Gingrich and The Guardian

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican house speaker, has writen an Op-ed for The Guardian, here: –

The nature of the threat – with Iran at the epicenter – is at its core ideological. The ideological wing of Islam that is irreconcilable to modern civilization. And while not operationally connected, the events of just the last seven weeks throughout the world share the common strategic goal of defeating the West and its values. It could be accurately described as a third world war.

More hyperbolic bollocks from Gingrich is in the works, I’m sure.

On anti-virus software

Imagine if you could ‘create’ a demand for your product…

Why HezbAllah? Why not?

More from Anarchistian’s brilliant blog: –

Why should we trust the alleged goodwill of the Israelis and not stand behind HezbAllah? What guarantees do we have? How can you expect us to trust an Army and Air Force that has bombed our people, destroyed our country, all under the banner of disarming HezbAllah, implementing 1559, and returning the 2 soldiers (which one is it anyway, have the Israelis decided which explanation to stick to?), all for the sake of not falling prey to the extremist agendas of HezbAllah?

Click here to read the post.

Blood, death, and hubris

Don’t miss Tariq Ali’s Op-Ed in today’s Guardian, here: –

In Israel’s actions today we can detect many of the elements of hubris: an imperial arrogance, a distortion of reality, an awareness of its military superiority, the self-righteousness with which it wrecks the social infrastructure of weaker states, and a belief in its racial superiority. The loss of many civilian lives in Gaza and Lebanon matters less than the capture or death of a single Israeli soldier. In this, Israeli actions are validated by the US.

Quite a polemic viewpoint, but not altogether unwelcome…

Sweating cobs*

It’s amazing isn’t it?

Britons spend millions every year on foreign holidays, mostly to sunny beaches, and yet they fall apart like a cheap deckchair, the second we get a bit of sun over here. It’s been glorious for the last few weeks, with scorching hot sun and cloudless skies. And yet, everyone in my office, including on occasion myself, have spent our days shuffling around complaining about the “unbearable heat.” So much for British stoicism; we’ve become a nation of feckless whingers whose economy is thrown into a tailspin, the minute the nation experiences the slightest variation in weather.

A bit of snow? That means the schools will have to close and rail services will be cancelled. Most school boilers would crap out if they had to boil a pot of tea, and even the smallest amount of snow grinds our pathetic trains to a halt. I’m pretty sure our rail system was constructed for indoor use only. Think about it. Summer sun warps the tracks, and even autumn leads to cancellations (leaves on the tracks anyone?).

I know it’s an age-old gripe that everyone brings up the moment our society creeks to a stop. But on Saturday I will be travelling to Novosibirsk where they suffer arctic-like winters, and enjoy tropical summers. And yet, society functions normally – albeit bureaucratically. We have just become too soft, too mollycoddled, and too defeatist.

Where is that “can-do” British attitude that enabled us to conquer large swathes of the world? Ooops! I’m coming over a bit Daily Telegraph again.

(* “Sweating Cobs” is a Midlands saying for sweating profusely.)

Garton Ash on the “multipolar disorder”

I’m still awfully busy at the moment, what with work, writing, and flying to Siberia in the early hours of Saturday morning.

However, if you’re after something to read, why not catch up with Timothy Garton Ash, here, in today’s Guardian: –

Welcome to the world’s new multipolar disorder. The state of Israel is now at war with Hizbullah, but not with the state of Lebanon. The Lebanese state does not control its own territory. Iran heavily influences, but does not control, Hizbullah. Fresh from its triumph at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, Russia probably has the closest relations of any of the G8 powers with Syria (to which it supplies weapons) and Iran. China is in there too, as are the leading European powers – once again failing to act as one European union. The US possesses the mightiest military the world has ever seen, and how is it being used? To evacuate its citizens from Lebanon. If the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, manages to broker an end to the fighting, it will only be through complex multilateral diplomacy.