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Dizzy and Jazzy: Pre-emptive Plagiarism and The Morning Post
"Who is that pompous public school puppy prattling in the background?"
Decent-but-Tory blogger Dizzy Thinks has a story about Ken Clarke's plagiarism and bluster HERE. The Indy also had it and it is certain that they had it first! Dizzy tells us so.
Which makes my point for me rather well. Read on and you may come to understand that Dizzy may be to The Independent rather as Jazzy is to the Government on this occasion.
When I was a young man I played the silver ball, from New Cross up to Rusholme I must have played them all ... but I also learned something about ideas and inventions in Genius 101.
That is that wonderful ideas and inventions can be independently arrived at in different places and at different times, or they can spread. The wheel was actually reinvented over and over with no connection. And writing. And currency. And standing on head. And all before Google Patent was even a twinkle in Mr and Mrs Google's eye.
If these "ground breaking" (I've now read them and they're not that exciting) Tory plans have any merit they will have almost certainly already been thought of. In fact I would place a bet on Clarke fancying (or knowing) that his oppos ARE planning something similar and so he's put it in HIS homework to make himself look smart. But that's called Tory plagiarism and Tory cheating.
The Lib Dems are forever at it. And locally everyone does it. What better time to call for a road to be resurfaced than a week or two before the announcement?
Dizzy will no doubt have done Irish Genius 201 and will remember the Morning Post Line HERE and HERE and HERE - this latter curiously without the reference to the disastrous speculations of 1925 which preempted the proper Boundary Commission with disastrous gaffes.
The effect that its leakage had on the future of the six counties? I'd hate to think a good plan could be cancelled through Clarke's jazzmanship, or a bad alternative plan - as Morning Post line - crystallised to haunt three or four generations of Irish folk of all faiths and none. Morning Post was bought and soon merged into the Torygraph in 1936. The rest thankfully may now be history.
3 comments:
As I said over at my blog in repsonse to you Chris, what you say is all very good but it's got fuck all to do with the point I was making regarding the politics of it all.
For a start where is this bollocks about Ken Clarke's plagiarism come from? You've complete missed the point of why someone would use the term "steal", I mean, I even said "dare" and used the word "goad", it's called politics, and claiming that its all about plagiarism is just intellectually reaching for something entirely.
btw, I've just read your post again, it make sod all sense because of the assumed made up premise you've stared from about "plagiarism"
The politics as I see it is this:
1. Ken Clarke is a wise old owl, well liked across the political spectrum, the politicians politician;
2. I am suggesting that he may be doing a bit of ADVANCE plagiarism viz. there's something in his water, or found on a SpAd's xerox, or in the zeitgeist that says XY and Z;
3. Mr Clarke thinks: "I'll announce this first and challenge them to steal it";
4. Rather like parties do in Town Hall politics as illustration of road re-suracing;
5. If I'm right this can go two ways:
(a) Govt presses on with "Ken's" idea but jeers at him and honestly says "we've had it for years/months/weeks" and if possible proves that; or
(b) Tragically a good idea is wasted as the Govt is deflected from it
The Morning Post line is a rather dramatic example of where a wrongly leaked/speculated report stymies a better one. But if it had been a good one, they might have stuck to their guns.
So I'm saying Clarke is announcing what he knows the Govt has planned and claiming credit for it. Which is plagiarism in advance for my money.
We'll see how the story runs.
Best w
Chris P
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