptly sent as a peade envoy to the Middle East.
I was so against this war that I took my then 3 year old daughter to Glasgow Green on a freezing cold day in February to protest against the war, along with many thousands of like minded people.
I did, however, think the nationalists' attempts to impeach Tony Blair was a bit of a waste of time. Not because I thought Blair's actions were justifiable. A quick glance as to what is needed to carry out an impeachment makes it pretty obvious that it never had a hope in hell of succeeding. It requires a majority in the House of Commons to get past first base. Now, who has the majority in the House of Commons? This process was doomed to failure from the start. There was no way that Labour MPs were going to go along with a nationalist publicity stunt.
So there, I can see that, and I found that out for free. I didn't have to go and spend the equivalent of some people's annual salaries to work that out. For that reason, I seriously doubt that the taxpayer should have to fund the cost of Alex Salmond's stupidity.
His move to impeach Blair was never going to be anything other than a publicity stunt and he could have done that for a cost of zero to the taxpayer.
There is one way, though, that we could stop injustices like the Iraq War happening again. If the 2001 Parliament had been elected by a fairer system, the Government would not have had such a big majority and the likelihood is that it would have either have lost a vote in Parliament, or would not even have got as far as putting it to a vote in the first place because it would be clear that Parliament, which would have much greater legitimacy, would not back it. If anyone should know what PR can do for a Parliament's powers, it's Alex Salmond, given how many of his Government's dafter ideas have been binned or modified by the Holyrood Parliament.
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This isn't an issue of relative costs. I think there is a case for MPs being assisted with the costs of holding the government to account and they should have the right to ask whatever questions they like. If their constituents feel that their money is being wasted, then they can contact them and say so, and vote against them if they feel strongly enough.
I also think that there's a case for allowing MPs to claim costs for legal advice as part of the process of holding the Government to account. It's certainly worth looking at.
Now, I was totally opposed to the Iraq war - I think that the damage we have done to our country's international standing is going to take decades to sort out. It cost many, many lives of our soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians. I think it was illegal and immoral and should not have happened, end of story. I find it a quite bizarre irony that Tony Blair, on leaving office, was promptly sent as a peade envoy to the Middle East.
I was so against this war that I took my then 3 year old daughter to Glasgow Green on a freezing cold day in February to protest against the war, along with many thousands of like minded people.
I did, however, think the nationalists' attempts to impeach Tony Blair was a bit of a waste of time. Not because I thought Blair's actions were justifiable. A quick glance as to what is needed to carry out an impeachment makes it pretty obvious that it never had a hope in hell of succeeding. It requires a majority in the House of Commons to get past first base. Now, who has the majority in the House of Commons? This process was doomed to failure from the start. There was no way that Labour MPs were going to go along with a nationalist publicity stunt.
So there, I can see that, and I found that out for free. I didn't have to go and spend the equivalent of some people's annual salaries to work that out. For that reason, I seriously doubt that the taxpayer should have to fund the cost of Alex Salmond's stupidity.
His move to impeach Blair was never going to be anything other than a publicity stunt and he could have done that for a cost of zero to the taxpayer.
There is one way, though, that we could stop injustices like the Iraq War happening again. If the 2001 Parliament had been elected by a fairer system, the Government would not have had such a big majority and the likelihood is that it would have either have lost a vote in Parliament, or would not even have got as far as putting it to a vote in the first place because it would be clear that Parliament, which would have much greater legitimacy, would not back it. If anyone should know what PR can do for a Parliament's powers, it's Alex Salmond, given how many of his Government's dafter ideas have been binned or modified by the Holyrood Parliament.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
New Gadget Excitement
Maybe I'm more of a geek than I'd like to admit - well, I'm the sort that likes gadgets but without the knowledge to always make them work - because I am uncommonly excited with my new Blackberry which arrived today.
I was due for an upgrade and decided that I really needed to be able to connect myself to the hive mind at all times, and if I could get on Facebook and Twitter without using the laptop, then that would probably make my family quite happy!
It ended up not being that much more expensive. I was surprised that I was able to get it set up so easy as I'm used to seeing people's statuses saying things like "this blackberry is going out the window" a few days before they fall in love with it and say it's the best thing they've ever had in their lives.
I suspect that I'll have those sorts of moment with it as I'm having real trouble getting Twitterberry to work. It shows my updates ok, and my replies, but says it can't get my friends' lists or updates. What am I doing wrong?
Also, neither my sistr nor I can find each other on Blackberry Messenger.
If anyone can help sort me out with either of these things, you will have my undying gratitude.
Apart from that it's fab to be able to get and send e-mail on the move and I like the fact that the text messages are conveniently laid out so you can see conversations. I'm sure I'll have many frustrations getting the hang of it but equally sure it'll be worth it in the end.
And it's one of my five a day, too.
Oh, wait......
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I was due for an upgrade and decided that I really needed to be able to connect myself to the hive mind at all times, and if I could get on Facebook and Twitter without using the laptop, then that would probably make my family quite happy!
It ended up not being that much more expensive. I was surprised that I was able to get it set up so easy as I'm used to seeing people's statuses saying things like "this blackberry is going out the window" a few days before they fall in love with it and say it's the best thing they've ever had in their lives.
I suspect that I'll have those sorts of moment with it as I'm having real trouble getting Twitterberry to work. It shows my updates ok, and my replies, but says it can't get my friends' lists or updates. What am I doing wrong?
Also, neither my sistr nor I can find each other on Blackberry Messenger.
If anyone can help sort me out with either of these things, you will have my undying gratitude.
Apart from that it's fab to be able to get and send e-mail on the move and I like the fact that the text messages are conveniently laid out so you can see conversations. I'm sure I'll have many frustrations getting the hang of it but equally sure it'll be worth it in the end.
And it's one of my five a day, too.
Oh, wait......
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Atheists sign up to fight Irish Blasphemy Law
After the passing of the controversial Irish blasphemy law, which potentially could put severe restrictions on freedom of speech, Atheist Ireland held a particularly well timed AGM on Saturday which was reported in the Irish Times. I thnk it's quite impressive for them to have got 150 people out on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of Summer.
They had a message of support from Richard Dawkins - no surprises there, really and were addressed by a Labour Senator Ivana Bacik who said that she reckoned she was the only "out" atheist in the entire Parliament.
Their next step is to provocatively release a statement which is still being drawn up and being carefully worded to offend every single religion. I think they might have missed a trick here - it might have been a better idea to have some sort of competition to devise it which would really get people discussing the issues surrounding it. The rather top down approach of presumably getting a committee to do it misses out an opportunity to reach out to more people to persuade them how completely ridiculous the new law is.
Anyway, as soon as this lawbreaking masterpiece is unveiled I will post it here.
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They had a message of support from Richard Dawkins - no surprises there, really and were addressed by a Labour Senator Ivana Bacik who said that she reckoned she was the only "out" atheist in the entire Parliament.
Their next step is to provocatively release a statement which is still being drawn up and being carefully worded to offend every single religion. I think they might have missed a trick here - it might have been a better idea to have some sort of competition to devise it which would really get people discussing the issues surrounding it. The rather top down approach of presumably getting a committee to do it misses out an opportunity to reach out to more people to persuade them how completely ridiculous the new law is.
Anyway, as soon as this lawbreaking masterpiece is unveiled I will post it here.
LibDig This!
Politics and being 17
I've been tagged by Mr Quist in the meme about what you had done politically by 17. I managed to have my 17th birthday in Thatcher's not Orwell's 1984.
I already hear you sigh, saying "Oh god, she's going to tell you the detention story again". It's ok, I'm not, but I can't pretend it didn't happen. If you are one of the few who have no idea what I'm talking about it, look here.
I'd also written a huge amount of envelopes for election addresses in the days before you could print labels. Of course, once we had the technology, we missed these long, laborious but great fun, chatty days writing envelopes so we had to bring them back in the late 90s. The blue was so much nicer than the business like brown ones with Election Communication in the corner, so much more personal.
I made canvass cards by cutting up the electoral register and gluing in onto cardboard. It seems almost primitive now when we can print off an entire constituency at the touch of a button.
I'd delivered lots of leaflets - the first one, ever, was, unwittingly to a Tory activist who barely drew breath as she took it from me and threw it on her bonfire.
I'd spoken at a public meeting with Alan Beith, Russell Johnston and Charles Kennedy during the 1984 Euro campaign. Again, I won't bore you with the details cos I've already told them here.
During that same election, I got into even more trouble than usual with my parents. We'd put out a flier for Highlands and Islands MEP candidate Russell Johnston which had a poster in the back. Obviously with my parents being Tories, there was no way that was ever going to go up. I did, however, completely by accident rest it on my windowsill which looked out onto the road at the front of the house. It must have been there, oh, a week, before anybody noticed. I got hell, but it was worth it at the time.
I'd spoken in school debates taking positions that I believed at the time but make me cringe now, being pro nuclear weapons and the monarchy.
Political life in the Highlands was much more gentle than elsewhere. I got quite a shock when I went to uni in Aberdeen and discovered, at the hands of the legendary Sheila Ritchie and Allan Knox
that not only could you deliver leaflets outside election times, but it was also desirable. We didn't do that much outside elections in those days, although, of course, Bob was working his socks off as MP.
I'd also learned that politics was a nasty business. Not in our party, of course, where everyone had been so lovely and welcoming to me. I made lifelong friends amongst both SDP and Liberals in Caithness and Sutherland. I think they found having a young person there, particularly one who wasn't too keen on nuclear power just down the road from an, er, nuclear power plant on which the local economy depended, quite amusing. The 1983 election saw Bob Maclennan standing for the SDP, having left the Labour Party two years earlier. Those who had stayed in the Labour Party were very bitter and I found their hostile attitude quite scary. Their antics were relatively mild compared to those of the Chesterfield Labour Party I'd face later, but unsettling all the same.
I also had the distinction of being, at the time, the most northern member of Scottish Young Social Democrats. I think I was a bit of a novelty to them as I hadn't really, shall we say, travelled extensively and when I finally met them all, including Debra Storr, at the YSD AGM in Edinburgh, it was my first ever visit to the city.
It's hard to believe that all this was a quarter of a century ago. By coincidence, my husband uploaded a picture of himself at 17 or 18 to Facebook last night, which was taken four decades ago. It doesn't feel like that long to either of us and we both still feel that we've kept a lot of our youthful outlook, although maybe we haven't retained the energy to keep up with it!
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I already hear you sigh, saying "Oh god, she's going to tell you the detention story again". It's ok, I'm not, but I can't pretend it didn't happen. If you are one of the few who have no idea what I'm talking about it, look here.
I'd also written a huge amount of envelopes for election addresses in the days before you could print labels. Of course, once we had the technology, we missed these long, laborious but great fun, chatty days writing envelopes so we had to bring them back in the late 90s. The blue was so much nicer than the business like brown ones with Election Communication in the corner, so much more personal.
I made canvass cards by cutting up the electoral register and gluing in onto cardboard. It seems almost primitive now when we can print off an entire constituency at the touch of a button.
I'd delivered lots of leaflets - the first one, ever, was, unwittingly to a Tory activist who barely drew breath as she took it from me and threw it on her bonfire.
I'd spoken at a public meeting with Alan Beith, Russell Johnston and Charles Kennedy during the 1984 Euro campaign. Again, I won't bore you with the details cos I've already told them here.
During that same election, I got into even more trouble than usual with my parents. We'd put out a flier for Highlands and Islands MEP candidate Russell Johnston which had a poster in the back. Obviously with my parents being Tories, there was no way that was ever going to go up. I did, however, completely by accident rest it on my windowsill which looked out onto the road at the front of the house. It must have been there, oh, a week, before anybody noticed. I got hell, but it was worth it at the time.
I'd spoken in school debates taking positions that I believed at the time but make me cringe now, being pro nuclear weapons and the monarchy.
Political life in the Highlands was much more gentle than elsewhere. I got quite a shock when I went to uni in Aberdeen and discovered, at the hands of the legendary Sheila Ritchie and Allan Knox
that not only could you deliver leaflets outside election times, but it was also desirable. We didn't do that much outside elections in those days, although, of course, Bob was working his socks off as MP.
I'd also learned that politics was a nasty business. Not in our party, of course, where everyone had been so lovely and welcoming to me. I made lifelong friends amongst both SDP and Liberals in Caithness and Sutherland. I think they found having a young person there, particularly one who wasn't too keen on nuclear power just down the road from an, er, nuclear power plant on which the local economy depended, quite amusing. The 1983 election saw Bob Maclennan standing for the SDP, having left the Labour Party two years earlier. Those who had stayed in the Labour Party were very bitter and I found their hostile attitude quite scary. Their antics were relatively mild compared to those of the Chesterfield Labour Party I'd face later, but unsettling all the same.
I also had the distinction of being, at the time, the most northern member of Scottish Young Social Democrats. I think I was a bit of a novelty to them as I hadn't really, shall we say, travelled extensively and when I finally met them all, including Debra Storr, at the YSD AGM in Edinburgh, it was my first ever visit to the city.
It's hard to believe that all this was a quarter of a century ago. By coincidence, my husband uploaded a picture of himself at 17 or 18 to Facebook last night, which was taken four decades ago. It doesn't feel like that long to either of us and we both still feel that we've kept a lot of our youthful outlook, although maybe we haven't retained the energy to keep up with it!
LibDig This!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Caron's Corkers
I honestly was going to start doing a round up of good blog postings, news stories or just things that took my fancy on the internet before Jennie started her brilliant "The Blood is the Life" feature. I know you're not going to believe me but, well, meh!
I don't know how often I'll do it, and it'll all be very relaxed, but I realised I had to start today with these two posts that tugged at my heartstrings.
Firstly, the lovely peat worrier points out what an illiberal lot we Scots can be.
Secondly, Vagina Dentata reminds us about the double standards around swearing. There is no greater example of this than my own lovely husband. He worked down the pit, for heaven's sake, for the best part of a quarter of a century. This is not an environment where the epithets will be combined to "oh bother" or "heavens to betsy". However, should I emit even the mildest swear word, he will raise an eyebrow. You would think he would have learned after all this time that that wasn't going to work. My language is not always the best in the world and sometimes I'm not conscious of it. It was when my young baby daughter came out with "it's pissing down with rain" one day (she learned to talk very young - can't imagine where she got that from) that I thought I would have to moderate my language round her.
This is what I was worried about with this feature - I could easily have made a post out of that itself. Will have to learn brevity.
Anyway, elsewhere on the lovely interwebby:
Kelvin has been featured in several newspapers, and quite right too. I like the angle he has on equal marriage as being a devolution one.
I will do some sort of pennance later for linking to bloody Tom Harris again especially as he brought out the worst in me the other night when he reminded us on Twitter that the Katie Price interview with Piers Morgan was on. I know I shouldn't have, but I did switch over. The shame..... Anyway, to add to the other health issues I've been having, I had an ear infection a couple of months ago. It was really sore and no amount of pain relief, or swearing for that matter, helped. The thought of a wee boy going through that sort of pain is horrid. Tom's wife Carolyn, who is lovely, is looking for tips on how to prevent ear infections in young kids and of alternative treatments to antibiotics. I haven't a clue really, but I know that some of you reading this will have some useful suggestions, so please help out if you can.
And to make you smile, Mark, the man who showed us that MPs in safer seats were more likely to play fast and loose with their expenses, shows us that he has a future in satirical sketch writing.
LibDig This!
I don't know how often I'll do it, and it'll all be very relaxed, but I realised I had to start today with these two posts that tugged at my heartstrings.
Firstly, the lovely peat worrier points out what an illiberal lot we Scots can be.
Secondly, Vagina Dentata reminds us about the double standards around swearing. There is no greater example of this than my own lovely husband. He worked down the pit, for heaven's sake, for the best part of a quarter of a century. This is not an environment where the epithets will be combined to "oh bother" or "heavens to betsy". However, should I emit even the mildest swear word, he will raise an eyebrow. You would think he would have learned after all this time that that wasn't going to work. My language is not always the best in the world and sometimes I'm not conscious of it. It was when my young baby daughter came out with "it's pissing down with rain" one day (she learned to talk very young - can't imagine where she got that from) that I thought I would have to moderate my language round her.
This is what I was worried about with this feature - I could easily have made a post out of that itself. Will have to learn brevity.
Anyway, elsewhere on the lovely interwebby:
Kelvin has been featured in several newspapers, and quite right too. I like the angle he has on equal marriage as being a devolution one.
I will do some sort of pennance later for linking to bloody Tom Harris again especially as he brought out the worst in me the other night when he reminded us on Twitter that the Katie Price interview with Piers Morgan was on. I know I shouldn't have, but I did switch over. The shame..... Anyway, to add to the other health issues I've been having, I had an ear infection a couple of months ago. It was really sore and no amount of pain relief, or swearing for that matter, helped. The thought of a wee boy going through that sort of pain is horrid. Tom's wife Carolyn, who is lovely, is looking for tips on how to prevent ear infections in young kids and of alternative treatments to antibiotics. I haven't a clue really, but I know that some of you reading this will have some useful suggestions, so please help out if you can.
And to make you smile, Mark, the man who showed us that MPs in safer seats were more likely to play fast and loose with their expenses, shows us that he has a future in satirical sketch writing.
LibDig This!
#askClegg live now
I'm watching Nick Clegg taking questions live from people on Twitter here right now.
He's there until 2, I think. It's a great way for anyone, whether they're at home, school or work to question the leader of a political party.
So far he's taken questions on climate change, cultural identity, faith schools, science funding, and Afghanistan.
He has also said how much he loves getting out and meeting people and listening to what they have to say, whether it's online or in person and how valuable the experience is for him to be outside the Westminster bubble.
You can ask a question on Twitter just by including #askclegg in your tweet.
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He's there until 2, I think. It's a great way for anyone, whether they're at home, school or work to question the leader of a political party.
So far he's taken questions on climate change, cultural identity, faith schools, science funding, and Afghanistan.
He has also said how much he loves getting out and meeting people and listening to what they have to say, whether it's online or in person and how valuable the experience is for him to be outside the Westminster bubble.
You can ask a question on Twitter just by including #askclegg in your tweet.
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Sunday, July 12, 2009
SNP lose another Glasgow North East hopeful
The protracted SNP game of musical candidates continues in Glasgow North East. First the expected and obvious candidate Grant Thoms doesn't even stand. Then Newsnight producer David Kerr resigns from his job to stand and gets beaten by the SNP Opposition Leader on Glasgow City Council, James Dornan by 5 votes. Given the Council's unpopular school closures across the city, also opposed by the Liberal Democrats, this might have been a smart move.
Now Cllr Dornan has stood down after Sunday Herald revelations that he may have broken the law by being a partner director of a charitable trust, Culture and Sport Glasgow while under a protected trust deed which is an alternative to bankruptcy.
I think it's a shame he's been put in this position by the SNP. They should have checked all this out thoroughly before they allowed him to go for selection by the members. They shouldn't have been checking if there was a potential problem when a newspaper points it out to them.
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Now Cllr Dornan has stood down after Sunday Herald revelations that he may have broken the law by being a partner director of a charitable trust, Culture and Sport Glasgow while under a protected trust deed which is an alternative to bankruptcy.
I think it's a shame he's been put in this position by the SNP. They should have checked all this out thoroughly before they allowed him to go for selection by the members. They shouldn't have been checking if there was a potential problem when a newspaper points it out to them.
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Ross Brawn gives masterclass in management
Ross Brawn must have some faults, but I have to say he keeps them very well hidden. Not only does he design brilliant cars and generally have a genius for picking the right race strategy at the right time (remember Hungary 1998, anyone?) but he's very, very good at the people stuff. He's always keen to honour the contribution of the team and the drivers to success and to make sure that everyone gets the chance to share in the success. He makes sure that different people get to go on the podium at the end of races they've won after being fed up when it was always Flavio at Benetton who kept the glory moments for himself. It's no wonder he was recently honoured for his outstanding achievements to the sport.
Today we saw one of the reasons why Brawn GP like Ferrari and Benetton before them have enjoyed huge success.
First of all, let's look at the race through the eyes of Rubens Barrichello. As far as he was concerned, he did what he had to do to win the race. He passed pole sitter Mark Webber at the first corner, narrowly avoiding ending up as a casualty when Webber got too close. So, he was there, in the lead, so all he needed to do was rely on the team to deliver the strategy to keep him there and he'd have his first win for Brawn. I think in his head he actually drove 60 laps on that first one and was already climbing the middle stop of the podium.
Instead, even after the man he passed was given a penalty for the incident at the start which should have ruined his chances, Rubens finished in sixth behind, for hevaven's sake, his team mate.
You can see why he was fizzing mad and got out of the car physically exhausted, dehydrated, aching and mentally crushed. If he'd won, the aches wouldn't matter, but he was a man who'd delivered for his team and felt in that moment that they'd let him down. Put a microphone in front of him and he was just going to let rip. And he did.. He pretty much called the team for everything: "It was a good show from the team in how to lose a race......They made me lose it." And those were the nice bits. He said that he wanted to go and get the first plane home and not go to the team debrief and listen to what he termed "blah blah blah".
I did feel sorry for him and thought he needed a cuddle and some hot chocolate to calm him down. I understand why he lashed out, but I suspect once he's calmed down he'll see things differently. For a start, if he'd managed to get past Massa he wouldn't have lost 2 seconds a lap to Webber after his first pit stop. Secondly, the second and third places in qualifying were always a fragile projection for the race given the cars' light fuel loads. Also, it wasn't the team's fault that there was a problem with the fuel rig. The Brawns were just not in the running this weekend, something that'll change when they start racing in sunnier climes.
Eddie Jordan on the BBC tore Rubens to shreds for his outburt and said that some would give him the sack for such treacherous comments against his team. Frank Williams wasn't much better, suggesting that a red card would be appropriate and anyone doing that in his team would get a severe dressing down. He slated what he called superstar drivers. I don't really rate the interpersonal skills of someone who shoves someone out the door when they deliver him a world championship so I've never forgiven him for the way he treated Damon Hill. Or David Coulthard for that matter. If it had been Flav, he'd have absolutely gone mad.
That's not the Ross Brawn way, though. He was the soul of calmness and discretion when the BBC went scurrying round to find out what he thought of Rubens' outburst. I didn't expect any different from him, but it was a bit of a masterclass in management. Ted Kravitz did his best to try to wind him up but he must have known he was on a hiding to nothing. He basically said that Rubens was right - the reason they hadn't won was because they weren't quick enough, and he understood what it must have looked like to Rubens cos his radio hadn't been working properly and he may not have realised everything that was going on. Ross also went out of his way to publicly praise Rubens for his contribution to the team. That's very much deserved because they have benefitted from his experience.
I was reminded of the 2006 Monaco GP when Michael Schumacher misjudged the last corner right at the end of the qualifying session. Alonso, who was on a flying lap at the time which was aborted and allowed Schumacher to keep his pole position, was none too chuffed. The stewards came down on Michael like a tonne of bricks and relegated him to the back of the grid. Ross's view was that Ferrari were a family and sometimes things happened that you didn't like, and your kids did things that sometimes you'd rather they didn't but you just deal with it.
Ross also knows that things are going to get more fraught between the drivers. We're half way through the series and Jenson's lead in the world championship has been cut by 5 points in the last two races. The gap in the Constructors' Championship is down to less than 20 points, when it was 43.5 not that long ago. Jenson will expect the team to get behind him to make sure he wins the championship and there were signs of that today when we overheard him radioing his engineer asking him to basically get Rubens out of his way. He will start kicking off if he doesn't start winning again.
On the other hand, Rubens wants, and deserves, a proper victory, won with the team behind him on his own merit. He thinks he's been done over twice this year, in Barcelona and Germany today when he could have won. He doesn't want to have to take a victory slung his way out of pity when Jenson has won the championship as happened at Ferrari when it was all about Michael. His position is getting weaker though given the fact that he's now 24 points behind. He will see it as only being 3 points behind Vettel, and 1.5 behind Webber, though, with him still being very much in contention.
At Red Bull, in some ways the situation is better, in others it's worse. Better because the gap between the drivers is so small that they have no choice but to let them race each other - but then worse because which of them is seriously going to be able to challenge Jenson. There may well be a febrile atmosphere there for a while until either Webber or Vettel starts to get the best results.
So there's challenging times for both teams as the season gets serious. Both Ross and Christian have to keep their drivers performing as well as possible for as long as possible and have to make the right calls on the championship. I'm looking forward to seeing how they deal with the task ahead.
Today we saw one of the reasons why Brawn GP like Ferrari and Benetton before them have enjoyed huge success.
First of all, let's look at the race through the eyes of Rubens Barrichello. As far as he was concerned, he did what he had to do to win the race. He passed pole sitter Mark Webber at the first corner, narrowly avoiding ending up as a casualty when Webber got too close. So, he was there, in the lead, so all he needed to do was rely on the team to deliver the strategy to keep him there and he'd have his first win for Brawn. I think in his head he actually drove 60 laps on that first one and was already climbing the middle stop of the podium.
Instead, even after the man he passed was given a penalty for the incident at the start which should have ruined his chances, Rubens finished in sixth behind, for hevaven's sake, his team mate.
You can see why he was fizzing mad and got out of the car physically exhausted, dehydrated, aching and mentally crushed. If he'd won, the aches wouldn't matter, but he was a man who'd delivered for his team and felt in that moment that they'd let him down. Put a microphone in front of him and he was just going to let rip. And he did.. He pretty much called the team for everything: "It was a good show from the team in how to lose a race......They made me lose it." And those were the nice bits. He said that he wanted to go and get the first plane home and not go to the team debrief and listen to what he termed "blah blah blah".
I did feel sorry for him and thought he needed a cuddle and some hot chocolate to calm him down. I understand why he lashed out, but I suspect once he's calmed down he'll see things differently. For a start, if he'd managed to get past Massa he wouldn't have lost 2 seconds a lap to Webber after his first pit stop. Secondly, the second and third places in qualifying were always a fragile projection for the race given the cars' light fuel loads. Also, it wasn't the team's fault that there was a problem with the fuel rig. The Brawns were just not in the running this weekend, something that'll change when they start racing in sunnier climes.
Eddie Jordan on the BBC tore Rubens to shreds for his outburt and said that some would give him the sack for such treacherous comments against his team. Frank Williams wasn't much better, suggesting that a red card would be appropriate and anyone doing that in his team would get a severe dressing down. He slated what he called superstar drivers. I don't really rate the interpersonal skills of someone who shoves someone out the door when they deliver him a world championship so I've never forgiven him for the way he treated Damon Hill. Or David Coulthard for that matter. If it had been Flav, he'd have absolutely gone mad.
That's not the Ross Brawn way, though. He was the soul of calmness and discretion when the BBC went scurrying round to find out what he thought of Rubens' outburst. I didn't expect any different from him, but it was a bit of a masterclass in management. Ted Kravitz did his best to try to wind him up but he must have known he was on a hiding to nothing. He basically said that Rubens was right - the reason they hadn't won was because they weren't quick enough, and he understood what it must have looked like to Rubens cos his radio hadn't been working properly and he may not have realised everything that was going on. Ross also went out of his way to publicly praise Rubens for his contribution to the team. That's very much deserved because they have benefitted from his experience.
I was reminded of the 2006 Monaco GP when Michael Schumacher misjudged the last corner right at the end of the qualifying session. Alonso, who was on a flying lap at the time which was aborted and allowed Schumacher to keep his pole position, was none too chuffed. The stewards came down on Michael like a tonne of bricks and relegated him to the back of the grid. Ross's view was that Ferrari were a family and sometimes things happened that you didn't like, and your kids did things that sometimes you'd rather they didn't but you just deal with it.
Ross also knows that things are going to get more fraught between the drivers. We're half way through the series and Jenson's lead in the world championship has been cut by 5 points in the last two races. The gap in the Constructors' Championship is down to less than 20 points, when it was 43.5 not that long ago. Jenson will expect the team to get behind him to make sure he wins the championship and there were signs of that today when we overheard him radioing his engineer asking him to basically get Rubens out of his way. He will start kicking off if he doesn't start winning again.
On the other hand, Rubens wants, and deserves, a proper victory, won with the team behind him on his own merit. He thinks he's been done over twice this year, in Barcelona and Germany today when he could have won. He doesn't want to have to take a victory slung his way out of pity when Jenson has won the championship as happened at Ferrari when it was all about Michael. His position is getting weaker though given the fact that he's now 24 points behind. He will see it as only being 3 points behind Vettel, and 1.5 behind Webber, though, with him still being very much in contention.
At Red Bull, in some ways the situation is better, in others it's worse. Better because the gap between the drivers is so small that they have no choice but to let them race each other - but then worse because which of them is seriously going to be able to challenge Jenson. There may well be a febrile atmosphere there for a while until either Webber or Vettel starts to get the best results.
So there's challenging times for both teams as the season gets serious. Both Ross and Christian have to keep their drivers performing as well as possible for as long as possible and have to make the right calls on the championship. I'm looking forward to seeing how they deal with the task ahead.
Aussie Rules as Webber wins in Germany
I know I'm a Brawn girl, but I'd have to be a really heartless witch not to be pleased for Mark Webber as he celebrates his first Grand Prix victory after 7 years in the sport.
Just 8 months ago, he was nursing a badly broken leg from a horrendous accident, not at 200mph on the race track, but during a charity cycling event.
It's amazing that he was able to deal with physically and mentally getting himself back into shape to even be able to get in the car at the beginning of the season and he thoroughly deserves this win.
He was so thrilled. I thought it was really funny that DC compared his post race emotional cheering fit to THAT scene in When Harry Met Sally. Not a film I really ever thought DC would have watched, but you learn something new every day.
Today's victory was all the more remarkable as he managed to stay ahead despite getting a drive through penalty for a swerving into Rubens Barrichello's path at the first corner. I think he was pushing his luck, but no harm was done to either of them and the stewards were probably a bit harsh in the circumstances. However someone at Red Bull had been kissing black cats and picking up pennies because he managed to regain the lead. The team's brilliant decision to take the drive through during Barrichello's first pit stop saw to that.
Rubens actually got past him at the first corner but ended up trailing behind Massa after his first pit stop. Massa wasn't due to stop for a further 11 laps. The only chance he had of winning was to pass this countryman and put in some stonking lap times but he wasn't able to do that and ended up losing valuable time which let Webber catch up with him. The Brawn team, with their magical strategic sense, decided to take him down from a 3 stopper to a 2 stopper but unfortunately the fuel rig had other ideas so he had to come in again.
Jenson Button had a pretty miserable start and ended up exactly where he didn't want to be, behind Kovaleinen with some Ferraris up his backside. He managed to pass the McLaren though
Before the last stop he found himself behind Barrichello and felt he was being held up and we heard an angry radio transmission to the effect that they had to get him ahead. They did in the third and final pit stop and that's how they finished, in 5th and 6th, a second apart. Rubens had a total strop about that at the end, but I'll cover that in a separate post.
This was always going to be a tough weekend for Brawn. There is a certain irony of having a British car that doesn't go well in British style weather and the relatively cold conditions at Silverstone and the Nurburgring just didn't suit them and help them get heat into their tyres. As the F1 circus moves south, it'll get better again, but the seeming invincibility they had in the first part of the season has been dented. This was the first race all year there hasn't been a Brawn boy on teh podium which is not good relative to Red Bull who are now creeping up fast on them in the Constructors' Championship. The Red Bull drivers have now leapfrogged Barrichello to take second and third places. I'd say they shouldn't get too comfy there, though - there's only 3 points between Vettel in second and Barrichello in 4th and Jenson still does have a 21 point lead.
If Brawn had a bad day, Lewis Hamilton had a terrible one - he almost got the lead off the start into the first corner but ended up puncturing his tyre on Mark Webber's rear wing and ended up spending his afternoon in the position he's become accustomed to this year - at the rear of the pack. It must have hurt to see Kovaleinen pick up the last point of the day when all the upgrades had gone on his car.
It's been a good week for Felipe Massa, though. He announced that he's not going to be the most baby faced one in his family as his wife is due to have their first baby in November and he ended up being the first Ferrari driver on the podium this year.
The Nurburgring provided us with one of the most exciting races from the year. It wasn't obvious from the start who was going to win - we knew that Barrichello's lead at the start was fragile because of the relative fuel loads.
The scene is set for an action packed, tension filled second half of the season - and that's just on the track!
LibDig This!
Just 8 months ago, he was nursing a badly broken leg from a horrendous accident, not at 200mph on the race track, but during a charity cycling event.
It's amazing that he was able to deal with physically and mentally getting himself back into shape to even be able to get in the car at the beginning of the season and he thoroughly deserves this win.
He was so thrilled. I thought it was really funny that DC compared his post race emotional cheering fit to THAT scene in When Harry Met Sally. Not a film I really ever thought DC would have watched, but you learn something new every day.
Today's victory was all the more remarkable as he managed to stay ahead despite getting a drive through penalty for a swerving into Rubens Barrichello's path at the first corner. I think he was pushing his luck, but no harm was done to either of them and the stewards were probably a bit harsh in the circumstances. However someone at Red Bull had been kissing black cats and picking up pennies because he managed to regain the lead. The team's brilliant decision to take the drive through during Barrichello's first pit stop saw to that.
Rubens actually got past him at the first corner but ended up trailing behind Massa after his first pit stop. Massa wasn't due to stop for a further 11 laps. The only chance he had of winning was to pass this countryman and put in some stonking lap times but he wasn't able to do that and ended up losing valuable time which let Webber catch up with him. The Brawn team, with their magical strategic sense, decided to take him down from a 3 stopper to a 2 stopper but unfortunately the fuel rig had other ideas so he had to come in again.
Jenson Button had a pretty miserable start and ended up exactly where he didn't want to be, behind Kovaleinen with some Ferraris up his backside. He managed to pass the McLaren though
Before the last stop he found himself behind Barrichello and felt he was being held up and we heard an angry radio transmission to the effect that they had to get him ahead. They did in the third and final pit stop and that's how they finished, in 5th and 6th, a second apart. Rubens had a total strop about that at the end, but I'll cover that in a separate post.
This was always going to be a tough weekend for Brawn. There is a certain irony of having a British car that doesn't go well in British style weather and the relatively cold conditions at Silverstone and the Nurburgring just didn't suit them and help them get heat into their tyres. As the F1 circus moves south, it'll get better again, but the seeming invincibility they had in the first part of the season has been dented. This was the first race all year there hasn't been a Brawn boy on teh podium which is not good relative to Red Bull who are now creeping up fast on them in the Constructors' Championship. The Red Bull drivers have now leapfrogged Barrichello to take second and third places. I'd say they shouldn't get too comfy there, though - there's only 3 points between Vettel in second and Barrichello in 4th and Jenson still does have a 21 point lead.
If Brawn had a bad day, Lewis Hamilton had a terrible one - he almost got the lead off the start into the first corner but ended up puncturing his tyre on Mark Webber's rear wing and ended up spending his afternoon in the position he's become accustomed to this year - at the rear of the pack. It must have hurt to see Kovaleinen pick up the last point of the day when all the upgrades had gone on his car.
It's been a good week for Felipe Massa, though. He announced that he's not going to be the most baby faced one in his family as his wife is due to have their first baby in November and he ended up being the first Ferrari driver on the podium this year.
The Nurburgring provided us with one of the most exciting races from the year. It wasn't obvious from the start who was going to win - we knew that Barrichello's lead at the start was fragile because of the relative fuel loads.
The scene is set for an action packed, tension filled second half of the season - and that's just on the track!
LibDig This!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ari Vatanen lays out his stall
FIA Presidential hopeful Ari Vatanen, who confirmed yesterday that he did intend to stand in the race to replace Max Mosley, has been talking to the BBC.
Now, it has to be said, I think my hamster could do a better job of running the FIA than Mosley, so to say that I think Ari is better than Max is hardly a compliment. However, I have to say so far so good.
He's certainly talking the talk of a man who wants to see an invigorated FIA where people work together for the good of sports. He talked about a common sense approach and about having 2 ears and 1 mouth and being more consensual "It's the right time for change. You can't govern in an autocratic manner." He's careful as well, though, not to fawn too much to FOTA, which might also be counterproductive with the electorate.
He was keen to emphasise that he had a wide range of support from clubs across the world - and support of these member clubs will be crucial in the October election.
Jean Todt, ex team principal of Ferrari, has been touted as Max's chosen one which in itself is enough to turn the rest of the world off him. Vatanen will have a tough job to beat him, because it's the FIA, not the rest of the world who's voting, but he's made a good start. The BBC gave him loads of time and EJ was practically drooling at the prospect of him as President.
As an MEP for 10 years, he'll have developed the political skills to create a coalition of support. I've had a brief look at his record which is solid if unspectacular. Sure, he's a centre right figure, but not a loony type, like our Tories have got together with. I want to find more out about why he's been elected for two parties from two different countries - his first term was on the list for the Finnish National Coalition despite the fact that he was living in France, but the second was for Sarkozy's party. He stood on the Finnish list again this time but wasn't elected.
Whether Ari is up against Todt or Mosley, he is a thoroughly credible candidate with his long experience in motorsport. He has the right philosophy for leadership and his first foray into the world of FIA politics over the last couple of days has been promising.
I want to find out more, but it certainly seems like he's got the experience, the personality and the attitude to seriously improve the FIA.
LibDig This!
Now, it has to be said, I think my hamster could do a better job of running the FIA than Mosley, so to say that I think Ari is better than Max is hardly a compliment. However, I have to say so far so good.
He's certainly talking the talk of a man who wants to see an invigorated FIA where people work together for the good of sports. He talked about a common sense approach and about having 2 ears and 1 mouth and being more consensual "It's the right time for change. You can't govern in an autocratic manner." He's careful as well, though, not to fawn too much to FOTA, which might also be counterproductive with the electorate.
He was keen to emphasise that he had a wide range of support from clubs across the world - and support of these member clubs will be crucial in the October election.
Jean Todt, ex team principal of Ferrari, has been touted as Max's chosen one which in itself is enough to turn the rest of the world off him. Vatanen will have a tough job to beat him, because it's the FIA, not the rest of the world who's voting, but he's made a good start. The BBC gave him loads of time and EJ was practically drooling at the prospect of him as President.
As an MEP for 10 years, he'll have developed the political skills to create a coalition of support. I've had a brief look at his record which is solid if unspectacular. Sure, he's a centre right figure, but not a loony type, like our Tories have got together with. I want to find more out about why he's been elected for two parties from two different countries - his first term was on the list for the Finnish National Coalition despite the fact that he was living in France, but the second was for Sarkozy's party. He stood on the Finnish list again this time but wasn't elected.
Whether Ari is up against Todt or Mosley, he is a thoroughly credible candidate with his long experience in motorsport. He has the right philosophy for leadership and his first foray into the world of FIA politics over the last couple of days has been promising.
I want to find out more, but it certainly seems like he's got the experience, the personality and the attitude to seriously improve the FIA.
LibDig This!
Webber and Barrichello get back in the game in Germany
We're half way through the Formula One season and so far only two men have got to the top step of the podium. Jenson Button has won 6 races, and Sebastian Vettel has won 2, including Jenson's home race at Silverstone 3 weeks ago.
The talk coming into the German Grand Prix was whether Jenson would get his own back and win Vettel's home race.
In fact, it's Button and Vettel's team mates, Australian Mark Webber and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello who won through in a thrilling qualifying session which was punctuated with showers and was horrendously difficult to call for drivers, teams and anyone watching. Anything could have happened. People were dashing in and out of the pits for intermediates and then Brawn's knack for calling it right saw Rubens Barrichello come in first for slicks.
I have been thinking for days, even before I saw Lewis Hamilton storm round the track in a McLaren that's been given a new lease of life, that I'd have to watch Q3 from behind a pillow. The weather which had blighted Brawn's chances in the British Grand Prix was forecast to be, if anything, even colder at the Nurburgring. For some reason the way the Brawn is built means that if it's cool, they just can't get heat into and consequently enough grip from the tyres. When it's hot, this works very much in their favour as we saw in Monaco when the softer tyres were goosed in a few laps on the Red Bulls but lasted the Brawns a race winning stint longer. It certainly didn't look as if we could expect great results from the Brawns and their practice times weren't spectacular.
Q2 provided the first really scary moment when it took Jenson until the dying moments to get into the top ten. It was so close to being the first time Brawn had not made the final session and would have been a disaster. However, with his talent for pulling it out the bag when it matters he made it and my blood pressure went back to something like normal. Not so lucky was Alonso. I was glad that his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr, whose jacket is rumoured to be on a very shoogly peg, but who has won the hearts of the F1 Twitterverse this week, made it into Q3. If Flav wants to get rid of him now, I suspect he'll find an angry mob of F1 tweeters at his door.
Q3 was its usual on the edge of your seat kind of stuff. The Brawns got out there first, and Barrichello was the first to post a time. The lead them seesawed between the Brawns and Red Bulls with Hamilton briefly grabbing the top slot. Nobody else was anywhere.
I can understand the frustration of British cricket loving F1 fans, who on one channel could hear Australia giving England a good kicking around Cardiff and who tweeted "f***ing Australians" as Mark Webber clinched his first ever pole position. I don't share that sentiment, though. I really like Mark Webber. He came across here with barely any money and worked like a demon to make his way into F1. He has earned any success that comes his way. Read this feature the Sunday Times did recently to see what a good bloke he is.
Having said that, if he is to make the podium tomorrow, I'd obviously prefer it to be behind the Brawn boys. I was so thrilled to see Rubens qualify ahead of Jenson and I'd like it even more if he won. He has given a huge amount to the team and his generosity in sharing set up information at races when Jenson was finding it hard to hit his groove has proved that lovely Ross was right to go for him rather than Bruno Senna.
An honourable mention has to go to Adrian Sutil, too. Ok, he might have been lucky with the weather, but for a Force India to qualify in 7th is fabulous.
I wonder if blind fury has a place in deciding qualifying position. The McLaren team only managed to make one set of upgrades for their car. We don't know whether the management decided themselves or whether Heikki Kovaleinen and Lewis Hamilton arm wrestled for them in the motorhome, but they all went on Hamilton's car. Kovaleinen was reportedly not a happy bunny. However, despite Hamilton's advantage in practice, Heikki finished just behind Lewis on the grid, although the gap was a stonking 1.2 seconds he is still breathing down Hamilton's neck.
It's also worth feeling sorry for poor old Timo Glock, who saw a succession of disasters knock him and his Toyota out in Q1, in 19th place with a time of 1:32.423 which was actually quicker than Jenson qualified in 3rd at 1:32:473.
We still don't know what the German weather will bring tomorrow - there have been reports of everything from dry to deluge. If, like me, you are having trouble waiting that long, here's a wee treat. There's a much longer, historic 24 km track at the Nurburgring called the Nordschleife. Enjoy this footage of Nick Heidfeld going round it in a BMW. It's quite spectacular.
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The talk coming into the German Grand Prix was whether Jenson would get his own back and win Vettel's home race.
In fact, it's Button and Vettel's team mates, Australian Mark Webber and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello who won through in a thrilling qualifying session which was punctuated with showers and was horrendously difficult to call for drivers, teams and anyone watching. Anything could have happened. People were dashing in and out of the pits for intermediates and then Brawn's knack for calling it right saw Rubens Barrichello come in first for slicks.
I have been thinking for days, even before I saw Lewis Hamilton storm round the track in a McLaren that's been given a new lease of life, that I'd have to watch Q3 from behind a pillow. The weather which had blighted Brawn's chances in the British Grand Prix was forecast to be, if anything, even colder at the Nurburgring. For some reason the way the Brawn is built means that if it's cool, they just can't get heat into and consequently enough grip from the tyres. When it's hot, this works very much in their favour as we saw in Monaco when the softer tyres were goosed in a few laps on the Red Bulls but lasted the Brawns a race winning stint longer. It certainly didn't look as if we could expect great results from the Brawns and their practice times weren't spectacular.
Q2 provided the first really scary moment when it took Jenson until the dying moments to get into the top ten. It was so close to being the first time Brawn had not made the final session and would have been a disaster. However, with his talent for pulling it out the bag when it matters he made it and my blood pressure went back to something like normal. Not so lucky was Alonso. I was glad that his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr, whose jacket is rumoured to be on a very shoogly peg, but who has won the hearts of the F1 Twitterverse this week, made it into Q3. If Flav wants to get rid of him now, I suspect he'll find an angry mob of F1 tweeters at his door.
Q3 was its usual on the edge of your seat kind of stuff. The Brawns got out there first, and Barrichello was the first to post a time. The lead them seesawed between the Brawns and Red Bulls with Hamilton briefly grabbing the top slot. Nobody else was anywhere.
I can understand the frustration of British cricket loving F1 fans, who on one channel could hear Australia giving England a good kicking around Cardiff and who tweeted "f***ing Australians" as Mark Webber clinched his first ever pole position. I don't share that sentiment, though. I really like Mark Webber. He came across here with barely any money and worked like a demon to make his way into F1. He has earned any success that comes his way. Read this feature the Sunday Times did recently to see what a good bloke he is.
Having said that, if he is to make the podium tomorrow, I'd obviously prefer it to be behind the Brawn boys. I was so thrilled to see Rubens qualify ahead of Jenson and I'd like it even more if he won. He has given a huge amount to the team and his generosity in sharing set up information at races when Jenson was finding it hard to hit his groove has proved that lovely Ross was right to go for him rather than Bruno Senna.
An honourable mention has to go to Adrian Sutil, too. Ok, he might have been lucky with the weather, but for a Force India to qualify in 7th is fabulous.
I wonder if blind fury has a place in deciding qualifying position. The McLaren team only managed to make one set of upgrades for their car. We don't know whether the management decided themselves or whether Heikki Kovaleinen and Lewis Hamilton arm wrestled for them in the motorhome, but they all went on Hamilton's car. Kovaleinen was reportedly not a happy bunny. However, despite Hamilton's advantage in practice, Heikki finished just behind Lewis on the grid, although the gap was a stonking 1.2 seconds he is still breathing down Hamilton's neck.
It's also worth feeling sorry for poor old Timo Glock, who saw a succession of disasters knock him and his Toyota out in Q1, in 19th place with a time of 1:32.423 which was actually quicker than Jenson qualified in 3rd at 1:32:473.
We still don't know what the German weather will bring tomorrow - there have been reports of everything from dry to deluge. If, like me, you are having trouble waiting that long, here's a wee treat. There's a much longer, historic 24 km track at the Nurburgring called the Nordschleife. Enjoy this footage of Nick Heidfeld going round it in a BMW. It's quite spectacular.
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How dare you, Irfan!
"Many women don’t have a clue about politics so they need someone to make their decisions for them and for that reason its OK for the man to decide who the women votes or is it? I don’t see anything wrong with a man making the decision in the household to who everyone votes but then that is just me."
Flippin' eck! The most surprising thing about the above comment above is that it came from someone who purports to be a Liberal Democrat. I'm not linking to him but Stephen and Paul have if you really want to read the rest of his post. I personally don't think it's worth taking the time.
I am horrified that anyone in this day and age thinks it's appropriate for a man to tell the rest of his household how to vote. I'm sure that some do, but it's never right.
I remind Irfan of the Preamble to our Constitution, which we all sign up to as members:
"The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives.
We look forward to a world in which all people share the same basic rights, in which they live together in peace and in which their different cultures will be able to develop freely. We believe that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet and, by safeguarding the balance of nature and the environment, for the long term continuity of life in all its forms.
Upholding these values of individual and social justice, we reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation and oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality."
I personally think that inferring that any woman is so clueless that they can't work out for themselves how to vote without a man's input is highly insulting. To imply that many are in this situation is complete and utter rubbish.
I've been lucky enough to always have known how I'm going to vote in public elections beyond any shadow of a doubt. However, there have been times when I've not been so sure in internal party elections. I had to really think about who to support in the last two party leadership elections. Did I need someone to help me make my decision? No way. I read, questioned and challenged the participants until I had enough information to make up my mind.
I don't know whether Irfan's post was designed to shoot him up the Wikio rankings as we all link to him in outrage, but if he is going to continue to post sexist, misogynistic, discriminatory crap like this, he's going to have to expect to be challenged.
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Torchwood Terror (includes Spoilers)
It's a long time since a tv progamme left me physically shaken and emotionally shocked and stunned, but Torchwood did it.
First of all, I'm glad that the BBC didn't shy away from the hideous nature of the conclusion and order writer Russell T Davies to make it all a bit more cosy, so congratulations to them for keeping the deep, deep darkness in.
Secondly, what a triumph of writing, casting (Peter Capaldi as the Government official unable to find the spine to do the right thing), music, from the tense, pacy stuff to haunting choral melodies, and effects (why is it that nothing makes you jump quite as much as a liberal splattering of green goo?) this was, all brought together by director Euros Lyn.
For me the scariest thing wasn't the druggie alien in the tank, frightening though its misty profile was, but the way in which the Government first covered up the past and then conjured up a truly evil plan to deal with the situation. The cleverness of the writing, tapping into our perception of the current political scene, even tapping into the Swine Flu anxiety, to create a chilling credibility, had me shaken. If I, who generally view politicians as good people, could find the fictitious Government's actions so easy to believe, we really do have a problem.
Having said that, I can't imagine that anybody really thinks that the real life Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg would ever preside over a Government that would hand over 10% of our kids to a random alien junkie, but everybody's favourite elephant has done a much better job than I ever could of showing exactly why we could so easily fall for that storyline in his reviews of the last few days. I do disagree, however, with Millennium's comparison of Denise with Harriet Jones. Davies shut off any avenue of hope for the future by ensuring that the discredited PM was replaced by the Jacqui Smith type who came up with the idea of selecting the kids from the failing schools.
While I'm on this theme, I don't quite understand why Gwen and Rhys don't, if this woman becomes PM, release the recordings they had tfrom the earlier discussions to discredit her.
I wondered how Aaron Sorkin might have tackled the plot challenge of an alien demanding the handover of children. I can't imagine that complying would ever have entered Jed Bartlet's head. I suspect that his administration would have concentrated on trying to either cure the alien species of its dependence or tried to produce a synthetic substitute.
What did defy credibility was that a Government could so quickly and efficiently organise a round up of all those children when they had spectacularly failed to kill three relatively unarmed people. Sure, they had the ingenious ideas of bombs in stomachs and encasing the man who can't die in concerete, showing him naked, handcuffed to a table first, but they could have saved themselves loads of trouble by simply making sure that their snipers had had eye tests. How many of them missed both Ianto and Gwen, leaving them free to turn up at the secret base where Jack was being held? How incompetent was it of the bosses not to circulate to the gate people pictures of Gwen and her husband as they turned up in the undertaker's car? Did their Welsh accents not ring any bells? Really!
As if the scary Government wasn't bad enough, the final conclusion, where Jack sacrificed his own grandson, was grotesque and something which actually hurt to watch. Stephen was here watching it with me. He had the help of a rather nice bottle of night harvested Aussie dolcetto to help with the pain and prevent him from having the ability to get behind the sofa, while I had to rely on Coke Zero.
Seriously, though, a programme which could render two blethers like us speechless was quite something.
And for the future - yes, there's potential for Jack to meet up with the Doctor in the future. The ending might have looked like the end for Torchwood, but I suspect the BBC will bring it back given the critical acclaim this series has received.
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First of all, I'm glad that the BBC didn't shy away from the hideous nature of the conclusion and order writer Russell T Davies to make it all a bit more cosy, so congratulations to them for keeping the deep, deep darkness in.
Secondly, what a triumph of writing, casting (Peter Capaldi as the Government official unable to find the spine to do the right thing), music, from the tense, pacy stuff to haunting choral melodies, and effects (why is it that nothing makes you jump quite as much as a liberal splattering of green goo?) this was, all brought together by director Euros Lyn.
For me the scariest thing wasn't the druggie alien in the tank, frightening though its misty profile was, but the way in which the Government first covered up the past and then conjured up a truly evil plan to deal with the situation. The cleverness of the writing, tapping into our perception of the current political scene, even tapping into the Swine Flu anxiety, to create a chilling credibility, had me shaken. If I, who generally view politicians as good people, could find the fictitious Government's actions so easy to believe, we really do have a problem.
Having said that, I can't imagine that anybody really thinks that the real life Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg would ever preside over a Government that would hand over 10% of our kids to a random alien junkie, but everybody's favourite elephant has done a much better job than I ever could of showing exactly why we could so easily fall for that storyline in his reviews of the last few days. I do disagree, however, with Millennium's comparison of Denise with Harriet Jones. Davies shut off any avenue of hope for the future by ensuring that the discredited PM was replaced by the Jacqui Smith type who came up with the idea of selecting the kids from the failing schools.
While I'm on this theme, I don't quite understand why Gwen and Rhys don't, if this woman becomes PM, release the recordings they had tfrom the earlier discussions to discredit her.
I wondered how Aaron Sorkin might have tackled the plot challenge of an alien demanding the handover of children. I can't imagine that complying would ever have entered Jed Bartlet's head. I suspect that his administration would have concentrated on trying to either cure the alien species of its dependence or tried to produce a synthetic substitute.
What did defy credibility was that a Government could so quickly and efficiently organise a round up of all those children when they had spectacularly failed to kill three relatively unarmed people. Sure, they had the ingenious ideas of bombs in stomachs and encasing the man who can't die in concerete, showing him naked, handcuffed to a table first, but they could have saved themselves loads of trouble by simply making sure that their snipers had had eye tests. How many of them missed both Ianto and Gwen, leaving them free to turn up at the secret base where Jack was being held? How incompetent was it of the bosses not to circulate to the gate people pictures of Gwen and her husband as they turned up in the undertaker's car? Did their Welsh accents not ring any bells? Really!
As if the scary Government wasn't bad enough, the final conclusion, where Jack sacrificed his own grandson, was grotesque and something which actually hurt to watch. Stephen was here watching it with me. He had the help of a rather nice bottle of night harvested Aussie dolcetto to help with the pain and prevent him from having the ability to get behind the sofa, while I had to rely on Coke Zero.
Seriously, though, a programme which could render two blethers like us speechless was quite something.
And for the future - yes, there's potential for Jack to meet up with the Doctor in the future. The ending might have looked like the end for Torchwood, but I suspect the BBC will bring it back given the critical acclaim this series has received.
LibDig This!
Thursday, July 09, 2009
How to opt out of new mobile phone directory
I've just followed the example of Tom Harris and Subrosa and opted out of this new mobile phone directory that's being set up.
I value my privacy, and I simply don't trust that my number won't get into the hands of people who want to sell me things I don't want to buy.
I'm going to check it out when it goes live later this month, too, just to make sure that my request has been acted upon. It's not that I don't trust them, or anything, but....
Anyway, if you want to do the same, follow this link and follow the instructions. It's just a question of entering your mobile number, going through a spam trap captcha thingy and then they text you a code to enter in the next screen. Once you have entered that code, the process is, in theory, complete.
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I value my privacy, and I simply don't trust that my number won't get into the hands of people who want to sell me things I don't want to buy.
I'm going to check it out when it goes live later this month, too, just to make sure that my request has been acted upon. It's not that I don't trust them, or anything, but....
Anyway, if you want to do the same, follow this link and follow the instructions. It's just a question of entering your mobile number, going through a spam trap captcha thingy and then they text you a code to enter in the next screen. Once you have entered that code, the process is, in theory, complete.
LibDig This!
Strictly Sexist
I am raging at the news that the BBC has replaced Arlene Phillips as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing with Alesha Dixon.
Now I love Alesha, don't get me wrong, but her formal dance experience amounts to 12 weeks in the arms of the gorgeous and entirely lovable Matthew Cutler. How on earth did that give her credibility as a judge?
Alesha is beautiful, sassy, a great singer and comes across very well and very naturally on camera. She danced a great quickstep with His Royal Vinceness on This Week as well. However, she cannot even hope to match Arlene's decades of experience in dance of all kinds as performer and choreographer.
How come the producers have decided that Arlene is to be the sacrificial lamb if they want to make the show younger and sexier when Len Goodman, who is in the end of the day only a few months younger than her, retains his place at the head of the panel?
Being in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or even 70s or 80s, like Bruce, is not a barrier if you are a man in tv, but woe betide you if you're female, cos you very quickly get past your sell by date.
I actually think they should have kept the judging panel as it was - the chemistry and banter was about right. In fact, on the forums and amongst fans, there is more complaining about Bruno and Craig than ever about Arlene, but I love them all.
If they wanted to find a role for Alesha, I would have moved Tess on and made her the co-presenter. She'd bring a lot more natural warmth and humour to the job than Tess can.
I am seriously in a total fury about the injustice that's been done to Arlene. What is the point of a broadcaster being publicly funded if they are allowed to behave in such a sexist, discriminatory way?
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Now I love Alesha, don't get me wrong, but her formal dance experience amounts to 12 weeks in the arms of the gorgeous and entirely lovable Matthew Cutler. How on earth did that give her credibility as a judge?
Alesha is beautiful, sassy, a great singer and comes across very well and very naturally on camera. She danced a great quickstep with His Royal Vinceness on This Week as well. However, she cannot even hope to match Arlene's decades of experience in dance of all kinds as performer and choreographer.
How come the producers have decided that Arlene is to be the sacrificial lamb if they want to make the show younger and sexier when Len Goodman, who is in the end of the day only a few months younger than her, retains his place at the head of the panel?
Being in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or even 70s or 80s, like Bruce, is not a barrier if you are a man in tv, but woe betide you if you're female, cos you very quickly get past your sell by date.
I actually think they should have kept the judging panel as it was - the chemistry and banter was about right. In fact, on the forums and amongst fans, there is more complaining about Bruno and Craig than ever about Arlene, but I love them all.
If they wanted to find a role for Alesha, I would have moved Tess on and made her the co-presenter. She'd bring a lot more natural warmth and humour to the job than Tess can.
I am seriously in a total fury about the injustice that's been done to Arlene. What is the point of a broadcaster being publicly funded if they are allowed to behave in such a sexist, discriminatory way?
LibDig This!
FIA and FOTA fall out again
We may all have been a bit premature in celebrating the formula one peace deal announced 2 weeks ago as it has been slowly unravelling ever since. Within two days FIA President Max Mosley decided that he might just stay on as FIA President after all and it's been gently downhill ever since.
The latest development is FOTA, the teams' association, walking out of a technical rules meeting yesterday. The FIA's statement on the subject was short and to the point, suggesting not surprisingly that it was all FOTA's fault.
FOTA's version of events, however, had more detail and, more's to the point, more credible information.
The FIA is saying, as far as I can see, that FOTA are not entered for next year after all, and that if there are to be changes to the regulations in accordance with the Paris deal, then the new teams as well as Force India and Williams, need to agree them. If that is the case, and FOTA were told they had no rights within the meeting then it was a complete waste of their time being there. The FIA might have cast them as the baddies for walking out, but I can see teams' point.
There was certainly no mention that the Paris deal was in any way conditional in the statement issued by the World Motor Sport Council. Nor was there any figment of ambiguity in the entry list.
This all seems to me like an increasingly discredited Max Mosley stirring it. He clearly went back from the WMSC meeting where the deal was struck, got his hatchet out of the cupboard and has been looking for places to bury it ever since.
Is it a coincidence that the entire autosport press are now talking about this new row and not about the allegations about FIA Chief Steward Alan Donnelly, or about the alleged pressure put on new teams to sign up to an engine deal with Cosworth?? It seems completely bizarre that teams such as Lola and Aston Martin saw their bids rejected. Max had certainly been keen on a big deal with Cosworth at the end of last year.
Not for the first time, I wonder if the fact that the management of Formula 1 is exclusively male contributes to the turbulent and often aggressive nature of its decision making process.
Anyway, this drama clearly has some way to play out. We may yet see a breakaway, although I think the teams would possibly be better advised to quietly set about ensuring that if Mosley should stand again in October, that he has credible opposition. The teams can't do that themselves, because unseating Mosley will require a coalition across all levels of FIA regulated motorsport, but they can play their part in securing a new president with a more pragmatic way of doing things.
Ari Vatanen, the former rally driver and MEP, has had his name put in the frame but his path to the presidency against a truculent Mosley will not be easy as the process for re-election strongly favours the incumbent. While the requirement to have 22 Cabinet members is supposedly to ensure no protest candidates (and why should they be outlawed anyway?), it may be that key figures would not be willing to publicly side against an incumbent in such an obvious way in case they have to end up working with him again.
I think that F1 would be better without Mosley in it from now. He appears to be the main obstacle to a lasting peace at the moment.
You have to have some sympathy for Ross Brawn, one of the few consistently reasonable voices in F1, who apparently said in yesterday's meeting to Charlie Whiting, who was delivering the bad news from the FIA "Isn't this all a bit silly. Can't we just get on with it."
The latest development is FOTA, the teams' association, walking out of a technical rules meeting yesterday. The FIA's statement on the subject was short and to the point, suggesting not surprisingly that it was all FOTA's fault.
FOTA's version of events, however, had more detail and, more's to the point, more credible information.
The FIA is saying, as far as I can see, that FOTA are not entered for next year after all, and that if there are to be changes to the regulations in accordance with the Paris deal, then the new teams as well as Force India and Williams, need to agree them. If that is the case, and FOTA were told they had no rights within the meeting then it was a complete waste of their time being there. The FIA might have cast them as the baddies for walking out, but I can see teams' point.
There was certainly no mention that the Paris deal was in any way conditional in the statement issued by the World Motor Sport Council. Nor was there any figment of ambiguity in the entry list.
This all seems to me like an increasingly discredited Max Mosley stirring it. He clearly went back from the WMSC meeting where the deal was struck, got his hatchet out of the cupboard and has been looking for places to bury it ever since.
Is it a coincidence that the entire autosport press are now talking about this new row and not about the allegations about FIA Chief Steward Alan Donnelly, or about the alleged pressure put on new teams to sign up to an engine deal with Cosworth?? It seems completely bizarre that teams such as Lola and Aston Martin saw their bids rejected. Max had certainly been keen on a big deal with Cosworth at the end of last year.
Not for the first time, I wonder if the fact that the management of Formula 1 is exclusively male contributes to the turbulent and often aggressive nature of its decision making process.
Anyway, this drama clearly has some way to play out. We may yet see a breakaway, although I think the teams would possibly be better advised to quietly set about ensuring that if Mosley should stand again in October, that he has credible opposition. The teams can't do that themselves, because unseating Mosley will require a coalition across all levels of FIA regulated motorsport, but they can play their part in securing a new president with a more pragmatic way of doing things.
Ari Vatanen, the former rally driver and MEP, has had his name put in the frame but his path to the presidency against a truculent Mosley will not be easy as the process for re-election strongly favours the incumbent. While the requirement to have 22 Cabinet members is supposedly to ensure no protest candidates (and why should they be outlawed anyway?), it may be that key figures would not be willing to publicly side against an incumbent in such an obvious way in case they have to end up working with him again.
I think that F1 would be better without Mosley in it from now. He appears to be the main obstacle to a lasting peace at the moment.
You have to have some sympathy for Ross Brawn, one of the few consistently reasonable voices in F1, who apparently said in yesterday's meeting to Charlie Whiting, who was delivering the bad news from the FIA "Isn't this all a bit silly. Can't we just get on with it."
Two approaches to the war in Afghanistan
I've woken up this morning to two different articles on the war in Afghanistan. The first is by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg in the Telegraph in which he outlines the ways in which the Government could improve the way it's dealing with the situation there. He highlights how lack of appropriate equipment is costing lives and calls on the Government to address this.
Nick is completely behind the need for military action in Afghanistan:
"I am a Liberal interventionist, who believes military action is justified when supported by reason and the law. I support the aim of our mission wholeheartedly: to stop Afghanistan reverting to a haven for terrorism, with its people oppressed and impoverished. To achieve that, military forces need to create enough space for stability and good governance to take root."
However, he also shows how the aims of the mission are being compromised and lives are being lost by sending troops into battle:
"If you send people to war, you must supply the resources they need, or you should not send them at all. Otherwise you are betraying the fundamental covenant between a nation and its armed forces. I am appalled that so many of our soldiers have been killed because of inadequate equipment, and disturbed to hear from experts that we don't have enough forces to hold and rebuild territory once it has been won."
Nick also highlights the need for all the various troops and organisations engaged in Afghanistan to be properly co-ordinated and highlights how the Government has failed to contribute properly to that.
He also looks to the future and shows how important it is to deal with corruption, to give the Afghan people confidence in the new political system. I would have liked it if Nick had also talked about the continuing injustices to women as highlighted this year by Amnesty as another issue that urgently needs to be tackled.
Nick isn't just randomly making this up. One of the things that has always impressed me about him is his willingness to listen and learn. On this he's been taking advice from Paddy Ashdown, who certainly knows a thing or two about military matters.
If we are sending our forces into battle without the equipment they need to protect themselves and help them achieve their mission, then that is surely a national disgrace. All this at the same time money is being wasted on ID cards and replacing Trident.
Compare and contrast with the approach of Tom Harris. He certainly makes a good case for the intervention in Afghanistan and how we need to deal with the brutally repressive Taliban. What worried me was his solution:
"British soldiers are fighting and dying in the campaign to build a democratic and free Afghanistan. We should be hoping and praying for their safety and for their success against the remnants of a vile and disgusting fascist regime."
I can't believe that anyone would think that hope and prayer was an acceptable substitute for good strategy and appropriate equipment. To lose people unnecessarily, through failure to protect them sufficiently is simply wrong and must stop now. It's an insult to the troops, their families and all of our intelligence to suggest that hope and prayer will bring them home safely when they are crying out to be given even the basics they need for survival and the success of their mission. It's cash, not prayer, that is needed to sort that out.
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Nick is completely behind the need for military action in Afghanistan:
"I am a Liberal interventionist, who believes military action is justified when supported by reason and the law. I support the aim of our mission wholeheartedly: to stop Afghanistan reverting to a haven for terrorism, with its people oppressed and impoverished. To achieve that, military forces need to create enough space for stability and good governance to take root."
However, he also shows how the aims of the mission are being compromised and lives are being lost by sending troops into battle:
"If you send people to war, you must supply the resources they need, or you should not send them at all. Otherwise you are betraying the fundamental covenant between a nation and its armed forces. I am appalled that so many of our soldiers have been killed because of inadequate equipment, and disturbed to hear from experts that we don't have enough forces to hold and rebuild territory once it has been won."
Nick also highlights the need for all the various troops and organisations engaged in Afghanistan to be properly co-ordinated and highlights how the Government has failed to contribute properly to that.
He also looks to the future and shows how important it is to deal with corruption, to give the Afghan people confidence in the new political system. I would have liked it if Nick had also talked about the continuing injustices to women as highlighted this year by Amnesty as another issue that urgently needs to be tackled.
Nick isn't just randomly making this up. One of the things that has always impressed me about him is his willingness to listen and learn. On this he's been taking advice from Paddy Ashdown, who certainly knows a thing or two about military matters.
If we are sending our forces into battle without the equipment they need to protect themselves and help them achieve their mission, then that is surely a national disgrace. All this at the same time money is being wasted on ID cards and replacing Trident.
Compare and contrast with the approach of Tom Harris. He certainly makes a good case for the intervention in Afghanistan and how we need to deal with the brutally repressive Taliban. What worried me was his solution:
"British soldiers are fighting and dying in the campaign to build a democratic and free Afghanistan. We should be hoping and praying for their safety and for their success against the remnants of a vile and disgusting fascist regime."
I can't believe that anyone would think that hope and prayer was an acceptable substitute for good strategy and appropriate equipment. To lose people unnecessarily, through failure to protect them sufficiently is simply wrong and must stop now. It's an insult to the troops, their families and all of our intelligence to suggest that hope and prayer will bring them home safely when they are crying out to be given even the basics they need for survival and the success of their mission. It's cash, not prayer, that is needed to sort that out.
LibDig This!
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