• Today on MD’s Journal (Scotland)…

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    Welcome, Introduction & Blog Stats

    Mark Dowe: 'Sky News Community Blog'

    Twitter: MarkDowe2009

    Scottish Government: 'Consultation Documents'

    Re-Live: Channel 4 News Video Coverage

    The 'Saturday Essay' for 21/11 considers the multifarious views that have emerged within the U.S. administration over, how best, to deal with Afghanistan. With President Obama having returned after his Asian tour, this week, a decision is now imminent as to whether he will heed to the request of General Stanley Chrystal for an additional 40,000 troops. Click on the ‘Saturday Essay’ tab for commentary. [pub. 21/11]

    An examination of future 'market competiveness' within the Banking sector following recent announcements by the European Union, and the pay-back now due after huge cash-injections by the British Government into Lloyds and HBOS. [pub. 20/11]

    An examination of the possible link between paternal flu and long-term side effects associated with influenza following pandemics. [pub. 16/11]

  • (Weekly) Most Read…

    The most read/clicked journals over the last 7-days, to Thursday, 19 November, 2009.

    -- Most viewed article (only) in last 7-days, hits in brackets:

    1. Research: 'Long-term side effects of influenza' (3,698)

    2. -INTENTIONALLY BLANK-

    3. Ministry of Defence: 'Afghanistan RAF Nimrod Crash 2006'

    4. Saturday Essay

    5. Northern Yemen: 'A proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia'

    -- 'Most Read' excludes works on religion, including Sunday Teaching & Lessons.

  • On the radar…

    1. Sunday Teaching & Lessons: 'Sin gets radiation treatment'

    2. Gilo (Jerusalem): 'Israel's settlement policy?'

    3. Book Review: Patrick Hennessey's 'The Junior Officers' Reading Club' [frontline in Afghanistan]

    4. Banking: 'Market competiveness'

    5. Saturday Essay

    6. Medical Study: 'Flu/long-term side effects and related life-long health issues'

    7. Climate Change: 'British Lessons'

    8. Modern Sociological Studies & Methods

    9. MD Gym/Fitness Surgery

    10. 'Homecoming Scotland 2009'

    EDITOR'S NOTE:

    The writer reserves the right to publish any e-mails received where those mailings relate to subject matters on this site.

    © Mark Dowe 2007-2009: all rights protected

  • Hot Press…

    In Kabul, Hamid Karzai was inaugurated as Afghanistan’s re-elected president, after a controversially flawed election in August. Apparently in response to international pressure, his officials announced the formation of a force to fight corruption, to work with the FBI and Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency. [19/11]

    A new report on Iran’s nuclear work by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear guardian, doubted Iran’s claim that a newly discovered uranium-enrichment plant being built inside a mountain near Qom is a recent, stand-alone civilian site. Building started five years earlier than Iran claims, so inspectors worry that there could be other hidden sites to support this one. [19/11]

    Barack Obama paid his first visit to China, where he held talks with his counterpart, Hu Jintao, and the prime minister, Wen Jiabao. A “town-hall meeting” in Shanghai was attended by only carefully vetted young people, and no questions were permitted at a joint press conference by Mr Obama and Mr Hu. A long joint statement promised co-operation on trade, climate change and a range of other issues. But there were no breakthroughs. [19/11]

    Democrats in the Senate unveiled their much-anticipated health-care bill, less than two weeks after the House passed its version. As with the House legislation, the Senate bill creates new insurance exchanges and stops insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. It also sets up a government-run insurance plan, but with a provision allowing states to opt out. The Congressional Budget Office costed the bill at $848 billion and said it would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over a decade. [19/11]

    Fighting intensified in northern Yemen, with Saudi forces blockading the northern coast and helping their Yemeni counterparts to attack rebels loyal to the Houthi clan. [19/11]

    Saudi Arabia got more deeply involved in the civil war in northern Yemen. It said its navy was blockading the northern strip of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in an effort to stop weapons reaching rebel Yemeni Shias, who have recently been attacking both Yemeni and Saudi government forces. [12/11]

    Mr Obama delayed his decision about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan until after Hamid Karzai’s inauguration on November 19th. America’s envoy in Kabul wrote to the president opposing a troop surge, until Mr Karzai can prove he has tackled corruption. [12/11]

    On the eve of Barack Obama’s first presidential trip to Asia, America said its special envoy would soon go to North Korea to try to get stalled six-party talks on nuclear disarmament going again. Separately, boats from North and South Korea exchanged fire near their disputed maritime border. [12/11]

    An army psychiatrist went on a shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 people. Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s motive for the rampage was unclear, but investigators hope to get some answers when they interview him; he was shot and injured by a police officer at the base. [12/11]

    World leaders gathered in Berlin to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Heavy rain did little to dampen the celebrations, which were attended by Mikhail Gorbachev, the then Soviet leader. [12/11]

    Hamid Karzai was declared re-elected as president of Afghanistan when a second-round run-off ballot was cancelled. The other candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew in protest at the failure to remove officials accused of involvement in the widespread fraud that marked the first round in August. Meanwhile, the UN decided to relocate 600 of its foreign workers in Afghanistan and halted development work in north-west Pakistan because of deteriorating security. [05/11]

    Radovan Karadzic entered the dock for the first time at his war-crimes trial in The Hague. Previously the former Bosnian Serb leader, who is defending himself, had refused to appear as he does not accept the court’s legitimacy. [05/11]

    Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, addressed a joint session of the United States Congress. Speaking just before the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German leader urged America to join the fight against climate change. [05/11]

    The prosecution opened its case against Radovan Karadzic at the start of his trial for war crimes before a tribunal in The Hague. The former Bosnian Serb leader stands accused on 11 charges, including genocide for the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men at Srebrenica in 1995. He outraged his alleged victims by refusing to leave custody and attend the proceedings. [29/10]

    A majority of countries on the UN’s Human Rights Council voted for a resolution to send its Goldstone report on the Gaza war to the UN Security Council for possible referral to the International Criminal Court. The United States and five other countries voted against the resolution, which was critical of Israel. Unusually, Britain and France withheld from voting. [23/10]

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  • Scotland Snippet …

    Edinburgh Courant:

    – Newspaper first published 14 February 1705. It was both edited and printed by James Watson (d. 1722), who had produced the Edinburgh Gazette 5 years earlier. [03/09]

    Cutty Sark: Clipper ship built at Dumbarton in 1869, used initially for the tea trade with China and then for the Australian wool trade. Her name is that of the young witch in Robert Burns’ poem Tam O’Shanter. Later, the ship had been restored and placed in dry dock at Greenwich, and since 1957 has been open to the public. [23/08]

    Beinn Ghlas Mountain, a Munro (1103m/3619ft) on the shoulder of Ben Lawers, near Loch Tay. The Beinn Ghlas wind farm was opened in 1999. [30/07]

    Black Watch – Gaelic: Am Freiceadean Dubh*

    Raised as 6 independent companies of infantry in 1725 to maintain order in the Highlands after the Jacobite rising of 1715. In 1739 these were combined into the 43rd Regiment of Foot, renumbered 42nd in 1751.

    Its dark tartan and original role gave it its name; its motto is ‘Wha daur meddle wi’ me’. It has served in most British campaigns and is now known as the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). It recruits from east central Scotland.

    * Dowe = Black Dubh [21/07]

    Turnberry – Golfing and beach resort in Ayrshire, 9km north of Girvan, and the home to this year’s Open Golf Championship.

    The 5-star Turnberry Hotel, built from 1904 for the Glasgow and South Western Railway by James Miller, is often reckoned to be the best in Scotland.

    Turnberry now incorporates the Colin Montgomery Golf Academy.

    Turnberry Castle, fragments of which remain, is alleged to be the birthplace of Robert I, and was a centre for his campaigns. Turnberry lighthouse is built over it. [17/07]

  • Promise of Morning…

    The Windowsill of Heaven:

    Every morning lean your arms awhile upon the windowsill of heaven and gaze upon the Lord.

    Then, with the vision in your heart, turn strong to meet your day.

  • Intelligence Briefing…

    1. Strategy for fighting the Taliban:

    Briefing: ‘A strategy against the Taliban’

    2. Could a tsunami really hit Britain; consider the evidence:

    Could a tsunami happen in Britain?

    3. NATO: How is it meant to move forward:

    NATO: 'A way forward?'

    4. Any other ways for governments to act other than taking banks over?

    Nationalisation isn’t the only option

    5. UK Anti-Terrorism: 'Contest Two Strategy'

    Home Office & Contest Two

    6. Resistance among local communities increases against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    Afghanistan: 'Taleban objectives?'

    7. Iran and its covert nuclear projects.

    Intelligence Briefing: 'Iranian politics and its covert nuclear projects'

  • Noticeboard …

    modus operandi:

    Servo pia quod vacuus duco sumptus

    (Serve honestly and without counting the cost)

    "Software and technology in the right hands"

    On Journalism J.M. Barrie (1860-1937) said:

    ... "The printing-press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, one sometimes forgets which.

    Watch or listen to BBC programmes within the last 7-days:

    BBC i-Player

    "The pen is mightier than the sword"

    ... is a metonymic adage coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 for his play 'Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy'.

    The play was about Cardinal Richelieu, French clergyman, noble, and statesman.

  • RSS Home News

  • RSS The Economist: Briefings

    • America's fiscal deficit: Stemming the tide November 19, 2009
      Unprecedented levels of government debt may require radical solutions STUDENTS at National Defence University in Washington, DC, were recently given a model of the economy and told to fix the budget. To get the federal debt down, they jacked up taxes and slashed spending. The economy promptly tanked, sending the debt to higher levels than before. The lesson: […]
    • The pros and cons of VAT: A last resort November 19, 2009
      Its advantages are oversold, but it is gaining adherentsLIBERALS oppose a value-added tax because it falls more heavily on the poor. Conservatives oppose it because it is a money machine. Larry Summers, Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, once predicted that America would get a VAT when the two sides reversed positions. That moment may be approachin […]
    • Monsanto: The parable of the sower November 19, 2009
      The debate over whether Monsanto is a corporate sinner or saintFEW companies excite such extreme emotions as Monsanto. To its critics, the agricultural giant is a corporate hybrid of Victor Frankenstein and Ebenezer Scrooge, using science to create foods that threaten the health of both people and the planet, and intellectual-property laws to squeeze every l […]
    • Nigeria: Hints of a new chapter November 12, 2009
      As militants lay down their arms in the Niger Delta, the battle is on to tackle Nigeria’s other massive ills IN YENAGOA, the capital of Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta, giant billboards in the centre of town proclaim the dawn of a “walking, talking ideology”—Sylvanomics. Some new fad, perhaps, from the IMF or the World Bank? No; the […]
    • Derivatives: Over the counter, out of sight November 12, 2009
      Derivatives are extraordinarily useful—as well as complex, dangerous if misused and implicitly subsidised. No wonder regulators are taking a close lookIN 1958 American onion farmers, blaming speculators for the volatility of their crops’ prices, lobbied a congressman from Michigan named Gerald Ford to ban trading in onion futures. Supported by th […]
    • Correction: Japan's technology champions November 12, 2009
      In last week’s article on Japan’s technology champions (“Invisible but indispensable”) we located Westinghouse and the old heart of the American steel industry in Philadelphia rather than Pittsburgh. Sorry. This has been corrected online. ...
    • Japan's technology champions: Invisible but indispensable November 5, 2009
      A host of medium-sized Japanese electronics firms have developed dominant positions in many areas of technology. Can they keep them?Correction to this articleABOUT 40 nuclear reactors are under construction around the world, designed by half a dozen companies from America, China, France, Japan and Russia. But to obtain a huge, solid-steel vessel to contain t […]
    • China's reaction to Communism's collapse: Keep calm and carry on November 5, 2009
      How Deng Xiaoping neutralised the country’s worst moment“THE East German people are now strengthening their unity under the leadership of the party.” So declared China’s Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, in October 1989. A month later the Berlin Wall fell. Even today, China’s leaders find the memory painful. […]
    • Berlin re-united: Not quite grown up November 5, 2009
      Still sparsely peopled, and still an islandUNTIL the Berlin Wall fell, Jutta Wrase photographed mostly in black and white. You could buy colour film in East Berlin, but the colours were bad and few shops would develop it. After the wall fell Ms Wrase was too shocked for a while to photograph much. Not that she mourned the old regime: she had photocopied forb […]
    • The world after 1989: Walls in the mind November 5, 2009
      The ex-communist countries of central Europe have fared well, mostly, since 1989. But they still have to shed their image as poor and troubled relationsPICTURE yourself in a smoky cafe somewhere in the middle of Europe—Prague, say—in late 1989. Sipping muddy coffee sweetened with gritty sugar, served by a sullen waiter at a greasy table, you are […]

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    • Amol Rajan: In awe of Terminal 5 November 25, 2009
      My brother and I picked up my dad, who was returning from India, at Heathrow's Terminal 5 this morning. It reminded me of an argument we had in a recent leader conference. The general tenor was unusually gloomy, with most of my comrades moaning about how appalling the design of Terminal 5 is, how impractical parts of it are, how hideous the architecture […]
    • Manmohan Singh: We'll play our part on emissions, but India won't clean up your mess November 25, 2009
      Our generation has an opportunity given to few, to remake a new global equilibrium after the irreversible changes brought about by the rapid and recent geopolitical and economic shifts. Nowhere are the changes more visible than in Asia. India and the United States can work together with other countries in the region to create an open and inclusive regional a […]
    • Patrick Cockburn: Britain's ignorance of Iraq is already apparent November 25, 2009
      Ever since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 senior British officials have gently hinted that what went wrong was the fault of the Americans and, if there is any blame left over, it belongs to Tony Blair. The first day of the Chilcot inquiry suggests, on the contrary, that British mandarins of the day had little more idea of the mechanics of Iraqi politics than t […]
    • Christine Gilbert: Ofsted is up to the task of policing our schools November 25, 2009
      Weak regulation serves nobody's interests, not even vested interests. Ofsted must not pull its punches – our job is to speak up for children and learners, and I make no apology for that. There can be no hiding place for poor practice.
    • Brian Cox: We're doing it not because it's easy, but because it's hard November 25, 2009
      The Large Hadron Collider is all about understanding the forces of nature, and it’s on this understanding that our modern technological world rest. You can trace a direct line through the history of physics, from Newton’s gravity, Faraday and Maxwell’s electronmagnetism, Rutherford’s discovery of the atomic nucleus, Eddington’s understanding of the power sou […]
    • Christine Blower: Ofsted is not up to the task of policing our schools November 25, 2009
      The NUT has very great concerns about the new inspections framework for schools. Ofsted's decision to "raise the bar" in its approach to school inspection is causing anger and fear among teachers.
    • The Sketch: If he's come to this inquiry with an open mind, he'll leave with one too November 25, 2009
      Wise old birds will counsel caution, but a rush to judgement may save time in the end. The Chilcot inquiry looks set to be boring, miasmic and faintly dishonest.
    • Terence Blacker: Science must never be political or emotional November 25, 2009
      At about the same time as a dastardly hacker was stealing the email archive of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, a senior member of the same faculty was addressing a group of villagers in south Norfolk. The professor's themes were energy and climate change, matters of particular interest in a part of rural East Anglia which co […]
    • Carola Long: A cover star fit for a sordid age November 25, 2009
      As unlikely cover stars go, Silvio Berlusconi's appearance on the cover of Italian Rolling Stone magazine must be up there with Marge Simpson featuring on the front cover of November's Playboy. The publication has hailed the Italian prime minister as its, "rock star of the year", but it's not his musical achievements as a one-time cr […]
    • Mark Steel: Come rain or revolution, it's money they all want November 25, 2009
      Haven't the 20th anniversary celebrations of the overthrow of communism been miserable? In 1989, with historically youthful joy, swarms of demonstrators danced across the Berlin Wall and brought down a collection of tyrannies, so the commemoration starts with the dullest statesmen sat in rows looking as if they're about to say "Well I'd b […]

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Magna Carta (1215)

Posted on November 28, 2007 by markdowe

Introduction

Magna Carta of 1215 and the rights afforded under Habeas Corpus is an ancient rule that, to the present day, affords individuals certain rights and privileges. Many of the legal systems around the world are based upon the bedrock and underpinning of Magna Carta. The doctrine of Magna Carta and Habeas Corpus has modern day [...]

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Individual Liberty, King John, Magna Carta | Leave a Comment »

The Hippocratic Oath

Posted on November 26, 2007 by markdowe

PLAGUE KILLED HALF the population of Athens in the year 429 BC. Some may have seen the plaque as a punishment for sinful behaviour, but as the historian Thucydides later commented, it made no difference whether people worshipped the gods or not, they perished in the plaque just the same. One of those who survived [...]

Filed under: Ethical Code for Doctors, Euthanasia, Hippocrates, Hippocratic Oath | Leave a Comment »

The Concept of ‘Overpopulation’

Posted on November 23, 2007 by markdowe

In 500 BC, the Chinese philosopher Han Fei-Tzu wrote:… “In ancient times, people were few but wealthy and without strife. People nowadays think that five sons are not too many. Each son has five sons too and before the grandfather dies there are already 25 descendants. Therefore people are more and wealth is less; they [...]

Filed under: Essay on the Principle of Population, Thomas Malthus, concept of overpopulation, overpopulation | Leave a Comment »

Historic view of ‘Global Warming’

Posted on November 22, 2007 by markdowe

As the last cold stage of the ice age came to an end in 10,000 BC, there was a rapid warming of the Earth’s atmosphere that went on through many centuries. This warming had relatively little effect at the equator or the poles, but produced dramatic changes in virtually every environment within middle geographical latitudes. [...]

Filed under: Historic view of global warming, early settlements, global warming | Leave a Comment »

Euthanasia:

Posted on November 14, 2007 by markdowe

The writers to this site are intending to write a protracted article on euthanasia. Whilst the subject is highly controversial it is intended to view things from a political, religious and philosophical angle.
On the topic of euthanasia ‘KD of MarKat’ wrote:… “This is my personal feeling on the subject. I just feel that only if [...]

Filed under: Euthanasia, Physician-Assisted Suicide | Leave a Comment »

Successful relationships:

Posted on November 12, 2007 by markdowe

QUOTATION:… “The most important single ingredient to the formula of success is knowing how to get along with other people.” Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)This is a theme to which this blog will focus upon, over the coming days and weeks.Relationships have a number of purposes which can only progress under given principles. Progress depends, largely, on [...]

Filed under: Emerson, Kipling, Relationships | Leave a Comment »

A Celtic Prayer:

Posted on November 9, 2007 by markdowe

GOD IN ALL

He inspires all,He gives life to all,He dominates all,He supports all.He lights the light of the sun.He furnishes the light of the night.He has made springs in dry land.He is the God of heaven and earth,of sea and rivers,of sun, moon and stars,of the lofty mountain and the lowly valley,the God above heaven,and [...]

Filed under: Celtic Prayer | Leave a Comment »