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ObsoleteExocet

Listed below are comments made by ObsoleteExocet between Monday, 30th March 2009 and Sunday, 9th August 2009.

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Clear answers to straightforward financial questions? 09:48am on 09 Aug 2009 As banking has spent the past three decades changing its spots it is unlikely that we will see a change to their disingenuous treatment of customers any time soon. That is why the folly of bail out should never have been attempted. The Government is just another silly punter who stands to lose all their (our) money.
Generals, politicians and the media 7:03pm on 21 Jul 2009 The story, Mr Burnett, concerns the kind of fighting that the Coalition troops are required to engage in, and not the equipment, however archaic, contemporary or exotic it is, or how generals or anyone else uses the media as a soapbox or not. The US forces are suffering very heavy casualties as well, with or without their own brand of exotic kit, highly engaged politics or whatever.

The truth about Afghanistan is that historically British and foreign forces have been heavily punished in attempts to "rule" the Afghans. Sixteen and a half thousand troops of the British Army were massacred on retreat from Kabul in 1842. The Soviet's poured a lot of money into the Afghan economy alongside their attempts to stifle the Taliban in the 1980s. In between times the Anglo-Russian Treaty of 1907 kept a peace as long as there was "no regime change". This Treaty was largely engineered to prevent the German's from opening up the region in the run up to the First World War.

The problem for the Coalition forces is an opposition (you cannot call them an enemy because war has never been declared) that knows the ground intimately and also knows how to fight in this terrain because of the support they receive from local inhabitants.

The best chance the Coalition forces have is not new equipment or more troops; it is simply to have the Taliban on their side. It may leave a lot of egg on a lot of faces but egg can be washed away - death cannot be.
Teenagers' listening habits 10:06am on 17 Jul 2009 I wonder, Mr McKenzie, do you think there may be a difference in the behaviour between middle class teens and working class teens? I ask because of the unhealthy interest you seem to have in "visualising" everything. Do you not believe in multitasking teens? Those who, for example, quite happily read Harry Potter and listen to music playing in the background in a middle class home, and the predominately working class with their portable music who listen and dance in a "public" place.

Despite the many various ways kids can amuse themselves these days the core values of teen years are the same as ever. To become the individuals they aspire to be they distance themselves from anything that seeks to trap them. They are on their own unique journey to adulthood and we should thank our lucky stars that they are.
The End of Fortress Journalism 09:54am on 17 Jul 2009 Contemplating your navel, which you most eloquently do in your extract, is only good for those who have done the prep with themselves and journalists, although you'd like to claim otherwise, are no different to any other living, breathing individual.

So I am rather nonplussed by your article. In the big ruthless world of "Fleet Street" an exclusive is worth its weight in gold and still is. Whether someone has captured an interesting morsel on video, audio, or simple eavesdropping, to be first is all that matters. Rather than tap into a message received via Reuters (for example) and work hard to get your own angle on it, you want to either lead the media charge to the scene of a disaster unfolding, or ask yourself, is it enough for just one crew to get there and report whilst the rest of you do their best to dissect and analyse from as many perspectives as you can.

The best journalists in the business never moved out of a television or radio studio (think Robin Day for example) but did they know their stuff. And couldn't they use their stuff in interviews?

The real issue is that the BBC cannot make up its mind if it wants to be friends to gain favour, wants to have a lifestyle that gives it the chance of being friends, or wants to damned well work hard to prove just how good they are.
White House interview 6:14pm on 08 Jun 2009 #18

An interesting perspective and one that history suggests is pertinent. Churchill was not a good orator in Parliament or elsewhere and yet his skill with words at the times that mattered was exceptional.

I don't doubt that Obama has a smooth tongue but the content of his speeches does not bear closer inspection. Perhaps it is only now that some very astute journalists are getting wiser to this. The worry is, as always, that when the King of Kings is announced to the adoring crowds the expectation is ten or maybe fifty times what can be anticipated from the best politicians there are and I am unsure that Obama even falls into that category anyway.

So far we have not seen anything of consequence which suggests that Obama may have a much rougher ride soon. I do hope he has some skilled doers behind him.
Blogs on polling day 07:40am on 08 Jun 2009 #14,#16

I agree that the BBC seem unable to maintain a "neutral" perspective on EU matters. Peter Hain MP, on radio late last night kept on about the poor election results being an "anti-expenses" rebellion, not even challenged about the failure to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Constitution, and systemic failure of democracy via EU Directives.

It is also worth noting that the Representation of the Peoples Act is not clear about media balance when it comes to "public comments" rather than those made by candidates or their parties. Isn't a report such as "it has been very quiet here" outside a Polling Station just as "sensitive" as someone posting on here "I am not going to vote"?
Today 'TV' 07:58am on 03 Jun 2009 An interesting conundrum. So radio is not doing so well huh, and you have targets to hit before the DG gets his pencil sharpener out. I know, lets make radio virtual TV. It doesn't apparently matter that most people use radio because it is easily portable and does not require visual attention. And good orators are a great listen.

Clean out the rubbish on many of your radio outlets and you may have enough of an audience to do what the DG wants and some money left over.
Swine flu coverage 11:28pm on 29 Apr 2009 It is at times like this that the media learn a hard lesson about their tendency to exaggerate almost anything that is game even when it isn't especially newsworthy. Who knows or cares if swine 'flu virus is particularly virulent or the same as any other influenza? Viruses spread - that is how they survive - and our cramped conditions, workaholic and free travelling lifestyles helps them along.

The pharmaceuticals make a tidy sum (any which way) and some medics somewhere will get their fifteen minutes. The news media get a story which will run for a week or more and our politicians can crow about contingency arrangements. Schools will close for about two weeks if an infection is identified, and we will be left wondering about those who contract the illness but do not even bother to report it because they do not know what they have. In the meantime the placebo affect will have its way with many others.

As for those that remain sane it will be a few weeks or even months before the rest of the world catches up. Headline? "The day a little sneeze became a big yawn."
Obama's Afghanistan strategy 11:39pm on 30 Mar 2009 #33

It really doesn't matter what I think, except that you need to get your facts straight. The incident in which Petraeus was shot was not "war" it was a training exercise using live rounds. Petraeus' whole strategy, at the time and subsequently, was around training, training, training, to prevent such events happening. That may explain why, in his eyes, "accidents" happen but "mistakes" do not. There is no word about why the loaded weapon was in such a position as to be discharged "accidentally".

#37

It is arrogant of anyone to believe they have discovered the "only way", and worse to try to impose their ideals on others. We have had plenty of examples of what goes wrong when you go into "god" mode. I am all for every person having a right to vote with a real choice of "ideals" they can choose instead of our wafer thin, non-democratic parody that we think is so "perfect". It has long been established that there are many "free" people who do not go along with the American dream or how it has turned out. Capitalism and freedom do not run along the same road anymore than does communism, socialism or even totalitarianism.

Put a proper choice of constitutions to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and see what happens. That way all of us will know what the indigenous population find acceptable, rather than having the US tell them what they are going to get. Of course there is a risk that it'll all go pear shaped but isn't there some honour in defeat that way?
Obama's Afghanistan strategy 05:16am on 30 Mar 2009 #25

"Petraeus is an academic, he skipped some apparently more senior officers to build a team of fellow academics"

I didn't realise Princeton handed out medals with PhDs.

As for his academic warfare strategies it is interesting that Petraeus was shot in the chest by one of his own soldiers who tripped over a loaded rifle. Seems quite apposite really given his track record for same side casualties.

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