Britblog Roundup # 39

Something of a bumper crop for this week’s Britblog Roundup! As ever you can make your nominations for next week’s by emailing the URL to britblog AT gmail DOT com. Best posts from British and Irish blogs please, those things you think we ought to have seen but possibly did not.

Just a quick plug for the book, which as you know grew out of this little adventure, many thanks to all of those who have mentioned it and put up Amazon ads and so on. Should get the finished article back from the printers on Monday and in the shops by Friday. Geek points to those with cameras (or phones) who are able to supply visual evidence of its arrival and of course extra for anyone who can spot somone actually purchasing it. There are rumours that it will be on the front tables in Waterstone’s.

First up is The Religious Policeman (he writes from London so it’s Britblogging) who has a strategically placed bug in the romper room listening to the King and Interiror Minister of Saudi Arabia. Classy stuff and if true would explain a lot.

Continuing our Middle Eastern theme, just why was Gorgeous George absent from that vote on the anti-terror bill?  Blairwatch asks Respect for their answer...(curiously, given that GG was in Cork with his one man show, no answer as yet).

Indigo Jo is also on the same subject with urther detail. If Respect cannot keep going as a party outside Parliament and also have its one MP voting inside then it’s not much of a party, isit?

Adloyada has two pieces, one on the French riots and another on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. That second deals with the way in which it is only the Israel/Palestine situation where we hear talk of "narratives" rather than historical fact. Well worth reading.

Following on from his piece highlighted here last week about the Sony rootkit affaire, Francis is delighted by the ambulance chasers class action lawyers. Yes, they’re already being sued so perhaps such lawyers are acceptable in limited quantities. There’s already a Trojan out there that exploits the rootkit modifications.

The Doha trade round might be thought of as fodder only for us economics geeks but unfortunately it is much more important than that. It’ll help to determine how much wealth is created globally for decades to come and as EU Referendum points out, the negotiations are being run, extremely badly, by and for the interests of the EU. Or French farmers, take your pick.

Harry’s Place comes under some heavy criticism from both Jarndyce and Jim Bliss. It would be difficult to find a subject on which all four of us agreed (kittens are cute? The sun rises in the east? Perhaps.) but the language used in the intellectual beating is simply too good to miss:

This lot, remember, like to bill themselves as Muscular Liberals. Muscular in the sense of Complan-drinking surrender monkeys that happily ditch 700 years of common law precedent as soon as some twat blows up a bus.

From J and this from JB:

Over at a blog called Harry's Place, a commentator called "brownie" has explained just why we need those 90 days of internment. Actually, no they haven't. Brain-dead brownie, in the piece entitled "Uncivil liberties", has instead merely trotted out sub-Daily Mail wankery, irrational prejudice and deeply flawed reasoning in a demonstration of intellectual paucity unrivalled since Oliver Kamm's recent book (which I haven't read, but the man's an oaf so I'm comfortable with my prejudice).

Merrick also makes a very good point in the comments:

The whole discussion of the issue seems to have conflated the concept of 'enough evidence to charge' with the concept of 'enough evidence to convict'.

The Anglo Saxon Times points out the shameful situation in Iran. Recent suspects were only held for 13 days before release. Just think what could have been acheived with another 15? They also point out that the police already have the powers to do pretty much what they wish with Al-Qaida, so why bother to change the law?

Gareth at the CEP has an essay on the difference between ethnic and civic nationalism and where England and English nationalism belong.

Politicalog asks whether Blair is over egging the terrorist pudding? One doesn’t have to be an instinctive anti-statist like me to think that there might be a touch of it going on.

Bloggerheads wants your help in reporting Rebekah Wade to the PCC. There’s a Pledgebank set up and they also have hard copies of the relevant pieces for you.

Chicken Yoghurt with another tour de force. Same subject, same place on the dial a magnificent little essay covering all the bases.

Diamond Geezer goes metablogging with a survey of 50 blogs (some large, some from his blogroll and some random) and works out that stats. How many posts, ages of sites, number of comments, hits and so on. Measure yourself against the numbers and find out, do you blog too much? Or not enough? (Scroll around to see all from this week.)

Cartoon Church is a little confused by a warning on thedangers of women Bishops. Why are there not more stories about Mitre accidents? (Could I add that we’d like more nominations from the Godbloggers for future editions?)

If you only read one post this week then you should make it this, from Rachel in North London. No, I won’t describe it, just go read it.

Liberal England on the Maximum Tone’s proclaimed love of football. Quite, not really what you would expect from a man of his age and background really is it?

Daveblog has the most convincing theory I’ve heard yet on why 90 days detention was ever even suggested. So that the doubling we’ve got could be presented as a compromise.

Chris Dillow makes the important point, when looking at the French riots:

Markets are colour-blind. Social networks are not.

Read on to see the implications.

Peter Black (the Roundup’s contact in the Welsh Assembly) reports on a libel case brought by the BNP. Not the verdict the plaintiffs would have liked really, yes, defamatory, comment not fact yet entirely fair. There’s also a fascinating comment there by "Bournemouth Nationalist" giving the list of politicians who have been convicted of crimes. Something of an apologia perhaps?

Bookdrunk has a delightful little fisking of the YouGov poll on the 90 detention poll. It was rather, umm, loaded, wasn’t it? (I’ve constructed polls myself and can see the bias-Ed)

Deogowulf over at The Sharpener has lessons for those who would give in to mob rule. Why riot? Because it works.

The Englishman’s Castle adds to the lessons of Jared Diamond. The latter explains how the world got to be like it was until 500 years ago but why the divergence since? Protestantism? Could well be as Max Weber spent most of his working life pointing out.

Doctor Vee on the amazing difference in opinion between the bloggeratti and the general public. What’s going on? Are we some bunch of weirdos out of step with our fellows? Or are we the people who can actually see what is going on? Comments there please.

Stephen Tall gives us the reactions to Sir Christopher Meyer’s autobiography. The conclusion isn’t what you might expect.

Philobiblion asks you to take the test. Is that a husband or a small child? (I’d argue that in these more enlightened times both partners should be attempting to pass it. But then I would wouldn’t I?)

More history blogging here, extracts from a diary, this time about guarding Napoleon after Waterloo.

Other Men’s Flowers reports back from a school reunion. I have to admit I avoid these like the plague (although one interesting little happenstance of the past week was finding, after all this time blogging, that Peter Briffa and I were at the same school. He avoids them too.)

Onionbagblog provides the history and background of the murals in Stockwell. It’s not just a move in Mornington Crescent you know!

Petite Anglaise now wishes to be known as Rita. You may require a knowledge of minor Beatles songs to work out why.

Two pieces from The Filter. Did you realise that gay bars have just been nationalised? And a report from an academic conference that includes this:

On several occasions I heard a talk in which an assumption was made that a certain policy automatically led to the intended consequence. A hypothetical example would be that a minimum wage was introduced, and therefore there'd be an increase in the incomes of poor people.... err no.

One of the grand delusions of Government that.

SuzBlog is doing my work for me, getting people to register their blogs at the amazing and wonderful Wikablog.

Clive Davis (like any good Bath lad) is less than enamoured of the Bullingdon Club (we’ve seen way too many rugby club dinners to be impressed by people doing it in tails.) One Day in the Life of Boris Denisovitch is a great title too.

Late update, Phil Hunt emails in on the wrong address with his piece asking whether Israel might be better off inside the EU rather than allied to the US? An interesting question even if the French are unlikely to agree to it.

And that’s it! Entries for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com please! Keep an eye open for mentions or spottings of the book, please, let me know if you see anything. And so, until next week,

Toodle Pip!