<< Nov 2009 Barry Cryer part II Saturday, October 31st, 2009 - 10:47 pm
A fabulous show!
Barry is a true giant of the comedy world a man with such a long and distinguished pedigree having written for so many greats that it was sheer joy to sit and listen to him, to top it all he even read out one of my questions.
My favourite bit?
"Colin Sell said to me nothing rhymes with orange! [Pause] No it doesn't".
The man is a National Treasure. Me and Barry Cryer Saturday, October 31st, 2009 - 1:09 am
This evening my wife and I are going to see Barry Cryer at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax, and I'm really looking forward to it. It's been a really long week.
Barry is one of my favourite comedians for more than three dozen years, he's been making me laugh both on telly and more so on the radio.
One of the funniest things was on Historical Headlines on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue on Radio 4 when referring to The Great Fire of London, Barry says,
"Yorkshire Evening Post: Leeds Man Singed"
A more contemporary one was, "Why does it take two days for a polaroid of David Cameron to appear?" Rail franchise system should put passengers first Saturday, October 31st, 2009 - 12:22 am
Yesterday, the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) published a report on franchise reform.
The first thing to say is that, train passengers have been getting a raw deal from the way franchises are set up. We need a system that puts the passenger first.
We must grow the railways. Longer franchises will get money into the industry by giving companies an incentive to invest in real, long-term improvements.
The East Coast Main Line must remain in public ownership for a longer period to demonstrate how a franchise should be run with passenger-focused targets to drive up standards. Me and Princess Anne Friday, October 30th, 2009 - 11:45 pm
This morning was fantastic, in my guise as Deputy Mayor, I had the privilege of representing the people of Calderdale in front of HRH Princess Anne at a brilliant factory, Lynwood Products i-plas, that has launched a new 100% recyclable material that can act as a direct replacement for concrete, steel, and wood.
I forgot to say that it is made totally of recycled material, such as bottle tops. We saw examples of it used to replace timber in bridges, footpaths, and park benches. Elected Upper Chamber is the only way to go Friday, October 30th, 2009 - 7:17 am
I've always been for a markedly different Second Chamber, and a fully elected one at that.
To quote Lord Samuels of the Liberals speaking on House of Lords reform, it has been like a "slow motion film of a prima ballerina [marked] by languid exhibition and elephantine deliberations".
Shockingly, it was only fifty years ago that the Life Peerages Act empowered the Crown to create life peeresses, and it took a further five years, and the Peerage Act of 1963, to allow hereditary peeresses to sit in the House of Lords for the first time. Far fewer knife victims if hospitals shared data with police Thursday, October 29th, 2009 - 9:30 pm
The government has released figures showing hospital admissions for gun and knife crime victims. The good news is the year-on-year fall in hospital admissions for victims of knife crime, nevertheless more people are being stabbed than five years ago.
At present only one in five hospitals collect and share data with police and local authorities that could help to reduce violent crime.
We Lib Dems believe that there'd be even fewer victims if ALL hospitals shared data with the police, the pioneering ‘Cardiff Model’ managed to reduce violent acts by 40%.
Violence Prevention (PDF file) Download Adobe reader here. Tories' "white noise" on welfare won’t help the low-paid Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 - 6:28 am
I see that David Cameron has announced that a new Tory policy group will look at how to bring down marginal tax rates.
Interesting that thus far, the only policy the Tories have committed to is tax cuts for millionaires.
Instead of vague promises to tinker with an already ludicrously complex benefit system, the Tories should recognise that people on low wages should NOT pay income tax at all.
Only we Lib Dems have a fully-costed plan to get 4 million low-earners out of income tax by raising the personal allowance to £10,000, paid for by closing loopholes and clamping down on tax avoidance that benefits the wealthiest.
My colleague, Danny Alexander, best described the guff from the Tories as "just white noise". Three Cheers for Jan Becher Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 - 1:23 am
It's been a rather long hard day, so I'm off to bed in a mo.
Just before I do, I'm going to have a glass of Becherovka and drink to the Czechoslovak Independence Day.
I got fond of this little digestif when I taught in Bratislava. My landlady used it as a panacea for just about everything from arthritis to indigestion, from a flu to a hangover. Her argument was as it was made up of more than three-dozen herbs it was really medicine and not at all alcohol. In fact she reminded me of the the Baldwin sisters in the TV series the Waltons, who made a beverage referred to as "recipe" which in fact (unbeknownst to them) was moonshine whiskey.
I have some wonderful memories of Czechoslovakia, their "Velvet Revolution" was an object lesson in throwing off the shackles of totalianarianism in a peaceful and non-violent way. The "Velvet Divorce" a few years later was perhaps an even more impressive feat as the two countries decide to go their own separate ways.
I am just hoping that when the Czech Constitutional Court okays the Lisbon Treaty, President Vaclav Klaus will finally ratify the document and ALL 27 EU member states can finally move on to the next phase of the "European Project".
I for one am fed up of Britain bickering about from the sidelines, as we seem to have ever since we joined, and instead want us to take an active role at the heart of Europe.
Český Dotoho! One of my favourite buildings Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 - 2:04 am
The Oakwood Fish Bar in Leeds
Not only is the frontage a beautiful example of Art Deco design, the fish and chips are great too. We used to pop in regularly when we lived in Leeds a few years back.
And death shall have no dominion Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 - 1:43 am
Today my white poppy arrived, and I shall be wearing it to remember all victims of war, and to promote pacifism in general.
The quote is from the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas whose birthday it is today.
And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
...
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion. Damned by his own mother-in-law, and I don't mean Les Dawson Monday, October 26th, 2009 - 1:38 am
A lovely story in the Telegraph about Nick Griffin's mother-in-law tearing a strip off of him.
Muriel Cook has described him as a “work-shy pretender”, and said that her daughter did everything while Nick "played at his silly politics" but never really contributed financially.
She further damned him by saying that, “He pretends to be a man of the people, but... hasn’t done an honest day's work in his life. My daughter... has always had a full-time job... working 12-hour shifts even when their children were babies".
Funny really, given their attitude to "spongers"! Δεν ελπίζω τίποτα. Δε φοβάμαι τίποτα. Είμαι λέφτερος.
(I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.) Monday, October 26th, 2009 - 1:23 am
The words above are the epitaph of Nikos Kazantzakis, who died on this day in 1967.
His most famous books are Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ.
I have just been re-reading the latter which tells the life of Christ from his perspective.
The central theme of the book is that Jesus, while free from sin, was still subject to every form of temptation that we mortals face, including fear, doubt, lust, etc.
A truly fabulous book whether one is religious or not, as indeed I am not. Azincourt 1415 Sunday, October 25th, 2009 - 8:52 pm
Today of course is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in France.
One of the best descriptions of the battle comes from James Burke's book Connections wherein he relates how Henry V had brought his armies to France to settle his claim to the French throne. At Agincourt, he found his forces greatly outnumbered by a factor of about 6:1. However, the battle lasted barely, half-an-hour, the English lost 500 men, compared to 10,000 French.
The English possessed a technology that virtually rendered obsolete the military technology used by the French, namely the Welsh longbow.
It had been introduced by Edward I, and was a formidable weapon that could shoot a rider at 400 yards and with special steeled points would even penetrate armour at close range. An experienced archer could loose nine arrows a minute.
Burke's thesis is that this victory shattered the myth of the invincible knight. The longbow turned the medieval social order upside down, and began the change that replaced feudalism with more egalitarian forms of social and political structure.
Hurrah A first for West Yorkshire Sunday, October 25th, 2009 - 8:34 pm
Today in my role as Deputy Mayor of Calderdale, I had the great honour of joining the Mayor and a host of other civic leaders to the Madni Mosque in Halifax to celebrate the first ever Civic Service by any Mayor in West Yorkshire, as far as we know, to take place in a Mosque.
It was a surprisingly moving affair especially when the Vicar of Halifax and a lady from the Interfaith Council, as well as the Imam, addressed the gathered throng.
A perfect counterfoil to those who would spread poison throughout our society by emphasising what unites us all as as human beings rather than what differentiates us. Laughter really IS the best medicine :) Saturday, October 24th, 2009 - 12:34 pm
A friend has sent me this link on youtube, and I'd urge everyone to watch. I laughed till I cried.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QAvkFS_cgk Cheap alcohol costs us all dear Saturday, October 24th, 2009 - 12:00 am
Almost 10,000 people could die every year because of their drinking. Research from the University of the West of England shows that 90,800 people could die avoidable deaths from alcohol-related causes in the next decade if we continue to drink at the average rate of the past 15 years.
The research maps the whole population's level of drinking with the number of deaths from alcohol-related causes. The new findings also show there has been a trebling of deaths from 3,054 in 1984 to 8,999 in 2008, as consumption has increased over the past 25 years.
The numbers include diseases directly caused by alcohol and alcohol poisoning, and do not include deaths caused indirectly by alcohol, such as those from drink-driving or cancers which have been caused in part by drinking.
Professor Martin Plant has said that the UK has experienced "an epidemic of alcohol-related health and social problems" and he recommends "introducing a minimum unit price of 50p" which would cut alcohol-related hospital admissions, crimes, and absence days from work.
These chilling figures are a stark reminder of the shocking death toll caused by excess alcohol consumption. The Government's failure to invest in alcohol treatment services and their refusal to stop alcohol being sold at pocket-money prices is having a devastating impact on our health.
The high cost of cheap alcohol is becoming clearer every day. The Government must heed the advice of its own experts and introduce a minimum price for alcohol, otherwise the death toll will continue to rise and the NHS will be forced to pick up the bill. Griffin the muffin Friday, October 23rd, 2009 - 9:57 pm
Does that bigoted bouffanted buffoon, Nick Griffin have a sense of irony?
I only ask because after all that whingeing to get on QT, he was utterly weedily, rubbishly feeble. When subjected to a mild grilling by an audience of a couple of hundred people in London, he wilted like a soggy chip in the rain.
Earlier today however, he had the nerve to compare these rather polite and mostly respectful people to a "lynch mob", whilst last night he made the stupidly mendacious comment that David Duke ex-Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan was the leader of a "non-violent" organisation.
Is the man wilfully stupid, or just plain ignorant of the history of the KKK and the Deep South of the USA?
From the 1860s onwards, thousands of black men were lynched usually on spurious or made-up reasons often with the KKK being implicated as instigators or executioners.
I recommend he listens to "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. Mind you I doubt it, a song about lynchings, written by a Jewish man, and sung by a black woman. One can only hope.
I won't even comment on his odious comments about London being "ethnically cleansed", what a crassly insensitive excuse for a human being.
:/ It had to come out, I confess Friday, October 23rd, 2009 - 12:12 am
Hot on the heels of Nick Clegg, the PM, and Dave "Blue Boy" Cameron, I can confirm that I too have a favourite biscuit.
In third place: Dark chocolate digestives.
In second place: Fig Rolls.
In first place, da da la da da daaa: Garibaldis.
A nation can sleep easy tonight. "Why is this lying bastard lying to me?" Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 - 8:20 pm
When you watch Question time tonight and you see that smarmy, wannabe leader of the Fourth Reich trying to look put-upon and pained but oh so eminently reasonable, have Jeremy Paxman's maxim at the forefront of your mind everytime he speaks.
For the record I think that the BBC was wrong to invite him on QT, they already give the Brutish Nasty Party enough airings on the various TV and radio channels without giving even more publicity. Furthermore, Mark Byford Deputy Director General foolishly said it's not the BBC's role to "censor the BNP".
No-one is asking the Beeb to "censor", just don't give them anymore "oxygen of publicity", and cast them as the plucky underdog
Much has been written on how the BNP is a violent, neo-Nazi, and racist organisation full of criminals, all of which I fully agree with.
What’s more, Nick Griffin’s utterances are utterly barking, whether it is calling British generals "war criminals"; saying the ultimate aim for the BNP is an "all-white Britain"; asked whether the Gurkhas should be allowed to stay in Britain, back in May saying, “the country is full. No more immigrants”; calling the Holocaust when "six million Jews were gassed and cremated and turned into lampshades" an "extremely profitable lie" and my all-time favourite understatement, "Adolf [Hitler] went a bit too far"!
However, what really gets my goat is when the BNP lies (which to be honest is nearly all the time) to try to score cheap political points.
Earlier this week when asked by the Royal British Legion to stop wearing a poppy, he said he was protesting the fact that soldiers in Selly Oak Hospital had to pay to watch the telly while prisoners got to watch it for free.
Now I know Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham very well, both my parents-in-law spent time at that hospital over the past few years, and received very good care.
All it took was one phonecall to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) to find out that military patients DON'T have to pay to watch tv (or use the internet, or make phone calls) while being treated in Selly Oak hospital.
Although the hospital has a pay-as-you-go scheme installed for NHS patients, military patients are given paid-for TV cards FREE of charge. If they do spend more, they are reimbursed for the cost.
Not a big thing in and of itself, but just goes to show how the BNP are willing to exploit the pain and anguish of injured soldiers to further their obnoxious political aims.
So when you're watching him tonight, you'll know he's lying because you'll see his lips move. Palaces of gold Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 - 12:56 am
The title refers to a song of the same name by Leon Rosselson written to commemorate the "Aberfan Disaster" when 144 people (116 of them children) were killed at Pantglas Junior School on this day in 1966.
The disaster was caused when a coal tip slid down the mountain and engulfed a school, a farm, and several houses.
The most poignant image was of the deputy head, Mr Beynon, who was found dead clutching five children in his arms, trying to protect them.
Rosselson wrote beautifully and poignantly about slum schools in damp alleys, with views of slag heaps and living in rows of dumb houses like mouldering tombs. He goes on to say that if the children of the wealthy had to suffer that, then:
Buttons would be pressed,
rules would be broken.
Strings would be pulled
and magic words spoken.
Invisible fingers would mould
palaces of gold. When lying, lie BIG Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 - 12:21 am
Let me put it on the record I am a pacifist and have been and am against the war in Iraq.
However, when three former army chiefs and the commander of the Desert Rats in the first Gulf War, put their names to a letter, saying, "We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist", even I had to take notice.
As you might have guessed they were (probably) referring to the obnoxious and odious BNP using images of a Spitfire with the legend "Battle for Britain". How insulting and stupid can that party get?
The RAF Roll of Honour for the Battle of Britain recognises about 600 pilots from countries other than the UK, alongside more than 2,300 British pilots, that's about one-in-five of "The Few".
When I was at university in Manchester, I lived close to the Koło Polskie and made friends with an aviator who had flown with the 303 "Kosciuszko" Squadron. There was bravery and modesty all in one human package. The antipathy of the bombastic blustering buffoon Griffin who will be preening his preposterous plumage on Question Time tomorrow.
I can only end with what the generals wrote namely that "the values of these extremists, many of whom are essentially racist, are fundamentally at odds with the values of the modern British military, such as tolerance and fairness". Cameron setting the agenda? Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 - 10:50 pm
How depressing to read that once again David Cameron and his Tories attempting to seize the progressive agenda by promising to allow some "all-women shortlists to help us boost the number of Conservative women MPs".
I have long argued for all-women shortlists (which is not official Lib Dem party policy) on the grounds that, although illiberal in the short-term, they will encourage and be successful in increasing the number of women in Parliament, as has been shown by the Labour Party in the 1990s.
I would go one step further and argue for all-bme shortlists, where appropriate, this does not necessarily mean in constituencies with significant numbers of ethnic minorities, viz the success of Ashok Kumar's 1991 by-election win in Langbaurgh and now Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (white population, 98.6%).
Furthermore, the victorious experience of Adam Afriye and Sailesh Vara in primarily white rural constituencies in southern England shows that the "ethnic penalty" no longer exists.
It is time that the Lib Dems (who let us not forget returned the first non-white MP Dadabhai Naoroji in Finsbury Park in 1892) began to take the represetation of ethnic minorities and women far more seriously and to put in place far more radical measures in place to ensure that our party, and more importantly Parliament, much better reflects British society at large.
We shouldn't be palying catch-up with the Tories of all people. Ludo Victorious Monday, October 19th, 2009 - 10:20 pm
How very sad to hear of the death of Ludovic Kennedy yesterday. A journo, a man of ideas, an activist for justice, and a campaigner for the truth. A true Liberal.
As well as campaigning against miscarriages of justice, Ludo was a lifelong atheist, a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association, an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society, as well as a co-founder of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
I loved the many stories about him, like playing Jazz with Humph (Lyttleton). I loved watching him on Panorama and Newsnight in the 1970s, he was urbane, erudite, and elegant.
One sour note was when I found out that after more than three decades as a tv presenter, his knighthood had been vetoed by Mrs Thatcher.
He will be sorely missed. Pocket-money price of alcohol has devastating impact Monday, October 19th, 2009 - 1:15 pm
Almost 10,000 people could die every year because of their drinking. Research from the University of the West of England shows that 90,800 people could die avoidable deaths from alcohol-related causes in the next decade if we continue to drink at the average rate of the past 15 years.
The research maps the whole population’s level of drinking with the number of deaths from alcohol-related causes. The new findings also show there has been a TREBLING of deaths from 3,054 in 1984 to 8,999 in 2008, as consumption has increased over the past 25 years.
The numbers include diseases directly caused by alcohol and alcohol poisoning, and DO NOT INCLUDE DEATHS CAUSED INDIRECTLY BY ALCOHOL, such as those from drink-driving or cancers which have been caused in part by drinking.
Prof. Martin Plant has said that the UK has experienced "an epidemic of alcohol-related health and social problems" and he recommens "introducing a minimum unit price of 50p" which would cut alcohol-related hospital admissions, crimes, and absence days from work.
These chilling figures are a stark reminder of the shocking death toll caused by excess alcohol consumption. The Government’s failure to invest in alcohol treatment services and their refusal to stop alcohol being sold at pocket-money prices is having a devastating impact on our health.
The high cost of cheap alcohol is becoming clearer every day. The Government must heed the advice of its own experts and introduce a minimum price for alcohol, otherwise the death toll will continue to rise and the NHS will be forced to pick up the bill. “Gracias a la Vida” Sunday, October 18th, 2009 - 12:05 am
Just been listening to this song from the album Homenaje a Violeta Parra by Mercedes Sosa who died a fortnight back. It is a beautiful and haunting melody with life affirming lyrics written by the Chilean Parra in the 1960s.
She was a symbol of resistance against the vile Argentinean junta of the 1970s, a truly beautiful woman.
If you've not heard the song or Mercedes go and buy it.
Gracias a la Vida que me ha dado tanto
me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto,
asi yo distingo dicha de quebranto
los dos materiales que forman mi canto
y el canto de ustedes que es el mismo canto
y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto.
Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me laughter and it gave me longing.
With them I distinguish happiness and pain—
The two materials from which my songs are formed,
And your song, as well, which is the same song.
And everyone's song, which is my own song. Tories and the Minimum Wage Sunday, October 18th, 2009 - 12:02 am
My condolences to David Wilshire MP who was apparently working "dangerously close to minimum wage".
Let me get this right MPs are paid nigh on £65K and the Minimum Wage is £5.80/hour which ironically he voted against, TWICE.
And he had the gall to pay out over £100,000 to his own company, nothing untoward there then!
Good riddance to bad rubbish. A bit of cheer - Happy Diwali Saturday, October 17th, 2009 - 2:23 am
Happy Diwali to all my Sikh and Hindu friends.
As the nights draw in this time of year it's nice to celebrate a "festival of lights", celebrating the pure, infinite, and eternal.
I shall be out for some pista barfi and laddoo and a nice cup of tea at some friends later on today.
Don't worry, I'll take some sweets round as well. A Double Dose of Depression Saturday, October 17th, 2009 - 1:11 am
Just when you thought the US was "post-racial" having elected Obama, along comes Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Louisiana who has refused to marry a couple of different ethnicities.
What's even more shocking is that this is not his first refusal, but his FIFTH, and the authorities have done nothing about it.
Okay the man's an idiot and a racist, but he should not be allowed to be an idiot and a racist on the public purse. Instead, he should be sacked and the prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
When I taught a course on the American Civil Rights movement, I drew my students' attention to Loving v. Virginia (1967), where the Supreme Court unanimously declared the Commonwealth of Virginia's "Racial Integrity Act of 1924", unconstitutional, so ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage.
However, I did have to laugh at his comment that he had, "piles of black friends [who] come to my home [and] use my bathroom". If I was him I'd check to see that they didn't take a dump anywhere else. "shadowed by dark appetites" - an apt description of the Daily "Hate" Mail Saturday, October 17th, 2009 - 12:17 am
The quote was unwittingly provided by one of their own columnists in an article about the premature death of singer Stephen Gately.
It's sometimes jaw-droppingly astonishing what utter bile some journalists are willing to write for their ill-earned thirty pieces of silver.
Well done Ms Moir, I hope you sleep well tonight knowing that you've brought just a little bit more darkness and pain into the grieving lives of the friends and family of Stephen Gately. Start formal schooling at six Friday, October 16th, 2009 - 1:14 am
Just read the pre-pub for the Cambridge Primary Review, looking at primary education in England, thus far fascinating and something that I concur with whole-heartedly.
The report sets out an analysis of the problems and recommends:
* Delaying formal lessons until after a child turns six, to allow them to focus on play-based learning. The government currently plans to bring forward the school starting age from five to four.
* Scrapping Sats and league tables and replacing them with teacher assessments in a wider range of subjects than just the 3Rs, to encourage primaries to focus on the broader curriculum.
* Reviewing the system of general primary teachers to introduce more specialist teachers in history, music, and languages. Funding should be increased to match that spent in secondaries on extra staffing. Teachers should have two years post-graduate training, instead of one.
As a parent and school governor I think it's barmy that our children start school so young. When I was working on mainland Europe children did not start formal learning until they were six, and not only did they not seem to visibly suffer in the overwhelming number of cases they flourished.
I hope that the government start to take the recommendations seriously and start a national debate on primary schooling.
How ironic that in Black History month, official figures released by the Charted Institute of Personnel and Development show that shockingly almost one in five black men are out of work.
It is clear that the recession has affected ALL communities, with ethnic minorities among the hardest hit. It is vital that those out of work are given the support they need at an early stage. Those in high-risk employment groups should be offered in-depth training through paid internships and adult apprenticeships to make sure that they do not fall through the cracks.
If the Government does not act now we could be left with a generation of jobless young black men.
We Lib Dems recently published ‘A lifeboat for a lost generation’ with proposals to plug the joblessness gap. Some of the innovative proposals are:
* Introducing a new Paid Internship scheme, until the end of 2010, with a total of 800,000 places, where young people would be able to work for up to three months with any employer, without cost to the employer. Each intern would be paid a new Training Allowance of £55 per week, with employers required to give help with CV writing and offer time off to look for a job.
* Funding 10,000 more university places and 50,000 more college-based Foundation Degree places this year.
* Fully funding adult apprenticeships to give more young people access to vocational training in the workplace and improve their skills
* Introducing a new ‘90 day promise’ after three months unemployment, instead of the current 10 months, to make available a place in work, training, education, or an internship. A day of anniversaries! Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 - 3:05 am
Rank these events in order of importance!!!
1066 – Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings wherein the forces of William the Conqueror defeat the English army and kill Harold II of England.
1322 – Robert the Bruce defeats Edward II of England at Byland, forcing him to accept Scotland's independence.
1926 – Winnie-the-Pooh published.
I think it'd have to be the last one :) Sleepwalking to an armed Police Force? Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 - 2:50 am
Chris Huhne, Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary, has found that Police officers in England and Wales fired Tasers at children 18 times in the 12 months to March 2009, and a further 82 children were ‘exposed to the use of Taser’.
Given the serious concerns about the safety of Tasers, which have killed more than 300 people in the US, they should not be used on children. We must not sleepwalk towards fully-armed, US-style policing. Roll up! Roll up! Get your assets while you can... Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 - 1:00 am
So Labour is to emulate the Tories of the 1980s and planning to sell £16bn worth of assets to try to shore up public finances.
Hmmm... it may well be that the sale of some assets, like the Tote, is a sensible thing to do. However, now is not the time, because markets are very depressed, and as the experience of Qinetiq and other sales go to prove, the government always seem to sell off at the wrong time. Hertha Mueller's Nobel Prize Sunday, October 11th, 2009 - 12:19 am
"When we don't speak, we become unbearable, and when we do we make fools of ourselves".
I read this from The Land of Green Plums by Hertha Mueller when I was in Slovakia in the mid-1990s when a Hungarian-born student of mine gave me a copy.
It's a fantastic book, and well worth reading.
What's fabulous is that she completes a hat-trick of women Laureates winning the Literature Prize coming after Doris Lessing last year and Marie Gustave Le Clezio. Nobel Laureate Obama? Friday, October 9th, 2009 - 3:27 pm
I know the argument that he has radically changed the political landscape of the United States, but surely it is far too early to bestow tis honour so soon in to his presidency.
How about this for a radical solution, refuse to accept and instead offer it to former hostage Ingrid Betancourt and Colombian peace-broker Piedad Cordoba. Viva Che! Friday, October 9th, 2009 - 12:18 am
Today is the anniversary of the murder of Che Guevara by the Bolivian Army in 1967.
Contrary to the official line at the time, he had not been killed in battle but captured and executed the following day.
His body was buried in an unmarked grave and his remains were not found until 1997, when they were returned to Cuba.
When my wife and I went to Cuba for our honeymoon, we had the opportunity to visit his mausoleum in Santa Clara. Complete this set, Moses, Martin Luther King, and... David Cameron? Friday, October 9th, 2009 - 12:07 am
How presumptuous of David Cameron to compare himself to Dr Martin Luther King and Moses.
The former went up Mount Sinai but never entered the Promised Land, and Dr King famously said, "And He[God]'s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
David Cameron: "There is a steep climb ahead... The view from the summit will be worth it".
On the fiftieth anniversary of Harold Macmillan's general election victory who famously said "that the class war is obsolete". For the Tories to try to be seen as the champions of the poor is equally delusional and really sticks in the craw. National Poetry Day Thursday, October 8th, 2009 - 11:30 pm
I couldn't let today go past without a mention of my favourite poem, Ozymandias by Shelley.
The final lines are:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away. We're all in it together... NOT! Thursday, October 8th, 2009 - 1:23 am
Is there something nauseating about a braying yahoo millionaire repeating ad nauseam that he is feeling your pain?
Where does George Osborne, and the rest of the Tory Shadow Cabinet, get off thinking that a pay cut for 80% of public sector workers is the same as the abolition of inheritance tax below £1m.
Intellectual bankruptcy or moral turpitude? General Dannatt a "political gimmick"? Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 - 8:43 pm
I've always felt uneasy about civil servants becoming too politicised and the Tories' latest announcement does not bode too well.
There are already clear guidelines about the movement of politicians into the private sector, I always think they could be tightened up, so that they do not benefit from the knowledge, experience, and contacts they have made in public office.
This does not always work as well as it should, viz Ken Clark at BAT, Bernard Ingham and BNFL, etc.
The Dannat affair, diminishes him in my eyes, because I cannot help but go back over what he has said over the past few months and wonder whether he has been saying it as a military man or as a potential Tory member of the House of Lords.
This is not how we should conduct politics, we need clear water between the professionality of the armed forces and the day-to-day machinations of Westminster. Tory pension plans are sheer folly Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 - 5:04 pm
The Tories' claim that they would save billions by moving the male retirement age from 65 to 66. This is sheer nonsense.
It is simply impossible for the Tories to save £13bn a year by raising the state pension age for men alone.
"Boy George" Osborne’s plans would require the pension age for women to increase each year until 2016.
The Tories are living in the 1950s, and still seem to think that as long as women have husbands they don’t need to worry about their pensions.
These "Hooray Henrys" must come clean or risk leaving every woman in the country in a pensions limbo. Who's zori now? Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 - 12:49 am
Zori are flat and thonged traditional Japanese sandals made of rice straw, cloth, lacquered wood. They first appeared in the US around World War II and in Europe a little later usually as rubber imitations of the wooden thong sandals long worn in Japan.
I have long accused the Tories of being good on sound bites and poor on policy.
Today comes news of their position on the Lisbon Treaty. Or rather the lack of a position.
BoJo wants a referendum, and now! just so that Blair can't be President.
Eighty percent of the party want a refrendum so they can say NO!
Ken Clark realises it's practically pointless now the Irish have voted overwhelmingly for.
Cameron and co. are now desperately hoping they can pressure the Czechs and the Poles to delay ratification until the general election.
What a shambles! Their one tactic, no strategy is to be vague, and if you can't be vague be vicious, viz. taking £25 of those on disability benefits. No mention of bankers' bonuses though, quel surprise!
Oh, and the zori? That's Japanese for flip-flops! Wikio standing Monday, October 5th, 2009 - 12:10 pm
Apparently October's standing by Wikio is out and my blog has moved up a few spots, more than 500 in fact, to 1027.
Thanks everyone for reading.
More posing and posturing from the Tories on the economy, rather than tackling unemployment Monday, October 5th, 2009 - 11:30 am
The Tories' central assumption, that unemployment is simply about the workshy not applying for jobs, would be laughably ridiculous were it not so dangerous and a foretaste of things to come should they be elected.
There are many parts of the country now where there are already 100 people applying for every vacancy. So forcing more single parents and people with health problems to apply for the same jobs is far more about pleasing the Daily Mail rather than about tackling unemployment. Sputnik Sunday, October 4th, 2009 - 10:56 pm
Forty-two years ago today, the Space Age officially began with the launch of Spunik 1 from the Baikonur Spacedrome making the Soviet Union the first space power.
My dad used to tell me with amazement how as a young man in Iran late that night round a friend's house, who was a radio ham, they were absolutely transfixed by the "Beep-beep-beep" signals they were picking up.
Truly astonishing, what we humans can do if we put our hearts, minds, and passion to achieve. Wikio Ranking Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 - 5:30 pm
I was told to put this on my blog by may colleague Roger, which shows my blog ranking for September (1545). He says it's pretty good and I believe him.
Tories and their dimwitted "Chums" Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 - 5:01 pm
As the Tory party conference kicks off tomorrow it is truly sickening that they have invited Michal Kaminski and Roberts Zile to address them.
The former is the Polish leader of the Conservatives' caucus in the European parliament, who has an antisemitic and neo-Nazi past, the latter is the leader of the Latvian For Fatherland and Freedom party who celebrated Hitler's Waffen-SS.
If the Tories had any sense of decency they would withdraw the invitation and cancel their credentials, especially on a day such as this, see my previous posting. Marek Edelman RIP Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 - 4:40 pm
Sad to hear of the death of Marek Edelman leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
"The Ghetto Fights", his account of how in April 1943 a few hundred young Jews decided to take up arms against the occupying Nazis, choosing to fight rather than face death in the "Final Solution", is a truly remarkable story of courage against impossible odds.
Whenever, people ask the question "Why didn't the Jews fight back?" tell them to read this book.
The world has lost a truly remarkable man. Cameron's Tories: not liberal, not progressive, and not fit for government Friday, October 2nd, 2009 - 6:51 pm
Next week sees the Tory Party conference in Manchester, voters should not be fooled into thinking they have changed their spots since they were last in government.
They are not liberal, not progressive, and not fit for government.
They are not liberal, Cameron voted to retain Section 28, they would scrap the Human Rights Act, and ‘Liberal’ is still a term of abuse for the Tories, frontbencher Jeremy Hunt recently attacked the BBC for having a ‘liberal bias’.
They are not progressive, Cameron would cut taxes for millionaires, at a cost of £4.4bn, while doing nothing to help low earners. 40% of children in poverty live in one-parent households, yet the Tories’ tax credit reform proposals will only help couples while doing nothing for single parents.
They are not fit for government, economically illiterate, Cameron and Osborne would cut before, not after an economic recovery, risking plunging UK back into recession. They are fiscally incompetent, six unfunded pledges leave a black hole of £53bn in Tory plans according to Treasury estimates; by contrast, Cameron’s recent ‘salad’ speech on cutting costs set out just £120m of savings. Cameron’s foreign policy would leave the UK isolated on the lunatic fringe of Europe, less safe from terrorism, and international crime. Cameron’s claim that he would fix broken politics rings hollow in the light of his refusal to punish George Osborne for ‘flipping’ his second home, a move by which the Shadow Chancellor made himself £55,000.
We Liberal Democrats believe in social justice, we believe in a fairer, freer, kinder, gentler society. We do not believe that Britain is broken, and would not use that as an excuse to attack the weakest and those most in need in our society. Nationwide problems in out-of-hours GP care Friday, October 2nd, 2009 - 10:39 am
The Care Quality Commission has finished a report into the ‘nationwide problems’ in out-of-hours GP care.
It is clear that there is an urgent need to improve how the out-of-hours care system works. The Government’s neglect in this area has already led to the tragic deaths of patients that could have been prevented.
That so many Trusts are washing their hands of responsibility for providing round-the-clock care is a disgrace.
A trusted out-of-hours service is vital for patients. The current system is not working and this puts huge pressure on hospital A&E departments.
The Government created this problem when it rolled out a poorly designed GP contract without a system of out-of-hours care that people could trust. Longest ever Council meeting! Friday, October 2nd, 2009 - 10:32 am
Sat through an ill-tempered and frankly dire council meeting last night, it lasted more five-hours, and in the end it seems that everyone fell out with everyone else.
What I found depressing is that we had the Tories in our sights and didn't take the opportunity to inflict some damage on them, metaphorically rather than literally that is.
Sometimes I despair. Happy Birthday China Thursday, October 1st, 2009 - 1:29 am
Following the Chinese Civil War and the victory of Communist forces under Mao Zedong's over the Guomindang forces of General Jiang Jieshi, who fled to Taiwan, Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
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