The end of things

Many friends are coming to the end of their time at University. Three years ago I wrote an opinion piece for Varsity on the subject of leaving, which I read again recently. It's still accurate, but it was orignally and rather awfully titled 'Love in a time of Pseudo-Intellectualism':

Life is about gleaning satisfaction from our inevitable failures, not about finding failure in our satisfaction. As another ‘year’ ends, we stagger off into the blissful obscurity of the real world and for many a little part of us dies, because University is about love; love of ideas, of situations, of buildings, of drinks, of friends, and that special sort of love we will look back upon and call the charming madness of youth. My grandmother once told me that we were all most open about ourselves at university –perhaps the big wide world instills in us all defences and barriers to honesty which prevent the magnanimous approach we have to strangers we meet at May Balls, parties, even in the street. Perhaps as we become more serious we hide away our private lives, and create a duality of existence which is difficult to overcome. We ought to remain as heady, as greedy for the pursuits of spurious happiness, but we know that growing up can often get in the way.

For this reason I say that University is about love, for what is love if not the meeting of two minds without the impediments that we will soon cultivate as we adopt ‘professional’ personae? Many will leave this University joyful and content, for others there have been tragedies, but for all there has been that overwhelming feeling of being in love with a place, a time, a person, a song, a fleeting moment of perfection. These are the things which give birth to the smiles which will form the wrinkles of our old age.

Passion has driven us through these three years. Not always passion for work, but passion for the extraordinary way of life that we have somehow sustained. We leave exhausted, hungry for new challenges, and a little heartbroken. A part of us will forever be at University, forever thinking that Sainsburys is just too far to walk at the moment, forever eager to continue the conversation until dawn.

It is this love that will remind us of Cambridge, be it the bumps or survivors photos, be it in the people we spend our lives with. It is the love of numbers, shapes, organisms, rules, and dreams which we will spend our lives forever indebted to. Just as the bright side of failing is what you did when you weren’t in the library, the joy of leaving is that you were ever here. That you ever could walk confidently through the gate at King’s without being stopped, that you were ever offered a Big Issue in poetic form, that you know so many brilliant and extraordinary people is the reason this is all worthwhile, and the reason it will be difficult to pack up and go. The point of Varsity articles as I have always seen them is that they give a platform upon which ordinary people may strive to say extraordinary things. I can’t really do the latter half of that. I can ask you all to stop and think about just how much you love the people you know, and how much your lives have been changed by that amazing and mysterious facet of human nature. For my part, I have loved and adored it all, even the bits I really wouldn’t have said I did at the time. Live boldly, escape the shadow of your Cambridge days with even greater heights, try valiantly to be as honest and open as you are now, and remember all the love in this time of pseudo-intellectualism.

The Speeding Judge

http://www.clivejames.com/point-of-view/speedingjudge

I can't beat this, I won't try. Listen to it, don't read it, and join me in imagining that after a long career I might be able to retire and do this sort of thing (the Clive James bit, not the speeding)

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A speech for Hannah

Hannah Turner died on the 6th May 2009 aged 23. On the 6th June a memorial service was held for her at the Temple Church. This is a copy of my address at that service:

A story is a happy one if it finishes in the right place.

Friday Afternoon, and after packing we set off on the three hour journey to my Grandparents. We stopped for burgers and chips along the way.

Having spent the past five months patiently suffering my learning to drive, so that I could take my turn on future repeats of the drive to Paris and our manic journeys on the roundabout at Champs Elysee, or any future re-enactment of the drive across Wales and back just for lunch, so that we could eat fish and chips in the tipping rain of Aberystwyth promenade, I was driving, and Hannah, her feet up on the dashboard with her painted pink toenails, had the map.

No drink tastes as good as Diet Coke with plenty of ice, sucked through a single straw, a beverage which often and famously constituted the first course of Hannah’s breakfast before she moved onto the hard stuff - Lucozade - but what takes the edge off Diet Coke is drinking it to stay awake, after the sixth hour of the three hour journey, and on your second circumnavigation of Birmingham because your girlfriend hasn’t yet told you that on her D of E expedition she stayed with the girl who broke her leg, and thus has never learnt to read a map.

It was in that moment, just five days before she died, that I realised that I would forgive Hannah anything, always, because over the year that I knew her, after a rocky start to our friendship, we’d had the good fortune to fall in love.

There’s a bright light in this Church which I will always strive to see, a light that Hannah saw shining from all of you. I know this, because as with almost every other hour we spent together, she talked about the people in her life and in her past, on that long journey through the night.

Her family she loved so ardently, loyally, and completely, no matter how many cricket balls they bowled indoors, pieces of large scale industrial equipment they tried to destroy, times they went away, pieces of furniture they rearranged, or wars they started with tenants, neighbours, members of the local planning committee, and the world at large. Not a day went past when you weren’t mentioned, praised, and loved. You made her who she was.

Her friends she spoke of just as warmly, from home, from kings, from bar school, from work, I have never met a person with such a range of friends, and Hannah cherished all of you, talked about you generously, and you are a testament to her.

We arrived after many hours, slept, and the next day made off for Tennis. The club was closed, but we snuck in and played anyway. Hannah and I had developed quite a form for this, happily crashing several balls at bar school last year. We had tacitly agreed long ago that life was to be lived with an appreciation for just how precious it can be, rafting down the Severn, wandering the streets of Paris with Champagne, Caviar, and Haribo Starmix late into the night. The gates of Bewdley Tennis Club did not stand in our way for long.

That afternoon we drank Pimms in the sunshine for hours, and Hannah read the style section from The Times. Hannah was always particular in what she wore, her coloured tights, patterned dresses and pearls stole my heart.

On Sunday, the weather still perfect, we mixed cocktails in the garden and Hannah beat me in consecutive games of Badminton. She threw herself around the grass barefoot, her floral skirt spinning, her hair falling everywhere as she destroyed me. Her glee immense, she was a better badminton player as she was a better cook, lawyer, friend, because she threw herself into the game, because she gave life everything. I was so happy to see her that afternoon, her fearless, joyous self.

As a little girl she had rode far and wide, jumping and galloping for hours, undeterred. As a woman I had seen her dance so confidently, speak her mind so honestly, neatly, and with a brilliant wit. We laughed for many fine hours. The chances Hannah took, the delight she showed in so much, were just part of her thankful approach to life.

Hannah woke on Tuesday with a temperature. It would be wrong of me to dwell on that day, to focus on the illnesses which she had fought so hard, so bravely, for so long. They were not what made Hannah, nor did she allow her health to confine her. She hid so much, was so strong, that I know she wouldn’t want me to say a great deal about it. What I will say is that she showed me that day a courage, a strength, and a dignity in the face of the most awful sadness which told me everything about how resilient she was.

When I couldn’t match Hannah’s strength that afternoon, when I cried, she comforted me.

In Hannah that afternoon was the absolute dignity of a woman who could still smile, still laugh, still love. She was her beautiful self up until, with absolute calm and warmth, we said our last goodbye.

Never could I imagine someone to be so brave, so joyfully human, as loving and as happy as Hannah was in the face of such unrelenting fate. Her strength in those hours is one of her greatest gifts to me.

I will never forget Hannah:

· mercilessly mocking my attempt to cook a chicken on a beach

· cycling and laughing along the Seine

· walking through Portobello Road arguing about how our Eldest daughter was going to turn out

· telling me over the most expensive dinner I have ever paid for about her deepest, darkest secrets

· scooched up with me watching series one to five of peep show pretty much back to back

· In my kitchen, laughing, when I showed her how to eat Jelly Babies in a way which recreates scenes from Jurassic Park

· How beautiful she looked on valentine’s day

· When she kindly drove me back from Bristol, and we silently got over pretty much hating one another, and sang along to pop songs

· crying next to me, when I told her I loved her

· explaining why an article in Heat magazine about obese people meant I had to become a politician

· walking the ramparts of Framlingham castle, whilst we invented an alternative British history

· laughing, laughing so much, and smiling the most amazing smile.

I will remember Hannah always

We will never see Hannah the aunt, lifelong friend, wife, or mother.

We must content ourselves with Hannah the little girl, and brilliant young woman. Those must now be enough, and they can be, because she gave everything of herself, unreservedly, and her life touched ours.

What would she, in years to come, have said to her nieces, nephews, friends, and children?

She would have wanted them

to follow their instincts, and to fight for what they thought was right,

to be good, inwardly and outwardly

to laugh, to dance, to fall in love, to take chances

and to enjoy sleep, holidays, music, bad food and good books

Hannah would want people to be strong, but not hard. To retain the vulnerability and sensitivity to the world which made her care so much about you all. She knew, better than almost any of us, what a gift life is, what a lucky thing it is to wake and enjoy the world.

My hope is that after this service, you will go out, join us, and make a new friend, share a funny story, and see a little of that light in one another.

Last year I bumped into a girl in Inner Temple hall over a drink, she was small, pretty, she had a lovely way of dressing, her eyes were like eclipses, her skin was pale, she was the funniest, most honest English Rose, and she changed my life forever.

Hannah’s story isn’t over, our being here to remember her is not the end. Hers was the quiet, happy revolution of courage, honesty, and laughter, against all odds.

Remember Hannah, until you’ve danced your last,

laughed for the final time,

kissed, embraced, and told someone that you love them,

when we who remember her have gone, then Hannah’s story will have ended.

It will be a happy ending, because Hannah will have changed our lives a little, made us appreciate just how precious each and every moment is, how much it means, happy because we remember her.

That will be a happy ending to a happy life.

The Times of London

Doubling the number of quality daily newspapers I have written for, by finally moving beyond the Letters page in The Times with this article about picking an inn of court was by far and away the best thing to happen last week, but it wasn't much of a crowded race for the top spot...

"The loyalty of members is heartfelt: in the sometimes lonely and always challenging early years there is nothing as encouraging as going before a panel of judges and senior barristers who award you money towards your training. For many students, that day is the first real confirmation from independent and experienced legal sources that they have a good chance of making it in their chosen profession. "

Inner shares the best church, too, which isn't something I really considered when I wrote it.

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In defence of Ruperts

News Corporation have 'translated' the name of J. Fritzl's defence lawyer as Rupert Mayer, a discovery which prompted a bit of Opinion from me:

Defending the indefensible:

It's easy to criticise Josef Fritzl's lawyer, but a man with the strength to play devil's advocate deserves our respect

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Leave it to m'learned friends

I don't come up with the titles, I promise, but my second piece for the Guardian is available here

"Representing yourself in court may save some money – but it will probably lead to disaster"



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Picking an Inn of Court

I've been asked a number of times how anyone chooses their Inn, most recently by someone on the CPE course who was on the lookout for a scholarship. Since it is a source of confusion for many, this is what I wrote to her:

There isn't a huge amount of difference between Inns of Court - they all offer beautiful environs in which to study, attend compulsory dining sessions, and train in advocacy as a student & then pupil. The sizes of the Inns vary, as do the architectural styles, but they are more alike than different.

As a student, the most important factor may well be money: all four Inns offer scholarships and support to members, but there are differences in how these are organised.

My Inn, Inner Temple, offers scholarships and exhibitions on a dual analysis of merit and means testing, other Inns operate with more emphasis to one or other of those criteria. The best way to learn about this is via the Inn websites, and by talking to the education and training departments.

Different Inns take varying numbers each year, and size may be an important consideration: there is something of the numbers game to this, taking the amount awarded each year and dividing it by the total number of possible students in contention. Gray's - a smaller Inn - looks good on this approach.

Inner Temple was very strong in debating when I was there as a BVC student- the extra-curricular aspect may influence potential members, though as most committees change annually, the strength of societies is subject to change.

Like picking an Oxbridge college, there's very little in it until you select an Inn, and then you become quite biased. Inner has great people, a really excellent advocacy training program, and good food, but I'm not an objective judge, and I've never heard a bad word from members of any of the Inns about their own. Taking a look around to get a feel for them all is perhaps the most important thing to do.




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Citizen myers

You may be wrong to read any great political significance into the choice of news broadcaster, and I would encourage you to avoid any such analysis, but don't let that stop you from visiting me at: guardian.co.uk/profile/rupert-myers






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The standard of proof in care proceedings

I wrote this before Christmas, it's just a brief look at that old chestnut, the balance of probabilities. Almost any area of law, however settled, however trite, becomes more complex in application, and opens itself up to potential alteration...



When it is not in our power to determine what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable

-Descartes



Introduction


This article tracks the recent fluctuations in judicial interpretation of the civil law standard of proof, particularly in care proceedings. A classic formulation of the balance of probabilities was given by Denning in 1947i where he said that the standard would be fulfilled when the evidence of a particular fact is such that the tribunal can say about whether it exists, ‘we think it more probable than not.’


The use of probability as a guide in civil law, and the founding of judicial decisions upon expectations drawn from what is always a partial knowledge of the facts, has led to confusion in the past about what the application of probability requires. Recently the courts have tried to stamp down on a run of decisions which sought to clarify the issues, but instead made them more complicated.



The complications:




1. Gravity of allegations

Ten years after Denning’s definition of the balance of probabilities, Lord Justice Morris addressed what the court saw as the problem of the increased gravity of certain allegations, whilst trying to apply the civil test to fraud in civil proceedings.



Rather than asking of the evidence whether it showed that the alleged facts were more probable than not, Morris LJ went on to suggest that more serious allegations required an adjustment to the civil test:



Though no court and no jury would give less careful attention to issues lacking gravity than to those marked by it, the very elements of gravity become part of the whole range of circumstances which have to be weighed in the scale when deciding as to the balance of probabilities. ii



His circumspection amounted to a filtering of the civil standard by suggesting that the probability of a fact existing was to be reduced by the gravity of the allegation the fact went on to support. This judgment, whilst an understandable reaction to serious circumstances at first blush, was given despite the self evident truth that findings of the probability of a fact, on the basis of evidence, cannot be determined by the outcome of that fact-finding exercise.




2. Flexibility

Lord Scarman considered Morris’ bending of the rule in a case concerning the summary removal of an immigrant on the ground that he had obtained leave to enter by fraud or deceptioniii. Lord Scarman was reluctant to say that the criminal standard of proof should apply:

I have come to the conclusion that the choice between the two standards is not one of any great moment. It is largely a matter of words. There is no need to import into this branch of the civil law the formula used for the guidance of juries in criminal cases. The civil standard as interpreted and applied by the civil courts will meet the ends of justice.



He then cited Bater v Bateriv in which the Court of Appeal ruled that, although it was a misdirection for a judge in matrimonial proceedings to say that the criminal standard of proof applied to allegations of cruelty, it was correct to say that they had to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.



Lord Scarman went on at page 113:



It is not necessary to import into the civil proceedings of judicial review the formula devised by judges for the guidance of juries in criminal cases. Liberty is at stake…. The reviewing court will therefore require to be satisfied that the facts which are required for the justification of the restraint put upon liberty do exist. The flexibility of the civil standard of proof suffices to ensure that the court will require the high degree of probability which is appropriate to what is at stake.



In those two passages, Lord Scarman made significant inroads into what had been a relatively clear principle. Adopting Morris LJ’s concerns, he ruled that a ‘high degree’ of probability is required in cases with a potentially serious outcome, where the difference between the civil and criminal standards – a linguistic rather than actual difference – is made flexible in the pursuit of justice.




3. Inherent likelihood

Chief Justice Bingham, in a 2001 casev involving civil proceedings concerning a sex offender, ruled that:




The civil standard of proof is a flexible standard to be applied with greater or lesser strictness according to the seriousness of what has to be proved… in such a serious case as the present, the difference between the two standards is, in truth, largely illusory.



The key element to the approach of Bingham CJ was the suggestion that not only should some higher standard apply where the gravity of the charge was sufficiently great, as seen above in section 1, and that flexibility should be afforded depending upon seriousness of outcome of the case, as seen in section 2, but that the seriousness of what has to be proved, the gravity of the facts in issue, has a bearing on the standard of proof.


This had for some time been an emerging piece of the picture; Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead in re Hvi had looked at the way particular allegations may sit somewhere on a spectrum of gravity and probability:


Built into the preponderance of probability standard is a generous degree of flexibility in respect of the seriousness of the allegation… this does not mean that where a serious allegation is in issue the standard of proof required is higher… only that the inherent probability of an event is itself a matter to be taken into account when weighing the probabilities…. The more improbable the event, the stronger must be the evidence that it did occur before, on balance of probability, its occurrence will be established.


This approach ignores the difficulties of assessing on the inherent likelihood of any particular fact, and may lead to a reliance on the court’s intuition, an intuition which says that more serious events are less likely than more trivial events.




Returning to the balance of probabilities


Re U

Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss was at the vanguard of a return to simpler times in re Uvii in 2004. In the interim, many more than just the cases mentioned above that had sought to blur the lines:


We understand that in many applications for care orders counsel are now submitting that the correct approach to the standard of proof is to treat the distinction between criminal and civil standards as ‘largely illusory’. In our judgment this approach is mistaken. The standard of proof to be applied in Children Act 1989 cases is the balance of probabilities.


Butler-Sloss upheld the general guidelines of Lord Nicholls, and made clear that Lord Bingham was considering applications under a different statute.



Re B

The attempt at a judicial full-stop came in the House of Lords in June of 2008 in Re B (Children)viii. Lord Hoffman referred to re U and underlined it:


I think that the time has come to say, once and for all, that there is only one civil standard of proof… Lord Nicholls was not laying down any rule of law [in re H mentioned above]. There is only one rule of law, namely that the occurrence of the fact in issue must be proved to have been more probable than not. Common sense, not law, requires that in deciding this question, regard should be had, to whatever extent appropriate, to inherent probabilities. ix




Time will tell if this passage assumes autonomous importance as the ‘re B common sense requirement’ and has the effect of sustaining the problem of inherent likelihood.




Baroness Hale, in the same case, went on to deliver the lead judgment:



The standard of proof in finding the facts necessary to establish threshold under s31(2) or the welfare considerations in s1 of the 1989 Act is the simple balance of probabilities… the inherent probabilities are simply something to be taken into account, where relevant, in deciding where the truth lies…As to the seriousness of the consequences, they are serious either way… As to the seriousness of the allegation, there is no logical or necessary connection between seriousness and probability. x



Conclusion


The Judgments of the House of Lords in Re B go a long way to stemming the confusion caused by recent cases. At law, the civil standard of proof in family proceedings is unambiguous, but practical problems will always remain where judges are asked to apply their understanding of probability - inherently a question of imperfect mathematical judgement - to a myriad of facts, uncertainties, and opinions. Where expert witnesses are called upon to give their own appraisal of likelihood, the process becomes doublyxi fraught.


Despite the caution that there is no logical or necessary connection between seriousness and probability, questions of inherent probability will always exist within proceedings, and serious allegations will undoubtedly be subject to more evidential scrutiny than trivial matters: Lord Hoffman’s requirement of common sense, as an adjunct to the rule of law, will always result in tensionsxii. As Joseph Bertrand asked, ‘how dare we speak of the laws of chance? Is not chance the antithesis of all law?’ xiii


i Then Denning J in Miller v Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All ER 372, a case concerning war pensions at paragraph 2.

ii Hornal v Neuberger Products Ltd [1957] 1 QB 247 at paragraph 266.

iii R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Khawaja [1984] AC 74, [1983] 1 All ER 765

iv [1950] 2 All ER 458

v B v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary [2001] 1 All ER 562 at pp 353-354

vi re H (Minors)(Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof) [1996] AC 563, at 586 d-h

vii re U (A Child)(Department for Education and Skills intervening) [2004] EWCA Civ 567

viii [2008] UKHL 35

ix Paragraphs 13 to 15

x Paragraphs 70 to 72

xi The stage of evaluating probability is applied by the expert and then the judge, both susceptible to the types of misapplications highlighted in this article, rather than meaning that the uncertainties are themselves doubled.

xii Tensions as between: the balance of probability, the more likely than not test; and ‘common sense’ as a back door to the gravity, flexibility, and inherent likelihood problems that have arisen in thecases mentioned.

xiii in Calcul des Probabilites



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Australia

A sprawling, overblown film which fails to justify the horrific length. Unlike Baz's earlier films, it lacks intensity, originality, pace, or brio. For better examples of films about Australians in war, see Mel Gibson on rare form in Gallipoli. For Australian comedy see The Castle. For Australian films about the lost generation, see Rabbit Proof Fence. For a decent Sprawling Romantic Epic Set In Inhospitable Conditions, see pretty much anything else, but specifically The English Patient.

Two or more films glued uselessly together, there are a few decent scenes (cattle herding like you've never seen it before, the amusing plight of the kangaroo) but Nicole Kidman has lampooned her character, and Hugh Jackman isn't solid enough as the male lead. David Wenham is his typically good self, but his character doesn't get the 'evil' material he really needs to thrive.

Australia is a film which encapsulates all that lead to the credit crunch: overspending and overconfidence on a vehicle with basic worth, but with unjustified claims to added value. At 90min it would have been a good film, possibly very good, but someone tried to draw the material out too far, and spread their investment too thinly.



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Video Part II

- I just found this youtube clip entitled 'Rupert climbing into the hot tub in black tie '

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Videos Part I

This House Believes Entrepreneurship is a Powerhouse for Social Inclusion October 18th 2007

Starring: Nicholas Boys Smith, Greg Parston, Ranald Clouston, Ali Al-Ansari, Rupert Myers, James Robinson, Roland Foxcroft

Film available here

This House Believes that The Multicultural Experiment has Failed
October 16th 2008

Nigel Hastilow, Bruno LeMaire, Rupert Myers, Sir Bernard Crick, Karen Chouhan, Tariq Ramadan, Adam Bott

Film available here


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Top 10 things to do to become a Barrister

A rough guide to starting your career

I wrote this for a member of chambers who is giving a talk to students this evening by way of a handout with a graphic behind it. I thought someone might find it useful.

1. Be sure you want to do it - becoming a barrister is hard, and requires a lot of time, money, and effort. Talk to friends, family, and think seriously about whether it’s right for you.

2. Do mini-pupillages - get a copy of the Chambers directory, or go online, and organise time with a set of chambers near you to get an idea of the sort of work at the bar.

3. Research - it’s no good watching Ally McBeal. Read books like ‘Learning The Law’ or ‘The Law Machine’ to get a really thorough idea of a barrister’s role within the justice system. Read the papers, and get your hands on The Times’ law supplement.

4. Learn the law! Either by doing a qualifying law degree, or completing the CPE after another degree at University.

5. Work hard - the bar is fiercely competitive, and the standard is high. For the same reasons that you want to be a barrister, there are many hundreds of other people trying to get there too. Work hard, and explore outside interests and hobbies to a high standard.

6. Join an Inn - the sooner, the better. Once you’ve set about becoming a barrister, you must join one of the four Inns of Court. Take a look around, talk to their education & training departments about scholarships and training.

7. Do the Bar Vocational Course. By the time you come to do this after your law degree or CPE, you should know what the score is: this is a year long course which teaches you the basic skills of the profession. Read more at http://www.bvconline.co.uk/

8. Get pupillage - this is the year-long period of work in a barrister’s chambers split into two six month periods... in the second of which, you’ll be on your feet in court.

9. Secure tenancy - the final hurdle is to secure tenancy with a set of chambers at the end of pupillage. Tenancy is not an automatic guarantee from pupillage, and some barristers have to move chambers or ‘squat’ until they are taken on.

10. Enjoy it! Many people have brilliant careers at the bar, and thoroughly enjoy themselves. Others use the first class training of the law and of the bar to go on to other things. It’s not the easiest career route, but if you like a challenge, it might well be for you.

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Some of the most entertaining things to do on the internet

I've been trying to compile a list of some things which are worth doing on the internet, I mean really enjoyable wastes of time which rarely, if ever, become dull. Some of the following exist in a grey area of copyright legality, which is pretty shocking, frankly.

1. Watch The Colbert Report : Stephen Colbert's always-witty and fast paced show which airs in America on Comedy Central. The author of the best selling 'I am America and so can you' started off life on John Stewart's Daily Show, which is also well worth a look.
   
   
2. Youtube videos of Flight of the Conchords - New Zealand's fourth most popular digi-folk paradists. Just timelessly funny, really.
   
   
3. More Youtube Videos, but this time of Mitchell & Webb's absolutely hilarious 'Sir Digby Chicken Caesar' which is possibly the best sketch invented in the history of the world.
   
   
4. Angry Alien Productions' remake of famous films as 30 second shorts entirely consisting of rabbit animation. Some of these are sensational.
   
   
5. Tesco invades denmark.
   
   
6. This explosion.
   
   
7. And this explosion. Ok, perhaps this is a bit of an 'explosion-biased' list, rather than a definitive one. Try this Blair/Cameron comparison, instead.
   
   
8. Woody Allen's Moose Joke - possibly the best joke, ever.
   
   
9. The AV Club's DVD Commentary Tracks of the Damned - a painfully good review of DVD commentary tracks which accompany shocking movies.
   
   
10. NASSA - The 'Old Negro Space Program' : last, but certainly not least.
    

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Amusing

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In what promises to be my last politically-minded post...

Mark Penn - whoops

...before I become a pupil barrister, and give up all my time and energies to the justice system, which I hope to still write about, I thought I'd pick up on this delicious treasure-trove of mistakes: a collection of Mark Penn's political memos during Clinton's run for the White House.


Shortly after Clinton’s reelection, Penn tried out some themes in this flattering memo to his boss. He suggested former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a role model: “We are more Thatcher than anyone else.” Penn believed that voters view their president as the “father” of the country. “They do not want someone who would be the first mama,” he counseled. “But there is a yearning for a kind of tough single parent.”

Whatever happens this autumn, and whilst I admire Obama greatly, my instinct is to hope for a McCain win (experience trumping celebrity, at a minimal reduction of my view) but the HRC campaign was certainly interesting, and I hope that she stays in the ol' politics game. Me, I feel like reading about and thinking about politics is not enough, and that since law and policy operate at something of a dynamic interface, I'm best-off sticking to concentrating on what I know best. Brown isn't going to call an election any time soon, which makes the UK scene currently something of a hydroponic tank in which little things grow, incubated from the vicissitudes of meaningful public scrutiny, since the stakes in these by-elections are pretty tiny for the average voter... only the general election is going to matter, and my instinct is, unfortunately, that it'll be closer than it seems like it will now. Nothing can be too important, when the announcements of think tanks fill the summer void.

Off to watch the Olympics, where the races are charmingly straightforward, but there aren't such fascinating campaign memos doing the rounds. What was the memo leak about? My guess is still the continued undermining of the Obama campaign by the Clintons so she can run again in 2012.

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The Oliver Stone treatment for George W Bush

It says something for my slowly growing fascination with politics that I cannot wait for this film to come out... Whether the music for the trailer suggests at a satirical film, or not, it will be a golden opportunity to look back over the last eight years - who can't remember the long and painful limbo of the hanging chads? Everything since then has been a significant journey, and this film will hopefully flesh out the personal side of this amazingly colourful man. The only hollow note in the trailer? The appearance of one of the fantastic four as Tony Blair - what happened to the excellent Sheen? One hopes that Mr Blair is not further elevated into dizzy heights of global stardom (I have been increasingly worried by the desire to see Obama as a rock star, I'm not actually sure politicians should ever get crowds that big, although as it has been pointed out, there were famous bands playing as warm up acts to attract people) by this film, but put into a fair context for those seven people on the planet who haven't already made up their minds about the Bush/Blair years to judge them fairly, and for the rest of us to enjoy the film without being depressed too much at the thought of their after-dinner speaking careers.

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Giles Coren

Giles Coren is one of The Times' better writers. I'd like to say he's the best, but he never writes about anything serious, and so is a peddler of extremely amusing, but shallow articles (where he really messes up, is when he tries to write comic pieces on more serious subjects, like his recent Oxbridge article, which was of Clarksonesque banality.) His review of El Bulli is such a good piece of writing that I had it on my wall at school, as inspiration for the quality of the words chosen. It took me a while, but I found it again online here.

A new medium for Coren's perspicacity is the email, it seems, and more precisely the flame email. I've entered hot water myself for this in years past, but never with such glistening offensiveness. I'm not going to repeat them here, but this article contains two gorgeous examples of a man annoyed, which reminded me only too cheerfully of Ed Reardon's week:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/25/pressandpublishing.thetimes


Update: One of the emails in full is here.
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The blind leading...

From Orson Welles' adaptation of Kafka's The Trial

Plenty of important and trustworthy people have told me that the bill put through parliament in double-quick time to allow anonymous witness evidence is a terrible piece of legislation, but I can't currently disclose the identities of these people... you know how it is.

Critics of the emergency legislation say it could lead to more widespread use of anonymous witnesses. Its measures apply to both defence and prosecution witnesses. The BBC helpfully tells us.

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Check that the microphone is switched off...

It's an article in Mens Vogue, but this little cross section of the swirling political sweepstakes surrounding the vice presidency is worth a read, if you're into that sort of thing. (Found via google, rather than an ongoing interest in male grooming.)

"Who do you like?" Senor asked Norquist. "Maybe Condi," Norquist answered. Senor was intrigued. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had just paid a highly unusual visit to the Wednesday group, Norquist's weekly right-wing conclave in his downtown D.C. headquarters.

http://www.mensvogue.com/business/articles/2008/06/VPstakes

Which makes an interesting alternative to the embarassing shambles of Jesse Jackson's latest comments on the trail:

Jesse Jackson, once America's most influential African-American leader angrily jabbing his right arm and muttering about Barack Obama across a television microphone that he thought was turned off.

"I want to cut his nuts out," Jackson said to his fellow guest during a broadcasting break. "Barack, he is talking down to black people."

Which just goes to show that politics can sometimes be a bit of a joke:

The chastened clergyman spent a second day apologising for his crude remarks yesterday. He told reporters in Chicago: "His campaign represents the redemption of our country."

Which, as U-turns go, if he expects anyone to believe that he had an overnight change of heart, is as patronising as anything I've heard recently.

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How to get it

From polling data sets 150 times the size of those in the last election, to medical data, to how google copes with the information superhighway, to the large hadron collider, to the understanding of space, this set of Wired Magazine articles on The Petabyte Age is required reading for anyone who wants to get it, and understand how the world is coping with the massive surge of information available to us. Phenomenal stuff. (Pictures from CERN)

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Left unchecked

Lesley White has been charmed by Tony Blair, there are no two ways about it:

"Do I still admire my old political pin-up, a man I’ve believed in, disavowed, accused and latterly observed trying hard to be of service? Actually, I do. Old habits die hard."

Her article outlines the struggle between respect, admiration, and fury that can cloud conversations about our last prime minister. Ms White's error is in skimming over the criticism, and spending far too long painting a romantic scene of 'Tony in Jerusalem,' but the article is certainly worth a look:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4255495.ece


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Astonished

Landing in Sydney after a long and quite calm flight (21, Smart People, The Other Boleyn Girl, Drillbit Taylor, Definitely Maybe, Street Kings - all decidedly second rate movies) I have recently discovered that the organisers of EUDC in Tallin have found my lost things! After the excellent party in the old factory, I had started to give up hope of finding my coat and notebook (a treasured driza-bone and moleskine that I have had for many years), but Helina Loor, the omniscient Convener, had emailed me to say that they have been located. This came after several days at the competition in which various people had told us that there was slim chance of ever seeing these objects again. I am astonished, and glad that these objects will find their way back.

The sheer luck of this is only beaten by the chance meeting with Jaan in the Old Town. I never thought I'd get to the stage where you can walk through a random foreign city and bump into people you know quite so soon in life.

Here in Sydney it's hardly a question of bumping into people, and more one of coming back into the family unit. Everyone is off to bed now, whilst I try to stay up for the final of Wimbledon by reading 'Devil May Care.'

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Tallinn - an extension argument

It's hard to look back on Tallinn as anything but a great experience. Inner did reasonably well, clearly not amazingly, but we participated with gusto, and acquitted ourselves. Kathryn and I came 60th, with Tom & Dev only a short distance behind. In such a large, international competition, we can go away happy, we think.

Tallinn was fun. The city was quiet, the food challenging, but the experience of being there at the competition was one which won't leave any of us for many years.

Debating is pretty odd, and to get to the top you have to embrace a way of thinking which the legal teams couldn't quite manage, but debaterland invited us in, and we learnt from it. It's a pity that we leave without some of the things we went there with, and I really hope that the Estonian lost property systems do get back to us.

Ultimately, debating is about taking philosophical and theoretical arguments, and attempting to rationalise and support them in a very limited, pragmatic and practical setting. Whilst the world worries about Mugabe and the US elections (to name but two issues) debaters are coming up with snappy seven minute speeches on the power of symbols, and arguing motions which would never be considered in a parliamentary environment. There's a disconnect there, but it's one we all came to enjoy.

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With an hour before the flight

Ha ha ha... Inner have woken with almost no time to pack, eat, and get to the airport before our flight. This is the only downside of the superb party in the art gallery last night, a photo of which I've found (above)

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Analysis etc.

So Oxford won the final in first prop (Oxford teams were propping and first opping the motion on whether we should ban soviet and nazi symbols with KCL in second opp).

JLM gave a fantastic speech, a truly awe inspiring tour de force of the main issues, but it wasn't enough to drag victory away from an Oxford first prop team who really owned the debate in every serious sense. First Opp did a fine job, and one which went unrecognised in the popular vote.

The after party was excellent - first at a hotel and then in a national art gallery. The organisers did a fantastic job of showing us a good time.

If anything ruined it, and that would be hard, it would be the behaviour of Daniel Warrents, the only person at the European Championships who has been anything but friendly. What's worse is that Daniel comes from Cambridge, and how someone who was that offensive this evening ever got into Cambridge is beyond my rudimentary understanding of the admissions system. This isn't the place to go into a discussion about how or what he said, but I still can't quite understand how someone can hold such disgusting views without the intellectual curiosity or common human decency to question why or listen to arguments which might support an alternative understanding. Most debaters, though they exist in debaterland, have that interest and passion for comprehension which prevents the sloppy thinking which led to the statements I heard from DW this evening. I am left with a sour taste in my mouth, which I can only hope that the hotel nightclub manages to expunge (a key word in the debate which was charged with ambiguous meaning)

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The big night

After a calm morning of full breakfast and our 'waterboarding' game with floats which got ADF, Tom and myself kicked out of the pool, it was time to iron shirts and don ties for the final. Kathryn and I have fashioned a sign, showing Inner Middle Lincoln's and BPP's support for KCL tonight - look out for us going BSM (Dev's term, the third word is Mental) in support. The whole shooting match will be live on EUDC Tallin's website, the link to which is below the youtube video below...


Tonight, whatever the outcome, we go crazy in Tallin.

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US Supreme Court decisions

This house condemns the Supreme Court's ruling on the definition of the second amendment in the Heller case today would make an exceptional final debate tomorrow. As it is, I think (hope) that it will be a debate on Zimbabwe, since it's almost impossible to believe that the organisers (who have picked great debates on the whole) will change their pick at this stage.

A ban on handguns in Washington DC is ruled unconstitutional, in a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7474924.stm

Inner Temple have been a great team this week - Tom, Kathryn, Dev, in previous days Nye, and I have had a superb time. Izzy, ADF, Katrina, James, Peter, and many others have added to the joy of being out here and participating in this excellent competition.

It's odd thinking that I'll never debate competitively again. On the one hand, it was not fun to have a bit of bad luck and hit some rooms with tricky judges, but on the other it's been an interesting journey, and debating has taught me a great deal. The quarter final was everything good about debating - sharp and humourous discussion - but the semi final was another one of those debates held in debaterland where some things require analysis and argumentation, whilst other things remain commonly held and accepted arguments. The line between what judges will accept as fact, and what requires examples, and support, is worse than hard to discern: what will sink or swim depends almost entirely on the room, and who the judges are.

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Economics?

This afternoon's semi-final was a great motion: This house would scrap income tax. Unfortunately most of the people speaking couldn't quite nail the problems that the discussion raised. I expected a nice discussion of Nozick, and maybe some analysis of the veil of ignorance, but instead we got some confused arguments about natural justice, some better arguments about property rights, and a lot of confusion about inflation, demand, supply, and that sort of thing.

Estonia has really grown on me - it's small but well formed. The food is still difficult to deal with, but tonight we had some fantastic ribs whilst supporting Spain in a packed beer house filled with Russians.

We've become the barmy army of loud, heckling supporters who noisily support Louis and JLM, who are now in a final against three Oxford teams. In the semi finals, of 16 debaters, one was female. There are no women in the final 8. Debating has real problems there, and whilst there are excellent female debaters, they don't seem to be pushing into those final rooms (with the exception of Leiden A, whose first speaker in the quarter finals was sublime)

Last night's awesome party has left us all pretty tired. Ahead of the final round tomorrow, we're going to relax by playing cards before bed.

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Quarter finals

After last nights excellent party (I am writing on a confusing cyrillic keyboard in Tallin University where I cant find the apostrophe) in a disused factory (It looked like a soviet era smelting works) we had the quarter final this morning. We were supporting Louis and JLM, with Rosie and Fred in another room. The debate was excellent, with the ESL team Leiden A in an eloquent first prop for the motion This House Would Ban the broadcast of messages from terrorists. We were cheering first opp. but the standard of debate was high (fear as a tool, giving tools to the enemy). What it lacked was a bit of structural discipline, since the messages affect two key groups in very different ways, and it could have been clearer how fear and inculcation operate- the elephant in the room was human rationality, and it wasnt very well explained by either side... they tended to dodge a discussion of just how fear operates to hamper our actions, and how we become fearful. That said, it was a riproaring start to the day, with such particularly joyful lines as

Osama Bin Laden doesnt convert the masses with his Christmas broadcast, not even Obama can manage that

Sadness at Nyes absence and the lack of Inner teams breaking, but we are muddling along as spectators, watching some rather excellent ideas being elucidated before our eyes by very animated and competitive young people. On the main page of the EUDC website is a little film of me debating...

http://www.eudc2008.eu/

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The unbearable lightness of not making the break

There is an unsettling casual attitude in the Inner B team.. after two SHOCKING decisions today by ESL judges who do not understand such complex arguments as equality before the law, and why violence is generally bad, we cannot break. A short update before our final two rounds... this morning we were both quite excellent, but in rooms with poor judges. Such is life. Our thoughts are mainly with Nye, who has flown home. Tonight, tomorrow, and for the rest of the week we quit our sobriety and drown our fury.

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Estonian Food

In a word, Estonian food is dire. Every morning we hit the hotel dining room for a big breakfast of all the usual fried food, beans, muesli, fruit, yoghurt, cold meats, and so forth, because we know that everything else they give us during the day will be poison.

Day one lunch consisted of a greasy risotto dish without any accompanying fruit, veg, or anything with another flavour. Dinner was another paper plate, this time of bad chinese noodles.

Day two lunch was an improvement - a sort of irish stew thing with an unknown meat - but dinner more than made up for the lunch. We were taken several miles on foot to an irish pub, where we were given over-boiled potatoes and pork steak, with a pint of lukewarm concentrated orange juice.

This has to be set against the background of a great level of friendliness, enthusiam, and cheer of our hosts, and their beautiful city. Estonia's great, really, but the food and the nightlife are in need of transformation.

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Day one of debates

Day one debate titles (we need to average second or above in the first seven to get through to the break rounds):

1:This house would require people to work in return for welfare payments.
We were 1st Opp and took second.

2: This house believes that sporting bodies should punish teams when their players commit criminal acts off the field. We were 1st Prop and took second.

3: This house would use military force where necessary to deliver emergency aid. We came third having been stuffed royally by the first prop in front of us defining the motion as going into Burma with ground troops to deliver aid. My speech was rather mental in places, but it really had to be to defend such a daft prop (I said that we walked into Iraq without opposition in 4 days, and they were waiting for us, whereas the Junta were not as sophisticated and were also having to deal with a natural disaster, so we'd probably have it even easier, to which James Prior shot back quite flawlessly that we'd be walking troops into a country whose government would then (on my logic) crumble, leaving us stuck holding the baby and looking quite a bit like an invasion force, and we're not too hot at that). I would have propped air dropping food into Zimbabwe, but then I'm not a moron.

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Estonia: There's a reason you've never heard of it

Last night's opening party was held in an open-air museum of Estonian life, which would have been a good idea if it hadn't been raining constantly all day. Still, Inner Temple made the best of it, with three trips walking around the bonfire backwards for luck, we set off for our own stone skimming competition down on the water, before wandering through the woods to look at windmills and thatched huts.

We returned to the hotel to sit in the bar drinking hot chocolate, before heading upstairs to an executive suite to watch a film. The opening celebrations over, the hard work begins today with the first debates happening this morning - after a decent (and sober) night of sleep, we're raring to go.

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Breakfast in the olümpia hotell tallinn

The European championships are being held in this hotel, or rather we're staying in it & debating at Tallin University. The lifts are filled with anxious young people talking about the motions at past competitions. So far we're all pretty sleep deprived, having hit the town yesterday for the (absolutely rubbish) Spain v Italy match. We found an out-of-the-way and rather traditional little Estonian restaurant for dinner, where dishes consumed included Hunters Sausages (little sausages in burning brandy), pike with horseradish sauce, peppermint chicken, red caviar, torsemeat (we still don't know what that is), and an unusual garlic bread made from rye bread and large chunks of garlic.

The weather has turned today, and we head off for the initial day of registration and talks before debating starts tomorrow.
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Tallin day 1

Kathryn and I wandered Tallin after our gruelling flight, and found a place where you can sculpt marzipan. Our edible dinosaurs are exceptional.

Tallin is sunny, and the old town is extremely scenic. Art is sold from the ancient walls of the castled centre, and the markets are filled with textile products, amber, and pottery.

We went to the cathedral, and watched the ring-exchanging ceremony in part of an orthodox marriage, which was touching and simple, but with the ornate backdrop of the glittering gold walls.

The debating starts on Tuesday, which means that we have another day to spend as we choose. After the early flight, I may spend some of it catching up on sleep...
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Unwitting heroism in villany

My letter in The Times on Saturday (below) provoked an illuminating private reaction from people who know Mr Davis well. It seems that maybe he is not the noble and selfless man of principle that his actions could suggest, and that there is more than a hint of vanity to his quixotic by-election. I stand by the belief that it could still be a good thing - the value of the stand as a gesture may lead people to question their desire to see liberty removed piecemeal from our way of life:

Sir,

David Davis’s stance should be seen as a triumph for conservativism in highlighting the difference between being tough on crime and tough on liberty. The rate of increase in the length of time that suspects can be detained before charge over the past decade has been alarming. It is thanks to the brave act of a politician who has clearly realised that there are commonly held misconceptions surrounding the value of these measures, which need to be addressed, that we can hope that in future the words of Magna Carta and its descendant principles will remain so much more than symbolic.

Rupert Myers
London WC1

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Ok

So that really didn't stand the test of time (my last post.)

Clinton's lagging campaign hasn't quite given up, or at least she hasn't actually said in public that she has been defeated. A final act of gracelessness? Another attempt to undermine Obama's chances in '08? After a long, gruelling campaign, my bet is that Hillary wanted the chance to compose valedictory remarks which would reflect well on her, and ensure that her exit from the stage is a temporary one. The words won't come easily, and it will be something of a turnaround for her to praise Obama unreservedly. Perhaps until a few days ago, self belief stopped her campaign from realising that it had reached the end of the runway without taking off.

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Why Hillary's still in it

If Clinton keeps going, Obama can't focus on McCain. Obama loses, and Clinton runs again in 2012, less tarnished by defeat (since she's not going to be the Democrat nominee).

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Is not too bad, as movies go. The film manages some of the greatest spectacles of the quadrilogy (an early scene involving an explosion and white goods is remarkably daft, but stunning) but has the same heart and soul as the original trilogy. The violence is comic and thrilling in equal measure, the dialogue sharp, but the plot is a little lost somewhere along the ride.

If the film lacks something that the first three films had, it is the connection between the thing sought and the wider world - in the first three movies Indiana Jones understands the significance of the Ark, the stones, and the Holy Grail, and explains these to his audience. Here, because the Crystal Skulls remain a mystery to Dr Jones for much of the film, and because there really is much less significance of this plot device after the last three were so important, Dr Jones seems less of a hero restoring the fabric of human culture and preventing history from falling into the hands of evil men and women, and more of a plucky treasure-seeker whose motives for restoring the status quo are never properly engaged with.

In other news, Crewe & Nantwich has put the cat among the pigeons - the gain of the seat could well be seen as the tipping-point in Gordon Brown's premiership. Can Gordo recover from this knock? Indiana Jones has shown that it's never too late for a comeback, but it's hard to pull it off believably. New Labour doesn't have as long to write the script as Lucas and Spielberg took, and will regret leaving it this late to start changing the direction of the plot (and perhaps the central characters...)


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Good news for an old place (welcome to the 20th Century)

On conservativehome Louise Bagshawe writes:

may I thank Lord Kalms and Chris Gent? They are proposing anew that women be allowed to be full members of the Carlton Club. I hope to be a Conservative MP, and it is sheer nonsense that the major club allied to a progressive party like ours should bar women from full membership. Such is not the Conservative way.

...I am most grateful to him and to all other men in the Carlton ready to fight to put this anachronism in history, where it belongs. Thanks to David Cameron and Associations up and down the country, there will be a large number of new Conservative women MPs. The Carlton Club's raison d'etre is Conservatism, not masculinity. I trust it will take this new chance to put the situation right.

In reply to which many people commented, some of them bringing up the freedom of people to associate (the Women's Institute, for example) and I was compelled to add my opinion:

I've been asked repeatedly to join the Carlton Club, and I've enjoyed many wonderful evenings there as a guest. The young members committee has been proactive in encouraging people to come along (I was encouraged whilst on a CUCA trip to Westminster) and has held wonderful events.

There is, however, an unhealthy atmosphere in an organisation which maintains an imposed barrier in status between men and women (and I have heard women defend it, but they are perhaps the minority). To have different rights, and to be barred from entry to the downstairs bar, is an embarrassment to the club and to the party it supports.

The WI supports the interests of women, the Carlton Club supports the cause of Conservativism - which has been the party championing women's access to politics. I know that I won't join the Carlton Club until they accept that men and women are equal within the great cause that is Conservativism.

The rumour mill has it that the vote went through & on the fifth attempt women got in. Good news.

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Iron Man

Don't bother with it, and you'll be extremely happy that you didn't. What an empty tragedy of a film. Mr Stark is one shade more interesting than Mitt Romney, and the 'bad guys' are no more than a series of short-hand nods to some sort of Afghan problem. Watched 'Indiana Jones' on BBC1 on Sunday after returning from the Bristol Open, and that was light-years better. The new film had better not suffer from this modern tendency to have a script built out of duplo-brick statements which are focus-grouped to appeal to seven year olds.

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on London

Originally written on April 27th

London is wet and miserable today, and so I have sought refuge in the library of my law school (BPP), a quiet but unprepossessing piece of modern architecture which is predominantly filled with solicitors in training for their placements at city firms. These people wander around in close-bunched clumps, clutching their well-thumbed copies of the companies act 2006,and dressed as if they were contractually obliged to shop at Jack Wills by their firms. Those of us on (what we all believe to be the harder) bar vocational course dart around, papers and polystyrene coffee cups in hand, looking a little dismissive of our law school surroundings, and far less polished.

Yesterday, with the sun beaming down on London for the first time (properly) this year, the city was very different. I went from Bloomsbury up through Covent garden, Leicester square, Trafalgar square, Westminster, and to the Peter Doig exhibition at Tate Britain.His works are wonderfully creative, and evoke the wilderness of theimagination in vivid colour. In a moment of Sunday afternoon pretension, I would say that his approach is a perfect example ofJean-François Lyotard's theory that art is a means by which the transmutation of energy from the artist to the viewer is achieved: standing in front of these giant patterns of colour and light is an exciting experience. After that, I went through south London to borough market. From there, north, through the desolate tower blocks and shining office lobbies of the city at the weekend, before arching west again through Smithfield market and Farringdon, until I was back in the familiar surroundings of WC1. In all, it was a long afternoon circumnavigation of the city, stopping from time to time to read from Andrew Gimson's excellent 'the rise of Boris Johnson' -whose mayoral campaign I have been volunteering for recently as a telephone campaigner. I have recently come to think thathe deserves his chance. The London mayoral election is a dismal swamp, but a choice must be made, and the candidates are who they are.

Since Easter, I have taken up the offer of my first year's training in East Anglia. This is perhaps why I have suddenly felt the urge to explore London more fully - until that point I had been very happy existing in the small rectangle encompassing Russell Square down to Temple tube station, with the odd walk to the National Gallery and the British Museum. Since discovering that my time in the city will onlybe this year, I have been to Stockwell, Camden, and Camberwell... the city's night bus system, if attempted in a less than sober frame of mind, can lead to some discoveries. London is not a 24 hour city, to my disappointment. Large sections of it - past midnight - close down. Only the night buses and the odd kebab shop provide transport and sustenance to the confused and narcoleptic traveller.



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Charlie Wilson's War, No Country For Old Men

Charlie Wilson's War walks the tightrope of political entertainment with skill; they could easily have poured the message on thick like Lions For Lambs, but the film takes a lighter, charming approach which fits the story of a US Congressman whose drive to arm the people of Afghanistan is smokescreened by his tricky encounters with drugs, alcohol, and women. Tom Hanks is suave, snappy, and jaded in the lead role, conveying a genuinely atypical hero with brio. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is electric as the CIA agent nobody can handle but everyone respects, creating great comic and dramatic scenes, and Julia Roberts is as good as she's ever going to be as the rich Texan who gets it all sorted quietly whilst the men seem to act.

The tradeoff between politics and entertainment is made too generously in favour of painting the defeat of the soviets as a great thing, with the fallout just an epitaph on the screen for a moment. The one piece of perspective, as the camera pans out in a refugee camp, is the pivot for the story, and has great impact for being a brief moment of realism. That may be how Charlie Wilson saw it, and this is an entertaining film, but it is too much like creating an upbeat action movie about how easy the weeklong invasion of Iraq was; interesting to watch, but sorely missing the right emphasis, and failing to examine the motivations. Seven out of ten.

No Country For Old Men is a different beast altogether. From the Coen brothers have come some of the finest comic films ever made (The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother Where Art Thou) yet here is a film which, from the opening minutes of narration as we watch clouds move over the plains, has you caught in a powerful, thrillingly dark story.

A man is arrested, taken to the police station along with his strange device, where he kills the officer and leaves calmly. Another man is hunting in the fields, and strolls upon a horrifying scene which contains both the promise of a happier life and the immediate threat of death. Here begins one of the most atmospheric, dramatically honed films of the last few years. The tiniest flashes of comedy from the Coen Brothers are consumed within a story told with phenomenal confidence.

The star is Javier Bardem (lead in the excellent and under appreciated The Dancer Upstairs) for his embodiement of real evil. The film bends around terrifying scenes of violence as the quiet American hero tries to avoid a fate which sometimes seems inevitable.

The ending of the film, and the thoughts you are left with once it's over, might not satisfy everyone. There is a maturity here which has stepped away from more conventional ways to tell this story, and has gone for something bolder, smarter, more realistic. There is only so much to say without spoiling it, but No Country For Old Men is a chlling masterpiece, which will keep you trapped until the final frames. Nine out of ten.

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Figuratively

Mitt Romney spoke proudly during his speech "Faith in America" of seeing his father "march with Martin Luther King." Days later, he repeated the statement on MSNBC's Meet The Press:

"My dad marched with Martin Luther King."

Then this from the Detroit Free Press:

Romney's campaign said his recollections of watching his father, a civil rights supporter, march with King were meant to be figurative. "He was speaking figuratively, not literally," Eric Fehnstrom, spokesman for the Romney campaign, said.

So Mitt Romney's father figuratively marched with Martin Luther King, since there's no actual record of it, and MLK never marched in Grosse Point, which is where George Romney was for this claimed event.

It's astonishing how such an event could be imagined entirely out of the blue like that. Figuratively marching in the sense that Mr Romney might have marched with Martin Luther King, given the chance. Figuratively in the sense that Mitt didn't actually see it at all.

The candidate has recently defended the incumbent's foreign policy record:

"The president is a person who is deeply devoted to this country. He is not a person who acts out of arrogance or a bunker mentality."

Even an arrogant, bunker mentality (as Mike Huckabee has called the Bush approach) beats the fantasist every time. Could a president Romney invade a country for their figurative nuclear weapons? I hope, literally speaking, that we never get to know.

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