RuskinBlog

EU debate – the ‘in or out’ un-reality show

economics, politics, stupid politicians 5 Responses »

May 132013

Everywhere the meedja is full of the ‘politics’ of the EU “in / out” issue.

Nowhere are the reasons for being in or out of the EU being discussed rationally.

This says it all – hehe

Everywhere the need for “reform” is argued.

Nowhere is “reform” actually defined.

Everywhere hundreds (maybe thousands) of highly paid journalists and politicians are producing acres of crap about who said what, why that might be important and to whom and how this might affect some other political being or argument, i.e fluff, poo & piffle.

Nowhere has anyone actually got to grips with the real problems with the EU, just a few of which are these:-

1 – The EU is just too damn big – it is completely unmanageable and is run by bonkers, failed ex-leaders of failed countries (See 10 below)
2 – The EU has forgotten why it was formed in the first place (to stop Germany starting a third world war if you had forgotten or are too young to know)
3 – The EU is incompetent – those in charge are failures in their own countries – farmed out to a slow, but oh so well paid, death in Brussels
4 – The EU bureaucrats are overpaid for doing nothing to benefit the people of Europe
5 – The EU is so inefficient that it makes my teeth hurt
6 – The EU spends most of its time herding cats (people who will never agree on anything)
7 – The EU cannot even balance its books (19 years of audited but inaccurate, qualified final accounts).
8 – The EU is undemocratic – the MEPs have no power and cannot hold the executive to account BY DESIGN! 9 – The EU wastes so much of our tax money that it’s leaders should be in jail. 10 – The EU is run by a failed former Portuguese Prime Minister and a failed Belgian Prime Minister! Well that’s alright then (Belgium has not had a valid government for years & Portugal is as bust as Greece)
11 – Germany has just announced an astonishing proposal for an 20 fold increase in the EU ‘diplomatic budget’ (but see 13 below)
12 – Oh, I almost forgot the Euro – possibly the most stupid ever invention ever conceived by man
13 – Even Van Rompuy & Baroness Ashton realise the game is up are are quitting in 2014

14 – Above all the EU is NOT what “we the people” want, which is the European Economic Community. We voted for the EEC in 1975 but since then the slow, slimy, sickening morphing into the EU has been quietly and completely undemocratically, foisted upon us.

Those in power are quietly allowing currencies to devalue (The £ by a shocking 35% since 2008!) whilst QE creates a background slow death of inflation so the banks can stay in power.

Nowhere are these fundamentally important issues being discussed – why not?

This is mass madness on such a scale that words are beginning to fail me …OK not quite

We the people are being ‘handled’ while those who create the acres of meedja crap and spend the people’s money so incompetently are unchallenged by anyone talking common sense.

Here’s what needs to be done:-

Either the EU needs to be reformed back to the size of the EEC (pre Maastricht)

All those counties outside the Euro-zone should leave and let Germany stew in its own foul soup of failed European federalism and silly funny money.

There is a world outside of this EU farce that we can do business with.

Acknowledgement:- Thanks to Patrick Chappatte for the cartoon

Thatcher’s legacy? Gimme strength!

economics, politics, stupid politicians No Responses »

Apr 092013

I weep not for her, but the British people who’s country she reduced to rubble.

It will take us at least 50 years to recover from what Thatcher did to Britain – and that’s only if we get a government as good as Clement Atlee’s. So we are probably in the shit for centuries.

The nightmare continued …

Thatcher started off the real stupidity of modern ‘fast’ stock market madness and Blair & Brown followed on like unthinking lap dogs. OK maybe we couldn’t see it then but surely we can all see it now?

Cameron is still lapping at the bowl of Blair’s stupidity – he (Cameron) will probably be the last to get it.

Thatcher incompetently deregulated the city & banks – what a good idea that was!

Thatcher accelerated the mad dash for debt fueled “non” growth in the the private & corporate sector which led ultimately to the 2008 crisis.

Gordon Prudence Brown finished her job off and the country weeps …

Thatcher sold off our council housing stock thus fuelling the mortgage debt crisis which leads the hugely over valued housing market we suffer from today. In my view – shared by many – our housing stock is still overvalued by 20/30% because the banks dare not revalue their balance sheet assets (mortgages); if they did …

Thatcher privatised the British water supply – the owners no longer live here – criminal, incompetent short termist madness.

Thatcher privatised the electricity grid – the owners no longer live here - criminal, incompetent short termist madness.

Thatcher did nothing for women because she embraced tostesterone fueled motivation to everything she did. I think Chris Riddell’s cartoon below says it all too well.

Blatcher’s legacy for women.

Thatcher did one good thing, she sorted out the unions who no longer stood for the working people but stood for themselves – a very muted last hurrah.

We the people have just paid for her posh hotel bill, where she spent her last few weeks – I resent every last penny.

On a lighter note I thank bleedingcool.com for summarising in pictures what needed to be said – lest we forget.

Acknowledgements:-

Steve Bell for Thatcher morphing into Blair

Chris Riddell for showing what Thatcher did for women

New Human Rights guidelines and my defecit savings plan

philosophy, politics, religion, stupid politicians No Responses »

Apr 072013

A diverse group of people all of whom have human rights. Even a ginger is included. (picture taken by EHRC marketing dept. & yes, there are even a few token whiteys on the back row!

I really thought it was April 1st again today when I read about the Equality & Human Rights Commision latest guideline to employers. Sadly what follows is completely true and yes, nobody could make this sort of thing up (except perhaps the Daily Mail?).

The guidelines state that employers now have to give serious attention to an employee’s request for special treatment due to their religious beliefs, be they a christian, druid, Mormon, Muslim etc.

Incidentally, the “etc.” includes “ecologists” (see page 8 of the guidelines) who harrass employees about their views.

We already have total freedom in this country for anyone to believe in the Flying Teapot Fairy if they wish but why on earth would you seriously consider a request for special treatment from someone who has irrational beliefs? (i.e. followers of any faith system).

The simple answer to this blithering nonsense is this:-

Just treat everyone the same by not allowing special privileges to those who say they are governed by an irrational belief system?

Everybody then become equal in the eyes of the law.

Here a a few clues for those who cannot yet think for themselves.

If you are a vegan – don’t work for a butcher.

If you are Muslim – don’t work at all, so you won’t have to treat women and gays as equals. The welfare state will feed you and yours until the sun goes nova in 4 billion years time.

If you are christian – don’t run a guest house if you believe gays are an abomination.
If you are christian and gay – how on earth did you do that? (I really would like to know.)

If you are a christian medic – don’t pray for intercession by a caring god – (she ain’t listening to you and she clearly doesn’t care anyway!)

If you are an ecologist then don’t do anything- just to be on the safe side, until “they” tell you how and why ecology is a religion)

If you follow the Pink Flying Teapot – don’t read any more books by Bertrand Russell or Richard Dawkins; you have missed the point and are beyond redemption by any supreme being.

Following my guidelines, however, does have enormous benefits:-

The Equality & Human Rights Commission can be closed forthwith- saving loadsamoney

Faith school free bus passes end – saving loadsamoney

The bishops in the House of Lobbyists can be released to wash sinners feet – saving loadsamoney

We can stop giving religious bodies any tax advantages – saving loadsamoney

Hate crimes become crimes, i.e. no special considerations are required – saving loadsamoney (no lawyers required to tell us whether the crime was motivated by hate etc.)
I saved the best until last. Tony Blair’s faith foundation could no longer claim tax advanteges. Yay! One for we the people!

New Pope Francis to promote homosexuality

religion 2 Responses »

Mar 142013

A radical change for the Catholic Church.

The new Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, has made a number of surprising announcements that will take the Catholic Church in a very progressive and liberal direction. The ministry of the 266th pontiff, it appears, will be founded in reason and rationality.

“Homosexulaity should be welcomed as a means to reduce the world’s population..”

In a significant break with the tradition of the Church Pope Francis will be addressing the crisis in global population expansion by promoting homosexuality throughout the world. “There are too many people in the world, for the available resources,” he said in his address. “So, by encouraging homosexuality less children will be born thus alleviating poverty and deprivation throughout the world.”

The other core points he brought up, which also raised eyebrows amongst the mostly conservative members of the flock were:

Although he was still against gay marriage, he stated that he was against marriage in all its forms. It was clear, he stated, from scripture that the institute of marriage came about as a way for men to legalise the oppression and slavery of women, and had no place in the modern world.

He has vowed to dismantle the financial privilege, excess and extravagance of the Vatican and the leaders of the Church by liquidating assets to the value of billions of dollars to pass over to the poor and vulnerable throughout the world.

For the first time in 2,000 years women will be welcomed into the Church on an equal status with the men and will be allowed to become clergy, and even Pope in the future.

He will be fundamentally changing the stance on contraception. The use of condoms will actively promoted in order to halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS and to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Where unwanted pregnancies do occur abortion will no longer be opposed as the souls of the unborn, he said, are innocent and so will go straight to heaven, and they should not be deprived of that opportunity.

As most people were able to look at the Bible and decide for themselves what in it was good or bad it must be the case that their morality was independent of the scriptures, the Pope declared. In the near future then the Bible would rewritten to contain stories of more relevance to the 21st Century.

Finally, in another upset to the established practice of thousands of years of Judeo-Christian religion he said there was no need any longer for the global congregation to pray or worship Jesus and God. The reason was that no supernatural supreme being would be so insecure that it required homage and adulation from the beings it created.

PS: If this all seems a little unlikely, then congratulations ! You unlike the Papacy, are on the way to a life based on reason and rationality!

Acknowledgement:- all the words above are stolen from Atheism UK and I heartily thank Rupert Young for his humour and imagination!

http://www.atheismuk.com/2013/03/14/news/new-pope-francis-to-promote-homosexuality/

Italy’s election, UK 2010 again ..? Good news for the £!

economics, politics, stupid politicians No Responses »

Feb 262013

Apart from being good news for the £ (of which more later*), the lack of a majority for any one Italian party, in yesterday’s general election, is giving the political classes the same lesson that they failed to learn in 2010. “We the people” have nobody credible to vote for. When an Italian comedian can get 25% of the vote, then I think we may say that conventional political parties have been rumbled as the comedians.

The lesson that “we the people” all recognise that party political politics, if not yet quite dead, is increasingly irrelevant in an age where ‘we the people‘ are better informed than ever before and where individual issues transcend party political dogma.

What’s not to love eh? Trust me – I’m a dick!

Clowns like Berlusconi are in a funny little world of self delusion, as are our own ” Ed Millipede”, “call me Dave” Cameraman and “Nobody told me” Cleggy. That so many actually voted for Berlusconi is a sad reflection on the Italians and a hint for those who still think the Euro can be saved.

Ah well, at least I've still got my job!

Poor Cleggy. He made a promise he thought we would never have to keep. What odds he would have been in Government?

‘They‘ are all seemingly incapable of realising that the gravy train days are over and that the people want sensible, but of course boring, competent management of our human and physical resources.

* As I have mentioned before and analyse in depth in meBook, the Euro is a ridiculous and entirely illogical construct, doomed to fail, but being kept alive by a financial and political class who believe that “money” actually exists and has value in itself. Whereas the simple truth is that most of today’s ‘money’ is actually indebtedness created by a mad banking system supporting an irrational globalist business class that worshipped growth as its only aim. OK – I have to admit that many of “We the people” were seduced by the ‘need’ for the shiny new stuff now rather than later . Grandma, however, has been proved right! Are today’s multiple gadget owners happier as a result?

The probable good news for Sterling is that the Euro has been hit because the “markets” hate Euro uncertainty – ah bless!

There are no Keynesian solutions to the mess created by the consumer society madness; Keynes himself would recognise that the whole indebtedness thing is just too big now. Keynes would laugh at Ed Balls’ silly wafflings.

To all those who still say that Economic Growth is the only way out I say GROW UP! The answer was laid out in 1973 in Schumacher’s book “Small is Beautiful” – essential reading if you actually want a real solution to the world’s woes – sadly I have have to say “fat chance”.

The quest for growth is what caused the 2007/8 crisis and until they admit that, there is no hope for “we the people”.

And what’s more Terry Smith agrees with me!

Acknowledgements:

For the Cleggy piccy: I thank the Eton Mess blog

For the Berlusconi piccy I thank the Economist

Pope’s resignation. Shocked? Moi?

religion No Responses »

Feb 122013

No I am not shocked, nor am I interested in the replacement of one old deluded man with another.

Pope Benedict announces his new commandment

However, what does shock me is the amount of fawning coverage given to this non-event by the BBC. They rolled out that mindless Cormack Murphy O’Connor to opinionate on the subject today. The radio and TV news has been deluged with pointless wittering about the last 700 years history of one of the foulest but politically able self serving organisations the world has ever seen.

Pope abandoning ship

Ratzinger has been in charge of the cover-up of pedophile priests for the last 30 years in his former role as “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” (formerly known as the Inquisition). That ridiculous title is just one example of the Roman Catholic church’s arrogant (self deluded perhaps?) marketing department.

He has humiliated his former butler who was convicted, by a Vatican court, for the non-crime of exposing the internal corruption of the Vatican Cardinals. The naive chap thought that the Pope was unaware of the political corruption! Poor deluded sod! His life has been ruined by a vindictive politician who is as close to Jesus’ teachings as is an arms dealer.

Acknowledgements:-

For the Pope’s 11th Commandment I thank Gary Barker’s blog.

For The Pope pronouncement on Islamic history I thank Team of Monkeys.

Plebgate shows us plebs how to spend £190,000!

politics, stupid politicians No Responses »

Jan 212013

The BBC have led their ‘story’ thus “The most senior civil servant in Downing Street “failed to resolve” key questions about the Andrew Mitchell “plebgate” affair when he looked into the matter, a group of MPs has said.”

Sir Jeremy Heywood, the prime minister’s go-to man, who is on a £190,000 salary, say he was ‘limited by his remit’! Does that remind anyone else of Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister, or is it just me? Heywood is the most senior civil servant and the Cabinet Secretary. “He is by some margin the most talented and effective civil servant I have worked with,” says Lord (Andrew) Adonis – I need add nothing to that drivel. He was asked by the PM to investigate PlebGate and ended up producing the required whitewash just as his predecessor Gus O’Donnell did for Liam Fox.

This whole affair has shown me several things:-

1) The simple truth is just too difficult these days for anyone in public life.

2) Andrew Mitchell is an arrogant, devious and offensive man and should not be re-instated.

3) The police have failed to cast any light on this incident and have behaved as badly as the politicians.

4) Sir Jeremy Heywood is an extremely clever man, but has never used his intelligence for the benefit of the public. He is simply an overpaid ‘yes man’ – no value at all to anyone but his political masters.

Sir Jeremy: “You expect me to be able to tell the truth?”

5) David Cameraman, in setting Heywood’s brief so tightly, shows us his total disregard for anything resembling the truth and only sacked Mitchell when the media heat was deemed too high. Even then it was 5 whole weeks! “I say Bekky – when’s the next do ? LOL”.

6) Former disgraced politicians are slowly being reinstated into the public sphere:-

David Laws has been taken out again speaking on TV about education as a junior minister only 2 years after he stole £56,00! He should be in jail – and that’s according to his dad! He was allowed to pay the money back – with no penalties.
Liam Fox is gradually being let out too, speaking on Cameraman’s forthcoming speech on Europe. He should be in jail; that’s according to those of us with an attention span of more than 24 hours.
How long before Mitchell is back ..?

We are NOT ‘all in this together‘ and it stinks – as do you ‘Call me Dave’!

The USA, Britain & Europe

economics, politics, stupid politicians No Responses »

Jan 112013

In meBook, sadly as yet unpublished, I explain in some detail that the USA has never really been a friend to Britain and has in fact treated us as an easily exploitable business asset, occasional cannon fodder and for the rest of the time just screwed us in every business / economic deal we have ever made with it.

The fabled “special relationship” lives only in the minds of politicians and some journalists.

So when, yesterday, Philip Gordon, the US assistant secretary for European affairs in the US State Department said some interesting things, about Britain’s relationship with the EU, pathetically mis-interpreted by Nick Clegg, RuskinBlog had to leap in to clarify. The details of Clegg’s comments you can see on TV and read in the papers, so, what Gordon actually meant is my theme today.

Philip Gordon: ‘Do you wannna to find a horse’s head in your bed Dave? Well, do Ya?’

Here is my take which, I believe, reflects a reality far away from politicking poppycock of Clegg’s mindless support of the risible EU.

USA’s Gordon said: that when discussing the often “inward-looking” history of EU negotiations, “referendums have often turned countries inward”.

Reality: “Modern politics serves itself and the business interests which fund it. Politicians are not actually interested in what the ‘people’ want which is exemplified by “Small is Beautiful”(*) the very opposite of the globalism being peddled by the USA politicians who are fed by … big business. WE the people want ‘The corner shop’, the ‘small manufacturing business’ etc.

Gordon said: “The more the EU reflects on its internal debate, the less it is able to be unified”
Reality: “The more you look at the EU the more you realise that the EU and invention of the Euro is one of the most stupid attempts to herd cats that mankind has ever invented”

The USA, Clegg and most politicians are missing the most important points:-
a) The EU is completely unwanted by the people – the NO votes in Holland & Ireland ignored
b) The EU is so completely inept it makes my teeth hurt
c) The EU is a farcical gravy train – 3600 faceless bureaucrats earning more than the British PM
d) The EU makes ridiculous compromises everywhere you look – 70 trucks to move the EU admin from Brussels to Strasbourg twice a month for the last 30 years!
e) The EU has accounts that have not passed legal scruitiny for 19 years
f) The EU is run by a former Portuguese PM – need I say more?

Gordon said: “the UK would always be a key ally of the US” and that “what is in the UK’s interests is up to the UK”.
Reality: “We can always use Britain anyway we want, because British politicians have a misplaced sense of fair play which they laughably assume is shared”. (vis: WW2 loan negotiations with the USA where we have up our best scientific patents to the USA in return for their help in defeating Hitler. We ended up with a loan which we could not afford to pay back until 2003!)

The USA can’t be so stupid (perhaps it can? ) to think that the EU is a sensible construct, so, I think they mean that since Britain speaks American English they are are concerned about the strong anti EU sentiments expressed by UKIP and currently gaining favour in the Tory party. They wish to pre-empt the contents of Dave’s upcoming speech on Europe.

The USA is really trying to keep politics and markets (and therefore US Globalist businesses) “BIG”; that’s what they are scared of if Cameron asks ‘we the people’ what we want in a referendum. We the people want “small” not BIG!

*Small is Beautiful 1974 book written by Dr Eric Schumacher, warning of the then impending dangers of globalism and the poverty it brings to the majority. Its too late now …

Localism? – Shmocalism!

politics, stupid politicians No Responses »

Dec 102012

I speak as a Parish Councillor, the lowest cog in the administrative wheel that is local government in England. We receive many daft letters from our district council leaders and the latest on “Localism” is a classic of ineptitude and time wasting.

I recently spent several hours spread over many days, with another Parish council, trying to understand the “requirement” for Parish Councils (PCs) to formulate and write a “Neighbourhood Plan” (NP).

District Councils have to create a “Local Plan” covering the development (or not) aspirations for their local areas. One of our Parish councillors went to a “Training session” and found that each NP would cost in the region of £5,000 and was advised that not to write one would be a grave error with possibly grave consequences.

The Big Society is err, umm well, ahem err – any more questions, No? Thanks & ‘n’ bbye

Words fail me (well, clearly not, but almost!); here we are in debt up to our ears and sinking faster by the day, with a national water and energy supply crisis barely mentioned at all by government or the press and a group of District Councillors & Coalition politicians are blithering on about the Localism Bill.

If you can actually bother to read it (I did, and I wish I hadn’t) you discover that there are no definitions for the ”idea” and certainly no money to enable ‘acts of localism’, but nevertheless a group of councillors has been called together to ‘specialise’ in the undefined pile of poo that is “Localism”and are prepared to field questions on a subject that, by their own admission, they don’t “fully understand”.

But here, dear reader, is the crunch; the epitome of stupidity, consigning Localism to the pire of empty, sound bite driven, insincere policies such as “Education, education, education”; “Joined up thinking on transport”; and to cap them all, “We are all in this together” etc.

If the ‘Neighbourhood plan differs from the ”Local plan’ – the LP wins.
If the LP differs from the Government Plan – the government wins.

So then, just what is the point – where is devolved power?

No-where – that’s where!

Well worth £5,000 of tax payers money!

Cameraman and fatty Pickles are lying stinkpots – but we knew that really didn’t we? Cameraman hasn’t even defined “Big Society” yet; we are still waiting Dave, well, those of us who have an attention span of more than 48 hours anyway. )

What a load of political poo. Makes me mad!

Happy Christmas & a good New Year

to all my readers (Thanks Peter!)

Disestablish Church of England now! (Women Bishops row)

religion, stupid politicians No Responses »

Nov 232012

Female clergy are tearing thir hair out!

The management of the Church of England, (Archie Bishes, Bishes etc.) has clearly revealed its true nature; that of political animals. They can see all too clearly that yesterday’s Synod decision to disallow the creation of woman bishes is damaging to the “brand” because their focus group management information clearly reveals that “we the people” have moved on. The only other country in the world where clerics form part of the legislature, by right, is Iran – yes Iran.

The last Arch Bishop (Rowan Williams) doesn’t even believe in god anymore; the evidence for this is in his 30 minute discussion with John Harumphrys (In Search of Faith) a couple of years ago. He clearly is closer to the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) (1935 – ) “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

John Humphrys pretends to be “In Search of Faith”

Rowan Williams is an peaceful, intelligent, academic man and was therefore ill fitted to the political role that today’s C of E requires.

The only true believers left are the masses who still have not realised that the “Sacrament” and assorted accoutrements of their weird religion (created on a whim by a petulant Henry VIII) are just designed to make their belief system more impressive.

‘Bach makes god look good‘ etc. (I think that quote is original to me but I stand to be corrected ..?)

Seneca (4 – 65 BCE)
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821)
“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.”
“Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.”
“All religions have been made by men.”

Supreme Court of Wisconsin (1890) “There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights, malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter into our civil affairs, our government soon would be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed. Those who made our Constitution saw this, and used the most apt and comprehensive language in it to prevent such a catastrophe.” (Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Weiss v. District Board, March 18, 1890. )

Such wisdom is there to be read, absorbed and acted upon but politicians dare not reveal their true selves (no votes in enlightened reason)
They are not leaders – they are focus group led party politicians whose main motivation is power.

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