tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233121232024-03-05T07:59:31.688+00:00The PFLDA rogue Discordian's take on the world around usCainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.comBlogger432125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-4085360619635267672008-09-02T15:36:00.001+01:002008-09-02T15:40:08.068+01:00I'M BACK....in some senseWell, I'm back blogging at least. Only, not here anymore.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, blogger has served me well these past few years. But I felt it was time for a change, and have much preferred working with Wordpress of late. And so, from now on, I intend to blog at the new PFLD site, which can be found at:<br /><br /><a href="http://episkoposcain.wordpress.com/">This link</a>.<br /><br />I think I have moved most links and things over. All the old posts are still there, except some of the stupid ones I decided to prune. But if I have missed anyone while moving over, holla, and I'll be sure to fix it. This site will remain as an archive and spam bot collection facility.<br /><br />Hope to see you over at the new place.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-17689360404774622842008-08-28T11:36:00.002+01:002008-08-28T11:37:46.043+01:00BusynessI'm not going to be around much until Monday. No, I haven't got a job yet, I'm just going to busy and not really have the time to be online much. But hopefully by Monday I will be back in action. And yes, I will deal with Tim Montogomerie's ridiculous website, as promised.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-49723852938634655312008-08-28T11:29:00.001+01:002008-08-28T11:32:06.278+01:00Brown is mad?<a href="http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/2008/08/26/the-gordon-brown-is-insane-meme/">Liberal Conspiracy discusses the "Brown is insane" meme</a>.<br /><br />I think that we should learn to love, cherish and adopt the term "concern trolling".Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-46981534106617302602008-08-24T15:04:00.005+01:002008-08-24T19:04:49.129+01:00When will Tim Montgomerie stop beating his wife?<a href="http://americaintheworld.typepad.com/">No srsly</a>.<br /><br />I mean, if we're gonna play that game it would be, lets at least do it properly. Going by the site, pretty much everyone who is not at least centre-right hates America.<br /><br />And while it would be both amusing, and very easy, to make fun of Montgomerie's almost sycophantic website, instead I am putting on my "Internet Is SRS BUSINESS" had and I'm going to have some fun with his sources. Because his sources for some of the anti-Americanism briefings are some of the most disgusting and divisive Americans in recent history, whose absolute hatred at anyone with a worldview that differs from theirs is far more hateful of the Americans who hold those views than many of the descriptions of anti-Americanism on the site.<br /><br />Firstly, I'm reading about <a href="http://americaintheworld.typepad.com/briefings/2008/08/hollywood-and-a.html">Anti-Americanism and Hollywood</a>, a delightful little playbook taken from the American right, about how Hollywood is undermining all that is good and true about America. And whose name should I see, but <span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Medved</span>.<br /><br />Medved is not what I would call a good source. In fact, he is a terrible source. This article <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2007/11/14/propaganda,_and_perspective,_on_american_empire?page=full&comments=true">here</a>, I think, sums up everything that is wrong with his worldview. Historical inaccuracy and naievete are the hallmarks of his thinking. Taking it apart would be a lengthy work for a historian, there is so much wrong with it. Furthermore, his cultural conservativism shows in his contempt for liberal, homosexual and non Judeo-Christian Americans, which is the main point <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2007/02/21/where_tim_hardaway_was_right">of</a> <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2006/12/06/gay_demands_shift_from_equality_to_special_endorsement">pretty</a> <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2006/10/04/religion,_madness_and_secular_paranoia">much</a> <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2006/08/23/why_the_world_hates_america">every</a> <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2006/08/16/does_us_bigotry_cause_muslim_madness">article</a> <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2006/08/02/gender_difference,_not_gay_marriage,_at_center_of_family_fight">he</a> <a href="http://townhall.com/Columnists/MichaelMedved/2007/02/28/why_liberals_are_right_to_hate_the_ten_commandments">writes</a>.<br /><br />Medved will go to nearly any length to smear liberal, gay or non-Jewish or Christian Americans (in fact, he will smear them too, if they are too liberal for his liking). Why does Medved's contempt for his fellow citizens not disqualify him as a source? Because Montgomerie's site is not about anti-Americanism, its about using anti-Americanism, the concept, as a foil to attack left-wingers with.<br /><br />This pattern repeats itself with some of his other non-political/NGO sources, who are invariably the worst examples of right-wing Americans, that conflate everything which isn't in line with their worldview as anti-American. As such, it becomes all too easy to claim that everything except one's own worldview is not filled with secret hatred and disgust for the USA. How convienient.<br /><br />Next on the list is Michelle Malkin. Ah, the Malkin Monster. Where do we start with her? <a href="http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2007/10/what-has-happen.html">Ezra Klein</a> probably says it best:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">To visit Michelle Malkin’s cave is to see politics at its most savage, its most ferocious, its most rageful. They say they’ve spent the past week smearing a child and his family because that child was fair game — he and his family spoke of their experience receiving health care through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. For this, right wingers travel to their home to inspect its worth, they insinuate that the family is engaged in large-scale fraud to receive government benefits, they make threatening phone calls to the family.</span></blockquote><br />Lovely, right? There is plenty more to hold against Michelle Malkin as well. Hold on tight, because its a nasty and sordid little trip we will be taking.<br /><br />Glenn Greenwald of Salon <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/07/25/malkin/index.html">goes one further</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>On a daily basis, Michelle Malkin's hate sites promote violence, rank bigotry, jihad against Muslim Americans, imprisonment of Democratic Party leaders. The comments are not deleted and are virtually never opposed. Her hate sites traffic in content which is the hallmark of white supremacism and violent groups targeting Muslims. And once she is done promoting that, she goes on Fox News and demands that corporate sponsors cut their ties with Daily Kos due to the comments left on that site.</blockquote></span><br />And it gets better (or worse):<br /><br /><a href="http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2005/11/unhinged-unhonest.html">David Neiwert</a> does a take down of her book, <span style="font-style: italic;">Liberals Unhinged</span>, her pathetic whining about how American liberals are out of control radicals trying to destroy the country and intimidate conservatives. As David points out:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">The only people who will find this book useful are blinkered ideologues who just want more grist for their liberal-hating mills, the facts be damned. Certainly, it will be of little to use for any serious-minded person who is concerned about the state of the national dialogue -- except, perhaps, as Exhibit A regarding the source of the problem.</span></blockquote><br />There is also her book on internment, accurately described throughout much of the American media as historical revisionism and little more than a screed to justify racial profiling against American Arabs, and their possible internment without trial. A full takedown, by two historians with expertise in the case of Japanese internment, can be read <a href="http://www.isthatlegal.org/Muller_and_Robinson_on_Malkin.html">here</a>.<br /><br />We could go into her tedious hatred of illegal immigrants. Or how <a href="http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004999.htm">she enables</a> the harassment of people who she disagrees with. Or her <a href="http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/05/28/Dunkin_pulls_Ray_ad_over_headscarf/UPI-27231212002153/">conspiracy theorism</a>. But I simply do not have the time to document all of Malkin's insanity.<br /><br />On <a href="http://americaintheworld.typepad.com/briefings/2008/08/will-anti-ameri.html">Will Anti-Americanism End if Barack Obama</a> becomes President, I see Robert Kagan, of the infamous Kagan family, making an appearance. Robert, like many of his relatives who, inexplicably are listened to by the American media and foreign policy establishment, was one of those pushing most strongly for the Iraq war, and has continued to support it strongly. As <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/03/11/kagan/">Greenwald</a> points out:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">No rational person would believe a word Robert Kagan says about anything. He has been spewing out one falsehood after the next for the last four years in order to blind Americans about the real state of affairs concerning the invasion which he and his comrade and writing partner, Bill Kristol, did as much as anyone else to sell to the American public.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In April, 2003, Kagan declared the war over and said we won. Since then, he has continuously claimed that things were getting better in Iraq. He is completely liberated from any obligation to tell the truth and is a highly destructive propagandist whose public record of commentary about Iraq ought to disqualify him from decent company, let alone some sort of pretense to expertise about this war. </span></blockquote><br />And we should take his word on American foreign policy at face value? I think not.<br /><br />David Frum gets a mention on the topic of <a href="http://americaintheworld.typepad.com/briefings/2008/08/strategies-for.html">Strategies to Combat Anti-Americanism</a>. Frum is of course most well known as the man who helped coin the phrase Axis of Evil, but there is a lot more to him.<br /><br />For example, we have his (obvious) implication that those who blame Feith and Michael Leeden for forging evidence to help the case for the Iraq war are <a href="http://frum.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmE1ZDE1YmVmMDU5OTI2OThjZDIyNTNkYzY3Y2Y2ODc=">anti-Semites</a>. Gary Kayima also has an <a href="http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2004/01/30/frum_perle/">enlightening review</a> of the book he co-wrote with Richard Perle:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Here are some of the authors' policy recommendations:</span><br /><ul style="font-style: italic;"><li>Preparing to launch a preemptive attack on North Korea, after moving our troops out of range of their artillery and missiles.</li><li>Taking direct action to topple the regime in Iran, by providing aid to Iranian dissidents.</li><li>Being prepared to invade Syria, of whom the authors write, "Really, there is only one question to ask about Syria: Why have we put up with it as long as we have?"</li><li>Being prepared to invade Libya. "The illusion that Muammar al-Qaddafi is 'moderating' should be treated as what it is: a symptom of the seemingly incurable wishful delusions that afflict the accommodationists in the foreign policy establishment." (Now that those accommodationists in State have been proven right, don't expect an apology from the authors: They'll claim Qaddafi got rid of his WMD programs only because Bush invaded Iraq. All other answers, no matter if they're true, don't fit with their Manichaean, evildoers-respond-only-to-force worldview. Besides, those who are always right must never apologize. It is a sign of weakness, which our evil Muslim terrorist enemies (TM) will exploit with evil terror.)</li><li>Taking a superconfrontational line with Saudi Arabia, including letting them know that if they don't reform we would look with favor upon a Shiite uprising in their oil-rich Eastern Province.</li><li>Abandoning the Israeli-Palestinian peace process altogether. In a radical departure from U.S. policy, they say the Palestinians should not be given a state. Creating a Palestinian state out of the West Bank and Gaza, they write, will not bring peace to the region, because the Palestinians and other Arabs are only interested in vengeance, not justice. Instead, the Palestinians should "let go of the past" and content themselves with becoming citizens of the Arab countries in which they now live. The authors do not say what should happen to the 3.9 million Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories: Presumably they should either agree to become second-class citizens like the other Israeli Arabs, or leave.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Their domestic policies are equally arresting:</span><br /><ul style="font-style: italic;"><li>Requiring all residents to carry a national identity card that includes "biometric data, like fingerprints or retinal scans or DNA," and empowering all law enforcement officers to enforce immigration laws. The authors admit that such a card "could be used in abusive ways," but reassure us by saying that victims of "executive branch abuse will be able to sue." Those who have done nothing wrong have nothing to fear!</li><li>Encouraging Americans to "report suspicious activity." Apparently alone among Americans, the authors lament the demise of the TIPS program.</li><li>Changing immigration policy so that the U.S. can bar all would-be visitors who have "terrorist sympathies." The authors define "terrorist sympathies" so broadly that this would rule out a high percentage of visitors from Muslim or Arab countries.</li><li>Reforming the CIA to make it more hard-line on the Middle East. </li></ul></blockquote><br />Fascinating stuff. But should we really be taking advice from frothing militarists on how to make people hate America less?<br /><br />Here is <a href="http://examinedlife.typepad.com/johnbelle/2003/11/dead_right.html">another insight</a> into Frum's worldview, this time in his own words, quoted handily by John Holbo:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">The great, overwhelming fact of a capitalist economy is risk. Everyone is at constant risk of the loss of his job, or of the destruction of his business by a competitor, or of the crash of his investment portfolio. Risk makes people circumspect. It disciplines them and teaches them self-control. Without a safety net, people won’t try to vault across the big top.</span></blockquote><br />In short, capitalism is good because it keeps people in their place. It makes them easily controlled, because they are in constant fear of losing everything. It creates social order, by threatening people with losing their jobs, investments and businesses, and thus making sure they do not try and make it too big. Well I'm certainly feeling the love in that argument.<br /><br /><br />I'll deal with some of the claims actually made another day. I just wanted to point out that anyone using the above people is probably not the sort of person who wants to make a serious effort, and instead is interesting in shutting down debate with accusations of being an irrational hater.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-20354497171510505802008-08-23T13:10:00.003+01:002008-08-23T14:02:11.893+01:00Oh, this is beautifulMy favouritest Pagan website on the planet, MysticPricks, has sunk to a new low. Not content with promoting woolly thinking, historical inaccuracy, superstitious dogma, sectarian hatred and allowing cryto-racists to have the run of the site, they've now stooped to the level of pimping The Church of Scientology!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h183/Jenne73/scifagmw.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h183/Jenne73/scifagmw.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As usual, click to view a larger image.<br /><br />The question is, of course, is what to do with such information? Apparently, the site owner's wife has already stated that to take it down would be to discriminate against Scientologists. You know, in the same way that arresting and incarcerating Al-Qaeda members is discriminating against Muslims. I know only a few weeks ago at least one member on the site made a detailed post listing the wrongs of the Church, so either they didn't read the post (in which case they are bad admins, but then we already knew that), or they just don't give a shit, and are more than willing to promote the Scifag cult because of the filthy lucre it brings in.<br /><br />Knowing Mol's addictions, I have a good idea of which of those theories I prefer.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-36219780764671869852008-08-22T09:41:00.001+01:002008-08-22T09:44:11.378+01:00Headlines that don't make sense until after your first coffee #1<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7573812.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><blockquote><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7573812.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paedophile Glitter arrives in UK</span></a></blockquote><br /><br />I swear I was thinking "what, glitter for paedophiles? Glitter that attracts paedophiles? Is this a new episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">Brass Eye</span>? WHAT THE HELL IS THE BBC TALKING ABOUT?"<br /><br />Which just goes to show how necessary coffee is in my life.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-49868562256650203922008-08-21T13:35:00.003+01:002008-08-21T17:29:38.806+01:00This is not the broken society you were looking forAnd thus, Jedi Master Boris Johnson overturns the idea that he may be <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7572310.stm">off message</a>.<br /><br />I like his style though. It reminds me of a certain fictional lawyer (whose name eludes me), whose tactic was to allege the most preposterous things, then say "withdrawn" before the Judge could punish him, knowing full well that the original statement is out there, and no amount of denial will have the impact of the initial allegation.<br /><br />Good old Boris.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-33470643270361680352008-08-21T12:48:00.002+01:002008-08-21T13:05:12.203+01:00MI5 state obvious, media goes into shock<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/20/uksecurity.terrorism1">The Guardian has the info</a>.<br /><br />Am I terribly shocked? No. But then again, I studied terrorism using something other than Parliamentary statements and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam</span>. You know, with people who have spent their entire lives studying terrorists, mapping personalities, conducting interviews, modelling radicalization etc.<br /><br />Marc Sageman in particular has been noting and publishing the trends MI5 have produced since the publication of his <span style="font-style: italic;">Understanding Terror Networks</span>, if not before. Nothing in this report is really new from that. Religious novices? Check. Socially excluded or removed second or third generation immigrants? Check. Low incidence of mental illness? Check.<br /><br />I'm surprised any of this is even considered news. Anyone who has been following the academic terrorism literature knew this stuff a long time ago. We have reports going back to the Red Brigades and UVF that rule out mental illness, or a particular personality type.<br /><br />Other background details are interesting, highlighting the difference between the old Al-Qaeda (the professionals in their late 20s to 30s, who have families etc) and the new Al-Qaeda, the kids in their late teens or early 20s. The diversity of background, from sober, nearly areligious (until recently) professional family man with no criminal background, to the kid who has been caught taking drugs and possibly served a sentence for a violent crime, who cannot even read Arabic, is enormous.<br /><br />And those are just two of the many profiles one could come up with. Factor in racial background, gender, educational history, geographical location etc and you quickly lose anything that resembles a useful description of a potential terrorist.<br /><br />Even worse, terrorists often tailor their recruitment methods to avoid profiles. By concentrating on certain segments on the population, you just increase the evolutionary adaption of an organization. As the 7/7 bombings show, anyone who had been looking for foreign born, or all Pakistani radicals, for example, would have been caught out. And yes, you could argue the converse, that in fact some lives might have been saved, but the true mark of terrorism is targeting weak points, taking advantage of the unexpected and unconsidered. As soon as you focus on one area, and it becomes obvious (and believe me, with the internet, it will), then terrorist groups will regroup and attack from unexpected directions. <br /><br />The best way, as Sageman notes, is to map the relationships between known violent radicals, facilitators of violent teachings and those who are involved in activity which is linked to terrorism. Target the smugglers (people or otherwise), the money launderers, the radical Imams with links to training camps in Pakistan or Indonesia or the Middle East. That is how you deal with Islamic terrorism.<br /><br />And lets not overlook the possibility of a resurgence of rightwing, nationalist terrorism either. Its picking up in the USA, currently, and there could be international implications, when we consider how many have adapted themselves to narrative of the War on Terror, and the persistent Eurabia bullshit.<br /><br />Anyway, a welcome report, and I am glad to see MI5 seem to know what they are doing.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-42591785530277846132008-08-20T11:52:00.002+01:002008-08-20T11:54:34.468+01:00Reasons to not drink coffee while reading BBC News<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7571557.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><blockquote><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7571557.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tories 'best' to tackle poverty</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">George Osborne is set to claim that the Tories are best placed to tackle poverty and create a fair society.</span></blockquote><br /><br /><br />I mean, seriously, are you <span style="font-style: italic;">trying</span> to kill me here? I could have choked...Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-13767397190634870212008-08-20T00:59:00.002+01:002008-08-20T01:04:28.484+01:00Oh dear, it looks like Boris is "off message"<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1046774/Boris-criticises-Camerons-broken-society-piffle-mayor-hit-second-resignation.html">Link</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Boris Johnson has described David Cameron's claim that Britain is a 'broken society' as 'piffle'.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In an intervention likely to dismay Tory HQ, the London mayor claimed our success at the Olympics proves youngsters are far from 'aimless, feckless and hopeless, addicted to their PlayStations'.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">'If you believe the politicians, we have a broken society, in which the courage and morals of young people have been sapped by welfarism and political correctness,' he said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">'And if you look at what is happening at the Beijing Olympics, you can see what piffle that is.'</span></blockquote><br /><br />Oh dear. It would be terrible if this were the start of the unravelling of the Tory party message, and still 2 years from when the election is due. They'd have to come up with a whole new meme to explain why their plans for radical social reform (hang on, I thought it was the left who did the social engineering?) are so necessary.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-66823783000587858562008-08-19T13:18:00.003+01:002008-08-19T13:28:29.008+01:00Its GO TIME!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rawiriblundell.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/its-go-time.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 235px;" src="http://www.rawiriblundell.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/its-go-time.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Drop everything, its time to protest!</span><br /><br />Today, Littlejohn is <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1046576/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-Why-havent-Left-got-Georgia-minds.html">bemoaning the lack of protests</a> over Georgia and Russia's recent tangle.<br /><br />I know in LJ's mind, bands of anarchists and communists sit around the streets of London, promoting terrorism and rape and knifecriming and Islam while the government pays them dole money, and so in theory they should be able to take to the streets and express their hatred for the enemy <span style="font-style: italic;">du jour</span> at the drop of a hat, making their lack of current protesting suspect...but back here, in reality, things don't work like that.<br /><br />Because, you know, things like permits and buses and placards and, oh I don't know, telling people to turn up, takes time, and by the time people considered doing that, the war was already over.<br /><br />Of course, we could ask why Notorious RLJ hasn't bothered organizing a protest either, but he is likely too busy quivering from fear of the outside world, in his gated community in Florida, to comment.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-2944705770127550802008-08-18T17:59:00.002+01:002008-08-18T18:01:57.331+01:00Amy Alkon, the emails: Part 1I woke up, feeling like something had crawled into my mouth and died sometime during the night. It was no relief to find out it was tongue. Did I say night? Early morning looked more plausible, the light seemed to be coming from all directions, giving me a splitting headache.<br /><br />Worse, this wasn't even my flat. My heart sunk as I realized I had spent another booze-induced sleep session at the office. Clearing the sleep from my eyes, I managed to sit up straight, feeling the stiffness in my back. I put the lid on the cheap scotch from last night – Glenmorangie – and finished the half empty glass.<br /><br />It burned as it went down, but I was feeling more alert, more alive. I rocked back on my chair, and looked out the window. Another soulless day, the too bright sun shining off the reflective, all too familiar buildings. <br /><br />Oh how I hated it here.<br /><br />I put my feet up on the desk, pulled my fedora over my eyes, and made myself at home with the silence. It was relaxing, and peaceful. In my office with no work to do, no pressing engagements and half a bottle of low quality single malt to get me through the afternoon.<br /><br />And then she walked in. Rolling off the streets like some primeval force, a whirlwind of passion and destruction.<br /><br />“I'm sorry”, I said, “I think you have the wrong room. The drag queen's make up class is three doors down.” It was, too. This was a cheap neighbourhood, and you took office space where you could afford it.<br /><br />“I'm NOT a drag queen! And anyone who says otherwise, or edits my Wikipedia to say so is nothing more than a filthy and childish liar!”<br /><br />An American. And either in hysterics or denial, possibly both. This wasn't going to end well, I could tell.<br /><br />“I'm sorry....ma'am” I answered, cautiously. This met with no outburst, so I continued on, “what can I do for you this, uh, fine day?”<br /><br />“Are you Cain?” she asked.<br />I looked around discreetly for any recording devices or other listeners. I saw none.<br />“Yes”, I replied, in a bored, drawn out yawn. “What's it to you?”<br />“I hear you're a dick. I need someone to be a dick for me.”<br />I thought about this momentarily. Her jaw looked like it could crack open a man's skull, and there was something disconcerting about that Adam's Apple...<br />“I assume you mean a Private Detective, of course. Then you have come to the right place. What exactly can I do for you? In a professional capacity, of course.”<br /><br />She withdrew a sheet from her handbag, and placed it on my desk. Swinging my legs down, I grabbed the paper and had a look. It was a printout, of a Wikipedia edit history page. Some numbers were circled, and highlighted with a marker pen.<br /><br />“My name is Amy Alkon, Cain”, she said, “and I need you to find a man for me. I need you track down and bring me <a href="http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/10811.html">Gary Ruppert</a>.”Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-49564716419911574522008-08-18T10:55:00.002+01:002008-08-18T11:12:02.233+01:00Drug companies are a boon to stockholders, and those who say otherwise are our enemiesUnfortunately, not a very funny entry for this one, since I can find little humour in someone who so obviously overlooks the role of drug companies in enforcing intellectual copyrights so that they may profit off of human suffering.<br /><br />Stephen Pollard, on the other hand, <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/stephenpollard/899196/drugs-companies-are-a-boon-not-our-enemies-the-times.thtml">has no problem</a> with this. And to do so, he uses the single weakest fucking strawman ever. And I am no stranger to weak strawmen, employing several as useful punching bags when I cannot be bothered to read a ridiculous argument from the BNP before mocking it.<br /><br />But like I keep pointing out, I am not a serious writer getting paid for my work.<br /><br />Anyway, back on topic. No Stephen, people don't care about pharmaceutical companies making profits, <span style="font-style: italic;">per se</span>. What they care about is when people like Dr. Yusef Hamied are charged for making affordable generics, because most people in the Third World cannot afford the inflated prices of Western drug companies, and then companies like Dr. Hamied's get dragged over the coals because they violated an intellectual copyright.<br /><br />Profits over lives. People cannot pay the prices of the best drugs, but hey, who gives a fuck about <span style="font-style: italic;">them</span>, they're poor and foreign, right? Almost not really people, in a way, right? And someone does come along, and does give a fuck, and violates a couple of laws in doing so, and he's suddenly a fucking criminal. Yeah, right. Fuck that noise.<br /><br />Copyright is the elephant in your article, the thing you dare not mention. Because if intellectual copyright in the arena of drugs research and production was reformed, then these companies wouldn't have such a strangehold over the worldwide production, less people would be dying of perfectly curable illnesses, and more people would be profiting. Admittedly, those profits would not be especially high, being spread out as they are over several companies, but they would still exist.<br /><br />But that might affect share prices, right? And we couldn't ever have that now, could we?Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-73393838786282979772008-08-18T07:34:00.003+01:002008-08-18T07:48:57.727+01:00Oh ho, this is precious!Over at <a href="http://isupporttheresistance.blogspot.com/2008/08/policy-exchange-urban-renewal-or-ethnic.html">The Home of Paranoid Black Helicopter Spotters</a>, johnofgwent has discovered a horrible truth about the recent Policy Exchange report<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ITS SECRETLY A COVER FOR THE ISLAMIC TAKEOVER OF BRITAIN!</span><br /><br />Of course, long-time Green Arrow readers will ask "what isn't, according to these lunatics?" And they have a point.<br /><br />However, are we talking about the Policy Exchange that:<br /><br /><ul><li>Wrote the infamous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_Exchange#The_Hijacking_of_British_Islam_report_controversy">Hijacking of British Islam</a> report?</li><li>That employed the odious <a href="http://episkoposcain.blogspot.com/2008/08/time-to-scalp-wingnut-part-2-browne-in.html">Anthony Browne</a>?</li><li>That employs the even more odious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Godson#.22Militant.22_Islam">Dean Godson</a>?</li></ul><br />And so on and so forth. I can <span style="font-weight: bold;">really</span> see Policy Exchange wanting to shack up with Islamic militants, no, honestly...And in other breaking news, Johann Hari has joined the Nazi Party.<br /><br />Of course, I can no doubt expect another lovely dose of <a href="http://episkoposcain.blogspot.com/2008/08/2-minute-bnp-blog-roundup.html">BNP link-spamming</a> on this blog entry, because riling up the natives gets them restless and angsty. But then again, if they were not engaging in hilariously wrong-headed conspiracy theories, I would not make fun of them so much.<br /><br />Maybe.<br /><br />Probably not actually, but I'd least take them somewhat seriously, instead of treating them like the borderline mentally ill, online entertainment system that they truly are.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-41575358069986410632008-08-16T15:38:00.004+01:002008-08-16T15:48:49.874+01:00Must...not...mock...Gah! Can't restrain my derision gland any longer! <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Zemo">Baron Zemo</a> over at <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2008/08/waqf-call-in-austria.html">Gates of Vienna</a> is engaging in some world class paranoia today. Apparently a Muslim cemetary in Austria is now a sign that tEh mIgHtY mOoSlIm hOrDe iS tUrNiNg eUrOpE iNtO eUrAbIA or something. But then again, for Baron Zemo so is practically everything, up to and including letting people whose skin looks darker than that of a holiday tan into the continent.<br /><br />Does it make me a bad person that I consider this sort of thing entertainment, instead of suggesting he seek professional help?Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-60200658788065430942008-08-15T10:39:00.004+01:002008-08-15T11:08:08.027+01:00Hitler was a sensitive man too<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7942/200804170911442311cq3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 191px;" src="http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7942/200804170911442311cq3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A picture of Italian Prime Minister,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Silvio Berlusconi, after the comments</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">were published</span><br /></span><br />The Italian government is apparently upset by the "fascist" label applied to some of its policies by the Catholic Famiglia Cristiana magazine.<br /><br />To quote a <a href="http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2008/02/if-conservatives-really-really-hate_04.html">great American blogger</a>, if they're so upset about being labelled fascists, perhaps they should stop acting like them. Maybe they should stop treating the Gypsy population like <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4272550.ece">congenital criminals</a>, and then perhaps people wont go around drawing obvious conclusions.<br /><br />Come on Berlusconi, man up. What would Mussolini say if he saw his modern day disciples crying? A disgrace to the movement no doubt. The Blackshirts didn't get infamous by emulating the emo crowd, after all.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-21999884588334687212008-08-15T06:24:00.003+01:002008-08-15T07:48:28.979+01:00Tory Party Election SlogansBecause I feel it is my civic duty, as a good citizen-to-be, I have come up with several dozen slogans the Tories can use to secure victory in 2010. Additionally, to keep them down with the kids and their crazy internet lingo, I have added a special 4chan meme-slogan compendium at the end of this list.<br /><br /><ul><li> “Tories: We won’t fix things but we’ll give it a shiny coat of paint!”</li><li>“Vote Conservative: Who knows when the next time we’re going to look so appealing will be?”</li><li>“Vote Conservative: After the last 13 years of this shit, your standards really can't afford to be all that high.”</li><li>“Tories: let us play the Good Cop for once.”</li><li>“Unhappy with the status quo? Tough shit. Suck it up and vote Conservative.”</li><li>“The Conservative Party: A Better Class of Sex Scandal.”</li><li>“Vote Tory: It Will Make Polly Toynbee mad.”</li><li>“Tories: We’re not competent either, but at least we might sell you out to someone who is!”</li><li>“Vote Conservative. If you can’t hold your own nose, we’ll deduct the cost of a clothespin from your wages.”</li><li>“Vote Conservative: We promise to keep Iain Dale away from anything important.”</li><li>“Tories: Shit is better than Radioactive Waste.”</li><li>“Vote Tory: I’m serious, like when will the Lib Dems will ever do anything?”</li><li>“Tories: because money-grabbing opportunists are STILL better than well-meaning psychopaths.”</li><li>“Vote Conservative, before we forget how to do corruption properly.”</li><li>“Tories: The Other Rich Elite!”</li><li>“Vote Tory! What Did Having A Conscience Ever Do For You?”</li><li>“Tories: We’re marginally less likely to march the whole country down the slow road to becoming Airstrip One.”</li><li>“Conservative Party: When You Like Freedom, But Don’t Like, <span style="font-style: italic;">Like</span> Freedom.”</li><li>“Tories: Like you have a choice anyway, so just shut up and vote.”</li><li>“Tories: Because you want to believe there’s a difference.”</li><li>“Vote Tory! Like you’d really want Gordon Brown to listen up on your phone calls?”</li><li>“If you’re ready for slightly less of the same, vote Tory.”</li><li>“Tories: With us in power, Labour will be outraged by civil rights violations again!”</li><li>“Vote Tory: You may as well, now that Sarkozy has won in France!”</li></ul><br /><br />And now, the 4chan/meme-speak version:<br /><br /><ul><li> “<a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/A_Cat_Is_Fine_Too">A Conservative PM Is Fine, Too</a>.”</li><li>"Vote Conservative: <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/A_winner_is_you">A winnar is you</a>!”</li><li>“<a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Bitches_Don%27t_Know">Bitches Don't Know</a> Bout Our Amazing Policies.”</li><li>“Vote Conservative, and receive a <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Delicious_Cake">delicious cake!</a>”</li><li>“Gordon Brown: <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/DO_NOT_WANT">DO NOT WANT.</a>”</li><li>“Vote for Cameron: <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/I_Has_A_Shuvel">he has a shuvel.</a>”</li><li>“Tories: <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/IMMA_CHARGIN_MAH_LAZER">WE'RE A CHARGING OUR LAZORS!</a>”</li><li>“Tories: <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/INTERNET_HATE_MACHINE">Political Hate Machine</a>.”</li><li>“Voting Labour? <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Admiral_Ackbar">ITS A TRAP</a>!”</li><li>“Gordon Brown? <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Not_This_Shit_Again">Not this shit again</a>.”</li><li>“i think david cameron is a <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Pretty_cool_guy">pretty cool guy</a>. eh isn't gordon brown doesn't afraid of anything.”</li><li>“Vote Tory: We'll even put<a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Put_Shoe_On_Head"> shoes on our heads</a> if you ask us.”</li><li>“Voting Labour? YOU ARE<a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/YOU_ARE_DOING_IT_WRONG"> DOING IT WRONG</a>.”</li><li>“Vote Cameron: He'll <a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Stick_It_In_Her_Pooper">stick it in your pooper</a>.”</li><li>“<a href="http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Where_is_your_X_now%3F">Where is your socialist paradise now</a>?”</li></ul><br />And last, but most certainly not least:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4151/roflbotnehupd3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4151/roflbotnehupd3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-26131882300466541662008-08-12T20:50:00.003+01:002008-08-12T21:48:12.450+01:00I gotta start reading The Nation more oftenBecause if I don't, I'm going to continue to miss out on gems like <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080623/robin">this</a>.<br /><br />Corey Robin's piece is a fascinating insight into the intellectual heritage of the American right. However, he also says things that can apply more universally, and those are what really interest me.<br /><br />For example:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">While John Locke, Alexis de Tocqueville and David Hume are sometimes cited by the more genteel defenders of conservatism as the movement's leading lights, their writings cannot account for what is truly bizarre about conservatism: </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">a ruling class resting its claim to power upon its sense of victimhood</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, arguably for the first time in history. Plato's guardians were wise; Aquinas's king was good; Hobbes's sovereign was, well, sovereign. But the best defense of monarchy that Maistre could muster in Considerations on France (1797) was that his aspiring king had attended the "terrible school of misfortune" and suffered in the "hard school of adversity." </span></blockquote><br /><br />Emphasis mine. As always, I'm eager to point out most of our Tories are quite good in that respect, the majority are most emphatically <span style="font-weight: bold;">not</span> wingnuts. However, what we might call the socially conservative populists, those shrill writers who infest the comment pages of many online publications do seem to fall into this category, often making such arguments in order to prop up the socio-economic status quo.<br /><br />This is the driving force behind ridiculous claims like speeding fines being a stealth tax, or that New Labour are persecuting "the middle class white, hetrosexual male" (I always want to add "sexually frustrated" and "virginal" to that list, for some reason). Its a drive to claim victimhood and wield it as a weapon - cynically or subconsciously carried out by what is usually a fairly privileged class of people.<br /><br />And it is a somewhat powerful weapon - most people have an inherent sense of fair play, and they do not want to pound on the underdog. Incidentally, the converse also illustrates something important for the British wingnut mindset - the idea of immigrants, foreigners and other groups they disagree with getting "benefits". Usually these benefits are laughably small, but nontheless they justify what would otherwise be the reprehensible attacking of less powerful group in society. Its not the wingnut hates immigrants, so the arument goes, oh no. They just want a <span style="font-style: italic;">level playing field</span>.<br /><br />Suddenly they're not whiney little pricks, they're valiant freedom fighters and activists, don't you know?<br /><br />Anyway, moving on:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">But how do they convince us that we are one of them? By making privilege democratic and democracy aristocratic. Every man, John Adams claimed, longs "to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired." To be praised, one must be seen, and the best way to be seen is to elevate oneself above one's circle. Even the American democrat, Adams reasoned, would rather rule over an inferior than dispossess a superior. His passion is for supremacy, not equality, and so long as he is assured an audience of lessers, he will be content with his lowly status.<br /></span></blockquote><br /><br />And doesn't that hit a few nails on the head? Instead of fighting, say, for greater equality for all, which may result in some of the best off statistical outliers being brought closer in line with the rest of society, but with major benefits, instead the hope is to retain privilege by subordinating oneself to a hierarchical power structure, even though it may not be in one's best interests. One isn't at the top of the hierarchy, but equally one is not at the bottom either. And so it works because the desire to have someone else to kick around, blame and feel superior to is more powerful and addictive than "dispossesing a superior".<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>Unlike the New Left, however, Goldwater did not reject the affluent society. Instead, he transformed the acquisition of wealth into an act of self-definition through which the "uncommon" man--who could be anybody--distinguished himself from the "undifferentiated mass." To amass wealth was not only to exercise freedom through material means but also a way of lording oneself over others. </blockquote></span><br /><br />This could very well explain the obsession with Glibertarian talking points, such as the aforementioned speed cameras bullshit. The thinking isn't that of "taxation is inherently immoral" that a more usual libertarian or even anarchist may take. Its that taxing <span style="font-style: italic;">me</span> is wrong, because then I cannot use my wealth to lord it over others.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Mannheim also argued that conservatives often champion the group--races or nations--rather than the individual. Races and nations have unique identities, which must, in the name of freedom, be preserved. They are the modern equivalents of feudal estates. They have distinctive, and unequal, characters and functions; they enjoy different, and unequal, privileges. Freedom is the protection of those privileges, which are the outward expression of the group's unique inner genius. </span></blockquote><br /><br />This ties into the previous statement - inequality is bound up in the wingnut concept of freedom. Presumably unaware of the problem of massive inequality being <span style="font-style: italic;">de facto</span> a danger to freedom. In short, positive freedom is entirely ignored - or derided as against freedom, while negative freedom alone is exalted above all (note: I'm not a fan of either being favoured - I believe a balance of the two is necessary for actual freedom). The Feudal analogy is also very interesting, given the <a href="http://episkoposcain.blogspot.com/2008/08/surprise-daily-mail-is-in-favour-of.html">Mail article I posted the other day</a>.<br /><br />And finally, I just wanted to point this out:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Reactionary theologians in eighteenth-century France mobilized against the left by aping its tactics. They funded essay contests, like those in which Rousseau made his name, to reward writers who wrote popular defenses of religion. They ceased producing abstruse disquisitions for one another and instead churned out Catholic agitprop, which they distributed through the very networks that brought enlightenment to the French people.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Tell me that does not sound like the <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/">Spectator Coffee House</a>. I defy you to try. I wonder if that is the first recorded case in history of wingnut welfare?Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-13526537790795621442008-08-12T05:11:00.002+01:002008-08-12T05:44:21.252+01:00Pot, kettle, geek...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.talkcarswell.com/photos/7_small.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 283px;" src="http://www.talkcarswell.com/photos/7_small.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Nyeah, human rights nerds!</span></span><br /><br />You know, it may just be me, but I wouldn't go around calling other people "Trekkies" if I looked like the archtypal basement dwelling virgin.<br /><br />But then again, I'm not an MP sitting on the Joint Committee on Human Rights, referring to my colleagues.<br /><br />Douglas Carswell, MP for <s>Cardassia</s> Harwich and Clacton, is upset about all these human rights geeks ruining his street cred, hanging around him when all he wants to do is watch Kirk thwart Khan in the second Star trek film.<br /><br />Obi Wan Doug seems to hold the rather strange notion that the Human Rights Act is simultaneously a useless piece of legislation that does nothing, yet can mystically free terrorists, rapists and murderers all at the same time. The force of stupidity is strong in this one, clearly.<br /><br />In fact, its so useless and outdated he wants to get rid of it and replace it with another "authentically British" (whatever that means. Printing the paper the report is published on from UK paper-makers?) Bill of Rights, which will somehow, magically, be super accountable, in addition to raising and reducing the cost of beer to a penny a pint. Because, of course, the last time the Tories suggested that, their ideas weren't ridiculous <span style="font-style: italic;">at all</span>.<br /><br />But apparently, people "resent" these acts. Yes, we know, and they're usually the sort of people who think that Richard Littlejohn is a serious political commentator, that Quentin Letts is funny and that Melanie Phillips isn't completely batshit insane. They're also the sort of people who think a speed camera fine is a steath tax, that Labour are socialist and that the Muslims are going to take over any day now.<br /><br />Of course, we could just make judges more accountable to the population, but then that would just be silly. Why do something genuinely democratic when you can call for gutting the Human Rights Act all over again?<br /><br />Moral of this story: I get cranky being up early in the morning...Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-70219492101181744792008-08-12T03:59:00.003+01:002008-08-12T04:03:25.226+01:00Oh shit, I know I shouldn't laugh...But I did, so there.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/South_Ossetia">Encyclopedia Dramatica's take on the South Ossetian crisis</a>.<br /><br />In particular, the reference to Dmitry Medvedev as "Putin's altar boy" probably made me wake up the neighbours. Some prescient commentary, hidden among the cursing, memes and general mocking.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-22927306601725603862008-08-12T03:29:00.002+01:002008-08-12T03:31:52.632+01:00ATTN World: I am blogging at 3amAnd do you know why I am blogging at 3am?<br /><br />Because I was ill on the weekend and spent all Saturday sleeping, thus beautifully fucking up my sleeping patterns.<br /><br />Oh well, at least I can beat everyone else to the morning news. Blah blah Olympics, Georgia, house prices, murdered couple named, Milliband, tourists, Darfur etc etc. There, happy now?Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-21021741264011954582008-08-10T19:13:00.003+01:002008-08-10T20:28:37.763+01:00Time to scalp a wingnut, part 3: Anthony Browne, Culture WarriorI realized I had promised some more commentary on Browne last weekend but, for various reasons such as illness, apathy, war-watching, sleeping, drugs, sex, rock and roll, aiding the eventual victory of the Caliphate over Europe etc etc I had simply not gotten around to doing it.<br /><br />So I will now, while the ibuprofen is still kicking in.<br /><br />The thing that most comes to mind about Anthony Browne, when he is not talking about EU politics or the environment, is how American influenced his viewpoints seem to be. I know I am one to talk. When I was St Andrews, I hung with a mostly American crowd, and my classes were typically consisted of an American majority - and since my subject was International Relations, I no doubt got a very good grounding in US politics, both internal and external. Also some of my online haunts are American too, and no doubt that does have an influence on me.<br /><br />However, there is picking up bits and pieces from American politics, understanding the context and the flavour of the political climate, and then there is importing entire concepts and trying to apply them to another country.<br /><br />I am, of course, referring to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_war">Culture Wars</a>. If you're unfamiliar with the term, the link I give is a quick primer, but you can better understand the divide by reading Daily Kos for a week, then reading, say, Michelle Malkin, or the Pajamas Media crew. In short, it is the irreconcilable culture divide between those who consider themselves progressive and left wing, and those who consider themselves traditionalists and right wing.<br /><br />The problem is that of boundaries, or the parameters of political debate. The debates have polarized, and each side tends to believe the other is both wrong, yet unmoving in their position. In short, they do not believe the other side is competent as a political actor.<br /><br />This view tends to be far more prevalent on the American right, which has become increasingly militaristic, nationalist, contemptuous of debate or the rule of law and politicized since 2000. It does not take long to find well known and public commentators who advocate civil rights groups or political leaders be arrested for treason - or worse. Naturally, there is too much of this on the American left as well, especially amongst the more militant groups and ideologies, but it is nowhere as much within the mainstream as it is within the right. The most outspoken on the American right do not just disagree with the Democrats or the American left - they quite literally believe they are not competent to be leading the country, because of their ideologies.<br /><br />And therein lies the problem.<br /><br />When you look at some of Browne's statements over at the Spectator, you can see elements of this being alluded to within his writing. Such comments as:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Only in the last few years has it dawned on the government how dangerous the Left's war on Britishness really is."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday, 23rd July 2005, The Spectator</span></blockquote><br /><br />or<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"The support of Islamic fascism spans Britain's Left."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">August 1, 2005, Times Online</span></blockquote><br />or<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Many of the politically-correct left - including the Guardian, the Independent, most of the BBC… - have chosen to champion those who are deliberately trying to murder innocent civilians."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Retreat of Reason, page 11</span></blockquote><br /><br />all seriously suggest rather than disagreements with policies or ideology, Browne believes that the left is an actively hostile force within the country, who should be tarred and feathered for their hatred of British culture, love of criminals, politically-correct censorship, promotion of immigration and multiculturalism and support of Islamic terrorism.<br /><br />Browne's own retreat from reason accuses a good proportion of this country as actively or tacitly seeking to undermine and destroy it, by using lazy tabloid strawmen and grand sweeping statements he cannot back up. The fact that he is treated as a serious political commentator on any subject beyond the environment or EU continually amazes me. And yes, you could easily go back through this blog and find me using lazy strawmen and bad arguments to attack people, but the difference is:<br /><br />1) I'm funny<br />2) I'm not paid for it<br />3) As much as I mock Labour, the Tories, the Lib Dems etc I don't suggest that the ideologies behind them, or a vague, nebulous grouping like "the right" is trying to destroy Britain. Well, except the BNP, but they're fascist scumbags who can choke and die on my magnificent penis if they have a problem with it. Also, while they might be trying, the BNP are comedy fascists who couldn't organize a piss-up in a brewery, let alone a concerted campaign to undermine the country.<br />4) My arguments are not designed to be serious political commentary. They are meant to mock and belittle idiots who try to carry out serious political commentary while having no appreciable talent or knowledge about politics.<br /><br />The thing is, Britain does not have a culture war like the USA does. There is not that deep divide stemming from the Vietnam War, the resurgence of religious belief in a legally secular nation, that polarization of issues. If anything, politics in Britain is converging, with all parties desperately trying to claim the centre, instead of trying to fight at a cultural level to move society in their favour. That has been the overall strategy of the American right in particular, which is why the proliferation of alternative conservative outlets, think tanks, political action groups, education and reference guides is a worry. Home-schooling, Conservapedia, the Christian rock scene, Pajamas Media and so on are all excellent examples of groups whose aims are to supplant the traditional outlets and politicize content in favour of the GOP and "movement conservatism".<br /><br />Browne in fact has praised elements of this strategy, namely the American rightwing think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute or Heritage Foundation who:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">have helped push the whole political centre of gravity way to the right of that of the UK. The AEI is (in)famous for promoting the invasion of Iraq, while Heritage has kept social conservatism and the importance of religion high on the policy agenda. Cato has helped mute the siren calls of protectionism.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">[...]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It would be far healthier for democracy and debate in Britain if our ideas industry managed to step up to the American level."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday, 14th May 2008, The Spectator</span></blockquote><br /><br />Uh-huh. Because it has been so healthy in America recently, and has not turned their political culture into a slanging match where loudmouthed brownshirts like Michelle Malkin and Charles Johnson are considered serious thinkers.<br /><br />Oh, wait.<br /><br />Oh, and another thing, anyone who thinks that the AEI is a centre-right group is seriously out of whack. Any group which has Irving "I love wars of national greatness" Kristol and John "yeah, torture is fine" Yoo, not to mention Fred Kagan, John Bolton, David Frum, fascist sympathizer Michael Ledeen and Newt Gingrich is not, by any sensible measure near the centre. Unless the centre-right now stands for wars of aggression, unchecked executive powers, torture, suspension of haebus corpus and other nasty policies we have come to know and despise all over again, thanks to the Bush administration.<br /><br />And I, unlike Browne, who would certainly assert such a thing was a feature of the mainstream left if our roles were reversed, do not believe that to be the case.<br /><br />The attempt to start a culture war in the UK has always been the preserve of crazies. Look at the sort of people who try it, honestly. We have the BNP, Melanie Phillips, Anthony Browne, RESPECT, those Christian nutters on Channel 4 recently, the Muslim crazies like Abu Hamza...<br /><br />Sensible people across the political spectrum do not want such a fight. It is pointless, wasteful and nasty. It does nobody any good, it degrades the political culture and ruins politics as a means to a better life. It makes enemies of otherwise decent people and sets the entire politically aware population against each others throats.<br /><br />Its really not worth it. Not to say its not worth fighting, especially in the case of the USA, where the political culture swung scarily to the right for a while (2002-3), but it is certainly not worth instigating. And I have to question the motives, or indeed fitness for the office of political advisor, of someone who chooses act like there is one ongoing.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-22514042026668829952008-08-10T17:16:00.002+01:002008-08-10T17:19:21.384+01:00Dogwhistles working? Check.Some interesting news here. An American has been charged with<a href="http://www.wcnc.com/news/politics/stories/wcnc-080808-krg-obama.2ab4bc09.html"> plotting to kill Obama</a> because he is the AntiChrist.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An Indian Trail accountant is in jail, charged with threatening to kill senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">According to court documents, Jerry Blanchard called Sen. Obama the anti-Christ and said, "If he gets elected, we have a problem."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then according to the federal affidavit, Blanchard, a father of two teenage daughters, spells out his plan -- all while sitting in the Pineville-Matthews Road Waffle House.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Secret Service agents say Blanchard told two others eating at the restaurant on July 15 he planned to buy a handgun from Hyatt's Gunshop on Wilkinson Boulevard. He also planned to buy a rifle and a laser scope, saying "I’m worth $50 million. Obama and his wife are never going to make it to the White House. He needs to be taken out... that man will never know what hit him... I just may do that, I’ve got the money and the clout." </span></blockquote><br /><br />Now, I wonder where he could have got the idea that <a href="http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2008/08/unsubtle.html">Obama is the AntiChrist</a> from?Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-24447585119657536072008-08-10T04:14:00.002+01:002008-08-10T04:16:31.269+01:00WhoopsJust realized while that I had the good people at <a href="http://chaosmarxism.blogspot.com/">Chaos Marxism</a> added to the Verwirrung blogroll, for some bizzare reason I had not added them over here. Rectified that bugger now.<br /><br />Being ill seems to have bought out some sort of bizzare work ethic in me. Or at least made me go through my many links to strange and wonderous sites and wonder if I had added them to the sidebar yet or not.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23312123.post-7604619995215359822008-08-10T04:01:00.003+01:002008-08-10T04:05:37.413+01:00What part of "bomb" don't you understand?Via <a href="http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=1514">Greylodge</a>:<br /><br />GPOD has an excellent radio inteview of Rachel North by Jon Ronson. I highly recommend you check it out at the following link. I also second Pale Rider's comments at the bottom of the entry, about her treatment at the hands of certain conspiracy theorists.Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03567361902832724346noreply@blogger.com0