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April 20, 2006
Timmy Elsewhere
Umm, something in The Times.
Apologies, they did insist that I dropped the death penalty for Mr. Clarke, the feck, the fuck and the fucking.
My thanks to Anthony, at The Filter, for the line about liberal societies being, properly, more concerned about the rights of the innocent.
Even more thanks to JamieK for the invention of "Charlie the Safety Elephant" which I think started with "Princess Tomy and the Ugly Face Man".
Dunno, but can I at least claim first MSM use?
Update. A line I wish I had used but I’ve only just seen it at mbethinks. Referring to Charles Clarke:
You have, however, impressed me by being more offensive than David Blunkett.
Update II. I do love the title The Times has given it on their front page:
TIM WORSTALL:
Beware Charlie the Safety Elephant
D’you think that might become a common nickname, outside the blogs? Or has it already been used in print?
Update Tres: Arguing that my sholw thesis is completely wrong, they cannot be planning for anything, is PubDrunk:
Tim, and others in the the blogosphere,
seems to think that this may be a pre-emptive move in case there may be
a lot more of these cases in the future.
That is truly a chilling
thought, but I can't see it myself. That would imply a level of
planning and competance which I just don't believe exists anywhere
within the Government, let alone the Home Office.
April 20, 2006 in The Blogger Himself | Permalink
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» Feckless Blogger from An Englishman's Castle
Tim Worstall: has "something in The Times. Apologies, they did insist that I dropped the death penalty for Mr. Clarke, the feck, the fuck and the fucking. Shame!... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 21, 2006 7:07:07 AM
» We are the mysterons, we know that you can hear us from The England Project
I was listening to BBC Radio 5 Live the other day, shortly after the Home Secretary announced that payments made to victims of state imprisonment were to be reduced. There was a brief attempt at analysis of the new policy... [Read More]
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» Charles Clarke - shame on you II from The Filter^
Tim Worstall has written a more polite yet equally scathing article in The Times (bravo Tim) and very kindly thanked me for prodding him to make the following point:The mark of a liberal society is that more care and attention [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 21, 2006 10:48:29 AM
Comments
they did insist that I dropped the death penalty for Mr. Clarke, the feck, the fuck and the fucking.
Sell out...
...fair play.
Posted by: Twenty Major | Apr 20, 2006 11:55:32 PM
Tim, one point that just occurred to me; is this not a massive false economy? If people don't get compensation from the discretionary scheme, then they are going to sue the government when they might otherwise have decided it wasn't worth the bother. I would guess, without putting me lawyerin' head on, that this would be more expensive rather than less.
Posted by: dsquared | Apr 21, 2006 12:04:43 AM
Daniel -- yeah, I wondered about that. Maybe they've done a frighteningly sophisticated cost-benefit analysis based on their costs, the expected fraction of the cases which would be won and compensation awarded, but my guess is that they haven't and it's just another stupid initiative Charlie thinks will make him look good.
I came face to face with the Safety Elephant this evening on Question Time, but sadly they didn't pick either of my questions (on the compensation scheme and, naturally, ID cards).
Posted by: Chris Lightfoot | Apr 21, 2006 2:03:55 AM
Excellent!
Posted by: The Englishman | Apr 21, 2006 7:03:30 AM
There is no basis for a legal claim against the state for losing a criminal case, only to be freed on a normal appeal, unless it be for misfeasance in a public office (which would technically be brought against the individual, and requires malice), or even more doubtfully a claim for incorrectly implementing or applying European law in such a way that lead to the prosecution or failure to dismiss the prosecution at all.
In any case, even if there were a basis for such a claim, Parliament could abolish it.
Posted by: Marcin | Apr 21, 2006 8:00:30 AM
[unless it be for misfeasance in a public office ]
yes, this is the one. A friend of mine had the misfortune to be sued for misfeasance in public office and it was very, very expensive indeed for the government even though the case was eventually chucked out.
Posted by: dsquared | Apr 21, 2006 8:07:01 AM
I'm guessing he was one of the Railcrap administrators, D2?
Posted by: Alex | Apr 21, 2006 9:35:41 AM
I wondered what the Times' editorial policy might have to say about advocating the public execution of an elected Cabinet minister while using the word "fuck" a lot.
Killjoys.
Posted by: Mr Eugenides | Apr 21, 2006 9:53:18 AM
nope, it related to the collapse of some little savings bank or other in Yorkshire which he was supervising (and therefore responsible for closing down). It set a couple of quite interesting precedents apparently and certainly did a world of good for Freshfields.
Posted by: dsquared | Apr 21, 2006 10:16:53 AM
nice one Tim, and thanks for the acknowledgment - uneccesary yet very welcomed!
Posted by: AJE | Apr 21, 2006 10:47:56 AM
Cheers Tim, and help yourself with regard to the name. Cast your Safety Elephants on the Water, that's what I say.
Incidentally, I didnlt mean to put you in the cranky category, w/r to Comment is Free. It's just that my eyes glaze over before I get far down the page...
Hey, Daniel. When are you going to have another row with a Guardian staffer? That one with Andrew Anthony was great fun.
Posted by: jamie | Apr 21, 2006 11:40:31 AM
Which genius first said that he had a head like an elephant's bollock?
P.S. Suing the government - I don't think that Ms Greedie Boot will mind if there's a bit of that about.
Posted by: dearieme | Apr 21, 2006 12:12:56 PM
The Times article was excellent! I've been trying to say similar things on the BBC's boards for ages.
I note that elsewhere Comrade Clarke is likened to an "overgrown dwarf" (I assume the oxymoron is deliberate! ... But then all oxymorons are!! D'OH!!!); but I see him more as the father of (Channel) Five's children's TV star Peppa Pig, known simply as Daddy Pig. His biography can be found here:
http://www.tommys.org/get-involved/support-as-you-spend/peppa-pig.htm
Cheers!
Posted by: Joe Jones | Apr 22, 2006 11:17:56 AM
