September 13, 2006
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Insanely busy again, but this annoyed me: “A newly qualified squaddie facing suicide bombers, snipers and rockets round the clock earns two thirds of a British policeman’s wage; in a combat zone the 16-hour watches give an hourly rate of … Continue reading
September 11, 2006
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Wouldn’t it be nice if similar scenes greeted Blair on his return?(Without the bombed-out buildings, infrastructure reduced to rubble, and human suffering on an almost unimaginable scale, naturally… I meant the protests… Erm…)
September 8, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
Why can’t disgraced former Home Secretary (and apparently still a leadership hopeful) Charles Clarke make up his mind? Is he for or against infighting within the Labour party? It’s only been a week since he was firmly against it, two … Continue reading
September 8, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
It really is the end times… Extracts from today’s Quentin Letts column, reporting on Blair’s visit to Quintin Kynaston school in north London yesterday, where he announced his plans to depart office within twelve months: “By 1240 hours the noise … Continue reading
September 7, 2006
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Blair will step down “within the next 12 months”? Better than nothing, admittedly, but now he’s got precisely the problem that he always said he’d have if he announced a date – no policy initiatives seen to be coming from … Continue reading
September 7, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Miliband/Blair/Brown
After my speculation late yesterday, The New Statesman has finally put that David Miliband interview online. A quote I haven’t seen before: “We look at the debate which says, ‘Either we have a smooth transition or you have a train … Continue reading
September 6, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
Since this morning’s resignations, a few rumours have begun to circulate about the possibility that a senior cabinet minister is set to resign. Whether there’s any truth to these, I have no idea – Tory blogger Iain Dale, who has … Continue reading
September 6, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
A big welcome back to the blogroll for Labour MP Tom Watson, who I dropped when he became a government whip as he’d no longer be able to be interesting. But let’s face it, anyone called “disloyal, discourteous and wrong” … Continue reading
September 6, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on The UK backs ditching “adequate” data protection
Sounds boring, eh? Especially when you find out that the EU, the most boring institution in the world bar the International Confederation of Accountancy and Algebra, is also involved. However, following earlier outrage from the elected portion of the EU … Continue reading
September 5, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Erm… “John Reid will sanction the forced removal of up to 32 Iraqis today after telling the high court he would ignore any last-minute legal challenge to their deportation.”Yes, that’s right – the Home Secretary has announced that he will … Continue reading
August 31, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
This sounds like it was fun. (Unlike this alternative protest…) I particularly approve of protesting against the lack of hat wearing in public life – some blame the last few decades’ collapse of civil society and boom in crime on … Continue reading
August 31, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Charles Clarke: hypocrite
Today: “Infighting within the Labour Party will help the Conservatives at the next general election, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke has said.”Two months ago: “In what amounts to one of the most public rows among senior Blairites since 1997, Mr … Continue reading
August 30, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on “Une sorte de maladie de langueur, de fatigue generalisee”
Thus spake France’s Minister for European Affairs, Catherine Colonna, giving her opinion of the state of the EU to the assembled ranks of the French Ambassadorial elite. Packed with (if we’re honest, fairly astute) criticisms of the current way the … Continue reading
August 29, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Koizumi and dictators
Considering that Japan’s own Tony Blair, Junichiro Koizumi, is due to step down as Prime Minister in a few weeks, it’s hard to know what impact his current sucking up to murderous Central Asian dictators will have on the constitutionally … Continue reading