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Mostly due to FTP issues to my web server the site has been offline, but now I’m still getting the RSS problem.

I’m pretty sure that I found a potential solution, but can’t remember what it was

Although WordPress seems to be functioning OK there seems to be some problem with the RSS feed

Time for some more investigation…

I have, howover, chosen a new base template for the site…

Well, it seems to be working OK now.

Next step is to get a decent template and make this place look pretty and put some decent links etc on

Aargh!

I’m trying to migrate from using Blogger to Wordpress. It all seems simple enough, but the damned ftp upload seems to have f*cked up leaving the site unusable. Worse is that it’s actually used enough connections to prevent me from manually fixing it until they time-out.

Bugger.
Oh well. It was probably time I did something useful with this space anyway.

State of the Union

Even without knowing that Bush was due to give his SOTU address, I was thinking about something that is touched upon by Dave in this post.

Sure, they’re human beings, but they labor over the big quesitons, make the thoughtful compromises we’d like to see our leaders make, hell, they’re actually leaders. Even if I didn’t agree with something Bartlet did, I’d still support the president, because I know he’s doing the best he can.

My own thoughts were leaning towards why individuals and Governments act in a certain way and do that things that I find are illogical, incorrect, unpopular or just not capable of meeting the stated goals. Whilst concerned about what happens in the US (in general) and by Bush (in particular) I’m more concerned about what happens HERE (this England).

I’ve no doubt that people entering politics in the UK intend to achieve “good” - the problem comes in how that’s defined which can be a very personal thing. Nobody (except the insane or evil) /wants/ poverty, hunger, slavery, ill-health, unemployment etc… (If someone does then please let me know - I’m genuinely interested), but occasionally these are the results of policies that have other /intended/ consequences. I suppose part of this is the old question about the ends and the means…

Given that we should want everyone to be happy and healthy then the question is - how is this best achieved?

I don’t believe that a Government (note the capital letter) should be populist as, by and large, people are stupid. This is no fault of their own, but of a crippled education system that merely passes on exam technique and a media that prizes celebrity and faux-achievement more than investigation and journalism. This must be a self-reinforcing cycle - we have a generation raised on football, pop-stars and models (I have no problem with sport, or football in particular, or music - rather the way that the performers of these acts are treated and revered), who cannot see beyond that and will blindly do as they are told by whoever is in power (whether that be Blair or Murdoch).

Obviously if everyone was well educated and possessed a critical, inquisitive nature then this wouldn’t be a problem - BUT it’s almost as if those traits are been systematically exterminated from society. Children are taught to blindly listen and obey without question (often under the guise of security). People who do question are labelled as troublemakers or worse, when in the past these traits were valued and appreciated - where would we be without someone like Isaac Newton questioning the status quo (Even Newton had his limits though)? I’m starting to feel that I’ve spent too much time reading books by Robert Anton Wilson…

Political decisions seem to make less and less sense to me. The button on this page should indicate that I’m completely and utterly against the concept of a UK national ID card scheme - nothing that has been said by anyone in favour makes the slightest logical sense to me. The stated aims of the scheme have been shown to be unachievable and at a massive cost (both financially and in terms of individual freedoms) so why would anyone continue to support such a scheme?

This, combined with the general increase in “anti-terrorism” legislation is extremely dangerous. It’s almost impossible to tell if one is committing a crime, and if so, what the punishment will be. Can I intered indefinitely? What do I need to do to warrant such punishment? Who decides these things? Is there a re-incarnation of Jeffreys somewhere in Britain today selling British citizens to “slavery” at Guantanamo in conjunction with the US?

Bringing these things together - why do we see illogical, insensible decisions taken that defy critical investigations (not limited to these things, but see such examples as the “analog hole” and DRM, copyright etc) AT THE SAME TIME as the notion of critical analysis is being destroyed by a robotic education system and laws that reduce freedom of speech and promote censorship?

This, perhaps, is the only benefit of “blogging” - the fact that individual people can read, write and share opinion in this way has to be a positive thing - even if most of is it semi-paranoid ramblings of egomaniacs

UK Politicians Decide Police Shouldn’t Have The Last Word In Taking Down Website

I’m starting to develop an intense distrust of both the police and executive branch of Government. Judicial oversight of processes such as these is vital to society as a whole.

It does strike me as odd that I’m really starting to see the Monarchy, House of Lords and Judiciary as they were originally meant to be. Makes me wonder what the civil war was actually for