"We know all about equality and independence — we've been there"

The practicalities are all, it seems - Marie Claire (!) on Russia's classes for millionaire-hunters :

To the Western feminist mind, it might seem a bit retrograde, yet Varra insists that Russian women are the ultimate post-feminists. "We know all about equality and independence — we've been there," she tells me. During the Soviet era, which ended in 1991, millions of men died in wars and labor camps. Women often ran their households alone, while also working in factories. The problem is that Russian men, says Varra, remain deeply patriarchal and still expect women to be subservient. "Rather than try to change men, which will take another 200 years," she says, "we might as well get whatever we can out of them now."

NYT - "20% of UK Students Are Muslim"

Is this true ? Seems like a high number to me, although I'd expect 10%ish - after all, a Government report in 2006 said that "in 10 years time, 15% of the workforce will be Muslim".

Where did the New York Times get these figures from ? Anyone know ?

Investigators are now, in fact, turning a sharper and retrospective eye to the passage in Mr. Abdulmutallab’s life that began immediately after his summer in Sana, Yemen, in 2005, when he enrolled as a $25,000-a-year mechanical engineering student at University College London. In recent days, officials in Washington and London have said they are focusing on the possibility that his London years, including his possible contacts with radical Muslim groups in Britain, were decisive in turning him toward Islamic extremism.

That view, if confirmed, would offer a stark reaffirmation that Britain, the United States’ closest ally, continues to pose a major threat to American security. Critics in Britain and the United States say the British security forces, despite major increases in budgets and manpower in recent years, have not yet succeeded in adequately monitoring, much less restraining, the Islamic militancy that thrives in the vast network of mosques that serve the nation’s 1.5 million Muslims — and on university campuses across the country where nearly 100,000 of the 500,000 students are Muslims, including many, like Mr. Abdulmutallab, from overseas.

UPDATE - Muhammad Abdul ('Two million Muslim terrorists') Bari of the Muslim Council of Britain, quoted at Socialist Unity : "there are approximately 100,000 Muslim students at universities across the UK, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding and play a full and active role in student life."

Money From (potential) Misery

As the Walkman generation was succeeded by the mp3 and Ipod generations, and an increasing number of us walked around with plugs in our lugs, I became convinced that we were likely to see and increasing number of not-terribly-elderly with hearing difficulties. Young people just don't like turning it down.

At that point it also became apparent that hearing-aid manufacturers were likely to benefit. But who makes hearing aids ?

This blog gives some investment suggestions. I know nowt about the blog or the companies they suggest (except Siemens), so caveat emptor.



(inspired by this Clive Davis post)

Quote Of The Day

David Duff on erogenous zones, real or imagined :

I was always a very attentive and tender lover who never forgot to ask afterwards, "How was it for you, darling?" even if I never quite managed to stay awake long enough to catch the reply.

The Mumbles Train

I blogged the Mumbles train a couple of years back :

Any fule kno that the world's first passenger railway, the Mumbles train, would have been 200 years old this year. It was scrapped in 1960 by the local council, all of whose members are now being toasted here. Ever since I can remember, Swansea councils have been corrupt, incompetent or both - and according to this blog the tradition lives on.

Had it survived it would have been a World Heritage site and the biggest tourist attraction in Wales.

I'm just old enough to have ridden the beastie. The terminus was at the back end of the long-gone Victoria Station, in what used to be a fascinating hinterland between station and docks. Railway lines ran in the roads between the warehouses and docksides - the Swansea of Kingsley Amis' novel 'That Uncertain Feeling'. Alas all gone, replaced by dual carriageway, retail sheds and a sanitised marina.

The journey - along the sea front past the prison, the Vetch, the Slip (with its station, floral gardens, bridge and beach funfair), Patti Pavilion and St Helens, to Blackpill (where the accompanying main railway line turned off towards Gowerton), Oystermouth and the Pier - is still pleasant now, as a walk or bike ride on the path where the line ran. But it doesn't compare with a pasteboard ticket, a box of Paynes Poppets from the machine at the terminus, and a gloriously rackety journey. In winter the ride could be scary. The train always rocked a bit, but in a gale it would move disconcertingly. Upstairs, where the motion was accentuated, you'd wonder if it was about to fall over into the sea. Downstairs, with a stormy high tide the spray of breaking waves would slap against the windows - if you left them open you could get wet. We loved it.

I'm pleased to see that someone has put this excellent video tribute, showing then-and-now video of the line, onto Youtube. The first part's soundtrack is Spencer Davis' (of this lot fame) lament 'The Mumbles Train', from his latest 'So Far' release. A Swansea boy (didn't his mum work in the Lewis Lewis department store ?), Spencer is still playing .

At 4:58 you can see children retrieving their flattened pennies from the line after the train has passed.



I said that in a storm at high tide you could get wet unless you shut the downstairs windows. This recent video, taken on a stormy day near the end of what was the line, shows that you'd sometimes need to shut the upstairs ones too. The line ran right alongside the water. You can see why a ride on a stormy night was an adventure.

I trust Sarah and Liz will enjoy the video, if they've not seen it before. More stills of the Blitz and (near the end) the train here.

The Art of Football

On Boxing Day, being in Sarf London, we took a trip down to Kingsmeadow to see the reborn Dons, AFC Wimbledon, beat Hayes and Yeading 5-0. Although a Baggies fan, I'd watched the Dons in their 80s glory days at the Lane and got soaked at Huddersfield on that radiation-rainy day when they made the top flight.

At the end of this video of the game, the camera shows this flag at the Tempest End.



Intrigued, I googled the phrase and found this. It appears that enigmatic artist-in-residence Fleydon premieres all his new works at Kingsmeadow.

Inspired by sources from the great masters :



Via the socialist realism of Soviet Russia :



Through iconic images of the 40s :



To cutting-edge modern imagery - all sorts, in fact.

(and it's £2 for kids and £6 for students at Kingsmeadow. A whacking tray of chips is £1.50 and the tea is made with real teabags. What more could one want from a footy club?)

Poverty Causes Crime Part 372

This from Booker Rising.

Crittenton allegedly became angry at Arenas for refusing to make good on a gambling debt. That prompted Arenas to draw on Crittenton, who then also grabbed for a gun. Arenas denies pulling a gun on Crittenton.

Players’ union executive director Billy Hunter called the matter “unprecedented in the history of sports.” “I’ve never heard of players pulling guns on each other in a locker room,” he said.

According to this site Arenas earns $16m pa. Poor Crittenton only earns $1.5m. Maybe it's income inequality that's to blame !

Police Shoot Intruder At Home of Danish Cartoonist

The Telegraph say the intruder was a Somali and he had an axe. The BBC say he was 'a man' and had a hammer (whether he intended to bring about love between the brothers and the sisters all over this land - or any other land - is unclear).

But what seems indisputable is that the intruder in the home of Kurt Westergaard was shot. May a similar fate attend all who disturb his domestic peace !


UPDATE - the BBC have updated their story,which was breaking news at midnight last night. One or two commenters have pointed out that "in the wake of the Nigerian with the incendiary underpants, al-Beeb appears to be adhering less rigourously to the MONA rule.". If I understand him correctly, the Dumb One posits that the Nigerian-ness of the underpants man is being emphasised in order to de-emphasise his religion.

Friday Night Music - Italian Style

If you wait long enough, everything arrives on Youtube. While this probably sounded better after a couple of carafes of bianco secco, I'm still quite taken with the sub-Phil Collins style. From a 1981 (stuff like Say Hello, Wave Goodbye was in the charts) ski holiday in Sauzi D'Oulx, this was rarely off the jukebox. I believe the title approximates to 'I Don't Want Wings'.

NWOBJ again

I've noted before the technical incompetence of the New Wave Of British Jihad (© Laban Tall 2007).

The New Wave Of British Jihad is IMHO very poor quality compared with its illustrious predecessors. If the "Fantastic Four" were alive today they'd be turning in their graves.

I'd been wondering for a long time why science education was being dumbed down so much, to seeming government indifference.

The fact that these guys can't put anything that makes a bang together is a tribute to our education system. I understand now that Blair and Brown have been playing the long game - ensuring that anyone who hates them won't have the skills to do anything about it.

If those guys had gone to a decent privately run educational establishment - say a madrassa in Waziristan - they'd have been far more successful in their chosen career.

Now we see an engineering graduate of University College London who can't detonate military grade explosive. As Ross puts it :

The fact that an engineering alumnus from one of Britain's most prestigious universities can't even detonate an explosive is a damning indictment of our education system. It was one thing when an ex con retard like Richard Reid couldn't light up his shoes but this is absurd.

No wonder employers are increasingly critical of the quality of UK graduates.

Merry Christmas

Back New Year's Eve ...

"He should have claimed it was a protest against Israel that got out of hand"

The Dumb One on the only "case of Islamic violence that liberals don't support" - to wit the attack by Munir Hussain on one of the people who'd just been holding him and his family at knifepoint.

US Demography

In England 23% of primary school children are ethnic minority.

The figures are much higher in the States. Of course there were indigenous 'minorities' in what is now the United States before the British and European settlers arrived - and those settlers then imported (by force) a hefty black minority population. But the Hispanic element in the US population was pretty small, despite (or perhaps because of) the eventual US takeover of the former Spanish territories of Texas, California, Florida and New Mexico. Now the Reconquista is well under way.

The estimates found that nearly half (47 percent) of the nation’s children younger than five were a minority in 2008, with 25 percent being Hispanic.

Beautiful Nairn

A seaside town in the Highlands has been ranked in second place on a list of the world's top five "emerging" travel hotspots for next year.

Travel website Trip Advisor put Nairn, on the Moray Firth coast, behind first-placed Troncones in Mexico.

The former Victorian resort was described as a "perfect base" for exploring the Highlands.

It was ahead of El Chalten in Patagonia, Patara in Turkey and Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.

Discerning travellers have been aware of Nairn's charms for a lot longer than tripadvisor's been around :

All ye tourists who wish to be away
From the crowded city for a brief holiday;
The town of Nairn is worth a visit, I do confess,
And it's only about fifteen miles from Inverness.

And in the summer season it's a very popular bathing-place,
And the visitors from London and Edinburgh finds solace,
As they walk along the yellow sand beach inhaling fresh air;
Besides, there's every accommodation for ladies and gentlemen there.

Then there's a large number of bathing coaches there,
And the climate is salubrious, and very warm the air;
And every convenience is within the bathers' reach,
Besides, there's very beautiful walks by the sea beach.

The visitors to Nairn can pass away the time agreeably,
By viewing Tarbetness, which slopes downwards to the sea;
And Queen Street is one of the prettiest thoroughfares,
Because there's splendid shops in it, and stocked with different wares.

And there's ornamental grounds, and lovely shady nooks,
Which is a great advantage to visitors while reading their books;
And there's a certain place known as the Ladies' Beach,
So private that no intruder can them reach.

And there's many neat cottages with gardens very nice,
And picturesque villas, which can be rented at a reasonable price;
Besides, there's a golf course for those that such a game seeks,
Which would prove a great attraction to the knights of clubs and cleeks.

The surrounding scenery of Nairn is magnificent to be seen,
Especially its fertile fields and woodlands so green;
Besides, not far from Nairn, there's Cawdor Castle, the ancient seat
Of the noble Thanes of Cawdor, with its bold turrets so neat.

And its massive proportions is very imposing to see,
Because the arched entrance is secured by a drawbridge and a fosse;
And visitors will be allowed all over the grounds to roam,
Besides shown over the castle if the Earl is not at home.

The scenery surrounding the castle is charming in the summertime,
And the apples in the orchard there is very fine,
Also the flower-beds are most beautiful to see,
Especially in the month of June, when the birds sing merrily.

Then there's the ancient stronghold of the Bays of Lochloy,
And visitors when they see it will it heartily enjoy;
And a little further on there's the blasted heath of Macbeth,
And a hillock where the witches are wont to dance till out of breath.

And as the visitors to Nairn walk along the yellow sand,
They can see, right across the Moray Firth, the Black Island so grand,
With its productive fields and romantic scenery,
And as the tourist gazes thereon his heart fills with ecstasy.

And Darnaway Castle is well worthy of praise,
And to oblige all visitors there are open days,
When they can see the castle where one thousand warriors in all
Oft have assembled in the Earl of Randolph's Hall.

And in conclusion I will say for good bathing Nairn is the best,
And besides its pleasant scenery is of historical interest;
And the climate gives health to many visitors while there,
Therefore I would recommend Nairn for balmy pure air.

"ya'll white guys are not tough enough"

Coach Chuck Evans tells it how he sees it to his hapless Worcester Wolves basketball squad :

Former head coach Chuck Evans has admitted discussing race with the team and has since resigned, although he denies being racist.

It is the first time details of the alleged two-hour exchange, which led to the British Basketball League club having to postpone all their December games, have been made public.

According to notes taken by the players immediately following the post-match analysis session on Sunday, November 22, Evans, a black American, blamed the team’s recent poor form on there being too many white players.

He is quoted in the players’ notes as saying: “I think I have figured out the problem with our team... looking at the last two teams that we have lost to Newcastle and Chester, they were mainly black guys and I just think we have too many white guys on the team who are not tough enough and too soft.”

He is quoted as going on to say: “I should have recognised a long time ago that you white guys are not tough enough. I’m just calling it like I see it.”

The players notes are here. Six white and two black players threatened to strike after the coach's two hour presentation and were then sacked by the club's owners.

.."bitch ass pass...that's my white guys for ya"

..."you see, you see, look at the two guys involved in making that turnover, two white guys, I'm not crazy"

..."Look at James Hamilton (African-American (Black) player from Chester) he just pushed you (Wolves Caucasian (White) player) out of the way... and said uhh, take that ****... and ya'll think I'm crazy, told ya'll I wasn't lyin"

..."**** this is basketball, I know the business, **** it, I'm gonna get fired at some point, whether it's form here, or my next job, so if I am, at least I'm gonna say how I feel about this ****."

..."See those three black guys (referring to three black player from Chester Jets that made a defensive steal from three white players from the Worcester Wolves), they just are tougher... took the ball, said gimme that ****, don't worry I will find a solution for this"

..."Look at my black guys (black player from the Wolves) their fightin, fightin for everything"

..."Look at this ****, look, boom, black guy (Shawn Myers, Chester Jets) dunking on our ass"

..."I just say it like I see it, baby, I can say what the **** I want to say cause I am the Coach, so I say it like I see it, this is basketball"

Now for all I know he may be right. Perhaps white men can't jump. But if a white coach said similar things about black players it would be all over the BBC - which report the story like this - and Guardian. Yet this ain't. As ever, I can't imagine why.



UPDATE - the Wolves are sponsored by the University of Worcester (formerly Dines Green Working Men's Club) - an organ of the State which hosts their home games. And apparently their players have been coaching in the local schools - who, to be fair to them, seem horrified that nothing they're teaching the kids about racism seems to apply should the perp be black and victim white.

From the comments on the story (emboldening is mine):

BBaynes, Evesham says...

9.49 am Tue 15 Dec 09

I am the Head Teacher at one of the schools where the (sacked) Wolves Players coached as part of the team's community outreach programme. My pupils admired and respected Vid and his team-mates. To my children, the players symbolised all that is good about sports. We were horrified when we first learned of the sackings two weeks ago. How could I explain or even justify this action to my pupils? How could I explain that their heroes had lost their jobs for doing exactly that which we teach them to do - standing up to racist bullies? In primary schools today we take a very strong line against any sort of bullying, especially that which is motivated by racism, and all of us at school were deeply disturbed to find that Vid and his team-mates had been punished for standing up against racism. Since hearing about this, I have emailed and written letters to the manager of the team, the chair of the BBL and anyone else I could think of, hoping that reason and common sense would prevail and that these players would receive justice, rather than punishment. Hopefully this article will now begin to correct the dreadful injustice that has been done to them!
And finally, I, too, am American, like Mr Evans, and I am deeply saddened that his views might be taken to be representative of all my countrymen. Vid and his fellow team-mates WERE (and continue to be) excellent basketball players (just ask any of my pupils), regardless of the colour of their skin, or their nationality - what a pity Mr Evans was too short-sighted to realise this!

I am the Head Teacher at one of the schools where the (sacked) Wolves Players coached as part of the team's community outreach programme. My pupils admired and respected Vid and his team-mates. To my children, the players symbolised all that is good about sports. We were horrified when we first learned of the sackings two weeks ago. How could I explain or even justify this action to my pupils? How could I explain that their heroes had lost their jobs for doing exactly that which we teach them to do - standing up to racist bullies? In primary schools today we take a very strong line against any sort of bullying, especially that which is motivated by racism, and all of us at school were deeply disturbed to find that Vid and his team-mates had been punished for standing up against racism. Since hearing about this, I have emailed and written letters to the manager of the team, the chair of the BBL and anyone else I could think of, hoping that reason and common sense would prevail and that these players would receive justice, rather than punishment. Hopefully this article will now begin to correct the dreadful injustice that has been done to them!

And finally, I, too, am American, like Mr Evans, and I am deeply saddened that his views might be taken to be representative of all my countrymen. Vid and his fellow team-mates WERE (and continue to be) excellent basketball players (just ask any of my pupils), regardless of the colour of their skin, or their nationality - what a pity Mr Evans was too short-sighted to realise this!

revanscook, Ashton Under Hill says...

10.09 am Tue 15 Dec 09

As an educator, one of our most important skills to pass onto our pupils is to stand up to racism. Therefore it was to my utter astonishment that these six players were sacked for standing up to a racist bully. We need to counter racism in our modern world so that we can live in harmony, regardless of creed, colour or background.

I salute these guys for standing up to racism and it is just unfortunate that there employers and the BBL did not applaud them for doing this as well. In my eyes they are the heros in this dreadful situation and I suggest the Worcester Wolves and the BBL should re look at there disciplinary procedures and give these men the justification that they truly deserve.

As an educator, one of our most important skills to pass onto our pupils is to stand up to racism. Therefore it was to my utter astonishment that these six players were sacked for standing up to a racist bully. We need to counter racism in our modern world so that we can live in harmony, regardless of creed, colour or background.
I salute these guys for standing up to racism and it is just unfortunate that there employers and the BBL did not applaud them for doing this as well. In my eyes they are the heros in this dreadful situation and I suggest the Worcester Wolves and the BBL should re look at there disciplinary procedures and give these men the justification that they truly deserve.
Apparently some of the schools have written to chairman Roger Clarke to ask for the players' reinstatement. And I do hope these educators rank reading, writing and arithmetic higher than 'standing up to racism' - because a) that's the primary function of a school b) it's a lot easier to stand up to anything if you're not illiterate and innumerate. Sometimes I worry they forget that.

Smashing the Heads of Political Opponents

Sad news ?

or something we'd all like to do (and then watch the video afterwards) ?

Conservatives .... a liberal view

Mad ?

Or evil ?

The Breaking of the English Working Class

An experiment. Open this Mark Steyn piece on demography and Christian hoteliers (it turns out the Muslim lady who accused them was a (Christian apostate) convert).

Then put the cursor over the word 'immigrant' or 'immigration - you'll see it's double underlined.

Don't know about you, but where I am, up pops a picture of a middle-aged cleaning lady of indeterminate ethnicity, along with captions 'You have a Powerful Friend' and 'Want to know more about employee rights at work' ? Click the pic and you end up here - at the Directgov Pay and Rights Helpline.

"Not Getting The Minimum Wage of £5.60 an hour ?"

I can understand a desire among our rulers to recruit, say, dentists or real-time software engineers, although I would prefer to train up our own. But we have kept nearly a million on the dole through the 12 years of this government, while importing people to do the bottom-level jobs that pretty much any of us, no matter how uneducated, can do. Why ?

Jon Cruddas pointed out three years back that the govt "tacitly used immigration to help forge the preferred flexible North American labour market. Especially in London, legal and illegal immigration has been central in replenishing the stock of cheap labour across the public and private services, construction and civil engineering."

Immigrant labour "is the axis for the domestic agenda of the Government".

But it still seems crazy to me to leave people unemployed while importing others (thus raising demand for houses, services - not to mention the demographic challenge) to do the jobs the unemployed Brits should be doing. Why ?

The only answers I can think of are

a) the existence of an unemployed underclass keeps a lot of Guardianistas in employment who might otherwise have to get a proper job

b) it would also be a lot of hassle to get some of the Brit underclass back into work - easier to ignore them and get in compliant (for the moment - just like the Windrush generation and the early Muslim immigrants were) incomers.

c) to drive down wages. Without a couple of million low-wage incomers market forces might make a minimum wage unneccessary. As it is, Labour can say 'look what we've done for you'.

d) to split the working class - at which point racial and cultural divisions are actually quite useful. Low-wage workers are hard enough to organise as it is - even harder when they have nowt in common but their employer.


Any (printable) ideas ?

Monday Night Music - You Heard It Here First

I think Jack Hobbs (alas no relation to the great man) has potential, potuntial and possibly potoontial. And he lists Vaughan Williams as an influence. I'd ignore the bio, which sounds like something you'd read on the back of a 1965 debut EP - maybe that's the idea.

'4 minute turnaround' is the one to check out on the Facebook music player. Confident sound for a first year student. I like the Jeffersonian/Fairportian guitar, and the guy can sing.


UPDATE - just found this - slushy strings, Mr Acker Bilk on clarinet, and the voice, the voice. Hidden away on Youtube, not one of her best ever songs but still magnificent, only 79 views in two months - Sandy Denny singing Full Moon.

The Scots Are Bastards Too (it's not just the Welsh)

Oh, alright - it will actually take some time before the majority of Scots are born outside wedlock, just as it will for the Welsh. But their 2008 births have hit that magic 50% total.

The latest ONS Population Trends stats (pdf) are out. Links to the 'historic' data as far back as 1997 are here.

Headline figure is that :

There were 170,834 births in England and Wales in 2008 to mothers born outside the United Kingdom, accounting for 24 per cent of all live births in England and Wales. This is the highest proportion since the collection of the parents’ country of birth at birth registration was introduced in 1969. The proportion of births to foreign-born women has increased every year since 1990 when it was just under 12 per cent, with a marked rise over the last decade: the proportion of births to mothers born outside the United Kingdom was 14 per cent in 1998 (Figure 7).

The replacement of the English continues apace. Table 1, page 88. 25% of births in England, 10% in Wales, 13% in Scotland - higher than I'd have expected - and 12% in NI.

In 1981, the Census showed that just over six per cent of the UK population had been born abroad. By 2001, this had risen to over eight per cent, and in 2008 people born abroad represented about 11 per cent (6.7 million) of the total UK population (see Figure 3A).

Add the 25% of babies born in England to foreign-born mothers, consider that in 2008 23.3% of English primary schoolkids were 'ethnic minority' - these demographic changes represent transformation on a massive scale.

The bastardy and childlessness figures are interesting. An overwhelming majority of births to the under-24s are outside marriage (fig 5 p88), and while the number of babies born within marriage is increasing, the number outside is increasing faster (fig 4). The Scots have at last caught up with the Welsh, with 50% of births outside marriage, while Wales accelerates into the distance with 56%. England, at 45% is third while NI trails at 39%.

And in Fig 3 p86 you can see the doubling in the number of childless women since the 70s. Be interesting to compare that rising graph against the number of women going into higher education.

Trends in true birth order (see Background Note 3) show that childlessness among women aged 45 has almost doubled over the last two decades.

To see exactly who is having the babies, Pop Trends 137 (Autumn) is probably more useful, as it shows births and fertility by local authority area.

• The highest fertility level among the Government Office Regions of England in 2008, as represented by the TFR, was in the West Midlands where there was an average of 2.09 children per woman. The lowest was in the North East with 1.86. See Explanatory Note 8

• The highest level of fertility among the Government Office Regions of England in 2008, as represented by the GFR, was in London with 69.4 live births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, followed by the West Midlands (66.4). The lowest GFR was in the North East (58.7)

• The London borough of Newham recorded the highest GFR among local authorities in England with 96.5 live births per 1,000 women aged 15–44. The London borough of Barking and Dagenham and the unitary authority of Slough share the second highest GFR of 94.0. The lowest GFR was in Durham county district (39.4)

• Of the local authorities in England, Boston had the highest TFR of 2.81 children per woman, followed by Barking and Dagenham (2.80). The lowest TFR was in Westminster (1.21), followed by Camden (1.26)

I haven't got Excel out on these figures yet, but I'd imagine the scene looks very much as it did in 2006.

A quick Excel sort gives us the following top ten local authorities, ignoring Rutland, where a woman having quads seems to have distorted the figures.

Newham
Blackburn with Darwen
Bradford
Barking and Dagenham
Luton
Oldham
Peterborough
Pendle
Slough
Boston

Merry Christmas - and God bless us, every one.