Malcolm Robinson

Perchance a little earlier monsta, like next week!

We now have Jack "let them eat cake" Straw spending 200 grand on his office furnishings at a time of national austerity, Jackie still isn't out the woods with her housing allowances, Brown and Darling committing Hari Kari with the UK economy, Lord Voldemort seeing his last summer hols blow up in his face.......... These cameras should be pointed at Westminster, you only need a Polaroid!

Beg to differ on this one GGG. This is grant money community groups worked for and yes WDC match funded but basically it is only though the hard work and effort of some publically spirited members of our community that this scheme has born fruit. We might not agree with what actually appears (and there were chances to have input into that) but the fact that something is happening is to be applauded, so hats off to those people. Maybe if the business community got its act together some of your points might be addressed? Although hard to see that once the town gets split into two!

Basically they are going to dig up the whole Market Place area and bring the levels up so that the incline is only 1 in 100. They will replace/reinstate the old wall that used to run down towards the Bachee's shop and Salmon Place (Gap Site area). The site will be paved using the same stone as Morpeth market place with a tree and a grass area + new seating, not of the same type as there is now a 'theme' for the whole street. There will be power supplier for market stalls etc if and when the market moves there.

What is this referring to? Is it just the Market place in general or is this part of the Tesco lark? Although Tesco isn`t mentioned at all? Nowt to do with Tesco........Bedders managed to get awarded a million for upgrades yonks ago...... Course some might say that ain't enough as local publicly owned assets have been sold which have brought in more than that figure?

Ah Magna Carta! Fed to us in school as the emancipation of the common man. Ask any historian and they'll tell you that it had b-all to do with that. It was solely about the Barons pointing out to the monarch who's pocket he was really in. But of course these days we can all aspire to baronhood - only providing the PM so favours us! I think the "Great Paper" and the Charter of Liberties which preceded it were more to do with tackling the "divinity" issue and making the King act under law. The fact that it did most for the aristocracy at the time is understandable, given the circumstances, but it did extend some lawful rights to all and must have been the forerunner of common law which now regulates our society. It just seems such a long time ago and we still haven't got it right! As for the PM's favours , looks more like a poison chalice these days.

Ah those smoke-filled rooms! It was always thus. I was thinking more about the commercial world as an analogy GGG where someone decides what the punters will be offered. I know it's a lot more complicated than that but if we take the fashion world as an example someone decides what next years fashion will be and others use that as a baseline in their own designs. I just think we are led more than we like to believe. As for a UK constitution, it's about time we had one. Last time we got anywhere close was when we held a sword to the throat of the King and he signed the Magna Carta! Of course we have picked up one or two "rights" since but they are so convoluted and worded in legalese we need banks of lawyers to argue their case. I man not sure if the PM has too much power but I am at a loss as to understand how the Commons works effectively where important decisions are voted through with 3 line whips. But then again that's the party system I don't really like, it just seems to get in the way of sensible decisions. As for any PM writing their own constitution I would hazard a guess it's really the grandees of the party in power that do that, ah smoke filled rooms again!

Seems a valid point Mrsvic, its all about control or Orwell's prophetic insights into the way the proletariat are deceived as a means to that control without it seen as overly dictatorial. Course he uses both examples as a warning. If we believe half of what the conspiracy theorists come out with and then take a cynical view it could be argued that our freedoms and democracy are very shallow and fragile indeed. Even allowing for the most altruistic of intent some of the recent proclamations coming out of our beloved Gov are a step too far and we will end up destroying the very things we are trying to protect. We like to think our society is shaped from the bottom up; I tend to take the opposing view as society having a shape imposed from above and not necessarily by "elected" Governments. Totalitarianism might be a controversial word to use but a blurring of party lines, a centralising gov and incursions into all walks of life would seem to be the way we are headed.

Saw that this morning GGG and she should know!

Having watched this movie there is not one bit where the guy actually incites anything rather he uses widely seen and easily got hold of images and news reports to broadcast the views of the people at the other side of the lens. As far as I can see he is saying ‘watch out!” I am not that daft as to think some people will not see it and use it as defacto evidence of subversion but if this is what all the fuss is about it seems to me we have all seen it and heard it before. It might be cynical manipulation of this media type to further an end but there is a lot of other stuff out there the same. Should the guy be banned, don’t know, don’t know that much about him, but should he be banned on the evidence on the film, no. Would Rushdie have millions of pounds of protection now, should Spycatcher have been banned? Easily answered depending on what side of the fence you sit, not quite so easy if you are in charge of the fence, which I think is HP’s point, as a decision has to be made. Kasyx’s post is right but only to a certain point. Yes we have freedom of speech but as a society we have agreed that there is a line of demarcation which shouldn’t be crossed, if you do you will be prosecuted, the laws are there to do it.

And today we see the Met not investigating those Lords who were willing to sell their privileges......... At least Crosby had the decency to walk with his tail between his legs. Watching the treasury committee and this bankers and listening to how they are trying to justify their bonuses ???????????? If they can justify bonuses now we have really lost the plot! The more we get to see of these people would you give them a job? Speaking of jobs some of the questions were banal in the extreme, I know the committee is made up of MPs but couldn't there be more than half a dozen brain cells on show to ask some pertinent questions. Also watching Merve's quarterly press conference he came out with some good ones. We are putting in economic measures and models which we know we shouldn't be........ This report has much worse projections than the last one in November......... The measures we have taken will work but it might take a year or two to show results...... Is everyone now writing economic models on the back of fag packets?

Why do you think he was brought in, to sit alongside others who had ostracised him? I think Brown and Darling, as well as others, have made Labour unelectable if for no other reason this crash happened on their watch and people like to attach blame. I see GGG "likes" Osborne's academic qualifications but for me him and Cameron look like a right pair of Hooray Henry's whatever their qualifications. Being in Lord Voldemort's company and trying to elicit party contributions from Russian business oligarchs would seem to suggest a lack of even the slightest political awareness! As for the Lib Dems your right again they have no chance in national elections because of the way elections are run. This of course gives them every right to say the unspeakable truths the other two parties cannot dare to utter! Getting back on subject we now see Mrs Smith, Home Secretary, having accusations of corruption dismissed. She may not have transgressed the rules but she certainly bent them to her favour and acted outside their spirit. And this is the person we want to hand our personal liberties to???????? Brian Rix would have had trouble keeping a straight face the whole thing is a farce!

Monsta you seem to have missed the whole point about Alf Garnet! He was lampooning the personality he played!

Don’t think it would really Pete as we are usually governed by a set of people who a minority of the country vote for. If 30 odd percent of the possible national vote produces a landslide for a party then there is maybe 70% who didn’t vote for them and that’s our democracy! I do think you are right about personalities and that has become a large part of the voting patterns. Maybe we will see a Presidency election by the back door as that is what it is in all but name. Course there are the checks and balances beheld by national executives at the moment which will not be there in a straight presidential election, as we know them. There are other things to factor in as well such as people being tired of the same people, corruption allegations, ministers at odds with public opinions and maybe even a lesser of two evils, but that is not a positive vote. I think if we saw someone stand up on the national stage and tell it how it is, i.e. not weighed down by party baggage, we might start and see a way forward. I think Obama is trying to do just that across the water.

Why not use part of the former to change the way you feel about the later, it’s called a vote! All-in-all a shockingly bad system that no sane person could have invented! I just don’t understand why we put up with it?

Think you will find it Nick Clegg these days monsta but your right about being spoilt for choice!

Glad to hear it......... Can’t help but admire your PM, his compassion was apparent in the TV slot I saw. Beats the normal automaton leaders we normally see at these events!

Brian, Dont know how close you are to the fires over there but hope you and yours are safe and well. All the best M8......

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?