Blogs that make you go MMMMM!

Franscud at Caught in the Stream bestowed upon me the honour of naming me as a blogger that makes him think, but within it was also the request to pass this award on to five and challenge them to also pass the award on. I suppose the danger is that every blogger could end up with one in the end but then again why not. So here are my five:

Dizzy's Opinionated Arrogance: media monitor par excellence

Norfolk Blogger: always fascinating

Iain Dale: political journalism with a slight bias, great insider stories

Recess Monkey: another insider, always provocative

Leverwealth: Not called David (Web 2.0) Phillips for nothing

Now I feel guilty for those I omitted!! But these are ones that have made me think in the last few days, and who often inform my thinking and writing so there we go. And now the rules for how to proceed:

Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.




The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Brown meme

Prague Tory kindly tagged me and set me a challenge that he in turn was set by Mark Waldman on the 'Its got to be Gordon' post which asks a few searching questions of us all. This is a blogosphere circular almost, and the results could be interesting (though i suspect negative), if any readers wish to add their own please feel free to comment here or on Mark's post or on any of the other various links. I took a little time to reflect on the questions, and attempted to think as objectively as possible, while also thinking personally about Brown's time as Chancellor and future as Prime Minister; so here goes.

2 things GB should be proud of:

• Firstly, I believe he is the longest serving Chancellor in modern times, and that he can say that within his ten years there has been no serious crisis but a prolonged period of stability. Whatever the criticisms of certain decisions that is a significant achievement!
• On a more trivial note, sacking Charlie Whelan comes to mind, though not a nice act in itself, Whelan makes an excellent commentator whose skills were overlooked when he was simply Brown's spin doctor

2 things GB should apologise for:

• An annoying part is his quiescence during the Blair years. There is an invisible force field that seems to separate him from the cabinet decisions. He is often reluctant both to endorse or to criticise and as such he acts more like an impartial civil servant. Perhaps he has always been keen to be seen as a separate entity...
• Pensions, Pensions, Pensions; top-up fees I can handle, but the fact that state pensions are a miserly sum is appalling whatever the economic logic.

2 things GB should do immediately when he becomes PM:

• Firstly, initiate an independent enquiry on the cash for peerages scandal that gets to the bottom of the allegations with a view to ensuring no such accusations can ever again be levelled against a British Prime Minister.
• On the same day hold a full and independent enquiry into the lead-up to and prosecution of the Iraq War.

2 things GB should do while he is PM:

• Carefully consider the effects of various pieces of anti-terror legislation on British society, social cohesion and the central tenets of modern democracy.
• Reform government communications to ensure there is openness and transparency and that a civil servant is an impartial servant of society and not a political tool of the state.

Personal opinions and probably only a little idealistic but what the hell; they are considered answers to serious questions.