Alex Massie

Alex Massie

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Ricky Ponting Deserves Our Cheers, Not Moronic Boos

From our UK edition

Ricky Ponting batting at Edgbaston last week. Photo: Tom Shaw/Getty Images. Three - yes, a whole three -  cheers for Dominic Lawson's article in the Independent today. He is right: booing Ricky Ponting is disgraceful. There may be a cartoonish element to it all and perhaps the Barmy Army will signal this by cheering the Australian skipper to the echo at the Oval when, we assume, he plays his final test innnings in England, but that's still not quite good enough. For the time being, too many England cricket fans - not to be confused with supporters of English cricket - seem to have decided that Ponting is some kind of villain.

Alex Massie

The Totnes Thunderbolt?

From our UK edition

Well, perhaps. And perhaps I was too cynical about the idea of open primaries* being used to select Conservative candidates. Better ti listen to and consider the wisdom of Matthew Parris. A turnout of around 25% is quite impressive for an exercise of this sort even if one might also presume that the novelty of being the first constituency to hold such a contest played a part in boosting enthusiasm. Dr Sarah Wollaston's victory over two local politicians might be taken as reflecting an anti-politician mood, but it remains to be seen if that sense endures once the Totnes experiement is repeated in other constitutencies.

Alex Massie

The Good Gordon Brown

From our UK edition

Marbury is quite right. The Prime Minister's advisers must wonder what they have to do to get this Gordon Brown appearing on your TV screen. Now, there are a few things one could say about the content of Brown's Ted Talk in Oxford but that's a post for another time. But in general, this is good stuff: fluent, passionate, witty (yes, really) and so on. Above all, freed from the tedium and trivia and trauma of life at Westminster you see a different and relaxed big-picture Gordon. It's almost enough to make one wonder what might have happened if only Gordon weren't quite so bad at politics... Anyway, this is worth your time. There's a good, if probably apocryphal, Reagan joke too.

Alex Massie

Trouble Amongst the Birthers

From our UK edition

I confess that I thought Orly Taitz had to be a made-up name. But no, apparently not. The latest tomfoolery exciting the "birther" movement is a transparently fake "birth certificate" purporting to demonstrate that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. As always, the indefatigable Dave Weigel is the go-to fellow for birther-related hilarity. The new focus on a bogus document from an anonymous source has riven the small community of activists who are trying to prove that Barack Obama cannot be president of the United States... “If this turns out to be a bad document that she’s posted, I think it gives the non-birthers an argument to say: ‘See, these people don’t know what they’re doing,’” said Philip J.

Monday

Alex Massie

Iran’s Red Line? A Case for Caution, Not Action

From our UK edition

As is customary, James and I disagree about Iran. Or perhaps we merely have different ideas about what constitutes the most important Persian questions. James, I think (and I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong), places the nuclear issue above all others. I'm more agitated by the nature of the regime in Tehran. That is, I doubt that we can prevent Iran from acquiring a nulear capability at some point and that, while it would certainly be preferable if Iran didn't have the bomb, we might have to get used to the idea that it will. It's also quite possible, perhaps even probable, that a new regime in Tehran (if and/or when that happens) will also want nukes. This would make sense, given that Iran feels it is being threatened by outside, hostile powers.

Alex Massie

Royalty is Better than Politics: Naval Department

From our UK edition

I hadn't realised until Matt Yglesias pointed it out that there's some unhappiness that the US navy's next aircraft carrier is going to be named after Barry Goldwater and not William Jefferson Clinton. The obvious thing to do, however, is avoid naming ships after politicians at all. This is one area in which the Royal Navy, despite everything, remains vastly superior to its cousins on the other side of the Atlantic. I mean, the new Type 45 Detroyers, HMS Daring and HMS Dauntless have proper naval names as do the submarines Trafalgar, Ambush, Audacious.

Saturday

Alex Massie

Is Mark Penn the Dumbest Pollster on Earth?

From our UK edition

Possibly! Gordon Brown's government has a 17% approval rating and fewer than one in five voters think Brown would make a better Prime Minister than either David Cameron or, titter ye not, Nick Clegg. His government is in much the same place John Major's was in 1996 and we know how that ended for the Tories. The Brown ministry has lost its mast and been holed, repeatedly, below the water line. Yet amidst the wreckage and the blood and the howls of agony one man insists that all is not lost and that, actually, victory remains possible. That man, folks, is Mark Penn, the American pollster and strategist last seen leading Hillary Clinton's glorious triumph in the 2008 Democratic Primary. Oh, hang on...

Alex Massie

The Decline and Fall of English Football Managers

From our UK edition

Sir Bobby Robson's death yesterday left one wondering just what has happened to English football management. Or, to be more precise, what has happened to English football managers? Of the top ten sides in last year's Premiership just two - Fulham and Tottenham - were led by Englishmen and in the last 25 years Howard Kendall (Everton) and Howard Wilkinson (Leeds) have been the only Englishmen to helm Championship winning sides. What happened? True, Alex Ferguson has had a lot to do with this, while Arsene Wenger's residency at Arsenal has prevented another of the top jobs from coming open.

Friday

Alex Massie

Let us praise Silvio Berlusconi…

From our UK edition

In these bleak times, we should be grateful for Silvio Berlusconi's willingness to provide much-needed levity and entertainment. The story of his encounters with Patrizia D'Addario (above) constitutes a public service: The escort at the centre of a sex scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi has said the Italian prime minister offered her a seat in the European Parliament. Patrizia D'Addario told the BBC the plan was abandoned by his party, People of Freedom, after his wife complained. He also did not pay her to sleep with him, but instead promised to resolve an issue over a building permit, she said. The allegations follow the release of audio recordings purportedly of their liaison in his official Rome residence.

Alex Massie

Conspiracy Deathmatch: Birthers vs Truthers

From our UK edition

Blimey. A new poll asks: "Do you believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America or not?" Just 42% of Republican respondents answer "Yes". 28% say "No" and 30% "Aren't Sure". As Dave Weigel points out, this is the GOP equivalent of an infamous poll in 2007 which reported that 35% of Democrats suspected that George W Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance. Enquiring minds want to know, mind you, how many people think Obama was born in Kenya/Indonesia/Wherever and think Dick Cheney blew up the World Trade Center? I really don't know how one deals with this sort of nuttiness. But I suspect ignoring them may prove more profitable than wasting time denunking the nonsense spouted by people who won't be satisfied, regardless of the absurdity of their claims.

Alex Massie

Westminster’s Terrible West Wing Obsession

From our UK edition

Like James, I enjoyed Mark Lawson's column this morning. Then I would, wouldn't I? I've written before about the fatuous desire to graft* American political arrangements onto our own political structure. Lawson is right to suggest that the political and media class's obsession with The West Wing is all rather depressing. Now, like plenty of other people, I liked the West Wing, even if, in my experience, the more one knew about how Washington actually works the more preposterous the show became. Our pols, however, don't seem to have grasped that it's a fantasy and not to be taken seriously. In a sense, Aaron Sorkin offered a dangerous fantasy too: promoting the idea that politics is the answer and that good intentions and cleverness will prevail. The Best and the Brightest are enough.

Alex Massie

Hamsterdam Britain

From our UK edition

The good news about the Drug War is that the police know it can't be won. The bad news is that the politicians, judging by their public pronouncements at least, still seem to think it can. There are times when I think it's important to question some of the assumptions made about policing; but when the police have the good sense to agree with me it's only proper to acknowledge the excellent work they're doing. So huzzahs for the UK Drug Policy Commission whose latest report the Times summarises thus: Police should switch their focus away from arresting drug dealers and concentrate on managing the harm they cause, according to an influential report. The UK Drug Policy Commission says new dealers take the place of those arrested and often bring new problems such as violent turf wars.

Thursday

Alex Massie

Broken Washington? Democrats Should Embrace States’ Rights

From our UK edition

"Barack Obama, minting a new generation of future cynics." That was how one friend of mine - a former Hill aide turned Democratic lobbyist - predicted the Obama presidency would unravel. Now, just six months in, my friend's sardonicism seems well-judged. This isn't simply a matter of the fatal combination of the dog days of summer and a tortuous battle over healthcare reform (though that's part of it). Rather, it's the case that even a popular President, armed with a genuine mandate and an enormous quantity of goodwill seems unable to find a way through Washington's legislative thickets. Obama arrived in the Oval Office with a sweeping liberal agenda not seen since the days of Lyndon Johnson; alas, so far, he doesn't have LBJ's clout at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Alex Massie

BBC Asks for Increased Subsidy Shocker!

From our UK edition

Unsurprisingly, the BBC wants the government to increase the number of sporting events that have to be shown on "free-to-air" [sic] television. But it's hard to see why there needs to be any list of "protected" sport on terrestial television in the first place, let alone why that list should be expanded. Here's the BBC's argument: The BBC insists the protected list should be retained and its submission argues that "to limit access to those willing and able to subscribe to pay-TV would threaten the fabric of our sporting and cultural nation".

Alex Massie

Burning Issue: Does Hogwarts Have A Drinking Problem?

From our UK edition

Lord knows there's almost no idea too dumb to appear in a newspaper, but this recent effort from the New York Times is a cracker: Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem? As Harry Potter fans crowd movie theaters to catch the latest installment in the blockbuster series, parents may be surprised by the starring role given to alcohol. In scene after scene, the young wizards and their adult professors are seen sipping, gulping and pouring various forms of alcohol to calm their nerves, fortify their courage or comfort their sorrows...recreated on the big screen, the images of teenage drinking are jarring. Previous Harry Potter movies have shown drinking, but this one takes it to a new level.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

A Brown vs Cameron Debate? Advantage Brown!

From our UK edition

James is quite correct. Gordon Brown should certainly leap at the chance to have a live televised debate against David Cameron next year. I assume that the Tories think that Brown will, as he has so often before, see this as too great a risk and, consequently, "bottle it". Perhaps so. But that's also why the Prime Minister should welcome the opportunity to make a final stand in an election campaign that he otherwise seems destined to lose. As Brother Forsyth argues, the expectations for Brown are now so low that it's hard to see how he could actually fail to "win" the debate  - at least in the eyes of the media. But there are a couple of other considerations that I think Brown should keep in mind: 1. Tory smugness. Ordinarily, only the underdog wants to have a TV debate.

Alex Massie

One Cheer for Tory Localism, But Where’s the Beef?

From our UK edition

Harry Phibbs' piece at Comment is Free today makes the perfectly sensible point that the Tories "localism" agenda - the closest thing Cameron has to a Big Idea - is more flexible, even nuanced than is sometimes appreciated. The Man in Whitehall Does Not Always Know Best. Elements of the localist agenda require local councils to have more power; others to devolve power - or choice - to the people themselves. As Phibbs says, more power also demands more "accountability". But the Tories' definition of "accountability" (itself a notion that can be taken too far) seems to mean only that You Can Find Out What the Cooncil is Spending.

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Big Business & Big Government, Together Again…

From our UK edition

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the Scottish government's desire to set alcohol prices. Not the least of them is that, in addition to the usual health police, the measure is backed by big business. And why wouldn't it be? The SNP seem to think that Molson Coors' support for similar measures in Canada and the brewer's suggestion that the Canadian experience be copied in the UK represents a major breakthrough for the idea. Well, perhaps it does. But Molson Coors is, I think, Canada's biggest brewer and they also make Carling - the most popular lager in the UK. So of course they recognise that increased government intervention in the marketplace is no bad thing.

Alex Massie

Service Resumed

From our UK edition

So, back from a week of splendid cricket in Ireland, blessedly free from internet and email and newspapers and everything else and what do we find? Obama bogged down in healthcare and the silly season; Labour still doomed; a good, though not great, edition of the Tour de France and, of course, Sarah Palin remaining the gift that keeps on giving.

Monday

Alex Massie

Gone Cricketing

From our UK edition

Note the jaunty attempt to emulate Gordon Greenidge; note too the lack of control which has caused the bottom hand to leave the bat, suggesting that this attempt has, alas, more or less failed. Photo: Grant Kinghorn. No blogging until next week, I'm afraid. Holiday time. Albeit an unusually energetic trip overseas as I'll be playing cricket every day this week. I'm making my debut for the White City All Stars - a team skippered by Peter Oborne, late of this parish - on the club's annual tour of Ireland. Should be fun. Runs and wickets permitting, of course. Anyway, see you on the 28th or so.