Labour’s Life on Mars

Fresh from being the LabourHome poll of being the most competent cabinet member with a hardly blistering 6.18 out of 10, Alan Johnson is reported in The Times as stepping aside the battle to succeed Gordon Brown in favour of David Miliband.

(The high point of 6.18 out of 10 does bring Wendy Alexander, the ex-leader of the Scottish Labour MSPs, back to mind with her self-marked 10 out of 10.

If the best regarded Labour politician can score – from their own supporters, mind! – a lowly 6.18; well – is Alan Johnston less than two-thirds the politician Wendy Alexander is?

And the rest of the cabinet not fit to lace her boots?

Or is Wendy Alexander just self-deluded?)

Of course, Alan Johnston has never made a secret of the fact that he doesn’t want the top job:

He once told GMTV the idea of him entering No 10 was similar to “the idea of putting the Beagle on to Mars – a nice idea but doomed to failure”.

He obviously doesn’t want the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills job either.

Some people already think Gordon Brown is living on another planet. And that’s just the Labour MPs!

Now its up to David Miliband to reach for the skies.

Alan Johnston has just cleared the runway.

Plausible denial

As the Russian army is still in Georgian territory, south of South Ossetia, causing havoc, it seems a bad day for Boeing to announce their successful testing of their new laser gunship.

In the latest test, Boeing fitted their laser technology to an existing C-310 Hercules to try out its new laser technology.

Instead of carrying bombs and missiles, planes are fitted with a laser turret that can destroy any targets expertly. The technology could be utilised on a range of planes.

In fact, this technology has people searching for Star Wars comparisons.

A pity for science fiction buffs that the current stand off over Georgia between America and Russia jeopardises both their space programs and NASA’s involvement with the International Space Station. Star Wars type battles remain in the future.

But the thing that is getting most military analysts excited is the possibility of ‘plausible denial of air strikes’.

In other words, because there is no sign of a bomb where the target has been hit, it may be possible to deny that your aircraft – which may be a distance away – had any involvement in destroying the target site.

Absolutely scary.

I’m just glad that the Americans are supposed to be on our side.

Imagine if the Russians had this technology, would there be anything of Georgia left standing?