Recent Articles

Clinton vs Obama in Ohio

Last night’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama didn’t really alter the dynamic of the campaign. Heading into the primaries in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania we are where we have been for the last couple of weeks: we know that the states naturally favour Senator Clinton but that the momentum is with Senator Obama. The debate last night didn’t seem to really strengthen either candidate massively- what we learnt about the two was much of what we already know. Both senators are intelligent individuals- both have star power and both seem to find the debating format of politics in the states congenial. The contrast between this debate and George Bush’s efforts in 2004 was stunning: both of these candidates are far out of the league of the present President.

If one candidate won in terms of their manner and the way that the debate went, it was Senator Obama. Hillary came across on several occasions as mean spirited and picking up on trivial points.
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28 days: government offers “concessions”

Via Anthony Barnett, I find that the home secretary is preparing to offer “concessions” in an attempt to avoid a rebellion against its plans to extend pre-detention charge for up to 42 days.

Under the proposal, MPs would be allowed to debate a decision to invoke the emergency powers within 10 days of a government decision. At the moment MPs would only be given a say within 30 days, a proposal seen as largely meaningless by critics – suspects could have been charged or released by the time MPs had a chance to scrutinise the need for an extension beyond the current limit of 28 days.

This is so meaningless as to be an insult to our intelligence. Martin Salter, Labour MP for Reading West, who Anthony rightly says is preparing to be a sellout, says we have: “got stuck in a sterile debate on the number of days”. So why not remove any delay of time in which MPs can debate the decision? It is cosmetic surgery and it is being thrown as crumbs to Labour MPs who still have control of their conscience. Feel free to write to Salter . As Anthony rightly adds: “There are few things more insufferable than MPs telling us how they are the guardians of our liberty and all the great things about Britain while the executive laughs up its sleeve and voters snort with derision.”

Later this week I’ll be speaking alongside Liberty at an event organised by the Muslim debating group City Circle about how this campaign can be taken forward strategically. All are welcome to attend.

Iraqi Employees: fine words, shabby deeds

Do you like reading fine words? Here is the Prime Minister on the subject of Iraqi ex-employees of the British Government, speaking in the House of Commons on October 9th, 2007:

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of our civilian and locally employed staff in Iraq, many of whom have worked in extremely difficult circumstances, exposing themselves and their families to danger. I am pleased therefore to announce today a new policy which more fully recognises the contribution made by our local Iraqi staff, who work for our armed forces and civilian missions in what we know are uniquely difficult circumstances.

Fine words. What about deeds?
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Casting the net – The really good quick links

Welcome to Casting the net, Liberal Conspiracy’s daily web review. As always, please feel free to share your own recommendations in the comments section. Just time for some *really quite excellent* quick links today, as I’m very busy.

Politalks
The latest video (NSFW) from Lee Griffin and Gavin Whenman: –

Script here. Special thanks to Lee for helping select today’s links.

Highlights
OurKingdom – Britain’s Strange Fruit
The Sound of Gunfire – A sober debate on booze culture
Brian Barder’s website – Prison over-crowding: fewer prisoners or more prisons? Wrong, as usual
David Thompson – Territory
Freemania – Is democracy dying of consumption?
publicansdecoy – Consistency and lines in the sand
Obsolete – Scum-watch: A lesson in attempting to puncture its own emotional balloon.

Redemption Blues has the latest Britblog review.

If you would like your blog or site to be considered as source material for future reviews, drop me an email at aaronh [at] liberalconspiracy [dot] org with the relevant url. I can then enter it into my RSS reader and monitor it for suitable content to be included. Likewise, if you have a specific article/post you feel deserves a little more traffic, get in touch.

Life with Dave

Another majestically irritating contribution from pro-life sympathisers today: Dave Cameron, who should know better, tells us that he likes the idea of cutting the time limit for abortion from 24 weeks as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill progresses through parliament.

A few thoughts:

I wonder if I can stand much more of this tripe from these persons. We’re not even talking the real world here – just Nadine Dorries and Ann Widdecombe and other leading lights in Dave’s menopausal mafia claiming – I think my notes are correct – to have seen pictures of foetuses walking/dancing/voting conservative at 24 weeks’ gestation, and being moved observe that we should save babies of this age simply because we can.

I’ve never quite got my head around this aspect of the pro-life argument, but let’s give it another whirl: as far as I can gather, they’re trying to imply that because we’re at a point in medical history where doctors are able to save babies born at 24 weeks, aborting other babies at 24 weeks is giving the big finger to human technical advance.
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Casting the net – Stop the world, I’m getting off

Welcome to Casting the net, Liberal Conspiracy’s daily web review. As always, please feel free to share your own recommendations in the comments section.

Highlights
The Cleaver – Crossing The Rubicon: Breaking The Fake News Trance –
Take the red pill. Reject the “horseshit”. via.

NYT – Rising Inflation Creates Unease in Middle East
As Middle East states wallow in record oil receipts, subsequent inflation is squeezing the middle classes and increasing poverty among the poor. Will this lead to unrest even in politically “stable” Middle East countries?

Lee Griffin – What could the £2billion be spent on other than ID Cards?
You could add £20 to the basic state pension. It’s a no-brainer, surely?

The Daily (Maybe – Never say Nader
Jim Jay’s view of Ralph Nader’s decision to run in this year’s presidential election. Fair and balanced.

Elsewhere
Walter Shapiro/Salon – A non-paranoid’s guide to superdelegates
New Humanist Blog – Cardinal forces Catholic hospital to adhere to his ethics code
Cassilis – A little humility would have served Hillary well…
Jock’s Place – Evan harries the invincible Cable
Hopi Sen – Conservative MPs would be mad to back a putsch against the speaker
e8voice – Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems
Colin Ross – Liberal Democrats challenge Labour and the Conservatives to support “in or out“ referendum on Europe
Though Cowards Flinch – “Chomsky with dick jokes” [NSFW]

If you would like your blog or site to be considered as source material for future reviews, drop me an email at aaronh [at] liberalconspiracy [dot] org with the relevant url. I can then enter it into my RSS reader and monitor it for suitable content to be included. Likewise, if you have a specific article/post you feel deserves a little more traffic, get in touch.

Throwing the e-baby out with the i-bathwater

The Financial Times reports on the government’s proposals to do ‘something’ about illegal file sharing. That something is to make ISPs the law enforcer; they will be penalised if people use their networks to share files. There has been talk of a ‘three-strikes’ system whereby ISPs would be obliged to remove service from their customers if they’re found to be illegally file-sharing on three occasions. If ISPs have not acted by April of next year, the government will legislate.

The big objection I have is that it makes the ISPs responsible for policing. This is a really bad idea. Spectacularly bad. I’m hoping that Tom Watson, as a minster responsible for this who was, as a backbencher, supportive of Tim Ireland et al during the Usmanov affair, will take note and make this point to his colleagues.
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The Blaney Defence

My riposte to Donal Blaney’s comments about the BBC’s Asian Network has prompted not only a lively debate in comments here but also a response from the man himself, one that is, by turns, both amusing and not just a little sad in the extent to which it serves to emphasise that even a university education (and a professional qualification in law) offers no certain antidote to deep-seated and wilful ignorance. On a more general note, Blaney’s further remarks, which I’ll outline in a moment and which, from experience, advance a worldview that is far from being uncommon in certain conservative circles, provide a useful example of just how far the Conservative Party still has to go in its efforts to rid itself of its reputation as ‘the nasty party’ when dealing with the issues of race, ethnicity and the demands of providing political leadership in a culturally pluralistic society.

Let’s start at the beginning with Blaney’s opening gambit:

One of things that I find so frustrating about blogging is dealing with people who are either stupid, venal or willfully choose to misrepresent your views. More often than not, these people post anonymously and decide to tar their opponents with the epithet “racist”, “homophobic” or “fascist” in the hope that by using such a description, debate is closed down and they win by default. Such is their intellectual insecurity that they will not engage in honest debate and instead they resort to infantile abuse in an attempt to stifle debate. I cannot help but wonder whether these people would not prefer to live in a police state where only certain views (theirs) are allowed to be held because the venom and vitriol that flows when you dare to stand up to them is quite astonishing. It says a hell of a lot about them and their upbringing.

Oh dear, it seems that Donal’s ‘projecting’ already and he’s barely out of traps with his argument. continue reading… »

Lefties call to support Livingstone [updated]

Leaders from across the centre-left urge progressive voters, activists and organisations to get behind the campaign to re-elect Ken Livingstone, in a statement co-ordinated by the pressure group Compass.

The statement reads:
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Turkish troops out of Kurdistan!

Within the past four days, following a lengthy campaign of aerial bombings, a Turkish ground invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan has begun. 10,000 troops in total rolled across the border on Thursday night, according to the Turkish Daily News. This was on the pretext of hunting members of the PKK who live in camps around the mountainous north of the region. As the troops (whose numbers have been massing on the Iraqi border for months) went into Iraqi Kurdish territory at around 7 pm, the Turkish army’s general staff issued a statement which said:

“The Turkish Armed Forces, which attach great importance to Iraq’s territorial integrity and stability, will return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved”

Whether this is to be believed or not remains to be seen. Indeed, if the “achievement of its goals” is the elimination of the PKK “threat” then even taken at face value the statement is cold comfort for the Kurds – previous failed attempts by the Turkish army to eradicate Kurdish nationalism resulted in a bloody and drawn-out conflict between 1984 and 1999 which is reckoned to have claimed over 30,000 lives.

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