At London Conference of 1953, the Greek Minister of Finance signed a treaty agreeing to cancel 50% of Germany’s debt! How times change! While the idiotic posturing of Jean-Claude Juncker (a banker friendly supporter of globalisation and an expert in tax avoidance for multi-nationals) waits for Greece to agree to ridiculous demands to pay back the banks who were daft enough to loan a third world economy buckets of cash in the first place, Greece’s Prime Minister (and most of
… so says the disgraced Jeremy Clarkson in yesterday’s Sun newspaper (or so I am reliably informed by the Today Program 😉 ). The fact that Clarkson was quite right of course, was missed by the party political elite, all the pollsters, and the journalist clever dicks whose very living depends on producing acres of crap 24/7. The simple reason for them all being wrong is that they could not bear to listen to the still small voice in their
Theresa May today underlined why so few of us will be voting for one of the main parties on May 17th. She played the usual game of not answering any question put to her, avoiding any semblance of honesty and straight speaking that we, the people, so desire. The same criticism applies to Millibean and Clegg too, so I am not being partisan! The original Right to Buy policy, brought in by that dreadful 1980s Thatcher government, is to be
From Irish RTE TV channel program called The Meaning of Life. Q “What would you say to god if he exists?” A Fry: “God, if it exists, is a monster” … Fry was being interviewed for the Irish television show when he launched into an impassioned tirade about God’s existence. Stephen Fry, when he supposedly meets God, he says “How dare you create bone cancer in children! What’s that all about.” Just in case you have not seen this, I
In February 2015, Home Secretary Theresa May said ‘ …authorities need to look at the ideology which drives young people to travel abroad and join extremist groups.’ This was in the light of her studied shocked reaction to the fact that three intelligent, apparently well educated, schoolgirls were off to Syria to join Isis as jihadi wives. Ms May said it was important to look not just at terrorism but ‘extremism across the whole spectrum’. Did she define which “authorities”
As the old joke goes “Is the Pope a Catholic?” in other words, the answer to the question just asked is Yes, obviously! Catholic he may be, but Christian? No. The new PR man at the Vatican, Pope Francis, has made the most ridiculous statement supporting a violent response to those who poke fun at religion. He would ‘punch‘ anyone who mocks the irrational belief in the invisible, whatever variety of religious silliness is being mocked. This is in
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
This was part of an Oxford Union debate 24th October 2013, where he discusses, among many other issues, the Common Fisheries policy, the complete lack of democracy in the EU and how the EU encourages extremism on the right and left. Nothing more for me to say. Please watch:
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
No I am not shocked, nor am I interested in the replacement of one old deluded man with another. 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 opine 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 self serving organisations the world
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
“Evil & corruption was everywhere” says the Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele This naïve yet probably honest man actually thought that by exposing corruption in the Vatican. He exposed the two faced underhand power struggles in the Vatican elite. He thought he was doing the Roman Catholic Church a favour – he even thought the Pope and Cardinals would be pleased! The Vatican has confirmed Saturday, May 26, 2012, that the pope’s butler Paolo Gabriele, he holding the umbrella, was
Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fancies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in after years relieved of them. In fact, men will fight for a superstition quite as quickly as for a living truth --- often more so, since a superstition is so intangible you cannot get at it to refute it, but truth is a point of view, and so is changeable.
Republic’s goal is simple: replace the monarchy with an elected head of state and more democratic political system. Instead of a king, we want someone chosen by the people, not running the government but representing the nation independently of our politicians.
A monarchy should not exist in a democratic society. The majority of us believe in democracy, and think democracy makes for a fairer, more prosperous society. Who of us think the British version of democracy is working well?
Too much power in the hands of government, it’s too difficult to hold people to account We see corruption and cronyism everywhere, especially the Lords and in the honours system.
