Malcolm Robinson

We seem to be able to hold elections, and pretty popular ones at that, every other week, be it Dancing on ice, BB, Get me out of here I’m’ a twit, sorry wrong vowel, et al! Pity people weren’t as interested in their political leadership.

Isn't GGG showing perspective HP? I can't see anywhere where he says GB is committing genocide? Rather he is comparing state control in totalitarian states. How you feel about that will depend on your point of view and of course GB Ltd isn't quite one of those yet. However the most uber reactionary Home Secretaries I have lived under were supposedly socialist ones, blind Pew would have had us all stripped, dipped and tagged, Straw the same, good job his lad was on happy baccey and the former had a penchant for sexual peccadilloes! I wonder if they read Mr. "O"s' books.... "All animals are equal, except some are more equal than others!" I can't help thinking we all have a debt to the memory of our ancestors who fought and died trying to protect these shores from just this sort of thing. A mere 60 years later and we are giving away the protections they died trying to defend. What seems to happen is that people are whipped up into a state of fear and agree to very draconian legislation to combat that fear. However the very legislation introduced debase our society in such a way as to make the very thing were are trying to protect worthless. It is a classic ruse all totalitarian states use. Monsta you can belong to any political party you want but there is one golden rule, you have to hold respect for others above all else. Why, because if you don't give respect why should anyone respect your views and if they don't you don't get your message across to a broader congregation. At times of national crisis there is always a surge of popularity in far right parties because people like to have scapegoats and blame anyone, preferably a minority, for their troubles rather than themselves. I would just stop and wonder if someone isn't pressing the buttons of our inbuilt prejudice, which we all have, to further their own ends.

No longer available Pete........

Course when you caught the inevitable infection carried by the dubious ladies of said tavern there would be no anti-biotics...........

As a god fearing member of the presbytery I resent that woeful slur! May the hound of hell drink of your....... Opps dropped the pretence there.

What about their acolytes?

Ya joshing monsta aint ya?

Cromwell killed off the idea that the monarch had ‘divine’ right to govern a country and so initiated government by elected representatives; although in those days I guess that meant his mates, as has been ever the case! If discrimination is outlawed then positive discrimination should not be allowed either and for this reason I dislike imposed short lists, not to mention the wishes of the constituencies involved! Oh and Pete, she might have CIA membership but I guess not CUI......... Yes Pete Blair did appoint from outside his party but maybe we should look hard at the people he appointed!

Its not the black magic lot again is it?

Hang on a bit Pete, you might be getting a new car with a packet of cornflakes soon!

Pete, We have an electoral system which owes more of its being to the 18th & 19th centuries than anything resembling the 21st we find ourselves in, the party system being a principle part. (If anyone can explain the relevance of party politics in local elections please feel free to explain it to me coz I just don’t see what that has to do with getting the road outside Mrs Smith’s house repaired? If anything it distorts the picture! ) The country is in a mess and at the very least at times like this you need to be able to pick the best people to oversee the workings of government, irrespective of their political allegiances. It has happened before and produced one of the most publically respected political figures in the last 100 years. You mentioned Clarkie and however you feel about his politics he is usually worth listening to. When the media needed an opposition view in the midst of the financial crisis they didn’t go to Osborn they went to Cable, a guy who has no chance of being a minister but because of his wealth of personal expertise actually knew what he was talking about and the public agreed with him. At best we see initiatives based on outdated ideologies which do more harm than good, its ridiculous! Government should be about being fluid and responsive and all the while trying to be proactive in a way which benefits the people it serves not trying to stick to the dogmas of the past, there is no progress in that. The massively long odds gamble taken by the current Gov is akin to laying the country’s testicles on a board and selling a hammer to anyone who wants to use it! If you change them what do you get, more of the same because they have sold their soul to become electable and it’s the party system which has made them do it! So what do you do, vote for an independent, you will probably be wasting your vote because of the way the system works, they will never be allowed into a position of real power. Mainstream political nominations are overseen by the major political parties so anyone with innovative ideas is immediately ‘blackballed’ and quite often replaced with parachuted in figures or constituencies are told who they must have on their shortlists and that is called positive discrimination? The whole thing stinks of nepotism and backslapping and may well be the reason why the electorate are only given certain choices from time to time. Rant over!

And what educational qualifications are those Pete? Do you have to have a first from Cambridge to be able to !*!@# up an economy! Personally I would rather give my vote to someone I could identify with and who knew what the results would mean to the average guy when making their decisions. Most of these people are career politicans with no experience in the world you and I inhabit! In these times of recession and belt tightening they have just awarded themselves massive pay rises, shows just what contempt they hold the rest of us in! They now pontificate over the bankers bonuses they are legally obliged to pay out coz they didn't do their job right.........if you live in a greenhouse don't throw stones! It looks to me like a whole debarcle of double standards and hypocrisy, adjectives which are becoming common place in the political areas these days.

Much better analogy GGG! Having said that I have to say I have found a lot of decent, earnest, hard working people in the public sector who get tainted by the actions of a few. The problem is that the few have now coloured public perception to such a degree that it casts a shadow over all the public sector.

Well done Pete! You tried to access a system which is there for you to use and which you pay for only to find it not working. You may need to think laterally, I tend to go up the food chain because when you get the head honchos involved they normally make sure a minion has to see to you, probably the person you wanted in the first place!

Well this is staring to look like an interesting thread! People being held to account for their own actions, instead of hanging their hat on any flimsy excuse they can think up to get out of any repercussions for what they have done. Responsible, transparent and accountable government, Pete I am shocked! Don’t we like to think our society has these qualities now? If it hasn’t why not, as most people seem to agree with them? We can get an insight into the way government works nowadays looking at what is happening at county level and the introduction of this new Unitary Authority. Despite a majority vote against it is going ahead, promises made during the initial stages are being rescinded, promised saving made due to staff cuts etc are being thrown into salary increases, greater involvement and participation by the communities it serves looks to be just lip service as representative numbers are decimated. Its bull and costly bull at that and not just in time and money. Pete your new party comes about when someone stands up and says enough is enough!

Mongo, Perchance one reason for your recent rent rise?

In every case Mother Nature ‘cures’ overpopulation in her own inimitable way............

GGG, I agree this one looks like a long hard slog. The problem I have is that I think innovative and exciting solutions are needed but for them you need strong leadership, something I cannot see anywhere on the political stage at present. The problem, as I have said many times, is that the current crop of political leaders have no real world experience and in fact are just career politicians who might talk a good fight but when the chips are down run around like headless chickens. I am not even sure the down cycle can be managed because untill you get back to sound economics you just throw good money after bad. Everything which the Gov have done is to get us back into the positions which caused this problem in the first place but saddled with another colossal debt mountain we don’t really have the prospect to repay. If we are to get rid of ‘boom and bust’ we need a different economic model and I would hope that will mean a different political structure to oversee it. I still think S&P’s re-rating of the PIGS and the now possible re-rating of UK and French debt will have real impact because the bond market pays for every major initiative they undertake, be it a war or economic stimulus! (BTW gone through all the stuff we talked about and it looks like there is a blocker! Timing will be critical of course, powder dry for now!)

Where's Charlton Heston when you need him?

Why do vegetarians want anything they`re eating to resemble meat anyway? Something I always wondered about Cympil. Nut cutlet anyone........

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-...ms-1366716.html

HP, Urano! Although I have to say I don't "get" Vic Reeves humour.

Philistines.........

If you’re seriously asking Pete, I assume Merlin was referring to the Fawlety Towers sketch, by reference, when the Germans stayed. “Don’t mention the war’ has since become a popular saying...........you MUST have seen that!