Musing

Dave Davis - defender of the free, Scunnering a speciality!

2009-10-27T23:06:00.004Z

Funnily enough Sir Iain Dale has thus far not posted the following re the Tory Candidate Liz Truss whose candidacy has been referred back to her local Committee because she did not disclose an affair she had had some while back.

Some, including Dave (2) Davis take the view that it was none of the Tory selectors' business.

I wonder if he makes any point about Ms Truss' civil liberties, as he had been wont to refer to such at the slightest provocation I recall. While propriety is in question various matters of interest arise relating to these gents. Did Davis refer to the roles of Sir Iain Dale and Derek Conway in his leadership bid a while back? I recall that Conway, who is to go at the general election because of the scandal he caused, and Davis shared a donor, and that, when this was mooted in the press Davis recalled that a letter he had written to the PM some way back had not been replied to and felt he should draw the matter to the nation's attention. Loudly. So that the matter of the donor dropped out of sight like a ring into a fire. Mr Conway no longer is referred to in WIKI in his leadership campaign role for Mr Davis..

Old chums, eh?

Lady Scotland vs Bozo Bojo .. . .

2009-09-22T17:23:00.007+01:00

I gather Chameleon and his "Cheap at any Price" Shadow Ministers are calling on Baroness Scotland

to walk . . or be sacked.

Now it was David Chameleon himself who asked fellow Bullingdon Boris Johnson to stand in the "Open Primary" London Conservatives used to select the celebrity to become their candidate in the PR stunt London's third mayoral election became.

He has the greatest faith in Bojo. Bojo has had to sack 3 Deputy Mayors for various reasons: suspected racist blethering, very big fiddle of expenses with the plod banging on the door AND . . .

Appx day 2 of Bojo's mayoralcy he took Ray Lewis on. No checks, no pack drill squire . . . When the press & etc found that he had lied about being a magistrate & etc and was suspected of financial shennanigans WHO WALKED?

Bojo still Bozo i/c my city . . . . .

Looking to recruit a Deputy Mayor to restore Red Ken would be wise . . .

Those conservative commentators who feared Bojo's example would put people off voting for "call me Dave" will likely be proved right in time.

al-Megrahi - Straw says look at the evidence

2009-08-27T06:00:00.004+01:00

Jack Straw refuses to give an opinion on the release of al-Megrahi a report in the Guardian says today because he has not seen the evidence, a factor I stressed when the Prime Minister was being criticised recently. Notable that John Prescott has supported Gordon Brown (for a change):

Straw's former ministerial colleague John Prescott said he did "not have any objection" to the decision to release Megrahi, and rallied to Brown's defence over his refusal to express an opinion on the matter.

Clowns like Clegg and Chameleon don't need the full evidence to shoot from their hips - they are tawdry propagandists, desperate not to lose public support, uninterested in right and wrong.

Straw:

"I said in a letter to Alex Salmond that the prisoner would have a right to make written representations which, for sure, is true," Straw said.
His advice to Salmond is being used by the Scottish Labour party to criticise the release of Megrahi.
Straw declined to offer an opinion on the merits of the decision on two grounds, saying he had not seen the evidence and it would be wrong for a UK minister to interfere in a Scottish decision.
"I cannot offer you a view about that decision because I have not seen the evidence," he said. I know from long experience you have to look at the evidence.
"As the Prime Minister said yesterday, this is a decision for the Scottish executive.
"Look, it is for Scots to decide their own processes. Their legal system has been different for ever. It has not just been different since 1999. It has been different since the Act of Union in 1707."

The Scots Nats have no right to cavil at the advice offered, but MacAskill used part of his statement when announcing his decision to the world to attack HMG for NOT advising him re the conditions of the trial and imprisonment of al-Megrahi.

As Straw makes clear the Scottish Executive have independence in the matter.

In days to come few but those whose mental incapacity would not have obtained mercy from GW Bush when as Texas Governor he refused mercy to the simple minded on death row will deny that the decision was correct and correctly taken.

Lockerbie case: When mercy is messy

2009-08-25T07:20:00.009+01:00

The Guardian says something feels "not quite right" so far as the "apparently" good decision to release al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. What is not quite right is the transmogrification of the Guardian's vision and mode of feeling, which has been corrupted by its Quislings.

"Goodness knows the world could use more mercy. It is a virtue that wins few plaudits in the press or politics, so there was something heartening about hearingScotland's justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, explain his decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi purely in terms of compassion. The terminally ill man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, Mr MacAskill explained to the Holyrood parliament, may have shown Scotland no mercy, but that did not free Scotland of its obligation to show some mercy to him. On the face of it this was a brave and civilising argument, and yet the seeming purity of the appeal could not dispel the feeling that something was not quite right about the decision that had been made."

It may be said that I am biased for personal reasons, but the converse is true.

In the '80s the husband of one of the leading execs of Guardian Online lost an internal, local Labour Party election to me. The lady was most upset and very angry for no terribly good reason, because I had been successful in in a similar role which her husband had not. She then took up a job at the Guardian, where she has prospered, writes avowedly feminist articles from time to time and plays a large role in running "Comment is Free."

It should also be noted that the Guardian's "moderators" who claim it is necessary to pre moderate my posts there are essentially self selecting. Small wonder that the Dully Teles and extreme left wingers also, who loathe any defence of HMG, have signed up, and exercise power there, tendentiously.

There is too much rotten in guardian.co.uk

Comment is NOT free.

al-Megrahi's statement. Contrast with Lt Calley

2009-08-24T16:14:00.003+01:00

Here is the full text of Mr Megrahi's statement, taken from the BBC News website:

I am obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last and returning to Libya, my homeland.

I would like to first of all take the opportunity to extend my gratitude to the many people of Scotland, and elsewhere, who have sent me their good wishes.

I bear no ill will to the people of Scotland; indeed, it is one of my regrets that I have been unable to experience any meaningful aspect of Scottish life, or to see your country.

To the staff in HM Prison Greenock, and before that at HM Prison Barlinnie, I wish to express thanks for the kindness that they were able to show me.

For those who assisted in my medical and nursing care; who tried to make my time here as comfortable as possible, I am of course grateful.

My legal team has worked tirelessly on my behalf; I wish to thank Advocates Margaret Scott QC, Jamie Gilchrist QC, Shelagh McCall and Martin Richardson together with the team at Taylor & Kelly, for all of their gallant efforts in my bid to clear my name.

I know they share, in no small measure, my disappointment about the abandonment of my appeal.

Many people, including the relatives of those who died in, and over, Lockerbie, are, I know, upset that my appeal has come to an end; that nothing more can be done about the circumstances surrounding the Lockerbie bombing.

I share their frustration. I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out - until my diagnosis of cancer.

To those victims' relatives who can bear to hear me say this: they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered.

To those who bear me ill will, I do not return that to you.

And, lastly, I must turn to my conviction and imprisonment.

To be incarcerated in a far off land, completely alien to my way of life and culture has been not only been a shock but also a most profound dislocation for me personally and for my whole family.

I have had many burdens to overcome during my incarceration.

I had to sit through a trial which I had been persuaded to attend on the basis that it would have been scrupulously fair.

In my second, most recent, appeal I disputed such a description.

I had to endure a verdict being issued at the conclusion of that trial which is now characterised by my lawyers, and the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, as unreasonable.

To me, and to other right thinking people back at home in Libya, and in the international community, it is nothing short of a disgrace.

As a result of my surrender, and that judgment of the Court, I had to spend over 10 years in prison.

I cannot find words in my language or yours that give proper expression to the desolation I have felt. This horrible ordeal is not ended by my return to Libya.

It may never end for me until I die. Perhaps the only liberation for me will be death.

And I say in the clearest possible terms, which I hope every person in every land will hear: all of this I have had to endure for something that I did not do.

The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction.

I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted.

The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome.

I say goodbye to Scotland and shall not return. My time here has been very unhappy and I do not leave a piece of myself. But to the country's people I offer my gratitude and best wishes.

Clegg's clumsy clogs - carthorse opposition & commentary.

2009-08-24T16:06:00.003+01:00

Clegg cannot keep out of anywhere he imagines there is an act to participate in. Desperate.

He is not alone, Martin Kettle of the Tory Guardian is another. And John Redwood, desperately trying to convince that he is more active than Chameleon.

Al-Megrahi was tried in Scottish jurisdiction, or he would not have been tried at all: had Jack Straw or Gordon Brown taken the decision from the hands of the Scot Nat Justice Minister Clegg and Kettle would have made the welkin ring, harshly.

If the Scots in whose jurisdiction al-Megrahi was incarcerated decided to exercise mercy, then, not only were they right but no-one has the right to insist otherwise. And doing what is right in the face of all sorts of American led hypocrisy , past and present, remains right. Obama, to his credit has not led the american song and dance, simply disagreed with the decision.

And there is no good reason for HMG to enter into the matter, expressing what inevitably would be different opinions. No need to form one. Quite right to support the Scottish, as they have. Fraternal.

Brown may very well await any sort of thank you from the principal scunner Salmond of course.

I hope Scots fighting in Afghanistan will make their feelings about any economic boycott known.

Tories Progressive plans for NHS Cuts

2009-08-24T05:22:00.006+01:00

As I have repeatedly suggested it is the contradictions over Health policy and much else which makes Cameron's Party losers.

It is plain that in government Hannan, Carswell and perhaps a majority of new entry MPs would be against the commitments Cameron has uttered.

Now still more tories are saying there must be cuts in the NHS, while Cameron has unequivocally insisted he would bring year on year increases.

Ergo, if elected he will be forced into resignation, as soon as there is a crisis presented in the Billionaire media in a convincing way, so that his promises are ditched with him . . . . If he can get elected, as he rightly fears he may not, according to Tim Montgomerie, who should know.

Osborne or Johnson or some more capable scunner like Hannan (pictured) would then do the Billionaires' bidding: cut expenditure on all but security, cut taxes, sell assets below market value. No pursuit of Billionaires into their tax havens. Oh, he might get to play at "localism" too . . .

Another recession . . .

My Lai apology.

2009-08-23T20:41:00.003+01:00

In view of the controversy over al-Megrahi's conviction, and release on compassionate grounds this comes as a welcome surprise:

'Speaking in a soft, sometimes laboured voice, the only US army officer convicted for the 1968 slayings of civilians at My Lai in Vietnam made an extraordinary public apology while speaking to a small group near the military base in Georgia where he went on trial.
'William Calley has always refused requests for interviews. But he broke his long silence after accepting an old friend's invitation to speak at a local community club.
' "There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai," he told members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus. "I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry." '
The Independent reports today.

America: No Mercy?

2009-08-23T09:03:00.017+01:00

The howls of protest at the decision of the Scottish Government's Justice Minister to release a convicted mass murderer dying

al-Megrahi's welcome at Tripoli

of cancer are grotesquely misguided.

It is a massive cultural difference between Great Britain and the USA that we can release prisoners on compassionate grounds,it seems that only a US President or Governor has that power there.

George Bush notoriously did not pardon the simple minded, children and those whose defences were grotesquely incompetent who were found guilty of murder but commuted the sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former Cheyney Chief of Staff found guilty of perjury and obstruction in the CIA-leak case.

Be it noted that were it not for the agreement of the UK to a Scottish Court being convened in Holland al-Mehrahi would not have been brought to trial. Having accepted Scottish jurisdiction it is unreasonable to seek to deny it when it no longer suits.

It is self evident that HMG in London have left the matter to the Scots, indeed their Justice Minister's announcement of his decision was particularly peevish, tendentiously attacking London for neither offering guidance nor information which he imagined might help pass the buck while leaving him with the glory and power.

It is astoundingly silly to imagine that Gordon Brown would not have discussed the prospective al-Megrahi release with Gaddafi when they met a few weeks back. Their advisors would have called for a breath test had they not done so. Nor is it a surprise that Brown asked for any return of al-Megrahi to be low key, nor that the Libyans would turn it into a celebration anyway.

I truly wonder at the minds of those who see conspiracy in every corner, who manage to find signs of evil doing in each crack in every public pronouncement, and on the vast dunes of ordinary governance also.

Loathe as I am to support the scunners of the Scottish Nationalist Government, the attempts of some in the Scottish Labour Party to capitalise on the furore are misguided and dishonest for the most part.

Jack McConnell seems to have climbed onboard the bandwagon of those who seek to exploit this a little late, or is that just the media only now picking up his views?

It was the right time for mercy; Justice without it damns those who exercise it.

Cameron, Chameleon, Little Lord Haw-Haw, Traitor, TWIT.

2009-08-19T08:13:00.012+01:00

We should all be quite clear that the Leader of Her Majesty's disloyal opposition wants power by any means, foul preferred.

Today it is reported that he has tried to stampede the markets again, just as Osborne does periodically, by suggesting that Britain might default on the national debt.

Disgusting.

Pity the Queen cannot have him removed from her list of relations.

She certainly wouldn't want advice from a clown who thought the UK economy would go the same way as Iceland, Ireland, Turkey . . . Or was he just lying tendentiously then too?

I seem to recall that capital punishment is still applicable to traitors when Britain is at war . . . An earlier Lord Haw-Haw was shot.

PS In a further development it transpires that some on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, including Mervyn King, voted for a £75 Bn increase in Quantitative Easing recently, rather than the £50 Bn decided upon.

The timing of the release of this information may say quite a bit about the high esteem in which the Bank holds its prospective Tory maistres, who have been knowledge hungry supplicants there of late. ROFLMAO!

We think you ought to go, Boris . . .

2009-08-17T22:06:00.005+01:00

The Guardinid tells us:

Hopes by Boris Johnson that Barack Obama's new ambassador in London would pay almost £3.5m in unpaid congestion charges and fines run up by the previous administration were dashed today as the new regime confirmed it has no intention of settling the bill.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said that Johnson, who is on holiday, was disappointed that the US embassy was choosing to "continue to ignore" its responsibility to Londoners by paying the £8 daily charge incurred by those driving within the city's congestion charge zone, as well as fines built up for non-payment.

Poor turns of phrase, and poor show by Obama's local reps - eh, what?

But Johnson B and his dubious collection of cycles (so many have been lost or stolen he must need a fair few reserves) can, almost uniquely, do something useful.

Time for him to face down 42nd street, and for his circus of Deputy Mayors to take on the might of New York's finest (well the political wing anyway).

Allez vites l'opera comique anglais!

Afghanistan - 200 Britons Dead.

2009-08-16T09:30:00.005+01:00

Britain has now lost 200 service people in Afghanistan. That is 200 tragedies too many.

They have died principally protecting our homeland from terrorist atrocities originating in the border area with Pakistan.

Our allies - about 40 of them - have also suffered.

In days gone by Britain played a large role in that part of the world, in a power struggle with Russia. More recently the USSR invaded and had some success, in the face of opposition by the USA and Great Britain. Their costs were very high, and we must be prepared for more losses as we protect both ourselves and other parts of the world threatened by Islamo-fascism.

How contemptible to make party politics about the matter, high ranking military officers and tories leading the devilfishes.

From WIKI:

Soviet personnel strengths and casualties

Monument to Soviet Soldiers in Afghanistan.Kiev, Ukraine

Afghanistan War monument in Moscow

Between December 25, 1979 and February 15, 1989, a total of 620,000 soldiers served with the forces in Afghanistan (though there were only 80,000-104,000 serving at one time): 525,000 in the Army, 90,000 with border troops and other KGB sub-units, 5,000 in independent formations of MVD Internal Troops, and police forces. A further 21,000 personnel were with the Soviet troop contingent over the same period doing various white collar and blue collar jobs.

The total irrecoverable personnel losses of the Soviet Armed Forces, frontier, and internal security troops came to 14,453. Soviet Army formations, units, and HQ elements lost 13,833, KGB sub-units lost 572, MVD formations lost 28, and other ministries and departments lost 20 men. During this period 417 servicemen were missing in action or taken prisoner; 119 of these were later freed, of whom 97 returned to the USSR and 22 went to other countries.

There were 469,685 sick and wounded, of whom 53,753 or 11.44 percent, were wounded, injured, or sustained concussion and 415,932 (88.56 percent) fell sick. A high proportion of casualties were those who fell ill. This was because of local climatic and sanitary conditions, which were such that acute infections spread rapidly among the troops. There were 115,308 cases of infectious hepatitis, 31,080 of typhoid fever, and 140,665 of other diseases. Of the 11,654 who were discharged from the army after being wounded, maimed, or contracting serious diseases, 92 percent, or 10,751 men, were left disabled.^[65]

After the war ended, the Soviet Union published figures of dead Soviet soldiers: the total was 13,836 men, on average, and 1,537 men a year. According to updated figures, the Soviet army lost 14,427, the KGB lost 576, with 28 people dead and missing.^[66]

NHS - Cameron and Hannan, the tinker and the destroyer.

2009-08-15T11:08:00.009+01:00

Labour List is missing the principal points in the current Tory brou ha ha, and not letting me make them there: (Oh well, eventually they did . . . )

Hannan is very popular amongst the neo-cons in the USA as was made clear by the Daily Telegraph blogs which ran after his success d'estime on You Tube a while back. More than half the comments in his favour were from americans howling because their candidate had been beaten by a black democrat.

Hannan is not so foolish as to take the costs of his visit from US Drugs Companies and the like, surely, when he has so many other possible sources of funding? And, despite not claiming all the Euro-gravy he could, is a well off and independent politician, who defied the authority of the group the Tories belonged to in the previous Euro-Parliament.

The real stories are that Cameron cannot cope with these disciplinary situations:

http://quietzapple-musing.blogspot.com/

and Tories want to tinker with or destroy the NHS. Hannan is a destroyer, Cameron claims to be a tinker.

There are a fair few in both camps, and they would not work together in harness. A Tory Government would be an unmitigated disaster.

Cameron "Rebukes" eccentric Hannan?

2009-08-14T20:42:00.006+01:00

Chameleon calls Hannan "Eccentric."

It is reported that Mr David Chameleon has "rebuked" extreme right winger Mr Daniel Hannan, who told lies about the British NHS to the americans.

The form of this rebuke is said to include describing Mr Hannan as "eccentric."

From a party leader who used the word "twat" on the radio recently this might be regarded as pretty mild.

Hannan quit the Tory Euro whip a while back, and

was permitted to regain good standing so as to gain

almost automatic election last May.

Another Tory MEP Roger Helmer, who has been upbraided recently for claiming that there is no such thing as homophobia, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "I think Dan has done us a service by raising these issues which need to be looked at.

How many eccentrics - or "freaks" - have they got?

David Cameron, Super Snob - fish or Chameleon?

2009-08-14T12:18:00.005+01:00

(From Left to right) Osborne G who is to inherit £40m and an hereditary knighthood (St Pauls, Oxford, Bullingdon) Shadow Chancellor and former campaign Manager for Cameron D’s Leadership Bid; Duncan A, who made his fortune in business before becoming an MP, (Merchant Taylors, Oxford, President of the Union ) Shadow Minister for Business: Daniel Hannan MEP (Marlborough College, Oriel College Oxford, Pres Oxford Uni Cons assoc); Chameleon D a second cousin to the Queen, doesn’t know how many houses he and his wife (the daughter of an Old Etonian) own (Eton, Oxford Bullingdon) Leader of the Tory party; Johnson B (Eton, Oxford Bullingdon) Mayor of London by virtue of Chameleon asking him to stand in an “open” Primary.

Are they ALL out of the very TOP drawyer?

Poor, p poor Chameleon was defending the NHS impromptu on News 24 this morning . . . .

The poor fish was so overcome he said, among other attempts to suggest that we are all treated equally by the NHS:

"the NHS doesn’t ask whether we are male or female . . ."

Well perhaps they do, BUT they don't ask which school we went to, or whether we joined any restaurant smashing club like Oxford Uni's Bullingdon - eh?

Daniel Hannan, with his runcible coracle (a-politics as usual . . )

2009-08-14T11:07:00.004+01:00

What a hoot!

A while back all the Dully Teles were cock a hoop that Dan Han had fiddled his way to harangue Gordon Brown at the Euro Parliament by NOT remaining apart of the Tory Group there; as an Independent or whatever he had the right/duty to "welcome" Gordon when he visited them there.

The Peruvian born (remember Michael Bentine? Is it in their water?) Hannan launched a slightly embarrassed attack, which embarrassed those who thought that the standard of hospitality customary among Britons was abused thereby.

He got the result onto YouTube, and, to judge by the comments on blogs re that effort, about 2/3 of his hits there were from the USA - Neo Cons wailing over the advent of an elected Black US President!

Chameleon was supportive, generally he prefers others to look nasty by attacking Brown - abuse, libel or lies, he is not all that fussed. When did he EVER object to the abuses and libels aimed at Labour, or HMG?

Now Hannan is not just anti EU, he is anti just about every civilised sophisticated communally beneficial orgnaisation, not least the NHS.

Obama has asked Congress to sort out a suitable State Health Scheme and the Neo Cons and others there are much enervated, many of them telling falsehoods which so well display the poverty of much of their education system, Dan Han is a shoe in to tell them a few extra "facts."

Like the NHS makes us more ILL???

Pity we cannot all sue, and I wonder whether Daniel's website is up and running this time, to facilitate objections?

Dunno, he doesn't do techie, but he has an email listed for the Eu parliament: daniel.hannan@europarl.europa.eu

Daniel,

You disgrace yourself and my country AGAIN!

Having just recovered from flu with the help of the NHS, which would not have been available to me almost anywhere else I say you are a liar.

Chameleon bid for plutocratic cabinet.

2009-08-14T00:51:00.003+01:00

A senior Conservative source said Cameron's plans had come to light in discussions after the leader indicated that shadow cabinet ministers would have to give up their second jobs in January in advance of the general election says the Graunidid

F - u - u - u - u nnny . . .

Last time it was mentioned it was by December . . .

Is Wm Hague digging his walking boots in?

"Val de ri, Val de ra
Val de ri, Val de ra, Va de ri
Val de ra ha ha ha ha ha . . . "

Cuts in Ministerial pay mean Chameleon will be able to replace the departing hoi poloi with some more richer style buddies and toadies, touch of Old Eton restored . . .

Johnson B, a Cameron government might be incompetent too . . .

2009-08-12T10:49:00.010+01:00

Whooopsidaisy!

Johnson B is lurching, listing perhaps, and having to go back on some of the sillier things he promised to do:

I think he has "lost" 3 deputy mayors so far . . ?

But then, some Tories, in common with the rest of us, predicted something of the sort:

"On 1 May 2008 in the Daily Telegraph, the Conservative journalist Simon Heffer found Johnson an unsuitable proposition as Mayor.

"Mr Johnson is not a politician. He is an act", Heffer wrote.

"He criticised Johnson's scattergun attitude to everything he does and "the charm of doing nothing properly".

"Another conservative journalist, Peregrine Worsthorne on The First Post website, was similarly dismissive. "He also thought Johnson could not be serious about anything and Worsthorne was gloomy about Johnson's potential impact on the Cameron project;

"Should he actually win, the Tory party could be in serious trouble", because of the implication that a Cameron government might be incompetent too." say wiseacre veterans of the Thatcher years.

These Bullingdons!

Oh dear, never mind . . .

Labour 44% or Conservative 42%?

2009-08-08T16:20:00.009+01:00

The following is not always well received by those who troll against HM Government and the Labour Party:

The only serious caution for David Cameron comes with a question that forces voters to choose between Labour or the Conservatives: "44 per cent would still prefer a Labour government and 42 per cent a Conservative one. This is despite 72 per cent dissatisfaction with Labour."
wrote Tim Montgomerie on ConsHome in June 2009

Cons Home found one of their anonymous trolls who spend so much time trying to tidy up any trace of reality on the net to try and undermine this on their blogs, but . . . eventually they had to reopen the thread to run some torybloggerese under my arguments.

The situation with Labour having a 2% lead when people are pressed to choose one or the other is a real one, while the question "How would you vote tomorrow" is considered to be a "Do you want to blame HMG and give Brown a Kicking" type question at this stage of the Parliament.

This Polly Toynbee blog was terminated for comments very early, Guardian tories at work I expect:

Here is the good news: more people than ever say they are happy with their area – satisfaction at 80% is up five points on 2006. Ratings on antisocial behaviour are improving quickly, with 12% fewer worrying about drug users and teenagers hanging around, though anxiety about street drunkenness stays high. Police and local authorities have targeted antisocial behaviour and new youth services are finding better things for teenagers to do. Concern about rubbish and litter in the streets has dropped 6 points to 39%.
The NHS has never had such high ratings, with GPs scoring 77%. Worry about education is at its lowest in 25 years. Worry about crime has fallen from a peak two years ago, and only 3% mention taxation as a problem. Not surprisingly, the economy dominates anxiety.

UKIP beat the Tories in enough Council Areas in the Euro-elections to be able to claim to pose a threat to them in quite a lot of seats, especially Torbay, and Totnes:

While the recession and job losses are still big worries Chameleon needs a regular 40% and a lead of 15%, just as I was saying on the Dully Tele two years ago, and he needs it for 6 months to bring me worries for my country's future.

Google Ads victimise Labour Blogger . . .

2009-08-07T10:12:00.006+01:00

It is quite true that the big battalions get the most appropriate ads . . . .

The Dully Tele today has the amusingly bitter and ludicrous feud between Selina Scott and Donald Trump and it might be thought that the advertising is particularly appropriate:

Ads by Google

Midge Bites in Scotland?
Protective clothing, safe effective repellents, plus midge traps
shop.midgeforecast.co.uk
Nicholas Owen
TV News Presenter & Speaker Awards & Conference Host
www.abingdonmanagement.co.uk
Become a Lord or Lady
Genuinely change your Legal Title Passport, Driving Licence, Bank etc
www.lochaberhighlandestates.com

Indeed Scott and Trump might both insist on investing in a midge trap, in which they might both repose awhile.

What do I get? One of Chameleon's wannabes . . .

A word to our unwanted sponsor . . .

2009-08-07T07:45:00.007+01:00

. . . from his Leader.

(Why would wannabe tory MP & putative lobster Harrington advertise on blogs at random I wonder . . ?)

How amusing George Osborne's absence is . .

2009-08-06T22:11:00.000+01:00

. . when Quantitative Easing is promoted still further by Mervyn King and his Tory party is reduced to fielding someone No-one has heard of to tell us that this is Gordon Brown's recession & etc.

Most of those who favour young George are a bit on the shy side of Bilderberg Conferences, but not young George, whose Parliamentary expenses show he went at a charge to some private donor.

How is the Inquiry into his parliamentary Allowances proceeding I wonder? Much Primary Residence switching in infamous "cash for questions" Neil Hamilton's old seat I understand . . .

No one would worry all that much, apart from those who are obsessed with hiring MPs who are either multi millionaires, or so piss poor they couldn't get another job - but even his family must worry about what would hgappen if Georgie had his hands on the mobile to Mervyn King - eh?

Twitter crashed . . .

2009-08-06T19:28:00.000+01:00

. . . I gather, and Snoopy tweets . . .

. . . . my kind of twittering

Good News! More Quantitative Easing!

2009-08-06T18:01:00.000+01:00

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is extending its Qualitative Easing (QE) by another £50 bn.

It does look as though the second part of our W shaped recession will not be so deep as the first part, but it is wise to battle it now, before it has its full effect. Good signs like rises in House prices, and expanding manufacturing and service sectors are welcome news, but not enough.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/05/recession-uk-pulling-out

The US economy may well operate out of the recession there more readily, and so Obama was wise to hold on pumping more money into their economy when some were calling for more. America tends to be quicker, so many small businesses, stronger and more vigorous entrepreneurship.

The UK relies on trade with the world for a larger part of our economy, and the wider world will be slower to recover in most places, so we have a narrower path to tread. Part of our trade is the collapsed international finance sector.

We went into the recession with lower core inflation, which is generated in our economy by our wages and dividends rather than imported, than most countries and that continues, with wage cuts and freezes.

This remains key to our future prosperity. Tackling the National Debt is much less important, and likely to remain so.

Sir Iain Dale has taken a holiday from blogging . . .

2009-08-06T15:36:00.000+01:00

. . and this got lost when he packed: (PS Mixed in with his Captain's titfer it seems, he found it eventually) http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/08/alan-sugar-tries-to-bully-quentin-letts.html#links

I know someone with a functioning Amstrad, and there seem to be Amstrad and other old computer societies still in operation - check online.

In the days when Apple in Regents St used to permit people to queue outside with their faulty Apples before opening there were usually quite a few old Macs, certainly a few 20 years or so old.

Some people look after things. Not so the media.

Letts is an habitual liar, he might better get away with it online, where the writ of the libel and slander etc laws runs less true:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/shanerichmond/5144547/Online_comments_are_more_like_slander_than_libel_says_judge/

No-one seems fussed whether or not statements are true, so long as they serve some propagandist's intentions.

In truth our society is still more threatened by the failure of the 24/7 News Community (LOL) - or perhaps disinterest - to distinguish between fact and opinion.

He may be a secret Amstrad fancier I suppose, unwilling to come out in public . . ???

Nice to be proven right . . .

2009-08-06T10:02:00.000+01:00

. . . especially in what many claimed were optimistic predictions.

When the Dully Teles were predicting a decade of depression (well some were), 35% pa house price falls, parity of the £ with the Euro and $, and Mugabe levels of inflation I disagreed. (The Telegraph most likely will have deleted all my forecasts by now, so their "community members" can make them up should they want to tell a few fibs about the "socialists" . . .)

The £ is now back to $1.70, not far from the $1.70/75 I predicted as its likely average when it settles, house prices have begun to increase (Even the Inst Chartered Surveyors admit they may by the end of the year) and the fall overall is not far from the 12.5 - 17.5% I suggested over a two year period, and will be nearer that when the two years are up, and inflation/deflation are not particular problems.

We may still find the second part of the w shaped recession we seem to be on has not yet bottomed out, but it does look shallower than the first part of the W.

It is particularly encouraging that international statesmen and women, sometimes led by Brown and Darling, have acted together to prevent the worst effects of a plunge over the economic abyss, as I predicted, only the insane would oppose co-operation to prevent a 1930s style decade.

We are lucky to live in our time, for all the problems, and we stand on the shoulders of those like Keynes and Galbraith who fought to make these better times.

Tory tactics in Totnes open primary . . ?

2009-08-04T22:37:00.000+01:00

I wonder if Tory MP blogger Douglas Carswell will publish this? (He did, Thank you Douglas)

This is a carefully calculated choice for Totnes, which is subject to boundary changes and includes parts of Torbay, where UKIP had it's best vote share in the Euro - Elections (They didn't do badly in the S Hams either):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/table/2009/jun/09/european-elections-elections-2009

There are other issues:

http://quietzapple-musing.blogspot.com/2009/08/open-primary-by-post-in-totnes.html

This was a tactical decision, and the back room boys who work for Ashcroft, who reputedly has a larger office at Tory HQ than Cameron may well have been involved in the decision to go for the primary.

It may well be a moot point whether the £40,000 initiates the campaign from the point of view of Tory expenditures, which must be kept within the legal limits and declared after the election.

I might add that this sort of populism is bogus and can become counterproductive. Elections by acclamation usually are, and Gordon Brown has suffered from that, just as Michael Howard did, both insisting that their opponents stand down, or be not nominated.

Will all those who voted "own" the result? Or did Ashcroft pay for it, and does he now own the Tory party, lock, stock and stinking barrel?

Open Primary by post in Totnes

2009-08-04T13:28:00.001+01:00

One should congratulate Dr Sarah Wollaston GP who has won the race to become Tory Candidate in Totnes Constituency. I wonder if she will manage to change HMG's policy on marijuana as I understand she desires?

The Tories used an open selection method to promote Boris Johnson when Cameron asked him to be his standard bearer in London, where he beat London tories with no national image before being heavily promoted by the Lyin' (whoops) Evening Standard. The BBC has the current story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8182833.stm

Totnes Conservative will have spent £40,ooo on their postal ballot, and their candidate will have been selected by the votes of Labour, Lib-Dem, Green and UKIP voters as well as, perhaps a few conservatives. Worth remembering that Anthony Steen MP, who was well liked by folk I knew in that area, was a maverick, and an untypical tory has best sort there IMHO.

This constituency must have worked out another reason why an open ballot made sense for them:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/table/2009/jun/09/european-elections-elections-2009

Yep, UKIP may win there if they can get their act together . . . (South Hams includes Totnes the town, and the constituency is redrawn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totnes_(UK_Parliament_constituency)#Boundaries )

The Tory wiseacres there no doubt wisely judged that the new boundaries, taking in parts of Torbay, will be a difficult one for them, their strategy looks well founded in practice.

Utterly dishonest and scunnerish, typical tory - eh?

I complained, impeded by their difficulties . . .

2009-08-03T22:19:00.000+01:00

Tomasz Schafernaker just (on 2/9/09, which your complaints engine will not accept) told us we might want to get "that barbecue" out.

Now either he suggests that we have more than one apiece, or he is unaware of the word "your" or this is yet another petty over dramatisation of the
weather report, as common elsewhere.

Over uses of "that" and "those" are commonly made to suggest sycophancy, or precocity/preciousness.

Obviously another weather presenter has set the standard for all this, and there are others in other areas who have led the way.

There is far too much of it, kindly desist.

As you see below I am not permitted to reveal their reply. I am not ashamed of my "comment" which they claim will be circulated high and low at the BBC, but their reply is on the secret list. If it was circulated with my complaint everything would be different.

And the BBC would be a merrier place.


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I wish to complain . . .

2009-08-03T15:37:00.000+01:00

I have had to complain about the BBC complaints cock-up, for which there is yet another complaints procedure. This one advises that there are so many complaints they cannot reply to my complaint.

I recall a Monty Python lady "Complain? We 'ad to complain about complaining . . !!!" (Or is that my imagination?)

"I'll tell you what I'll do fer you . . . I'll do nothing . . . But you'll have to wait . " Roy Kinnear as gatekeeper in Jonathan Miller's BBC TV version of Alice.

The Spirit of the Beeb, always new comedy in action.

OoooohhhhhhhHHHHH NOOOOOO!

2009-07-29T08:41:00.001+01:00

Leading Witch (Tory, ret'd) Eddie Currie is prattling that Rantzen will have no policies, will just be saying "I'm ME!"

Rantzen will have some policies (or "Bright" ideas as she may well put it) but little sense or insight, let alone balance.

La Currie, who had a high profile affaire with a powerful man just as Rantzen did, has the judgement of Lizzie Dripping. Ask the chickens . . .

It is like Johnson B but more so, Rantzen is a shoe in like as not.

I wonder if Sean Woodward - with whom she used to work we are told - will find divided loyalties?

Esther Rantzen

2009-07-29T07:30:00.000+01:00

As predicted Ms Rantzen will be standing in Luton S despite the withdrawal of the labour MP Ms Moran from the lists which she claimed was her objective.

Rantzen is a dangerous menace, and funnily enough her Wiki entry has been polished extremely nicely! Doris Day is lined up for the biopic.

No reference any longer to the scandals involving employment of her children at Childline.

Should Lumley stand also we shall be in danger of a new politics - neo nazi vs waffly lib.

Worth considering what happened to the politics of the Philippines when their celebs were ensconced in power.

. . and continues . . . (Guardian nazis bare shocker!)

2009-07-24T20:30:00.000+01:00

Today they will not take a post which points out the facts that a 0.9% (the BBC says it is 0.8%) reduction in GDP in the past 3 months is a lot better than the 2.8% fall in the preceding 3 months. I asked also what they thought a pre-moderated poster might call those whose bias was as per the article.

According to their rules pre-moderation is used when they fear that a poster may produce offensive material.

As they are offended by any criticism of themselves, any pro Government posts, and references to the truth that they pre-moderate my posts they obviously have very big problems.

Guardian Censorship continues . . .

2009-07-23T19:23:00.000+01:00

We shall see if either of my posts re Cocaine and Cameron's use of it appears, this is the second:

Fu- u - u - u nny . . . Cameron D's drug uses have been down graded from "Scandals" to "Controversies" on WIKI:

"Allegations of recreational drug use

"During the leadership election allegations were made that Cameron had used cannabis and cocaine recreationally before becoming an MP.[144] Pressed on this point during the BBC programme Question Time, Cameron expressed the view that everybody was allowed to "err and stray" in their past. [145].

"His refusal to deny consumption of either cannabis or cocaine prior to his parliamentary career has been interpreted as a tacit admission that he has in fact consumed both of these illegal drugs. During his 2005 Conservative leadership campaign he addressed the question of drug consumption by remarking that "I did lots of things before I came into politics which I shouldn't have done. We all did." [145]."

BAD Examples all round: WIKI continuing the example set by Cameron's servant who changed the birthdate of Titian to suit the master's mistake in an argument with Gordon Brown; Cameron in snorting coke and telling others not to; and the Guardian in not posting my first comment on the matter, pre-"moderated" or censored as we used to call it.

Comment is NOT Free

2009-07-21T13:12:00.000+01:00

I am still subject to pre-moderation, about half of my posts - none of them libelous, obscene or abusive, and all of them relevant to the relevant threads - do not appear.

Guardian saves ££££ by pre-censoring pro Government poster?

2009-07-20T00:23:00.000+01:00

- The Guardian, Monday 20 July 2009
- Article history

Fu - u - u - u - unnnny . . ? The G saving money?

When I try to post on the Guardinid my posts are taken with the advice that they will be considered by their moderators.

Do the Dully Tele nazis who object to my posts pay some sort of bounty for each retained in the Guardinid's grasp?

People have noticed that the newspaper has slimmed down. More than 200 print readers have been in touch about the demise of The Comic, reduced radio and TV listings, and the disappearance of environment pages from the weekly Society section. In addition, the Sports editor told me, at least 60 people contacted the sports desk about the reduction in the number of sports pages.

Newspapers were in trouble before the recession. The business model began to look unbusinesslike when readers and advertisers migrated to the web, where content is free and revenue from advertising is lower. The recession made things worse and the Guardian has had to look at cutting its printing costs.

"Like all newspapers we face very difficult economic times, which means making difficult choices about how we allocate reduced resources," managing editor Elisabeth Ribbans told me. "Our commitment to quality, internationally based journalism remains resolute, evidenced by recent investigations into the death of Ian Tomlinson, the torture of terror suspects and the News of the World hacking scandal, as well as our street coverage of the upheaval in Tehran and a rare dispatch from forgotten Somalia. But in some areas we have reluctantly been forced to trim back."

More than 80 readers of all ages complained about the discontinuance of The Comic, but this was not the only part of the paper to be hit by cuts. Education and Society have dropped from 10 and eight pages of editorial, respectively, to six, and G2 has also become slighter.

The truncation of the daily radio and TV listings in May attracted over 60 complaints. "Why have you curtailed the radio listings?" asked a reader. "We now only get BBC Radio 3 and 4. What about the World Service and BBC7? You continue to list all sorts of obscure TV stations. What have you got against radio?"

Full listings for the week are in Saturday's Guide, so a decision was made to sacrifice them when four pages were cut from G2. "It is never easy deciding where to make cuts, but we felt readers would want us to prioritise the section's original journalism and content over information that is available elsewhere," said Ribbans.

Several readers who were given this explanation said they understood, but not all agreed with it. Editors reconsidered, and in June BBC7 and the World Service were squeezed back into G2. Unfortunately this didn't benefit readers in Ireland and Northern Ireland who lost all daily TV and radio listings when G2's pages were reduced – the Guardian's Irish printer can only adjust pagination eight pages at a time, so eight pages, not four, were cut from the Irish edition.

When environment pages were dropped from Society last month around 60 readers registered objections. "We feel that this decision was wholly ill-judged and betrays the well-earned reputation of the Guardian for championing environmental issues," said one complaint. The paper has tried to make reporting of green issues, particularly climate change, integral to the main paper, Ian Katz, the deputy editor, responded. "Environment is a priority areas for us and, despite the economic pressures, we have substantially increased our commitment to reporting the subject," he said. "Our team now runs to six with a China-based eco-correspondent, another in the US and the first green technology correspondent on any mainstream publication." He invited readers to look online too: "We are also concentrating on trying to establish our environment website as the world's leading source of environment news and analysis," he said.

Some readers object, not unreasonably, to being directed to web content when they are paying for the print edition: "I know I can go to your website for the information but I want to see it in print over breakfast, and I certainly don't want to bring my computer to the breakfast table," said one reader who complained about reduced racing coverage.

"We've tried to make savings as sensibly and sensitively as possible, but appreciate that not all readers will agree with our choices," said Ribbans. "If circumstances improve, we will look at some areas again."

reader@guardian.co.uk

Three desert island disks . . .

2009-06-18T22:50:00.000+01:00

3 off 12" masonry cutting discs for carving out a decent cave to keep out of the sun, and away from the appalling choices of any fellow islanders.

Re Cod Psychometric tests

2009-06-18T22:46:00.000+01:00

43.5 points - "Others see you as gullible enough to take flattering psychometric tests" . . . .

Cherie for Pres!

2009-06-18T14:10:00.000+01:00

Lord Rogers is clearly right that it is unreasonable for Prince Charles to use his position in this way, and refuse to debate the matter with him or others of like views.

Charles isn't just another billionaire like Lords Ashcroft and Laidlaw, or the Barclays and Murdoch, exercising influence because he is rich.

He is heir to a position which claims its authority from God, and over us all.

"Qatari Diar, which is the development arm of the Qatari royal family, had already spent £30 million in fees."

Time to opt out of all this royal nonsense & shortly . . .

The flummeries can be performed with President Cherie Blair in role, perhaps . . ?

She is a lawyer: we can pay her to shut up.

Rogers v Windsor: A suggestion.

2009-06-17T05:08:00.000+01:00

A royalist plot

InsiderT asked of HM Queen's "Allotment" at Buckingham Palace:

How's the shed?

Lord Rogers should design one and introduce it there, late one night . . .

Just as guerrilla gardeners introduce plants unwontedly into public and other places to their own tastes . . .