PM BLOG GETS SONY NOMINATION
Breaking news (hence the upper case headline...) PM has JUST been nominated for a Sony Award for best interactive programme. This is down to you, and a little bit to us. So please, trebles all round and our grateful thanks.
The Sony Awards are seen as the radio industry Oscars so to be nominated for the Blog is a great honour. Plus, the programme has been nominated as Best Speech Programme.
Good news too for our Friday chum Paddy - BH's jam spoon competition has been nominated for a Sony too.
But look - back to you. Thank you.
RSS feed
Email us
Listen to PM
Will we have to make an acceptance speech if we win?
Well I reckon we should use this space to make an acceptance speech ANYWAY. At these awards you're always up against strong competition...so let's celebrate this nomination. Remember your speech cannot be too long or the band will strike up.
Hurrah - do I get to come to the awards dinner? I behaved so well last year.
Thank you for posting the Lundy photo. Rather bizarrely Sting and Trudi Styler were staying on the island at the same time as us.
And thank you for asking - we're very well indeed. The sun has been shining in Chinley though there were snow flurries and hail storms at the beginning of last week.
love to all
Lissa
Not only the best, but apparently psychic too, since Eddie answered the question at the same moment that RJD asked it!
Oh, gosh, what stunning news!
But, Eddie, a lot of this is down to you and the team, most definitely. It's you and your way of doing things that draws around the Blog a particular type of person.
Whatever that may mean. A minutes silence for reflection.
--------------------------------------------
Yes, well, as I was saying, it draws around it a particular type of person. I think we can leave that pause for others to fill in.
And, for what it's worth, I'd have been rather surprised if the programme - or you - hadn't been nominated, Eddie. Not that we all know you've a gong or two in your cupboard.
Okay, so is this competition time, Eddie?
I'd like to thank Eddie ''Eeyore'' Mair for keeping our feet on the ground, our bottoms on our seats and our hands primly folded in our laps.
Instead of the wild, champagne -fuelled, conga-dancing celebration I had envisaged on the beach, I will now provide Grape juice (red and white) and some salmon-spread sandwiches. After all we'll need to conserve our energy........for when we WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh ye of little faith!
How many spare seats around the Sony Awards table, Eddie?
Any chance some of us can come...?
PM: the only Blog that helps listeners deal with a poorly feral cat AND records songs in its spare time!
Fifi :oD
That's really cheered me up!!!
Big Sis - have you got a poem on the go to mark this great occasion?
Dear Edie
I heard MR Mark Urban on PM saying the British is a soft target and putting other spins on the capture o 15 British sailors. Can I remind Mr Urban that HMS Cornwall would have opened fire, to protect the sailors, if the Iranians were in Iraqi鈥檚 waters. That is the whole reason for HMS Cornwall presence there since March 12 to protect Iraqi鈥檚 watrs. Why it did not do that? I can only deduce the sailors were not in Iraqi鈥檚 waters and were in a recognisance mission. I believe the whole incident was pre-planned, since the HMS Cornwall arrived on 12 March, to coincide with the most important holiday time in Iran. This is a deliberate creation of a crisis to enable us to show Iranians in yet another bad light and 鈥渕anage that perception鈥. The next stage, when this event is over, is to stage a 鈥渇alse flag鈥 event and the step beyond that is a full scale war.
I hope I am wrong but I believe we will be witnessing them one-by-one. Tell Mark "come
on tell us the truth".
Oh how exciting! Is that double-treble-quadruple lattes all round for the office, Eddie? And since you mentioned latte today, does that mean you're trying to cut down on the espresso count? Probably a good idea now that the nomination excitement has kicked in. I mean, you do still want to be alive for the actual awards ceremony, don't you?
How can I bear to leave the home of the PM blog? Especially now if it's going to be an award -winning blog! The estate agent came today & seemed a darned sight too positive that she could sell our house for us in next to no time. Himself has decreed Australia will have the honour of our residence. I think that's because at the moment they have to let us in,as New Zealanders, & he's worried if we wait too long, they'll shut the doors. Rather like England with economic migrants. I've spent 2 days cleaning, & that's before anyone has been to view. This could prove very exhausting...
This is wonderful news! Can Aperitif and I escort you to the awards ceremony, pretty please Eric!
Will there be oodles of champagne?
Do we get a Golden Joystick?
Where shall we put it?
So many questions.
Mary
But (sob) we're ALL winners, really, aren't we?
Serious congratulations in order to everyone in the PM office who keeps this blog running (if occasionally a little out of breath) along, and for everyone on the lilypad for such a fabulous, diverse and entertaining community. It's an honour just to lurk.
I can't help it, I need to go off and have a Halle Berry moment........
Wow! Congratulations! Just imagine playing the new froggers' song at the ceremony!!! That should clinch it :-)
Eric, I think you should run a blog competition to be your date to the awards dinner! Oh there's method in my madness, everyone knows it :-D
Graeme Hall (10),
Welcome.
I too had wondered why HMS Sitting Duck ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^ Cornwall had stood by doing nothing. Something the MoD certainly have not explained. They're there to prevent piracy, and what's this (in their view) but piracy?
However, for the Iranians to have reacted (if their view is correct) so quickly rather suggests they were either expecting something, or else they're creating a crisis for their own ends (the 5 captured by the Americans?).
To cover a topic two threads ago, I had the sun roof of my car open all afternoon, and the sky over London had a distinct summer haze look to it as I drove back. But normally I'm good at spotting the day that marks the *end* of summer, when the light has changed and you realise no more hot days that year.
And on the rest of today: hi there Lissa; and the question is, if PM wins the award, will Eddie make the acceptance speech ("I'd like to thank my producer, my cat, my astrologer..."). BTW, you know that a BH spoon has gone into some kind of time capsule, why not anything from PM - or has that been kept quiet?
Annasee, don't go. Or if you must, do keep in touch, even if it means being time shifted and using 'Listen Again'. Place wouldn't be the same without you.
Aperitif - don't give him any ideas. He'll be auctioning off the opportunity to be his date to the awards dinner next. Or demanding that the competition entries come with a 拢100 cheque attached. Sigh... we've seen it all before...
Graeme Hall (@10) -- I have to take your comments one by one. Leads to a long post, which may show whether one-liners or screeds get through better.
'HMS Cornwall would have opened fire, to protect the sailors, if the Iranians were in Iraqi锟*锟絪 waters.'
Probably not, actually; opening fire would have been an act of war, quite apart from almost certainly causing the deaths of the Cornwall锟絪 fifteen personnel either from her own fire or from Iranian bullets.
'That is the whole reason for HMS Cornwall presence there since March 12 to protect Iraqi锟*锟絪 watrs.'
She锟絪 there to stop people smuggling arms and drugs into Iraq, which was what they were doing on their routine stop-and-search of a cargo ship heading in towards the Iraqi coast.
'Why it did not do that? I can only deduce the sailors were not in Iraqi锟*锟絪 waters and were in a recognisance mission.'
There is no way they were on a reconnaissance mission. They had just finished searching a vessel for goods that Iraq doesn锟絫 want imported: the captain of that vessel has said as much. Two boats in broad daylight stopping a cargo ship and going aboard isn锟絫 a covert mission!
'I believe the whole incident was pre-planned, since the HMS Cornwall arrived on 12 March, to coincide with the most important holiday time in Iran.'
Come off it: we锟絭e had a ship doing that job ever since the mess in Iraq started. That锟絪 how HMS Chatham came to be in the area and in a good position to go straight to help the Sri Lankan tsunami victims a couple of years ago -- she was doing the job Cornwall is now doing. (That was at Christmas: isn锟絫 it lucky that the Royal Navy don锟絫 stop work for ten days over public holidays?) Cornwall relieved another Royal Naval vessel in an absolutely routine way.
'This is a deliberate creation of a crisis to enable us to show Iranians in yet another bad light and 锟*锟絤anage that perception锟**.'
I锟絛 say that if anyone created this crisis it was the Revolutionary Guard, on the whole. They chose the timing, to coincide with their public holiday and their government mostly not being at their desks; the Royal Navy has been in that area any time this past year doing exactly the same things day in day out as they were doing on the day in question. The Revolutionary Guard took people captive at gunpoint. If nothing else, it锟絪 appalling bad manners....
'The next stage, when this event is over, is to stage a 锟*锟絝alse flag锟** event and the step beyond that is a full scale war.'
As it was last time the Iranians grabbed some members of the British armed forces?
'I hope I am wrong but I believe we will be witnessing them one-by-one.'
I too hope that you are wrong. Those fifteen people are not expendable ciphers to the rest of their ship锟絪 company. It must be a particularly horrible ordeal for the one woman who has been abducted, and who is apparently being kept in solitary confinement.
'Tell Mark "come on tell us the truth".'
Would you know it if you heard it? Because I think you may have had it already, from HMS Cornwall's commanding officer, if you wanted to hear him.
Are, but Appy (14), there is no madness in your method. ;-)
Proposed acceptance speech for Mr. Mayor if, I mean when, required:
Ta!
Short and to the point; like the PM programme.
H.
Wonderful News and Sad News on the same thread? and I'm too tired to be inventive.
Annasee - first things first! but the wonderfulness of the Blog (and part of why it's up for it) is that it doesn't matter where you live. Up a tree (Ed I), on an outflung island (admin annie), Miami (Roberto), parallel universe (Whisht) :-), Derbyshire (too many to mention), Singapore, San Fransisco. you see you won't be leaving at all! You may well have to get up in the middle of the night, but we're worth it.
Eddie - well done you and all the gang, you for keeping the pot boiling with your wit and whimsy, and the gang for trying to foil you at every turn!
Must dash - still have 18 balloons to blow up before midnight, good job I'm full of hot air :o)
I bet radio 3 weren't nominated for theirs?!
Hurrah for the Frog! Well done Eddie & the team who keep it all going. I hope Eddie will be sporting a frog at the ceremony... eg tie/bow tie.....cufflinks..... (Oh dear - he'll be innundated now!!)
Annasee I am going slowly green - the colour I always turn when hearing of people emigrating to Australia. You are a lucky lucky woman - from my perspective. Australia is a great place and if I were single and eligible under their tortuous rules I would move there tomorrow. Not that my far flung isle isn't wonderful too. But it always came in a poor second to Oz for me.
Hm. I see Mr. Humphrys and the Today prog are doing rather well on the nominations front. Could it be retirement year for the Welsh Terrier?
It'll be your year again next year, Eddie (not for retirement, of course. So much coffee, so little time .....)
Is this an excuse to splash out on a decent frock?Would we be dressing for beach or furrowed brow?
Anne P (4) - I didn't notice that at first. How'd he do that?
Maybe he picked up the message when I was on my way back from September. This place is getting spooky.
Annasee(11)
Ever since I saw what a dose of pure caffeine can do to a load of brine shrimp I've worried about Eric overcaffeinating himself....
What a great start to the day!! Congrats to everyone you're end - there would be no interactivity (?) without you; it is the most amazing blog - humour, intelligent debate, whimsy, surrealism. And it never descends into personal nastiness (I haven't had any caffeine yet so bear with me).
It truly enhances my day!!
Val P - hows it all going?? did the cake turn out ok?
Lissa-with-an-A :
You should definitely be there at the Awards Ceremony, imho! along with Marc, of course .....
Your tireless and friendly support during the early days helped keep the Frog on track. The success of the experiment lay with key individuals, amongst them Eddie, you/Marc, and Richard. I'm sure it's been at some cost to good temper at time, but the additional hours that must have been invested in, e.g., ensuring WoyW was all downloaded, ironing out the bloggages, keeping the froggers as sweet as possible during the hitches, all contributed to making it work.
At the end of the day, like most successes, it was team work wot done it!
Btw, have you got a flickr page? It allows people to keep in touch with you at arms length and can be useful sometimes. Just a thought.
Give that Mr. Tibbs a sardine from me! and keep well, all of you.
On this joyous occasion, please allow me to call upon all the nations of the world to support our nomination.
How lucky we are to have this AWARD-NOMINATED blog!
I already knew about the over-controlled Radio 3 message board, but now I've heard this morning that the Today message board has opening hours - it doesn't open til 9am!
Thank you to all the unsung heroes behind the scenes who have made this nomination possible......the moderators. Thanks also go to Lissa-with-an-A, New Blog Prince Marc, Jem Stone and the rest of the technical team. Finally, thanks go to all the Insomniacs who give us ''early-to-bedders'' something to cheer us up the following morning. Cheers!
Now Fifi, Aperitif, and others,
How could we possibly expect the Lord Mair and his company to take froggers with him to the ceremony? There'd be blood on the Frog, you may be sure, as we'd all want to be there.
So, a different suggestion, and one for Eddie and the PM team to consider. If the interactive award does go to PM, perhaps they'd like to have a PM open event, or something similar, for froggers so that regulars can meet the producers, Eddie, Marc, Lissa (if she'll come), etc. Low - or even no - cost, a bit of effort (yes, but aren't we worth it?), and a heap of goodwill.
That would be really interactive, wouldn't it?
Val P (20)
Kuala Lumpa.
On the occasion of the celebration of the PM Nomination for interactivity, a song :
Young Eric would a wooing go
Hm-hm
Young Eric would a wooing go
Whether his auntie let him go or no,
Hm-hm-hm.
He pondered awhile to make his plans
Hm-hm
He ponder awhile to make his plans
鈥淎 newsletter will please my fans鈥
Hm-hm
He sat him down and wrote some words
Hm-hm
He sat him down and wrote some words
And emailed them to bees and birds
Hm-hm-hm
His editors were well surprised
Hm-hm
His editors were well surprised
The compliments came from far and wide
Hm-hm-hm
A conference they did adjourn
Hm-hm
A conference they did adjourn
鈥淔rom newsletters we all can learn鈥
Hm-hm-hm
鈥淣ow Eric, here鈥檚 another thing
Hm-hm
鈥淣ow Eric, here鈥檚 another thing
The internet still more can bring鈥
Hm-hm-hm
鈥淚f we a blog to PM bring
Hm-hm
鈥淚f we a blog to PM bring
Of Radio 4 you鈥檒l be the king!鈥
Hm-hm-hm
So Eric pondered overnight
Hm-hm
So Eric pondered overnight
For technology poor him did fright
Hm-hm-hm
The following day he came to work
Hm-hm
The following day he came to work
To tell the crew he would not shirk
Hm-hm-hm
He emailed right to Mark Damazer
Hm-hm
He emailed right to Mark Damazer
Said he 鈥淎 blog, will you concur?鈥
Hm-hm-hm
Said Mark 鈥淵es, Eric, I agree
Hm-hm
Said Mark 鈥淵es, Eric, I agree
A blog to raise int鈥檙activity鈥
Hm-hm-hm
(to be continued by Big Sis later today)
Graeme Hall (10);
Chris at (18) has pretty much summed it up as to why you're so wrong about this. But to add a few pence worth;
All British military personnel have to operate within what are known as the 'Rules of Engagement'. This limits their ability to open fire. We're not Americans, who shoot first and ask questions later. Their guiding principle, enunciated by Colin Powell (and known as the Powell Doctrine) when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is 'Force Protection' which demands overwhelming firepower be brought to bear quickly to protect the lives of US personnel. This is why they are so poor at winning the peace, their first concern is their own lives, not that of the local population.
By contrast, the guiding principle which all British naval and military personnel (been there, got the T-shirt) have drummed into them is that of 'minimum force'. It is likely (although M.o.D. will never disclose it) that the existing rules of engagement only permit engagement if there is a distinct and immediate threat to life and limb.
The fact that we don't offer fire immediately is what makes our forces a soft target in the first place.
We don't know how far away HMS Cornwall was at the time. Her armaments include a 4.5" gun, anti-aircraft missiles, a helicopter and Harpoon anti-shipping missiles (designed to sink big ships, not gunboats). In a situation where the threat is adjacent to her own people none of these are much use. Cornwall was designed principally as an anti-submarine platform for the North Atlantic during the Cold War, with auxiliary armaments for self-protection and a limited anti-shipping role. Early versions of that ship class had no 4.5" gun and only the more limited Exocet missile.
Chris is right about her current role being to conduct stop-and-search operations against smugglers, not territorial protection (and not anti-piracy DeepJohn, sorry). A 5000 ton big grey ship is not ideal for a reconnaisance mission. It's far too visible. It's also too big to go alongside a small dhow for boarding operations, which is why they use the ships boats or helicopters for that job.
I really don't think that full-scale war is on the agenda. The Yanks have bitten off far more than they can chew in Iraq and their military is choking as a result. Even the most powerful military nation has finite limits to its ability to conduct operations. The US Army is probably beyond that limit already. Taking on another such conflict would almost certainly lead to a diplomatic rupture between Washington and London which would see the withdrawal of British Forces from joint operations, the destruction of the US Army and the diminishment of Western-style liberal democracy around the globe.
It is almost certainly the knowledge of this which emboldens the current convoluted Iranian regime, with its Byzantine internal politics.
Oh, and spellling / grammar: 1/10. See me after class. Given the rhythms and cadences of your sentence construction and your peculiar use of singular and plural forms I could almost believe that you are not a native English speaker?
In other news; Congratulations to Eddie and the entire team on their Sony nominations. As far as I'm concerned the name is already etched onto the trophy. It would be invidious to name names, but Eddie you've got to take a couple of Frogging reps to the awards night with you. There are one or two amongst our community who we all hold in very high regard, and who do a lot behind the scenes to keep us all motivated and interested. Give them a night on the town!
BigSis (28);
Mr. Enos Knibbs, surely?
Si.
Oh, Simon, you're soooo right!
Lissa - Give Mr. Knibbs TWO sardines from me for misnaming him!
Well done, Eddie and all. I'd like to say you must be "T*ckl*d pink", but when I tried to to tell Appy that was my condition on another thread, it never materialised. I guess the m*d*r*t*rs are unfamiliar with this innocent expression.
Good to hear from/see LissA, too.
Congratulations to all concerned.
Oh dear, Vyle, was it that bad? Sorry!
Big Sis (33)
Must you continue it? I'm in tears already...
Big Sis - now I want to hear Fifi's recording of that one!
F.T.Fong - indeed.
Witchi - I'm just about to ice it. As usual I must apologise for my hysteria about the baking of it. Any tiny step out of my comfort zone turns me into a gibbering idiot :o) Today's biggest problem is trying to keep the 18 balloons out of the way of the dog. He thinks they're all footballs - EEEK.
Graeme Hall (10)
The timing of the recent incident in which 15 British sailors were arrested by Iran at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arabwaterway for purportedly entering Iranian waters couldn鈥檛 have been more provocative if it had been planned that way. And perhaps it was. The question is, however, who did the planning? It happened on the eve of a vote in the UN Security Council to impose stricter sanctions on Iran and in the wake of escalating rhetoric from U.S. government officials blaming Iran for anti-occupation activity in Iraq. On top of that, recent events include the kidnapping of Iranian consular officials in Irbil, Kurdistan, by U.S. forces, reports of covert U.S. support for terrorist attacks inside Iran, the 鈥渄isappearance鈥 of a major Iranian military figure in the elite Revolutionary Guards unit, and suspicions that the Mossad may have had a hand in killing a renowned Iranian nuclear scientist. Add it all up, and there seems little doubt as to who carried out what seems like a brazen provocation.
Go here for the semiofficial British version of the confrontation: according to this account, we are supposed to believe that the Iranians entered Iraqi waters to 鈥渁mbush鈥 the British, who were engaged in what is described as a 鈥渞outine鈥 patrol of the disputed waterway in search of suspected smugglers. Car smugglers were offloading their merchandise onto a barge when they were approached by the British patrol and fled into Iranian waters 鈥 but not before 鈥渋rking鈥 the British crew: 鈥淭he suspected smugglers complied with the British orders and the crew returned to its rigid hull inflatable boats (rhibs) to continue its patrol, only to turn around and see the traders laughing in its direction.鈥
Laughing at Her Majesty鈥檚 sailors, who were guarding the civilized world from the pernicious plots of car smugglers, was surely an act of war. After all, isn鈥檛 a car a 鈥渨eapon of mass destruction鈥 in present-day Iraq? The British weren鈥檛 going to let the Iranians off the hook quite so easily, and the next day they returned to the same waters to find the same smugglers plying their trade. The British patrol made a beeline for the smugglers, but this time the smugglers didn鈥檛 run 鈥 and the poor na茂ve Brits walked right into the trap. No sooner had they boarded the vessel than they were surrounded on all sides by Iranian gunboats. Last anybody heard of their fate, they were in Tehran and the Iranians were talking about putting them on trial for espionage. The Iraqi commander in charge of guarding Iraq鈥檚 territorial waters, Brig. Gen. Hakim Jassim, has a different story to tell, as reported here
鈥淭he Iraqi military commander of the country鈥檚 territorial waters cast doubt on claims the Britons were in Iraqi waters. 鈥榃e were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control. We don鈥檛 know why they were there.鈥欌
Ah, but I suppose it depends on which fisherman you ask. At any rate, no fisherman in the area will be interviewed by anyone in the Western news media any time soon, because, as the UK Independentnotes, all reporters have been 鈥渙rdered away鈥 by coalition forces. The Brits are hedging their bets: even while Tony Blair denies Iranian charges of 鈥渂latant aggression鈥 and openly threatens Tehran,
鈥淟ord Triesman, a Foreign Office undersecretary who had held talks with Iran鈥檚 ambassador on Saturday, told Sky News there was good evidence the men were in Iraqi waters, but that the issue of whether the sailors had strayed into Iranian waters was only a technical one. 鈥業鈥檝e been very clear throughout that the British forces do not ever intentionally enter into Iranian waters,鈥 he said. 鈥楾here鈥檚 no reason for them to do so, we don鈥檛 intend to do so, and I think people should accept there鈥檚 good faith in those assertions.鈥欌
Although the Iranians claim the captured recording devices provide solid evidence that the Brits knew they were in Iranian waters, Iranian officials have so far declined to release the precise coordinates where the interception took place. One awaits further evidence, as opposed to the straight reporting of the British government鈥檚 explanation as if it were fact. In any event, you鈥檒l note that various descriptions of the Shatt al-Arab waterway are often preceded by the word 鈥渄isputed鈥 鈥 due to the fact that nobody really knows what defines the exact boundary between Iran and Iraq along this crucial oil route. Which is precisely why this area is such a perfect staging ground for the War Party鈥檚 next adventure in 鈥渞egime change.鈥
Both Ron Paul and Antiwar.com columnist Philip Giraldi have warned about the likelihood of a Gulf of Tonkin-style incident in the Persian Gulf, and their predictions have, sadly, proved all too accurate. That it involves the British, not the Americans, is a double victory for the on-to-Tehran crowd: the war-weary Brits, who recently announced the withdrawal of their troops from southern Iraq, will presumably be dragged along in the wake of the coming U.S. military assault as their sailors are paraded before the cameras in Tehran. Once again, 鈥渃oalition鈥 forces are about to take down a Middle Eastern government, and they are already on the move.
The War Party鈥檚 propaganda campaign has gone into high gear as a result of this incident, evoking memories of yet another 鈥渉ostage crisis鈥 and characterizing the incident as an Iranian provocation designed to set up a prisoner exchange, in which the Iranians would hand over their captive Brits for Iranians recently detained in Iraq 鈥 the latter supposedly numbering in the 鈥渉undreds.鈥
As part of the general propaganda offensive, U.S. News is reporting yet another incident, this time involving the Americans and Iraqi troops, who were allegedly surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guards well inside Iraq. This supposedly occurred in September of last year 鈥 yet we鈥檙e only learning about it now.
On the ground in the Middle East, the forces that will engage in a mighty clash of civilizations are gathering 鈥 while, on the home front, the Israel Lobby is preparing the ground by softening up any possible opposition. This means zeroing in on the Democratic Party, lining up the major presidential candidates in support of a strike against Tehran, and smearing any and all war opponents as anti-Semitic enablers of the nuclear-armed, Holocaust-denying Iranian regime.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 recently-passed 鈥渁ntiwar鈥 legislation 鈥 funding the conflict while giving the president plenty of room to evade a conditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by sometime in 2008 鈥 is being hailed as a great achievement by the Huffington Post鈥檚 David Sirota and other party-lining apologists for the DNC, but what these people somehow fail to mention is the stripping out of a provision that would have forced Bush to go to Congress before launching an attack on Iran.
No one should be surprised by this open invitation to the president to commence the bombing at his convenience. After all, Democrats have been more belligerent than the Bush administration when it comes to Iran. Hillary Clinton has accused the Bushies of mollycoddling Tehran, and Democratic Party national chairman Howard Dean opined to Chris Matthews that the tragedy of our wrongheaded intervention in Iraq was that it diverted attention away from the 鈥渞eal threat鈥 鈥 Iran. Asked by Matthews if we ought to go to war with Iran, Dean 鈥 like the big-time Democratic presidential wannabes 鈥 refused to take it off the table.
The Democrats, to their dismay, may soon find that it is being put on the table by George W. Bush 鈥 and how they react will determine whether they go down in history as opponents of this war-crazed administration, or its craven enablers. I鈥檇 be willing to bet the farm on the latter, and, in this context, rumors of a U.S. attack on Iran scheduled for April seem more credible by the hour.
I would note, in passing, and purely as a speculative matter that oil prices are already spiking in response to rumors of war in the Gulf, and perhaps this is the key to understanding the Democrats鈥 capitulation. After all, the political atmosphere would certainly change 鈥 to the Democrats鈥 advantage 鈥 if the price of oil were to truly skyrocket, say, to $200 a barrel. This would virtually ensure a Democratic victory in 鈥08. That another side effect would be to trigger a worldwide economic collapse is just a minor matter, and perhaps as good an opportunity as any to institute some real New Deal-style 鈥渞eforms鈥 of the American economic system. Statist liberals have been complaining ever since 9/11 that George W. Bush has never really asked us to make 鈥渟acrifices鈥 in pursuit of victory in the 鈥渨ar on terrorism,鈥 bemoaning the lack of a tax hike and disdaining the president鈥檚 call for the nation to 鈥済o shopping鈥 in response to the biggest terrorist attack in our history. Having caused a major economic as well as geopolitical catastrophe as a result of making war on Iran, our pro-sacrifice liberals 鈥 especially those in Congress who initially signed on to the attack on Iraq 鈥 may believe an attack on Iran is a small price to pay for power.
We keep hearing that the U.S. will never attack Iran because we don鈥檛 have the troops or the military reserves. Lawrence O鈥橠onnell, for one, keeps saying this on The McLaughlin Group, but I don鈥檛 believe it for a minute. The Lobby is pushing hard on this one, and, politically, the War Party has lined up the leadership of both the Democrats and the Republicans, as Pelosi鈥檚 capitulation on the Iran proviso makes all too clear. As long as domestic political support for an attack spans both parties and includes the key element of 鈥渓iberal鈥 Democrats like Pelosi and Chairman Dean, all systems are 鈥済o鈥 for war with Iran.
God may forgive them: I will not.
Val P (39) -
I'm sure it will be a joyous thing once its finished. Hope the elbows are syrup free this morning and that the Birthday Bod (and you!) have a lovely day! x
Si (34) thanks for the post. I was going to say something along the same lines, but having been a Civvie my entire life, I was concerned that some of my posts would've been innaccurate. I also think you're on to something about Graeme not being a native English speaker, given the syntax and grammer being used. I would posit that this is someone with an agenda to push...
As for the frogtastic news, that's wonderful, Eric :-) We're all proud of you, Lissa, Marc, and the mods...
Wow! Congratulations indeed - a well deserved nomination and if there is any justice in the world it must be in the bag already! Who are we up against incidentally?
What a great idea Big Sis (31). And please may I be included in that? I know I am not as regular a frogger as some - but its not through lack of desire, its just lack of time! Job, children and house keep me fully occupied! I would love to have got involved in the song for example but just couldn't. However I do visit all the time so would love to take part in some sort of open event.
Annasee - as the others have said, don't go! (virtually I mean, not physically - of course you can move to Oz, you don't need my permission for that :0) ) That is the beauty of the web - it doesn't matter where you are in the world you can still join in.
Now, how did that happen? Vyle and I have been transposed (see 38 and 39 as I write). My posting (currently 38) was in reply to Vyle's posting (currently 39).
Hmm.
Hello Marc, where are you?
FFred (43)l
Speaking of 'agendas to push'; Check out 'A Listener' at (41).
If ever proof were needed that monstrous posts, and not just one-liners DO get through then 'A listener.' just provided it....
And s/he seems remarkably well-informed, even if just as remarkably one-sided. Very 'Damn the USA' isn't it? And dreadfully cynical too.
I refuse to believe that 15 British service personnel have been sacrificed to give the entire US Government a pretext for war.
I also don't believe that Pelosi and co. now running the legislature will give the White House unlimited free rein against Iran. Although I'd concede that the Democrats have probably never forgiven the mullahs for the Iran hostage crisis that finished Jimmy Carter off and ushered Reagan into power.
Following the 'Dodgy Dossier' Blair has conceded the right of the British Parliament, before any future wars are conducted, to vote on a resolution authorising war. If anyone thinks that this Parliament will vote for war against Iran they have gravely misjudged it. It would certainly lead to a falling out with the USA unprecedented since 1939. The strain on NATO and other Western alliances would be intolerable. Many international political relationships and treaties which have served to form the world we live in might be shaken or sundered.
Given all the possible negative implications for global politics it might not be stretching too far to suggest that the relative geopolitical unity of the western-inclined liberal democracies may well hang on a decision by the USA not to get involved in Iran. You might well imagine that if I can think like that, then so can the Iranians. They may well decide that we are bluffing and they will call it.
There is a real trap here for our Governments. If we aren't bluffing then it ends in a divisive conflict which will split the relative unity of the West. If we are bluffing and we back down then we are diminished in any case. A lose/lose opportunity.
Who'd be a national leader right now, offered unpalatable choices like these?
Si.
Agreed, Si (45) "A Listeners"s post hadn't made it up there when I frogged earlier. Very Anti-western (a distinct difference to Pro-Iranian, I hasten to add). Whilst the Democratic party may have no love for the Iranian regime that helped the fall of Carter, they have seen the fallout from Iraq, and I can't believe they would risk it all again for such selfish reasond as "A Listener" has posited.
I don't always agree with you, Si, but I'm 100% with you on this one
Perhaps Iran is telling the truth... perhaps these "sailors" were really Special Forces planning to infiltrate..?
When did we become so utterly spineless? Our sailors are imprisoned by a foreign power, outside of that power's jurisdiction, and we shy away even from "extreme diplomatic action".This is what happens when a society is overrun by political correctness and left-wing ideology. Like Milliband the spine suddenly disappears.
God help the West.
do you think the Iraqui/Iranian discussion could be moved the the Furrowed Brow as that seems a more appropriate place for this discussion? Seems silly to have serious discussion here on a 'normal' thread when we have a special place put aside for it.
It's all getting a bit Furrowed Brow in here...
On a liighter note its obvious, if a little sad, that we froggers couldn't all attend. But how about a Sony themed 'Window on your World' where we all get poshed up at the appointed date/time and send in pics of the results?
Big Sister (currently 45)
As a result of the transposition, I thought your "That bad" was referring to the tickle saga.
The song wasn't bad. It had me in tears of laughter - embarrassing with all those workers around me...
There seems to be more speculation here about the Iran incident than there was about the murder of Pakistan's coach. I had to smile when I heard that the female prisoner has complete privacy; what a lovely euphemism for Solitary Confinement.
witchiwoman (51) what a wonderful idea! I love the idea of a posh WOYW :))
FF (53)
But I haven't got a thing to wear.
FF (53) - thanks! I think theres huge scope!
AND, Eddie if you/we (!) do win can I suggest going to accept the award to the Froggers Anthem (if thats ok with Fifi!)
Jamie (48);
Or perhaps they were on a 鈥楻un Ashore鈥 and having a 鈥楤anyan鈥 on the local beach when they went to find the 鈥楪olden Camel鈥 for some extra fluid intake and a bag of crisps and got lost in their befuddled state?
David K (49);
Spineless? Left-wing? Political Correctness?
I鈥檓 the last person around here to whom any of those titles apply, as Aperitif and the other regulars will tell you. None of those things have anything to do with this current situation at all. You鈥檇 hardly call Blair left-wing, even his own party would have some doubts about that. So your language is pointlessly inflammatory.
Our sailors are indeed imprisoned. But we don鈥檛 know where, so we can鈥檛 mount a rescue job, even if we had a mind to do so. And rescues in Iran don鈥檛 work. Remember 鈥楧esert One鈥 and the post-revolutionary embassy hostage crisis?
And those people are in someone鈥檚 jurisdiction. The problem is the complexity of counter-acting interests by different groups, all of whom have some access to the levers of power.
The age of gunboat diplomacy and sabre-rattling died in 1914. You don鈥檛 just shout louder if someone ignores you. It achieves nothing. They are certainly within the power of a hostile, if not exactly enemy, regime. That regime is using them as pawns in a political game. It cares not one jot for us in the West. Indeed the more extreme religious elements regard us as contemptible, atheistic, Godless heathens and infidels. We need them much more than they need us.
But you seem to be holding back. You obviously have strong opinions on what we should be doing now? Please enlighten us all with your thinking on the matter. What 鈥榚xtreme diplomatic action鈥 do you propose? What threats might you issue when they spurn your diplomatic advances? How will you back your tub-thumping rhetoric with credible action that won鈥檛 see them taken out and shot the moment that you move?
Yes, God help the West. See the tail-end of my post (46) above for why we could walk headlong into a trap.
Admin Annie鈥檚 right. Any responses or further discussions please post onto the current incarnation of the 鈥楩urrowed Brow鈥. It鈥檚 the weekly thread where ongoing long-term discussion and debate happens. Check in the links on the right of the page to find your way there.
Si.
Si and Listener and Graeme,
We just don't know, but I'm afraid my cynicism, well hardened by experience puts me on the side of 'conspiracy' and a drumming up of war fever on the part of 'our' leaders. Sad isn't it? I wish history didn't serve so well to confirm such a viewpoint.
ed
28/03/2007 at 14:38:43 GMT
witchiwoman (51) agree with others that it's a great idea - but I'll have to get something new to wear - or have I got time to knit?
The awards ceremony is 30th April at the Grosvenor House Hotel.
According to The Indy the 25 shortlisted for the new award of 'broadcasters' broadcaster' (both living and dead) are :
Danny Baker
Zoe Ball
Tony Blackburn
Alistair Cooke
Noel Edmonds
Chris Evans
Kenny Everett
Neil Fox
Alan 'Fluff' Freeman
Paul Gambaccini
John Humphreys
Sue MacGregor
EDDIE MAIR (JUST HAD TO LAPSE INTO CAPS!)
Chris Moyles
Annie Nightingale
Christian O'Connell
John Peel
Anna Raeburn
Jonathan Ross
Les Ross
Roger Scott
Chris Tarrant
Johnnie Walker
Terry Wogan
Steve Wright
If you're a journalist, you can vote for Eddie (or whoever) on the Sony Awards website.
Haven't had time to read this whole thread since my last post near the start -- just skimmed through and it's quite a mix of serious and silly (which I love, by the way), but I just have to say: Whoever accused Si of being left-wing (ref his post at 56), are you mad?!
Si, I have risen to the bait on the Furrowed Brow, but called time out and left you a beer on the beach. :-)
Anne P - not really directed at you but Zoe Ball?? Nice girl etc but Broadcasters Broadcaster??
I'm sure a Needle Weilder like yourself could knock soemthing up no probs at all! I'm sure we can apply a Froggers spin to the notion of 'poshing-up' as well :)
Is the broadcaster's broadcaster elected by other broadcasters? If so, some of the ones on the list may have difficulty getting their votes through; they may also suffer the additional 'disadvantage' of never having heard some of the other nominees. I, however, suffer from the disadvantage of having actually heard some of the other nominees. Not mentioning any names, but there is one in particular who should be paying his/her employer to allow him/her to broadcast, not receiving a compensation package.
Ah Appy (60;
They weren't accusing me, but our national policy re: Iran and the hostages they are holding. The chap in question seems to think that we're back in the days of appeasement and that somehow the means adopted by the Government to get these unfortunate people back is typically left-wing.
Can't see the connection between state ownership and redistribution of wealth and this myself. Maybe I've missed something.
Si.
Anne P (58) Just a thought, Anne, but in the unimaginable event of either E.M. or P.M. coming home empty-handed from the ceremony, how about knitting them a consolation prize? I'm thinking perhaps a gold sparkly star that they could hang up in the studio, for instance?
some of those names are seriously suspect as The Broadcasters Broadcaster I'd have thought. But anyway it has to be a shoe in for John Peel who will win it because a tide of sentimentality on the part of hacks who are normally as cynical as they come, will carry all, including his name as winner, before it.
OK, OK, I've been right through it now and taken in as much as I can.
Serious stuff first: Graeme (10), I considered and felt unconvinced by your conspiracy theory -- and I don't ever dismiss such things out of hand. I find what Chris Fish (18), Fearless (47) and Si (34) say highly convincing, and, I should say here, that Si and I seldom agree about anything (except that debate is good). I bow to his much greater knowledge on this subject and, even whilst trying to take in all that A. Listener (41) has to say, with much to support his/her theory, I still feel that you theorise too far. If you all do contiune this discussion -- here or in the Furrowed Brow -- I will be interested to read on as I do feel I'm learning something from all of your views.
Next: Serious, but more frog-centric:
Annasee (11), how could I have missed this earlier?!?! Don't go!!! You must continue to frog from overseas -- as many have said -- it is not hard at all! But good luck with the move :-)
Right, fun stuff!
Annasee again (17), yes, quite right -- I like Mary's straightfoward request much better...
Mary (12), thank you for including me in that request. What a caring, sharing lady you are. I am ashamed now that I didn't do the same, although, to be fair, I didn't ask for myself either (see my 14).
Vyle (36), Perhaps the moderators prefer a firm red or blue? The back to front conversation between you and Big Sis at 38 and 39 had me confused too, until I read on... this blog is definitely getting even weirder!
Right, stuff to do in the actual world. :-)
Yes ww (61), I'm with you on that one.......Zoe Ball? I would not have thought she was best known for having an outstanding radio broadcasting career!! Have to say if our Eddie doesn't get it then I hope it goes to John Peel - and not just for sentimental reasons, simply that he would be among the few that I would say truly deserve it. And as for Chris Moyle.....please NO!
As for the special dressing up WOYW idea - I love it!!! We should do it!
Si (63), Yeah, realised that when I read back -- I thought from your post that you were defending yourself against a charge (compliment) of left wingedness, and I rushed to your defence!... or was it to the defence of the left... ;-)
Val P (20) and there's Stephen on Pluto, remember? Got your red spotty shoes?
Big Sis (31)- great idea.
I'm adding my belated congratulations to Eddie, Marc, Lissa, Richard et al for the well-deserved nominations.
YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
I had a hunch a while ago that the frog would get some kind of nomination.
I love the idea of a get-together, as I've said. Even if the frog doesn't win.
Thank you for the kind comments about our departure. I must say it's most complimentary. I wonder if I'll have to be some sort of antipodean creature if I frog from Oz. The nearest would be a cane toad, but they're so horrible & universally disliked I don't think that would be any good for my self esteem... I will certainly try to keep in touch. But it won't be the same, 5 pm without Eddie on the radio to keep me amused during the dinner cooking. Will we have to eat dinner at 5 am instead if I do Listen Again? hmmm.
I like the idea of Anne P knitting a consolation prize in the unthinkable event of PM not carrying all before them at the Sonys. Perhaps a gold star with a vaguely frog-shaped green lump attached? We will want photos!
Annasee - you're going to Aus! congratulations and good luck!! apologies but I missed where in Aus exactly.
And of course you can keep frogging from there. I mean, it ain't Pluto.
or a "parrallel universe" - (Val????(20) whadididoo??!!??)
And its hardly like people here don't frog at ungodly hours (Eddie!)
-------------------------------
As I've said many times I like the way this blog meanders between serious and fun and this thread is not a bad example. I know I'm learning/ thinking because of it (and I'm with Si and others on this one).
--------------------------------
As for the frog winning an award... here's what the prize is for:
"This category seeks to recognise on-air interaction where the listener is significantly involved in providing the editorial content to a radio programme."
Well, I think the blog generates most of its own content....
... with a bit of help from Eddie and the Moderators.
Ohmygod - I've invented a band.
ah, now I see Val's point...
:卢-
Oh Whisht, you are the cat's pyjamas!
Shouldn't that be the frog's legs?
AnnaS (72) - I'd like to think you'd be a tree frog; quite sweet but pleasantly vocal during the balmy evenings (at least in some parts!)
Well, I go to Lisbon for a 21st treat, only to miss, again, all the eexcitement on the Sony front. How brilliant is THAT!!!!
Belated congrats to everyone who takes the time (and it does take time!) to contribute -only wish I were as clever as some of you!
Mollyxx
AnnaS
Forgot to say how I hope you DO manage to...
etc etc- always enjoy your 'slant' on things!
Mollyxx
CONGRADULATIONS!!!!! I am sending you a photo to comemorate.
Has Jim Naughtie ever had a prize? Why not, he's the only thing that makes the Today programme bearable.
I demand a recount!
Auntie D (80);
Jim Naughtie? NO!!
As someone once remarked of Geoffrey Howe, it's like being savaged by a dead sheep. Come to think of it that also applies to Ed Stourton.
Interminable questions usually followed by one-syllable answers. I've always got the impression that JN is in love with his own intelligence and the sound of his own voice.
What about our own Sequin? She's a frequent visitor to 'Today'.
Si.
Aunt D - yes!! Truly agree! I think my idea of radio heaven would be Mr N and our dear Sir E de Mair on the same programme, PM in tone/style of course, over maybe a two hour slot...and if we could work Johnny Depp in there somewhere....I think I'd better head to the Beach!
Ah Witchi (82) Thank you for that last little thought :-)
Ah Whisht, dear one - I knew you'd know what I meant :o}x
Frances O - how did I forget Stephen Leader, btw RJD found your spotty red shoes the morning after the Froggers' Reunion in my dream at his place the other night. I think he has them on the beach.
Hmm, or is it I who am perhaps inhabiting the Parallel Universe.......
Molly - a 21st treat? Do tell?