Clearing the backlog - by Richard... Thursday, April 22, 2010

Clearing the backlog - by Richard... Thursday, April 22, 2010

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/

To mark tonight's Sky News Debate, the company has projected the main party leaders - Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg - onto the iconic White Cliffs of Dover, echoing the famous American landmark, Mount Rushmore. 

Images of the three leaders looking out over the English Channel highlight the significance of these historic, live televised events that are changing the face of politics and could turn the course of this election, says the company.

Actually, the real reason is somewhat more sinister. This is Murdoch's contribution to clearing the backlog from the volcanic ash debacle. Once passengers on the cross-channel ferries get sight of this ghastly apparition, they will not want to enter the country.

And as soon as the news of this terror spreads, there will be mass flight (if I can use that word) from Calais, leaving the port completely empty. No passengers – no backlog. All sorted.

More prosaically, how utterly bizarre it is that this evening's debate, billed as covering "foreign affairs" is to cover the European Union. The media, Sky News included, still has difficulty coming to terms with the fact that the EU is part of the government of the UK – our supreme government. The EU is domestic not foreign affairs.

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What a difference a day makes - by Richard...

As the airlines gradually get back to normal, the BBC publishes the map showing the extent of the ash cloud (as modelled by the Met Office) and the current no-fly zones, based on the new criteria of a 2000 microgram per cubic metre tolerance.

More than anything, this shows the extent to which the hazards have been exaggerated, and the need to characterise the cloud by physical measurements, rather than just rely on the models. Watts up with that follows up the story, with some interesting comments.

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