Re-re-re-rebuttal and Treasury spin

Benedict Brogan has an interesting article on the Tory announcement of Taxes on non-doms (I assume this is not a comment on their sexual preferences) and how it has been costed. Apparently Labour has gone into "berserk" mode spraying out allegations and trotting out the usual "black hole" stories. This of course is to be expected with any tax changes to be proposed by the Tories, particularly those that catch Labour off guard and exposed after their promises to sort this out.

However the big question is right at the end of the article when Benedict says he has in his inbox a press release from Labour Party Press Office, , in which Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, claims:

"Today George Osborne made a £3.5 billion tax commitment. Treasury analysis shows it is impossible for him to raise the money he needs to pay for this commitment from his proposals on residence and domicile. Initial costings by the Treasury show that George Osborne's proposal would raise a maximum of £650m, leaving George Osborne at least £2.9 billion short. So George Osborne cannot afford the promises he is making. He cannot afford to cut inheritance tax."

Benedict then goes onto say

The italics are mine, but I look forward to hearing from the Treasury tomorrow why exactly its civil servants and this Government department are doing party political work to undermine another political party's conference.

All taxpayers will be waiting with bated breath to see how Mr Darling spins this one. I assume he will say something along the lines that we have already looked at this and rejected it etc etc.

Benedict Brogan's political blog

Snap election 'will cause chaos'

Apparently the AEA chief executive John Turner told Scotland on Sunday he had directly warned the Government and was 'fearful' of an administrative crisis should Brown press ahead with a general election as early as November.

Concerns centre on the problematic postal voting system, which continues to place election officers under a huge burden. The AEA has called on the Government to change the law to extend the time limit between the dissolution of parliament and an election by at least another five working days to 22 days.

The AEA is also warning that some people will be unable to vote or to receive a postal vote because the new electoral roll is not published until December 1.

There was also concern that anti-fraud laws introduced in England and Wales in May would not come into force in Scotland until next year. The laws, introduced after a High Court judge ruled that the vote-rigging in Birmingham's 2004 elections would have "shamed a banana republic", aim to make postal voting more secure by making electors provide their signature and date of birth.

I assume that Douglas Alexander will not be in charge of the printing of Ballot Papers if there is an election as he made a bit of a cock-up of it last time as well as losing the election for Labour.

Scotsman.com News - Snap election 'will cause chaos'

Immigration - Stirring by the Independent

I see the Independent on Sunday is trying to stir up a race row for the Tory party by saying that an interview made by Sayeeda Warsi, the shadow community cohesion minister, threatens to fuel the already highly charged debate about immigration by arguing that it has been "out of control".

Now I wonder who has stirred up the immigration debate recently with his "British Jobs for British Workers" and other trite sayings designed to appeal to the likely BNP voter.

Looking more closely at Sayeeda's apparent interview with the Independent on Sundays "journalists" we see her saying such controversial things as

"What this country has a problem with is not people of different kinds coming into this country and making a contribution, but the problem that nobody knows who is coming in, who is going out – the fact that we don't have a border police; we don't have proper checks; we don't have any idea how many people are here, who are unaccounted for," she says. "It's that lack of control and not knowing that makes people feel uneasy, not the fact that somebody of a different colour or a different religion or a different origin is coming into our country.The control of immigration impacts upon a cohesive Britain."

Apparently these views are "somewhat surprising"

as she is the daughter of immigrants herself. Her father is a former Labour-supporting mill-worker from Pakistan who, after making a fortune in the bed and mattress trade, switched his allegiance to the Tories. The lawyer, 36, who is married with a nine-year-old daughter, devoted her early career to improving race relations helping to launch Operation Black Vote in Yorkshire and sitting on various racial justice committees. So her analysis of race relations on the eve of the Tory conference cannot be dismissed as a right-wing rant.

Why should the views be surprising,. It is not racist, it is just that we carry on being silent on immigration, as it is one of those subjects that mustn't be discussed in a sensible way in these evermore sensitive days.

Each time Sayeeda Warsi makes a point in the article it is prefixed by the "journalists" view with the usual prejudicial language that attempts to destroy any sensible argument on the immigration issue.

This is the sort of "journalism" that causes people to vote for BNP rather than look for solutions within the mainstream parties as it stifles reasoned comment and debate that might sort out the problem in a sensible way.

Immigration... Immigration... Immigration: Cameron hoped to ignore it. But now it's back with a vengeance - Independent Online Edition > UK Politics

DEFRA staff to be made Redundant

In the usual show of joined up Government displayed by Gordon and his Labour Party I see that amongst those being made redundant due to cuts imposed by Gordon are members of DEFRA who are currently on secondment in Animal Health, where annual leave has already been canceled in October, as they work to contain foot and mouth and bluetongue disease.

The unions are not exactly pleased with this either, Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said:

"Making people compulsorily redundant at the same time as the department is working around the clock to contain the foot and mouth and bluetongue disease outbreaks is ridiculous and unnecessary.

"This move to compulsory redundancies raises fears that more could follow in greater numbers.

"With a civil service-wide ballot for industrial action beginning at the end of the week, the time is now for the government to intervene and offer guarantees on redundancies, pay and privatisation."

(image courtesy of the The Spine)

First compulsory civil service redundancies announced | Whitehall | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Vital Therapy Centre For Soldiers - Appeal

This is a disgrace.

The head of the army Sir Richard Dannatt is having to appeal for funds for Headley Court rehabilitation centre near Ashtead, Surrey.

What do they need this money for.
Just simple facilities that should be available to our returning wounded soldiers.

The Help for Heroes appeal is to build a full-size rehabilitation pool and re-equip the antiquated gym at the centre, where currently 180 servicemen and women are being treated as in-patients.

At present, severely disabled service personnel, many of them amputees, endure a two-and a half-hour round trip to a public pool for vital cardiovascular exercise.

Once there, they must swim alongside the paying public in what is often a very private form of therapy.

The public should not have to be asked to fund this sort of centre, it should be adequately funded by the government as part of their Covenant to our Armed Services. It is their duty to support the armed forces particularly when they have been injured during the course of their service.

Only last week I blogged on another appeal by Sir Richard for the people of this country and in particular the government to get behind our soldiers.

It is time this government accepted it responsibility and Honoured the Covenant.

To make a donation, visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk. You can also email info@helpforheroes. org.uk, or call 0845 673 1760.


Army chief launches £5m appeal to fund vital therapy centre for injured troops | the Daily Mail

The Tory of Kirkcaldy

Tim Luckhurst professor of journalism and former editor of the Scotsman points out that if Gordon Brown had been born in Kent rather than Kirkcaldy he would must likely have been a Tory.

In the article he points out that

Gordon's family were very much part of Kirkcaldy's aristocracy something his father's job would have guaranteed if Mrs Brown had not been the privately educated beneficiary of modest legacies. The family had a lot more than their neighbours.

He also had access to the network of connections that link the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Labour party. There are parts of Scotland where the established church's influence on the establishment party is more important than the C of E's cameo as the Tory party at prayer. The difference is that Scotland's establishment party is Labour and it privileges its own to undeniable effect. The reputation for nepotism that damaged it in last May's contest with the SNP is no invention.

Tim also explains why the Gordon may appeal so much the the Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre

Brown was about as fortunate as a politically ambitious young Scot could be. Forget Eton and Oxford. He had the right family, the right school, the right university and, of course, the left opinions. It is easy to understand why he appeals so powerfully to that brilliant interpreter of English middle-class prejudices, Paul Dacre. The Daily Mail chief perceives in the prime minister commitment to the values his newspaper cherishes most dearly - the values of an establishment rooted in middle-class conservatism.

This might explain why a Labour Prime Minister is stealing all the Tories policies rather than making some up for themselves.

Tim Luckhurst: The Tory of Kirkcaldy | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

This song has haunted me for over 25 years since I first heard it song by the writer Eric Bogle a Scot living in Australia.
Listen in some peace and quiet and reflect



YouTube - Eric Bogle - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Lancet condemns Brown's deep-clean proposals.

I see the Lancet has dissed Labour's deep clean proposals and a new "dress" code as yet more examples of their pandering to populism rather than listening to evidence.

Gordon Brown announced new plans to "deep clean" hospitals in his speech to the conference on Monday. Last week, the health secretary, Alan Johnson, said a new dress code would advise doctors against wearing long-sleeved coats and ties.

The Lancet, in a highly critical editorial,says that government-sponsored research had found little evidence to support wearing short sleeves.

"Disinfection of high-touch surfaces is what is needed, more so than removing visible dirt,"

it said.

"The public wants clean wards and crisp uniforms, but politicians must stop pandering to populism about hospital cleanliness and listen to the evidence.

"Brown also plans to double the number of hospital matrons, to check on ward cleaning and accost doctors wearing long sleeves. They would be better employed making sure doctors, nurses and visitors wash their hands properly, the proven way to stop hospital-acquired infections."

Another piece of Brown's Conference speech has been exposed as spin rather than fact.

Gordon Brown a "Conviction" Politician!

Lancet condemns hospital deep-clean proposals | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Alex Salmond to Unseat Gordon Brown?

Brown shows what he would like to do with Alex Salmond's testicles

I see Mr Dale is suggesting that there are serious discussions ongoing within the SNP about putting Alex Salmond against the Clunker in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath if a general election is called soon.

Whilst I can see Iain's point about it being not a good idea for Alex as it would demean his role as Scotland's First Minister I think it would definitely be fun to watch this one play out.

With the best will in the world it is unlikely that Alex could overturn Gordon's majority of over 18,000 but if he did it would present Labour with a bigger problem than when they voted in Michael Foot.

Nothing is certain in Politics and there is in my opinion a strong swing in Scotland against the Labour Party and Gordon Brown in particular.

Iain Dale's Diary: Alex Salmond to Unseat Gordon Brown?

Commando

Just finished watching the second part of this series on The Royal Marines training. Well worth viewing.

ITV describes it as follows

In Commando: On the front line, director Chris Terrill provides an insight into the making of a Royal Marine Commando and, for the first time, follows the recruits onto the front line in Afghanistan

I was lucky enough to visit the RM training base at Lympstone last year along with my kids whilst they were filming some of this series.

You can also catch up with the series here.

Labour MPs in Scotland want to keep their Jobs

Despite all the predictions about a general election in October or maybe November or maybe not, it seems that Labour MP's in Scotland do not want to have their trotters removed from the Westminster trough.

They have been polled and are against an election this year by margin of 2-to-1 despite the polls that show Labour doing well after Clunkers speech in Bournemouth.

Their worries, as told to the BBC, appear to be to be with the weather rather than any thought they might lose their seats, of course the fact they just got beaten in Scotland by the SNP has nothing to do with it.

Apparently Jim Devine was one of those against the election saying

"I remember the last October election in 1974. It is cold, it is dark, we are liable to have a foot of snow from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth. This is not the time for an election. What's the rush? We only had an election two years ago. I think he should wait at least until next May."

My arse, in Scotland at least, I am in no doubt Labour would get the kicking they deserve losing seats to all parties.

This may well be one of the major reasons that Gordon is having to think hard about the possible election.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Scots MPs 'against snap election'

Austin Mitchell's WeBLOG :: Conference: Beta-Gamma

Austin Mitchell's WeBLOG, as he calls it, is normally good fun and tends to poke New Labour in the eye, this morning's entry is especially fun as it pokes fun at the Conference. Despite this Austin thinks the speech by Gordon was very good. A quick extract from today give a flavour of what you can expect.

The unions supinely gave up their power. They didn’t trouble the leader with votes. Conference was castrated. No bookshop. No ideas. Everything passed to the Policy Forum. Which is useless. Ruthless management of the old Stalinist style without the Blair charm.
Irrelevant The election was an elephant in the room. No minister talked about it. Everyone wanted it. Whatever Gordon decrees they’ll agree with . He’s deeply cautious. But with a strong streak of political cunning. So the song should be “Things can only get worse”. “I let my golden chances pass me by” will be the grumbling refrain if he fluffs this.

Another extract for your amusement.

When is a Constitution not a constitution? When it`s a European Constitution. Then it`s Speak no Constitution. See no Constitution. Hear no Constitution. Even though it`s more like a Constitution than, say, elephant droppings.

David Millipede says it`s elephant droppings. No need to vote on them. Just sniff.

Balls. Elephant Balls. Other governments are saying this is the essence of the Giscard Constitution. The Commission has got all it wanted. Read the proposals and see that the “Reform Treaty” is 90% of the Monster Treaty. They`re trying to fool us. Again. We promised a referendum. Let`s have it. Otherwise we`re locked in the Euro-Jail.

Of course I should like him as he represents Great Grimsby where I was born many years ago, fortunately I escaped very shortly afterwards to a better and greater place.

Austin Mitchell's WeBLOG :: Conference: Beta-Gamma

Middle class 'should choose worst schools' - Telegraph

According to Jim Knight, Minister of State (Schools and Learners) , Middle Class parents should send their kids to the worst school in the neighbourhood as the children's "privileged" and "supportive" background mean that they could succeed whatever school they go to.

What utter crap. So decent parents who bother to get off their backsides and work to provide for their families should then do the opposite of what common sense tells them and enroll their children in a school that will not give them the start they require in life.

It's like saying let's go to the market and pick the rotten food and allow someone else to get the nice food just in case they can't afford the crap.

According to Mr Knight

"I believe children from backgrounds like mine, within reason, stand a reasonable chance in whatever school."

So that's OK then they have a "reasonable" chance. I'm sorry, but for my kids, I want better than a reasonable chance. Schooling should not be a lottery.

Of course I'm sure that the rest of his mates in the Labour Government will fall into line with his thinking. Tony (where are you now) Blair obviously having picked a mediocrce school rather than sending his children to the local comprehensive.

Middle class 'should choose worst schools' - Telegraph

Gordon Brown and his ‘rehash’ speech - Times Online

Why anyone should be surprised that Brown has rehashed something as simple as a speech is beyond me. He had consistently rehashed announcements of Funding Increases as new money when it has already been announced previously.

Chris Grayling commenting on the story said:

“We all know Gordon Brown’s announcements are reheated, and now his language seems reheated too. This destroys the myth that we are seeing a Prime Minister who has given up spin. Far from being the genuine article, he is just a copycat prime minister rehashing old material from US politicians.”

Gordon Brown and his ‘rehash’ speech - Times Online

Brown's booty

Brown Grasps Invisible woman

Interesting to see that Yvonne Roberts in the Guardian's Comment is Free has a go at women who see Gordon Brown as their Messiah and are apparently rushing to vote for him.

As she says

Women voters are said not to like "confrontational politics" but this kind of cross-party camaraderie, cosying up to very strange bedfellows, makes for a creepy kind of osmosis that seems the opposite of democracy. A brief trip to Bournemouth felt like attending a sales convention for moderately successful piece of kitchen equipment whose chief attraction is that anyone can use it.

Well said. His appeal is based on drivel dressed up as policies, mostly stolen from others and dressed up as new. Indeed many of the items he spoke about in his speech were mere pipe dreams with no policy or money to back them up.

Brown called himself a "conviction" Politician, all I can say he is he should be convicted for complicity in the Iraq War, for stealing our Pension Money and for funding his Publicity Machine from Public Money amongst a raft of other charges.

As a final point Yvonne says

Perhaps, if a general election is called, Brown will produce the miracle cure for all these ills that he's been storing at the back of his Downing Street cupboard for precisely this, his special moment. Somehow I doubt it. He's a man committed to redistribution - but of the timid kind. So what precisely are these "traditional values" to which Mr Brown appeals? And why are some women so easily conned?

Some good questions that need answering and some food for thought for us all.


Brown's booty

3000 Troops Home By Christmas - Or Maybe Not

(Image courtesy of Rogue Gunner)

According to "informed defence" sources the Herald reports that 3,000 troops will be coming home from Iraq before Christmas.

I wonder if they have spoken to the opposing forces in Basra who now appear to be starting on all out war in the city and the surrounding areas. According to the Independent

A surge in violence in Basra has raised the prospect of British troops having to go back into the city if the security situation deteriorates further.
British forces, who withdrew from their last remaining base in Basra City earlier this month, remain officially in charge of security in the area and UK commanders have said that they are ready to step back in if necessary with a battlegroup, the Royal Welsh with Challenger tanks, on standby for such an eventuality.

Perhaps the withdrawal of troops from Iraq is more to do with saving money at the MOD who are being forced by the government to give troops a £140 rebate on their Council tax bills for a six month tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan.

By withdrawing early they might be able to save some of this. This rebate by the government of £140 was of course announced by them as if it was NEW money but as often occurs with Labour it is in fact OLD money just being redirected.

The money for this rebate will have to be taken from the MOD budget which is already in short supply supplying our troops with the essentials like ammunition, helicopters, clothing, armour and the likes along with other sundry items like decent housing.

Of course if you actually look at the troops who are based in Iraq and Afghanistan you'll find that few will actually get the rebate as they don't pay council tax, as such, as they don't own/rent property in the UK.

All in all another piece of Labour Spin to cover up their inadequacies.


3000 Troops Could Start Coming Home From Iraq By Christmas (from The Herald )

Effective consultation

Currently The Cabinet Office is reviewing the Government’s consultation policy. The Cabinet Office is seeking views from the widest possible range of organisations and individuals on how the Government can improve its consultation processes and would be grateful for your responses.
This consultation is just coming to the end of it's 12 week consultation period and judging by the comments available is getting a bit of panning. Not surprising considering some of the recent consultations.

It seems that consultations are not exactly what is happening. Those that do happen are poorly advertised and communicated and the results of the consultations appear to be ignored if they don't agree with what is being consulted on. Typical of some of the comments is the one below.

What is the point of stakeholder consultation? The HSE engaged consultants last year (at enormous expense) to conduct a review of gas safety. Numerous stakeholders were invited to attend and almost every recommendation has been ignored to date. Rather than implement the changes necessary and reduce regulatory burdens as it promised, it has decided to try and implement competition for CORGI instead. So unfortunately stakeholder participation only works when they you have identical views to those conducting it, otherwise your opinion (and the consultants views) will be ignored.

Recent controversial consultations have included

Planned Closure of District General Hospitals.

Nuclear Consultation: Here and here

Effective consultation: asking the right questions, asking the right people, listening to the answers : Department of Health - Consultations

Darling - Heads should Roll

I assume that since he seems to think that if Leaders of a Company should be sacked for poor performance then the same could be said of Cabinet Ministers who aren't capable of doing their jobs.

According to Reuters

Both key measures of Britain's public finances swung into deficit in August, recording their worst readings for that month since records began as corporation tax receipts fell sharply.

The Office for National Statistics said the public sector posted a net cash requirement of more than 5 billion pounds last month. That exceeded forecasts for a reading of 3.4 billion and was the biggest August deficit since monthly records began in 1984.

The government's preferred accruals-based measure of borrowing -- which is less volatile than the cash measure -- was more than 9 billion pounds. This exceeded forecasts for a reading of 6.0 billion pounds and was the highest for a month of August since records for that measure began in 1993.

Or perhaps he expects his predecessor to carry the can for this?

Labour's crass Hypocrisy at its best.

Darling hints that heads should roll over banking crisis - Independent Online Edition > UK Politics

Consultation Brown Style

Brown explains Consultation

This is taken straight from the blog of Barry Monk who is trying to save Bedford Hospital.

Update: looks like the source of this is Dr Rays Focal Spot. More details and comments on it there.

If it is true it is just yet another example of the control freak that is Gordon Brown. I shudder to think what his next subject for his Citizens Juries will be. We have already seen the farce of the Nuclear Power "Consultation" which has had the likes of Greenpeace up in arms.

Remember it is the NHS that Gordon Brown wants to make a key part of his Election Plans (October 25th?)

A medical friend has just sent me this:

Yesterday evening I had an insight into the workings of Nulabours "consultation" process on the planned closure of NHS District General Hospitals and replacement with dumbed down polyclinics.

A few weeks ago invitations to attend a public consultation were sent to consultants at our Trust. We were only given one day to reply for the meeting a few days later even though we have to give 6 weeks notice of leave because of "choose and book".

Obviously this meant that most of us could not attend but one consultant did take up the invitation.

The location of the meeting was kept secret until three days before the event and when this consultant was eventually told the location and turned up in Birmingham it turned out that medical staff were outnumbered 2:1 by laypeople specifically chosen by an agency to attend the event. The media were present and had obviously been invited to publicise the event.

The delegates were split up into groups and each allocated an electronic voting device. A "minder" was allocated to each group.

Then the stars of the show arrived: Gordon Brown, Alan Johnson and Ara Darzi.

There followed a rapid succession of questions from the podium on which the delegates were asked to vote. The minder was available to suggest the best answer if there was any doubt.

Strangely, almost all the votes were 2:1 in favour of Nulabour's policy. Even the question: "Would you prefer gynaecological surgery to be carried out in your GP practice even if it meant the closure of your DGH facility?" was answered with 2:1 in favour.

Following the "consultation" the medical delegates were told to leave but the other 2/3 of the audience were kept back and each given an envelope. My colleague was intrigued by this and managed to catch one of the "chosen ones" and ask about the contents. Each envelope contained £75 in cash!

So now the consultation is over and the results indicate there is overwhelming public and doctor support for closing down the DGHs. I can only say that the way the voting was done makes the "Blue Peter" voting fraud seem like, well, "Blue Peter".

So now you know how it works

Save Bedford Hospital

Spoiled Papers Gave Deprived Areas Less Say In May Elections (from The Herald )

Amazing news that the deprived areas managed to spoil more votes in the 2007 Scottish elections than the more well heeled areas.

Apparently 8 of the 10 constituencies with the most spoiled votes were in Glasgow, with Shettleston being the worst despite the relative youth (or perhaps because) of its population.

According to the Herald this is "astonishing news", I would say it is exactly what you would expect.

I said last night that the farce created by Douglas Alexander had likely affected proportional more of the likely Labour Voters than others and this appears to have been borne out by this report.

Spoiled Papers Gave Deprived Areas Less Say In May Elections (from The Herald )

General's attack on Home Front

General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff has said that compared to the likes of the USA and Canada we treat our serving and retired personnel shamefully. He suggests that the British people must do more to recognise and celebrate the work of the UK military, the head of the army said yesterday, warning of a "growing gulf" between the military and the nation.

This is already being seen with the government and their shabby treatment of our personnel (see Honour the Covenant) and because of the lead they have given, some of the general public, are beginning to see the personnel serving in the forces and veterans as somehow shameful, either because of the type of War they are engaged in or because of their health problems.

We must honour our Forces Personnel because they have given voluntarily their service to our country and deserve the respect and gratitude of all the people living here in freedom.

By the way the picture is of my much missed Dad when he was working on Bloodhound Missiles in the early 80's


Scotsman.com News - British armed forces - General's attack on home front

Douglas Alexander - We are ready for poll

Nice to see the esteemed Secretary of State for International Development and former Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander, in his role as Labour's Election chief, thinks that they are ready to go for an election whenever his esteemed leader has manged to summon up the courage to go the Country. Douglas is of course very pally with the clunker as he is a son of the Manse as well as being one of his chief toadies back in the early 90's.

This is of course the man who presided over the 2007 elections in Scotland, with such great effectiveness that he managed to disenfranchise over 100,00 Scots, many of them likely to have been his own supporters. Since then the SNP appear to have bolstered their position in Scotland whilst Labour have looked stunned by the defeat.

Of course, his aim may have just been to get rid of Jack McConnell, and have his sister Wendy installed as the chief Brown Toady in Scotland. If this was the case then he succeeded in his cunning plan.

Sorry just had to put up this photo again as it is such a gem!


PM's election chief: we are ready for poll | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Holocaust Denier Irving to Speak in Coventry

Following onto my last entry I see that David Irving, a noted Holocaust Denier amongst other things, will be speaking to a rally of BNP thugs and bullies at the Royal Warwicks Club, Tower Street, Coventry later this evening.

Whilst I appreciate that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I think it fair that people protest about this sort of meeting. Much better this than the kind of censorship being applied by Alisher Usmanov on other bloggers at the moment.

David Irving to Speak in Coventry | Mike Rouse

Arbeit Macht Frei

As I read through this article, I thought this was an extraordinarily good idea. As time passes we tend to erase from our memories the bad things in life and replace them with the good things. As the article says

The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.

a quote from George Santayan which appears on a plaque at Auschwitz.

I will be trying to get my children to take this visit as they have little concept nowadays of what total war is about, as it is remote to them, despite Iraq, Afghanistan and the other conflicts that have taken place in recent years.

When I was young, many years ago now, we had many reminders of both World Wars both at home and in our daily life. Our parents and grandparent had fought in or survived the wars and our teachers had often fought in the wars and brought a personal view to the history we learnt. Nowadays, veterans of the wars are few and teachers have only second-hand experience.

An experience like this may help youngsters today understand what happens in war and may just let them make a difference when they become more active in decisions that affect us all. The explanation by one of Rabbi's who lead the children in the visit of why they want people to see and hear about Auschwitz is well worth reading in this age when we prefer to hide the dirty parts of life. He states that the Holocaust is not just an atrocity against Jewish people but against difference of any kind

People ask why do we have this obsession with the Holocaust? Why can't we move on and leave it in the past? How we would love to leave it in the past. That would be the easy thing to do, but we cannot," he says. He describes the horrors which took place at Auschwitz as simply the endgame of a sustained campaign which started with pointing people out as different. A world which allowed the Holocaust to happen has also witnessed genocide in Rwanda and Darfur.

What really upset me about the article were the first 4 comments from persons who would like us to believe that the Holocaust never happened. These people are unbelievable and there denial in the face of the truth marks them out as type of person who commit this sort of crime against humanity.

Perhaps some quotes from Winston Churchill might put this in context.

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.

and also

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

and finally aimed at all those deniers out there

When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber

The Children Who Are Determined We Will Never Forget The Horror (from The Herald )

Offensive, angry and ginger

Offensive, angry and ginger,

apparently that's us, the Scotsman, according to a poll carried out by Ipsos MORi for the Scottish Executive. We are typified by Groundskeeper Willie from the Simpsons.

The report will make depressing reading for the whole of Scotland far less the Politicians who commissioned it. The report carries the disclaimer that

The views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the views of the directorate or Scottish ministers.”

You'd certainly hope so for all our sakes.

Of course who ever believed what an American said about places outside the good 'ol USA, typified by my telling a Texan in Houston that I came from Scotland and he replied,

"That's near Switzerland"

I retreated from the conversation to consult my Atlas of the World.

Offensive, angry and ginger - Simpsons' Willie defines US image of the Scot - Times Online

Liberal Politics -Jury told of 'corrupt councillor'

Apparently a man accused of murder in Aberdeen has alleged that an "unnamed" city councillor was corrupt. Now I wonder who that might be.

Perhaps these stories from a while ago might give a clue.

The story goes on - One of the defendants a Mr Carswell had said during the interview that he did not want to be taken to Aberdeen by police because he did not trust them. Mr Jackson, Carswell's lawyer continued:

"There was a lot of discussion - I am not sure if he is an Aberdeen councillor or not, I don't know who this man is."

Mr Jackson said Mr Carswell, in the interview, went into a lot of questions about whether he was involved in drugs.

"There is a long discussion about him (the unnamed councillor)and where he lives and who his girlfriend is and whether he is corrupt,"

said Mr Jackson and Det Insp Stewart agreed.

"There is discussion about his girlfriend, her name, the fact that he knows this man, the fact he is involved with prostitutes, involved with drugs, a whole discussion about this other man's involvement, I suppose. Quite serious allegations against this man."

Mr Jackson continued:

"He was perfectly willing to speak to you about this public figure in Aberdeen - I don't know him from Adam - but when you are talking to him about what you want to talk to him about he moves into 'No comment' mode at that stage?"

"Or stays completely silent,"

said Det Insp Stewart.

The story continues...

BBC NEWS | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Jury told of 'corrupt councillor'

Global Warming in Scotland

First Snow on Morvern
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

With all the talk about Global Warming going on, I give you the first snow of the Winter? for us in the depths of Aberdeenshire. This was on Tuesday morning. Thankfully it didn't last long.

Honour the Covenant - Take Action

Coming from a service family (My Father served in the RAF for 35 years) and having also married into a Service Family (Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law both having served or serving in the Royal Marines), the action being taken by the British Legion is close to my heart.

My Father and Father-in-Law were also heavily involved in SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help) after they retired and understood many of the problems that service personnel faced when they left the services either voluntarily or because of injury.

Previously I had talked about this under the title "Neglected and Let Down"

A little story from My Father-in-Law, a few days ago, shows how the Covenant is strong within the Services themselves but this seldom applies to the government.

My Father-in-Law has been very ill recently and has been amazed at the amount of contact/help he has received from comrades, both those who have kept in contact and those whom he had lost contact with during the time since he retired. Contacts have been renewed around the world and many wishes for his recovery have been received. Help has been offered both from local people and those living further afield. This culminated in a recent phone call from an old comrade Sir Steuart Pringle, former Commandant General of the Royal Marines and President of the Royal Marines Association wishing him well and reminiscing about when they had served together.

Contrast this with the government's attitude that they are quite willing to ignore their responsibilities and pay lip service to honouring the Covenant that they promise to each and every serving person.

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair between them have taken us into war in Iraq and Afghanistan with little understanding of the outcome of these decisions and the long term effects it has on people in the services.

Their attitude is that they are tools to be used and then to be disposed of as cheaply as possible.

You can all help current and ex serving personnel by supporting the British Legion campaign or volunteering for SSAFA

The Royal British Legion - Honour the Covenant - Take Action

Cot Fuzz

Twa Noddies
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

Apparently my story of a few days ago may be true!

See this story


Welcome to Toy Town™: Cot Fuzz

Twa Noddies Seeking Mr. Plod

Twa Noddies
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

The police are getting younger so I have volunteered my two eldest to become PCSO's to help my big bro' in his fight against crime.

Urban Terrorism gains ASBO

Surely a punishment greater than an ASBO should have been imposed for this piece of Urban Terrorism. Apparently

A neighbour had complained that on one day alone the Tammy Wynette track D.I.V.O.R.C.E was played 20 times.

Suggestions for a suitable punishment are welcomed. My suggestion would be an Ipod glued to her head playing The Wombles or even better perhaps Barbie Girl by Aqua.

BBC NEWS | England | West Yorkshire | Music banned for Dolly Parton fan

Environmental Terrorists?

A Labour Councillor Neil Cooney from Aberdeen has been castigated as a "racist" after calling some travellers "Environmental Vandals or Terrorists" for the mess that is left behind at unauthorised camps.

After having reading the details I can only describe this as Political Correctness gone mad or at least an attempt to move the news away from the real story which is that Councils still do not provide enough sites for travellers.

Reading from the details it appears that Mr Cooney suggested that, on some occasions, travellers were environmental vandals and on one or two occasions you could call them environmental terrorists. He also added that he had been referring to a minority of travellers who left rubbish at the sites.

Now forgive me but what exactly is wrong with that.

We have all seen the mess left behind by some questionable travellers who park at unauthorised sites and then go on to leave the area in a disgusting state with no thought for their neighbours or other members of the public. This is against the Good Neighbhour Guide used by Aberdeen Council The description of the these people as Environmental Vandals or Terrorists is quite restrained compared to what the majority of people would call these elements.

Perhaps it is the use of the word "terrorists" that is the problem, as it is now thought of as describing bombers and suchlike, but in it's original meaning it was just those who brought terror onto an audience. The audience in this case being the local population who have to put up with the mess and despoiling of a local area and normally other types of activities that some of the scrotes pass off as legitimate "businesses".

Whilst I am sure that most of the travellers are law-abiding and genuine, there is an element who are nothing but freeloaders and criminals. They camp anywhere they feel is handy and then prey on weak and the old nearby before disappearing. Their only link to genuine travellers being the type of accommodation they choose to live in. These people take advantage of laws and bye-laws which are there for genuine travellers, smear their name and desecrate the area they have camped in, the title of "Environmental Vandals or Terrorists" is well deserved.

Various groups have complained as follows:
Lib Dems

Kate Dean, the Liberal Democrat council leader, told Mr Cooney she was disappointed that "racist, xenophobic and discriminatory language" was rife in the council chamber.

Not sure what she was on about here but that's about normal for Kate as she seems to have little grasp on what goes on around her.

Then we have the Gypsy Council who added the following

Alfie Kefford, the chairman of the Gypsy Council, said Mr Cooney's remarks were "highly offensive" and called for him to be removed from office.

He said: "We are extremely angry at what this man has said and want him sacked.

"He would not be allowed to use terminology like that against any other ethnic minority, but because we are gypsies he thinks he can get away with it."

Now if Mr Cooney had attacked all gypsies as being Environmental Vandals or Terrorists then maybe he might have something here but Mr Cooney was only describing those elements who have no thought for the rest of the public. If Mr Kefford wants to be taken seriously then he needs to start admitting that there are some problems in the travelling society (as there are in most societies) and working on this. If we in fact looked at those who are causing the problems, I would bet that 99% of them having nothing to do with gypsies/travelers and are just some scrotes who have been kicked out of their council provided housing and now prey upon us from a different angle.

Then we have the Commission for Racial Equality where a spokesman said

"Travellers are an integral part of our communities and have as much right to receive services as anybody else.

"There is a great tendency to draw stereotypes on the basis of the behaviour of a minority of individuals.

"It is unacceptable to stereotype any group in this way."

Nina Giles, the director of Edinburgh and Lothians Racial Equality Council, told The Scotsman: "There were problems a few years ago in Edinburgh over sites for gypsies, but I don't remember this sort of language being used.

"It is not helpful to race relations to label a particular ethnic group like that. There is also no evidence to base the statement on."

The problem is that Mr Cooney did not "stereotype" this group of people, in fact the only one guilty of stereotyping people was the spokesperson who assumed Mr Cooney was talking about gypsies rather than the so called travellers who are causing the problem.

The real problem is that for many years councils have not provided enough spaces for travellers and so "illegal" camps have been set up, as under Scottish law, gypsy/travellers are classed as an ethnic minority and they cannot be moved from an unauthorised site if the local authority has not provided an adequate number of spaces. Why are there not enough spaces, because it is difficult and expensive to set up legal sites, so it is cheaper to have illegal sites and then clear up after the people have moved on.

Because of these loopholes some groups of so-called travellers exist, who undermine the genuine travellers, and bring the whole group under public suspicion. If these groups can be whittled out and ejected from the genuine travellers then this type of vandalism or terrorism can disappear.

The Scotsman - Scotland - Aberdeen - I'm no racist, says politician under fire over gypsy tirade

Why you should read PoliticalBetting.com

If you have to use only one site to understand Politics then Political Betting should be it. Where else do you get such gems as this comparison of Blair's government to a Porno Flick:

75. Unfortunately, I kind of agree with you. Having read the Campbell diaries, the equivalent of the Redwood stunt - getting, say, Dennis Skinner to talk about the future of coalmining - would have been squashed before it was born by Campbell, Mandelson, et al.

Where I probably depart from you is my overall analysis of the Campbell book and what it means. Yes, it’s very readable - witty and brisk - and an invaluable insight into British politics and New Labour thinking.

But it is deeply, deeply unflattering about New Labour, probably much more than Campbell realised. It is inadvertently revealing.

Blair comes across as psychotically selfish. Campbell glum and punchy. Mandelson seems insecure to the point of hospitalisation. Brown is an unpalatable figure brooding on the edges.

Their entire philosophy is to screw the Tories and make good headlines. Principles are way down the list. The atmosphere is tawdry and bleak, albeit oddly watchable. Like a cheap porn flick.

Indeed, that’s what Blair etc come across as Porno stars in the sordid skinflick of politics.

Blair is Johnny ‘the wad’ Holmes, obsessed with his manhood. Campbell is ‘King Dong’. Mandelson is Tracy Lords, constantly being shafted, and Brown is the bizarre German bloke with the weird haircut who comes in at the end for the money shot. (SeanT)

A-levels and Education

Two posts from the BBC this week that seem to show different results in our Education system in Britain.

First we have this article, Fewer teens achieve maths target, from earlier in the week which seems to show slight drops in achievement by 14 year olds in England for maths and only slight increases in English and Science. Whilst the rises/drops are only small they need to be balanced against the targets set of 85% reaching Level 5 in English and in mathematics by this year.

The BBC has looked at the story as balancing one year against the next rather than looking at the underlying problem which is that the targets are being breached by large amounts. This makes the results look better than they really are.

The opposition spokesmen caught this and pointed out the problems as follows:

Shadow Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the results confirmed Ofsted's view that half of secondary schools were performing at a level that was "not good enough". The government was being complacent. Secondary schools needed to learn lessons from the best, with a rigorous focus on better behaviour and classes organised in sets in all academic subjects so children were taught in groups of similar ability.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Stephen Williams said the government had fallen "woefully short" of its own targets. "Any progress previously made has now stalled or is even going backwards," he said. "Ministers must now say when they expect to reach their targets and what measures they will put in place to help teachers and children achieve them."

Next we have the A-Level results coming out down south today which are again supposedly going to up in number of passes and the number of passes at the highest level.

Ministers defend standards but are making changes so the exams will be challenging in future, with the very best papers getting a new A* grade. Some universities have said that exam grades are no longer sufficient for them to use to select undergraduates.

One student who is taking her A-levels said

the boom in A grades was down to students taking "much easier subjects like media studies or flower arranging" not maths, economics or history.

"There is also the fact that the soft options that are available now, were not available 40 years ago - I wonder whether the pass rate differences between now and then would be so great if there had been the opportunity for some people to study the softer options?

"As a student who has studied for three tough academic subjects I find it very disheartening when my hours of study are effectively written off as my qualifications are seemingly worthless."

How does this balance against the fact that rates of passes are stagnant or falling when pupils are fourteen?

From my own observations from the type of work my kids are doing at school I see standards are much lower, both in terms of the the level of work being done and the quality of work that is acceptable.
Much of the work appears to be aimed at reaching targets rather than reaching above that to proper understanding of concepts and the application of these. Perhaps I am being unfair as I was lucky enough to attend a school that ranked very highly in England versus a standard school in Scotland.

All hail the Queen of Scottish Labour

Apparently Clunker Brown has decreed a coronation and Labour MSP's are bending over backwards to stand aside for the chosen one to be crowned.

Alex Salmond will be laughing for some time to come.

Second chance for Wendy Alexander

Neglected and Let Down

The Guardian has a couple of interesting articles today about the armed forces and the fact that that the Military Covenant, which says soldiers should always be able to expect fair treatment in return for the rights they forgo, is not being upheld.

The first one Neglected and Let Down shows some of the actions that both the British Legion and BAFF are taking in the coming months.

The second one Care of soldiers compromised by failing army pact details some of the Broken Covenants currently being experienced by relatives and members of the Armed Forces.

The existence of a group like BAFF in itself is an indictment on the current government.

The fact that the British Legion is running a campaign like Broken Covenant should worry all of us.

Please take time to visit the website and add your signature to the petition.



We've been neglected and let down say combat troops | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Articles on Afghanistan

Some light reading on the current situation in Afghanistan, whilst our so-called Defence Minister, Des Browne is caught up in some problems nearer to home.

First an article in the Independent titled "Politicians must accept the reality on the ground"
This explores the current situation and the way reality is only slowly dawning on the government in this country that it's not going very well and they may have to get a policy and perhaps some firm goals on what they want to achieve there.

The second an article in the Guardian titled "We are making a difference in Afghanistan, insists Browne", This appears to be Des Browne saying things are slightly tougher than Labour expected (no Bullets required)

Now a few articles from the Telegraph that explore some issues on Afghanistan.
First a poke at Gordon Brown and his disinterest Tories condemn Brown's 'lack of interest'

Next an article that gets a bit more to the heart of the problem titled "Blunder, confusion and a rising death toll" which also explores the fact that the Taliban are not quite the pushover they were expected to be by our Government. It finishes with the following

It is only now, after British fatalities in Afghanistan have passed the 70 mark, that public disquiet over the way the Government has handled the Afghan issue is raising questions about whether, in these challenging circumstances, the British military has any chance of achieving its original objective of helping to restore order.

British commanders predict that it will take at least three decades, not three years, to turn Afghanistan into a fully functioning state. If the casualty rate continues at its current level it is unlikely that the British public would be prepared to tolerate so many fatalities for so little gain.

And finally to the BBC who can only provide this piece Browne defends Afghanistan role which is wonderfully short on any thoughts on the situation but does provide the following substantial quote

Mr Browne, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "What we have to do is that very difficult balancing act of making progress militarily, which we can do.

"The British can over face the Taleban in any circumstances, we can over match them rather, we can face them down and we can drive them out of communities.

"The challenge is then to be able to build those communities, local government, their links to the provincial government and to the central government in such a way that that is sustained."

You have to feel that Mr Browne has forgotten what he is talking about and is drifting back to his Scottish role and how he might like to face up to the SNP rather than a distinctly more dangerous foe

Global Warming?

Apparently we are suffering from Global Warming. Problem is this morning as I went out to the car it had ice on the roof.

This is about the first time I can remember Ice in August. However considering the summer (what summer you ask) we are having it's probably about right.


Never mind we now have two days of weather warnings from the Met Office for Heavy Rain, thankfully I managed to cut the grass last night.

Update: For an interesting, if heretical, read on Global Warming and some other thoughts have a look here.

Brown Bounce costs you 39 Billion

Apparently the "Brown Bounce" in the polls that has some of the papers frothing at the mouth over the weekend has cost you and I 39 billion pounds. That's just over over twice as much as John Redwood thought he could save businesses in a year by reducing red tape.
The Guardian says

The huge sum suggests that, as chancellor, Mr Brown was able to hold back funds and policy initiatives until Mr Blair had stood aside. In effect, this helped fund the "Brown Bounce" that has delivered a run of significant poll leads and added to the expectation of an early general election.

The new spending includes an extra £7.7bn for defence to 2011; £15bn to improve the railways; £4bn extra spending on early years education over three years, covering Sure Start centres; £8bn on increasing the availability of affordable housing; £800m on flood defences; £400mon students grants and £1.2bn on a new electronic national border system.

Also noteworthy is that much of the spending is being targeted at issues that may affect marginal seats.

Oh and did I forget to mention that much of this "extra" spending has already been announced.

The biggest problem about all this money is that it has to, somehow, be paid for by us the Taxpayer. No mention has been made yet of where this money is going to come from, this will be saved until the fine print of the 2007 comprehensive spending review, due in October, has been pored over and the "Clunking Fists" deceit is exposed as per the 10p tax rate.


Brown spends £39bn in first seven weeks in No 10 | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Browne defends Afghanistan role

I see Des Browne has been defending our role in Afghanistan, and whilst I have no problem with what we are supposed to be doing there I do have a problem with the execution of that role.

The problem, has as usual occurred, because of the standard 4 P's, Piss Poor Planning and Preparation. The government as usual have put our armed forces in a situation where they are not properly funded, manned or supported. Just less than a month ago The Commons Defence committee report said Nato must commit more troops and aid to Afghanistan if it is to establish a stable democracy. In the report MP's were careful and measured, but there is no mistaking the central message, things are going badly, alarmingly wrong in Afghanistan.

The governments hope is that they can somehow disentangle themselves from Iraq in time to help sort out Afghanistan. All this will do, will be to desert one disaster, by putting a sticking plaster on a haemorrhaging situation. Real backing from NATO and the UN is required.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Browne defends Afghanistan role

Fine threat over T-shirt slogan

Gordon Brown will no doubt be happy with this sort of story as he leads us into a society where we are only allowed to do what he thinks is correct behaviour.

Assuming this sort of T-Shirt is banned, the police should be able to clean up most days on the streets by stopping people and fining them for wearing "offensive" clothes. I assume any with the FCUK label would be banned and obviously any with pictures of Politicians on them.

Of course the real beauty of this will be ability to ensure that those people who wear "baggy pants" that hang down to their knees are suitably punished. A quick tasering and removal of said offensive items seems appropriate.



BBC NEWS | England | Cambridgeshire | Fine threat over T-shirt slogan

Prescott signs memoirs deal worth £500,000

The news that John Prescott has the ability to write has amused me.

In most of the dealings we have seen with Mr Prescott over the past 10 years, the ability to write or even speak English has been severely in doubt. His main means of communication seems to have been grunts, thumps and some rather less salubrious methods.

The fact that this odious individual, who has taken large amounts of our cash, whilst doing little in return has been able to sell his memoirs is little short of unbelievable. Unfortunately he probably does know where much of the dirt has been buried. We can only hope, that with this amount of upfront payment, we will get some sort of return on the money and he will dig a giant hole for his Labour colleagues. We certainly won't be expecting any honesty about his own personal life which has been a tissue of lies and deceit.

Perhaps this will mean a job for one of the Iraqi translators who have been left to rot in Basra. They at least might be able to make some sense of this man.



Prescott signs memoirs deal 'worth £500,000'

'Forget Iraq, think Afghanistan'

Following on from a previous post we have the attached article.
Instead, of finishing off the work in Iraq the Brownites prefer to concentrate their energy on promoting the case for Britain's continued involvement in Afghanistan, which, they argue, has a more legitimate claim to be the front line in what was not so long ago known as the war on terror.

In one quote it maybe sums up all that is wrong with Gordon Brown and his government

This radical change of tack is best epitomised by the approach taken by David Miliband, the new Foreign Secretary, in setting out his foreign policy priorities.

As he boasts in this week's Spectator, he decided that his first visit outside Europe should be to Afghanistan and Pakistan because British interests are directly under threat from the activities of terror groups operating on both sides of the 1,500-mile border between the two countries.

By contrast, the fate of Iraq seems hardly to figure in his calculations, to the extent that senior Foreign Office officials privately complain that their new boss finds it difficult to stifle a yawn whenever the subject is raised at policy briefing sessions.

Yes the bad news is rolling in so just ignore it and it will go away. How often can Labour keep doing this to us?

'Forget Iraq, think Afghanistan' - Telegraph

Gagged by the Clunking Fist

Having allowed the sailors who were captured in Iran to sell their stories the MOD is now gagging the armed services from speaking out about conditions they are serving under. The use of forums, bulletin boards and blogs to do this has been increasing in the past months as conditions and the casualty rates have been increasing.

Let us wonder who might have prompted this "modernised" policy. The great "clunking fist" of Broon seems to be the most likely source as he attempts to control the political quagmire that is Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately for him, the stories and details of what is happening there are more and more coming into the public arena, particularly from members of the armed forces who have served in the area and have returned to the UK, who are passing on details to their friends and relatives. The true extent of casualties is coming out and the conditions and problems they are encountering are becoming well known.

This attempt to gag the Armed Forces will I predict backfire as the feelings in the Services are rising. The ability to post and blog anonymously is rather easy even from Iraq. Expect an increase in blogging from this area.

Update: Also have a look at this link in the Register which has some good comments about the effectiveness of this gagging order.

Update 2: Perhaps the new rules have been put in place because the MOD army of 1000 PR personnel is not quite getting it right and "bad" stories are appearing more frequently.

Also pop along to AARSE for some more discussion on this.

MoD issues gag order on armed forces | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Fighting for Pride

This article in the Times highlights the pressures and stresses our Armed Forces are encountering while serving in Iraq, and I doubt that Afghanistan will be any better.

The whole resolve to sort out the situation has disappeared from our Political Masters who can see the mounting body count and see only one way to come out of this whilst continuing to serve at the altar of the gravy train at Westminster. They will withdraw and leave Iraq to fend for itself.

What will we have achieved during our time in Iraq.

The truth is we will have achieved nothing and made Iraq a worse place to live. We went into Iraq saying we would bring them freedom and prosperity. All we have done is watch them disappear into anarchy. The least we can do is stay there with committed Politicians and Leaders and try to ensure peace for the majority of Iraqis.

The Americans at least are trying to do this now in the Baghdad area, whilst we are withdrawing from Basra, a city where we were initially welcomed, with our tails firmly between our legs.

The price for our armed forces and the conditions in which they operate is truly appalling, but the price being paid by Iraqi citizens is even worse. We cannot just withdraw and say get on with it.



Fighting for pride as pressure mounts on beleaguered troops - Times Online

Bottom Fetish?

First blog for along time. Stand by for resumption of Blogging as the Summer hols come to an end.



This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

* crap (3x)
* fart (2x)

New Arrival

New Arrival
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

New toy for Dad has arrived!

Conor Mckay - Wikipedia

Nice to see youngster's getting involved in Politics, particularly when you know them well. Conor is the son of one of my wife's good schoolfriends and his brother Aiden, is my wife's godson.

Conor Mckay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Imperialism lives on!

Imperialism lives on!

Group claims EU imperial victory

Crap Coverage

Friday was a bit of a bad day for personal reasons I'm not going to mention, but a bit before that all happened the event mentioned happened, and I must admit I was a bit bemused at the time and wondered if I had really heard it right.

Anyway 12 hours later I remembered about it and thought it was worth mentioning as it was definitely the funniest moment I could recall in the election coverage, even surpassing watching our Jack stumble through his acceptance speech, the Arran boat saga, wondering why Ms Sturgeon should be called "Gnasher" and the debates on what Mr Eugenides should drink (A flaming anti-freeze, margarita and toilet duck cocktails with a brolly and a twist of lemon).

I thought Iain might ignore it, I would have, but he fessed up really well. As one of the comments on his blog says

I can't imagine any politician except Iain being honest enough to say 'had to answer a call of nature'.

That honesty is the main reason I look at your blog every day, Iain - though, admittedly, hearing you fart and so on was a little too much realism :)

If only these politicians had brain enough to learn that honesty is what the electorate long for. Spin and scripted presentation - even when designed to appear unscripted - are just massive turn electoral offs.

Politicians, burn your bloody scripts, forget the over-sculpted, apparatchick hair styles and personas and please, please, please speak from the heart - if you have hearts, that is.

Thanks for the moment Iain, I just don't want to dream about it again.

Iain Dale's Diary: Great Television Moments: No 94

Labour "Soor Plums"

According to the Telegraph and other sources Labour have taken the hump, a bit like their future Leader MaCavity Brown, and are apparently looking to challenge the result of the vote in Cunninghame North constituency which was won by just 49 votes by the SNP. This is the constituency which includes Arran and had a problem getting the votes delivered by boat. According to Labour

When the ballot boxes arrived they had been opened and some of the papers inside were wet.

Which is not surprising considering what they had gone through, anybody who has seen the boxes might understand why they might have been a bit battered, even if they hadn't been attacked by a golf club waving senior citizen.

Whilst this might appear to mean they would then be back in control of the Scottish Parliament, it is more likely that they would then drop one from the regional list which would go back to the SNP, which means no change in the number of MSP's for either party. The BBC has more on the story here.

If Labour does press for a review of this, they are more than likely going to open up a huge can of worms that they may prefer to leave closed, but as the columnist in the Telegraph says

... as I learnt from reporting on the murky world of Scottish politics, it pays never to underestimate the Scottish Labour party's arrogance and stupidity (a fatal combination in the affairs of a country) when it is backed into a corner. And so it is proving in Thursday's aftermath.

Continuing in the Telegraph is a litany of how the Labour Party in Scotland is having a severe sour grapes problem (should I have said soor plums). These include

• Jack McConnell stuttering and muttering about how he still wants to form a Government.
• Others saying it was just one seat so they are still within their rights to govern.

Nobody like a bad loser and this is what they are, granted that if after 50 years it is a bit of a shock to them, their supporters and their lackeys in the Scottish Media.

Any attempt to back-door a win in this election will inevitably create a huge backlash against them so let's hope they try and then fail.


Humility and guile: a plan to save the Union

Iain Dale forgets to turn off Microphone

Funniest part of the Election Coverage must go to Iain Dale at about 11ish this morning, whilst listening to the audio feed on 18DS he announced he needed to go and left his fellow announcers rather rapidly, sounds of them carrying on but in the background sound of walking , door banging and thunk, then loud, long fart and a good groan and then silence, thank god he was cut off in his prime, anyway couple of minutes later he arrives back in the studio saying he had urgent call of nature. One of the guests says "hope you turned your Mic off"

He hadn't! Priceless.

P.S. Was enjoying the coverage on 18DS before this.

Salmond's Victory in Gordon gives him the keys to Holyrood

Alex Salmond has led his party to victory in the Scottish Elections but has still to form a government in Scotland as he will have to go into coalition with other parties. It is likely to be the trough slurping Lib Dems as the major partners. I can't see the SNP managing to get into bed with any of the other parties. Even this won't be enough to give them a clear majority so it may just be a minority Government.

Alex Salmond meanwhile has claimed a great victory for himself by getting elected in Gordon. He took on a long shot and his victory gave the SNP's the seat they needed to best Labour. Anyone disputing his right to be First Minister will have a tough job.

So onwards to the Referendum. Once we have got that out of the way and rejected it, we can really find out what the Scottish Political Landscape is like, as the SNP lose their reason for existing and scatter to the other parties. Could be interesting, especially as England will be suffering under MaCavity for the next couple of years.

Hat Tip to Blue Moon on PB for pointing out the impact of the result in Gordon.

P.S. Lost in England one grumpy dour Brown bear, answers to the name of MaCavity. Known to hibernate in strange faraway places when bad news is on the go.

Salmond achieves Holyrood victory

SNP biggest party in Holyrood. McConnell Humbled

They will have 47 Lab 46. Macavity now gone into hiding in England somewhere. Will he ever come back to Scotland.

Blair's Springboard to Oblivion

Brown showing what he would do to Blair.

Whilst MaCavity Brown has been hiding in a deep dark damp place in the bowels of No 11 in case any part of this Labour Disaster might reflect on him, across at No 10 Blair appears to be living in a fantasy world where facts are mangled and fiction becomes the truth.

Despite losing 500 seats, the Tories eating into his heartlands and the SNP the biggest party and with the most MSP's in Scotland, Tony Blair has insisted Labour has a

"good springboard"

to win the next general election.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson, assessing the picture across Britain, said:

"By any conventional measure, if we look at Labour and don't think about their opponents, this is pretty dire."

BBC NEWS | Politics | Blair defiant despite poll losses