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Unless it turns out to be an artful fake, it seems that contrary to my long held views, Osama bin Laden may indeed still be alive. Quite why it has taken this long for a video of him saying something timely is hard to fathom, but then many of the things the likes of bin Laden do defies rational analysis. I am astonished by this turn of events. October 30th, 2004 | 23 comments - (Comments are closed)
 Today is the 150th anniversary of that glorious cock-up known as The Charge of the Light Brigade. The charge, which was part of the Battle of Balaklava, was one of those iconic moments in British military history due more to the works of Alfred Tennyson than the actual importance of the incident itself, which was really little more than a footnote in the overall conduct of the Crimean War. Yet at the time many newspapers accorded the charge of the Light Brigade far more significance than it was really due (and they also tended to gloss over the rather more successful actions of both the Heavy Brigade under Lord Lucan and the magnificent Chasseurs D’Afrique under General D’Allonville). The charge was regarded as a great military blunder, and certainly it was not what Lord Raglan actually intended to happen when he issued the orders, nor what Lord Cardigan, the Light Brigade’s commander, wanted to execute (he is alleged to have quipped “Here goes the last of the Brudenells”, his family name, upon receiving the order), but in point of fact, the charge largely disrupted the astonished Russian forces at the end of the valley. As military blunders go, it was a fairly effective one and the overall battle was more or less a draw (though Russian attempts to take Balaklava failed, so it could be argued that it was a net allied victory). Also in the news is the redeployment of the Black Watch mechanised battlegroup into the American zone of operations in Iraq. The fact this unremarkable operational movement of forces within Iraq has caused apoplexy in media and political circles shows that 150 years on, the pundits back home are just as clueless about military affairs as they ever were. October 25th, 2004 | 19 comments - (Comments are closed)
So hapless Prince Harry takes a swing at some paparazzo who bashes him in the face with a camera, and the British press have apoplexy tut-tutting over his behaviour. To use internet parlance, WTF? If some pushy bastard negligently clips you in the mouth with a camera whilst in search of a few quid, the correct response is to return the favour with interest. That is not ill-advised or thuggish or incorrect, it is an entirely appropriate means of male-to-male comminication at such a time. I am glad to see that there is a member of the royal family who actually has personality traits that approach those of the Crown’s normal everyday subjects. It seem quite appropriate that not only should he not apologise for his reaction to the incident, he should be advising Christopher Uncle that if there is a next time, there should be some expectations of a royal boot in the bollocks as well. October 23rd, 2004 | 23 comments - (Comments are closed)
Blogging may be a bit light tonight (or not) as there is a Samizdata.net Blogger Bash at Samizdata HQ tonight… We shall be trying to impress a certain Texan blogger with Chili Con Chelsea! October 22nd, 2004 | 10 comments - (Comments are closed)
Tonight I attended a very interesting event hosted by the Adam Smith Institute which commemorated the 25th anniversary of the abolition of exchange controls. Speaking at this dinner were Lord Howe and Lord Lawson, the people actually responsible for the action which set off a cascade of events not just in Britain but across the world. This in no small measure led to the second age of globalisation in which we live today. The third speaker, acting as the warm up act and comic relief, was yours truly. 
October 21st, 2004 | 19 comments - (Comments are closed)
So Kofi ‘Food-for-Oil Scandal’ Annan has met with Tony Blair to discuss an eight point programme for setting the world to rights.
The only way political breakthroughs are going to lead to an end to poverty is when political leaders do a great deal… less. October 19th, 2004 | 5 comments - (Comments are closed)
The European Court has dispelled any residual doubt that it is little more than a politically motivated tool of the European Commission and continues its slow but steady construction of the means to make investigative journalism impossible in Brussels by ruling that Belgian police could seize Hans-Martin Tillack‘s computers and records to identify his sources regarding reports on EU corruption. The Euro-court has made little attempt to hide that is has colluded with EU political interests in a judgement that cuts to the heart of journalists ability to report on wrong doing and corruption by politicians.
Whistleblowing will not be tolerated. The superstate is not your friend. October 18th, 2004 | 39 comments - (Comments are closed)
I saw the headline of an article in the Telegraph which said Economic crimes cost UK firms over £40 bn … Imagine my surprise when it turned out not to be article about tax. Of course I should have realised straight away as the state costs UK firms a great deal more than a paltry £40 bn. October 18th, 2004 | 3 comments - (Comments are closed)
I read a very odd story a few days ago on Front Page Magazine called An American in London, in which Carol Gould recounts how she and other Americans have been repeatedly subjected to anti-American abuse in London.
Now the title of my article might suggest that I do not believe what she wrote to be true, but that is not what I am saying. If she says that is what people have said to her, then I will take her at her word. However I also know a significant number of Americans here in the UK and I am puzzled that they do not tell me that they have shared Carol Gould’s experiences. In fact a fellow Samizdatista who is an American, is living in my house most of the time and we often go out places in London both casually and for business and although we talk together (and thereby announce to all nearby that she is an American), I have yet to see her nationality pique the slightest bit of interest from anyone at all. Here in London Americans are like taxicabs… they are just normal part of the fabric of this enormous and most cosmopolitan of cities. Now I realise that Anti-Americanism exists in Britain… hell, it exists in America (and amongst the same ilk of people generally), but I must say that Ms. Gould describes a Britain that bears very little relation to the one I see every day. No doubt if I actively sought out the people who despise all things American I could find them in so diverse a metropolis, but then I could say the same about almost any set of views. However I suspect I would say the same if I still lived in Manhattan (which I did… and moreover worked in the World Trade Center at the time). Ms. Gould says she knows many other expat Americans with similar experiences to hers. Well all I can say is we clearly know a very different set of expat Americans then. In fact, we clearly encounter a very different set of British people as well. I do not know what circles Carol Gould moves in but I do not think she has heard the real England speak. And that is why it seems to me that if we are both in London, then the two of us must be existing in alternate realities. October 17th, 2004 | 47 comments - (Comments are closed)
I am really looking forward to seeing the new Alien vs. Predator movie, the tagline of which is… 
Whoever wins… we lose But I also find it very appropriate to see those sentiments applied here as well regarding the other big fight epic due to be released a few weeks hence. No, I am really not looking forward to that one. October 16th, 2004 | 11 comments - (Comments are closed)
…as Homer Simpson might say when not contemplating donuts. The always interesting Stacy Tabb has a rather groovy new project called Lab- Tested that does product reviews to determine the ‘dog friendliness’ of various things. Compelling reading for dawg lovers.  October 14th, 2004 | One comment - (Comments are closed)
It looks like hundreds of British lawyers will have to repay over £50 m taken from clients in what amounted to ‘referal fees’ (an ethical no-no). I cannot tell you how sad that makes me October 14th, 2004 | 6 comments - (Comments are closed)
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