3 Brazilians News comes to the Oval Office that three Brazilian soldiers have been killed in Iraq. “Omigod,” moans the ‘war president’, burying his face in his hands, “omigod… the media will kill us.” Suddenly he looks up. “How many is a brazilian?”
Perfect partners George Monbiot’s book The Age Of Consent and the movie Team America: World Police. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. Monbiot is right: the international order established by the WWII victors transfers wealth to them from poor countries. Climate change is only one aspect of the global tragedy of the commons which the jostling of nation states for resources makes worse, not better. He advocates a world parliament. It would have many weaknesses, but we need something better than international competition, and have no better ideas.
On the road again
Moving to Parliament Hill took the fun out of riding my beat-up old bike; its broken spokes, distorted rims and creaky power train begged for maintenance time I've never given it. Particularly since, shortly after moving here, Miki’s arrival reduced my interest in flitting around town on my own. However, trotting around on foot and public transport was enough activity to maintain a level of fitness I was comfortable with.
Then three years ago I started keeping a car. Disaster! I can go a week without breaking a sweat. Days I roll out of bed and walk no further than the keyboard, or the car to drive to a keyboard in my customer’s office.
Even a few hours steady hiking produces a noticeable lift. Denmark last week provided hours of walking around Copenhagen, possibly the world’s most liveable city. Also the wienerbrød pastries — unobtainable elsewhere — to fuel them.
Copenhagen is, like Amsterdam, a serious bike city, 
with separate bike paths and traffic signals, and traffic policies that keep car traffic light. I was enthused by the sight of so many Danes on bikes.
But, more than wanting to keep the fitness lift I got from my trip, I think what tipped the scale was the report in The Week of an article in The Lancet:
According to a new study, people in their late forties and early fifties can cut their risk of developing Alzheimer’s by as much as 50% simply by taking exercise twice a week.Now the sluggishness of unfitness, I hate, but even the beginnings of Alzheimer’s would end the kind of life I lead. On yer bike.
So I’m on the road again with a new bike. This is the first time I’ve ridden a bike built in the last twenty years. Things have changed since Condor built me a modified road racer three decades ago. Alloys have surpassed Reynolds 531 double-butted steel, frame geometries have changed. My new Specialized Sirrus is a hybrid road-mountain bike, light and stiff enough to fly, sturdy enough to rock around London roads. Now encumbered with mudguards, rear carrier frame and a lock that weighs as much as the frame, it is still a thing of beauty, a sight to make the heart “stiffen and rejoice”. (A strong, light lock: that would be an oxymoron, I think,
commiserated Pan at the Cycle Surgery.) I’m in love again.
Perfect partners:
» Specialized Sirrus bicycle
» Miki’s Chocolate Bread
» Safe As Milk
Girl Talk Claire Martin, Barb Jungr and Mari Wilson opened their new show Girl Talk in Stevenage last night. I’ve been listening to Barb on CD instead of live for too long: I’d forgotten what a comic she is. Huge fun — get the CD but see the show.
Many notable numbers; particularly memorable are the comedy of "Keep Young and Beautiful", "Terry" and Barb's send up of "D.I.V.O.R.C.E.". Claire lets rip with "It Should've Been Me" and Barb puts it flat to the floor on "When Do The Bells Ring For Me" before the show winds down on a lighter note.
Wonderful wonderful Just back from my first visit to Denmark in over 20 years, attending the Dyalog Users Meeting in Elsinore. More details later, but pix and notes up already at Flickr.
Genius loci Those extra features they pack in movie DVDs: discovered last night from a glancing shot of the title page of the screenplay of that classic fantasy Time Bandits that it was written in this street — 15 doors and a quarter century away.
Remembering Nick Uthman Collins has written from Spain with memories of Nicholas Battye
Lovelydisgusting To Mayfair last night for a private view of the Lovelydisgusting exhibition. A good buzz and lots of interest in the work. Caroline Mawer is pleased to be back from being Chief Medical Officer on Montserrat, and we are glad to have her back. Psychic and broadcaster Victoria Bullis inspires me to consider presenting my theories of Romance on radio — perhaps I should pair up with Barb for this…?
Flaming liberty George Monbiot writes about how laws passed by Parliament to protect public safety are routinely used by government and police to suppress dissent. Sport the War on Error.
Stop the ID Card bill Is this not dead yet? I read it is still slouching towards Bethlehem and returns to Parliament this month.
The best reasons offered for it are practical. The potential for abuse of civil liberties is to be outweighed by protection from bank and benefit fraud. But the best reasons for rejecting this bill are also practical, and they are much stronger.
The proposed system is too complex. The best benefits could be had from a simple database that just associates an ID number with biometric markers. But the proposed scheme will record—and get wrong— all kinds of information about us. The government has repeatedly demonstrated it is miserably bad at implementing new IT systems. Systems we urgently need are years late and overrun their budgets by frightening amounts. The proposed ID system is complex and unproven; and worryingly expensive as budgeted. The chances of getting it at anything like budget are negligible.
Nor should we want it. A simple scheme might succeed. The complex and unreliable system proposed will open more opportunities for error and fraud than it closes.
But concerns about liberty should stop even a simple scheme. The government has repeatedly justified restrictions on liberty as emergency measures to combat terrorism. It has then followed centuries of precedent by using them whenever they seem handy. It agreed an unreciprocated “fast track” extradition arrangement to whisk terrorist suspects off to American courts; so far these powers have been used only to extend the reach of US commerce laws. The recent detention of 82-year old Walter Wolfgang by a police officer citing anti-terrorist legislation reminds us just how quickly emergency powers are assimilated into everyday police work.
Every official and commercial transaction will depend upon the ID card and its database: that is the point of it. It should become difficult to go anywhere, buy anything or get any public service without it. Our lives will become unprecedentedly vulnerable to errors appearing in the ID database information, errors that the government’s IT record lets us forecast with confidence. How long do you think it will take us to get those fixed?
And any police officer will be able to bring your life to a sudden halt by demanding and retaining your ID card, a convenient alternative to arrest without charge. This bill needs stopping.
» www.no2id.org.uk
» www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk
Hertfordshire homing To Stevenage every day this week to work with Kai Jäger, who has moved from Germany to work with us. Last night he and Anne Dreitz met me and their German-speaking neighbour Christiana at Redcoats, where we enjoyed the hotel’s famous food and hospitality. This morning I pulled on boots and tramped off into the rolling hills to work off the food. (More photos at Flickr.)