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| Politics, PR and hack philosophy from A Guy Called Donald. But definitely no blogging. Probably. | |
20.12.05Gone feeding, non-denominationallyI'm having a break to celebrate the Winterval in the traditional way: by drinking my way to a stomach ulcer and buying my two-year-old daughter enough moulded plastic to drain the Caspian Sea reserves. I'll leave you with this...You are cordially invited to a public carol service in Parliament Square at 6pm on Wednesday the 21st of December 2005. This inclusive service will contain both Christian and secular verse, and is expected to last no more than an hour. Candles and song sheets will be made available, with donations going to Medical Aid for Iraqi Children. Please note that if you attend this carol service, it will classify as a spontaneous demonstration (of faith, hope, joy and/or religious tolerance) and there is a possibility that you will be cautioned or arrested under Section 132 of the Serious and Organised Crimes and Police Act 2005. Click here for more information. 13.12.05Ill... again... and a topical news briefingThere's going to be a pause again, because I'm still ill. Though I'd be a whole lot iller if I'd been sitting in my old office at 6 a.m. a couple of days ago: the huge window on the left of my desk had an unimpeded view over the car park to this place. Still, the glazers (no, not him) will be happy. On the even brighter side, I can't believe this lot's head office is in great shape. Which just goes to show that every dark cloud, even a poisonous black colloidal soup, has a silver lining.Back soon. 9.12.05All is not well with the Lords and torture?I'm glad someone is reading these judgments rather than just believing what pops up on Channel 4 News. (Okay, gimme a break, I've been ill.) Brian:The law lords’ judgment on the inadmissibility of evidence obtained by torture, under Bingham’s chairmanship, has added yet more lustre to his record and reputation. It’s not in any way his fault that by a majority of four to three his colleagues insisted, against his advocacy, on imposing a test for determining whether information is likely to have been derived from torture which will almost certainly negate the practical effects of the judgment. In the general euphoria that has greeted the judgment, this seems to have been largely overlooked. He's got a point, one that hinges on the test imposed by the Lords by a 4-3 majority for assessing whether evidence presented to SIAC and elsewhere is admissible: ...the test that should be applied by SIAC must direct its inquiry to what has happened in the past. Is it established, by means of such diligent inquiries into the sources that it is practicable to carry out and on a balance of probabilities, that the information relied on by the Secretary of State was obtained under torture? If that is the position, article 15 [of the UN Convention Against Torture] requires that the information must be left out... There's definitely a pessimistic interpretation of this. Brian, agreeing with Lord Bingham, envisions British intelligence refusing to run down every scrap of evidence for fear of imperilling relations with foreign security services. The "balance of probabilities" also appears to impose a strict requirement on defence counsel, who will be without any ability to establish where that balance lies. MI5 could claim that a piece of crucial evidence may "possibly" have been obtained via torture, and it still be admitted on the "probability" test. Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't think either is satisfactory for a wriggle. The first, imperilment of inter-intelligence relations, certainly fails the test of practicability imposed by the judgment: "inquiries into the sources that it is practicable to carry out". From the OED: practicable adj. 1 that can be done or used. 2 possible in practice. Practicability, then, is a well-defined and strict requirement that doesn't admit excuses that enquiries might damage relationships with foreign security services. If they can be done, are possible in practice, they are required by the judgment. Second, on the balance of probabilities: I'd have thought it probable that any evidence provided to British intelligence by, say, Karimov's thugs was obtained by torture. In such a case, I suspect defence counsel would find the balance of probabilities in their favour, all other things equal. This obviously needs testing, but if I'm right, the requirement mandated in the 4-3 majority would collapse into the one originally proposed by Lord Bingham: If SIAC is unable to conclude that there is not a real risk that the evidence has been obtained by torture, it should refuse to admit the evidence. Otherwise it should admit it. Perhaps I'm being over-optimistic. Doubtless New Labour's drones will try and wring the most illiberal interpretation possible out of yesterday's ruling. I agree with Brian: another clarification, probably at European level, is likely. 8.12.05Killer avian death flu...... or something like that, is the reason for no posting here. The hiatus will continue until I have the razor wire removed from my throat and ears. Ta.5.12.05Environmentalism and the anti-war movementAt DML, Meaders compares Saturday's global climate change gathering with the anti-war movement:We mobilised, in unprecedented numbers, the most oppressed sections of the British working class alongside traditional working class organisations, and hundreds of thousands of previously quiescent citizens. They were brought together in opposition to a Labour government bent on waging war and making every available appeal to national security, patriotism and party loyalty to enforce its line. This was (and is) a terrifying prospect, if you are of the opinion that politics should be left to men in suits in Westminster. The rest of us think it is much too important for that. I suspect, though, that there's a huge and critical difference between this and the anti-war movement: in 2003, that cause was winnable. The climate change battle probably isn't, not in the conventional sense anyway. It's too complex, too contested. It requires no less than a revolution in the organization of global business and politics, and the time-horizon is way too short. Climate change (perhaps even catastrophic climate change) appears inevitable. Major City insurance companies, for one, are already treating it as such in their long-range business modelling. Still, that doesn't mean the marching is in vain. There are at least two good reasons for the movement to continue: 1. They can affect the shape of the debate. The political frame. Though hardcore environmentalism has always been a niche pastime, the regulatory environment of Western politics has greened markedly since the 1970s. Progress on the global problem may be unattainable (who really thinks the Chinese will listen to anyone?), but subsidised microgeneration may become as commonplace as recycling. That will be thanks to the climate change lobby. 2. Protesting now positions the "movement" as having been "right all along" when the Gulf Stream diverts and New York floods. The marching itself is the tactic (okay, a little Realpolitikal for an idealist's taste). The anti-capitalist agenda loses a battle but wins the war. It will have cost half the planet, but the twenty-second century might just be a socialist one. But don't quote me on that. 1.12.05Education, phonics and the free-market fairytaleVia Scott, one of the Right's plays from the big book of fake reasons to privatize education is about to be scrubbed:All infant and primary schools will need to tear up the Government's [literary strategy] advice over the past seven years and prepare for a new framework. There seems little doubt that structured (or "synthetic") phonics offer the best approach to teaching young readers. So, moves away from this approach towards "whole-word" reading or context recognition were surely a mistake. So far, we're agreeing. But to find out why it's a fake reason for privatizing education, you have to read on: [Report author Jim Rose] endorses the "synthetic phonic" method which was rejected by the Department for Education, but kept alive by hundreds of schools which have ignored the Government's advice. So, schools already have a great degree of freedom. Literally hundreds of schools chose to ignore the government's advice on whole-word reading vs. phonics. How would a "free market" in education make any difference? Will the government stop giving advice on teaching methods and policy? Hardly likely, and totally irresponsible if they did. In fact, reading the full text of the interim report (funnily enough, one bit that didn't make the Telegraph), it seems that government medicine isn't always laced with hemlock: It is unlikely that the prominence now given to phonic work and the most effective ways of teaching it would have taken place without the stimulus of the [the government's] National Strategy. Further, as that report explains, robust monitoring and assessment systems need to be put in place for phonics teaching to be effective. Bureaucracy, in other words — exactly the opposite of the privatizers' remedy. But this is a false dichotomy anyway. Are free markets any less susceptible to fanciful fashions and speculative bubbles than government departments? *cough* dotcom *cough* So where exactly is the problem here that free marketization in education is going to solve? Harkeresque journal entry...... that reads: New Blood required. Over to Justin:If you run a political blog of whatever flavour that was created after August 1 this year or would like to recommend one, please email chickyogATgmailDOTcom before midday on Friday December 9. I’ll then present the list both here [The Sharpener] and on my own blog. As a further incentive to potential third party recommenders, other than the rosey glow of a good deed well done, I’ll also give a hat tip link to your blog. Right-oh. Sounds like a grand idea. Apart from the obvious (who I guess doesn't strictly qualify), I'll be recommending this guy, who I found the other day, and this lot, who doubtless have no need of the plug. Run along now. |
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