The former president of Elf Aquitaine testified Monday that the French oil giant paid about $5 million to French political parties during his leadership — including to President Jacques Chirac’s former party.

Loik Le Floch-Prigent said nearly all the money went to Chirac’s former party until then-President Francois Mitterrand, a Socialist, demanded the cash be spread to both sides of the political spectrum. Chirac, a conservative, succeeded Mitterrand as president in 1995.

But hang
...continue Il est tout au sujet d’huile]]> Those of you who still think that US foreign policy is a tool of commercial oil interests, might be advised to look away now:

The former president of Elf Aquitaine testified Monday that the French oil giant paid about $5 million to French political parties during his leadership — including to President Jacques Chirac’s former party.

Loik Le Floch-Prigent said nearly all the money went to Chirac’s former party until then-President Francois Mitterrand, a Socialist, demanded the cash be spread to both sides of the political spectrum. Chirac, a conservative, succeeded Mitterrand as president in 1995.

But hang on a minute, I thought it was George Bush who was supposed to be up to his neck in oil industry slush funds??!!

“We absolutely needed French politicians who supported us,” Le Floch-Prigent testified. “There were politicians who didn’t want to favor Elf … We had to keep them quiet, to have them on our side.”

But surely European politics is driven by high-minded ideals of social justice? I don’t know, it’s all too much, it really is. How many more cherished myths are going to be put to the sword by reality?

The casualties in question are Fox New Channel reporter and all round buffoon Geraldo Rivera, who has been booted out of Iraq by the military for the committing the cardinal sin of any war correspondent… he revealed sensitive information live on television. It is interesting how the CCN article I spotted this in buries the fact en-passant at the bottom of a much larger article. My Grandmother had pretty much the perfect summation of our ol’ buddy Geraldo back in December 2001.

The other casualty is Peter Arnett who has been fired
...continue Good news! The casualties are mounting]]> …no, that does not mean what you think.

The casualties in question are Fox New Channel reporter and all round buffoon Geraldo Rivera, who has been booted out of Iraq by the military for the committing the cardinal sin of any war correspondent… he revealed sensitive information live on television. It is interesting how the CCN article I spotted this in buries the fact en-passant at the bottom of a much larger article. My Grandmother had pretty much the perfect summation of our ol’ buddy Geraldo back in December 2001.

The other casualty is Peter Arnett who has been fired by NBC/MSNBC for being a ‘useful idiot’.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the world is back running in well oiled grooves… now if only the same thing would happen to the odious Robert Fisk.

British backtrack over general

We had a misidentification of the rank of the officer concerned,” Group Capt. Al Lockwood said on Monday. “What I can say today is – and can confirm – that we have five senior Iraqi officers as prisoners of war.

And this on the Inn of the Last Home

British Backtrack Over General

In related news, a Moroccan troop transport backed over a colonel today, leaving him with multiple injuries and contusions. It was believed monkeys were at the wheel of the transport which was last seen heading
...continue Two perspectives…]]> This has been posted on the Command Post:

British backtrack over general

We had a misidentification of the rank of the officer concerned,” Group Capt. Al Lockwood said on Monday. “What I can say today is – and can confirm – that we have five senior Iraqi officers as prisoners of war.

And this on the Inn of the Last Home

British Backtrack Over General

In related news, a Moroccan troop transport backed over a colonel today, leaving him with multiple injuries and contusions. It was believed monkeys were at the wheel of the transport which was last seen heading to the sea to pick up some errant dolphins. A visiting foreign ambassador was quoted as saying, “When will monkeys ever learn to use rear-view mirrors?”.

France has lodged a protest with the UN.

I just love the blogosphere…

Many years ago, in the mists of pre-history, or as they say here in Australia, back when the blacks were bad, a little boy called Robert Fisk thought he’d become a journalist and tell the truth to the world. You and I know that never happened, and time is running out for him to repent his sins. To show that he’s always been an arrogant, self-opinionated prick, I present the following – Robert Fisk and the Magic Roadblock.

Full story here, thanks to Tom Paine of
...continue Little Bobby Fisk]]> A true story about Little Bobby Fisk that deserves extensive spreading across the blogosphere.

Many years ago, in the mists of pre-history, or as they say here in Australia, back when the blacks were bad, a little boy called Robert Fisk thought he’d become a journalist and tell the truth to the world. You and I know that never happened, and time is running out for him to repent his sins. To show that he’s always been an arrogant, self-opinionated prick, I present the following – Robert Fisk and the Magic Roadblock.

Full story here, thanks to Tom Paine of Silent Running.

Dressed as Japanese Fisherman and waving tuna nets, the protestors surrounded the dolphin tank chanting “baby-killers” and “No attack on Iraq” as the performing dolphins, Cocoa and Buddy, were ushered back into their pen by their handlers.

Eventually, security guards managed to remove the protestors from the aquarium enabling the show to resume.

One of the protestors said afterwards:

“We’re against dolphins, man…cos, like…dolphins are…like…stupid”.

The dolphins handler confirmed that
...continue Protestors with a porpoise]]> The tranquil, family atmosphere of ‘Ocean-World’ was rudely interrupted today as ‘peace activists’ stormed the aquarium during the dolphin display in what they described as ‘direct action against war’.

Dressed as Japanese Fisherman and waving tuna nets, the protestors surrounded the dolphin tank chanting “baby-killers” and “No attack on Iraq” as the performing dolphins, Cocoa and Buddy, were ushered back into their pen by their handlers.

Eventually, security guards managed to remove the protestors from the aquarium enabling the show to resume.

One of the protestors said afterwards:

“We’re against dolphins, man…cos, like…dolphins are…like…stupid”.

The dolphins handler confirmed that neither of the animals was in any way harmed and that they would both still be available to assist the military if required.

I am speaking, of course, about his war on British prosperity:

One in five firms is planning to get rid of staff to help pay for new rises in National Insurance Contributions, according to a business lobby.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that small and medium-sized companies would be hardest hit with one-third saying they expected job cuts as a direct result of the rise.

After years of being softened up by the constant bombardment, we are
...continue Keep the home pyres burning]]> I want to know how long Tony Blair reckons on dragging out this unjust and illegitimate war of aggression?

I am speaking, of course, about his war on British prosperity:

One in five firms is planning to get rid of staff to help pay for new rises in National Insurance Contributions, according to a business lobby.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that small and medium-sized companies would be hardest hit with one-third saying they expected job cuts as a direct result of the rise.

After years of being softened up by the constant bombardment, we are now about one week away from the ‘big push’. The government has maintained its tactic of destroying key strategic targets such as industry, manufacturing and finance.

“The Chancellor could not have picked a worse time to introduce this increase,” said BCC President Isabella Moore.

“Those companies that are not looking to cut jobs are intending to cut wages, investment or research. Their only other option is to increase debt.

“This could be the final nail in the coffin for some businesses,” she warned.

And quite right too! The British public simply cannot be trusted with these Weapons of Mass Distribution!

About one in 10 firms told the BCC they had considered or were considering relocating their operations to another country.

As predicted, large sections of the enemy forces are deserting. After all, who wants to fight just so they can keep some of the money they work hard to earn?

When asked what the government could do to improve productivity in the UK, most said that tax and regulation should be reduced.

TRAITORS!!! APOLOGISTS FOR SADDAM HUSSEIN!!

Meanwhile, a Whitehall spokesperson has denied reports that the government intends to continue prosecuting this war until the besieged British taxpayers realise that they cannot possibly win and just surrender en masse.

Nigel Meek is a British libertarian, a Samizdata reader and an executive officer with both the Libertarian Alliance and the Society for Individual Freedom.

I work in a state-sector Further Education college in the London suburbs. Most of our students are 16 to 19 year old full-timers taking A-levels or vocational equivalents, but we also have a large number of part-time adult students, mostly doing evening classes of one sort or another. We have a fair number of overseas students, and indeed enough of them to warrant the College employing a part-time International Students’ Officer.

One of my jobs
...continue E-mail and culture]]>

Nigel Meek is a British libertarian, a Samizdata reader and an executive officer with both the Libertarian Alliance and the Society for Individual Freedom.

I work in a state-sector Further Education college in the London suburbs. Most of our students are 16 to 19 year old full-timers taking A-levels or vocational equivalents, but we also have a large number of part-time adult students, mostly doing evening classes of one sort or another. We have a fair number of overseas students, and indeed enough of them to warrant the College employing a part-time International Students’ Officer.

One of my jobs is as the first point of contact with people submitting general email enquiries to the College. Mostly these are requests for prospectuses or other straightforward matters that I can deal with myself. Sometimes I have to pass them on to others.

It took me some time to realise – or at least to hypothesise – how illustrative emails were about the differing cultures that people come from. Emails from youngsters wanting a full-time prospectus are nowadays often written in mobile phone text language and/or are simply semi-literate. Emails from adults wanting a part-time prospectus are often just old-fashioned letters – “Dear Sir/Madam, blah blah blah, Yours faithfully” – sent via a new medium. The point is that in either case they tend to be quite short and direct: This is who I am, where I live, and what I want.

Emails – and indeed still the occasional letter – from overseas are often very different. And by ‘overseas’ I mean a very limited number of countries that between them supply the majority of such enquiries to the College: Pakistan, Nigeria, and The Gambia. The most noticeable feature about them is the quite astonishingly flowery, sycophantic, and obsequious tone in which they are often written. “Esteemed Sir, I have heard about your outstanding institution from many sources… It will fulfil a dream for me to come there… I would be truly honoured if you would provide me with information… Your humble servant…” I make this up by way of example, but believe me, it does not begin to do justice to how some of them are written.

At first, I thought that this was merely a rather quaint, if excessive, courtesy. It took me some time to consider that there might be another interpretation, and one that if correct offers an insight into the nature of the societies from which the authors come – and therefore also about our own. Emails from UK enquirers – or indeed the very occasional enquiry from Western Europe or the USA – whether from an adult or a teenager, and whatever the standard of English, tend to share one feature, one which the authors are almost certainly not consciously aware of. They rest on the assumption that their enquiry or request will be dealt with by somebody who they have never met because it is their job to do so and not because of any personal relationship between them and (in this case) myself. We are not related by blood, marriage, or tribe. Indeed, we have never met and quite probably never knowingly will. We owe or are owed no favours to each other. Beyond some modicum of common civility, flattery really will get them nowhere. They likely have no means to coerce or threaten me into (say) sending them a prospectus even if they had the inclination. In short, our relationship is a purely impersonal contractual one involving a number of different parties including myself, the College as my employers, the taxpayer (since the College is mainly in the public sector), the government of the day, the enquirer, and heaven who knows who else. I do ‘x’ for ‘y’ because ‘z’ pays me to do it. I operate in the impersonal ‘cash nexus’.

The overseas ones, however, reveal a fundamentally different set of social assumptions. It is one in which people rarely do anything for impersonal, contractual reasons. Instead, on a case-by-case and arbitrary basis, there is ‘something in it for them’. It may be ties of kinship. It may be personal favours and debts called in, traded or promised. It might be threats or actual force. It might be flattery or outright bribery. Whatever form it takes, it is personal. In the West, we have another term for such dealings: corruption.

If this analysis is correct, then it has profound and indeed profoundly depressing implications for the countries and societies in which the latter type of attitude and behaviour are prevalent. When we look at the advanced Western world, one of the many things one notices is a bifurcation of relationships. There are indeed personal relationships between family, friends, and others that one joins with from time-to-time on a more-or-less voluntary basis. Features of such relationships include that they often fulfil expressive needs and are dependent upon mainly subjective evaluation.

However, the other type of impersonal relationship – most commonly found in that sphere of life we call ‘work’ – have the features of being based around abstract notions of contract and often fulfil instrumental needs and are frequently dependent upon objective evaluation. And it is these types of relationships that are the basis of advanced industrial and post-industrial society, whether of the capitalist, socialist, or mixed-economy type. When one thinks of what is involved in, say, the now familiar act of ordering something on-line, particularly from another country, it is clear that the complex web of relationships involved from hitting the ‘ok’ button to taking delivery of the item cannot be conducted on anything other than an impersonal basis.

It is another matter to try to determine the ‘chicken and the egg’ question of whether the first faltering steps of advanced society helped to develop this new impersonal form of relationship or the other way around. No doubt, it can be a diverting pastime to revisit Marx and try to determine whether economic relations determine social attitudes as he thought, or the other way around, or a fortuitous mix of both. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that countries and cultures where relationships are still primarily based around a constant series of ad hoc interpersonal negotiations lack the fundamental attitudinal infrastructure on which an enduring, advanced society can be built. In the meantime, they will also suffer from what by our standards is endemic corruption.

If my correspondents from West Africa and Pakistan are anything to go by – and presumably they must be amongst the best and the brightest – and short of a policy of frank neo-colonialism from the major nations of the West – I do not hold out much hope for their countries in the foreseeable future.

Kudos to Essam Al-Ghalib for reporting things that will make him very unpopular at home. His willingness to do so is a good sign for the future of the Arab press.

I found the link in Joanne Jacobs’ blog. If the permalink is bust, try
...continue Even Arab News says that Iraqis are terrified of Saddam.]]> This is amazing, considering the source. Arab News war correspondent Essam Al-Ghalib reports that Iraqis who chanted pro-Saddam slogans told him privately that they only did so out of fear of the massacre that would follow if Saddam’s rule were to return to their area. He says he heard the same sentiments many times.

Kudos to Essam Al-Ghalib for reporting things that will make him very unpopular at home. His willingness to do so is a good sign for the future of the Arab press.

I found the link in Joanne Jacobs’ blog. If the permalink is bust, try the general link here.

We are told by various reporters that the war is bogging down. that casualties are ‘heavy’, that Iraqi resistance is ‘stiff’. We hear that thing are going badly and the allied military leaders have miscalculated.

Yet although the allied forces have taken loses, for sure, and each of those is a tragedy, the cold facts are that in military and historical terms, UK and US casualties have been
...continue The era of compressed expectation]]>

Ten days onto the offensive, it is clear that the Wehrmacht is exactly where the French want them, as evidenced by their pause to refuel their tanks and rearm with more ammunition.

We are told by various reporters that the war is bogging down. that casualties are ‘heavy’, that Iraqi resistance is ‘stiff’. We hear that thing are going badly and the allied military leaders have miscalculated.

Yet although the allied forces have taken loses, for sure, and each of those is a tragedy, the cold facts are that in military and historical terms, UK and US casualties have been insignificant, trivial in fact.

The allies have overrun a huge chunk of Iraq, killing thousands of Iraqi soldiers and paramilitary militia, smashing the Ba’athist Socialist infrastructure of repression and hammering targets of military importance at will. The fact that not everything has gone the way UK and US planners expected will not be an earth shattering surprise to them as there is a well known military axiom that they will all be very familar with: “no plan ever survives contact with the enemy”.

It seems that any war which does not result in single figure losses and which is not over in time to not interfere with the screening of the Oscars is going to be deemed a ‘catastrophe’ by a media which knows nothing about either military affairs or history. The British took 58,000 casualties (one third of them killed) on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. That is what ‘heavy casualties’ means.