The Milibands

The media have been reporting David Miliband's defeat as if being Blair's golden boy carried with it the right to succession- and he's been deprived of something he was entitled to (as if he were an exiled Stuart or something). Personally, never having liked the little creep- with his management-speak and his fuzziness on torture- I'm finding it hard to feel his pain. Ed Miliband's election represents a proper break with the Blair-Brown years. No more Nu-Labour. He may not have the chops to be anything more than an interim leader (who knows?) but at least he's not the continuity leader. Besides, it's good to feel that the party I still think of as my party (in spite of betrayals on both sides) is is being lead- at long last- by someone I don't regard as a war criminal.

Credible Witnesses?

In the normal run of things the testimony of a retired military man is accorded some weight. A retired military man is assumed to be reliable,  tested in the fire, not given to flights of girlish fantasy. If he's also a little stuffy and strait-laced that only enhances his credibility as a witness.

But what if the retired military man tells you he's had an encounter with a UFO?

Seven retired military men went before the cameras the day before yesterday to talk about how- to their knowledge- the USA's nuclear facilities were buzzed- and in some cases briefly put out of action- by UFOs. The media handled the story nervously, tittered a little, then dropped it. This article is typical. It starts with a joke- as if to say, "Hell, we're all men of the world; we know this is crazy "-  before moving onto the meat of the matter- and the meat of the matter is fascinating. Actually fascinating is an understatement. If it's true (big if) it's the news story of this and every other millennium.

Scroll though the comments and you'll find it's the majority opinion that the witnesses must be gaga, loopy, or out to make a quick buck.

Really? 

Remember who the witnesses are. Retired military men, men of reputation, men of honour. Conservative (probably) alpha males. If they were talking about almost anything else we'd believe them.