http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com Weblog of the [very-nearly-a] writer Rob Burton Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:33:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Yesterday afternoon (depending on where you are, I suppose), Barack Obama announced that there would be regulations placed upon banks whereby the riskier investment activity would be more tightly controlled, and would have to be separated from the  more vital and socially supportive activity of banks. Furthermore, bank sizes will ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/the-banks-barack-your-wife-and-her-pension The Iraq inquiry, the snow and the forthcoming election campaign - what do these three things have in common, apart from all being very popular things to blog about? They are all examples of the consequence of our demand that politicians lie to us. ‘Our demand?’ I hear you cry ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/honesty-politics-and-the-bloody-weather I started to climb Kilimanjaro, and I didn’t get to the top, which essentially means that I went for a four day hike at 4000m for no good reason at all. Ho-hum. I was effected somewhat by altitude sickness (of the vomiting variety, largely), and though I felt I could ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/failure-at-kilimanjaro As I first began to write this, a big bull Elephant wandered into our camp on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater and drank it’s bellyful of water from the tank that supposedly fed the kitchen. Slightly nervously we crowded around snapping pictures, hoping it didn’t kill us all in ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/safari-%e2%80%93-or-how-it-came-to-pass-that-my-girlfriend-snuggled-up-to-a-bush-pig Apologies, but this is a long one. I haven’t had the opportunity to update in a while. A warren of crumbling 19th century buildings bakes beneath the tropical sun, reminiscent of the scruffier parts of Venice, sans canal. Touts carrying everything from cashew nuts and ‘spice boats’ (bags of ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/zanzibar My final days in Uganda are marked primarily by contrast – most notably between myself and where I am. Jinja, a town at the head of the river Nile at lake Victoria, is nothing like the camp I stay in. This is a little preserve for the rich, (generally) ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/goodbye-uganda Day 1 LIONS! Well, not yet, but they’re in the post. Or rather, I am. In fact, it’ll be at least another day before I’m anywhere near any dangerous wildlife. Right now it feels more like I’ve massively over-packed for a trip to Amsterdam. I hate leaving; there are so many stresses and ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/africa-week-1 Today is not a good day. The country I live in has apparently distanced itself from tolerance, liberalism, progression and integration and embraced nationalism, reactionary isolationism and distrust. It has done this because the people who might have voted Labour were so disillusioned that they just didn’t vote ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/about-last-night%e2%80%a6 “Ladies and gentlemen – it’s time for Celebrity parliamentary clean-out! Esther Rantzen, Joanna Lumley and Jamie Oliver head up an all-star celebrity task force to clean out the House of Commons. Hosted by Ant and Dec.” Regardless of whether-or-not this should be important, the recent expenses scandal (well-engineered by the Telegraph ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/the-grand-all-star-parliamentary-clearout-show Here’s an interesting little site, courtesy of Stephen Fry on Twitter: http://votematch.co.uk We all face a huge problem with political prejudice, not all of it our own, and I am no exception. Everyone carries around with them a little veil that covers their eyes and ears and subtly changes the information ... http://theadversary.yellowgrey.com/uncategorized/votematch-and-political-prejudice