It's been a bad week...

Well, after many attempts, and shamelessly following hot on the heals of the excellent We Live In Games blog, Textual has (finally) made a video post.

It's a bit naff, I know. There again with a budget of £0 and not much will power it's the best you're going to get.

Anyway, let us know what you think and we'll maybe start thinking about more for the future. Maybe.

And that was that. Part 2

UPDATE:

This leaving the blog alone gig really hasn't started well. Umm....

Since I wrote the previous piece, Orange (praise be to them) has found signal and I have received a fair few dozen texts. I'm current in the Welsh borderlands. Fun times.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, in my absence a series of guest articles shall be appearing on the blog, hopefully. Thanks to those who have agreed and they'll be published throughout the summer.

If you're dying to have an article published on a 'buzzing' blog (HA!) why not email us: textualrelationsblog@live.co.uk - all articles will, of course, be credited and a free mug send your way.

And that is that.

"That is that, that is the end'" Tony uttered those words, complete with fake tear and turn to camera one as he left office. He then spent four months in the summer sun.

We're kind of leaving office but in a different sense.

Well, it's not the end but merely a wee break here at Textual Towers. The missus is back from her hillwalking in Wales and there are holidays to book - and perhaps more importantly holiday shopping to be done.

So, like last summer, I'll update the blog on a less frequent basis but I shall leave you with some music and the old testcard. Where would we be without Testcard B...rown?



Take care all and enjoy the summer sun whilst it's out!

She's a dirty girl pulling up her knickers...

The Civil Service is, simply put, the vital organ of government. Without it, it would rather be like being paralyzed from the neck down - able to talk but little else.

With this is mind, Rachel Sylvester's comments in yesterdays Times seem particularly pertinent.

Sylvester notes the increasing paralysis setting in within Brown's government, seeing legislation delayed, or 'reviewed':

"When Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, announced a U-turn on ID cards recently, he was only catching up with his civil servants. The Home Office had already delayed the contract to print the cards until October 2010, well after the election. At the Ministry of Defence, big procurement projects, including Trident, are on hold."

And, rather like the dirty hussy at the office party, there is an increasing tendency for senior civil servants to sneak off for a quick fumble with the shadow minister.

It is a quirk of our constitutional system that such a system should emerge, unlike the American model which allows for a defined period of hand-over the British model literally hits the ground running.

So it should hardly be taken as surprising, with only a year away before an election must be called, that many servants are looking towards their new masters.

Indeed, it does seem as though the service is now somewhat getting into bed with the Conservatives, reflecting the view held by many that Dave's ambitions shall prove fruitful.

However, with the preference towards delaying and reviewing, the current situation can be seen to fuel the Prime Minister's own current political predicament. Little 'decisive action' can be taken and instead the circle is completed again of words but with no actions. Well, certainly not until they've won re-election...

And what are the chances of that happening?

Free fall is a must.

Well, it has to be said. The BBC has come up trumps with its latest helping of drama, 'Free fall'.

Set in the pre-bubble bursting age of reduced rate mortgages and rocketing investments Free fall takes a startling and provocative look at the events that caused our lives to spiral out of control. With pace, real edge and emotional punch, it gives a unique insight into how we came so perilously close to the edge of financial meltdown not just for those in the ivory towers of The City but of the houses, flats and, dare I say it, dreams of people throughout the country.

Anyway, enough of a write-up. Compelling viewing which is highly recommended.

Textual is in Liverpool...

Well, Textual Relations has been taking a bit of a break recently.

I'm in Liverpool for a few days researching the Militant Tendency of Liverpool in the early '80s, (Hatton an all!). That and actually doing some work for the ye olde rent.

I'll be back by the end of the week.

Saddam documents declassified

A few hat tips for this story. The Spectator, The Washington Post and The National Security Archive all report the declassification and release (via a Freedom of Information Act request) of the interrogation of one Mr Saddam Hussein, following his detention in 2004.

The documents provide a fascinating insight into the former dictators last months, weeks and days before his execution.

Saddam, the documents portray, was petrified of an ennobled Iran ready to attack Iraq at any given moment, especially if evidence of a weakened country was leaked to the world.

This, the papers suggests, was Saddam's justification for barring the UN weapons inspection teams, particularly in the wake of the Gulf War and later led by Hans Blix.

It also goes to note that there was no links with Al Qeada, merely 'opposing US policies' and not viewing the country with hostility. This was a key suggestion during the build up to the Iraq War. Indeed, with the redaction of certain elements the extend of this accusation can not be explored fully.

The comments on Saddam's in difference to the effects of his social and political 'management' also provide a fascinating insight, albeit a slightly sickly and obviously biased view of a man fearful for his life.

With the announcement in the UK of an independent Iraq War inquiry in private/public (delete as appropriate), as well as the declassification of documents and sources such as these, perhaps a more rounded picture of the "greatest foreign policy disaster of the twenty first century" (in the words of Nick Clegg) can begin to emerge.

PMQ's Report Card

With the news this week, from the 'chomping at the bit' School's Secretary Ed Balls, that schools are to introduce American style 'school report cards', what better time to introduce a PMQ's version...

Many blogs, such as Lobby Dog, have already been quick to snatch up the Clown Brown clip today, which features the baffling yet comical 0% increase line. (See below)



What exactly is a 0% increase?

Reports suggest the Prime Minister's official spokesman was equally as confused when quizzed by lobby hacks this afternoon.

PMQs quickly returned to the now familiar ground of Mr Cuts vs. Mr Trust. Cameron, for his part, challenged the Prime Minister to justify reported cuts ahead of (and after) the general election. Gordon, for his retaliation, played upon the idea of their being massive cuts under a future Tory government.

Iain Dale's diary has a good Tory slant on today's proceedings (and sadly the proceedings of every PMQs since Christmas...)

Both arguments seemed largely effective with their own backers but, perhaps as Nick Clegg argued, it is somewhat artificial to assume the outside world is caught up in this discussion.

Clegg, with his questions, seemingly attacked the Tories for cuts, attacked Labour for not being honest and then suggested the need for future cuts now. It was, at best, a shaky position.

Perhaps the most interesting question of the day came from a Labour backbencher (I've forgotten his name, it's been a long, hot day!). He proposed a return to Tuesday and Thursday version of PMQs - did away with under Thatcher. Gordon's responce? 'It's a matter for the speaker'. Well, John, if there was ever a move an' all...