philosophy, politics, education, economics, stupid politicians, atheism, secularism and religion
A terrorist attack at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, left at least 12 people dead. Paris January 7th was a wake up call to all politicians in the west, and to the vast majority of people who do and say nothing about the slow rise of radical Islam in Europe and Great Britain. Appeasement to the religious vote is no longer acceptable. Radical Islam is being silently and ignorantly supported by moderate Muslims, and by
In the UK we have private schools treated as charities for tax purposes for no good reason that most of us can see. Other than, perhaps, the establishment who made those tax rules to save themselves money on their children’s education. After all, they need to separate their offspring from the great unwashed (that’s you and me if you were wondering) and therefore invented charitable status to protect their socially divisive academies. We also have a divisive education system that
Or, if you do then you are wilfully misleading the people you lead and represent. Obama has just said in his speech last Tuesday night, “Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic.” (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) On the face of it, that shows his profound ignorance of the Qur’an and Hadith (supplementary Muslim instructions written after their manual was last updated in 1910). However, he is probably doing what all western politicians are doing,
Charles, when prince of Wales said “Look chaps, when I ascend, the throne that is, I will sort this all out.” (I paraphrase) I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding that can be solved by an inter faith dialogue meeting with those those nice people from the Orthodontic Society offering us all herbal teas. (Ed: Sire, do you perhaps mean the Homoeopathic Society? ). That nice Mr Blair has offered to help too, so at least I will be kept up
Today the government is accepting applications for licenses to explore potential fracking sites. The contracts that will be eventually signed will not contain clauses to clean up contaminated water supplies or clauses insisting upon insurance to be taken out to pay in the event of a natural disaster. Here is what the government says to fracking companies “when things go wrong”:- “How operators manage incidents if something goes wrong:- Operators must prepare a safety document with an assessment of risks
There is currently a daft & pointless row between Michael Gove (Education Secretary) and Theresa May (Home Secretary). The argument is about who’s ideas are best to fight ‘religious extremism’ in schools. They have not, and cannot, define extremism, yet the ill-defined argument nevertheless rages in the ‘poli-news’1 Both want to gain credit for ‘fighting extremism’ in the wake of the UKIP earthquake, which has woken up the Tories. This is a further example of how our party political leaders
What we the people have said is what none of those in power want to hear. Our “None of the above” protest vote is still not being heard by any of the political parties. We, the people, have said it, not just in Britain, but, all over Europe. The knee jerk response to the EU, is UKIP’s “out is best”. I have a fair degree of sympathy with that view, but let’s examine the alternatives. Notice, I do not mention
Following on from Tony Blair’s lessons in how to be a successful polishitun, our Dave, the heir to Blair, has learned from his master how to use the “Look” word to convey sincerity, where, of course, there is none. The use of “Look” sounds chatty, warm and fluffy but masks the real motivation of those who want power. He wants to appear to be your mate and, in this latest instance, wants to be a “mate” to all “people of
MPs expenses scandal – Maria Miller Once again, we have been handled by the polishituns, and, to a lesser extent, by the meedja. The sad truth is, that the justice that should have flowed from the truth of the situation, is absent and everybody seems quite content to move on; the story is over. The BBC has let us down, their coverage of this fiasco was fawning and oh so gentle. Democracy was sidestepped by our totally up themselves political
Nobody has ‘agreed with Nick‘ for three years. Now, even Vince ‘the’ Cable has joined that club of pollishituns who have shafted the public and refuse to take responsibility by resigning. Vince Cable, the man who foresaw the financial disaster of 2008, is no more, and should resign after his disastrous mishandling the Royal Mail privatisation. He still speaks, but his words are mealy-mouthed establishment twaddle. In every privatisation of public assets, since Thatcher’s dark days in the 1980s, the
The enquiry under Sir John Chilcot set up in 2009 has yet to report. The total expenditure since 2009 is £7,479,400, and of course worth every penny! That from the Chilcot Inquiry’s own web page. This enquiry was the 4th attempt to establish the “truth” behind the UK government’s reasons for the Iraq invasion. The other 3 enquiries were so discredited, by the press and others, that “they” thought, they had better have another go. Sir John Chilcot said, in 2009, that
Ed Miliband as leader of the Labour Party? Ed Miliband has never found his way into our hearts since becoming leader of the New / Old / Labour party. The labour party faithful just cannot accept that he is simply not leadership material. He sounds odd and looks weird. If that seems unkind, well tough, it’s simply true! Not PC but true. Millibean’s latest desperate pronouncement on not supporting a referendum just shows how incapable of rational thought he is.
China’s economic miracle is to be feared Everywhere I look in today’s news, I see that few see China, as one of the biggest problems in our globalised world. But, most commentators see China’s “economic miracle” as something to be admired! In my view, China’s miracle is an example to be feared and then understood. Then dispatched to the history books as a colossal error by the human race. I see, as does dear Robert Peston, who has done his
Ariel Sharon’s recent death marked the end of what was the last slim best chance for a solution to the Israeli / Palestinian turmoil. Sharon was hardly a great beacon of hope for the region, but his last few actions were moving in a positive direction. Age might have been slowly bringing wisdom to this former soldier and enthusiastic, Arab bashing Zionist hero of the 1967 Arab Israeli war. Sharon, in 2006, just before his terminal stroke. As Prime Minister he
Air traffic requirements for Britain are today’s PoliNews*1 subject and, for once, Boris is right. Follow the link to the Guardian website because the arguments put then are even more real now! (Added in 2025) Dave Cameraman is wrong as usual and incapable of vision. This blog, and my book ‘The Normal Curve‘, are largely about how and why the party political system is incapable of rational thought. We need, instead, a system of infrastructure and resource planning that can
I was going to pontificate on each conference but slowly lost the will to live as the weeks went on – and on. The same old policy messages from the flawed decision making format enforced by the party being the most important consideration. No conference mentioned the public finance debt or deficit – both of which have actually increased since 2010. The Tories want to give £200 a year to married couples (yawn) and they want to artificially inflate the
Party conference poppycock 2013 Part 1 – the Lib Dems. Vince Cable Business Minister, remember him? He ‘s the chap who foresaw the banking crash, the credit crunch and says that George Osborne is wrong about signs of economic recovery. He is still seen by everyone as someone who has principles and vision. Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, remember him? He’s the chap who lied about his principles to students and forever lost any trust the public might have had.
Here are two items of ground breaking news that you will not find mentioned at all on the BBC. French Education Minister Vincent Peillon unveils secularism charter for schools The first is so important to the philosophical development of mankind that it should be shouted from all roof tops. It is this:- The French Education Minister Vincent Peillon has unveiled the controversial secularism charter which is to be displayed in a prominent position in every school to remind pupils and
Can it really be that politicians are listening to the people? It may just be so here in the UK perhaps even so in the USA?. Pity about France … I hope Congress and President Barak Obama have the balls to say “No” to any more intervention in the Middle East. Let us instead promote the values and reason of the European Enlightenment upon which the USA was founded and wait 500 years while the Middle East catches up (yes
It must be true – I read it in the Daily Mail … 😉 This week Tony Blair has been trying out new destroyer class super-yachts (including the Pelorus, owned by U.S. music mogul David Geffen, pictured), but still has been unable to refine his latest choice about which has the best drinks fridge and best mounting platform for cruise missiles. One of his spokespersons said that “Tony was feeling a bit left out after being ejected from New Labour
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,
… Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, the Religious Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd say they will contribute nothing to Magdalene Laundry survivors’ compensation. Vatican and the Magdalene Laundry survivors The four orders of nuns that ran the notorious Magdalene Laundries in Ireland have said they have no intention of contributing anything towards the compensation fund set up by the Irish Government. The Mercy Sisters, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of
Muslim nutter calmly murders soldier Those chilling words spoken to camera by the calm murderer of a British soldier in Woolwich, London needs very careful interpretation. Islamic extremism engenders nationalist extremism – neither is the way to go, but how on earth can we stop it? There is no quick or easy solution but surely the education of Britain’s children is a solid place to start? Those with a voice, i.e. the government, the Muslim Council of ‘g’reat Britain and
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
Special relationship? Pah There is no special relationship 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
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”
The management of the Church of England, (Archie Bishes, Bishes etc.) has clearly revealed its true nature. They are political animals. They can see all too clearly that yesterday’s Synod decision to disallow the creation of woman bishops is damaging to the “brand” because their focus group management information clearly reveals that “we the people” have moved on. The are just seven other countries in the world where clerics form part of the legislature, by right and the rest are
EU now says it wants a federal Europe, controlled by the EU Last December I said there was no more to say about the ridiculous EU; just lately I have had to say more, mainly after José Manuel Barroso said the EU needs to become a Federation urgently! Baroso former PM of Portugal with a stupefying record of economic incompetence is now in charge of the EU project … words fail me … If you, like me (a few years
May I present the latest example of the blitheringly obvious being missed by politicians and their slimy attempts to blame anyone but themselves! First Group’s winning bid was based on revenues growing by 10% per annum for years to come! That was headline news some weeks ago. To any first year student of politics, accounting or indeed anyone who lives, or has lived, in the real world this was obviously bollocks nonsense! Oh, and by the way, this is going
The GCSE exam debacle continues. Many pupils who had been expecting a C grade were given a D as a result of the grade boundary changes made half way through an academic year! Students are to be ‘allowed‘ to resit the exam instead of having their grades automatically brought in line with January 2012 results says £138,000 / annum Glenys Stacey. This is yet another sordid example of public sector highly paid self important bean counters getting it completely wrong.
Sorry – no jokes in this article – just had to write it because I cannot believe the shallow incompetence of the Tory coalition policy claptrap – grrr. The think tank Policy Exchange says “Social housing in expensive areas of England should be sold off and the money used to finance the building of new homes in cheaper areas” Neil O’Brien, (PPE Oxford – say no more…) director of the think tank Policy Exchange, said he does not believe anybody “has
“The Lords Reform Bill is dead.” says Cameraman Senior. “Oh no it isn’t!” says Cleggy Minor … The rowdy delinquents are at it again – no parental controls in place as Clegg minor & Cameraman major battle out their respective class captain campaigns for the next two years. Although Cleggy Minor’s dad (Lord Steel) has tried to calm down his errant offspring by calling him “petulant”*2 Once again these silly little boys are spending all their time, our money, on
Bob Diamond resigns as CEO of Barclays Bank which itself has been, so far, fined an estimated £200 million by the UK’s FSA and USA institutions as a direct result of the senior management team fraudulently fixing the LIBOR interbank lending rate. In three separate penalties, Barclays will pay the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.K.’s Financial Service Authority a total of $454 million. In the CFTC’s settlement, Barclays traders – with the assistance of senior management
Baldrick: “What I want to know Sir, is, before there was a Euro there were lots of different types of money that different people used. And now there’s only one type of money that the foreign people use. And what I want to know is, how did we get from one state of affairs to the other state of affairs” Blackadder: “Do you mean, how did the Euro start?” Baldrick: “Yes Sir” Blackadder: “Well, you see Baldrick, back in the
Seneca (4 – 65 BCE) “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” ’nuff said! I know we all love Queen Elizabeth and the wonderful quiet, dignified way she does her job. But we feel for her when some of her progeny and relations, have, in the past acted as adulterous, spoiled, brats, but ah bless, isn’t she doing a wonderful job? Well actually, in one very important
‘Marriage’ is culturally defined as being between a man a woman This is prompted by Arch Bishop Sentamu’s statement (27th January 2010) that ‘Marriage’ is not for same sex couples. Why this is news or controversial makes me sigh – but let’s have a bit of common sense shall we? For me, the religious definition matters not except for the simple fact that ‘Marriage’ is culturally defined as being between a man a woman, usually for the creation of the
This is yet more madness delivered by visionless, asset stripping, incompetents (AKA the Tory party) …first OUR water, then OUR electricity grid, etc. etc. and now, our roads. How can a private company doing the job be cheaper? Let me think, … Ah yes … Cut wages costs & therefore quality? Cut materials costs & therefore quality? Keep public sector pension provision levels? HeHe, err … noooooo … Charge the users? YES – that’s the way to do it !! There are NO OTHER
Margaret Thatcher had a secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch at Chequers weeks before his 1981 purchase of the Times newspapers, newly released files show. What a surprise ?! I can’t believe it! Murdoch actually denied the meeting, on several occasions, I really can’t believe that such a decent businessman could have forgotten the meeting! He wasn’t old then was he? Oh I think get it – he is a devious lying egocentric ba$tard – that must be it. The fact that the
Osborne’s gone NATS, selling our air to Germany Thatcher sold our water supply in 1989 which means that there can be no sensible policy to share out UKs water supply from the areas of plenty (the West & North West) to the areas of need (the South and South East). Those who now own the water do not live here so they just don’t care. The list of idiotic, incomprehensibly incompetent “policies” dreamt up, mainly by the Tories, continues. Now
Here we go again, what is it with our politicians How can they be so consistently stupid? Privatisation may be good for some activities but not for soft public services like education, health etc. How can the profit motive provide a better police or health service at a cheaper cost to the public? The answer is not blowing in the wind – it is simple, ‘it cannot be’. That politicians are congenitally incapable of rationality which is explained in my
