Arthur's Seat

A bit more Select

Arthur's Seat has combined with Infinitives Unsplit and the director of the Policy Institute to launch a new group blog - The Select Society.

The Select was one of the first literary and debating clubs of the Scottish Enlightenment - hopefully the new Select will combine its wit and erudition, as well as its love of claret, but without the need for woolen undergarments.

Farewell Arthur's Seat - welcome the Select.

Ah, the joy of the market

In Manchester this evening, and for the nth time this month have had to check an overnight bag into the hold of the aircraft I flew on because of the dangers implicit in carrying Trumpers Extract of Limes shaving cream.

Now, thanks to the market imps at Knowledge Problem, there is relief on the horizon. How soon before this service begins in the UK?

Apologies, gentle reader (2)

No, we haven't disappeared; but August has. Work, the Edinburgh festival, and a month full of house guests have kept us away from this site. Amends will be made.

The King David Hotel and the myth of moral equivalence

The Times reports on commemorations in Israel of the 60th anniversary of the bombing of the King David Hotel by the Irgun, in which 92 people were killed.

Apart from the telephoned warning made by the bombers, what marks out that operation from any other carried out by Hamas or Hezbollah today?* Answers on a postcard, please.**

* PG alert - loaded question - possible tu quoque...danger, unexploded rhetorical device, approach with caution.
** Stephen Pollard has already written, stamped and posted his.

Not such great news from India

This is a worrying tale of censorship from the world's largest democracy.

Iran and Syria - the endgame?

The hesitation of the international community can be so dangerous and the intentions of the axis of terror are so clear. That's why firm and resolute measures have to be undertaken against Syria and Iran who are directly responsible for the mess in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. Iraq the Model is clear on where the blame lies for the current confrontations in the Middle East.

US commentators share this viewpoint, although it appears that Pres. Bush and Mr. Blair view Syria as the key. Firm and resolute measures against Syria and Iran - do we have the resolution, or are we prepared to let the Lebanon burn?

Words are not enough

From this morning's Times:

Israelis living within a few miles of the Gaza Strip have been subjected to rocket attacks for years. Even though these are increasing, a death toll of eight since 2000 has meant that the Qassam rocket has grabbed few international headlines. But the missiles flying over Israel’s northern border are another matter. A single Hezbollah rocket, possibly one of its souped-up Katyushas, killed eight people in Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, yesterday. Iranian-made Fajers can travel far enough to unsettle Tel Aviv, which is on rocket alert for the first time.

To allow Iran, Hezbollah’s puppet master and a regime that believes Israel should be wiped off the map, and Syria such deadly influence in the region is a recipe for disaster. The Lebanese people are clearly not enamoured by the presence of Hezbollah guerrillas in the south of their country. But their Government needs help and political cover from the international community if it is to evict them.

Its cause domestically is not helped when Israeli bombs stray off target and kill Lebanese civilians, though any attempt to equate Israel’s efforts to hit terrorist targets with Hezbollah’s targeting of Israeli civilians is wildly misplaced. As Mr Bush and Condoleezza Rice both said yesterday, Israel needs to be acutely mindful of the consequences to innocent life and civic infrastructure, and therefore local politics, of its bombs. But Dr Rice was also right to say that an immediate ceasefire would not resolve the underlying problems, even though it would be desirable. Realpolitik demands action against Hezbollah — it is hardly in the long-term interest of either Lebanon or Syria to have a heavily armed extremist group in their midst.

And for Hezbollah read Iran and Syria:
With the battle between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah raging, key Arab governments are taking the rare step of publicly blaming Hezbollah, underscoring their growing fear of the group's main sponsor, Iran.

Saudi Arabia, supported by Jordan, Egypt, several Persian Gulf states and the Palestinian Authority, chastised Hezbollah for "unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts" at an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo on Saturday.

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said of Hezbollah's attacks on Israel, "These acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we cannot simply accept them."

It is nearly unheard of for Arab officials to chastise an Arab group engaged in conflict with Israel, especially as images of destruction at the hands of Israeli warplanes are beamed into Arab living rooms. But the willingness of those governments to defy public opinion in their own countries underscores a shift that is prompted by the growing influence of Iran and Shiite Muslims in Iraq and across the region.

The way some officials see it, Arab analysts said, Israel is the devil they know, but Iran is the devil that could win.

"There is a school of thought, led by Saudi Arabia, that believes that Hezbollah is a source of trouble, a protege of Iran, but also a political instrument in the hands of Iran," remarked Adnan Abu Odeh, a Jordanian sociologist. "This school says we should not play into the hands of Iran, which has its own agenda, by sympathizing or supporting Hezbollah fighting against the Israelis."

Blue skies - dark days

Working at home today - colleagues in Brussels, London and Dublin report fine summer weather. Here at Seat Towers the roses are out and busy bees buzz around the lupins.

There are dark clouds - and this week's carnage in Mumbai and the general mayhem in the Levant has pushed even Iraq and Afghanistan off the radar. As last week's papers thundered about our mission in Afghanistan I finished re-reading Richard Holmes' Sahib: the British Soldier in India - his description of what service on the NW frontier and in Afghanistan was like in the latter years of the 19th century puts the current expedition into proper context. Columnists who bleat about current combat losses should read Holmes' treatment of the engagement at Maiwand in July 1880.

India - dark days (2)

A year ago Emily and her friends in the US reminded us why they love all things British.
This is not to be callous in light of the horrors that happened today in London, but I thought our British friends could use as many gestures of support as possible.

Given the events of today in Mumbai, here is our little list of why we think India is a great country, compiled in a spirit of solidarity in these troubled times. Please feel free to add your own:

Butter chicken
A shared love of cricket
The train to Simla
Agra
Bollywood
Chapattis
Kullu
Saris
The Ambassador car
Tuk-tuks
Hill stations

Shukhriya

Update - lost comments

Typepad had an "outage" yesterday, and 4 or 5 comments with some excellent lists of all things praiseworthy about India have been lost. Please, Emily, Mr PG and others, can you resubmit your comments - oh my goodness, yes please.

India - dark days

A year on from 7/7 and the grisly face of terror appears once again. Cowards.