Goodbye!

Due to unremitting work commitments, I've decided to call it a day. This will, hopefully, allow me a little more time to follow my other interests which I've neglected for a while.

Anyway, goodbye!

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho

The persecution of Christian and Jewish communities in the Islamic world reached a new level of hatred with the murder of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho.

Archbishop Rahho was a Chaldean Christian; kidnapped after delivering mass in Mosul on 29th February 2008.

Silence, on this subject, is deafening from the British and American media outlets. One wonders why the media shies away from such acts of barbarity, when we are quick to hear about four "innocent civilians" killed by British forces when being ambushed by the Taliban in Helmand Province yesterday.

Cameron 'Steps Up to the Plate' - At Last!

At last, Tory leader David Cameron stood up for Conservative principles and destroyed Darling's Labour budget in 15 minutes of well directed salvos.

Lady Thatcher must have laughed when Cameron, who has done so much to distance himself from her policies, explained to the Labour MPs that expenditure should not be in excess of income. The fact that government borrowing is nearing £200 billion should ram this home to every sane minded person. Of course, this approach, espoused by Senator McCain, was ridiculed by many Republicans. He, of course, was right; as was lady Thatcher in the 70s and 80s, and as was Senator McCain.

Secretary of State for Children, Ed Balls, thinks of himself as a bit of an economist and a key Gordon Brown advisor. He shouted out in the middle of Cameron's response to the Budget that who cares if Britain is in debt and increasingly so. With an approach to economics like this, it demonstrates that Labour policy has not directed the UK economy, but has only spent the profits and the overdraft over the last 10+ years.

So, as the world economy hits bumpy seas, the US is able to reduce interest rates and levels of taxation, European and Oceanic countries are able to invest previous FY surpluses, etc. we have nothing in reserve. The cupboard is well and truly bare!

So, as I think of a glass of wine to soothe the bad mood, I realise that Labour have put an extra 14p of duty on a bottle of wine. Okay, a glass of whisky might be appealing. Then I think of the 55p of additional duty. Oh well, a litre bottle of cider, the favourite tipple of binge drinkers, under-age drinkers and alcoholics is only going up by 1p. Anybody for a glass of scrumpy?

I Will "Change the Ethics of Albany"!

Princeton and Harvard University 'old boy' Eliot Spitzer has once again shown how politicians exercise hypocrisy and hubris.

However, the extreme arrogance, as shown by Spitzer, demonstrates that it is always the most self-righteous that exercise the worst judgement.

So, if he has changed the ethics of Albany, then it was not for the better. Certainly, the $4,300 spent in his Mayflower romp now seems a particularly poor investment when having promised to wipeout crime and corruption in New York and exercising vindictiveness against Joe Bruno in 'Troopergate'.

Spitzer has well and truly been hoisted upon his own petard!

Una Quinta Columna

"Una quinta columna" was a phrase first 'coined' by General Emilio Mola in 1936 when describing fascist sympathisers in Madrid.

The subversive group worked against Republican authorities from within, and then joined the four columns of besieging Franco forces when Madrid came under attack.

Whilst Franco understood the importance of a fifth column when attempting to subvert, and then overthrow, the democratically elected government, it would appear that western leadership has failed to learn from history.

Today, saw Austrian authorities put a married couple on trial for having links to al Qaeda and posting a video on the internet threatening Austria and Germany with attacks. The couple, who are Austrian citizens, had been arrested in September with the video claiming that the two countries would be targeted if they did not withdraw military personnel from Afghanistan. The fact that neither country is contributing in a material way, to the War on Terror, seemed more than a little ironic.

Returning to una quinta columna. Sun Tzu had written in The Art of War that "... the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move."

US and UK Again Blunder in Serbia

One of the many errors that former President Clinton made was to allow the Germas to 'bounce' NATO into recognising Slovenian and Croatian independence. Unfortunately, President Bush has failed to learn the lesson, and has repeated the stupidity, as stupidity is what it is.

Clinton failed to recognise the hundreds of years of mutual hatred in the Balkans, between Serb, Slav, and Muslim. More recently, whilst the Slav and Muslim peoples allied themselves with Hitler, atrocities were committed against the Serb.

Tito managed to keep both the Russians out of the newly formed Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslavs from the throats of one another. On his death, the far right nationalists strived for independence, as did the swathes of incoming migrants from Albania. Serb atrocities provided Clinton the opportunity to 'bloody' Russia's nose, and demonstrate their impotence. Fine; other than the break-up led to resentment amongst the Balkan countries, a rise in Russian nationalism, and a training ground for militant Islam.

So, now we see the birthplace of Serbia becoming the Islamic State of Kosovo. Should Russia choose to intervene, the West will be unable to respond. Much of the world policing is now down to the States, the UK, and Canada. With Australia becoming an unwilling ally, the UK and Canada are swiftly following. Countries such as Greece and Spain (quite correctly) are livid about the unstabling affects on their own seperatist leaning regions. The potential for a renewed war on our borders is clearly evident, with no realistic response immediately evident.

Either way, this will be a victory for Russian nationalism or militant Islam. Possibly both! It always amazes me, as oft I write, how world leaders try to make history without knowing the past.

Endorsement for ...

Well, tonight we see the Floriday Primary count that goes a long way to deciding the Republican nominee.

With the Liberal media and Conservative idealogues, in an unholy alliance, having spun Guiliani out of contention (so much for gratitude when it comes to his achievements in what was a crime ridden and terrorist targetted city); it now seems to have come down to three realistic contenders.

Firstly, a mention must go to Ron Paul. A man who, I seriously doubt, could identify Canada or Mexico on the map. The fact that the majority of his very few supporters could be identified as the 'missing links' and his holding of extreme libertarian views made his candidature rather ridiculous. His continued participation is as irrelevant as that of Edwards in the Democrat race.

Governor Huckabee seems a nice enough bloke, although his general appeal to those other than Evangelicals has yet to materialise. With a shortfall in funding, his bid now seems doomed. Although he is clearly short of relevant experience, he could appeal as a Vice President.

Governor Romney is attempting to buy the Republican endorsement, and comes across as an unsympathetic and bad-mannered character. Short of class, he would also struggle on the world stage although, no doubt, helping his corporate cronies 'feather their nest'. It would be inconceivable that he could beat either Clinton or Obama in a fight for the White House.

Senator McCain is a class act who has demonstrated his ability to put the interests of his country before party loyalty. Along with Senator Lieberman (D), he is one of the few politicians with principle and who has not added ear-marks onto bills passed into legislation. His war record speaks for itself, as does his humanity. When it comes to immigration; possibly too humane, although he realises that securing the US/Mexican border is now a priority. He is, undoubtedly, the only Presidential candidate, on either side, that will receive any form of respect from countries around the world. However, his age is of concern and could see him looking old and tired when up against a youthful and energetic Obama. Despite this, TAXING TIMES is pleased to endorse Senator John McCain for US President!

Obama Jumps Ino Bed With The Devil

Having been disappointed with the lack of policies espoused by Obama, it was with shock to see that he received the endorsement of Senator Edward Kennedy yesterday.

Why Obama would want Kennedy's endorsement is beyond me. However, it is to the credit of the American people that Kennedy has remained on the periphery of US politics. This despite his family name.

Notwithstanding Kennedy's support of the IRA during the 70s and 80s; to paraphrase the now immortal words of Rosie O'Donnel - "Senator Edward Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. Google it!"

Dorset Casualties during the ECW

I've just completed reading Tim Goodwin's excellent book 'Dorset in the Civil War 1625-1665'. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Civil War, at more than a superficial level, as Dorset proved to be a county whose control mirrored the War in general.

Indeed, Portland was the penultimate garrison to surrender in the west country; a mere week before Exeter and just nine before Oxford.

Anyway, to the main point of the post. Goodwin maintains that Dorset casualties amounted to at least 3,000 and probably reached about 4,000. With a population of about 85,000, this amounted to a total loss of about 7%; a proportion twice as high as Britain's losses during the 1st World War. He also points out that losses during the 1st World War "were said to have destroyed a generation".

Notwithstanding, that British losses the Great War were mostly restricted to male losses (causing a demographic imbalance) his point is well taken. At even 5%, the consequences of such a population decrease in a rural county must have been horrendous.

MoD data loss ... that follows the DVLC data loss ... that follows the HMRC data loss ...

A Government that is desperate to introduce ID cards has once again demonstrated it's inability to protect UK identities. This is despite the patronising advertisments advising UK citizens on their reponsibilities in destroying personal documentation, etc.

The latest case involved a laptop computer being stolen from a Royal Navy officer in Birmingham last week. Despite the loss being taking place on 9th January, the MoD only disclosed that the laptop had been lost late last night. The result: the loss of details on 600,000 persons wanting to join the British Armed Services. The security implications are obvious, let alone the financial problems as 600,000 bank accounts could end up in criminal hands.

To assuage public concerns, the Government today informed us that it was treating the loss of this sensitive data with the "utmost seriousness". Well, that makes it okay then!

The real lesson is that our details are not, and have never been, safe in the hands of beaurocrats who could never hold down a job in the 'real world'.

Obama Barack: An Exercise in Vacuousness?

US Democrats and left-leaning Independents have demonstrated that, in their opinion, the singer is more important than the song. In this country, Blair had managed to win an election and retain power for an eternity with nothing little more than platitutudes and pandering to the left when necessary. Tory, David Cameron has been adopting the same approach, with similar appeals to the suburban chattering classes.

Now, presidential candidate Barack is attempting to follow this same road to power. There are two lines of attack. Firstly, convince the electorate they desperately need political change. Secondly, eloquently preach the message of change whilst striving to mention policy. This is done in challenging environments like The Oprah Winfrey Show or dancing the day away with doggie-lover Ellen De Generas, whilst avoiding the political pundits on Fox, CNN ...

Unfortunately, a record numbers of punters in Iowa and, probably, New Hampshire have fallen for this lame approach. Meanwhile, they forget his intention to attack Pakistan and his professed willingness to negotiate with the World's greatest dictators and despots. Confused? I am!!! How could someone trust their country to someone who is so totally out of his depth when it comes to issues on the world stage?

When looking at the Democrat candidates, Hillary Clinton appears to be the only one who has any idea about what constitutes a realistic policy. Trustworthy? Probably not. But she is a politician, and is undoubtedly a pragmatist determined to be the first woman President of the US. The US Armed Services would no doubt be victims to her political expediency, but the world would be a safer place without Barack's finger on the button.