tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85092112024-03-19T03:52:22.131+00:00Exiled from GROGGSData is not information. Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not life.Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.comBlogger985125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-15830719457779619042022-06-20T11:22:00.005+01:002022-06-20T11:24:00.842+01:00Who is pulling media strings?"Johnson had an affair.""Johnson tried to give his lover a job.""Johnson tried to give his lover a taxpayer-funded job."Not news. After all, it's pretty well established that he did this with Arcuri as well.What's most interesting today is this story - which is definitely a matter of probity in public life - appeared in early editions of the Times (and also the Mail), but then DISAPPEARED withoutExile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-82897890115712206532022-05-10T17:30:00.006+01:002022-05-10T17:30:53.919+01:00Absolution I've been thinking about absolution - in the context of the UK government.Historically, parliamentarians as a matter of honour have always faced consequences when they did anything wrong. This included what today feels almost trivial - government ministers in particular are bound by the Ministerial Code, and if a minister was caught lying to parliament, they would resign. The reason that Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-60217469581180939542022-02-23T08:22:00.006+00:002022-02-23T08:22:59.894+00:00How to (imp)lie with statistics, part 4533Have a look at this BBC article ...It says that US students are 50% up and, in the next sentence, EU students 40% down.So that's good news for our intake of foreign students, right? The rise in US students outweighs the decrease in EU students following Brexit right?Wrong. Because MUCH later in the article, it says: "However, a spokesman pointed out that the number of US students is typically Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-33977000243439778422020-08-23T11:53:00.001+01:002020-08-23T11:55:16.703+01:00Herd immunityWhen they first said "herd immunity", most people, including journalists, unfortunately nodded like Owl in Winnie the Pooh, and said, "Ah yes, herd immutinoony. Of course." There are two ways to that - have the virus endemic in the population already, or have vaccination at a level that there's nobody to pass it onto. There was no vaccine. So the government's initial "let's go for herd immunity" Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-89463467197373452662020-05-25T11:57:00.001+01:002020-05-25T11:57:27.481+01:00Submission to authorities, part 2
I suspect that not many people were convinced by my blogpost which set out my view that the authorities to which we should be submitting are not any particular political party, but the whole political system under which we find ourselves.
As supporting evidence, I would like to point out some of the people who we Christians tend to think of as heroes of the faith.
William WilberforceMartin Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-65869359011717712662020-05-07T18:38:00.000+01:002020-05-07T18:38:04.218+01:00Submission to authorities
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there isno authority except that which God has established. Theauthorities that exist have been established by God.”
This is a pretty blunt and unambiguous instruction, from Paul’s letter to the
church in Rome. And yet, I’ve been (and still am) pretty vocally opposed to the
Conservative party in power. How do I square my Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-82745872145667760862020-04-18T12:22:00.000+01:002020-04-18T12:22:09.808+01:00Avoid, trap, mitigateHuman factors training gives people strategies to deal with threats to safety and operational errors that may reduce safety margins. The framework is summarised in the title of this post ...
Avoid - design procedures to protect against possible threats and prevent errors being made which might reduce safety margins.
Trap - on the basis that there will be times when threats and errors Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-38538333650809754322020-04-08T12:00:00.003+01:002020-04-08T12:00:43.081+01:00Clap for ...
You know who.
Firstly, I wish nobody ill from this virus. It's horrible, and dying fighting to breathe with nobody you know around you is an idea too horrendous to imagine. That includes our prime minister; I hope he recovers soon.
Secondly, his name is not "Boris". He is a prime minister, not your mate down the pub.
Thirdly, don't say that *I'm* politicising something. "Clap for Boris" was aExile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-58400852388546827032020-01-03T10:39:00.003+00:002020-01-03T10:39:59.496+00:00Christians and political involvement
It is true that as Christians it's our job to pray for those in authority. As Schaeffer might say, that's true truth, but it's not exhaustive truth - it's not the whole story.
For a start, who is "in authority" in our country? Is it the ruling party? What became apparent over the last few months is that hitherto, it has actually been the whole political system. The government, which doesn't Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-36147388011382404252019-12-09T10:06:00.002+00:002019-12-09T10:08:35.438+00:00A vote for the Conservatives
So what's the Conservative message at the start of this election week?
EU migrants have been able to “treat the UK as if it’s part of their own country” for too long, Boris Johnson said yesterday as he reprised the core message of Vote Leave’s 2016 EU referendum campaign. - from the Times.
This is basically a dogwhistle for xenophobic voters. The message is, vote for me, vote for Brexit, to Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-79989552724177994732019-05-24T12:59:00.000+01:002019-05-24T12:59:31.618+01:00GraceI want to talk a bit about grace, because I think a lot of the time I don't really get it. From a Christian point of view, we have plenty of songs which major on grace ("Amazing grace", "Wonderful grace", "Grace, grace, grace", "By grace alone somehow I stand"), we have churches (Grace Baptist, Grace Community ... and so on), and of course as believers in the Protestant tradition, we follow Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-89975422022122817042019-05-04T10:43:00.003+01:002019-05-04T10:43:54.279+01:00Local election resultsThe leaderships of both the Conservatives and the Labour Party have reportedly said that the message from the local elections is that "they should get on and deliver Brexit".
What actually happened in the local elections is that Brexit supporting parties (UKIP, Conservative, Labour) all lost seats, and Brexit opposing parties (Liberal, Green) gained seats. There was also a turning away from Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-81075557262505868402019-03-21T14:22:00.002+00:002019-03-21T14:22:50.169+00:00Representative democracy?In the last 24 hours, a single petition has attracted 700,000 signatures, and is now nudging a million total signatures. That's 1% of the total population in 24 hours, and say 2% of the voting population in total. The petition is very, very simple. "Revoke Article 50" - that is, stop the UK withdrawal from the EU.
The people who digitally sign the petition basically know that it's not going to Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-56179926491414356612019-02-26T09:02:00.002+00:002019-02-26T09:21:42.414+00:00Project FearThe funny thing about all the "project fear" statements is that people use it almost like being told something is bad makes the statement wrong in itself. "Bad effects of brexit? Project fear! Climate change? Project fear! Smoking causes cancer? Project fear! Not wearing a seat belt increases risk in road accidents? Project fear!" It's like invoking Hitler - "stop the argument, this is the trump Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-18280049581638865122019-02-13T10:07:00.003+00:002019-02-13T10:10:59.270+00:00Making LaTeX work
If you are a "normal" person, you've probably never heard of LaTeX (pronounced "lay-tech"). It's a text processing system in which, rather than WYSIWYG, you mark up your code as you write it, and then compile it - typically into a PDF. The appearance can be startlingly attractive - Donald Knuth, who is basically one of the people who invented computer science, apparently said that TeX, which Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-83655681450855112352018-03-02T17:13:00.000+00:002018-03-02T17:13:20.805+00:00Antibiotic resistanceThe dangers of increasing antibiotic resistance are well known. It is impossible to use the NHS without becoming aware of the comprehensive warnings relating to the improper prescription and use of antibiotics. The danger is that improper use of antibiotics will result in antibiotic-resistant strains of harmful bacteria arising - and antibiotics, which have proved the mainstay of public health Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-36887977246411802462017-07-24T23:07:00.000+01:002017-07-24T23:10:39.995+01:00Live showsThe following are recommended ...
U2
Coldplay
Green Day
Talking Heads
Bruce Springsteen
REM
Queen
Take ThatExile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-75118222408161722742017-07-18T08:09:00.000+01:002017-07-18T08:14:12.059+01:00A female DoctorThe thirteenth Doctor is going to be played by a woman - Jodie Whittaker.
My reaction to this? I'm not as appalled as some. I tend to work on the basis that if this was a matter of "inclusivism" it should have happened years ago. If the aim of the regeneration is to unlock new dramatic possibilities, then a female Doctor is just as right as a male one.
It's worth pointing out that given the Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-62267201513941588342017-07-10T14:52:00.002+01:002017-07-10T14:52:41.390+01:00Where to eatSubway and Nandos - overrated.
Try Wahaca, Turtle Bay, Comptoir Libanais, or Leon.
Other suggestions?Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-66966092647713300382017-06-15T09:26:00.005+01:002017-06-15T09:28:32.672+01:00Tales from the plutocracyPublic subsidies to the rail network, and rising ticket prices, whilst shareholders are paid hundreds of millions of pounds in dividends.
A tower block burns down whilst Conservative MPs vote against tighter regulations of building safety standards.
Private companies are paid to cut benefits being paid to poor people. Their shortfall of money is met by charitable donations and volunteers Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-54409759731722042132017-06-09T16:18:00.001+01:002017-06-09T16:21:58.855+01:00The "trickle-up" effectThe Conservatives promote the idea of the "trickle-down" effect - the idea that if people at "the top" get richer, the money trickles down through the economy and spreads to "the bottom" - the poorest. However, in my mind, this system has broken down. It would be better to describe it these days as a "trickle-up" effect - through high rent, housing benefit, dividends to shareholders, high chargesExile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-85406597215253936962017-06-07T09:48:00.001+01:002017-06-07T09:49:40.717+01:00Tomorrow's election
Basically, the only thing the conservatives are offering is the "best Brexit deal" - a statement so vague as to have no substantive content whatsoever, and one which seems pretty unachievable given the team that are likely to be involved in the negotiations. There is literally not one other thing they have said in this election campaign that offers anything good for the country ... unless you Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-20169151397597092222017-05-29T15:07:00.001+01:002017-05-29T15:08:02.444+01:00Third wayCorbyn is not quite the poisoned brand that he was. Over the last week or two, increasing numbers of people have given him a long hard look, particularly in the light of May's performance, and have come to the conclusion that he might be prime ministerial material. Also, the Labour manifesto was popular - people in general seem to regard it, as intended, as a manifesto of hope. But Corbyn's Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-18662399802348957132017-05-26T13:02:00.001+01:002017-05-26T13:03:03.049+01:00The Conservative equivalent of nationalisationThe bogeyman of nationalisation stalks threateningly around the Labour party. Memories of strikes, poor service and inefficiency are deeply imbedded in our national consciousness, and both the (right wing) media and right wing politicians are more than happy to remind us.
It has struck me recently that what is particularly disingenuous about this is that the Conservative party are more than Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509211.post-50398393064185955922017-05-05T10:06:00.003+01:002017-05-05T10:06:22.079+01:00This is not about Brexit
My fear ... These elections are not about Brexit. Brexit is a distraction, a means of capturing votes with a big sideshow. After all, what is guaranteed to stir the British public from apathy more than a perceived threat to its sovereignty from the outside? What is more guaranteed to turn them away from a party than the suggestion that it is prepared to appease them?
Whilst the EU negotiator Exile from GROGGShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00520118288960599976noreply@blogger.com0