Friday 23 July 2010

Looking forward to 'Sherlock' ..... will this do for Conan Doyle what
BBC Wales/Russell T. Davies did for 'Dr Who'? Also looking forward to Billy Boyd who plays 'the assistant' in 'Sherlock' joining Dundee Rep
this Autumn for their revival of 'Sunshine On Leith', featuring songs
of 'The Proclaimers'!

On the stress testing I am intrigued as to how it has been done as I thought there was supposed to be a wide variation in risk analysis methods, ignorance of instruments in relation to the assumptions that factorize the maths and the capacity of banks to use repo 105 type accountancy devices to hide bad debt.

Therefore I am glad that they are doing the stress testing in Europe but can it be valid unless there is either a central bank person looking over their shoulders or they have very strict regulation.

The latter has not happened and the former could be vulnerable to the Lehmans type situation where the Fed and the SEC were, I believe, involved in the firm for six months before it collpased and due to repo 105 issues, validated via London, they knew no more than we did when we all read about the collapse in the papers.

To what extent do we still have our heads in the sand?

On the Morrocan who was it seems renditioned without due process to the UK, as reported in the Independent:

"The Home Office document, dated 4 November 2004, says: "It has been decided that the Secretary of State's discretion should be exercised in your favour and you have been granted limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom for a reason not covered by the Immigration Rules."

The case is the first evidence of a UK-based rendition recruitment programme operated by the Security Service after the 11 September attacks on America. Until now, Britain's involvement in the practice appeared to be limited to providing assistance to American renditions."

So how are Labour to lecture the Scots,as Miliband did when he had held the opposite view on the Megrahi release in office, on due process when they have ignored it here?

Should this not also lead to a prosecution against the then Home Secretary as it would seem the man was being held illegally and was at least dubious under International Law?

Was parliament misled as I understood the then Labour government knew nothing about renditions and never indicated that it was itself using such methods?

Did the rendition actually lead to any concrete results or did it simply make those in authority feel that they had therefore taken every measure in the fight against terrorism and were therefore beyond reproach - and possibly also beyond the law as I assume they at least believe they had some legal device to permit this?

If they are proud of their decisions why could the country and Parliament not know of this before now?

Darling said GDP growth of 1.1% in the second quarter – twice the pace forecast – vindicated his economic policies.

"This is the fastest growth we have seen for over four years. It shows that confidence was returning. And you can see the success of maintaining support for important sectors like construction," he said. "And this is the final nail in the coffin of the coalition's argument that things were worse than they believed before the election."

Is that so or is it just as possible that by attacking the structural deficit and therefore keeping bond markets sweet and a further dose of QE possible confidence in the economy was boosted and therefore this is not a last or even a first nail in the coffin.

Its also not clear for either theory whether the coalition policies will cause a double dip but most seem to doubt it.

Obviously sovereign debt and the European banking system remains an issue.

The financial "arsonists" of Labour that contributed so much to the lack of financial regulation and the culture that banks were untouchable with their zeal for the financial sector really should not be lecturing anybody on the economy.

But then they are the opposition and will hopefully remain that way for some time to come.

NN how come a potential post could fail the profanity filter when there is no profanity I can find?

A thought on those who harp on about immigration and race.

They know they have no chance of contesting the science that there is no significant difference between the races as genetic variation is greater within a race than between races.

Therefore some resort to the use of the notion of culture.

Clearly there is no coherent notion that can relate culture to a particular race.


But what also really nails the "culture" bypass opportunity for those who try to pretend that their argument is about culture and patriotism and not race is when you consider the racial genetic composition of people.

If a person is of mixed race then are they half of one culture and half of another?

What of somebody who has a grandparent of race?

Are they less of our culture than others? Could it not be more having a broader experience and deeper knowledge of the world?

Its like the one sixteenth rule that the National Socialists used in the forties to determine who was pure and who was not. Its obviously mathematical and scientific nonsense, even before you consider the utter evil that the very notion is based upon.

So always remember that today they would talk about immigration.

Nobody wants to think of a tomorrow where they were allowed to start engaging in the implications of a eugenics programme.

You would not need a PhD in History to understand where that would be going.

OK still can't see the profanity and its in:

There are some that post on here like kevseywevsey, barriesingleton and ecolizzy.

They are all at ease with the views of jaded_jean who was an enthusiastic promoter of National Socialism and eugenics.

That was tucked into the worries about eugenics and the mindset of those who seem at ease with those who promote eugenics in #6.

Danged if I can see what was profane in the #6 reworded for #7 but hopefully people can get the gist.

A very peculiar filter methinks.

On Holmes the Doyle view that when you had exhausted all of the logical possibilities then whatever was left was the truth is probably how he came to believe fairies were at the bottom of the garden.

G.O.O. Who are You

SpringTime for Hitler

Where you or ever have been F/Part of that ChorUS Line.

you keep singing about deer old adolf you love him you do

EH

#9: more likely he is deliberately attempting to 'force' all the other posters to defend the views he is constantly attacking, then he can continue in his weird hate campaign against them - and also, possibly coincidentally*, continuing to make this blog unreadable.




*odds are it is not coincidence though.

i don't think he does admire hitler (putin might be another matter), the results of his 'labours' are to stir up dissent - and also racialism.

with the vest resources put into espionage recently by certain countries, certain premises spring to mind.

#10

it's you and Putin, isn't it, mousey?? After all, Putin is one of the old KGB workers, isn't he?

Sounds like treason to me, and worse.

The 'Stress Tests' are a joke, assume no sovereign defaults and only count losses on bonds held for 'trading' not those 'held to maturity' (or default), so all the banks had to do was change how bonds were categorized and pooof! All is well in the world. Soviet Pravda's tractor factory output numbers were closer to the truth than this piece of darker than black propaganda.

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY won't the Americans call the PRIME MINISTER AT THE TIME the 'prisoner-transfer release' was supposedly signed in secret? If the Senate is so darned interested in this trasfer that didn't actually take place anyway, WOULDN'T it make sense to call the person who would have been in charge of it??

what could possibly be the point of demanding that Scottish Parliamentarians be called for something, the alleged corruption between BP and London, that had nothing to do with them? The release of Al Megrai was on compassionate grounds, that are unimpeachable. It had *nothing* to do with the 'prisoner transfer release' the Yanks are so hot on. If they really want to know about that, call the ex-PM as a witness, and ask him questions, in public, under Oath, as to the British Govts activities, and any collusion by the Bush regime, as well as BP.

But none of this supports demanding for instance Salmond or the Scottish Justice Secreatary go to answer questions - the PTR had absolutely *nothing* to do with the Scottish, and they have categorically denied they were even approached by BP over the compassionate release.


let the Senators call Tony Blair if they want answers to their questions about the Prisoner Transfer Release - and stop bugging moral people doing their rightful duty as they see it.

I used to like Putin untill I found out that he had sold out ( closed down ) the Russian climate change scientists ( no proof of man made global warming position ) to Blair in exchange for favoured status in the WTO back in 2005 ?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

#9 dAllan169 (note #10 mindys_housemate)

"you keep singing about deer old adolf you love him you do"

A wild guess about the far right is that they like to upset people for no reason.

In the past you said, I seem to recall, that jaded_jean who was self identified as a national Socialist and Holocaust agnostic/denier was the "salt of the earth".

You also have a writing style that could be a deliberate front but is more probably reflecting your intellectual and recreational habits.

But then you did grasp how much I laugh at the far right via the Springtime For Hitler reference who take themselves incredibly seriously so I don't think you are delusional .... yet.

#10 mindys_housemate

"#9: more likely he is deliberately attempting to 'force' all the other posters to defend the views he is constantly attacking, then he can continue in his weird hate campaign against them - and also, possibly coincidentally*, continuing to make this blog unreadable."

Sorry I forgot your old posts, Ohhhhhhhhhhh you have such intense emotional hatred I can't bearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr it ..... Its a campaign against me ..... aaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrggggh ....

but now I have recovered and go on with my life despite this attack on my intentions.

Why wouldn't thinking people want to defend their views in a democracy?

Its not hate to ask questions and quote people.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

#17

You just carry on the way you feel and think, Gango. Mousey's gone crazy. He's 'projecting' all over the place. No wonder the Mods keep banning so many of his posts. No good, evidently.

You are quite right: 'It's not hate to ask questions and quote people'. Especially in search of the truth.

By the way, Gango, have you been to Kensington Gardens in London and have you seen Watts' sculupture of a horseman on his horse called 'Physical Energy? It's quite amazing.

mim

Gango wrote:

"Why wouldn't thinking people want to defend their views in a democracy?
Its not hate to ask questions and quote people."

Very true. The problem is your manner in pursuing it. And in that process you became what you hated and those you charged wrongly (or rightly) played around with your fears..what else would you expect!?

Draw a line under it, its not good nor healthy and very unpleasant to witness.

#20

What kind of human being is it that plays around with making others fear?

You better watch out, kevsey. There are big 'gangs' around on the right and normal side of the fence, not omly Gango.

MORTALS CANNOT SUMMON A GOD (#13)

Tony has icon status in USA Mork. His warrior escutcheon emblazoned appropriately: "I CON".

Blair always had the Midas touch. Had we realised, in time, we midaswell have rolled up the map of Britain and gone in for mass rocking and weeping. Too late now, 'Certainty Dave' is installed (how did that happen in a democracy?) and making a pretty good fist of BEING ANOTHER ONE. How long before we catch him saying: "Disagree with me if you will, but it's what I believe to be right." (Mummy was a magistrate - taught him right and wrong.) Another war anyone?

Oh - it's all going awfully well.

#73. Mindy wrote:
Level playing field?

“..by preying on others, instead of building them up to be competitors on a level playing field, prevents competition from working. This prevents those children from facing a level competitive field, as impaired diets/education/finance lead to impaired growth, on all levels, prevents children from poorer backgrounds reaching their full potential….”
And you go on to quote Adam Mith’s Free Market Principles…
” which means Society should take from the 'Already Havings', and provide opportunities for the 'Would Like As Wells'…from a 'Free Market' perspective, this provides the best opportunity for Growth, as the Competition engendered by such 'Level Playing Field' social policies, would make Progress much faster - and to the benefit of ALL.”

I posted comments last December from “How Many People Can The Earth Support? on Panorama in which Sir David Attenborough quoted research that showed that there is no magic formula, only the combination of Stop Consuming Resources; Changes in Technolgy; and Reduce Population Growth and that there is no way that the 'less-developed' billions can aspire to the standards 'enjoyed' by the 'developed' nations.

The information confirms what I have always held to be The Inconvenient Truth: “that trying to alleviate poverty, lower child mortality rates, raise life expectancy rates, and raise living standards worldwide to those of the west is just NOT POSSIBLE given the Earth's finite resources and population growth. In theory we all need to 'downsize' to the average living standards of India, AND stop population growth.”

Another sinister fact is the preparations now being made by countries such as China and Saudi-Arabia (and even UK) to buy up land in less-developed nations in order to provide for their own populations' future needs, thus further reducing the resources available to the native populations.

As Sir David summarised, it's not a happy picture, but if we don't act now our descendants may well accuse us - "you saw this coming, why didn't you do something?"

The Earth will never be a Level Playing Field – it is a spherical object, a term which could also be used to describe your simple liberal solution !

#22

Ah, your little boy's/boys's war games. Have you lost uour mind in your elderly age or have you always been like that, singie??

attempted report #18:

"Posting:
gangy, #1%: god, you are SO boring!!!!!?!

i don't really give a flying what other posters may currently believe, because they are good people (the way they ignore your repeated insults is a good example of that in itself), they are just worried about certain factors they cannot see a rational way out of yet.

yet you *never* provide any *answers* to their questions, only attack and slander them, usually repeatedly. Pre-emptively.

i don't give a fig what an individual currently believes due to lack of other possibilities, i only care how good a person they are, and that is largely measured by how little they attack others for contrary opinions, how willing they are to openly state and have argued their own beliefs, and how open they are to finding moral answers that can benefit all without prejudice.

all you do with constant attacks is to attempt to polarise opinion, and i simply do not believe you are genuine in basic ways."

whether or not they are racist, whether or not they "support the BNP", i don't care - because they are willing to discuss. All you do is constantly attack and slander.

frankly, if i was a mod, i'd have banned you.

#25

speak for yourself

i find you boring instead

stop 'preaching' attempting to throw your weight around

#20: i wonder why the mods continue to allow it? All he is doing is disrupting the blog. Nor is there any real attempt on his behalf to discuss - how can a discussion start when from one side of the 'discussion' comes only rabid, frothing hatred?


#22: ""Disagree with me if you will, but it's what I believe to be right.""

...i have the horrible perception that camoron has said that already...

a better use for blair's talents, instead of being a feted 'peace ambassador', would have been a stint as a IED-Sweeper, a tour of duty in Afghanistan - now THAT would be a good place for him to test his convictions.


#24: indy:

"Sir David Attenborough quoted research that showed that there is no magic formula, only the combination of Stop Consuming Resources; Changes in Technolgy; and Reduce Population Growth and that there is no way that the 'less-developed' billions can aspire to the standards 'enjoyed' by the 'developed' nations."

many in the developed nations are also concerned about the resources we consume, and the extraordinary way we have managed to *reduce* our living standards in order to purchase a load of trivial, disposable and flimsy tat.

what people in the developing world want is not necessarily a life-style of such insane consumption based upon temporary fashions, but simple things - like clean, drinkable water, local, small scale energy production to give them electricity at least part of the day, and not reliant upon infrastructure that either isn't there or breaks down all the time, they want the right to develop agriculture to feed *them*, not for export markets, and they want to be able to break free of the multi-nationals grip, so as to develop a civil-society. None of this requires much in the way of extra resources.

slightly less, and better built products for us, and slightly more, better products for them. We can certainly afford *that*.

"The information confirms what I have always held to be The Inconvenient Truth: “that trying to alleviate poverty, lower child mortality rates, raise life expectancy rates, and raise living standards worldwide to those of the west is just NOT POSSIBLE given the Earth's finite resources and population growth. In theory we all need to 'downsize' to the average living standards of India, AND stop population growth."

it is very possible - and the alternatives frankly inhuman. Living standards do not just rely upon access to materials, they are access to decent education, and Life chances. It is perfectly possible, even with current and projected human populations for the next 50years, to give a standard of living for ALL on Earth that would cause the birth-rate to fall, and to build and support the ecosphere to provide for that many billions until it falls to a lower rate.

it is incomprehensible to anyone who has not been to the rural 3rd World the gap in life-style between the developed world, and the 3rd World, the notion that the developed world cannot lower its consumption a small amount in order to start to raise the living standards of the 3rd is equally incomprehensible.

the West has got all the resources it could ever need, what is *REALLY* required is a Society here that distributes wealth and resources more equitably. It is not Joe Bloggs and his wife Floella on £24k that are any kind of problem - it is Chinless Haywards with £Bns and STILL wanting more.

"Another sinister fact is the preparations now being made by countries such as China and Saudi-Arabia (and even UK) to buy up land in less-developed nations in order to provide for their own populations' future needs, thus further reducing the resources available to the native populations."

"now"??? What do you think an Empire is built upon? What do you think the purpose of the British Empire was, if it was not to remove resources from local ownership and control, and transfer the resources wealth produced to the 'home' country?

also worth noting that mcdonalds, tescos etc make more money of the Land they own in the UK than the crud they sell us. Trans-nats "buying land" in weakened nations is not just in the 3rd world...

"The Earth will never be a Level Playing Field – it is a spherical object, a term which could also be used to describe your simple liberal solution !"

whatever. If *you* wish to live in a world that is being fought over by a global battle that has widespread use of WMDs, such as biological warfare (swine-flu anyone?), that has human waves of millions of refugees, that has a Global Elite who jet around the world and laugh over canapés laughing at the Hell they have created and control for most people, well - that's your choice. I doubt you will actually enjoy such a future though, and you might just think somewhat nostalgically that this "simple liberal solution" wasn't tried instead.

#26: you old Soviets have to huddle together, eh mim? You keep sticking up for Gangovich, good for you.

#28
Don't dare call me a Soviet. I may be closer to my old age than to my childhood, but I've always hated the close to power Russian and Polish communists' guts and everything they've been doing to people while themselves living in luxury with access to the West and Western goods.

Gango is a liberal anyway always speaking against despotism.

More proof of Jewish hegemony via the devious use of ad hominem.

Judge faces anti-Semitism probe after speech attacking Israel helps free arms factory protesters
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1297219/Judge-faces-anti-semitism-probe-speech-attacking-Israel-helps-free-arms-factory-protesters.html

Which is supported by the following piece of research...
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=182163

#28: i'll call you anything i want, you don't seem to put any restrictions upon your own accusations.

and no, gangovich is NOT a "liberal", real liberals actually argue FOR something, not just slander others in an attempt to get them to defend certain views. Plus, his rag-bag opinions are clearly not written by a native Brit, whilst he tries to pass himself off as such.

he is a very well resourced Agent-provocateur. This blog would benefit by his absence.

#30: the comments by that Judge could not POSSIBLY be "anti-Semitic" - as he was defending the Rights of a Semitic people, the Palestinians.

it is NOT "anti-Semitism" to criticise the policies of Israel towards its neighbours, any more than it is "anti-german" to criticise the behaviour of the Nazis during the 30s.

"the apparent paradox captures perfectly the nature of Israel’s ongoing dilemma. The peace versus security equation needs to be balanced on a daily basis; most overtures toward peace involve taking risks on security, and most clampdowns on security involve damaging prospects for peace. What Jews in Britain are saying – in much the same way as Israelis are saying – is that we want both."

in fact the solution to this "paradox" is extraordinarily simple - the SECURITY that Israel demands can ONLY come from PEACE with their neighbours, it is the behaviour of Israel itself that is causing the security issues.

the "security" that comes through stealing other's land, invading and bombing at will, and behaving like a psychopathic bully, cannot ever bring PEACE. It did not bring it to Rome, and it did not bring it to the Nazis. The problem is with the deliberately projected image of "Intolerant, Unstoppable Islam" - an image the Israelis have almost managed to create by simply constantly bombarding that image out as if it was Reality. It is largely false, although Israel's actions are bringing that about.

very soon Israel will be fully committed to that course, because they will have demonstrated that ISRAEL openly refuses to negotiate openly and honestly, that ISRAEL is the war-monger, that ISRAEL is the blockage to Peace, and that it is ISRAEL that requires sanctions upon.

in Reality, it is Israel's own actions that will eventually bring it down, because step-by-step, they will isolate themselves, and more and more people in other countries will realise that there is no morality in Israel's behaviour, and demand action.

Israel's actions NOW, are going to ensure that Israel WILL BE destroyed, because that is the ONLY long-term solution to the problem that Israel is creating.


in fact, although many Jews, especially Zionist Jews, believe they ARE 'hegemonic', atm in fact they are being led to their doom yet again by the very same families who created the Final Solution.

it is dismaying.

slightly less dismaying than what they are DOING to the Palestinians, and Lebanese however.


if they continue to try to label anyone with an ounce of decent morality that questions Israel's action's, all they will do is transform "Anti-Semite" from an insult to a compliment. THAT is an extraordinary stupid thing to do. "God's Chosen People"? I suspect God has more sympathy for those the Israelis are abusing.

#27 Mindy
Level Playing Fields
“what people in the developing world want is not necessarily a life-style of such insane consumption based upon temporary fashions, but simple things - like clean, drinkable water, local, small scale energy production to give them electricity ….”
… or like the Somali unemployed busdriver, given UK asylum (why here?) who complained about his 5-bedroom house and was given a Kensington mansion at a total cost of several thousands a year to us long-term taxpayers? Or like those in many minor (NISA/Costcutter) stores and take-aways, manned by more and more arriving ethnic relatives?

Having brought several 3rd-worlders to UK in the past (now living with one, plus the inlaws!) I find them more competitive and avaricious than any of my English relatives. And most care homes here are owned by previous immigrants, because they crave money and possessions beyond all else: in other words, they exploit our slower English pace of life.

“.. they want the right to develop agriculture to feed *them*, not for export markets, and they want to be able to break free of the multi-nationals grip, so as to develop a civil-society.”

Supermarket shelves are stacked with products (fruit, veggies, flowers) that were once grown by UK smallholders and farmers, but fair-trade and world-trade have encouraged import from cheaper sources, thus ignoring the need to produce for their own undernourished masses, and causing job losses here and damaging the ecology through food miles.

“it is incomprehensible to anyone who has not been to the rural 3rd World the gap in life-style between the developed world, and the 3rd World, the notion that the developed world cannot lower its consumption a small amount in order to start to raise the living standards of the 3rd is equally incomprehensible.”

It will never happen while our youth are media-blitzed daily with evidence of the glamorous life-style of the super-rich ‘celebs’, sportsmen and others of little real merit, conveying the message that reward has little to do with education or hard work.

"now"??? What do you think an Empire is built upon? What do you think the purpose of the British Empire was, if it was not to remove resources from local ownership and control, and transfer the resources wealth produced to the 'home' country?”

I sense the jaundiced view of one who never experience pride in country and wishes to wipe out all traces of the mixed blessings of the past.

“If *you* wish to live in a world that is being fought over by a global battle that has widespread use of WMDs, such as biological warfare (swine-flu anyone?), that has human waves of millions of refugees, that has a Global Elite who jet around the world and laugh over canapés laughing at the Hell they have created and control for most people, well - that's your choice. I doubt you will actually enjoy such a future though, and you might just think somewhat nostalgically that this "simple liberal solution" wasn't tried instead.”

It’s most certainly not MY choice and my memoirs ‘Scott Free’ stressed the fact that I have been fortunate to live through an era where I’ve had more ‘freedoms’ than my predecessors AND by future generations.
If you have a specific plan to level the vast gulf in living standards, set it out – unless it is more of the same – open all borders, merge all existing cultures, increase overseas aid (to tyrants) and don’t mention birth control.

I don’t disagree your philosophy, but it’s more than a little naïve as a solution. All other species evolved or perished according to their ‘fitness’ to survive; I doubt that homosap will be an exception.

Nature will sort it out her way, famine, floods, early deaths through overpopulation and wars over conflicting primitive faiths and beliefs.

#:31

Luckily, the people I care about do not believe in what you're saying to me, never mind approving what you're getting up to otherwise. What made you call me an 'an old Soviet' anyway? Was it based on your own assumptions which were obviously false?

#33. At 4:05pm on 24 Jul 2010, indignantindegene wrote:

"#27 Mindy
Level Playing Fields
“what people in the developing world want is not necessarily a life-style of such insane consumption based upon temporary fashions, but simple things - like clean, drinkable water, local, small scale energy production to give them electricity ….”
… or like the Somali unemployed busdriver, given UK asylum (why here?) who complained about his 5-bedroom house and was given a Kensington mansion at a total cost of several thousands a year to us long-term taxpayers? Or like those in many minor (NISA/Costcutter) stores and take-aways, manned by more and more arriving ethnic relatives?

Having brought several 3rd-worlders to UK in the past (now living with one, plus the inlaws!) I find them more competitive and avaricious than any of my English relatives. And most care homes here are owned by previous immigrants, because they crave money and possessions beyond all else: in other words, they exploit our slower English pace of life."

the example you used first - that "bus-driver" was given asylum for his work for some of the UK establishment, this is clear. His 'landlord' is a private tax-haven-owned company, who he claims he "knew personally". There are almost certainly many layers underneath the obvious story that many will probably hope stay covered. I notice no-one has investigated exactly *what* he did in the Red Cross in Somalia that led to him being offered asylum (not a common occurrence btw), nor what connection this 'landlord' has to him. Not interesting questions those, certainly not as 'useful' in generating hatred by the use of his lodgings in the tabloid press.

most migrants are far more interested in creating financial security than locals are, blatantly obvious that this will happen. And with comments such as those i even read on this blog, regarding preventing benefit access to 'non-English' people living in the UK, that is becoming even more 'common-sensical'.

"“.. they want the right to develop agriculture to feed *them*, not for export markets, and they want to be able to break free of the multi-nationals grip, so as to develop a civil-society.”

Supermarket shelves are stacked with products (fruit, veggies, flowers) that were once grown by UK smallholders and farmers, but fair-trade and world-trade have encouraged import from cheaper sources, thus ignoring the need to produce for their own undernourished masses, and causing job losses here and damaging the ecology through food miles."

"FairTrade?? Hardly. What has REALLY damaged is what you call "world-trade" - ie that inhuman megaliths like Tesco, or Cargill purchase quite literal 'slave ranches' across the 3rd world, and force locals to work for nothing - the food version of Nike's sweatshops.

the very same is happening here - the food agri-business in the UK, that receives the bulk of not only UK Govt subsidy, but also EU subsidies, is incredibly inefficient at producing food to meet our own needs. It is also run by the trans-nats.

i would certainly agree with you that we, and they, should transform the ownership and production of agriculture from oligarchic monopolies, and back to community/cooperative farming for the needs and requirements of the locals. And far better to have localised production, than to burn ever more scarcer cheap fuel transporting goods that could be produced locally.


""now"??? What do you think an Empire is built upon? What do you think the purpose of the British Empire was, if it was not to remove resources from local ownership and control, and transfer the resources wealth produced to the 'home' country?”

I sense the jaundiced view of one who never experience pride in country and wishes to wipe out all traces of the mixed blessings of the past."

there is NOTHING to be proud of in Empire, it dehumanises and destroys EVERYTHING it touches, whether gaining or losing from the Empire.

the good we did (and actually, i DO think the British Empire was one of the best in history, at least we left infrastructure behind when we left - the Portuguese even filled the toilets with concrete before they left their "possessions"!) came out of a belief that infrastructure is required in order to facilitate greater exploitation. The 'brown-skinned little people' were certainly never supposed to reach a point of Self-Rule, 'we' would still be sitting in the palaces there now, if they hadn't kicked us out.

it is not a vast step to realising those very same ideas, the very same racist/class arrogance, is still going on WITHIN the UK.

i will have more pride in my heritage when we have weeded out Empire in all its forms, within and without this Emerald Isle.


"If you have a specific plan to level the vast gulf in living standards, set it out – unless it is more of the same – open all borders, merge all existing cultures, increase overseas aid (to tyrants) and don’t mention birth control."

promote (through investment and tax) the growth of the cooperative sector. Put in place stringent inheritance tax. Use FairTrade principles to build up development in other countries. Ensure foreign aid is NOT used to support tyrants, but goes into (again) local cooperative ventures, just as the Grameen Bank does. Birth control in the hands of the potential mothers. Reduce the desire for others to come here by improving their lives where they already are. Build up trade-links based upon mutual respect, and mutual development. Support local democracy - both here and there.

convert 'failing' schools into democratic schools, where the students have a greater say in how the schools are run. Build democracy into the very basic fabric of our Society.

tax the ...ing multi-nats. Use that money to create new, local, useful industries on the partnership model.


was i getting repetitive? Its because the changes are so simple.



"I don’t disagree your philosophy, but it’s more than a little naïve as a solution. All other species evolved or perished according to their ‘fitness’ to survive; I doubt that homosap will be an exception.

Nature will sort it out her way, famine, floods, early deaths through overpopulation and wars over conflicting primitive faiths and beliefs."


that "fitness to survive" was a 19th century moronicism, if linguistic analysis is applied to it, it becomes "The Survival of those who Survived". What Nature rewards are flexibility, and in social species cooperative behaviour. It also rewards accurate information.

it can easily be seen, by anyone who can look through the absolute BS that is spouted by 'Opinion-Formers', that it is precisely in those areas that the Human Race is failing. It can also be seen that the troubles we are currently in, have almost entirely been caused by a LACK of such behaviour.

if the Human Race is destroyed, it will have done it ENTIRELY to itself, nothing whatsoever to do with 'Nature'.

#34: you *are* an "old soviet", whether you like it or not. Your childhood was spent under the Polish Soviet regime, even though you possibly disliked it as much of much of the UK population hate the current UK Govt.

don't be ashamed of your roots. I have known many, possibly into the 100s, of former East-Bloc-ers, and i have enjoyed a very high % of their company. But they also have some worrying 'blind-spots', that those from actual Western Countries do not have (we have different ones...!).


frankly, it is clear to me, and also to everyone else who uses this blog, that gangovich is destructive to the enjoyment of this webblog. And it is *completely* deliberate, as it has been pointed out to him many times openly - we are not talking vague hints and winks, but *directly to his face* he has been requested to stop this behaviour.

i don't care whether he dislikes "racists" - in fact good for him - but i care a great deal when his apparently unlimited store of hatred is being splayed over everyone else like a stream of hot steaming wee-wee from a rabid dog. I don't like it. Everyone else doesn't like it.

"false assumptions"...? - i DON'T think so.

JAMES GORDON (McCAVITY) BROWN HAS A PLAN FOR AFRICA

Poor Africa.

Messiah Tony failed here and is now saving the Middle East from a clash of extremist belief; saviour McCavity failed here, and has now popped up to save Africa, with Broadband. When 'Certainty Dave' fails, what might his psychological tipple be? A 'Declaration of Absolute Global Right and Wrong' perhaps? He's getting in some practice, with Olympian interference!

Oh - it's all going awfully well.

FALLING DOWN ON THE JOB MIGHT BE IN-BUILT (#35)

"if the Human Race is destroyed, it will have done it ENTIRELY to itself, nothing whatsoever to do with 'Nature'."

Robert Ardrey saw HomSap as the 'bad weather animal', evolved to survive by his wits/brawn, and die like flies in the interest of optimum group viability.

The climate record appears to indicate that the current period is anomalous. Under its bland aegis we have grown far from Ardrey's hard man. Lacking wisdom, we have allowed our cleverness to run away with us - probably an entirely natural process. As we die of fat, sugar and processed grain, the drive to eat all we can get is surely natural?

RIDER TO #38

Somewhere above Mork mentioned 'school' as a 'given'. I have long considered school as the single most powerful INSTITUTIONALISING (development arresting) feature of 'civilisation' as currently configured (aka Western).

I venture to assert that - all other things equal - maturity (both individual and societal) is inversely proportional to the emphasis on schooling. I further assert this is exacerbated by schooling of the VERY YOUNG. Let's leave schooling to aquatic life-forms, and look for an optimum developmental approach for new homSaps, that leads each individual to maximise their life-potential.

However, as this would bring an end to Westminster, party politics, barking leaders and a seat at the Globopoly table, there is no future in it.

Oh - it's all going awfully well.

#36

Does the fact that I was born in Warsaw make me an 'old Soviet'? Crap. My upbringing was utterly different and my outspoken nature regarding bare truths, i.e. factual, quite frequently caused me trouble with the authorities even in my childhood and adolescence.

And why do you claim that so many of the Brits hate the current Government? After all, they've just been elected as opposed to parties like Labour under Gordie and Mandy, BNP, the loonies and whoever else. The Coalition do not have an easy task having inherited the utter mess that Labour has left the country in.

GOVERNMENT TAKES DIFFERENT FORMS WITHIN WESTMINSTER GOVERNANCE (#40)

"And why do you claim that so many of the Brits hate the current Government?"

The voters (those few left when the mass have given up) are only permitted to change the Westminster 'deckchair configuration' i.e. the party 'in power'.

Party politicians are locked into the Westminster ethos; they play to its rules - or they don't play at all.

I have had cause to investigate some of Westminster's iniquity. Did you know that there is NOT ONE OFFICIAL BODY concerned with lies told on election literature, even though the relevant Act (Representation of the People) prohibits them? Further, the Advertising Standards Agency, specifically, does not cover election literature. All parties lie. Governments lie. There is nothing we can do. Even our media are complicit - for all my efforts to cajole them. Yet we posture the world and bomb them with 'Democracy Bombs' of our designing. Surely that is worthy of hate?

#40 addendum

Besides, I've never been ashamed of where I come from, i.e. from the womb of my mother, born herself in Warsaw but whose predecessors a couple of grenerations back on the maternal side emigrated to Poland from Switzerland, but whose roots may have been originally partially French, and Hungary. Before Hitler and Stalin dessimated the Polish nation, including , several memembers of my family by either murdering them or sending them to labour camps. It just so happens that all those who started my family line were professional people a few centuries back. Why and of what should I be ashamed then?

#39: "education" has many meanings, some actually antithetical to each other.

eucation can mean the unlocking of potentials within the individual, it can mean the enforced instruction of Social mores, it can mean preparation for employment.

schools, as ivan ilyich argued:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschooling_Society

have been appropriated by those who rule us, in order to foment the mind-set that does not revolt, but meekly follows the clarion call of the factory gates.

in theory.

as so often, words/labels are attached to opposites, and used to crush the legitimate opposition. There is nothing inherently wrong in the word "education", or even "schools", nor in the concept of specially trained adults assisting in student's education.

there IS something wrong however, in regarding young minds as plastic to be moulded as the current Elites desire for their OWN perceived interests.


remove the abuse, exploitation and 'programming' of current 'schooling', and matters will improve greatly.


#41: yes. deckchair-attendants on the Titanic pretty aptly sums up the clowns in the Palace of Westminster. And they have NO intention of allowing any democratic interference in that game.

after all, it might turn out they and their friends have to pay (...more? or Any?) TAXES!!!

shock horror - taxes are for the poor and politically weak, EVERYONE knows that in the 'Cool Clubs'!!

after all, with 'trickle-down' letting the rich not pay taxes will, in less than a few minutes, mean that *everyone* can own a luxury yacht, and tax-haven bank accounts!

the REAL problem with the UK is that we tax our rich far too much, obviously. So letting any democracy into the Westminster Game, where those unwashed plebs with their demands for a fair tax system could make everything *worse*!!!! :o


it all makes sense really, - once you have sun-dried enough coka-cola to make a nose-full...

#40: mim, what were the reasons you didn't like your Govt? I didn't say you *should* be ashamed of your background...

[36. At 5:27pm on 24 Jul 2010, you wrote]

mork calling mim: "don't be ashamed of your roots.".


why was the Polish Govt unpopular amongst most of its citizens in your childhood? Can you remember?

https://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/003439.html

IVAN ILLICH PRIEST AND PHILOSOPHER (#43 link)

I think I might have heard the name 'Illich' Mork - never read him. My view of school came from my own experience and a lifetime of thought.

Now I have to ponder whether a philosopher can be any good, while believing in one of many, manifestly, man-made faiths. Fool or knave territory again methinks.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/7908742/Axe-falls-on-NHS-services.html

barry, i have to admit, blushingly, that i have actually not read the whole of that particular work. As a young student at A level, i discovered his name and the title/quote - and looked up a summary. Since then, but again years ago, i *think* (i'm pretty sure) i read some whole articles by him. I have a feeling that like so many wannabe or actual European philosophers, he can be quite long-winded and intricate, but his heart IS in the right place. ;)

many of the same basic ideas, but put into working practice, pervade the work of the educationalist A S Neill:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._S._Neill

therefore i refuse to accept ANY responsibility for your indulgences in Philosophy! :P

(although i would recommend Robert Pirsig, and also Robert Anton Wilson, AND take responsibility for that!! :D )


#45: sounds like a textbook example of 'blowback'...?

MEANWHILE THE EU PLANS TO SEND ME TO THE DOCTOR FOR DRUGS (#47)

Hi Lizzy. How ironic (perhaps a stronger word?) if the Codex Alimentaria lunacy succeeds in depriving me of large-dose supplements, such that symptoms of old male, currently kept at bay, flare up at the same time as we are dismantling the NHS!

I suppose shanty-hospitals in suburban garages and sheds (now vacated by foreign workers) might well spring up, made possible by EU staffing regulations?

Oh - it's all going awfully well.

#33 indy, sorry, missed this:

"“it is incomprehensible to anyone who has not been to the rural 3rd World the gap in life-style between the developed world, and the 3rd World, the notion that the developed world cannot lower its consumption a small amount in order to start to raise the living standards of the 3rd is equally incomprehensible.”

It will never happen while our youth are media-blitzed daily with evidence of the glamorous life-style of the super-rich ‘celebs’, sportsmen and others of little real merit, conveying the message that reward has little to do with education or hard work."

i agree completely. Here's a question for you - do you think a community-owned TV station, or even a station run by all the employees, would provide such terrible fodder for 'consumption'?

here's the irony, around my 20s when cable came with its 50 channels, (including MTV!! :wub: - ...this IS the days before youtube!!), MTV was actually wrth watching - it was full of music videos, and some shows, for instance the late night "Chill Out Zone", and the Metal shows, were actually worth watching, because they covered a range of music you wouldn't normally here on commercial stations - AND they came with the videos!! :D

♥

but nowadays they are full of either repetitive commercial videos, almost entirely from the owning companies catalogue, or else those god-awful 'LifeStyle' programs from the US and elsewhere.

---the earlier programs, are probably what the actual consumers, and the people who work in these companies, would want. Quality products, that 'work' because the Public likes them honestly!

which takes us back to another regular point of mine, of course: that the control of 'For-Profit Corporations' over the media we watch, is not only harmful to the purse (as they pay vastly less in tax and wages per employee than cooperatives/community ventures do), it has also vastly lowered the quality of what we watch - even if there ARE more channels.


have you ever wondered what TV we would watch if the Media companies were run by the workers? - us?

Has someone weed in my wellies

Must talk 2 my mates

Master Bates, Seaman Staines, aGent BLISSter

I need A Hand/A helping hand

or mabeey some of you Do I Don't

- i suppose i should explain why i have met so many East Europeans! :D

i had the very good fortune to meet 3 'college exchanges' from Poland during my 'A' Levels, and went there on 2 occasions, the first just after the Wall came down, and cultural exchanges were permitted. So i met many Poles, and saw Poland just after it Liberated itself.

and then i have also spent 4 years in an international, partly Aid organisation, often working daily with Poles and other East Europeans probably only slightly younger than yourself, mim.

- plus, on top of that, i have had students who came from the former GDP.

one of the nicest things on coming back to the UK was seeing all those Poles here, they worker really hard, they worked well, their only possible fault was in not warning us about what "cuts" were going to mean in real, solid-to-ground terms.


but then - how many of us would have listened to their warnings?

-that's why i know so many "Ossies", :P

#51

spells are in operation
that are not mine.
By their Laws i am bound,
as Thou art Thine.

to bend is possible
to change requires Balance
The Spirals Spin,
Rewarding Silence.

##4

Injustice, lies, abuse of civil rights, inequality, widespread poverty, empty shope shelves, terror, you name them, while peddling unworkable and unrealistic ideologies, etc. That's why movements like Solidarity and Velvet Revolution were so popular which fortunately got rid of the Soviets from so many of the Eastern European countries.

#49: Huu-mmmm...:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alimentarius

#54: have you looked around you recently, in the UK?

just mentioning.

#56

I find your absurd questions and reasoning more than tedious, mousey. As far as I can be 'believed' by anybody, my eyesight and ears are still functioning perfectly.

You're wasting your time and I don't think I shall answer direcrly you any more.

#42 addendum

Just to say that my father's family were Polish Lithuanians, so to speak, while, as far as I understand, I've also had predecessors from a few other European countries. That's why I sometimes call myself, like Barrack Obama, a mutt, though he obviously is an intercontinental one.

North Korea

They are Begging for It

its called Loseing/Looseing an Argument

beeb news this morn

the idiot from liberty

where do u find these Clowns

I've just gone through all the images on Jeremy Paxman's google photostream and to my delight the image of Stalin sticking out the pointer of his right hand has disappeared. I used to find it very upsetting, just the way I find Stalin's posters displayed over the walls and boards of public services, like the NHS hospitals and police stations.

I shall try and find out what moron came up with the idea in the first place.

Darling darling we arnt out of the woods yet

who put us there in the first place

clown brown and you along with the rest of nulabour twits

borrow money u havent got and spend money u havent got

none of u shower of hitS have earned Anything

as for nulabour leader*hit/Sunkenship dont get me started/

This morning a Pelican asked of a Penguin:
'Have you heard the Feather predicting the forthcoming weather?'.
To which the Penguin no 11 replied:
'Yes, things and the temps will be just fine'.

mim

(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)

@ Ecolizzy #47 - Thanks for the article. I was shocked to read that this morning! The government have secret proposals to stop people having hip replacements, knee replacements and cataract operations (among others), to not giving cancer patients or the mentally ill any treatment, to stop people going to A&E.....it is absolutely disgusting. What is the point of having to pay taxes then? If we did not have to pay income tax/fuel tax/etc tax, and only paid 5% on VAT, then I would understand. However, when people are taxed up to 50%, and VAT is at 20%, and there is an upcoming death tax of £20,000 per person.....I really wonder, what is the point?

Have the likes of the go1 and mim been fielded by those working for News International (and other privateers - let's include outsourced inscrutable moderator companies too), with the long term intention/strategy/agenda of making the Public Service BBC less of a threat to their rivals? In fact, let's include lots of BBC management too, as it really does help that agenda if there are highly paid nitwits and useful idiots in command....

#64

'useful idiots'? That was jj's phrase. Have you changed the hiding blogging name??

no 65, mim, a coupe for you to have a look at


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot

"The term is used as a pejorative to describe a naive person manipulated to produce propaganda for a malign cause."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem

"Ad hominem abusive usually involves insulting or belittling one's opponent in order to invalidate their argument, but can also involve pointing out factual but ostensible character flaws or actions which are irrelevant to the opponent's argument. This tactic is logically fallacious because insults and even true negative facts about the opponent's personal character have nothing to do with the logical merits of the opponent's arguments or assertions."

I see you and GO1 and others doing this a lot!

#63

Miatress76uk

These are plans drawn up by NHS officials who, as per Andrew Lansey, 'live in the past', and not himself or the government who have asked for efficiancy rather than services cuts though some of them may have to be slowed down if they are not vital, or necessary, for patients.

Believe me, I know something about it, having both worked for the NHS and having been their patient, with some of it being a complete waste of time and resources.

mim
,

#64

Hear, hear!

When you look back at the archives (2 to 4 years ago) for these blogs, there wasn't any of this type of 'spam' before.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MARKETS

The Truth About Markets, The Illegal Iraq War, The City of London, Libel, House of Saud, Tony Blair, Rupert Murdoch.
https://maxkeiser.com/2010/07/24/1152-the-truth-about-markets-24-july-2010/

It's a bit slow to start with (as it sounds like they have just woken up) but stay with it. The comments about the BBC a third of the way through are relevant. The onerous UK libel laws are the BBC's handcuffs.

They just can't quite pin down the underlying ideology at play.

#66

You seem to gravely underestimate my comprehension. How many 'useful idiots' do you think you have currently at your disposal in Westminster and how many in the BBC, nabble?

#64

And, how did you guess I get paid pots of money from international agencies? Whole pots, in fact. Which ones do you think consider I'm worth every penny of my financial rewards?

P.S. I haven't met Gango so I can't speak for him. It'll be interesting to read his response to your sad and upset posts.

Food Hedge Funds???!!

https://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jul/24/agriculture-next-big-investment

Further to my comment #1: apologies to Dr Watson for a case of mistaken identity .... but doesn't Martin Freeman (from 'The Office') who plays
Sherlock's assistant not look a little bit like Billy Boyd?! Oops ....

Summer Holidays???!!!

https://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/25/female-circumcision-children-british-law

Sonority, mon ami, keeps the black hole abuser at bay.
He moans and he groans that he cannont be heard
And his ears must be made of weak clay.
He sshouldn't be listening to what's being sung or what's being said
And at what kimd of volume, nor what writes truthfully my plume,

JUST ANOTHER 'OWN GOAL' FOR THE APE CONFUSED BY LANGUAGE (#73 link)

Good grief Lizzy - what will governments that condone such brutality do next? Sell (and tax) the means of addiction, sickness and slow-painful-death* to their own people perhaps? No state could be more unjust.

But we're OK. We have Tobacco Baron Kenneth Clarke in charge of JUSTICE. he will not let inhumanity prosper on his watch - will he.

* One of the mandatory packet-warnings tells of SLOW PAINFUL DEATH. That 'sits quite comfortably' with Female Genital Mutilation don't you think? And you can always smoke afterwards - if you are old enough.

Oh - it's all going awfully well.

ADDITIONAL TO #75

Lets just call it 'Female Lung Mutilation' shall we?

When the tobacco companies found that MEN were responding to health messages, they turned on defenceless women, much as the grown-ups turn on their children in FGM societies. In this fine work, the likes of BAT were ably served by advertising companies who just could not find enough grandmothers to sell.

#73: lizzy:

"The new generation, born and raised here in Britain, they are used to expressing their views and it will be a lot harder to shut them up. Last month was the first ever march against FGM [in Bristol where 15 to 16 mothers protested] and that is a sign of something new."

freedom, education and liberty work.


#71: omg. :(

'Useful idiots' wake up
You're taking part in mad crap.

#75

I wouldn't be so sure, singie. It looks to me like at least one male's 'attachment' mutilation, if not of more. It's up to them to come to their senses while it's too late, I'm quite convinced, for the 'experiment's' instigator. He's already lost his mind,

LIMPALIKE (#72)

The likeness agreed NR. Where you went wrong, was with the limp. In 'Sherlock' - it's his leg.

OK I need to repost for some obscure reason.

In a democracy people need to explore the ideas of others in order to assess them.

You could not have a healthy democracy without scrutiny.

In the past some login accounts have been used to promote overt far right views, with all associations, as a replacement for democracy.

So I can't see why when other login accounts praise the views of the far right it is bullying to try to determine whether there are common boundaries or whether specific overlaps of view.

So for instance where does "differencism" end and the alleged race realism begin?

Newsnight if there have been changes to the profanity filter they are wrong as I keep getting the profanity warning where there are no profanities.

If it is length of text then an appropriate message could be an idea as it is hard to communicate if you are changing every other word trying to find out where the "profanity" is.

#69 debtjuggler

"They just can't quite pin down the underlying ideology at play"

Whereas with you and the constant references to Jews ruling the world it is much easier - though it is not a coherent ideology.

#64 tabblenabble01

"Have the likes of the go1 and mim been fielded by those working for News International (and other privateers - let's include outsourced inscrutable moderator companies too), with the long term intention/strategy/agenda of making the Public Service BBC less of a threat to their rivals? In fact, let's include lots of BBC management too, as it really does help that agenda if there are highly paid nitwits and useful idiots in command...."

So the "useful idiot" would be clue to your world view some would say.

So I have also been called apart from useful idiot and running dog of the Jews a young Jewish girl as well as a boy waiting for his barmitzvah, an intelligence agent for certain countries and a member of the Newsnight production team.

Meanwhile it could be argued that those of the far right seek to bully posters so they can post their toxic views unopposed and make them seem normal.

But I have no fear as my stomach can bear the far right views, my mind can defeat them.

I also have to contend with mindys_housemate who worries about my "weird views" that are consistent with the vast majority of the democratic population whilst the far right occupy a tiny niche - partially because their "supporters" don't really know what they are about.

Talking of Victorian Art in an Imperial Hospital:

Several V. Paintings have been 'transposed' onto tiles pleasingly decorating a couple of walls at Charing Cross, London. It does make a difference, a big one for me!!!!

mim

#41 barriesingleton

"There is nothing we can do. Even our media are complicit - for all my efforts to cajole them. Yet we posture the world and bomb them with 'Democracy Bombs' of our designing. Surely that is worthy of hate?"

Yet what is not worthy of your hate? Were you seeking the far right views of your old pal jaded_jean National Socialism?

Other interesting background view indicators are when you said of Raoul Moat "there but for the grace of God go I".

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