The French say 'Non'

Some interesting post referendum stuff:

Le Monde has a map which breaks the result down district by district - makes the result even more depressing for the 'Yes' voters. 83 districts voted against, 13 voted for.

Also, Martin Kettle's comment in the Guardian and finally a dependably Euroskeptical view from Mark Steyn.

Johann says boycott bulldozers not academics

An interesting article on the academic boycott of Israel from Uncle Johann. He condemns the academic boycott (which has just been overturned) but is also highly critical of Israel. Looking forward to hearing from JP on this one.

Boycott the worst of Israel, not the best
An academic boycott is wrong; fighting Caterpillar is right

I know I could have added this to the academic boycott thread but I have a feeling this is really a new topic to do with criticism of / sanctions against Israel.

Oh, and while we're on the subject may I recommend Palestine by Joe Sacco. It's a description of the first intifada in comic book form. It is not unpartisan but I think it's well worth reading, particularly for those whose sympathies for Israel (and I would include myself here) may make them want to avoid looking at the reports of human rights abuses in the occupied territories.

The Cult of Che - Paul Berman

Am a big Berman fan after reading his Terror and Liberalism (Alexis thought similarly). He is a bit of a Christopher Hitchens type, a left-leaner by instinct but an independent thinker above all.

Here he is laying into the Cheophiles:

The Cult of Che
Don't applaud The Motorcycle Diaries.
By Paul Berman

Did the British kill Heinrich Himmler?

Now this is a much higher standard of conspiracy theory...

BBC - Radio 4 - Today Programme Listen Again

0848 Did the British kill Heinrich Himmler? Historical writers Martin Allen and Peter Padfield question the orthodox account of his suicide.

Science Under Siege

Good one from Uncle Johann. Bit like Wheen's mumbo jumbo but shorter.

Science Under Siege

How relativism is threatening progress - and the poorest suffer
by Johann Hari

"...the failure of defenders of the Enlightenment to stand up against this erosion of science is leading to deaths in some of the poorest countries in the world. Since the 1970s and the rise of postmodernism, it has become popular to view science as a Western, imperialist system, no better or worse than other "indigenous forms of knowledge". Some leaders in developing countries have taken this seriously - and the victims have been their own people. The South African President Thabo Mbeki has enthusiastically picked up this rhetoric, attacking the "hegemony" of Western science and claiming it is "colonialist" to argue HIV causes Aids. He has latched on to a scientist called Peter Duesberg, who says that Aids is caused by poverty and cannot be transmitted by heterosexual sex. The result? Over 70,000 children are now born every year with HIV in South Africa - a great victory over imperialism."

"This injection of multiculturalism and relativism into science has not done any harm to privileged Westerners, who revert to real medicine the moment they get seriously ill. But it has been a disaster for poor countries.

[Richard] Dawkins has debunked this relativism best, saying simply, "Science works. An African tribe might believe that the moon is an old cooking pot throw up into the sky, but that doesn't get you to the moon. Science does. Show me a relativist at 30,000 feet and I'll show you a hypocrite.""

I thought the article warranted its own thread but it arguably also has relevance to JP's polio conspiracy (which is very interesting by the way.)

A Conspiracy Theory Spreads Polio - Pipes

This is an extraordinary story that illustrates the conspiracy-mania that afflicts (infects?) so much of the Muslim world...

A Conspiracy Theory Spreads Polio
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
May 24, 2005

A worldwide campaign begun in 1988 to eradicate the polio infection was on the verge of success when, early in 2003, a conspiracy theory took hold of the Muslim population in northern Nigeria. That conspiracy theory has single-handedly returned polio to epidemic proportions.

...

[M]ore important is for Muslims themselves to argue against and defeat the conspiracy-theory mentality. This polio episode is but one example of how conspiracy theories originating in the Muslim world damage everyone, and Muslims first of all.

Naked women taken off the menu

Alexis has just gone to China - coincidence?

• Naked women taken off the menu
• China outlaws 'naked sushi' meals
  
  

Bright pupils let down by state schools

Following today's lunchtime discussion on education between me, Dan and Andy....

Bright pupils let down by state schools
Times
23/5/05
High-achievers do better when grouped together, study reveals

Being offensive about religion 'should not be an offence'

Excellent article, I thought, and relevant to various of our other ongoing/past discussions. I remember being q. unsure how I felt about this particular issue a few months ago when the law was first proposed, but I'm well convinced now.

Great name too, the QC.

--------------------------

Being offensive about religion 'should not be an offence'
Joshua Rozenberg
Telegraph
19/05/2005

Criticising religious beliefs is no basis for imposing criminal convictions, the barrister David Pannick, QC, will argue tonight.

...

[The Government's proposals] ... would bring incitement to religious hatred in line with the existing offence of incitement to racial hatred. That law protects Jews and Sikhs - who are regarded as belonging to distinct racial groups - and the Government wants to extend this protection to multi-racial faiths, such as Islam. ... Mr Pannick will argue that race and religion should not be treated in the same way. To make hostile comments about a person's race is to criticise the individual's innate characteristics - something that people cannot change and which says nothing about how they act. Because such comments insult a person's common humanity, he says, it is right that they should be restricted by law.

But to comment on an individual's religion is to criticise the conduct of an organisation to which that person chooses to belong, he points out. Unlike racial groups, religions usually make claims about how society should be run. Religious beliefs have a significant impact on the way adherents treat each other and strongly influence how society is organised. Critical comments on religious beliefs may serve a valuable function in identifying and remedying abuse of power.

Little Change In Mideast Post-Arafat - Pipes

Some depressing news and prognostications from Pipes, who is strongly anti-Sharon on the Gaza pullout:

Business as Usual in the Palestinian Authority
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
May 17, 2005

Dresden Bombing Is To Be Regretted Enormously

Another interesting article from Der Spiegel:

Dresden Bombing Is To Be Regretted Enormously
Der Spiegel
February 11, 2005

The Feb. 13, 1945 bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force has become a symbol for excessive, gratuitous violence on the part of the Allies during World War II. But with the 60th anniversary of the bombing on Sunday, a new book by British historian Frederick Taylor argues that this view may not be quite accurate. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with the author.

Turkey's Memory Lapse - Armenian Genocide Plagues Ankara 90 Years On

A friend of mine in Germany sent me a couple of interesting articles from Der Spiegel which I thought I'd bring to you all... Here's the first one.

Turkey's Memory Lapse
Armenian Genocide Plagues Ankara 90 Years On
April 25, 2005
Der Spiegel

This weekend, Armenians commemorated the 90th anniversary of the genocide of 1915. But Turkey has yet to recognize the crime -- the first genocide of the 20th century. By refusing to use the word "genocide," Turkey could complicate its efforts to join the European Union.

BBC = Buncha Bloody Commies?

Well, not exactly, but it is alleged that the BBC is 'institutionally left wing' (in the same way that the Met police was said to be institutionally racist). Does the old defence still hold true? (That both as Labour & Tories both claim bias the BBC must be getting its coverage about right.)

JP has certainly mentioned spotting anti-war bias on the Beeb. Anyone else agree with ex-Today journalist Robin Aitken?

Impotent Sicilian told to pay ex-wife

Just discovered a real Friday 13th article...

• I wonder what "cassation" means?
• Also wonder if we get a "right to sex" in the UK? If not, we should start a campaign.
• Any guesses as to the 'malformation'? (see article)

Impotent man told to pay ex-wife
Friday May 13, 2005
The Guardian

A Sicilian man has been ordered to pay damages to his ex-wife for not telling her before they were married that he was impotent. Striking a cruel blow to the island's fiercely macho culture, Italy's top appeals court, the court of cassation, ruled that a man could not conceal his sexual shortcomings from the woman he was going to marry without paying the consequence.

New permanent links added

Because we seem to quote from them a lot I've added new permanent links from this site to Johann Hari & Daniel Pipes. You'll find the links on the right of this page along with the previously established links to Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish and the much loved Harry's Place. JP often extolls the virtues of Pipes and Johann is well worth checking in on from time to time. (Of course I'm sure we'll continue to link to individual articles that we find interesting.) Anyway, hope you find it useful.

Johann & the super rich scroungers

Quite liked this article on tax dodgers by Uncle Johann. Here's a key extract:

"One UK accountant told the press in 2003, "No matter what legislation is in place, the accountants and lawyers will find a way around it. Rules are rules, but rules are meant to be broken." Now re-read that sentence, and imagine it was spoken by a single mum on an estate talking about incapacity benefit. What would the News of the World say then?"

I suppose the difference between a Rupert Murdoch type tax dodger and a 'benefits scrounger' is that Rupert at least provides tons of jobs and so contributes to the economy that way. There's something about people 'abusing' the welfare system by simply not working (when they are physically capable) that really sticks in the craw. (And as many of you know I have signed on in the past myself so I'm not claiming that it is inherently immoral to receive benefit.) But nonetheless I thought the article made some fair points and I commend it to you for your reading pleasure.

Electoral Reform

With Labour winning a (substantial) majority with the lowest share of the vote for a government in history, electoral reform is very much in the news. The Independent are campaigning for it - you can read a summary of the different types of voting system on offer here. The letters page is also full of arguments for and against. (Word of warning Indy pages often disappear after three days so if you're interested, it's worth following the link sooner rather than later. The online Indy leaves much to be desired frankly.)

But anyway, what dp y'all think? Many proponents of PR think it's a way of keeping the Tories out of power FOREVER. (They see it as a way of hastening Wembley's prediction.) Others see it as anti-democratic as it leads to minority parties holding disproportionate power. It is argued that first-past-the post keeps everyone moderate.

Personally, I favour the Alternative Vote which is not particularly proportional at all, but means that each candidate is elected with over 50% of the vote. The other thing I like about it is that it retains the link between MP and constituency. Not really a fan of list systems. Anyway, that's where I stand a the moment, though I may well be persuaded differently if the forthcoming arguments are more convincing.

Irshad Manji - "The Trouble with Islam Today"

The Trouble with Islam Today
Irshad Manji

Just saw an interview with this woman Irshad Manji (a self-described 'Muslim refusenik') on Newsnight, about her book "The Trouble with Islam Today". She's certainly brave, and has lots of important and interesting stuff to say. She does come across like the Canadian lesbian feminist she apparently is though, it has to be said....

Wartime reports debunk Speer as the Good Nazi

Have been expecting this for years now. Note an extraordinary reaction from Speer biographer Sereny to the news.

Wartime reports debunk Speer as the Good Nazi
Telegraph
11/05/2005

Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and munitions minister, was fully aware of and involved in the mass murder of Jews despite his lifelong claims to the contrary, new documents have shown. ... His insistence that he knew nothing about Auschwitz or the crimes against Jews, meant that he was the only leading Nazi to escape execution following the Nuremberg trials. Instead he was sentenced to 20 years in prison and after his release in 1966, went on to become the best-selling author of books such as Inside the Third Reich and Spandau: Secret Diaries. He died in 1981, spending his last years in London. ... His insistence that, despite being the closest Nazi to Hitler, he knew nothing of the Holocaust, led to many Germans adopting a similar stance of denial.

The documents uncovered by the Berlin historian Susanne Willems include a Third Reich report from May 1943 that refers to a "Prof Speer special programme" to expand the Auschwitz camp so that it could serve as a death camp. The report, on which Speer made copious handwritten notes in the margins and over the text, refers to the fact that Auschwitz's role as a work camp had "recently been expanded to include the solution to the Jewish question". The gassing of Jews began at the latest in the spring of 1942. The report was compiled after Speer, who as the head of armaments for the Third Reich was responsible for overseeing the distribution of building materials, dispatched two of his advisers, Desch and Sander, to investigate a number of concentration camps around Germany and Poland, including Auschwitz. They reported being shown "everything" at the camp by its leader, Rudölf Hoss, who gave them a "short report on the erection and purpose of the whole concentration camp site".

...

Gita Sereny, the London-based author of the 1995 book Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth, yesterday accused Breloer of stripping Speer of "the honesty he always showed".

US 'wasted billions on faulty terror equipment'

Oh great... Wait for the headlines of "Airbus brought down by banana killers"...

US 'wasted billions on faulty terror equipment'
Telegraph
09/05/2005

America has spent billions of pounds on faulty anti-terrorism screening equipment, which they now have to replace. The troublesome devices include explosives detectors triggered by Yorkshire puddings ... Among the problems were radiation detectors unable to differentiate between nuclear weapons, cat litter or bananas.

Vote for EU constitution or risk new Holocaust, says Brussels

I can rest easy now I know the EU is protecting my liberty...

Vote for EU constitution or risk new Holocaust, says
Telegraph
09/05/2005

A senior European Commissioner marked VE Day yesterday by accusing Eurosceptics of risking a return to the Holocaust by clinging to "nationalistic pride". Margot Wallstrom, a Swede and the commissioner who must sell the draft constitution to voters, argued that politicians who resisted pooling national sovereignty risked a return to Nazi horrors of the 1930s and 1940s.

...

Her fellow commissioners also issued a joint declaration, stating that EU citizens should pay tribute to the dead of the Second World War by voting Yes to the draft constitution for Europe. The commissioners also gave the EU sole credit for ending the Cold War, making no mention of the role of Nato and the United States.

Richard Shepherd, the Tory MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, said it was "breathtaking" to link Nazism to the defence of national sovereignty. "It's a monstrous rewriting of history to promote a profoundly undemocratic project."

---------------------------------------------------------

EU 'covered up' attacks on Jews by young Muslims
Telegraph
01/04/2004

Jewish leaders accused the European Union yesterday of covering up the true scale of anti-Semitic violence carried out by Muslim youths, reigniting a controversy over Europe's failure to confront Islamic extremism at home. A study released by the EU's racism and xenophobia monitoring centre astounded experts by concluding that the wave of anti-Jewish persecution over the last two years stemmed from neo-Nazi or other racist groups.

"The largest group of the perpetrators of anti-Semitic activities appears to be young, disaffected white Europeans," said a summary released to the European Parliament . "A further source of anti-Semitism in some countries was young Muslims of North African or Asian extraction. "Traditionally, anti-Semitic groups on the extreme Right played a part in stirring opinion," it added.

The headline findings contradict the body of the report. This says most of the 193 violent attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools, kosher shops, cemeteries and rabbis in France in 2002 - up from 32 in 2001 - were "ascribed to youth from neighbourhoods sensitive to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, principally of North African descent

....

The European Jewish Congress accused the EU watchdog of twisting data from the 15 member states to suit its own ideological bias, describing the report as a catalogue of "enormous contradictions, errors and omissions." "We cannot let it be said that the majority of anti-Semitic incidents come from young, disaffected white men. This is in complete contradiction with the facts recorded by the police," it said.

The EU suppressed a report last year by German academics concluding that Arab gangs were largely responsible for a sudden surge in the anti-Jewish violence, allegedly because the findings were politically unpalatable.Victor Weitzel, who wrote a large section of yesterday's far more detailed study, told The Telegraph that the latest findings had been consistently massaged by the EU watchdog to play down the role of North African youth. "The European Union seems incapable of facing up to the truth on this," he said. "Everything is being tilted to ensure nice soft conclusions. "When I told them that we need to monitor the inflammatory language being used by the Arab press in Europe, this was changed to the 'minority press'. "Honestly, it's incredible," he said.

Who will rid me of this turbulent Galloway?

Undoubted low point of the election is Galloway's narrow 823 majority in Bethnal Green (Wembley - any insight into your old stamping ground?):

Bethnal Green & Bow Election result
George Galloway 15,801 +35.9%
Oona King 14,978 -16.5%

I blogged a couple of times about Oona, once pro, once anti:
MPs compared Gaza to Warsaw ghetto
Black-Jewish MP pelted with eggs at War Memorial

Al Jazeera certainly noticed Gorgeous George - I'm interested to see what others can dig up about Arab/Muslim reaction to the election.
Al Jazeera election report - "Blair wins election, admits Iraq war divided Britons"

However not all is rosy for the odious Galloway, I'm pleased to say. His extraordinary libel win, in which the question of the veracity of the allegations against him were never raised in court, will come up for appeal:

Telegraph to appeal against Galloway libel win
Guardian
April 18, 2005

and you gotta love this!

Blow for Galloway as wife seeks divorce
Scotsman
1 May 2005
GEORGE Galloway’s bid to return to Westminster was dealt a potentially damaging blow last night after his wife issued an extraordinary series of allegations against him and declared her intention to seek a divorce. His Palestinian-born wife, Amineh Abu-Zayyad, asked how Galloway, the former Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin, could name his party Respect when, she claims, he did not have any respect for her.

Election aftermath

At the time of writing it looks like Labour will be back with a reduced majority. A quick reminder (while people talk about a majority of 60-80 as something of a defeat) that the first Thatcher government was elected with "a workable majority of 43".

For ease of navigation here are links to pre-election endorsements and the thread that contains Wembley's prediction.

Leading scientific journals 'are censoring debate on global warming'

Leading scientific journals 'are censoring debate on global warming'
Telegraph
01/05/2005

Two of the world's leading scientific journals have come under fire from researchers for refusing to publish papers which challenge fashionable wisdom over global warming. A British authority on natural catastrophes who disputed whether climatologists really agree that the Earth is getting warmer because of human activity, says his work was rejected by the American publication, Science, on the flimsiest of grounds.

...

Prof Roy Spencer, at the University of Alabama, a leading authority on satellite measurements of global temperatures, told The Telegraph: "It's pretty clear that the editorial board of Science is more interested in promoting papers that are pro-global warming. It's the news value that is most important."

He said that after his own team produced research casting doubt on man-made global warming, they were no longer sent papers by Nature and Science for review - despite being acknowledged as world leaders in the field.

Election endorsements

Something we should all do I think. (JP says as much here, but I think it deserves its own thread.)

While I admire many things about the Lib Dems (mostly the way they conduct themselves when compared with Tory opportunism), I am endorsing Labour. There are bits of Tory policy that I like but (ironically) for me it's a trust issue. I don't get a sense of vision from the Conservatives. And while Labour are from without fault, I trust their vision of the country more. I would like to see a Labour government returned and with the Lib Dems strengthened in Opposition.

So I'm overall I'm saying Vote Labour (though a Lib Dem vote where they have a chance of winning would be OK by me too.)

I'm in a very safe Labour seat and have been tempted to vote Lib Dem to increase their overall number of votes, but I think on balance I will vote Labour. (Even though I don't really like my MP. But at least I've seen him campaigning. The only other ones have been Respect who I gave short shrift. I suppose I could vote Green but I would once in a while like to vote for one of the parties that will actually govern.)

Big ideas? This feels like a local election - Mark Steyn

Hi All,

Some light relief as the election campaign comes to an end - Steyn had me laughing out loud as usual...

So who is voting for who?

J

Big ideas? This feels like a local election
Mark Steyn
26/04/2005

THE AMERICAN ENEMY: The History of French Anti-Americanism

I was musing on the tube the other day (for reasons that now escape me) about anti-Americanism, and asked myself which country seems to display it the most. I also asked myself another question, that of which country owes the most to America. My own answer to both questions was "France".

Wouldn't have thought anything more of it, except that I've just come across this review of a book about French anti-Americanism - so I now throw the question open to all of you!

J

----------------------------------------

The Sunday Times - Books
May 01, 2005
THE AMERICAN ENEMY: The History of French Anti-Americanism by Philippe Roger
reviewed by Sebastian Faulks

When George W Bush announced that he intended to invade Iraq, a country without the will, desire or means to have instigated war itself, his international standing plummeted. The people of Britain and Germany among others registered their distaste in opinion polls. But not France. An action that perturbed the rest of the world made no difference to French people’s opinion of America because it was impossible for them to register a more profound revulsion than they already had. French polls merely flatlined where they always stood: at maximum.

...

France has often had reason to dislike America as in the case of Iraq, or in the matter of the economic conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. However, it is the grim achievement of Philippe Roger’s book to demonstrate that France’s lifelong hatred of America does not depend on intermittent justification, but is a self-perpetuating state of mind that meets a vital need in the French psyche. The fact that Roger wrote before the Iraq invasion therefore does not bother his thesis.

I began this book believing that the greatness of French civilization was perhaps connected to its self-regard; that the patronising ignorance of the French towards other cultures is a small price to pay for the joy their own civilization has brought to the world.

Now I am not so sure. As Professor Roger’s book went on, building its pathology of racism brick by brick, I felt that I was reading not so much the story of a national failing as a universal fable about man’s capacity for self-delusion and the human urge to self-validation through hating others. Francophiles, be warned: this is a deeply dispiriting book.

Hitchens endorses Blair

... surely JP should do the same!

Long Live Labor
Why I'm for Tony Blair.
By Christopher Hitchens

By the way it's well worth following the link to the article about the pronunciation of 'Wolfowitz' within the Labour endorsement. (Or if you prefer you can go straight to it here.)