Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

You can't argue with the role of Milburn if it all goes well as it will be virtually impossible for Labour to argue that any improvement was down to blips in the figures if effectively one of their number has validated trends to improve social mobility.

My worry is that that was a brave decision but the economic cuts and continuing uncertainty over the future due to issues like sovereign debt and so on mean that we probably won't see any improvement for some time.

So in fact there may, despite everybody's genuine desire to see improvement, be little change for some time.

But the very, very good thing about this move was that the more Croquet Prescott the champion of working people and banks moves to the fore the better that must be for the coalition as I am not sure people believe him that much these days.

I think in his view people should "get with the program" and stick to traditional voting patterns and forget about how much the lack of social mobility changed in thirteen years and also recall what Iraq and the economic crash had to do with Labour and meanwhile those Bullingdon boys should keep their toys off his lawn of social justice as they have no right there.

You would hope that most people from all backgrounds would see such notions as tosh.

There is where we come from and there is where we are going.

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Blair pence/Penance

The Royal British Legion is an Excellent Organisation

Parliment is not..Lament

Once I've finished with the cut-n-paste from the Huffington post, there's nothing I like better at the end of the day, is to go sit on a bus..any bus and read books about the holocaust and shout at the passengers whilst sucking on werthers orignals. Key words of the day. Nazi, national socialism, jaded jean and the BNP.

On Iraq I would have thought the bigger question is would the UN allow the US to walk away if there was an impending calamity and if they did and there was a calamity would that become a huge stain on the US reputation?

Its very tricky as Iraq as a sovereign state has to be allowed to work out its own course and that means the US taking its oar out of the mix to a large extent.

With al Qaeda still present, Shiite Iran on one border and also Turkey eying up the possibility of a Kurdistan on its border means that there are some very tricky hurdles to clear before they become genuinely stable.

I wonder whether wealth is now flowing more freely and evenly in Iraq and whether ironically that may become the simple factor that provides stability.

But then the NN report seemed to imply that money is not flowing where it should as loyal militias like the old al Qaeda allies were not getting paid and that is a worry.

An interesting peice by Robert Reich in the HuffPost on the Chinese economy and the implicit mechanism that sees their workers stay cheap so that China can export:

"The answer is not simply more labor agitation in China or an upward revaluation of China's currency relative to the dollar. The problem is bigger. All over the world, we're witnessing a growing gap between production and consumption, while the environment continues to degrade. The Chinese machine is fast heading for a breakdown only because it's growing fastest."

There is growing complexity in globalisation and the current post-credit bust woes combined with potential future sovereign debt calamity so you have to hope that the US recovers before any potential China economic crisis.

What with China owning so much US debt I wonder what impacts that will have - should it happen?

There are those who rant on about impending multicutural strife in much the same way Powell ranted on about Rivers Of Blood fifty years or so ago.

Yet it never actually happens does it ..... could they actually be talking total rubbish?

Looks like Israel IS going to go into war with Iran in 8 days!

and so the fellow travellers, the fifth columnists, the also rans, piled aboard the gravytrain that was new Labour, the Neil Kinnocks despised the ermine but took it in the end, who hung on to the coat tails of the Left and then ditched every principle when they got to power status, the Milburns, the Frank Fields all dipping their feet into the warm waters of corporate elitism whilst in office....for 'something to fall back on' if it all goes pear shaped...as it did, how could it go on? JP despised for a lifetime the institution that is the House of Lords...and then joins it...cos the missus told him to, so she could put on a dress or two...these are the class warriors that reduce public life to seediness beyond the pale...where a principle can be surrendered for a ministerial car.....how grubby...how pathetic....

As there is much talk on these pages about big money, wills and so on and I've just realised that in connection with the issue, there is a kind of linguistic similarity between English and Polish, in the the use of the word 'fat', I've decided to post this.

In the Saxon world there is talk of fat cats while in the country of my birth it is fat money/millions/billions that's in use.

#10 addendum

On a few occasions, at Westminster itself during PMQ questions before the change of government, as well in another public place, there was talk of national treasures, though I don't think it was necessarily anything to do with 'fat dosh'.

INTEGRITY (#9)

MPs don't get it - haven't got it - integrity.

Integrity, to Westminster, is like sunlight to vampires, trolls and the like. Hence the screening (by proxy parties) of all aspiring MPs, to rule out any chance that integrity might get in there.

As I say, ad nauseam (and for which I apologise) until we dismantle Westminster and disinfect it's ethos, the political game will continue - played by very inferior specimens of humanity - and Britain's decline will continue. They enjoy the game - we are pawns. How refreshing it would be if 'our Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ' could confront the players in those terms. Sadly, media are also players.

equality is not the highest idea of the mind. Equality is a parasite that sucks out thinking.

Equality leads to ludicrous situations that in effect end up in human sacrifice.

7 ..impending multicutural strife ..Yet it never actually happens does it..

so why are we now spending billions on internal security? what is the threat level? When will it go to 'normal'? Never?

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#14

Money well spent, jaunty, to preserve normality. Though the question remains about 'normality of some of the NN bloggers.

#15 addendum

Even extraordinary and outstanding can be normal.

THE FAKE'S PROGRESS (another go at #14)

I read (so it must be true) that Tony's millions are hidden in a monetary labyrinth that would gladden the heart of an elusive terrorist, such that their extent cannot be measured. That being so, he could surely have made his donation covertly (the Christian way) avoiding the 'blood-money' finger pointing?

And while on the subject: I still assert this move (paying to charity) is to ensure sales of the book are not derisory - saving face rather than assuaging guilt.

...now it's only 3 days left for Israel to attack Iran, because Obama won't do it....

#15

Unless, jaunty, I misinterpret the 'security' in this case.

SCHOOL BAPTISES - PRISON CONFIRMS

There is a threshold in life, above which we can prosper, below which we are mostly doomed. School is not geared to uplift the dross (it is in love with achievement) so they sink. Those who sink low enough end up in prison, and are damned.

Politicians, by virtue of their 'success' show a lack of connectedness with the pits. Their pit of choice is of a very different order.

Until school is a place of philosophical nurture, and uplift of the 'bottom spit', it will only ever baptise them, with alien educational fire, for nihilism and crime.

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WHY NOT HAVE 'TRAFFIC LIGHT' LABELS ON BOOZE AND FAGS?

One for 'POISON FACTOR' and a second for 'ADDICTIVENESS'?

Has caring Nick said anything about closing all those bars in Westminster yet?

A user is A USER, whatever the drug.

WHO WOULD ANSWER AN AD LIKE THIS? (#21 link - a UK echo)

Candidate for MP required. Must be able to support, or attack, any proposition, without genuine espousal - but with palpable conviction.

Must have trick of picking up any brief, without aptitude, and presenting it with synthetic zeal and passion, then dropping it to do the same in an entirely different discipline.

Should be able to lie, obfuscate and dissemble with apparent sincerity; answer questions with questions or with words that might sound like an answer; reply with so many words that the question is buried or time is consumed, and media interrogators outplayed.

Must put party leader above all; party above constituency, and ambition above scruple. No relevant experience or qualification required. Amorality an advantage

I would just like to thank the moderator for letting link at 21 pass their hoop and fire obstacle course. The late great George Carlin don't normally get an airing on anything Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Who said that the 'truth will set you free'? Well done that moderator, you've just picked up some favourable karma points.

Not sure whats on Newsnight tonight -not glanced the top of page just yet - but I'm sure there will be a crook or two, bent Govts, wars, and general misery all round. Can we not have some good news please, especially since the economy is about to crash and we are all gonna die of starvation or nuclear war clouds any time soon. Okey, just checked and steve smith is on, he's always good..and I can hear the Warkster as the show starts..bonus!

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING (#21)

Thanks Bro for the #21 link - now gone. I am not a great fan of swearing for effect, but the substance of that piece far outweighed Newsnight's magical roundabout. Why did NN not do a vox pop on Tony? No - the swearing would have been worse.

Write a book and have your publisher sell said book at a high price. He makes a big profit, you, as author make some money. You then donate your earnings to charity and get a nice big tax concession (see below). Your publisher is happy, you are happy.

The publishing business as part of the media business is a big money-go-round, like art. You just have to know the right people to be a celebrity.


air-could-save-pound-23m-tax-on-british-legion-donation.do

Anybody inquisitive enough to find out what #21 was all about go into YouTube and search George Carlin " The American Dream "

"no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status, nor does anyone know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence, strength, and the like. I shall even assume that the parties do not know their conceptions of the good or their special psychological propensities. The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance."

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971)

thegangofone - can you not see how this has gone terribly wrong?

Can you not see how liberalism as anarchism became nihilism? Can you not see that instead of benefiting the disadvantaged, liberalism has ended up as an open season upon the disadvantaged? If not, maybe you are not looking very carefully, as many of us can. The idea was that all might have benefited through redistribution of wealth (e.g. via debt) so long as it operated from "the original position". But like meritocracy, the hidden hand of the markets mainly served those who profited from exploiting/indebting the disadvantaged, and in the end will probably destroy them too.

NOT YET EXTINCT THEN (#25 link)

Dr Sallie Baliunas demonstrates the type of mind required if governance (not to mention science) is ever to function to universal benefit. No dogma, no party claptrap, no feminism, just rationality with humanity and humour. Thanks Bro - I won't hold my breath.

PS The contrast with Al Gore is painfully tragic.

#29

You seem to confuse the natural order of things. First one writes a readable book which gets widely known by either word of mouth or indeed through the media, and then one becomes a celebrity, if one hasn't become famous through some other means, like an interesting journalist or a politician, for example. Knowing people is not enough. One has to have something viable, if not outstanding to offer first. Though, it must be admitted that there are celebrities and celebrities. Madonna has made a name for herself in a rather different way than Paxo or Blair, for example, while obviously Blair and Jeremy are worlds apart not only career wise but also the subject matter of their books. Apart from 'Fly Fishing', and then again to a very limited degree, Paxo never writes about himself.

Can i add to my original list of who maybe/were on NN tonight:
A mediocre hypocritical Labour leadership wannabe MP.

Ah well, it was good whilst it was up. Sorry Brossen. I may have drawn attention to your link at 21. It would appear he yanked your link like a naughty dog. I take back what i said about the Mod; they won't be winning the lottery any time soon for this shameful act of censor.

This post won't see the light of day but may prick the conscience of our mod/s. Maybe some good can come from it. Just wondering, is there a good Mod/mean Mod thing going on here? maybe there's 3 Mods doing 8hr shifts on here. 3 very different Mods. One is a conservative minded, more mature and more mindful of whats really going on in the world. Another could be an IT wannabe and is just inbetween jobs. Could the 3rd mod, and working the late shift be a socialist Lib and still living at home with the parents...like I say, just wondering!

Mistress76uk

There's somebody else who loves Paxo and an honest one, it seems:



Do you think it's the lady out of the team? After all, one never knows who is who this day and age.

#33

There could be a 4th Mod though, don't you think, weavesey?

By the way, is your name anything to do with opportunistic wheeling and dealing?

Re: 'security questions'

Here's one -

There has been a lot of talk of little Nazi Adolf here. There has been research done regarding Hitler's behaviour during the First World War with the conclusion that as a soldier who was just about good for nothing, i.e. a lazy coward and a pig.

Here's some info about the book about the psychologically pathetic murderer:

#37

I should have said 'murderer and manipulator'. That was little Adolf for you.

At #37 I talked about Hitler's cowardice and other inadequacies when serving as a soldier in the First World War. I got the info from one of the Polish websites who in turn learned about these details from the book by Thomas Weber:

@ Mim #34 - that rocks!Thanks for that :o)

32 mimpromptu "You seem to confuse the natural order of things. First one writes a readable book which gets widely known by either word of mouth or indeed through the media, and then one becomes a celebrity, if one hasn't become famous through some other means, like an interesting journalist or a politician, for example. Knowing people is not enough."

Do I? Is that really how it works mimpromptu, or is that how you've been told that it works by those promoting freedom and choice i.e consumerism? What if what most people believe is fabricated by marketing/public relations departments to sell product? Look back over the decades to see all the peculiar fads which today's people don't want anymore because they're not desirable, i.e no longer promoted by the marketing machine.

That's really what's done you know. The public doesn't really decide what's desirable/fashionable, publicity people, e.g. publishers do.
Democracy for most is just marketing, money making.

#41

Sure, there are some 'products' and celebs popular one day, gone tomorrow but I wouldn't call Paxo's books, for example, as mere marketing 'products' while you obviously do.

What's wrong with earning money for a job well done,anyway?

Plus, democracy is the only system I wish to live in, tb01.