Panda Strong

bobby burg was just lovely. by far the most posi guy in the room. his grin! the whole band seemed so into it. seriously though, thanks so much for putting this on. i'm glad i came back up for it. i've always been a bit 'meh' about joan of arc but was totally blown away this evening. everything was spot on. and finishing with an owls song?! arrived a bit late so only caught min diesel onwards (who i really enjoyed!). there were two really outstanding tracks - 4th and second last maybe? i can't quite remember. i've never enjoyed hot club de paris and that just made it worse. don't get it. worst banter i've ever heard, too. real head-in-hands material.

Regardless of the functions, you could argue that Iraq's purple-fingered exercises in elections seen on television everywhere had a part to play in setting an example for the entire region, and what we've seen over the past few months. And sure, Iraq will never be Switzerland; they're building from the ground up with critical internal and external problems. It certainly won't happen over night, and it might get worse again before it gets better. But not to get too positive (which is rare for me), with the right support and work there is a framework that can be built on long term. Then again, everything could go tits up and the image of a balancing Iraq in the region disappear in swathes of Sunni/Shia Iraq/Iran bitterness. I definitely think Iraq over the next 10 years will be pretty key, anyway. OK - enough about Iraq.

No. Again, if you know the history of Iraq since the Gulf war, as well as the SC resolutions through the 90's you wouldn't just believe WMD's were made up to go in for oil. Just a few points: - countless (all) UN resolutions broken since 1990 (including 1441; "a final opportunity to comply...) - continuing failure of economic sanctions - 100,000's of dead - removal of UN inspectors / the building of a nuclear program that would have been weaponised given more time - profits from the oil-for-food program diverted to the regime / mass starvation - funding insurgencies in North Africa / West Bank and Gaza / etc - the list goes on Not to move away from Osama even more, but today Iraq is the only functioning Arab democracy. OK, it's imperfect, fragile, and prone to the odd bomb or two, but it has multiparty elections and the freest press in the region. If Egypt or Libya were to be as politically developed in 2 or 3 years as is Iraq today - talk about success. The US is moving out of Iraq - it's taken no oil; established no permanent military bases; and has left not a puppet regime, but a functioning democracy. But hey, whatever.

not sure if he's been mentioned, but freddie gibbs is pretty much all i listen to these days - - guy is insane.

The No!'s were about the fact that Bush would not have taken the US to war with North Korea, and that if you know anything about the history of Iraq between 1990 and the invasion, you'd know the threat he posed. I don't know enough about the detail of what would need to happen to try Osama other than in, say, Saudi, for example. But i don't really see it as relevant - he's technically been on trial since the early 90s when AQ began operations and declared war on the US. The bureaucracy of international criminal courts would only frustrate the already signed / sealed / delivered verdict, and i doubt by taking him in you would gain much intel that can't be found from other sources picked up in the operation. I have no 'moral or ethical' problems with him being bumped off and thrown in the sea, though.

No! No! Anyway. Byman has an interesting piece in FP that is worth a read - Think Again: Al Qaeda - By Daniel Byman | Foreign Policy

The bombing of Kosovo while without UN mandate (and a NATO state attacked) was regarded as internationally legal in comparison to the invasion in Iraq. For some reason i's illegality has been institutionalised, regardless of the breaking of countless UN resolutions since 1990 (including 1441; "a final opportunity to comply...), 100,000's of dead, removal of UN inspectors, and profits from the oil-for-food program being diverted to the regime, all prior to invasion. UN Resolution 1483, which recognised the legitimate authority of the occupying powers under international law is rarely sighted either. Go figure. I don't even know where to start with this. Probably file under bullshit.

many apologies. i did not know. anyway..., to slightly digress, has anyone heard alex bleeker and the freaks? it's julian and matt / real estate. record came out 09/10 i think, but i only got into it a few months back - great LP!

guilty simpson = swag

hang on a second. wait. hang on. i'm rubbing my eyes at this line up. ducktails? julian lynch? are we still in aberdeen? imp you have made my day/week/month. of course CH are a plus, but the above two are the last two things i expected to see playing this city. consider me stoked.

james blake record is great.

free earl.

think? i think you might mean thick. but flanks anyway.

maybe i already have.

i actually do strategic studies, but whatever.

properly targeted government spending would improve state education but it hasn't happened! the huge list of initiatives launched by the government is ridiculous when you set it against the fact they've done almost nothing to improve the education of those less well off - in fact, those from the more deprived backgrounds are doing less well now than they were 20 or 30 years ago. the ironic thing is, for the government to continue the massive spending on state education, they have to borrow money they don't have which future generations of children will have to pay back (either in massively tax increase or a decline in the quality of state education). this has nothing to do with market benefits or stocks and shares. i think people make the mistake of separating themselves from important economic realities that are really important (see the 4.8 trillion pound debt we're in due to our government over the past so many years spending money they didn't have), because they automatically make the link between money and its world with simply things like the FTSE. the banking crisis is a drop in the ocean to our country's debt. as for free education and health - i did not say i was completely against this (even if it was something we could afford - we can't). but why can't we follow the model of other european countries? germany for example; everyone pays a little towards a sort of health insurance while those you cannot afford it, have the government pay for it. there is nothing unethical about that. if the alternative is the current NHS system we have..., well i know which i would prefer. even countries like sweden have a more sensible system when it comes to education / health / taxes.

oh lighten up! undermine!? what on earth are you talking about? the soviet and satellite states argument is merely to point out the degree to which the public sector has become bloated and ineffective. i'm not talking about stalinist social policy here. it's a common analogy (albeit perhaps slightly crude) drawn by economic profs at LSE and the adam smith institute - whom i'm sure we can at least both agree know what they're talking about? granted, i've deviated from the public private school debate to one of more general economics and public vs private - but this can still be an adult debate. i did try to spark part of one above, in case you missed it - do you think increased government spending, and a bigger welfare state, leads to a progressive and energised economy and thus country? (capitalisation and punctuation on the internet is a bit of a non started with me, sorry. i just can't be bothered.)

what is wrong with you?

folly is folly regardless of the good intentions. the daily mail? haha! son, more like the FT. i would be ecstatic if this kind of conversation was happening in the daily mail, purely because it would hint towards a broader appreciation of what economic systems work, and the ones that don't. which part of my post applies to vitriolic nonsense? public spending is going to increase over the next five years - check the most recent FSA reports for that. increased state control? you do realise that the state control around 60 + % of the work force in scotland (and that isn't including secondary work either)? that isn't nonsense. considering in the soviet union and communist satellite states during the cold war dealt with state control under 50%, the fact we have surpassed that suggests a bloated public sector. how can you disagree with that? further - if we look at the league tables for education and health - where are the UK? the NHS is a bureaucratic black hole, and our state run education system isn't far from something similar. and regarding adam smith - take a look at the economic boom in hong kong, china, and other east asia countries. then, after that, compare their model to ours (or even somewhere like sweden!). do you see where we are going wrong? in all seriousness - do you think increased government spending, and a bigger welfare state, leads to a progressive and energised economy and thus country? lets have the intellectually valid debate. less state control + more economic freedom = real individual freedom. it's really quite simple.

to argue on principle while being completely void of reality doesn't really help. public spending is going to INCREASE over the next five years. congratulation everyone! increased and botched state control and our wonderful welfare state for everyone has left us up shit creek, not only without a paddle, but also a 4.8 trillion pound debt. not to mention a shitty health service that most in mainland western europe would laugh at. and the education system? please. just how much (of our money/borrowed) money have the government poured into that? if we're talking of unethical, that is probably a good place to start. if you think improvements across the board can be made from increased government involvement, and thus a more bloated public sector, please go back to school and read adam smith.

i really liked that one that started slow and got louder. i suppose the show wasn't bad. i quite liked the last remember remember song, but have no idea why they needed that many people on stage? the drums were a bit odd as well. i thought the sound was off (especially the snare drum during mogwai). it was very LOUD at times though - and there were a couple of moments that really worked, ...but it did start to drag. i would have liked something from cody or young team (there was one from rock action and HSFHP?); but only because i've not really listened to any other mogwai records. also - yeah, pretty much void of atmosphere.

ridiculous. my attitude? could you explain what you mean by that? i am the complete antithesis of what i assume are your 'regulars' (and from what i gather from what you've said here, this show is aimed at). i can accept that. great. i don't go to club nights or DJ sets. but i spin klavierwerke regularly, and the poster along with the blurb on it put it into my mind (and others i've spoken to about it - i guess they aren't regulars either so who cares?), that it wasn't just a DJ set. the latter is just something i'm not into and i don't see what is not legitimate about voicing that. it's great james blake is doing what he's doing up here for you and i'm sure loads of people are stoked. but my attitude? please.

i asked in one up today whether it was live or just a DJ set because it is completely unclear from the poster - according to them it is just a DJ set. if it is i doubt i'll bother going.

i love the album name! anyway, the cover is by antony crook. well, the photo is anyway. he's a great photographer - Antony Crook

yes! best record of the year for me.