A minor example of what I'm talking about
MacShane gets his name in the papers again, on the basis of being Chairman of EISCA. Perhaps he would care to take some time out from his busy day to file the fucking Companies House Annual Return for the company (limited by guarantee) he is Chairman of, it is more than 28 days late which is a criminal offence. There have still been no new entries on the EISCA website since April, and the promised Report has still not been published.
In the wider scheme of things, of course, it doesn't really matter who the Times phones up for a quote about Bernie Ecclestone. But the fact is, they would not have phoned MacShane if he wasn't Chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism. He does use his position in this thinktank to enhance the credibility of his views, and it is a non-productive sinecure. I really think this is too bad, and am considering starting a project to name and shame other Potemkin thinktanks if I can find any; reader contributions gladly accepted. Alternatively, I think a couple of letters to the Jewish Leadership Council (who IIRC fund the EISCA, and who managed to get their Companies House return in just fine) might be in order, to point out to them that their investment does not appear to be producing.
it is more than 28 days late which is a criminal offence
ReplyDeleteWhat's the penalty though, a five grand fine or something? It's not like thirty days in the big house or anything.
other Potemkin thinktanks
ReplyDeleteNot a thinktank as such, but of course the Taxpayers' Alliance come to mind in this respect.
Most of the rentaquote places seem suspiciously Potemkin; this may be because they focus on providing soundbites for media rather than analysis for government/academia, and even the ones that do do some research are very sensationalist (see Policy Exchange).
ReplyDeleteIronically, I'd suggest these think tanks are more influential than the ones that actually do the "thinking".
The Taxpayer's Alliance is obviously a wen on the body politic, but it does produce output; even the Centre for Social Cohesion (which often very much does look like Douglas Murray and a dog) gets its arse in gear once in a while. I'm more interested in tanks that don't actually produce think.
ReplyDeleteI still think you should start your own. You could probably get an Arts Council grant.
ReplyDeleteI'd always assumed thinktanks were the political equivalent of holding patterns for those politicos who need to be kept about and busy, but have no particular function at present.
ReplyDeletedaniel - Remember saying those instatrackers would be great for any TV show? The Onion shows the results on a talking head pundit show: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/new_live_poll_allows_pundits_to
ReplyDeleteThanks very much! I am currently pitching "Frank Luntz's Milgram Moments" to Channel 4 - basically, Luntz presents his usual schtick, but this time the trackers are also attached to electric shock machines wired to the testicles of the politicians in question. C4 keep on talking about safety and limiting the voltage to 100v, but I am determined to stay true to the spirit of the Milgram experiments, when at least 40% of subjects refused to turn the dial up to the level marked "LETHAL". The only real question yet to be resolved is whether the focus group should be allowed to hear the screams, and whether this would make them more merciful, or less.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, do they get to do it by remote control, or (as in some repetitions of the Milgram experiment) do they have to press the politician's hand on the electrode by main force? And would that make them more merciful or less?
ReplyDeleteMore, I should think, because if you press someone's hand onto a terminal, you'll be worried that you'll get the shock too, won't you?
ReplyDeletethat too would be an interesting "bonus round" experiment - how much of an electric shock would you be prepared to take, if you could be assured that George Osborne was taking one twice as severe?
ReplyDeleteGet another generator.
ReplyDeleteWhich somehow reminds me of the story I've heard (sadly only second/third hand) about a certain Tory politician who may or may not be mentioned on this thread blacking up with burnt cork after the meal at a country house party...
ReplyDeletehow much of an electric shock would you be prepared to take, if you could be assured that George Osborne was taking one twice as severe?
ReplyDeleteTrick question. George Osborne is constructed entirely of vacuum-formed plastic, and would thus be an excellent insulator.