Historical quote for the day

'As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic].'

Abraham Lincoln, letter to Joshua Speed, August 24 1855

Now that's a quote. 

It's 150 years since the start of the Civil War so the American media is bursting with some really good historical discussion on the Civil War. I hadn't heard this quote before so thanks to Prof. Adam Goodheart of Washington College, on a recent Diane Rehm Show from NPR.

Must all good things come to end?

I just listened to the last episode of Politics UK on the BBC World Service. This program has been one of the victims of the cuts happening across the british government currently; the World Service is funded by the Foreign Office and they are having their budget cut just like the rest of the public sector. Politics UK has been perhaps the best programme on the BBC about british politics across all the radio channels both domestic and the World Service: half an hour long giving time for real interviews where people could really make a coherent argument rather than just knock out a few sound-bites. The final guests on the programme are typical of the sort of heavy-weights with decades of experience that have typified the voices that have been heard on Politics UK; Lord Hennessy - Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London; Lord Howe - former Chancellor of the Exchequer, foreign secretary and deputy prime minister under Margaret Thatcher and Lord Donoughue - former adviser to Labour prime ministers Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan and a minister under Tony Blair. And all agreed that the Foreign Office and BBC were shooting themselves in the foot cutting such an obvious 'weapon' of UK 'soft power'.

I for one will miss it, and want to thank the team at the BBC who have made such consistently good programme/podcast over the years.

If you don't know anything about the EU...

Through work and studies I know lots of people who know an awful lot about the EU, (don't worry though - it doesn't necessarily make them weird, or bad dinner guests. Well, not in every case.) but that is very far from the norm. Because of all the areas where the EU has some influence - for good or bad - most people have some opinion on it, but unless you really don't have anyhing to do with your spare time, most people don't know much about how and why the EU is now as it is. I happened to hear an interview with Paul Krugman today; the subject was really the future of the Euro - where he could do his whole Nobel-winning-economist-thang. Obviously this is worth listening to in its own right, but on his way to making those points he gave a very decent, clear and concise history of the EU, and being on American radio - it was aimed at people who are even less likely to know about why and what the EU is than your average European. Well worth 10 minutes of any inquiring mind's time.

Ice climbing and Brazilian economic history

Ice climbing and This American Life from Toby A. on Vimeo.

Yesterday I went and did a bit of moderate climbing on my own. I was listening to the ever brilliant This American Life on my iPod whilst doing so. If you have ever wondered why the Brazilian Real is called the 'Real' (as opposed to the 'fake'); or how the Fed makes and destroys money; then download the podcast, grab your ice axes and go, climb and learn.

Radio Open Source » Jill Lepore: Tea Party Time… and the Death of Compassion

I have been a bit remiss in blogging this week, but if you are interested in the rise of the Tea Party in the US, then I heartily recommend listening Radio Open Source's interview with historian Jill Lepore: Radio Open Source » Blog Archive » Jill Lepore: Tea Party Time… and the Death of Compassion It is one of those great example of the uses and misuses of history.

Slightly confused small government conservatives.

On a related note, it is interesting as well listening to some American coverage of the UK's spending review. On Slate's Political Gabfest for example, they seem quite amazed by the whole process - noting that American conservatives, especially the Tea Party, talk all the time about wanting to shrink the government but can never identify what they would shrink, whilst actively wanting to spend more on defence.

On Somalia and relatively cuddly pirates.

This week's bedtime reading - because this is just what a crazy guy I am - has been the most recent International Crisis Group report on Somalia, called "Somalia's Divided Islamists". It is, as ever, fascinating and once again reminds me that first thing to understand about Somali politics is that don't really understand Somali politics. Fortunately the Crisis Group has some people who really do and can thus help the rest of us.

Anyway - on a vaguely related note - this week's This American Life was on the theme of hostages. They open with an interview with commercial hostage negotiator and anti-kidnapping trainer. Ira asked him where in the world was the best place to get kidnapped if you really had to get kidnapped and held hostage. His advice was Somali pirates seem to be the least interested in hurting their hostages of all the various political and professional kidnapping rackets around the world. Perhaps they know that pirates these days are the fun-loving characters of a million nautically themed childrens books and want to conform to the stereotype. Expect eye-patches and comedy inflatable parrots next.

The first draft history

Some clever spark once said that journalism is the first draft of history. If you've been following the British general election saga, this week's "The Report" from BBC Radio 4 is fascinating listening and will be a source for future historians on how the coalition negotiations took place. Right down to Lord Mandelson texting his mate on the other side of the table to avoid his own team knowing what he was saying.

"Don't worry lads, I have a cunning plan..."

Top radio

Strictly speaking - I don't actually listen to the radio much any more, so this should really be titled 'top podcasts'; but you get the point. You can probably find all of these through iTunes, but I'll try and link directly to the relevant webpages.

Firstly, the ever excellent Rear Vision from ABC Radio National Australia. A couple of shows back they did the programme on Chavez and Venezuela. They explain clearly and precisely how he came to be elected with so much popular support, and then all his weakness both personal and political. Excellent journalism - find the right experts and just let them talk.

Then two episodes of Fresh Air from NPR in the States. Firstly, their interview with Dr. Atul Gawande - which helps explain a lot about the structural difficulties of the US healthcare system - when doctors are turned into businessmen and women. And secondly their interview with Chip Berlet, a remarkable sounding researcher into the role of conspiracy theories in extremist ideologies and world views.

And finally, and really only of interest to cyclists, the Guardian has made a pretty good effort with their first ever bike podcast. Bike reviews, cycling safety issues, possible trip destinations, interviews - really a bike mag to listen to.

Counting al Qaeda

Something that I meant to blog last week and totally forgot about: one of my weekly podcast is the 'Political Scene' from the New Yorker. It's just a few journalists chatting, but they are pros and know their stuff. Last week, in the wake of Obama's Cairo speech, they were discussing US policy and the 'Muslim world'. One of the speakers was New Yorker correspondent Lawrence Wright who I still think has written one of the better books on al Qaeda: The Looming Tower. Wright spent years interviewing spooks, Islamist activists, retired Jihadis, family members of still active Jihadis, local journalists and the like around the world. He clearly has good contacts, and notes in this podcast that he was recently told by Egyptian intelligence that they believe the core of al Qaeda, now mainly based in Pakistan number now below 200 people. Even the CIA number them only between 300 and 500. These numbers don't presumably include any of the affiliates who have adopted the al-Qaeda monniker in more recent years, such as the GSPC in Algeria, but does suggest that for all the weaknesses in US policy towards the Taliban in Afghanistan, the coalition (and Pakistanis) are having some success at keeping al Qaeda's central organisers suppressed.

Wright does make the very interesting point though, that the "Af-Pak" insurgency is become "proletarianized" and the Taliban is taking on a class distinction that wasn't clear before. Landless peasants are joining the Taliban and fighting against the landed class. If the conflict becomes progressively influenced by socio-economic factors, this is a major policy failure as it provides the insurgency with a moral legitimacy that it didn't previously possess.

You can listen directly to the podcast here. Wright's interesting comments begin at about 7.40.

The Gaza-Egypt border

A screen grab of the Rafah crossing from Google Earth. The Philipdelphi corridor is visible as the obvious straight line (click for a bigger version).

Of all the dimensions to the Gaza war of last month, I've always thought that one that was worst reported was the Egyptian - Gaza border, and hence the Egyptian Palestinian relationship. I became interested in how the 14 kms of the border between Gaza and Egypt worked a couple of years ago when looking into how the blockade worked. I couldn't figure out how the Israelis could blockade Gaza when only controlling three of the four sides of the territories. Whilst Israel occupied Gaza, the IDF maintained a few hundred metres wide strip along the Gazan side of the border, the Philadelphi corridor, meaning that in effect they control all sides of Gaza, but it was handed to the Egyptians in 2005 during the settlement evacuation. I'm not certain, but I don't think the Egyptians ever patrolled on the Gaza side, instead letting the PA take control until the Hamas coup kicked them out. The EU had a mission - EUBAM (I can't help think of Bam Bam of Flintstones fame...) - which was meant to neutrally run the Rafah crossing, but they had to get there from Israel into Gaza and the Israelis would block them getting into Gaza at one of the other crossing points when they wanted Rafah closed. EUBAM were still twiddling their thumbs in Askelon, waiting for someone to tell them to go back to Rafah last time I looked.

So they Egyptians have just built a bloody great wall along the border with Gaza, hence all the tunnels underneath it. Anyway, File on Four on BBC Radio 4 have done a pretty good programme looking at Egypt's role in the Gaza crisis (download the podcast whilst you can). It doesn't cover everything, like political instability in the Sinai, but it's a very good primer. It also shows the hypocrisy of many of the Arab regimes - they allow at times strident, ugly anti-Israel rhetoric as a pressure valve on their oppressed domestic constituency who have no real democratic say, whilst actually do very little to help the Palestinians.

Thought for the day

A wise man, who is from Minnesota where they seem to produce wise men, once told me: "life is too short for bad beer". He is so right. So when I was in the supermarket last, I decided to try some Lia Fail which I haven't supped before and jolly nice it is too. Just try to get over the paint-yer-face-blue cliche Scottishness of the branding, which the continentals eat up with a spoon, and enjoy.

Today, I have been mainly listening to Stephen Fry podcasts, which accounts for my good humour despite the lateness of the hour and darkness of the night.