tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88198838171098687162012-01-30T19:14:41.957ZMy name's Dan Vevers, and I'm a student, in Glasgow, who thinks more than necessary, possibly, and enjoys politics, economics, philosophy, music and tennis. Welcome to my blog, a vehicle I shamelessly claim for my own pleasure, therapy and abjectly average opinion-making.Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-65218135297366723102010-03-05T20:17:00.002Z2010-03-05T20:26:35.787Z

The cunt's actually going to worm his way out of this?"Aww, well aye, I did pay for Iraq, but I didnae know it wis all lies at the time like, you ken I wis only the SECOND most powerful man in the country at the time, not the first? I just gave my good pal Tony, who I always loved and trusted, the benefit of the doubt, like I usually did on matters, particularly those of life and death. I just

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-85527909006414540012010-03-05T19:55:00.004Z2010-03-05T20:03:30.937Z

The Nameless Libertarian in quality form, describing a recent book by a Labour PPC on why to vote for her excuse of a party, citing several luminous celebrity endorsements such as BONO!!! (obviously) and JO BRAND!!! (oh isn't Brand's shitty brand of shit comedy so wonderfully endearing, dry and quintessentially British; she must know about electoral politics, I bet she could tell me all about

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-49259718477759173892010-03-04T23:32:00.003Z2010-03-04T23:56:53.150Z

Apparently Mugabe would be voting for the Tories in our upcoming General Election, if he could."We have a better chance with (British Conservative leader) David Cameron than with Brown."The fact notwithstanding, Mr Mugabe, that I think you have as much a chance at bettering your situation with David Cameron as we in Britain do, you should really consider poor Gordon Brown's feelings.He has

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-20191444316090232162010-03-02T14:58:00.011Z2010-03-02T16:48:51.401Z

Some of you may be wondering where on Earth I've been. Most of you probably won't have been. Some of you who read this blog probably are unsurprised by my sporadic absences, although 9 months so far tops the lot.It's been 9 months since my last post.I wish I could tell you I went to travel the world and try local delicacies we consider in this country to be housepets. I wish I'd been doing that.I

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-76364059396138389602009-05-24T15:54:00.002+01:002009-05-24T16:06:28.427+01:00

As far as MP's expenses go, it is very easy to fall into the toxic, negative viewpoint, that "they're all it" - they're all corrupt bastards with their snouts in the trough.But for all of us railing against the lack of integrity in our Parliament, it is important to maintain a level of honesty ourselves, and appreciate and acknowledge that there is a whole host of MPs who are doing the best they

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-29643893848469096652009-05-22T13:51:00.002+01:002009-05-22T13:59:55.102+01:00

Via Diary of a Geek in Oxfordshire, I found this rather entertaining:"The First Five-Year Plan will focus on stabilising Britain for the future, and is to include the following key points:The immediate removal of Sterling from all Exchange mechanisms;The immediate and complete nationalisation of all private enterprise, to reduce and eventually eliminate Government debt;The elimination of

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-23691413860002643072009-05-22T13:34:00.003+01:002009-05-22T13:51:13.649+01:00

Peter Schiff talks engagingly about the stock market, bonds, and the dollar:H/T Lew Rockwell

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-3056188805051116532009-05-22T13:22:00.003+01:002009-05-22T13:34:14.900+01:00

Our American cousins seem to have gone a bit doolally over the supposed massive showdown between Barack Obama and former Lord of the Sith Dick Cheney, as they supposedly battle it out by each doing speeches on national security within minutes of the other.The gist of Darth Cheney's speech was more or less:"We need to be able to torture and send to permanent, illegal detention facilities anyone

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-74402513232220012122009-05-20T19:08:00.004+01:002009-05-20T19:33:29.928+01:00

I can't be bothered analysing what a disgusting, illiberal, socialist, fascist, racist, fucking Nazi society of plebs, paedophiles and slimy wankers that make up the team behind the BNP are - I may get into that another day, but there's a good chance that when I do it will be the most abusively foul-mouthed, crude post this blog has ever seen, because there aren't words to describe how much I

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-66014569563322305912009-05-19T14:51:00.002+01:002009-05-19T15:00:06.000+01:00

As readers even remotely aware of my political persuasions can probably guess, I'm not remotely inclined to our Speaker Michael Martin, and am in no way sad to see him go.That said, watching his statement on the box, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for our Mick. I do understand the implicit difficulties in having a Speaker who can't actually really Speak, but at the same time, why is one man

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-46983700027959329622009-05-14T01:43:00.002+01:002009-05-14T01:51:55.919+01:00

It's the LOST season finale tonight! I'm so ridiculously excited that I am going to watch it live, streamed in from the US, beginning at 2am and continuing until 4.I don't usually talk about much else besides current affairs here, but I thought that, in light of my effervescing excitement at this televisual prospect, which is, as I write, a paltry fifteen minutes away, I would share it with you,

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-26246955753907547732009-05-14T01:02:00.008+01:002009-05-14T01:27:28.667+01:00

So deflation was a load of old cods-bollocks? Yes siree.The real risk, like I've always said, is inflationary depression - like stagflation, but really bad. But until the mainstream politicos and economic "experts" get their act together, the rest of us can sit back and try and glean some sort of dark amusement from the continuing disprovals of mainstream economic theories, as the economy slowly

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-88942421210327752532009-05-14T00:38:00.002+01:002009-05-14T00:55:25.361+01:00

As a French student, who will be going there as part of my degree in not long over a year's time, it is good to learn that, despite the fact that their President is a narcissistic moron, they sometimes come up trumps, as I see via Guido:"France has just cut booze and restaurant sales tax from 19.6% to to 5.5%. Booze taxes are already reasonable in France, this makes going out even more reasonable

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-32923287499863163492009-05-13T23:56:00.003+01:002009-05-14T00:38:10.221+01:00

You may have (though probably not) noticed a pointed quietness from yours truly on the issue of MP's expenses. Believe me - this is not because I have any reservations about calling out the trough-snuffling MPs for what they are: corrupt, and unfit for public office.I'm just immune to caring about it. I really just - don't - give - a monkey's. And admittedly, this is probably A Bad Thing.But it

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-53098147886611639972009-05-06T17:15:00.002+01:002009-05-06T17:33:13.601+01:00

Mark Steel is on rather good form in today's Independent, on the New Labour car-crash, and their panicked attempts to "re-engage" with us:"It's as if a builder had a discussion with you that went: "I have to accept that the bond between us has been fractured in these difficult times, which is why I'd like this opportunity to reflect on the many positive aspects of our work." "You blew

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-65972625935699111732009-05-06T16:24:00.003+01:002009-05-06T16:28:13.349+01:00

Via Dan Hannan, the Centre for European Reform has released a report which summarises the state of our State as such:"Britain will have Scandinavian levels of taxation and American levels of public services and social welfare." Well if that doesn't just knock the smile off your face, eh?Best of both worlds.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-26912839617490119852009-05-06T15:24:00.004+01:002009-05-06T15:54:22.964+01:00

I'm just watchinga clip from today's PMQ's, where David Cameron is asking the Gorgon about thee Hazel Blears "Youtube if you want to" article, and why she is still in the Cabinet.Now, I can understand why the Gorgon does not fancy the idea of answering this question - but it is a legitimate question nonetheless. He's a friggin politician - he doesn't have to answer it truthfully or concisely; in

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-63028881533187310912009-05-06T14:29:00.002+01:002009-05-06T14:36:26.147+01:00

Tell the government to b*gger off with their ID friggin cards, by not volunteering for one.If they really want us to have ID cards then they can impose them on us by force, and end this sad facade that, in the end, we have any say in the matter. I, for one, will burn mine and piss in its ashes.Tell them where to go, Manchester.I suppose the title of this post should really be British Nationals of

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-53152497652933897722009-05-06T14:18:00.002+01:002009-05-06T14:25:57.657+01:00

Thank God they've brought in a Swine Flu Tsar, Ian Dalton, to deal with this ever-deepening threat to all of humanity:"The appointment came as the number of UK cases of the H1N1 virus reached 28."AAAARRRGH, 28? That's nearly one two-millionth of the population! We need a serious Tsar for serious Swine Flu."Ian Dalton, currently chief executive of NHS North East, will become national director for

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-40174841605434745872009-05-06T12:56:00.006+01:002009-05-06T13:47:50.410+01:00

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know of my derision for Keynesians, and that I find the fact that the theories they hold so dear to are currently in prominence throughout the world's corridors of power deeply disturbing.I've said this before and I'll say it again - history proves you can't spend your way out of a deep recession/depression. And reinflation may work in a shallower

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-81207410009112469072009-05-05T20:56:00.003+01:002009-05-05T21:13:30.135+01:00

Via DK, I see our Home Secretary is doing her clenched-teeth best to stand behind the Gorgon:"Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has become the latest cabinet minister to come to Gordon Brown's defence, amid continuing speculation about his leadership.She said he was "right" for the country..."Nothing bugs me more than these sort of inane comments. We are supposed to live in a democracy - therefore the

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-9606802141371505692009-04-30T23:35:00.002+01:002009-05-01T00:03:35.248+01:00

Not one to foment panic, the World Health Organisation has tried to gently reassure us all that:"ALL OF HUMANITY IS UNDER THREAT!!!!!!!"Now it would be terribly embarrassing for me to downplay the risks of swine flu and then die from it in the coming months along with a fifth of the world's population, but come on, really ... is there any need for this alarmism when at present, in eleven

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-41702426607427859842009-04-27T21:46:00.027+01:002009-04-27T23:26:43.895+01:00

... let's get the Gorgon outta there! If you need to be reminded why Gordon Brown and his band of Nu-Labour swine should have been removed from office yesterday, allow me to sum up:Iraq: lies lies lies, and a million Iraqis dead - the UK's involvement bankrolled by the Gorgon. Civil liberties and personal privacy: think of 42 days; of complicity in US torture; think of ID cards and expansive

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-63919196172576207832009-04-27T18:47:00.006+01:002009-04-27T21:41:03.158+01:00

CNN correspondent Walter Rodgers has written an excellent article regarding the dangerous counterproductivity of potential airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities:"Israel has acted unilaterally to squash a perceived nuclear threat before. In 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin sent fighter jets to knock out Iraq's "Osirak" nuclear reactor. Israel claimed that Saddam Hussein was on the verge

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-72935002122968289172009-04-22T20:00:00.003+01:002009-04-22T22:19:57.058+01:00

The little gloss that remained on the New Labour project was stripped away by today's budget. I've always thought Alistair Darling looked like a seagull, and as seagulls are prone to doing, today he has shat all over us.Apparently, gambling on rapid economic recovery by 2010, he has hiked up taxes on fuel, booze, fags, and upped income tax for high earners to 50%.The reality: the government

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-63164423650314568182009-04-21T02:02:00.003+01:002009-04-21T02:46:18.743+01:00

Fresh climate scepticism is afoot across the globe, from distinguished scientists to prominent public figures. Let's go through some of them them.Freeman Dyson, professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, on climate computer models: "I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. The models solve the equations of fluid dynamics, and they do a very good

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-76513080203233834152009-04-21T00:00:00.001+01:002009-04-21T00:03:57.913+01:00

That's it, Chancellor?Far, far too little; far, far, far too late.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-45349117361359742612009-04-20T23:42:00.002+01:002009-04-20T23:53:41.687+01:00

Loud YAAAAWWWWWNNN.George Osborne: NO MORE SMEARS! : -"AN INCOMING Conservative government would remove the sleaze culture from Downing Street left by the e-mail scandal involving a prime ministerial aide, shadow chancellor George Osborne vowed yesterday."Yadda yadda yadda, bla bla bla.I'm genuinely curious: does anyone, a single person on this planet, seriously believe that the sleaze culture

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-41319571467517154212009-04-20T23:06:00.004+01:002009-04-20T23:23:08.764+01:00

The Libertarian Party UK has officially launched its South East branch.I applaud the hard work of our South East lot and wish Richard Williams, Jenny Scott-Thompson and Rob Waller the best of luck.We're looking for candidates for local elections and PPCs for the General Election when it comes - if it sounds like something you'd like to do, e-mail us at contact@lpuk.org. Or you can donate here.As

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-68625402191172345052009-04-20T22:33:00.002+01:002009-04-20T23:06:28.747+01:00

My pet theory is that the BNP would have nowhere near the amount of political traction and publicity they have if it wasn't for Labour ministers repeatedly talking about them to the media.That said, a new study has come out saying the BNP's gains are real, via People's Republic of South Devon:"The British National Party has grown more rapidly than any other in 21st-century Britain, and is on the

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-79184549186455336412009-04-20T15:34:00.004+01:002009-04-20T22:31:22.599+01:00

There's something almost cute about the optimism Simon Wolfson, chief exec of Next PLC, writing in today's Times, has for the UK economy."Moderation in print is harder than it looks. So an article suggesting that things are not as bad as the gloomsters would have us believe, without saying the recession is over, is a real challenge. But that is my view. The recession will still take a while to

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-70672016949287831222009-04-19T00:52:00.003+01:002009-04-19T14:31:16.039+01:00

But what the hell, the Downfall spoofs just keep on coming, and after all this time they're still quite funny. Now Damian McBride's got one too.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-39988722161027274462009-04-19T00:46:00.002+01:002009-04-19T00:52:36.201+01:00

I honestly don't mean this maliciously, but there are some real shockers in Iain Dale's top 100 songs so far - see here and here.A darn good giggle, it has to be said. In his defence, there is some Radiohead and Dave Matthews Band, and the pedigree of music may improve as he goes through his top 50.Still - hahaha.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-39458880570217631802009-04-19T00:22:00.008+01:002009-04-19T00:40:55.496+01:00

"Aw fuck, am I fucked?" As Don Corleone says to Tom Hagen in The Godfather: "But I didn't know until this day that it was Barzini all along." Except replace "Barzini" with "Ed Balls", because rumours are surfacing from a "Downing Street whistleblower" that Ed Balls is the nasty little shit behind this entire Smeargate scandal. Guido has more for us tomorrow on Smeargate: the sequel. Who else is

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-88493213842241073262009-04-02T12:18:00.002+01:002009-04-02T13:14:37.533+01:00

Can this in the FT be true?:"The scale of the debt the government is raising in the next two years: £350bn. That is more debt bequeathed to its successor than the total borrowed by successive rulers and governments of Britain between 1691 and 1997, the year Labour was elected.”Three hundred and fifty billion. And the OECD say we're going to recover quicker than most? Are they high?Get your

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-59409134012114961472009-04-02T12:11:00.002+01:002009-04-02T12:18:54.161+01:00

The always excellent Nameless Libertarian:"What I am reading this morning is that the police tried to help a dying man, and were pelted with bottles for their trouble. Fucking outrageous. It just goes to show how hate filled, nihilistic and unthinking (some of) these protestors are.There is so much wrong with our society today, so much to scream, shout and complain about and so much to fight

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-15718249109870195952009-04-02T11:44:00.003+01:002009-04-02T12:02:43.941+01:00

Via Cynical Chatter, I see that our Minister for Europe and class A douche Caroline Flint has "read some of it but not all of it.""It" being the EU's Lisbon Treaty.Now, I'm no expert, but surely, as an elected legislator (why, voters of Don Valley, goddammit why?!) and Minister for Europe, one of her prime functions should be carefully reading major legislation from the EU? The Lisbon Treaty is

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-13055019184094228922009-04-02T11:32:00.004+01:002009-04-02T11:43:15.531+01:00

Day one of the Adsense experiment gave me a profit of 95 cents (or pence, I'm not entirely 100% on that), from 2 people clicking on the ads.Come on guys, what the fuck?! What is this, LabourList? I know I have more than 2 readers ... I think. Get clicking, I've got rent to pay next week. I thought this would be a friggin goldmine. 95 cents (or pence)? Once rampant inflation sets in, I won't be

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-16168265197045791892009-04-02T09:52:00.007+01:002009-04-02T11:25:09.136+01:00

Edmund Conway - allegedly an "economics editor"; in truth, a moron. And now in one single opinion page, we go from a good Telegraph writer to a total clueless moron writing about the G20 summit:"But whatever their rhetoric, the leaders meeting in London today know that a breakdown in the G20 would be the surest way of consigning the world to a depression far greater in scale and misery than the

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-52715714606078873872009-04-02T09:18:00.005+01:002009-04-02T09:47:01.142+01:00

It's always refreshing to read some economic sense and truth in one of our national newspapers. Iain Martin nails it in a great article in today's Telegraph:""This is not a Great Depression," said Obama, and he is right to emphasise that the economic crisis is not preordained to become one, even if global industrial output is collapsing and world trade is atrophying. But it will easily become

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-57330901565849893042009-04-01T07:55:00.002+01:002009-04-01T08:00:38.674+01:00

Regular readers may have noticed I have "monetized" my blog, opening it up to Google Adsense.You may think I'm a sell-out. Actually, I'm an entrepreneurial free marketeer, whore for capitalism, and as such I think you'll find my monetizing of my blog is entirely inkeeping with everything I've ever said here.More to the point, I thought the prospect of potential profit might encourage me to be

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-84523877074104319862009-04-01T07:18:00.003+01:002009-04-01T07:22:05.017+01:00

Let's hope so. Were it to be a hit, it could wake a lot of people up.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-44237707206180040522009-04-01T06:15:00.004+01:002009-04-01T06:37:50.719+01:00

I despair: why is the North Korean regime so clinically obsessed with threatening its neighbours with war, like, I don't know, every second day? Are the daily gruel rations spiked with a shitload of cocaine or something?South Korea must be pleased though - for once they're getting a break. This time it's Japan getting threatened:"North Korea’s government vowed to wage war against Japan if

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-1871184898760973402009-03-31T22:12:00.005+01:002009-03-31T22:27:27.702+01:00

Via OH, I've garnered news of a pro-capitalist anti-statist counter-protest tomorrow - I only wish I could join them.It's brilliant, in the face of fusty, drug-fuelled, clueless anarchists and anti-capitalists, that someone is standing up for reason, common sense, and sound economics.The protest group writes:"The mixed economy has failed. This crisis is the fault of regulation (qua regulation;

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-79005275094520104432009-03-31T21:25:00.005+01:002009-03-31T22:01:06.738+01:00

King Leonidos in the movie 300, to the invading Persian "God-King" Xerxes:"The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant."The winner of this month's DUDE extraordinaire prize, awarded for excellence in the services of liberty, can only be the one and only Daniel Hannan, for his poised and yet barnstorming three-minute critique of Gordon Brown during our dour PM's trip to the European

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-33191265585674119672009-03-31T21:00:00.005+01:002009-03-31T22:04:04.953+01:00

... about the futility of this G20 Summit. We were told this summit would herald the beginning of a new financial model for the 21st century, Bretton Woods stylee.What is becoming clearer is that our leaders at home and abroad have neither the vision or inclination to bring about the sort of collaborative action we've had promised by serial delusional Gordon Brown.Now President Sarkozy has

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-83124871542464039602009-03-31T13:26:00.003+01:002009-03-31T13:35:52.045+01:00

It's certainly a more novel and interesting idea for fixing the global economy than the various fiscal stimuli and "co-ordinated global action" we've had to hear about day after day: the Russkies are calling for a partial restoration of the Gold Standard to "uphold discipline" in the financial system.Personally, I like it, mainly because I hate Fractional Reserve Banking and paper money so much,

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-28592075259373763352009-03-31T12:51:00.003+01:002009-03-31T13:07:43.192+01:00

Not, I fear, until he is ousted as Prime Minister. Gordon Brown has gone one-up on his idiotic call for "markets with morals" - now we need "markets with family values." What in good gracious Graceland are markets with morals, first? Never mind your markets with family values; you never even explained the former, never mind the latter.The truth is, Gordon, what you want aren't "markets" at all,

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-46438937116815702062009-03-30T18:12:00.003+01:002009-03-30T19:20:33.185+01:00

1. The National (United Arab Emirates) - Buoyant Sharif on the Offensive Political update in Pakistan, following last week's successful protest against the regime of President Zardari, otherwise known as "Mr 10%" for his corruption, which led to the reinstalment of prominent political figure, the chief justice Chaudry. Former PM and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is now on the offensive against

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-53781451931776714632009-03-23T22:41:00.003Z2009-03-23T23:26:32.066Z

I like to think I get my news from a particularly wide-ranging number of sources, from Middle Eastern newspapers, to American blogs, to the UK bloggertariansphere, to E-zines, to good old, often wildly misleading British broadsheets, and so on and so forth.I thought I'd try something new today, and pick 5 articles that have been of interest to me, on varying issues, from varying sources, from

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-32927876488913893062009-03-22T15:18:00.003Z2009-03-22T16:28:03.381Z

The country's laziest MP George Galloway has been banned from gallavanting around Canada, after providing "material support" to Hamas, who Canada designate a terrorist organisation.Galloway said: "I am not a threat to Canada's national security. I'm just a politician with a different point of view to the Canadian government."The thing is, though, I agree with him. He is no national security

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-18732940193196770912009-03-20T00:13:00.003Z2009-03-22T16:30:57.722Z

In America right now, that Public Enemy #1 is the bonus-receiving CEO's of AIG. America's Fred Goodwins, I suppose you might say.It's fascinating watching politicians at their seediest and most underhand, jumping on the bandwagon of public indignation and vilification of these bankers, while carrying a large measure of responsibility for this unrest themselves. Did big bonuses cause this crisis?

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-59755627774991303302009-03-19T15:55:00.005Z2009-03-19T16:27:02.636Z

Via Obnoxio the Clown I discover this: "If I could say one thing to Prime Minister Brown, President Obama and the G20..."Well, now, this looks like fun. I wanted to make sure my entry had real punch and impact, so I thought I'd look at the other entries for inspiration. I forgot how full of morons the world is. Some of my favourites:"Congratulations Obama - you restored my faith in the US!"Wow,

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-89411013772120965942009-03-19T14:20:00.003Z2009-03-19T14:39:41.911Z

There's a horribly sad irony in the emerging coalition deal between Likud and Yisrael Beitenu in Israel which is likely to give the world Avigdor Lieberman as Israeli Foreign Minister. In Lieberman, we have a man who called for the execution of Israeli-Arab Knesset members who met with Hamas or didn't celebrate Israeli Independence Day, who has called for bombing Iran, Lebanon, and Egypt's Aswan

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-27238132111957230202009-03-19T13:59:00.002Z2009-03-19T14:14:07.337Z

But for some reason I find it hard to believe Mr Bernanke. Mainly because the man's a total douche and ruining the US economy good and proper.According to the Fed Chairman:“We’ve seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely. But until we get that stabilized and working normally, we’re not going to see recovery.But we do have a plan. We’re working on it. And, I do think that we will get

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-49940267305643381162009-03-19T12:34:00.005Z2009-03-19T13:48:50.910Z

So Obama's planning to expand US airstrikes in Pakistan? He's just full of good ideas, isn't he?The Telegraph reports:"Yet as Barack Obama's newly appointed special envoy to the region, the famously tough and straight-talking diplomat Richard Holbrooke, has said, Pakistan is the country that scares President Obama and keeps him awake at night more than any other."Correction: Richard Holbrooke is

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-45074060521682859632009-03-17T17:57:00.002Z2009-03-17T18:03:14.595Z

Bit late on getting in on this but ...

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-15684812606373894102009-03-11T19:29:00.004Z2009-03-11T20:00:16.472Z

Woop woop!Or as I like to call it, The Day We Decided To Ruin Our Economy Substantially More Than It Already Has Been.Can I hear a "hell yeah"? And can someone pass me a glass of champers?

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-32354131481696170172009-03-05T18:50:00.002Z2009-03-11T19:45:00.268Z

H/T Antiwar.com Blog: Ron Paul on form.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-71052645661016464332009-03-05T17:42:00.002Z2009-03-05T18:37:24.159Z

Hmmm ... this isn't going to be an easy post to write, chiefly because if I'm wrong and what I say isn't going to happen does indeed happen, I'm going to look worse than idiotic.What I think isn't going to happen: Gordon Brown isn't going to use the excuse of riots resulting from the economic crisis to declare a State of Emergency, invoke the Civil Contingencies Act (2005, I believe), abolish

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-38396653533525962642009-03-05T17:00:00.004Z2009-03-05T17:40:22.008Z

Via Green Diary I learn of Tom Harris's sudden conversion to the Right on the issue of teenage mothers, and as a Libertarian am overall inclined to agree with Tom's sentiments that an "army of teenage mothers living off the State" is a bad thing. However, his lack of a solution is rather prominent, as is his absolute inability to pin the blame on this culture where it belongs: his party's

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-79419184875902972942009-03-05T16:17:00.005Z2009-03-05T16:39:03.766Z

Via The Broadsheet Rag, I discover this piece:"The Home Office has suggested that the remote-controlled drones could be used to help police gather evidence and track criminals without putting officers at risk. The miniature aircraft could be fitted with cameras and heat-seeking equipment, allowing police to carry out aerial reconnaissance from a control room. They also have the benefit of being

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-83248844766000998722009-03-05T15:17:00.002Z2009-03-05T15:52:56.825Z

In A fantastic spot of news, apparently Israel is "seriously considering" it.For those unfamiliar with this blog and my views, I am being entirely sarcastic; I cannot stress enough how utterly insane and idiotic an Israeli or US strike against Iran would be here. We're not dealing with a sanctions-crippled Saddam Hussein here, or a bunch of sand-monkeys.Iran is a regional power, with regional

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-7772472245964585982009-03-05T15:14:00.002Z2009-03-05T15:16:49.579Z

In the spirit of lively, engaged debate, I thought I'd pose a question. This one goes out to the socialists:What is morally wrong with being rich?Answers to the comments section of this post.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-9494547602283494802009-02-25T15:57:00.002Z2009-02-25T16:03:06.654Z

Wherever we are on the political spectrum, I think we can all feel immensely for the loss of David Cameron and his family. I send my condolences and sympathy. RIP Ivan Cameron.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-80521718625428552792009-02-20T12:34:00.004Z2009-02-20T13:10:05.599Z

This is something new I'm starting up - every month I will deign someone DUDE extraordinaire for outstanding efforts in the support of freedom.This month there can be, to my mind, only one victor: Vaclav Klaus, for his excellent speech at the European Parliament yesterday, as the Czech government continues its fledgling EU presidency, in which Mr Klaus lambasted the Parliament as undemocratic and

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-50438691178885494412009-02-20T12:23:00.001Z2009-02-20T12:24:54.892Z

Tell your friends!

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-55413332723893801302009-01-23T12:32:00.001Z2009-01-23T12:49:44.963Z

A new peer-reviewed journal - Libertarian Papers.I'll need to some thorough reading through this when I next get the chance!

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-29363742241413901092009-01-23T12:20:00.001Z2009-01-23T12:21:37.882Z

An often-read blog of mine, Boateng & Demetriou, have launched a new site - thoroughly recommended by Dan.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-69568345183978463102009-01-20T11:17:00.003Z2009-03-04T18:29:37.114Z

"Gordon Brown can bugger off - I'm Superman. Or Woman."Page 3 model Lucy Pinder isn't the sort you'd normally write-in on the ballot paper in a general election, but hell, in one tabloid interview she's made more sense than our current 646 all put together:"“If I was PM I’d make everybody pay the same 12% tax.“The middle class shouldn’t be penalised any more. It should be made fair, so that

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-75594260828471133662009-01-20T10:50:00.002Z2009-01-20T11:17:21.832Z

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-43194416318330880652009-01-18T16:50:00.004Z2009-03-04T18:28:52.901Z

Via the Beeb:"Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will announce a new banks rescue package on Monday aimed at encouraging them to restart lending.Speaking in Egypt, at a summit on the Gaza crisis, Mr Brown said he hoped the move would make it easier for firms and households to obtain credit."Why? Wasn't this what the first bank bail-out was meant to do?I'm so sick of this Prime Minister.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-73459159766980297602009-01-16T13:39:00.003Z2009-01-16T14:02:49.695Z

Now I've got your attention, I'll freely admit that I do not actually believe the above title. But the inner workings of the Vatican are often pretty damn particular, maybe even mental. No in fact definitely mental. I generally think all the main theistic religions are utterly ridiculous in their basic premises, and have caused far too much trouble over the centuries. Anyway, this cracked me up:"

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-34034064464040915232009-01-16T13:19:00.002Z2009-01-16T13:21:20.677Z

... and Vaclav Klaus ROCKS.That is all.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-59281697881942296452009-01-16T13:07:00.004Z2009-01-16T13:17:37.117Z

Tory plans for a green, "low-carbon" economy, via the Beeb.Seriously - when one considers this, on top of the Heathrow runway debate, where Tory and LibDem opposition and their alternative solutions are to all intents and purposes identical, on top of Clegg as the new tax-and-spending-cutting Liberal Liberal Democrat next to David

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-17152010380346860412009-01-16T12:57:00.002Z2009-01-16T13:07:03.106Z

From Christmas Eve onwards, until about, well, last week, blogging had to go down in my priority list, as when I wasn't travelling around, between my hometown, my family home in the countryside, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and a New Year trip to Manchester and Newscastle, I was almost invariably drunk. Such is life.Now I'm back at University (week one of semester two today drawing to a close) and once

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-40717317984736193122008-12-23T03:29:00.004Z2009-03-04T18:32:30.147Z

There's been some bizarre things Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi PM, has spraffed since George Bush had them shoes thrown at him. Maybe he's having a bit of a mid-life crisis. First, he got a military unit under his personal control to arrest a bunch of interior ministers and military officials; then a government spokesman said it was because they were in cahoots with a dodgy Ba-athist group planning a

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-84828576614214742072008-12-20T15:41:00.003Z2009-03-04T18:33:23.027Z

Credit Crisis: The Worst is Over.Where have we heard that before?In other news from Bizarro World, the economic fundamentals are sound, monetary policy is spectacular, the Credit Crunch is being way overblown, Merrill Lynch is an astonishingly well-ran company, the US economy has never been in better shape, and Forbes actually has a clue.Von Mises is being vindicated daily, while these rich elite

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-1395968366874563722008-12-18T22:33:00.004Z2009-03-04T18:37:28.509Z

Thinking of turning the above blog title into a little jingle.Anyway, Polly Well-Orf Toynbee is at it again. You can tell it's going to be another cracker, when, in the first paragraph we get this lovely dash of partisan:"Yesterday David Cameron made the speech Gordon Brown should have made months ago, an opportunist theft."How is it theft if Gordon Brown didn't make the speech? This is something

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-34764599823010219822008-12-16T14:02:00.003Z2009-03-04T18:38:43.059Z

This, right here:"Bloomberg News last week reported that the chairman- designate of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers, had been conferring with conservative icon and Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard about a housing plan Hubbard designed with Columbia colleague Christopher Mayer. Obama’s economic advisers appear to have embraced the proposal, which is already “on a fast

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-2816414872044525452008-12-16T13:55:00.004Z2008-12-16T14:02:06.506Z

Via Mark Wadsworth, I discover an "impartial" quiz informing me that I am a closet UKIPer.And 42% Green? You what? Was I high? No, don't think so.Ah well, this doesn't change anything.

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-2218164972040150582008-12-15T15:16:00.002Z2009-03-04T18:43:44.881Z

Following Brown and Miliband's utter rubbish about Germany following Britain's lead on the economic crisis by borrowing and spending billions and billions and blasting it off unaccountably into the stratosphere, and their dismissal of Peer Steinbrück's criticism of the UK's "crass Keynesiam" as mere internal German politics, we have this wonderful approval of Steinbrück's words by the budget

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-11673200031559086432008-12-09T20:03:00.001Z2008-12-11T19:27:59.997Z

I haven't written about everybody's favourite website for UK political satire in a while, but sometimes I come across one that is just excellent, and encourages me to think, with their seeming opposition to the national curriculum as shown in this article, that The Mash's authors are in fact closet libertarians."SCHOOL SUBJECTS TO BE DICKED ABOUT WITH BRITAIN'S primary school curriculum is

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-4324849692942966582008-12-09T16:52:00.004Z2008-12-09T17:05:21.779Z

I mean seriously. From Citizen Stuart we have this little personal anecdote on his own employment situation:"I've been in and out of work this year. Since being laid off from what was supposed to be a permanent job in January, I've been alternating periods of unemployment with various temporary jobs, though employment agencies. My last job that lasted a few months ended about two and a half

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-4417800441879307742008-12-09T01:01:00.001Z2008-12-09T01:02:21.758Z

Not in that way. Though I understand he is in fact gay, my feelings for him are purely platonic.No, what has exercised my outburst of emotion is this wonderful commonsense article in his antiwar.com column, on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Obama, and the Mumbai atrocity. Here he says of the Taliban and al-Qaeda:"How, exactly, are we threatened by a bunch of terrorists living in caves in the most

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-65648577953436409772008-12-09T00:35:00.000Z2008-12-09T00:43:37.834Z

A bit.The Washington Times reports that outgoing President George Bush is taking "a measure of responsibility" for the Abu Ghraib scandal.It's too little, too late. He should have taken responsibility from the start.He should now take responsibility for the entire war. Today, 20 Iraqis were killed. The day before, 12. The day before that, at least 15. This is with the situation, apparently, "

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-12731682997214469652008-12-09T00:32:00.000Z2008-12-09T00:33:42.068Z

We have a new blog up and running for Libertarians north of the border, ran by yours truly:Scottish Libertarians

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-15623454277988892442008-11-27T16:09:00.003Z2008-11-27T16:25:32.964Z

Ecstasy is about as potentially fatal as a chicken sandwich.Fellow LPUK member Mr. Haddock has detailed a nifty equation to answer the question of just how fatal is ecstasy - a class B drug for which possession of could result in years in jail and being shunned by society.Based on the facts that ecstasy has been blamed for a grand total of 500 deaths in the past 15 years, and that 500,000 people

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-91117366745625922152008-11-25T00:42:00.003Z2008-11-25T01:44:54.607Z

I pose this as a rhetorical question, though of course, I consider the answer to be a resounding 'YES.' The greasy lying fucker makes my skin crawl, and seeing his smug mug on BBC during the Russo-Georgian war in August wailing about Russian "aggression" of his "sovereign democratic state" almost made me bawl in anger at the television.Luckily, the Saakashvili lie is being slowly unravelled, from

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-78248074380644670912008-11-18T19:51:00.003Z2008-11-18T19:57:17.878Z

"And cancel Christmas ... for the private sector."Daniel Hannan's latest at the Telegraph's blog gave me a chuckle:"I was naturally delighted to read that the Croatian government plans to cancel Christmas. Actually, to be precise, Christmas has not been cancelled but privatised: the hard-bitten Croats have decided that, given the current crisis, it would be wrong for government workers to have

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-83826860459149307422008-11-18T17:42:00.005Z2008-11-18T20:00:40.116Z

At last."The Conservatives are dropping their pledge to match Labour's spending plans for 2010/11, leader David Cameron says. The Tories had promised to match the totals for Labour's spending plans from 2008 to 2011 - subject to a review in 2009 of the 2010/11 spending total. But Mr Cameron said he wanted to create a "low-tax, low-debt economy" and called on Gordon Brown to "deal with the

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-90219816949715232832008-11-18T15:06:00.000Z2008-11-18T15:12:48.486Z

Via Peter Mackay:"Prime Minister Gordon Brown's political stocks continue to rise even though Britain is facing an economic crisis.Deceit and hypocrisy are as common in politics as in everyday life, but for Labour to suggest Shadow Chancellor George Osborne might undermine the pound by criticising Gordon Brown suggests new depths of political depravity.There is already a run on the pound, which

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-90674849301267806742008-11-17T16:57:00.005Z2008-11-17T19:16:05.640Z

I use liberal not quite in the American sense, where it is used as an alternative label to left-wing, as opposed to the right-wing conservatives. I use it in a more general sense to include all those who care about human rights, liberty, dignity - people from all across the political spectrum who have been galvanised and unified by disgust at the outgoing President's disregard for these things we

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-42742965133508814052008-11-17T16:22:00.005Z2008-11-17T16:49:41.880Z

"Who needs experts? I am Gordon Brown, the fountain of all knowledge, so experts, sit down and shut the hell up."Not happy with giving us no democratic mandate on his Prime Ministership and refusing to give us a referendum on the Lisbon Constitution, Gordon Brown has been busy ignoring experts on key issues such as drug legislation - the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs said it should

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-67609732825966365822008-11-17T16:13:00.004Z2008-11-17T16:22:55.108Z

Thank to the ASI blog for pointing this out - the tragedy is that it has to be pointed out at all."The US government has " Increased total federal spending by 11 percent to nearly $3 trillion" and "Pushed the budget deficit to $455 billion in the name of 'stimulus.'"But despite the enormous sums involved, these policies have failed to boost the economy. This is hardly unprecedented: "massive

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-65518832868555182462008-11-17T15:31:00.002Z2008-11-17T15:34:55.176Z

From Peter Schiff at Taki's Magazine.An altogether sterling article, in particular this illuminating part, vindicating a lot of what I've been saying on the economic crises, its roots, and the wrongness of the current proposed "solutions":"What nearly all politicians, on both sides of the aisle, fail to understand is that the current contraction and credit crunch is necessary to restore order to

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-85958347946375620962008-11-17T14:48:00.003Z2008-11-17T15:12:07.009Z

Could it be that an ex-parliamentary candidate for Labour was also once a Cold War spy - spying for the Czechs when they were under the control of the Soviet Union? A Soviet sympathiser in the Labour party, who actively worked for the purpose of harming our country?Surely not (cough)!The Telegraph reports:"Cynthia Roberts, 72, who stood as a Labour Parliamentary candidate, allegedly spied for

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-6405073656541563742008-11-16T22:40:00.003Z2008-11-16T22:57:10.901Z

Why is it such a big deal that George Osborne is saying the ludicrously obvious? - that massive borrowing, i.e. the creation of artificial wealth, devalues the currency?Gordon Brown's "neo-Keynesian" policy is to do exactly that. Borrow, borrow, borrow. The pound will fall. Duh. It's down to a thirteen year low already. This can probably be attributed largely to that ginormous interest cut we got

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-31548598213019498822008-11-16T21:12:00.001Z2008-11-16T22:36:05.803Z

At the root of the entire global economic crisis is the problem of easy credit.Central banks around the world, following Alan Greenspan's example, then chairman of the US Federal Reserve, slashed interest rates heavily - in the US the cut was from 6.5% to 1% over the course of two years, from 2001 to 2003. Printing presses went into overdrive. The economy was flooded with masses of borrowed money

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8819883817109868716.post-71380901093254447052008-10-09T11:25:00.005+01:002008-10-09T15:40:26.276+01:00

Enough has been written on the blogosphere about the financial crisis, and the government bail-outs worldwide, most notably the US's Emergency Economic Stabilisation Plan, to fill at least one library, and readers of this blog (such as they may be) will not be surprised to learn that I am firmly against those using this crisis as a means to bash what that delightful prick Ed Miliband bleated at

Dan Veversnoreply@blogger.com1