Liberal Burblings

Archive for December, 2009

It’s taken me over a year but I have finally finished “To kill a mocking bird” by Harper Lee. It’s a charming book which takes you to a different world. I regard it as a major achievement that I have finally finished it! Now I am on to Ted Kennedy’s ‘True Compass’.

@kerrymp (Kerry McCarthy) has been tweeting about “Back the ban” which is a campaign to keep the ban on hunting with hounds when they actually kill mammals with their teeth.

While I support the League against Cruel Sports, I will not be backing this campaign because it is a Labour one and I am uncomfortable with the party tag.

I happen to believe that the current situation is an excellent compromise, because it allows people to exercise their sport while outlawing the most vile part of the exercise.

If the Tories are stupid enough to repeal the law, then so be it. I have learnt that, over the years, so much hot air has been wasted on this stupid issue that it is not worth wasting any more on it. I can even remember a heated debate about it at my sixth form debating society – and that was 33 years ago!

Actually written on Christmas Day!

It’s been a bit strange to see St Alban’s tower, Wood Street, London EC2 featuring in two major screen productions over the last few days. First of all it was in the last episode of Spooks on BBC1. Then yesterday we saw it in St Trinian’s 2 where it was featured as the headquarters of a Secret Society led by the character played by David Tennent.

It’s a very unusual and wonderful place. It was a church until it was bombed in the war, then demolished leaving only the tower, which is now a private dwelling on a traffic island in the middle of a busy street, surrounded by vast modern glass and steel office blocks.

You can see it snuggled up against the other buildings on Multimap’s Bird’s Eye here.

This morning BBC News 24 had an assemblage of camcorder footage of the attack on the Pope. It’s clear that his security was relatively good, in that, a second or so after the lady managed to get over the barrier, a security man in a suit ran at her and grabbed her very effectively round the midriff and was successfully pulling her to the ground (in a move any rugby fly-half would have proud of) as she managed to reach out a hand and grab the Pope (only just mind). Bear in mind that the Pope was wearing lots of heavy cloaks, which would have given quite a lot for the lady to grab at. The heavy cloaks and, no doubt, heavy crook he was carrying, must have added to his weight, thereby making it relatively easy to pull him to the ground.

The Pope did well to carry on with the service. I hope he’s OK and I hope the elderly cardinal, who sustained a broken leg, gets well soon.

One point: The Vatican were very quick last night to say that the lady was mentally deranged. It’s strange that they were able to say that so quickly, but then again, it seems that she made an attempt to get over a barrier to have a go at the Pope a year ago.

The US Senate has finally passed their Health care reform bill by 60 votes to 39. Particular congratulations go to the 92 year old Senator Byrd, who obviously voted – at about 7 o’clock in the morning.

The New York Times puts it very well:

If the two chambers can strike a deal, as seems likely, the resulting product would vastly expand the role and responsibilities of the federal government. It would, as lawmakers said repeatedly in the debate, touch the lives of nearly all Americans… If the bill becomes law, it would be a milestone in social policy, comparable to the creation of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965.

Now comes the weird bit for British minds, used to the same bill going back and forward between the Commons and the Lords. The two US chambers have now passed their own separate two bills. They’ll now have to get together in a huddle and do a sort of “mash up” or reconciliation of the two bills, so they become one bill which they can both pass and send to the Prez for signature.

I hope you have a very happy seasonal break and a good New Year (you can tell I’ve had my diversity training. Psssst – Happy Christmas!).

As a little bit of seasonal nonsense, especially if you have young children around, try this wonderful site from NORAD which tracks Santa using high-tech satellites “positioned in geo-synchronous orbit”, Google Earth etc etc as he delivers his presents all over the world on Christmas Eve.

Sadly, my offspring is now rather too old to particularly appreciate this web site, but the memory of when the tracking of Santa caused joy and amazement is still precious.

The website relates the wonderful tale of how this traditional tracking was born:

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s Christmas Eve flight.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.