The Bewilderness

The freedom to oppress in Scotland

Although Parliament may debate the Leveson Report, its writ will not extend to Scotland. Instead there, Alex Salmond is debating the introduction of an alternate model based upon Ireland (a small country where the press has or had an incestuous relationship with the elites). No Ombudsman can counteract the effect of the backroom conversation and the quiet threat of a politician's call. In Scotland, another small country with its long lasting political mafias that are already impervious to sunshine and unaccountable to the voting tribes they despise, Salmond's appeal for state regulation renders the press more likely to be supine and deferential.

Much as I despise written constitutions, should we not amend the devoultionary settlements to safeguard the antient liberties of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Egypt's crisis: a revolution diluted

President Morsi of Egypt has also faced his own crisis in the historical entanglement of Egypt's constitutional authoritarianism and the temptations of a presidential Napoleon at a time of constitutional flux. The Head of State attempted to decree that his post and the constitutional convention was no longer subject to the remit of the existing judiciary. This may have been motivated by the Muslim Brotherhood's desire to remould Egypt in an Islamist direction without weaving through the niceties of an ancien regime brake.

Morsi's actions were perceived as an attempt to smash constitutional checks and balances, instituting a new untramelled power. And in their taste for dissent, the Egyptian opposition took to the streets in protest. The symbols of the Arab Spring have not been appropriated by the Muslim Brotherhood government and they do not feel confident to crush such opposition.

Faced with the dilemma of a Muslim Brother 'million man march' and opposition demonstrations, the elites have rapidly (and publicly) demonstrated a compromise. The meeting of Morsi and judges was televised; the compromise clearly agreed to by all parties. Hotheads call for a second revolution; but this crisis clearly demonstrates that the first is navigating its way through an Islamist government, too weak to dominate and an ancien regime that is valued by the democrats as a valuable bulwark to the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Small rebel advances in Syria

The ebb and flow of the Syrian stalemate has led to media inattention. The rebels have been unable to hold territory in the major cities of Aleppo or Damascus. But, over the weekend, small, incremental advances were measured. The airbase of Marj al-Sultan, nine miles from Damascus was seized and the airport of Deir Ezzor was besieged.

The rebels have also seized a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates in a further advance. The FT reports that these territorial gains are often achieved by the jihadist group, Jabhat al-Nasra. This well-financed and organised militia, with foreign backing, has become the main Islamist core of the rebel forces. Outside observers view this grouping, with its mix of Islamist terrorism and insurgency, as the voice of Salafism in any future settlement. 

Stalemate in Syria

Syria has not yet reached a tipping point. Media attention has moved away from the interminable tedium of a civil war going nowhere. There has been little news of territorial gains from either side in recent months. The rebel units are disabled by a lack of weaponry and the government forces are hollowed out by the defection of soldiers and policemen. Assad's regime has lost all legitimacy and retreated into an Alawite bunker whilst increasingly beholden to imported Iranian forces. Even the support of Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guards has only substituted for untrustworthy armed forces. Assad is now dependent upon sectarian militias and his Shi'a allies. 

Developments that are not mapped within the western media may result in a collapse of the regime. As yet, we are witnessing a stalemate and a war of attrition, which neither side is currently winning.

Woeful progressivism

Timothy Garton Ash in the Grauniad identifies the simplistic, partisan debate that presents a binary opposition between Britain and Europe in the media. His column suggests changing the terms of debate, though how this could be done is beyond me. The very nature of the Project creates this utopian goal of a united Europe.

Garton Ash is a pessimist if the Project fails. Britain is a remake of Man on a Ledge. Isn't it more likely that we are starting on a journey, that other European countries may choose to follow. When liberal dreams are shattered, they become pessimistic without the stoiccal leavening of conservatism. Woeful

Britain is a sideshow

The race towards the EU negotiations is becoming ever tighter and optimistic prognoses that this can be agreed are looking unrealistic. The parliamentary rapporteur on the budget, Ivailo Kalfin, a Bulgarian MEP, gave an interview to Euractiv and set out his stall on why it was unlikely that a deal could be achieved. 

Surprising to a British reader is his main focus: not the British veto (which is sidelined to a prompted paragraph), but the inability of the European Council to set aside sufficient funds for long term projects. Our own political show is relegated to a muffled obstacle: an annoyance but irrelevant to proper reform. After all, some want us to leave and some see "strolling to the exit"

Some good news for once

The Cleveland Clinic usually announces its top ten developments for innovation in the next year. This announcement gives a good indication of the way that healthcare is innovating and advancing in leaps and bounds. This year is no exception.

The ten innovations do include a public health innovation and surgical interventions for chronic diseases; however, the greater emphasis is upon improvement through devices and technology. To give a flavour: better scanning techniques for bacteria and skin cancer; incremental improvements in the treatment of donor lungs and cataracts. And all of these developments use technology for better outcomes with less damage.

This has to be a plus for cheromania: relentless good news is here, despite the downturn.

Checkers at Chequers

At one of my Meet-up hikes today, the route followed a circular path around the residence of the Prime Minister, Chequers. This is an impressive country house nestled in a small valley near Princes Risborough. Our walk touched upon a number of its boundaries. 

From the perimeter, Chequers is undistinguished compared to their boundaries. A "Keep Out" sign, some nondescript barbed wire and a vista open to the paparazzi (if they felt inclined to challenge the mud). Yet, at the top of Beacon Hill, a camera mounted on a tower watches over the footpaths that converge on this ridge. It is a popular spot for dog walkers and hikers, all of whom can now enjoy knowing their faces will be kept in perpetuity by HMG.

Will it provide additional security? Doubtful! Will it transform tranquil countryside? Almost certainly!

A scientific proof of Conan

We do not accept the unscientific notion of the tabula rasa in social theory. Unless you are social theorists and literary critics blinded by the cul-de-sac of French jargon erroneously described as philosophy. Yet, this does not lead to a blind acceptance of a theory that draws upon natural selection as the basis of its narrative. 

Professor Gerald Crabtree of Stanford University has stressed that natural selection in humanity was driven by a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Intelligence was enhanced by the need to avoid large predators and harmful mutations were weeded out as their owners were eaten. Civilisation arrives and we all become prone to harmful mutations diminishing our capacity for intelligence and emotion.

"I would wager that if an average citizen from Athens of 1000 BC were to appear suddenly among us, he or she would be among the brightest and most intellectually alive of our colleagues and companions, with a good memory, a broad range of ideas, and a clear-sighted view of important issues," he said.

Crabtree's confidence in the ability of some savage to understand our civilisation is quite breathtaking. Perhaps this can be viewed as the Robert Howard view. Certainly, the echoes of genetic superiority embodied in the barbarian pervade his stories of Conan, King Kull and Brak Man Morn. Literary devices aside, theories that rely upon fanciful and ahistorical anecdotes pay lipservice to the empirical complexities attendant upon all history and archaeology.

Party Secretary Entwhistle resigned from his Politburo position...

Did Entwhistle jump before he was pushed? Despite some crowing about his inadequate response before Parliament, I wonder what purpose is served by this action as the BBC is mired in scandal. When an institution is weak, its managers bound by rules replacing an institutional ethos, then short-term sacrifice at the top is chosen at the expense of root and branch reform. The resignation of the DG is designed to serve as a sacrifice to the public maw.

Yet the resignation serves as an irrelevance. No answers have been given to the allegations pervading the media and further events have demonstrated that certain current events programs have weak controls. Moreover, 98% of the BBC's coverage is not impacted by this scandal. The lack of transparency, the localised arrogance in certain quarters and the immunity to competition have all contributed to this mess. The BBC is as badly governed as a one party state. Draw the dotted line...