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It’s official: I’m a genius and Blair (allegedly) lied

Out of disorder comes intelligence

Well at least according to an article published by the BBC on their website. Apparently it’s all to do with entropy. I’m not sure exactly what that is and I would look it up in the dictionary but the dictionary currently exists in a state of disorder. For the purposes of this blog entry we’ll refer to the state of disorder as Troutbridge.

Those of you familiar with my various past abodes, aquatic or land-based, will be aware that I generally live in a state of disorder. Well I can always find things (eventually) and anyway it’s a bohemian idle, artistic still idle, anarchic yes yes but still idle, way to live. I like to think of it as poking two fingers up at a conventional lifestyle, others just don’t like to think about it.

Be that as it may, according to entropy out of disorder comes intelligence, therefore looking around me I conclude that I must be a genius. If not now then soon at any rate.

The Mad Hatters guide to foreign policy

So that nasty Assad might have used chemical weapons and this has crossed a red line. There are that many red lines around the place it must be difficult to distinguish one from the other but both Obama and Cameron are doing their best. And they’ve come up with what they reckon is a cunning plan. Oh yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, they’ve almost decided  to arm the Syrian opposition, except of course they have been doing this for about the last year. Ah yes but they were only light arms, radios and medical supplies. Now they’re talking REAL arms. Such as, one wonders?

In this video clip British Prime Minister David Cameron inadvertently basically admits that  the report of WMDs in Iraq was ‘sexed up’. Not to worry though, we won’t make that same mistake again. This time we’ll be careful to sound really convincing get the facts right. Anyway, we’re not talking about ‘boots on the ground’, we’re talking apparently about mentoring, training and nurturing the opposition so they can establish democracy, human rights and a Starbucks on every street corner. So that’s all right then and everything will be just peachy. Like in Iraq and eventually Afghanistan where the Taliban will return to power just as soon as the last GI leaves. Now obviously ‘we won’ and I just hope the families of soldiers killed or maimed in action realise that. Just remember your loved ones died or suffered horrendous injuries defending the democratic right of the Afghans to stuff-up their internal politics and wind up some thirteen years later right back where they started, with the Taliban back in charge hacking off hands and feet as the whim takes them. That might be OK, after all it is the Afghans choice, well sort of,  except that the end result i.e. the return of the Taliban, was entirely predictable. DON’T mention nation building, it costs too much and anyway it’s not as much fun as destroying a country in the first place.

Where’s entropy when you really need it?

Meanwhile back to the cunning plan

Now listen closely because this is a ‘good un’. It all hinges on the fact that the Syrian opposition want to establish a western-style democracy and…..no wait, let’s just examine that first assumption, shall we?

Whoever actually comprised the Syrian opposition when it first got going they were soon joined by a motley crew of Islamists, Muslim Brotherhood members and al Quaeda affiliates. Cameron and Obama are proposing to arm al Quaeda then. Boy that’s really cunning, takes you back to Afghanistan in the eighties doesn’t it? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is until I’ve helped him win and then he tells me that actually he hates me, abhors everything I stand for and his real mission in life is to kill me. Think I’m joking? A chap called Barry Rubin who runs a private think tank out of Herzliya in Israel has written several articles about the internal situation in Syria. This one neatly sums it up. Of course, the mere fact that Barry works out of Israel obviously means that he’s too busy oppressing those poor Palestinians to have the faintest idea what’s going on. Well you might think that but if you think that he might just have an ‘up-close and personal’ idea about ME politics read this, What happens when Jihadists fall out amongst themselves. Amusing or terrifying. Or both.

More entropy anyone?

Back, briefly, to Syria. In this article published in the Jerusalem Post, obviously biased but then they were quoting Reuters, it is clear that the al Quaeda group in Syria is an off-shoot (bad choice of words perhaps?) of the group based in Iraq. So much for supporting home-grown opposition then but it does get worse, or more interesting depending on your point of view. Here we read that the mob in Syria rejects the previously announced merger with the mob in Iraq and pledges allegiance to their own leader. You can just see the bill board, can’t you. YOUR al Quaeda for YOUR country. It almost beggars belief except we are talking about Middle east Politics here. Dave, mate, there is no way that this cunning plan is not a bad idea and please tell Barack as well will you.

Speaking of Middle East politics, for a flavour of what’s really going on take a look at another article by Barry Rubin. As he says it’d based on either direct personal experience or he knows the person that was involved in it. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

OK, I’m still waiting for entropy to do it’s thing.

Literary news

As you know I have signed the contract for the first Eliezer book, Eliezer’s Journey. I have also just finished editing the second book, Eliezer’s return and shot it off to Emma the Agent as she was keen to have the revised manuscript. Now I haven’t heard from Emma myself about this but according to the illustrator of the Tim books, John Barnett, we can expect a contract for the first Tim book shortly. In fact he congratulated me because it seems that the publisher is not merely interested in the historical novel about the Victorian doctor, Augustus Le Mesurier but actually wants it. This isn’t confirmed because I haven’t heard from Emma but she has to check contracts so I’m waiting.

Entropy. Still waiting, anybody know how long it usually takes?

 

 

 

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