Arthur's Seat

Under thundery skies

We arrived in Vientiane late this afternoon, after 5 excellent days in Luang Prabang where the coffee and croissants available for breakfast are as good as in any small French town - which this was for a good few years. UNESCO acts as a planning authority to ensure the town doesn't lose its charms; unlike the capital, which is a building site.
We have done our bit for the local retail economy; and will need extra luggage from Bangkok. Today is election day - compulsory voting to elect 8 members of the Ministerial Council. We watched in one village outside LP where everyone was waiting in line to vote - all done by 12 noon. The only campaign literature were A3 size news-sheets on streetcorners with the mugshots of the 12 candidates and 200 word mini manifestos.
All a bit of a change from the UK where I see that a mere 60% of the electorate thinks HMG is sleazy and incompetent. Just like old times.

Into Laos

Up early tomorrow and over the river into Laos - then down the Mekong by boat for two days. Next report from Luang Prabang, provided we haven't fallen in. Maybe photos too.

Have wifi, will travel

Good morning from BKK airport, where by the magic of wifi and O2's nifty new XDA mini I can post while waiting for my flight.

This techy thing is all a bit ahead of me, though. The ma-in-law refers to wi-fi as "the radio" as that is what she thinks of when she talks about wireless. Hopefully, by the summer the in laws will be "enabled" and we can post from the poolside; blogging bliss.

Moving On

Mr and Mrs Seat are both moving jobs this month; from tomorrow we are on holiday. Hopefully we will be able to post from the in-laws in Italy on the aftershocks from the Italian elections, and on other irrelevant roman chit-chat.

Then we head east for two weeks in SE Asia. Posting will be light to moderate...

Back in Scotland in May.

Toodle Pip! (h/t PG).

Bird flu - dead bird was illegal immigrant

...is probably how the Mail would have it. The current theory is that the swan found at Cellardyke died somewhere else - perhaps on the Danish north sea coast and was then carried by the tides over to Scotland.

Keep eating your porridge.
ps Just in case you needed to know, the BBC has produced a handy recognition chart of the birds most likely to bring bird flu into the UK.

Politics in cycles

Will the Congressional mid-terms in 2006 be as cruel to the GOP as they were to the Dems in 1994? The WSJ thinks so - the Republicans have wasted their control of federal government, and US voters are unlikely to reward them for that.

Revenge...

Scotland are the World Curling champions, defeating recent Olympic victors Canada barely a month after the Games in Turin. Excellent news.

Bird flu - get a grip

Prof. Hugh Pennington (president of the Society for General Microbiology) is clear enough in this morning's Herald:

SO H5N1 has arrived in Scotland. Not a real surprise. For the last few months it has been infecting birds in Western Europe – and it is very clear that it is very good at moving long distances.
Bird flu was first described by scientists a century ago, and H5N1 is not only one of the nastiest kinds for birds, but its ability to get about and spread worldwide in the dramatic fashion it has is unparalleled.
Only one other bird flu has caused fatal infections in people. Most kinds of bird flu have stuck to birds.
So how worried should we be? The most important thing to be concerned about is whether H5N1 will change from being a bird virus to one that can readily infect people and spread with ease from person-to-person.
If this happened it is certain there would be a world-wide epidemic – a pandemic. But whether it will happen is very uncertain.
What is most likely, however, is that if this change ever happens the most likely place for it to occur is China or the Asian countries bordering it, because that is where most of the virus infections are occurring.
The discovery of a dead swan at Cellardyke doesn't change that. It is Scottish birds and not Scots who are at risk.

Most of the media seems to have stepped back from the brink today - despite yesterday's blanket coverage. The Scotsman has it about right with this article (subscription only) from Prof. John Oxford, who is one of the more pessimistic of the expert commentators:
It would be difficult for people to catch bird flu - even if they tried really hard.

Ornithophiliacs take note.

Bird flu - we're all doomed

Listening to John Humphrys foaming at the mouth on the Today programme this morning was enough to make one want to set up a cordon sanitaire at the end of the garden. The BBC asks "Are you worried about bird flu?" to which most respondents appear to be saying "No".

Frankly, unless the good ladies of Cellardyke were re-enacting the visit of Zeus to Leda as part of a late Spring equinox festival, we have more to fear from media hysteria than from avian flu.

Given that Cellardyke lies deep within the constituency of Sir Ming Campbell it won't be long before we have the LibDems' take on the matter. Can't wait.

Update: I missed the first LibDem comment of the day:

Rural Affairs Minister Ross Finnie told BBC Scotland that there was no need for panic.
"This is a very serious situation but it is a situation where we need to look at the evidence, deal with it rationally and put all of the planning measures that we have been rehearsing for some time into place, but without inducing a general state of panic."

Panic - who said anything about panic..?

Update 2: Doubtless this weekend's media will be full of helpful hints as to how best to cope with this latest mass panic. (Was the last mass panic Sars or Foot & Mouth?) Here is some useful advice given to readers of the News of the World during the 'flu pandemic of 1918-1919:
Wash inside nose with soap and water each night and morning; force yourself to sneeze night and morning, then breathe deeply; do not wear a muffler; take sharp walks regularly and walk home from work; eat plenty of porridge.

Update 3: BBC News: Opposition parties have called for First Minister Jack McConnell to return to the country from New York, where he is taking part in US Tartan Week celebrations.
What possible use would that serve?

Update 4: Welcome to readers of the Corner; we would be delighted to see all of you on vacation in Scotland this year. Do not be alarmed by the sight of assorted politicians and journalists running round like headless chickens. The real chickens still have their heads, as do the rest of us.

One for Dr Crippen

NHS Blog Doc is an excellent site which is powerful medicine to keep you out of hospital and away from the clutches of nurse managers.

I wonder what Dr Crippen would make of this story which reveals one of the unintended consequences of the UK government's recent chages to its immigration policy. Non-EU Doctors now have to apply for work permits to come and work in the NHS. The permit free training scheme for medical practitioners from the Indian sub-continent has been abolished.

We're all for the opening up of the EU and the creation of a truly free market, which should enable qualified medical staff from other EU states to come and work in the UK. The Scottish Executive launched a scheme earlier this year to attract Polish dentists to set up in practice here. But, does this have to be at the expense of the previous scheme which apparently worked well for doctors and other medical staff from the Commonwealth who wanted to continue their training in the UK?

This is where my inner free marketeer does battle with my inner anglo-indian - help Dr Crippen, what should we do?