ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

Computer generated fireworks is good, since that will help keep the Beijing air a bit clean as was promised. Besides most computers come from China anyway so really we are looking at a contemporary development. I checked mine and it only misses a fuse sticking out the back. As far as fake goods is concerned my opinion is Chana produces to sell, not use. You still have a have choice over trinketry. A car you buy English or German for that matter because you rely on it. Winners of Olympic Gold watch out when you bite that medal. If it's fake and you brake a tooth, get it replaced with a solid brand. From what I hear new teeth are also produced commercially these days in, er, China.

All good wishes from

Amsterdam,
Holland

MORE ON JEWS AND GEORGIA

Instead of all this talk about democracy and Georgian people's interests, perhaps the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Newsnight team could ask the Israeli government to comment on the of Jewish military advisors to Georgia and piplelines from oil routes from Azerbaijan and the gas lines from Turkmenistan crossing Georgia to Turkey/Israel, and why Russia disapproves?

Or would that be deemed anti-semitic?

ALL THAT GLISTERS

The dissolving into illusion of the Olympic ideal, is a perfect metaphor for global decline in all the most valuable human attributes that, paradoxically, cannot be measured.
That the winner's gold medal comprises little gold, sums up the whole charade.
If we, in Britain, wish to watch a spectacle of trying too hard, out of sheer desperation to be The Greatest and failing in the attempt, we need no grand event - we have Gordon Brown.

STOP PRESS: BRITISH POT CALLS CHINESE KETTLE BLACK

"Do you admire their guile, or feel, bluntly, cheated?" No more than I feel cheated by recent ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ antics. Whilst we're at it, can we have less of the histrionic tones and images when your reporters are giving accounts of what's happening in the Do ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ officials consider reporting the bare facts too dull?

test

I don't think there is a hope that Russia will allow Georgia to take back S. Ossetia or Abkhazia, either as autonomous regions of Georgia or under direct Georgian rule.

While the USA and the EU are blustering that Russia is not allowed to do that, Russia has just gone in, done what it needed to, blasted the hell out of the Georgian military, and made it impossible for those regions to be anything other than under Russian control.

What exactly could the USA do to Russia? Not a lot to be honest, it would be stupid to use its own troops, all it can do it spread some military hardware in the area, as for the EU, well, winter is coming, and all Putin has to do is threaten to turn off the valves shipping the natural gas that western europe needs to keep warm.

Was I alone in finding Emily Maitlis's rather aggressive anti-Russian stance on this last night a little out of place? Scotland opted out before the Russians had a chance to put their side of the story - but Georgia
did after all attack the bear first of all or
did I get that wrong? My first impression
is that the Georgian president backed by
the US and NATO gambled - and has lost.

I also hear reports that Georgians agree?
Against that background it does seem a little odd to brand Russia as the bad guy
in this particular instance. Their response
is very similar to that of Margaret Thatcher when The Falklands were attacked by the Argies in the 1980's. I opposed the British
response to that provocation - not least because these islands were thousands
of miles from Britain and were colonised
by The Falklands Islands company as the Shackleton Report later confirmed. But I was
in a very small minority on that occasion too
even though the circumstances do seem to be remarkably comparable to recent events in The Caucasus? Is this perhaps evidence that Britain and the US backs oil interests
- end of story - and principle be damned??

ACE work ! Get Peter and Stephen back on that couch for Newsnight Review, say I !

I thought Newsnight was off the mark as regards Georgia. I don't want to see anybody killed but the OSCE had it right in seeking peace and Newsnight talked of winners and losers. How was the West in this? Georgia shelled civilians and the Russians responded and then being Russians went a little over the top to discourage further problems. Ivan The terrible n'stuff. Sadly it will probably work.

---------------------------------------------

Could any of the Newsnight posters be anti-semites? I am sure Jews everywhere would say a Holocaust denier anti-semitic? Never! Why would people say such thing. Crazy how some of the posters manage to mention Jews every other post.

Probably need to meet up with your friends in Rostock huh?

I was really annoyed when the host and the guests were joking about the 2009 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

The facts are there were pre-recorded firework scenes (one or may be two, if you watch the show again). So what is the big deal? Even without these so called β€œartificial” scenes, it is still the best opening ceremony ever.

All I want to say is I am really disappointed with the program. It is right to appeal all the facts. But the way of expressing certain views were really unprofessional.

VOULEZ VOUS PROMENADE?

The Sarkozy WALK! It should be in that barmy exhibition with the running man. Did each leg go to a different school of perambulation? Or is it meant to signal (like: "the pen of my aunt is in the garden")
"The trousers of the President have beaucoup de filling"? Even Snoopy, at his most fulsome, would NOT WALK LIKE THAT!
And this is "Mr Europe" for the foreseeable future. Merde!

I was really annoyed when the Newsnight host and the guests were joking about the 2008 Beijing Olympic Game Opening Ceremony.

The facts are there were pre-recorded firework scenes (one maybe two, if you watch the ceremony again). So what is the big deal? Even without these so called "artificail" scenes, it is still the best opening ceremony ever.

All I want to say is I am really disappointed with the program. I mean, it is right to appeal all the facts. But the way of expressing certain views were really unprofessional!

Here we go again...fakery. Why is it so important for the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ to point out the fakery at the Olympics? Are the events of last year proving so raw that you needed to point out that other also do it? Fakery is wrong no matter who does it. But the Olympics faking was absolutely trivial especially on a day when other more pressing issues are happening. But the fakery of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ was much more serious. There was deception that led to money lost by the licence payer. You can trawl the planet for all the fakery. But none will be as serious as the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ fakery. Still, it was good to see Emily being torn to pieces by the studio guests especially Peter B. Worth the licence fee by itself !

Why doesn't Paul Mason report on how fiat currencies and Central Banks actually work?


Everyone should spend 50 minutes watching the above video - it will open your eyes.

Also too much attention on Obama vs McCain. Why is it that Ron Paul's campaign is not given any air time by the mainstream media?



Look at how he wants to remove the Federal Reserve, and Federal Taxes from US monetary policy - that's a bold and big deal, which would totally transform America for the better, understand why and you'll understand why no Murdoch media controlled outlet will report this.

That's right the ministry of truth doesn't allow such information to be broadcast to the proles! ;)

Does the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ really want to continue to be involved as an irresponsible party to this orwellian nightmare?

#7 neilrobertson

I agree the US has been playing there in Georgia for a decade or more and Bush is .... Bush. But in fairness this seems to be Georgia getting ahead of themselves to try and leverage Nato membership.

If Bush used language like "disproportionate" then he seems to be accepting that as the Russians saw it 2000 civilian deaths or so merited a response. The US hawks are trying to make capital as their proxy screwed up.

But generally I am in full agreement with you.

I was shocked to hear the comments on Newsnight, that having a "pretty" girl mime to the singing of a "less-pretty" girl is no worse than putting make-up on TV interviewees. How must a young girl feel, to be told that she can sing at an event, but is too ugly to be seen, so a pretty girl will be on show miming to her song?

The disclosures of this and the other deception of computer simulated fireworks epitomize the whole sham of this Olympics and expose a sad, hugely-wealthy nation whose totalitarian government clings to power, does not trust its own people and fears loss of face from any public display of imperfection.

These glimpses of falsehood are the tip of the hypocrisy iceberg that is China. A much-persecuted campaigner for human rights in China has said that the Olympics have made the human rights situation worse. Far from bringing liberalisation of the system, the Olympics have pushed the regime to use desperate measures to conceal human rights abuses. This has caused more extreme suppression of pro-democracy activists, as well as more detentions (and ill-treatment) of potential protesters and dissidents.

Also, in constructing the Olympics site, the government has made thousands of poor people homeless in order to bulldoze their homes to make way for the new development. These hopeless people have been beaten and locked away to prevent the world knowing their plight.

What price the Olympic ideal? What price the pretence of the nations involved in the Olympics?

Core Inflation Rate
----------------------

You said core inflation was 1.9% and this was imported inflation .

How does a devalued Sterling effect this ?

I would suggest it makes it worse .

The overall inflation figures are very bad news for the Armed Forces , their promised 1.5% increase in real-terms defence spending could be totally wiped out !

The Bank of England is going to have to support Sterling by increasing interest rates , this might be politically bad for Labour, but if they don't this inflation is going to have a big knock on effect for public finances !

gang of one @ 9:
Semites are a Arabic tribe that came from the period we call the old testement. And some still exist today in and around Israel. The European Jews that settled in the USA/ Israel are not Semites so the term anti-semite would be incorrect. The Arabic jew is treated by his European Israeli fellow Jew as a second class citizen today but I don' t hear many jump to their defense...or see the irony.

What's wrong with faking it in a show? I say Go CHINA!

If we can have Jeremy's smart mouth and Emily's face and body, Newsnight can really put something together. ^^

PB squashed Emily ...

If we erased people because they were ugly then all the "Newsnight beards" should go !
And no more "Imagine" Alan Yentob naked on a chair please !

Radio is new TV for ugly people OK !

The whole programme was spoilt because of Emily Maitriss's hectoring attitude, she reminds me of Thatcher. Her high piched whine '....but that means Russia has got away with it' and ...'why should Russia listen to anyone after this' was all pro Bush rhetoric and not worthy of a Newsnight presenter. Why didn't she mention the guarantees the Bush/ Blair alliance did over Iraq, the invasion by the US over Grenada. There were so many comparisons but Emily chose to ignore them. What did emerge from the 'discussion' is the fact that Russia have had an arms build up on that border for some time but after the sabre rattling by NATO and the EU can she really be blamed for that.

CLEAR THINKING AND STRAIGHT TALK

thegangofone (#9) "Crazy how some of the posters manage to mention Jews every other post."

I suggest you look more closely into why so many people assert that so much of the confict in the world today focuses on Israel and those who back Israel's interests (e.g. AIPAC). This issue tends to dominate the news without many fully appreciating the extent to which it doies so. I suggest you make a start by identifying the dominant ethnic group in NYC after looking at the the city's demographics and considering the statistical over-respresentation of this group in other liberal-democractic European states. Then ask how many other countries in the world have other minority groups (enclaves) which so actively campaign for their own group's interests, recruiting the larger exclave to act in their interests whilst effectively having dual-citzenship and protection from criticism as a 'racial' minority(be this in the 'war on terror' (against Muslims note) or in opposition to an incompatible socio-economic system (the statist 'Axis of Evil' - now the SCO - see Iran vs Georgia/NATO).

If it were any other group, there would be an outcry against this chutzpah and 'internationalism' (or is that 'imperialism/colonisation'?).

REVELATION?

I am no student of history, but did not the biblically-expelled Jews, maintain their identity, through best part of two millennia, by taking a 'them and us' stance vis-a-vis every host nation they 'lodged' in? I judge that policy of aloofness to have brought them phenomenal success in one way and a disaster in another (although they turned that to advantage). In addition, the Jews have an enviable record of scholarship (top of the Nobel Prize league by far).
In light of all this, small wonder they might consider themselves, de facto, leaders or stewards of the world. Perhaps we bumbling, Gentile cretins who have, through centuries of bellicose ineptitude, laid the foundation for much of today's global strife, should stand down and ask this bright, irrepressible, tiny minority-elite to run the world. I think Jehova would settle back in his chair and say: "Job's a good'n."

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I honestly cannot see why my comments on #24 were removed. Surely what I see as truth, is a legitimate comment and should be printed. Those who disagree with it should be free to send their own opinions.

22 I find much that is subjective and purely prejudiced in this writer's posting, but no way would I request that it be removed. She always writes on this subject with prejudice.
In my own comment #24, I stated, that in my humble opinion the tragedy of elephants being slaughtered was a symptom of the Africans' way of life, and complained that their enslavement, at one time, by whites, was no excuse for failures on that continent. I believe my comment was banned because I mentioned that more Africans were enslaved by fellow Africans and arabs than by whites.

THE COST OF NARCISSTIC GRANDIOSITY AND ENTITLEMENT

Barrie (#29) Highly neurotic, Axis II Cluster B (Narcissistic Personailty Disordered, Borderline and Anti-social) individuals and collectives have a lamentable tendency to betwitch and demand their own way at other people's expense. Whether this cluster's behaviours are largely accounted for by genetics or dysfunctional parenting is moot, but one thing we can all be certain of is that the great father created by the Israelites is but a projection/generalisation of lost omnipotence in infancy.

It's notable that how this group exhibits profound, demeaning hostility (often expressed as alternative humour) to other people's 'collectives' (be it church or state) whilst aggressively defending its own. This is clearly pathological, but as liberal-democracies have generally embraced care in the community and an ensuing culture revering narcissistic celebrity, what else can one expect?

This ALWAYS ends in tears.

I left out Histrionic Personality Disorder (sorry for the slip).

#27 JadedJean

You cant it seems get anything right. Barrie's posting was #23 NOT #29.
Frankly my dear, you are just a nut!

YOU MIGHT SAY THAT JADED JEAN

I couldn't possibly comment. Personally, I am inclined to think that anomalous climatic
periods end in tears - all else being secondary.

I FORGIVE EVERYBODY FOR EVERYTHING

How's that for omnipotence?
I forgive JJ for the numerical slip, as it was more than outweighed by the helpless laugh I got from #28!
I forgive Phoenixarisen for misquoting Ghandi, though the Singed-One should, nevertheless, be ashamed.
Finally, I must forgive the Newsnight blogdog all previous annoying teeth-marks and say BRAVO for today's candourous ethos.

Phoenixarisen (#29) Whilst you are clearly correct about the erroneous post number, would you like to tell us what else I've got wrong? Or do you try to make a habit of abusively dismissing substantial points simply by identifying trivial, inconsequential errors (which is probably why you will be deemed to break house rules?). Note that you had no problem at all identifying which post my post was referring to. Deal with the facts.

Barrie (#30) But the (real scientific) consensus appears to be that to the extent that it is in fact happening, it's not anthropogenic, and so we can't do much, if anything about climate change. It's a useful ruse in the argument for nuclear energy, in the energy war generally, and in the battle with emergent markets/economies like China which appears to be running largely on coal at present.

#31 barriesingleton

Your gracious forgiveness is accepted. However, please enlighten me. Ghandi is a figure I greatly admire, but I know of no instance where he called anybody a nut. I do recall Churchill made an extremely witty, but rude remark about him with reference to nakedness.

32 JadedJean

Madam.

You are not a nut., you are an unsuccessful debater.
I checked through your postings, and you have far more comments which have been deemed to break house rules than I do.
Read the following carefully, your own words:
"Or do you try to make a habit of abusively dismissing substantial points simply by identifying trivial, inconsequential errors (which is probably why you will be deemed to break house rules?). "
What a load of drivel you write, people do not get censured for quoting numbers incorrectly.

MODIFIED BRIEF

Sorry JJ. What I meant was: only in an anomalously long period of quiescent, equable climate, can The Ape Confused by Language cock himself up, and defecate in his global nest, to the extreme extent that we have. I never bought the CO2 con. I am an Electric Universe guy - we are wired up to the Universal Mains and might blow any time. 2012 would be nice.

MEA CULPA WATTA NUTTER (Singe-ed One)

Are you saying that 'Give a damn' quote WASN'T Ghandi! And I went to Grammar School. Tsk. Tsk.

#36
barriesingleton

Rhett Butler?
and I went to the local flea pit!
Cheers

NOT A MATTER OF DEBATE

Phoenixarisen (#34) What you say is indeed true, many of my posts being censored, but I can assure you that it is not through my being abusive. I conjecture of course, but I suggest it may have been because in the past, the moderators were far more sensitive about the expression of politically incorrect view, which is not the same thing as abuse at all. For some time I have endeavoured to make the point that much that passes for political correctness is merely Gramsci/Lukacs/Frankfurt School Cultural Marxism aka Trotskyism as is all the fuss about See the external links and decide for yourself.

I'm not much interested in debate, as argument without data is for nefarious rhetoritician/spin-doctors in my experience. Instead, I'm interested in sourcing and sharing demonstrable empirical facts regardless of their palatability. They, as the closest things to truth that we have, tend to speak for themselves in the end.

If perplexed or disturbed, look up the ad hominem and related logical fallacies.

Phoenixarisen #34

Whether or not JJ is s 'successful' debater is niether here nor there. Debating is nothing more than a game, exchanging and defending positions and opinions. It's a waste of time. We should instead be trying to establish truth rather than score points - and you get only one point for picking up on literals.

Barrie #35

Yes 2012 would be nice, no London Olympics,what a relief. I get the idea that you too have but a limited time left on this planet. I fear my personal fuse might go pop a little before then but, on the up side, I don't have to fret about living in the dreadful world everybody seems bent on creating right now. Poor old Peter_Sym will be even angrier reaping that whirlwind.

38 JadedJean

On one thing at least we have common ground. My comments were censored, NOT because I quoted comment numbers incorrectly, but because they were deemed politically incorrect.
The subjects of your comments and mine which were censored are not the same, neither are the races or religions of the people mentioned.
So may we agree that your comments were not rejected for abusive remarks, nor mine because I pointed out a minor error.

39 NewFazer
I concede and stand with head bowed. But in the end, isn't life just one brief game?

'BOILING AWAY INTO SPACE'

Now I DO know where that quote comes from: 'The Restaurant at the End of The Universe'. Hang in there NewFazer, there should be quite a light-show in 2012. If you have never seen a galactic-scale plasma display, it will blow your boots off. Keep watching the skies (until the UV and gamma get you!) If it doesn't happen you can die with your boots on.

Re #23. Barrie Singleton.
....oh yes you flippin are my lad.

Re #22. JJ.
Awesome. Please say you won't ever unpick my posts. I'd rather fight a Glasgow drunk.

NO MEMORY HOLES IN (WE'RE STILL BRITISH - JUST)?

Phoenixarisen (#40) I think we can agree that BlogDog sometimes works in mysterious ways. As I recall, Winston Smith's epiphany came whilst deciding what to send down the Memory Hole (although there was a femme fatale at work too). It must be a stressful job working for the Ministry of Truth, and I guess BlogDog Winston, like the rest of us, has 'his' off-days.

WALKING TALL

Barrie (#11) Perhaps it's the ? I've remarked before on this most common of all human genetic autosomal recessive anomalies - Non-Classic Adrenal Hyperplasia (a chromosome 6p21 polymorphism) which has, amongst other phenotypic expessions, that of reduced stature (perhaps through estrogenisation) is most common in the Ashkenazi, with 1/3 carrying one polymorphism and 1/27 two. I have long suspected that this may contribute (slightly) to bias brain gender and thus reverse the normal but opposite verbal-spatial tilt seen between the sexes. This would have had its advantages at one time in terms of verbal/symbolic fluency/dexterity, but it also has its costs.

It's all very good natured round here today - how nice!

Pheonixarisen #40

Alas, I have spent far too much of my life just playing while, behind my back, the evil ones seek to destroy my culture and wreck my world. JJ tells me I should take life more seriously but it is difficult as I am one of nature's dilettantes. So much to do, so little time...

Barrie #41

A fellow HHGG fan! I noticed your allusion to nobody having to be nailed to anything last Eastra. End of the universe in 2012 then? See you at Milliways. Bit of a light show you think? Boots on or off I doubt I have time left to make any difference, but one must try.

Oh no, it's deja vu all over again.

My personal favourite: the searing analysis in comment 16 on the clearly pathological Bee Movie:

/blogs/newsnight/2007/12/friday_14_december_2007.html

JadedJean, read it and reflect on your prescience. Pathological bees will be our undoing.

45 JadedJean

I do not approve of preconceived notions, but please advise me if I am correct in thinking you are probably interested in phrenology.

BY GEORGE SHE'S GOT IT!!

Oh JJ! Swoon. I have no idea what your post #45 means but shall defend to the death your right to post it.
It's the Sarko-cathartic pseudo-erotic neo-cubanistic pedophilia (that's love of feet BlogDog) that is giving me good vibrations.
Formidable!

16 sparkson

Rereading this post lead me to reflect upon a recent conversation I had with a charming young lady. She mentioned how awe-making and splendid the opening of the Olympics was and asked what I thought. I told her that I hadn't watched. Shocked, she asked me why. I explained that I found it too reminiscent of the 1939 Olympics in Munich. "But surely there is nothing terrible, no racial persecution like the Nazis were giving the Jews?" the young lady replied in horror. I paused a moment and looked at her clear, questioning eyes, almost reluctant to destroy her innocence. "If you were a Tibetian, you might believe otherwise," was my sad reply.

STOP PRESS - JJ GIVEN THE BUMPS!

Now who was it said "I pre-conceive - therefore I think"? I bet it was one of those Phase III delta ZZZ Nobel Prize smartypantses (smartypantae?).

50
I meant to write 1936, typing too fast!

ARE PEOPLE WITHOUT PRE-CONCEIVED THOUGHTS AIR-HEADS?

Phoenixarisen (#48) No, but I have been known to describe the cognitive scientsts' abuse of fMRIs and CATs as essentially 'phrenology-with-lights'.

Incidentally, without pre-conceived ideas, how could one possibly learn anything new? How could one test what one thought?

Look up 'priors' in Bayes Theorem.

53 JadedJean

Aren't you the clever one! Now everybody will love you because I've followed your advice and looked up Bayes Theorem. It appears so interesting, that I'm coming off this blog and will stop irritating so many people for at least a few hours whilst I do some serious reading.

'CONCEPTION: ORIGIN OR BEGINNING'

I'm not going to play either. I took a look at the theorem JJ - now I remember why I hated school. I am going to disallow the word 'preconception' as a sort-of non-sequitur. I will, however, permit 'pre-concept'. And while I am on: let no one be in any doubt that the word 'usage' is bogus. In all its usage it means - and can be replaced by - 'use'.