I Intend To Escape ......................And Come Back

Ofra Haza and the Sisters of Mercy

No weighty political waffle from me today - just one of my favourite records of all time. 

If you ever feel life has dealt you a bad hand, reading the details of Ofra Haza's sorry death may bring some perspective. Either way, be haunted by her voice. 

Celtic Fans: Ditch Your Political Sympathies

The Pope's visit seems to be encouraging political reactionaries in Scotland. 

Emboldened by Ratzinger's impending tour is the Scottish composer James Macmillan, who is appalled at the political stances he sees on the terraces at Celtic Park. He wants to sweep out what he sees as leftist and terrorist sympathisers, and see the club return to its Catholic roots. 

Ging Gang Goolie To Go!

When you consider political splits, disputes and simmering hatreds, it is perhaps instinctive to think of the left. 

We should have a high regard however for Huntingdon Conservative Sir Peter Brown, agent to baby-faced Jonathan Djanogly MP, and unnamed senior Conservatives in the constituency. They have been sticking the knife into the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Justice Department. So alarmed was Djanogly that he hired private detectives to discover what local Tories thought of him. They were told: 

“He [Djanogly] works very hard not to give an opinion. He sits on the fence on every issue and nobody knows where he stands on anything. He is a wet fish and is constantly wriggling on the political issues of the day.”

And just as good:

“The only reason Jonathan was elected in the first place is that his father was close to John Major and so party members voted for him as a favour to John Major. He has been a disaster and we need to deselect him.”

More please!

Protest The Pope: Demonstration Details

Having given Tony Blair the bum's rush twice in a few days, can the London mob do the same to his spiritual boss, Joseph Ratzinger? 

Details of the London demonstration against the state visit of the Pope can be found on the Protest The Pope website. Check out also the work of the National Secular Society and their Pope Nope t shirts. 

You Cannot Separate Sport and Society

It is not very often this blog has praised the Morning Star, but todays issue manages to include not just one but two sporting articles of interest. 

John Wight uses the recent appearance of  former World Middleweight champion James Toney in a mixed martial arts fight against Randy Couture, to argue that boxing needs an age cap to keep washed out, flabby fighters such as Toney from reappearing in the sport. I actually think he is wrong about this - fighters such as Bernard Hopkins and Evander Holyfield are plainly still fit enough to box professionally, despite being well into their 40s - but Wight does write with knowledge and precision. 

Secondly Jon Gemmell considers the apparent corruption of Pakistani cricket, as a mere extension of the broader corruption in Pakistani society. When you have a President who is known as 'Mister Ten Percent' and a country where tax collection has proved an impossibility, sport cannot be unaffected. Again there is more that could be said here. The UK media lapped up the pose of Benazir Bhutto as a fighter for democracy, ignoring both her previous record in office, and her own private zoo admidst one of the poorest countries on earth. Why then should her widower raise standards in office?
Gemmell fails to consider the Islamification of Pakistani cricket, and the destabilising influence religion has at times had in the Pakistan dressing room. This has even extended to the Pakistan Cricket Board, who at one point, according to Imran Khan's memoirs, was headed by a man who did not actually like cricket, on the basis that it distracted people from study of the Qu'ran!

Gemmell's closing words however, deserve careful consideration:

"Corruption has to be erased, but as cricket is generally reflective of the society in which it is played, it will take more than a few lectures from well-paid commentators and finger-wagging from the ICC."

Hackney Citizen Turns To The Credit Union's Collapse

Over at the Hackney Citizen, Anatoliy Kurmanaev has turned to the unanswered questions over the collapse of the Hackney Credit Union.

His article, complete with Hackney Council handwashing, can be read here.

Charity: Who Gains?

"I hated Comic Relief and I hated Live Aid, and I stand by that. It was the beginning of all that celebrity culture, and charity has always been a mask for self-indulgence. Live Aid also revived the career of fucking Queen, and there's no worse evil than that."

Alexei Sayle in the Daily Telegraph, 4 September 2010. 

Anarchism and Moral Philosophy

Congratulations to Ben Franks and Matt Wilson on their work editing a collection of essays, Anarchism and Moral Philosophy. 

It is due out shortly, via Palgrave Macmillan, indeed Amazon have even sent an email to alert me to the titles imminent release. On the downside, the book weights in at a whopping £47.50, a good £25 more than I have ever paid for a book. Or £55 direct from the publisher. 

Buying books on the war on terror works out a lot cheaper. It looks as if I will have to stick to my field....... 

New Photographs Added

I have placed some new pictures on the Flatlands and On The Road sections of this blog. 

Pictures range from Protestant memorials in Norfolk to Blackpool trams....... 

The Definition Of Optimism?

This evenings European Championship qualifiers will see a new look France take on Belarus in Group D. 

Spare a thought though for those still trying to shift French World Cup merchandise after the only campaign that was actually worse than England's! I spotted these France South Africa 2010 baseball caps in Blackpool on Tuesday, a bargain apparently at £4.50.

I suspect they may well remain unsold for some time.......