12:11pm
Today has been a good day for cheats having to suffer the consequences of their actions.
First , Dwain Chambers has failed in his bid to make cheating pay. Athletics is struggling to be seen any longer as a fair sport rather than a freak show, and a High Court imposition of Chambers on the British Olympics team would have made things a lot worse.
Secondly, the Charity Commission's report into the Smith Institute is pretty damning, finding against it on most of the charges. Since Gordon Brown is happy to lie to the House of Commons, it should come as little surprise that what is, in effect, his own private think tank should be so cavalier about complying with the law.
As something of a think tank veteran (and having recently been involved in setting up a new one), I know that the laws concerning...
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10:07am
There's a very good piece in the Telegraph today by Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador.
He's not been here long, but has already proved himself to be a first class ambassador for his country. If only the same could be said for the woeful American ambassador, who is as invisible and unpersuasive as his predecessor.
Most ambassadorial pieces on the eve of an official visit are bland and dull - this one has real meat.
Today, Iran threatens not only Israel, but also the values of the democratic world and the security of the Middle East. Iran threatens to annihilate Israel while at the same time holding the world to ransom. In the 1980s, Tehran used missiles to try to choke off Kuwaiti oil exports. The next time Iran acts the regional bully, it will do so as a state that has nuclear weapons.
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6:56am
I have a piece in today's Mail on the crime stats. Here's an extract:
Well that's OK then. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said yesterday that she is 'extremely pleased' that the Government has exceeded its target for reducing crime. What a surprise! Home Secretaries always claim that crime is falling. The Left-liberal consensus, typified by the BBC, pushes the same line and dismisses any claims that Britain is suffering from an epidemic of crime. For example, when people call phone-in programmes and point out that in their childhood they could play safely in the streets, or leave their front door open when they left the house, they are chastised for talking nonsense. The mantra is repeated: Look at the figures! Crime is down!
Yet the truth is that most people have an instinctive understanding that crime is a lot worse than it used to be. Although
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11:33am
James has an interesting post about the Labour leaderhip. He ends with this line about James Purnell:
I still think it is too much of a stretch to think of him as Prime Minister.
I know what he means, but I'd point out that no one thought of John Major as a potential Prime Minister until the leadership election. And I'd suggest that James is in a different intellectual league to the former PM, as well as having a very appealing manner.
In that regard, my money has - literally - long been on two people: James Purnell and Alan Johnson. Jack Straw is more of the same. As the old saw has it: what is the question to which Jack Straw is the answer? Ed Balls is struggling even as Education Secretary and is surely not a serious candidate. As for the supposed favourite,...
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11:18am
Ooops.
(I think that's enough on Demos for a while.)
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