Organic outbreak...

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Oh my gourd: not good news and despite the image and my silly sense of humour I am not trying to suggest any double sens when I ask why women are being more effected by a cucumber bug. An Escherichia coli outbreak (Theodor must be really pissed off by now) with a death toll now at 16 and the number of sick about 1,200 people: the German authorities – where a majority of the sick and nearly all the dead are - initially blamed organic cucumbers from Spain but Spanish officials have refused to accept the blame for their popular pepinos , even to the extent of the Andalusian agriculture minister doing a John Gummer; they may have a point considering it emerged that it was a different type of Enterohemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) on the cucumbers than the type detected in tests on the sick Germans (this doesn’t completely vindicate them as “they still posed a health risk”) but being organic they are more likely (oh yes) to be infected as one of the more common routes of transmission is farm contamination due to manure fertilisation. Obviously this would also have to mean poor/lack of hygiene post-picking and/or unhygienic food preparation. Odds are that this situation will worsen before it gets better...I wonder what 'O' it is.

Operation orchidectomy...

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Painful indeed...but is it true? Are "the politics of permanent coalition" really being given serious thought? From the first link, Vulture (18:56) gets my vote. Voting, ah yes, that historical activity, interesting info from last year that I hadn't seen before: since 1964 the number of people identifying with a particular political party has fallen from 45% to 9% and the number of non-voters in the age-group 18-34 has risen from 15% to 50%, FFS!

Oxfam overstates...

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"Leftist agitprop fake charity Oxfam has been given the run of the BBC this morning..." [Biased BBC]. Click on image for BBC report or read the Oxfam summary HERE (pdf file). The Oxfam report unfortunately spreads the climate change aspect far too thickly (something the Beeb are bound to love). It talks of says a 'broken' food system that causes "hunger, along with obesity, obscene waste, and appalling environmental degradation": fine, but climate change isn't (and won't IMHO) causing rising food prices. They also suggest increasing investment in smallholder farmers ("especially women"??); the irony is that this would greatly increase their carbon footprint (oh, the dilemma): intensive farming is far more efficient and better for the environment. I wish they would wake up and realise this.

Some points I agree with: they say there should be a scale up food reserves and also highlight the powerful investors "playing commodities markets like casinos" creating a need to increase transparency in commodities markets and regulate futures markets. However, perhaps they should look at the 'real' cause of food shortages (and "man-made global warming"?) - world population (already mentioned in the comments at BBBC).

Outstanding orthosis option...

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"The Great EU Debt Write Off": from Mark Wadsworth today, oodles of commonsense..."if you took all banks as a whole and netted off inter-bank payables/receivables, their balance sheet total would shrink by two-thirds." The blogpost refers to the EUdebtwriteoff website that presents the results of a simulation by the ESCP Europe Business School: there are some "astounding" results if EU countries attempted to cross cancel debt obligations, e.g.

"Six countries – Ireland, Italy, Spain, Britain, France and Germany – can write off more than 50% of their outstanding debt"

Objurgation of outrageous obloquy...

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An earnest denunciation from Raedwald re the disgrace and odious plethora of injunction and the superinjunction now coming to light: "English law has always been based on moral absolutes." He quotes Lord Mansfield whom set out the doctrine that governed English civil law:

"The principle of public policy is this; ex dolo malo non oritur actio. No court will lend its aid to a man who founds his cause of action upon an immoral or an illegal act. If, from the plaintiff's own standing or otherwise, the cause of action appears to arise ex turpi causa, or the transgression of a positive law of this country, there the court says he has no right to be assisted."

But Raedwald's excellent blogpost is worth reading in it's entirety; so are the comments.

"The shield of the injunction and the superinjunction must be available only to those who come to the law with clean hands. No longer must the depraved, the unnatural wantons, the perverts, the degenerates and the low, mean scrapings of the moral universe be able to gag comment, reporting or discussion of their turpitude by buying law."

Oysters or obsolagnium...

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One of many great meals last week

Days we love: oysters again, a recurring theme. Add crab, shrimp and Caipirihnas and the afternoon is made; three hour lunches in the midst of business negotiations isn't the best way to get things done is great. Oysters are known for their reputed aphrodisiac powers and have always been linked with love: when Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, emerged from the sea on an oyster shell (and gave birth to Eros) the word "aphrodisiac" was born. Roman emperors paid for them by their weight in gold. Click on image for more history.

OMG, OMC...

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Or alternatively "WTO, WTF?" to continue the TLA* theme. Could it be true, as chief political correspondent in The Guardian Nicholas Watt tells us, that David Cameron will back Mandelson to be the next director general of the World Trade Organisation? I ahve no doubt he would have a lot to offer but, as Jerry Hayes at Total Politics writes, "he is a grade A, copper bottomed, shit. A man fuelled by poison, malice and revenge. A man who turned New Labour into a graveyard of those who stood in his way." Well, at least he wouldn't get into the same trouble as DSK of the IMF.

* TLA = three letter acronyms (haha)

Oneiric Oscar 'oddity'...

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Oneiric is 'having to do with dreams'; Jason Gay writes in Vogue magazine that "there are oddities that make sense only in Los Angeles"; he is writing about "The Dream Life of Penélope Cruz". She is certainly in my dreams and the wonderful photographs by Mario Testino simply make me want to dream some more. Seriously though, it's a good article and tells how Pe is the first Spanish-born actress to get a star on the Walk of Fame (she was also the first to be nominated for, and win, an Academy Award) and how motherhood has changed her. Click to enlarge a natural beauty - not just skin deep. Johnny Depp said that "A lot of things can be said about this creature Penélope Cruz. None of them are bad."

Observing opinions on Osborne...

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"For all the hype, Osborne's slow-mo cuts take four years to achieve what Obama is doing in one"  ...says Fraser Nelson

"Obama is cutting faster and deeper than Osborne. Ed Balls, as the CCHQ graphic shows, is now even more outnumbered..." Tim Montgomerie: Conservative Home

Outrage! Out of order...

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Major Blogger outrage...Friday 13th!...but back at last! Blogger has been down for quite a while and for most of today and yesterday there were problems with posts and comments. THIS was the feedback. Softpedia had this news earlier:

"Blogger is experiencing one of the worst outages in recent history. A routine maintenance update went haywire and the service is now down for everyone wanting to access their dashboard or post something. What's more, all posts and comments made since May 11 have been removed, Blogger says, temporarily."

Current Status: "We've started restoring the posts that were temporarily removed and expect Blogger to be back to normal soon". Ten minutes ago Blogger Buzz posted an update: Blogger Buzz: Blogger is back. No reasons yet. Transition to IPv6?

Oxythymous or ophthalmophobic...

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Looking forward to the responses to the report published this week from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) about the alleged relationship between FARC and the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian governments; the Ven embassy in UK had got it's defence to the 'dodgy dossier' in early (before publication!); the government of Colombia has refused to comment (click on image). If you have an hour to spare THIS video is the launch of the report.

The report is based on the study of the computer disks seized in the March 2008 raid by Colombian armed forces on a guerilla camp inside Ecuador; it stresses "that although the Colombian guerrilla arrived in Venezuela long before President Hugo Chávez, its relationship with the Venezuelan Head of State strengthened when he took office in 1999..."Since at least 2000, Chávez harbored the intention of providing financial support on a scale aimed at affecting the strategic balance in Colombia,"

ophthalmophobia: n. - fear of being stared at.
oxythymous: adj. - quick-tempered; easily riled or angered.

Overstatement or overperforming ocracy?...

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Guardian Pledge Tracker, click to link

One year on: "Today marks the first anniversary of a minor political miracle"... ..."By any measure, the Coalition has had an easy first year... the determination of both [David Cameron] and Mr Clegg to make it work, often in defiance of their parties." Benedict Brogan in today's Daily Telegraph.

"In the process they have achieved more than Mr Blair managed in a decade"

James Landale, the BBC News deputy political editor, despite starting on the "Division and recrimination" says something similar: "In 1997, Labour stuttered and hesitated over what to do with its unexpected landslide. This coalition has roared into action with at times dangerous hyperactivity.** Just run your mind through a few of the things it has been doing. It has begun radical reforms... ...These are the long-term, heavy lifting, tricky public policy issues that past governments have been unwilling or unable to tackle."

** Joe Murphy in the Evening Standard Politics blog reports "Letwin's clipboard", a presentation given to Cabinet yesterday by Oliver Letwin on the Coalition's record to date: 66 per cent of the target workload for its first year has been completed; 31 per cent are works in progress and only three per cent are overdue (842 actions completed, 391 underway and 43 running late)

Matthew Robertson at TRG is "surprised that the coalition has lasted this long" and that "The self-proclaimed 'progressive left' are astonished". I have no doubt there are hundreds of less favourable comments out there...but HERE'S Number10's own version [pdf]

Optimus odous...

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Now tell me the Carcharodon carcharias in the film 'Jaws' didn't look real; mind you, the seal bait in this one's mouth isn't real: "no seal was hurt during the shooting of these pictures." Carcharodon is from the Greek karcharos (sharp or jagged) and odous (tooth). Picture credit: SHARK DIVING UNLIMITED / BARCROFT MEDIA. Source (and more great photos): DT.

Objective Osborne...

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Apparently, the Lib Dems view George Osborne as "a divisive figure"..."[he] constantly has his eye on a Conservative majority in 2015 and he is not minded to help out the Liberal Democrats any more than he has to." Erm...why shouldn't he?

In an exclusive report in the Independent today LD big-wigs have a list of demands, one of which is to rein-in Osborne: "He was the one who pushed Cameron into mobilising the full Tory machine against us in the referendum." Really? Along with most Conservatives AND half of Labour? Certainly, Tim Montgomerie's excellent piece today highlights this (and the whole 'inside story' of the cross-party cooperation and how they were right to have a positive defence of FPTP and not just attack AV...although there was plenty of that!) "Downing Street worried about this tactic [targeting Clegg] but the Labour half of the No campaign insisted that Clegg's face and his 'broken promises' needed to feature prominently on all literature."

Overwhelmingly obvious...

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Useful DT interactive map of the AV referendum in the UK, not that it will tell you much except that only ten areas voted to change the current system (the 'No to change' won overall by a clear margin of votes: 68% to 32%): central Glasgow and Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge and a cluster in London: Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark, Camden, Islington and Haringey.

Most commentators are saying the Conservatives have used the Lib Dems as a shield for various things, including this vote. Vince Cable isn't happy, attacking the Conservatives as "ruthless, calculating and very tribal". He should remember how they have helped pass many Lib Dem policies; even supported HIS scheme for much higher tuition fees, as John Redwood reminds us today:

"Conservatives did not make him do that... ...There was no group of Conservatives designing the tuition fee scheme, no group pressing for it. It was not Conservative policy. The tuition fee scheme was designed by Dr Cable, and pressed by him."

Update: Angela Harbutt has a great analysis of the poor 'Yes' campaign on Liberal Vision. I particularly liked this bit - and the BBC with it's Guardian over-represntation of speakers, guests, analyses etc - should take note:

"The YES campaign was eminently winnable. But it ended up being run by readers of the Guardian for readers of the Guardian. Readers of this newspaper are about 1% of the voting electorate – and are also a statistically extreme group. Their views do not chime remotely with mainstream British opinion. There is no purist Guardian editorial proposition that could ever come close to winning a referendum in the UK."

Obama obambulates over Osama...

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How to turn a victory into a defeat. "Obama shoots Osama, and then his own foot" (hoho). Andrew Bolt writes in his column in Melbourne's Herald Sun: "Obama's reasoning [about showing photos or not/showing body or not] seemed conflicted."

He claimed that releasing pictures of bin Laden with a hole in the head could inflame opinion against the US, and, besides, it so was also \'not who we are', which makes me suspect Obama was fretting less over enraged terrorists than enraged Leftists."

The BBC's coverage has been reasonable, I just wonder how they would have reacted if Bush was still in the saddle; and there should be no surprise as to how much scepticism there is: Paul lists some of the many conspiracy theories that began to circulate as soon as OBL's death was announced.

Objicient opines...

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I haven't got involved in, nor read about in much depth, the petty, nasty and dirty bun-fight that has been the push and pull of the Yes or No to AV campaign (referendum vote in the UK tomorrow: only the 2nd ever in the UK). Ows' opinion isn't much but I thought I'd add my tuppennyworth: when the most popular candidate by miles can fail to win I cannot see how the system is better: imagine 8 candidates: in the first round one polls 49%; amongst the others one polls 9% and six poll 7% each. With AV, after further manipulations, the candidate that got 9% can be the overall winner - how is this sensible or logical?

"When public opinion ceases to matter, democracy is not only diminished; it is denied." [Cranmer]

Outstanding...

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Lord Ashcroft: Why I have given £1 million to the Bomber Command Memorial. [CHComment]

"I have donated such a substantial amount of money because I want to help right a wrong. Rarely, if ever, can any group of servicemen have been more deserving of a memorial to their courage and self-sacrifice than Bomber Command.

The new monument in Green Park, central London, will be a fitting tribute to men who helped to shape the world we live in but whose bravery, until now, has not been properly recognised."

Orphanosphere: Orphans official opening...

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Another site for My Favorites, I linked a few days ago; a very readable new blog (IMHO) that is "differing voices who come together under one banner – that of liberty": Orphans of Liberty. The blog has been up a while but the official opening post was last week: Writing is the first act of rebellion, by Luikkerland [Link]. 'Orphanosphere', cropped up in the reply-post linked in the comments by David Farrer at Freedom and Whisky who makes a valid point in about the use of the word libertarian: "...I warned about the increasing use of the term "left libertarian", which I've seen quite a few times in the Orphanosphere recently. [He wrote]:

The point is that liberty is indivisible. The case for economic liberty is exactly the same as the case for personal liberty. The economic spectrum goes from authoritarianism to libertarianism just as does the civil liberties spectrum. The government that takes away your economic freedom is as much your enemy as one that takes away your personal freedom."

"The problem with the so-called "left libertarians" is that they only seem to accept the idea of communal ownership, and communal ownership of a particular sort. In other words they don't believe in individual liberty at all." Great stuff.

Several of the contributors to Orphans of Liberty are from blogs that I read regularly so it could save me some time! I think I'm probably still too Conservative to consider myself a kindred spirit just yet but the Establishment is doing it best to change my mind!

Other obit: our 'orthodox'...

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...our 'Enry. Fight night. Henry Cooper was one of Britain's most popular sportsmen, he died yesterday two days from his 77 birthday; he was probably best remembered - apart from being a really decent bloke - for knocking down Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali). East End lad and Smithfield meat porter done good. The image is of the second time Cooper and Ali fought: in 1966 at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium. This time, Ali was already world champion and stopped Cooper in the sixth round. The 'orthodox' is the stance when a boxer has his weaker side closer to the opponent, left foot farther in front of the right in 'Enry's case. He was knighted in 2000 and is the only British boxer to win three Lonsdale Belts outright; he is regarded as one of the all-time best British heavyweights. RIP.

Oil, Obama, Osama, ojalá...

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Oil prices have fallen already after Obama announced last night that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Of course it could be just the slow trade for the holidays! World leaders have already said that this makes the world a safer place, ojalá, but I doubt it: they have killed a figurehead and that may dent the morale of a few loyal followers but that's about it: the US and Australia have already issued warnings to their citizens abroad.

"In countries with significant Muslim populations, international schools, embassies and other potential targets were putting extra security measures in place in case of reprisals."

Update: Osama Obit [BBC]. For someone who has stated on more than one occasion that "killing Americans and their allies was a Muslim duty" OBL should be described as a bit more than "a dissident" don't you think? The writer of that obituary seems almost a fan: the word 'terrorist' appears only once - and then only as a third party description - in the very last line of that 40 paragraph article!

Opt-out option overruled...

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Sure to be a good turnout at the workers day march in Caracas tomorrow. The image left (click to enlarge) is a memo that was circulated in the offices of the electric company of Venezuela: CORPOELEC. Needless to say that power shortages and cuts are daily occurrences in Venezuela, sometimes covering more than half the country. A translation is as follows:

"We bring to the attention of all workers of CORPOELEC that the company will grant May 2 as a free day only to those that attend the mass march in Caracas to commemorate May 1st "International Labour Day". To this effect supervisors will monitor participation at the march.

CORPOELEC ratifies its desire to accompany the workers of the country on such an important day.

"The working people build the socialist fatherland!"

Hat-tip: News and Views... Source: Las Armas de Coronel who tells us that "No comments are necessary to see what kind of vermin govern Venezuela".