It doesn't matter where the knob is or what hand you turn it with. The paradigm Tony (ynot) mentioned is simply the natural interface. Using a dial for volume isn't a fair comparison. There is no UP or DOWN scrolling in volume. There's loudness and that's just something relative. With something visual, you want the default behaviour to match other intuitive procedures. Movement to the right (clockwise) is equivalent of progressing forward. Forward in the list is down. So that means rotating clockwise moves the list up the screen. Just like the Hijack menu.

I still disagree. I simply don't think there is a natural interface. If there were, we'd be able to find plenty of examples, and very few counter-examples.
If you're going to suggest that the volume knob comparision is flawed because there is no 'real' up and down, that's ok. I used the examples because intuitiveness in any UI comes from what we are used too and that is something that everyone can relate to.

But to then make the statement "Movement to the right (clockwise) is equivalent of progressing forward. Forward in the list is down." is dumbfounding. That's the kind of statement I'd expect to see in a user manual to explain the behaviour of a piece of software that gets put in because all the support guys are getting pissed off with the vast numbers of users phoning them because they don't understand the interface! The statement tells me what happens, but not why. It puts the burden on the reader to accept the behaviour, without making it any easier for them to understand.

Why is right equivalent of forward, and why is forward down???

Personally, I'm quite happy with the horizontal menus. I'd probably try the vertical menus, but I don't know whether I'd keep using them or not.

I'm already frustrated enough with Hijack menus. I keep turning the knob the wrong way