Afghanistan campaign

A couple of months ago,an interviewee on NewsNight, (chaired that week by Nick Robinson)..one of the very few (perhaps only) female politicians now in post in Afghanistan, was saying that in certain areas "Taleb",as she called them had already been allowed to assume control,in some "districts".
The U.S and U.K. Governments are in denial about this.
Karzai has undoubtedly already struck deals with his Taleban "brothers" ..
To frame all our dealing with the Taleban in violent Military terms,"harbourers of Terrorists",conflating them with Al-Qaeda ,from the start,etc, was obviously completly wrong.
Then,of course we invaded Iraq!..we have wasted eight years in Afghanistan,with the wrong policies.

Carry On Jihad

The British Government seems to have conveniently altered,or misremembered the chronology of events surrounding the Afghanistan War.
The arguement that our troops fighting there is keeping "our streets safe" does not make sense.In fact,just as the "Bloody Sunday" shootings were acknowledged to be the "biggest recruiting sergeant" for the IRA,back then,the complete opposite is surely the case.
Like Iraq,Afghanistan merely provides a remote "battlefield" to demonstrably fight the "War on Terror",although that phrase seems has to have been dropped lately.
The bombing and invasion of Afghanistan was initially the response,by America to the 9/11 attacks,with the U.K joining in.
That alone was a questionable response to a criminal act for which the main presumed perpetrator has never been apprehended or even located.
Britain was NOT targeted by the Jihadi's (which were subsequently identified as Al-Qaeda)until 2005. Those suicide bombers had connections to Pakistan NOT Afghanistan,and said explicitly in their suicide video diaries,that they carried out the attack as a response to the highly questionable invasion of IRAQ.
The Afghanistan campaign was compromised from the start by the erroneous invasion of Iraq..political expiediency keeps us there,but we are hearing the ground shifting to identify the real source of the Jihadi's,which is PAKISTAN...
We could not target Pakistan properly in 2003,because they were enabling the IRAQ mis-adventure,giving political and logistical cover and support.
This alternative take on "World events" and "Foriegn Policy" seems clearer and makes more sense than the "official" one.
Of course, we can all formulate our own "mix" of the two extremes.
Look on "the bright side",seeing as our Government will never acknowledge complete failure. Just as Iraq came to resemble a "War game" for the Americans,so Afghanistan provides the U.K with it's best training ground and justification for an interventionist standing Army.

Arm swinging and Intonated concatenation

The T.V. presentational "ticks" that always make me laugh,when they are most noticeable,are,surely the two most common...and they often go together..
Walking along or standing still doing a piece to camera, a presenter will hold there hands lightly together,and at varying intervals,spread them apart ,swinging their arms expansively.bringing the hands back together ,and either interlacing the fingers or holding one set of fingers lightly with the other, in an oddly tentative sort of way,knowing ,as they do,that,in a few seconds they will be swinging their arms apart again,on another "key-phrase".
Some are more accomplished than others at this,making it look almost a natural hand gesture. I suppose it's meant to be a "distillation" of hand gestures, so they dont flap their hands around madly. However ,in the wrong hands,(sic) they may aswell be sticking their thumbs in their ears and waggling their fingers.As it looks just hilarious These individuals should just stick their hands in their pockets Simon Schama-like and be done with it..The reason he can speak to camera whilst walking uphill and keep his balance is that he usually wears jackets,and so can gain enough lateral stability ,whilst keeping the hands effectively hidden by cloth. .
The head "bobbing" can accompany this of course, and is widespread. In fact,no way is it just a trait of the lovely George Alagia . Nodding and bobbing and emphasising words randomly with head movement is surely de riguer for ALL news presenters.
I had better not get too much into "verbal ticks" ..mainly a radio problem,of course,illustrated quickly by two Newsreader "Greens" Charlotte Green (radio four)...very good.Syntactically and intonationally perfect,( She did, of course do brilliant work on the "shipping news" rating of bands at Glastonbury). She also often needs to stop for a cough,which is endeariing and almost died laughing whilst reading an obituary a while back.... Justine Green (Fivelive) by contrast,poor! Constant descending tone at the end of every phrase,same intonation for every segment and therefore innapropriate, equal weight given to EVERY story...This sort of poorly intonated delivery,leaves the listener with the impression that the same set of people have either been present at,or had some part in ALL of the stories in the bulletin.
Prize for worst overall intonation on radio and television? goes to.....Robert "Pesto" Peston.. the thing is ,when he's replying on a "two-way" he can speak almost "normally"..but if his piece is pre-recorded ,he goes into gothic, madly stretched -out intonated over-drive...without the superb Paul Mason,i STILL would not understand a thing about the "credit crunch"...
A close second,and to balance things gender-wise Sarah Montague is another nightmare...With Montague it's mainly vast changes in VOLUME and tone that are the problem. Apart from sounding impossibly posh (as do most of the Today presenters)..her delivery varies wildly from a meek soft-toned "goodmorning" to a brash military "bark" sometimes in the same sentence. Begininng with a loud THANKYOU WE HAVE TO END IT THERE..the delivery trails off to leave the constant ,two or three minute spaced time-check almost inaudible..
I could ramble on about this for ages
it's certainly a rich vein of trivia...

Smell O the Internet

Anyone remember "scratch 'n sniff"? .Sounds disgusting doesnt it?
The results largely were pretty rank,as i remember.
The idea was to add smell to a T.V programme.
Along with "3dT.V." experiments it may well have been a feature of the beloved "Tomorrows World" programme..archives of which the Beeb have put on-line this week.
It is accepted wisdom that smell is,indeed THE most evocative of the senses when it comes to memory..
Shooting straight up into the frontal lobes,smells can give you instant access to perfectly formed capsules of memory,good and bad ,of course.
An amalgum of cigarette smoke,freshly brewed tea,with digestive biscuits,and fly killer take me to the, black and white, formica topped table of my cousin's
kitchen/dining room of the mid-sixties...A dull "porcelain/farty" sort of tincture,a certain brand of washing powder along with stacked newsprint,and i am in the dark hallway of my Mum's Mum ,"NannyPutney",along with the Mangle...
Around this time last year,i was having fun with the new toy from Google "Street-view". Retracing my under ten year old steps around the streets of Saarf London..The journey from Tooting to Putney,and Tooting to Southfields to visit the Grandparents and my Dad's brother's houses.
Whilst distractedly traversing one of the main routes "Garret Lane" i recalled visits to an out-door swimming pool (we never called it a "Lido") ,plunging into the cold water,the slatted wooden seats of the changing rooms..and the smell...dried urine mostly...and what tha? ...that same smell was in my house!...I had inadvertently made that memory completly indelible and tangible once again forty years on...
Should you have a similarly dried urine related memory/place you wish to evoke,then make sure you burn milk to a crisp in a suitable saucepan..blackening it to the extent that soaking ,then scrubbing and finally ,only use of emery paper will remove the carbon footprint of the dairy product
Ahhhh Milkie Milkie thanks for the memories

Bertie Basset meets Mick Mgaughy

Hi Billy
This truly has been a momentous few weeks for World Fuckin Idiocy..(soundtack "American Idiot" by Green Day)
The NHS is an ongoing debate in the U.K. ( how is Canada's system managed?)
To hear the idiot Princess herself with that "quit makin' things up" proclaimation,with the backdrop of the ludicrous debate about "social" health-care...with the response ,on Twitter,(THE "social-network" of the moment,still ),of "weLOVE the NHS"..(fuck off you moronic,scaremongering idiots)..only serves to make "us" feel falsely superior. "Sicko" (Michael Moore) gave an overly "rosy" view of European health-care..
Big trouble for our "Prime Minister in waiting" Mr Cameron,came in the form of prize twat (accurate use of the word Mr Cameron) Daniel Hannon,with his "wouldnt wish the NHS on anyone" line on FOX.
Overshadowed now of course by the seemingly inexplicable release of Al MGrahi" the convicted Lockerbie bomber (poor evidence against him anyway).
Funny thing is,whatever your take on it, the Scottish Parliamentry guy,came to this decision,of compassionate release,through something called "due PROCESS" and the rule of LAW. (Just watched the brilliant HBO series "John Adams" again)..whereas the USA does of course still have a bunch of palpably innocent people banged up in Cuba with no "legal" or acceptable way of just letting the poor bastards go. A legal black hole they built for themselves that means they are way off the morale high ground ,leaving their exasperated "giving in to Terrorists" ranting totally laughable. Every "expert" agrees that there has GOT to be another tactic in the "War On Terror" (not called that anymore of course)..In Afghanistan the Taliban have GOT to be involved etc..
The Scottish justice Minister has to be hoping,praying to a non-existent God even,that the guy dies pretty soon,and all Gordon Brown can say is that he was "repulsed" by the "Triumphal" homecoming, and "nothin to do with him mate" ,on the release,it being all down to the devolved Scottish Parliament.He remains the only person in the country NOT to express a view!
Back to Health-care, Obamas "vodcast" ( on I-Tunes) is a reassuringly sensible and intelligent,counterpoint to the Republican "Death Panel" scaremongering.
Better not get started on the "2nd amendment" (?) asshole,with a loaded gun strapped to his leg at an Obama rally,exercising his "rights" and all.
Cheers for now
Chris M
----- Original Message -----
From: Billy Warhol
To: Billy Warhol
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 8:04 PM
Subject: Robbie Gennet: New Protest Signs at Town Hall Rallies


Sad but so True!! I wonder if People will ever Wake The Fuck Up!!

this Moron Bush NeoCon Brainwashed Flock of Religious Taliban-like Right Wing Christian Idiot Zealots have gotta go!!

the Joke is over!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/new-protest-signs-at-town_b_266515.html


If you haven't seen them, some clever folks started showing up at these town hall protests with faux signs that make light of these Fox-fed people ranting and raving about Nazis and Orwell and whatnot. Here is a link and some good examples of what's being done:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/17/the-funniest-signs-from-t_n_260838.html

If any of these protesters wanted to have a serious, fact-based discussion about health care, they have had ample time and many places to do so. But that is not what they want and it is not why they are out there protesting. So how bout it, Obama supporters? How about making up some clever signs to hold amongst the Dittoheads, Hannityhearts, Beckbutts and O'Reilly's Righteous Roisterers? Get in that crowd and get on the news holding some mad slogan that tells the world that you are all a bunch of crazy racist fascists! Show them you have absolutely no idea what you are fighting for but you are mad as hell and willing to misspell with a Crayola marker! Get mad and tell them that you're White, you're Right and you're not gonna fake it anymore!

Here are some suggestions for some rally signs; please post your own in the comments below and let us know if you put them to use:

Don't Socialize Our Medicare!
Take Back the Flat Earth!
Americans Against Dinosaurs in the Bible!
Guns Not Jobs!
I Support Heterosexual Fetuses!
Americans Against Rational Thought!
White is the New Black!

When I put this out to some friends, some of the replies were outrageous, but that's the point isn't it? The more far out, the better, cause like Obama said, TV loves a ruckus. Like these:

Omelets Are Abortion!
Beck is Reich! (add some swastikas and a Hitler mustache on Glenn Beck)
No Gaybortions!

and other racist, homophobic or completely nonsensical froth. Guns not Jobs? Gaybortions? WTF?! In the end, efforts at rationality cannot shout down these people. They won't allow reason, facts and data or civility to frame the debate. But we can dilute their message. They say if you can't beat em, join em. Just hold your sign high and get that photo out there! See you on the news...

TWITTER is a good thang

All but one of this week's Any questions panel betrayed complete ignorance of "twitter".as did David Cameron,of course..
"Facebook" has it's followers,but no "networking" site has the reach and potential effect of "Twitter"..the Iranian protests alone made it a worthwhile asset.
To say that "twitter" is for the young,is COMPLETLY wrong..the demographics are clear."twitter" is for the older and more sceptical..plus it's used,as a "site traffic" enterprise business tool,which all politicians purport to encourage. Overall...who was it said that "brevity is the soul of wit"?..if you are not selling anything ,other than your intellect,as a small part of your day "online",then "twitter" is the current
perfect outlet...

Bat for Ashes? nah! La Roux i like em a lot never mind the BOLLOCKTICS

I was talking to old mate Sean Hurl,in Glasgow and listening to his "Stagestruck" tooons on MySpace...I said it brought back memories (maybe false ones) of standing uncomfortably at the Caribbean Club,Basingstoke, clutching a plastic cup of warm lager in 1984 or something.He said they didnt play the Caribbean club,so ..."Troops out now"!( a reference to N'Ireland,sean is from Irish stock)
The Ashes" series looms.Seems they are starting the matches a day earlier? On wednesdays? Will you be able to watch or listen on line?..
I couldnt really get into the "20Twenty" ,just too quick for me... but above all i am a radio fan so TMS rules..did i say before that an old lady currently living at the Residential home is a relative of John Arlott..sister of his nephew i think,something like that. She lent me a video of his appearances on "Parkinson",and they were "personal" non-commercial copies,nice to see. He also narrated a history of Basing and Basingstoke which she lent me...
I will definitely take more interest in the Tests...and The Tour De France should be good for the Brits,mainly Mark Cavendish. At Last a "verified" Lance Armstrong...
Musicwise..i'm hearing about bands getting fans to fund their records and tours.. For instance Patrick Wolf (electro-pop i'd say) ,sort of making themselves mini public companies ..as far as oldies making comebacks,i heard that "The Blow Monkeys" for instance were up for hire..fans clubbing together to get them to play. In their front rooms even?
I guess that Michael Jackson is outselling most stuff this week...lets face it dying was the only way he was going to clear his debts!..
What english bands are you selling lots of lately?.. "Florence and the Machine"
are this years festival darlings.("Along with Bat for Lashes"..even worse) Nige recommended them over a year ago,as they are sort of rock/folk... I find it dreary,overrated. "Little Boots"? also overrated.. but very pretty and pop.
"la Roux" i like! "Bulletproof" sounds like an update of "Dont go" by Yazoo meets Daft Punk...(the singer's mum is "June" in "the Bill").."Bulletproof" number one last week, beaten only by Jackson's."Man in the Mirror" Are they buying it again? just out of sentiment?...
Basement Jaxx's new single "Raindrops" also caught my ear,just coming out along with new album..it seems that electro pop and house are my faves at the moment!...the last CDs i bought were "Santogold" (now SantIgold) last year..along with "the Kills" and Elvis Costello!! (Momofuku)..
The Clark Springs MySpace page gets regular hits,and addition of "friends",usually from Europe,and small record companies...i should take a look at sprucing it up maybe..

You may have noticed that British politics has been shaken to the core by revelations ,leaked to the Telegraph,of what M.Ps claim on expenses and their second homes.. Some of them revealed indefensible abberations,like not knowing their mortgage had been paid off,and continuing to claim..avoiding capital gains tax on second homes..claiming they were using one home when they were living in another ( Tory couple Kirkbride and ,forgotten his name,both designated "the other" of their two homes as the "main" one) Offenders numbered some 100 or so,NOT all the MPs,and most made perfectly reasonable claims,but most of it just looks so fuckin bad, Like the chancellor,Darling,claiming his tax advice ON EXPENSES. It just demonstrated a culture of,if you can claim it do so,matched only by JOURNALISTS i'd say. Speaker Martin was scapegoated to some extent,with the unliked John Bercow now in place. Michael Martin did ,as a parting shot turn things back on the MPs,pointing out that they could have had this problem aired and sorted over a year ago. The expenses allowance,introduced as a fiver a day in the seventies had ballooned out of control,rising exponentially in the last few years to cover bigger and bigger mortgages on second homes,with the other approach of big pay rises to keep up with this necessity always being avoided..
Stories began with MPs Ministers even ,claiming for second homes ,sometimes parents houses,within easy commuting distance of Westminster!

Gordon Brown is gradually clawing his way back into some semblance of authority,but the most powerful man in Britain right now is undeniably Peter Mandelson!..he is the P.M. in all but name. Gordon owes his ,just slightly less than precarious position largely to him. Gordon knows he will not threaten his position,and is rivalled only by ex-Tory Shaun Woodward for loyalty..no matter what happens though,it seems we are heading for a Tory Election win next year. Despite the fact that there is no great love for Cameron,and no real knowledge of any new policies.. I guess you would share my disgust at the non-turnout for the last euro Elections,resulting in the fuckin BNP gaining two seats!..by default. I wouldnt have minded if it had been a Tory landslide,but they gained on a lower vote. The Labour vote just disappeared altogether.The Greens increased their overall share of the vote by FIFTY percent,but still didnt gain an extra seat!..so much for the "fairer" PR system!...at this rate the Tories will get in on less than 40% of whatever pathetic turnout we get.
Have you tried "twitter"? i really like it, I just cannot be bothered with "Facepoop",
i've used "Flickr" for years..i set up the Clark Springs MySpace of course,just pissed around with my own page before that...i continue to dabble/hobby learn javascripting,and flash for web-development..."twitter" is not just frivolous.there is some serious interaction,even though it's best for the good-natured banter.
In that linked example,Graham Linehan,(Father Ted IT Crowd etc) was outraged by a Mail On Sunday story and pressed for a complaint to the PCC..another example last week,a Daily Mail on-line pole was hi-jacked and came up with the result that 80% of respondents wanted "Travellers" to be able to take priority for health care from their local NHS hospital. The Mail story headline being sort of ."Gypsies are jumping "our health queues"..the story behind it being that,quite reasonably,"travellers ",should they "travel",often miss out on vaccinations for kids and other health issues.So local councils wanted to fast track them so as to catch them before they left the area.
Ah,i've just been added to list of followers by "the DuckworthLewis Method".. Divine Comedy Neil's latest thing..A loving tribute to Cricket, they were playing live on afternoon radio. I have never bought any of the D C stuff but i think his voice is great,and this sounds very good,think "Village Green Preservation Society" Kinks...