It's not often you read an article about a Green proposal which sets our ideas out with perfect clarity. 
So Michael Brown has finally been convicted in absentia of theft, furnishing false information, and perverting the course of justice. 
The master of the Holyrood sketch is back from his rural retreat, where he was oddly wasted as a TV reviewer, and Parliament is whole again. 
Apparently Thailand's army, with their green fatigues, are known as the Green Party for their history of political involvement. If only there was a real Thai Green Party to make that joke redundant.
Polly Toynbee thinks the Pre-Budget Report shows the era of New Labour is over, and social democracy is back (and as vague a term as ever). She finds the evidence that Darling's massive borrowing has worked in an unusual place: the FTSE100.
The Chancellor on the radio this morning tried to persuade me that the "credit crunch" is a random global event, something Britain is best placed to deal with. 
The people have spoken. Well, the Green people have, anyway, and so our two co-conveners for the next year will be Patrick Harvie and Eleanor Scott, once and hopefully future Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands (shown left with a hydrogen car in a proper 1970s motor show pose). 
Yesterday we all trooped off to see the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull at the Hub. These skulls are associated with endless speculation about their origin, the odd movie, and a fair amount of woo, including Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World (Youtube of that episode). 
Michael Lewis, author of Liar's Poker, the accidentally timely tale of 1980s' Wall St excess, has written a fascinating article following up the story. 
The Guardian has details of the fines and the coercion which will underpin the ID card scheme, if it ever happens. Which it won't.I disapprove of breaches of data protection, even for neo-Nazis with amusing tattoos and hobbies. I also disapprove of, while often laughing my ass off at, the endless stream of recaptioned Downfall bunker scene Hitler parodies. (Blu-ray vs HD-DVD, the housing crash, Glasgow East and the Glenrothes response, and even Ronaldo leaving Man U, etc etc). In particular, I object to Bruno Ganz's art being used so lightly. It can't have been an easy role.
And a humour version of Godwin's Law applies to the lot of them. However, comparing neo-Nazis with actual Nazis? Sounds fine to me. Warning, like the ones linked to above, this contains some technicolour swearing. (via LibCon)
Well, I wouldn't mind. There's always something to be getting on with, and there are never enough hours in the day. Plus, the alternative has never seemed that appealing.
Yesterday certain parties got very excited here and started claiming that the Edinburgh tram project was about to be scrapped. Journalists here naturally thought this would be a huge story, and ran around frantically trying to find out the truth. 
Just as in Edinburgh, the Trotskyist fractions are opposing congestion charging in Manchester. The charge proposals won't just cut congestion: they also mean up to £3bn of investment in public transport, with bus improvements, Oyster-style integrated transport cards, improvements to cycling, rail and the Metrolink, and more park and ride. There's a new discount for the low-paid travelling public, too.
The financial experts attached to the Calman Commission report that oil platform decommissioning costs would blow a £19bn hole in an independent Scotland's budget. 
The Government is apparently considering keeping GM test crop locations secret. You can see why: activists (like me) have been known to use that information to remove threats to the environment (thanks for asking, I was acquitted on appeal). But why is it a threat? 
The Times and Holyrood Magazine have two great interviews with Patrick out today. He's described in the first as "the man to watch", and Charlene Sweeney notes that "in the next few months Mr Harvie will, more than ever, need the resolve that has propelled him to the top". No problem there: I can reassure readers that Patrick is pretty much made of resolve..
Apparently Science Minister Lord Grayson has a sixth sense, the Sunday Times reports. Technically, it's the mystic skill of precognition he's claiming - second sight, in other words. (declaration of interest: the Brahan Seer is quite possibly an ancestor of mine)Salmond channeled Rikki Fulton for Children in Need this week, and it was splendid. Do give. It's for the weans. Also, if you want to see the original, here's the first ever spot from the Reverend I. M. Jolly.
Or indeed, whose marriages would Moroni (pictured left, blowing a trumpet) oppose? This year's successful California campaign to ban gay marriage apparently received $20m from Mormon organisations, half the total campaign fund. (NYT link, bypass registration here). 
The P&J reports a threat to one of Scotland's finest brewers, perhaps even the best we have - BrewDog, based in Fraserburgh. 
Today is a great day for Scotland's environment and for those suffering in fuel poverty. By the substantial margin of 91 to 15 (i.e. with SNP & Labour support), Holyrood backed our energy efficiency pitch for this year's budget. 
Some months ago, I posted an alternative Google News, stuffed full of good news. My sister just pointed me to a similar New York Times, dated July 2009, which not only has a great front page but also all the stories behind it. 
I just sent Patrick's biography off to a journalist, and spotted something I didn't know. Apparently he used to be able to do the Rubik's Cube in a minute and a half, although takes a little longer now.
Democrat administrations lead to an increased incidence of vampire movies, while Republicans are accompanied by more zombie flicks, according to Peter Rowe at the San Diego Union-Tribune. 
Michael Lind had a great thesis in Salon last week about the three phases the United States have gone through, and the fourth that's begun. In essence, each phase lasts 72 years, even though that sounds like numerological voodoo. 
When it's an oil shock. In August, before the worst hit, the Chancellor correctly predicted it would get worse before it gets better. I observed at the time:
Extraordinary as it seems, change.gov is the real address of the transitional office of the President-elect. You may not need to know more about Obama, but you might be want to see a summary of his views on the environment, foreign affairs, or ethics. 
Across British politics, everyone wants to be associated with Obama, no matter how absurd or tenuous the claim may be. 
In amongst all the post-neocon Obama excitement, there were a lot of depressing votes against equality in America yesterday. Arkansas voters barred unmarried couples from adopting or fostering, and it was clear that "unmarried" was code for gay or lesbian. Florida, Arizona and California went for hetero definitions of marriage, albeit by relatively low margins in the last two cases.
I wasn't going to write one of those identikit Obama blog posts that are currently clogging up the tubes of the internet, but here's one thought. 
This time it's not the creationism, nor the absurd under-qualification for the job, let alone the other job, nor is it the hatred, fear and division she has sought to inspire on the campaign trail. Listening to Obama and watching his crowds, I remembered another campaign, another candidate, someone who perhaps could have helped to heal America forty years ago.
When you're ahead, in a relatively apathetic country with two main parties who are often hard to distinguish (although less so lately), complacency has to be a risk. Which makes this an excellent message, via Oliver Willis. keen-eyed observers will remember the original from failblog.
Personally I think Obama's campaign complacency risk peaked in July. Here's some extraordinarily dated August coverage to illustrate how much things have changed, what with the bubble bursting and all.
Along with Jeff (formerly SNP Tactical Voting) and Malc (formerly In The Burgh), I now co-edit Better Nation, a group blog. Stuff will still appear here, but more will be there.
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