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Over at t’Sharpener, Justin has a long post about Basra, the growth of theocracy in Iraq, Steven Vincent’s criticism of the British occupation authority’s alleged indulgence of political Shi’ism, and a perceived lack of support from the pro-war side for secularism in Iraq. I was moved to drop off this comment, which ought to be…

Nobody will go. As the right honourable gentleman said last week, there will be no regrets and no resignations. Not only is this a Government that cannot accept blame, it is a Government with no shame. Robin Cook MP, House of Commons debate on the Scott Report on illegal arms exports to Iraq, 1996. He…

First: TYR is the second result on Google for “What was Ernest Hemingway doing when he was falsely reported dead? You can’t begin to imagine how proud I am. Secondly, it’s about time to recognise some blogs I’ve started reading. So: Actually Existing Phil, Irregular Anthony, Indigo Jo of Blogistan, John B of Shot By…

Replying to this post, “Kevin” writes: You’re right about Hull fans. The only time I’ve ever been scared at a rugby league match was watching Wigan at Hull in the 1980s when some of the home fans charged the away stand. But it was a midweek match on the other side of the country so…

IN the past I’ve suggested that one of the essential problems facing the US armed forces in Iraq, and more broadly all modern armies in a world of messy little wars, is best thought of in economic terms. In any firm, there is a theoretical optimum combination of capital and labour used to process one…

We haven’t had anywhere near as much sportblogging here as I thought..so it’s time to remedy that. Yesterday saw a first in league’s history, as a French team ran out in a Challenge Cup semi-final. Toulouse made it by beating Widnes soundly, in a match held on their home ground. However partisan you may be,…

No doubt everyone else noticed the report that the Govt. was again interfering with the exact details of the ban on tobacco advertising, exactly as a large donor to the Labour Party from the Formula One racing world would have wanted. I’m just trying to work out why Blair loves F1 so – clearly he…

Given that the Orwells are meant to be a regular feature, I really must get one out for the last seven days quicksmart…and here it is. This week’s Orwell nomination for the political misuse of the English language goes to Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, for inventing the concept of a “Shoot-to-Kill-to-protect…

Well, here we are on August the 1st, which is of course Yorkshire Day! You may be interested to know that, according to the team of dedicated Germans from Blogcounter.de who monitor my traffic stats, last month saw a three-figure average daily unique hit rate for only the second time in Ranter history. On average,…

Just to say there will be no ranting for the rest of the week, as I’m off to the West Highlands and am unlikely to have internet access, or for that matter a computer.