Longrider

John Peel, the legendary BBC DJ has died aged 65. I’m shocked and saddened.
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Charles Kennedy discussed civil liberties and the climate of fear in his speech to the National Liberal Club yesterday.

In it he says: "But the classic example is Identity Cards. Just as the reasons we went to war in Iraq seem to change day by day, so have the justifications for the introduction of Identity Cards. Fraud, access to public services, illegal immigrants, terrorism, general law and order. Each argument deployed at a different time depending on what is in the headlines. It suggests that the Government itself is not quite sure what it’s trying to achieve.

Let’s not forget that we have been here before. In 1939, ID cards were introduced with three stated purposes: for conscription, for national security and for rationing. The war ended but the cards remained. By 1950 the government had added thirty-six new functions to the scheme. Without a clear definition of objectives, it is also impossible to say whether the new scheme will be cost-effective. Given this Government’s record on Information Technology projects, who can trust the current costings from the Home Office which estimates a cost of up to £3bn over 10 years on this project?"

And Tony Blair said that he wants to bring the whole sordid scheme forward when speaking at a press conference on Monday.

The Register remains sceptical.

Both of these are covered in the UK ID cards blog.
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This issue won’t go away…

While the law allows burglars to invade our property with relative impunity, the matter of defense will continue to rage in the media. Yet, today in the Telegraph there’s a story of the 73 year old farmer who shot a burglar and Judge Andrew Hamilton sentencing the burglar said that it was a pity that prosecutors even thought of bringing a case against the farmer, Kenneth Faulkner.

The law is in serious need of overhaul - and clearly the legal profession are starting to make that clear. Things could get interesting…
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There’s a discussion going on at the UK Bike Forum regarding a scam that one of the members encountered through Ebay. He is selling a car for £3000 and the "buyer" offers to send a cheque for £6500. The idea being that he gives her the car and the difference - because, apparently, her employer has raised the cheque for that amount and it can’t be changed.

Now to me (and the others discussing it) this has SCAM written in big friendly letters flashing neon pink. I’m having difficulty, though, grasping just how the scammers get away with it. After all, savvy sellers will allow sufficient time for the funds to properly clear before parting with anything. Which seems to me a potential flaw in the scheme. UK banks will only accept sterling cheques, which seems like another one (although in this case, the cheque proffered was supposed to be drawn on a UK bank). While I can see that the delay in clearing allows the scammer to potentially make off with the car and a cool £3500 bonus, the whole thing seems so flaky. Or is it just me?

Fraudwatch is a useful resource for scams.
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Buried deep in this piece is a comment on the proposals for UK house vendors to produce a seller’s pack. Indeed, if the legislation goes according to plan, it will be a legal requirement in 2006.

I can’t say that I have strong opinions on this particular proposal - I do, however have strong opinions on the matter of buying and selling houses in the UK generally. Sharp practice abounds on both sides of the equation. Each time my parents attempted to move, someone put a spanner in the works by trying to change the arrangements (or price) at the last minute, affecting everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the chain.

In comparison, our experience in France was the model of simplicity. Providing you are prepared to do your homework, the system works perfectly. If you like the property and wish to buy, you make an offer. The property comes off the market for 10 days while the vendor considers the offer. If it is accepted, the buyer lodges a deposit with either the notiare or the agent. This is refundable only in the event of the buyer not being able to raise finance or the searches throwing up serious problems with the property. At this time, the completion date is agreed.

French banking bureaucracy aside (it can be exceedingly slow), the process is smooth and efficient.
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This bothers me somewhat. Apparently, according to Big Blunkett, Juries in child sex abuse and theft cases will soon be entitled to know whether the defendant has convictions for similar offenses.

Superficially, this may seem a good thing. However, on reflection, does this mean that in the event of an offence, Plod will round up the usual suspects and they will be convicted because of their form? Just because someone did it once before, it doesn’t mean they did it this time.

It really is about time our adversarial system was dropped in favour of a search for the truth based upon the evidence presented in this case, not what went before.
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There’s an interesting discussion going on over at Rider Site about Christmas. One wag decided to get in first with his greetings.

This led to a fairly predictable admonishment to those of us who expressed a desire to keep Christmas confined to December. Now while I have no beef with people who like the festive season, I don’t like it myself. Usually when I mention this, the response seen on Rider Site comes out and I’m accused of being miserable, a killjoy or party pooper. None of these things is true. I commented earlier about the need for more leisure and I am more than capable of enjoying myself - I just don’t like Christmas.

I recall a few years back traipsing through the jostle of Broadmead in Bristol enduring the muzac that passes for festive cheer when I realised that I just couldn’t do this anymore. So I stopped. The result has been less stress and an ability to watch the world becoming increasingly manic through autumn while I stand detached on the edge of the maelstrom. This year I’ll be passing the time in France where there are no crowds and the loudest thing I’m likely to hear is next door’s chickens.

So, what is it I don’t like about Christmas? Here’s my list:

Holiday Nazis The people who believe that their way of fun is the only way and anyone who doesn’t join in is wrong, a killjoy or a party pooper. The people who just can’t accept that it isn’t for everyone.
Christianity One of the most destructive religions to beleaguer mankind. They had the effrontery to steal the pagan midwinter festival and pass it off as their own.
False Bonhomie Peace on Earth is all very well - but after the break everyone goes back to being awful to one another.
The Christmas Album Schmaltzy cheesy tat.
Gluttony Eating and drinking to excess is ugly and antisocial.
Christmas Cards See "The Christmas Album"
Having it rammed down my throat from September onwards.
Commercialism See "The Christmas Album"
Crowds
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Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Today is the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava. I commented about the revision of the Times’ article of 1854. That they did so was in the light of more recent reflection on the Battle. Far from the hopeless charge into oblivion, the Light Brigade’s charge, while following a mistaken order, resulted in them achieving their objective. A pyrrhic victory, perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.

There’s something very British about the whole thing…

For more on this:
BBC
Telegraph
Guardian

Also covered at Samizdata Blog
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