The week so far

Based on my cursory searches this is my list of contributions so far.

What have I missed ? ( Posting these, rather than a gadget creates the links that tie the whole thing together I hope ).

PS Just to make life miserably hard ( or just plain silly ) I've re-badged some of the links ....

• Some English Dancing ( Silly by definition )
• Silly self publicity - but its all true
• Get of your horse and sing for your milk
• Office 2009 - I can't take it any more
• Silly sayings - but which is which ?
• Euro spelling
• Popping the question
• A yodelling dominatrix
• Shooting cyclists for road safety !
• Is Rick Rolling Silly ?
• Get your slicwe of Wacko Jacko here
• More Silly chapter and verse
• Why Boys Need Parents #2
• So Brown, Go take a hike.
• The Silly Olympics
• The fall girls
• One Fine Day
• Are expenses still Silly ? Dizzy worries about the corrosive effect
• Eddie 'The Eaglet'
• Votr: Intermission
• America waives the rules
• A Silly question
• You really don't want to think about this ...
• Are Your Tablets Working Darling ?
• Brown vs Cameron - in a cage fight
• Silly verse
• Sicilian support for Silly Week ...

Psychologists killed my hamster

Never mind Ozzy Osbourne as a threat to small rodents, or Freddie Star, its the psychologists you need to watch out for.

It appears that the psychoanalysis community have been dispatching hamsters. I mean just look at this - clearly someone has murdered and skinned a hamster ( mind you saying so might get me sectioned under the metal health act - now you know why its advisable to blog under a pseudonym).

These are of course the famous/infamous ink blots that are supposed to allow you to say something key but unguarded about yourself.

However I have a sneaking feeling its all a bit silly....

Anyway the physco mob is up in arms about the revealing of their magian's code by Wikipedia - which also strike me as a little silly. ( Are they not able to create more ink blots ? )

Thud.

PS If I have just revealed myself to be a complete nutter ( perhaps not a medical term ) then please let me carry on in blissful ignorance of the fact.

Art

I saw this whilst coming out of a train station in Liverpool last week.

Yes it does rotate ( and I think it was on TV a while ago ). I'm guessing that somehow my taxes probably paid for it - in which case its really Silly.

The adventures of Wee Dougie Alexander aged 41 and a half

I'm so excited. My best friend, because he tells me he is, Gordon has sent me to the Afghan province of Drugistan to get 1 minute on the TV news. He must really like me.

Isn't it great I'm going to be on the Telly ! ( I think my BF Gordon is rewarding me for running the Scottish elections so well when Sis let him down so badly by losing ).

Anyway I've lost count of the different nations (helicopters ) I've seen out here. I wonder what the British ones look like ? My BF Gordon tells me there are loads of em.

I've been shown round the town we keep taking then letting the Taliban take over again under very clever local agreements. I met a Doctor who was kidnapped last night last night and had to deny any contact at all with us Brits to get released, that's how good security is in the main towns.

Anyway I got to meet the chief war lord administrator for the area. He asked if I wanted a honoured cushion to sit on - which I'm sure the SAS minder mistranslated as a "booster cushion".

He wants loads of British money to pay off the Taliban so they don't kill us any more. My BF might go for it as it would be his Northern Ireland peace process - though he has got kind of funny about money since he started printing so much of it over at the Bank of England.

Mr Al Opium Trader, as my SAS minder calls him, is also a bit worried about the impact of democracy. I explained to him he doesn't need to worry - after all my BF is prime minister and no one elected him !

Who would of thought that I'd get such a big and important job as International Development Secretary ( which I'm sure outranks the chav who my BF made Defence Sec as his latest joke after giving his other mate the job part time ), and now here I am helping my BF save the world from for democracy!

Britian has plenty of helicopters !

Britain's dear leader has declared that Britain has plenty of helicopter at 23:45pm on July 7 th in the western tip of Helmand province.

Dr James G Brown phoned up an aircraft man who was trying to get some shuteye saying that it was "The right thing to do" . The have dazed mechanic said that they had all the helicopters they needed at that very moment in time as it was dark and only those insane special forces show offs would be nuts enough to fly around in blind darkness. Having bypassed the toffs and Tory sympathisers at the top, which was "The right thing to do" , Brown is sure its all a Tory/Taliban plot to do down his wonderful government and its great talent for knowing "The right thing to do" .

Hence its all been Tories doing our boys down and generally being evil. Indeed Britain does have enough helicopters - although savaging the budget for them had also been "The right thing to do" .

We can now reveal that Britain's thousands of Helicopters have been found on the Moon, to avoid rust. Brown was quoted as saying that sending the helicopters to the moon had been "The right thing to do", and that they only kept quiet about it so as not to embarrass his holiness the Obama on the 40th anniversary of the True and not faked Moon Landings with the wonderful sight of our boys in blue landing on Obama Beach, by the Sea of Tranquility.

Keep quiet about this had also been "The right thing to do" and avoided voiding the 50,000 mile warranty with Boeing, but now they had been spotted by the young pioneers at the Socialist Paradise and High Spending Children's Centre in a Labour marginal constituency. The PM has decided to visit them as "The right thing to do".

The PM was heard to explain to the children that he was proud of their contribution to the British Space programme and that David Cameron and his Bullingdon club chums wanted to shot and eat their pets, but that he would stop them as it was "The right thing to do".

Chloe Smith may be wonderful - but I'd like to see less of candidates like her

Just back from a few days in Liverpool ( a city that keeps getting better - and has some of the strongest character of anywhere in the UK - if you've never been then you should go ). So let me try to catch up a little on Norwich North.

First let me congratulate Chloe Smith and the activists who pulled of an impressive victory in Norwich yesterday.

I don't know Chloe Smith - but her CV worries me.

She appears to have no professional qualifications except the career politics ones.

I'm going to rain on her parade and say we need new candidate who are very different from her.

The craze for look alike representation must surely be running into the buffers of the needs to be represented by experienced and capable people. we are after all planning on governing - not just winning elections by persuading the public we have a full deck of token representatives.

We can either have people who are representative in the looks and background or we can have effective government. The odds are we can't have both.

PS Right that's it - enough of what passes in my mind as sense ( many will disagree no doubt ) its time for the silliness to begin ....

I see a new ploy being born

There will be a lot of new parents who are rightly worried about swine flu and its potential impact on their young children. One such example is Rick Farrell who is reported by the BBC as having place himself in quarantine to keep his family safe ( its a BBC educate the public type story I suspect ).

He said his wife Dolly had been bringing him food and drink, while he lives in a room with only a TV and computer for company.

Now I think I can't be the only bloke who says - hold on a minute - a room of peace a quiet where your food is bought to you and you have only a computer and TV - but no getting up in the night to feed baby or change nappies etc. This Mr Farrell is onto something "I see a new ploy being born".

Of course I wish Mr Farrell's family good health, but you can see the school for scoundrals potential here...

Another Silly logo

GOT has a great logo for next week copied below, which can be used by all.

Just about sums it up nicely - good job GOT.


I know there are a few people worried about letting the establishment of the hook for a week, but I'm fairly sure humour normally has a far greater impact than anger - however justified.

Remeber you don't have to be angry all the time - merciless humour works just as well ! As does the plain ridiculous. What those who are off on their holidays fear most of all is being laughed at. (Hence the President of Pakistan's recent decree of prison sentences for anyone making jokes about him ... hmmmmm )

Remember to use the tags (#SillyWeek) - so we can all keep an eye on what's going on.

Silly week is go !

OK some sort of guidelines were asked for so here goes:

For the whole of the week 27th July participants will mostly issue daft and silly posts. ( Moon made of cheese type stuff - or even some genuine left wing moonbattery that may be true - but just shouldn't be.)

If you want can I suggest adding the keywords #SillyWeek (twitter & blogger) so we can see what everyone else is up to.

If you want I can do some sort of ranking and prize for the daftest of the lot - let me know in comments... might even organise a vote if there's lots of entries and I'm still allergic to doing paying work.

Everyone else is having fun with the end of term - long political holidays etc, why shouldn't we ?

( James is that enough ? )

PS Copy graphics etc as you wish.

PPS I should point out that Silliness is in the eye of the beholder. If you think its silly - it probably is, if you think its not - you might still be wrong.

The left want dependency not social mobility

I've listened to the reports on Alan Milburn's social mobility report, including the breathless party political broadcast issued by Mark Easton on the Today programme ( today it was trying to help Labour out in Norwich North by talking about Fox hunting - to fit in with Labour's current leaflet in the by-election ).

Like many of you no doubt I shouted at the radio - that's what happens when you destroy education, debase exams and close the good schools ( the grammar schools) [ And lets be far - past Conservative administrations have significantly contributed to this also ! ]. But its not what the left say they think. They think state action is needed - discrimination - but using a formula of words that won't scare the middle classes.

Milburn et al talk about social mobility - and as is Labour's tendency to murder the truth these days they forget the 1980's (the decade that cannot be credited with anything as "She" was there). But since they ignore the blinding obvious way of achieving this - a fair, rigorous and objective education system we must assume they really want something else.

Let me suggest what it is.

They want dependency. They want the people who get jobs to think they owe them to a set of anti discrimination laws and positive actions by the state - not their own merits. Once they achieve this they will be too scared to change the system, in case the talented people come and take their place.

There could be no better example of this than the current parliamentary Labour party. Blair babes ( the results of positive discrimination ) bombed. Those like Jacqui Smith who were promoted had no idea what to do - just had to be loyal or they would lose the job they had.

Brown now has to make people Lords over night to compensate for the startling lack of talent in Labour.

They would like your hospital consultant, surgeon, judge, lawyer etc not to be chosen by an efficient system of spotting talent, but by one that will ensure a new establishment owes its position of power to the state.

They want dependency with people as clients of the state, rather than social mobility and freedom.

Hence only the right can deliver the potential for social mobility.

PS A while ago I blogged on another problem with this objective of high social mobility in "The Social mobility myth" part 1 and then part 2 ( when David Willetts made his inadvisable comments on Grammar schools ).

I propose that next week is declared the silly season for blogs !

The press have their silly season as all the politicians go on expenses paid "fact finding trips" (maybe not this year).

Any story can make it into the headlines - and many do. The sillier the better.

Hence I propose that next week we have our own silly season. Let lighten up and go for the weird, odd, funny and even scary stuff.

I at least will try to avoid serious politics for the week starting Mon 27th July.

Go on - you know you want to ....

One thing Govt has learnt from NASA

And that's new management.

The endless delays on the original Shuttle project are now largely forgotten. But at the time the style of dealing with such government agency failure was know as "doing a NASA".

The trick was not to announce each bit of bad news as it came long. Instead you stored them up and got them all out of the way at one time.

Hence the first flight dates for the shuttle would go back in jumps every so often.

A similar thing is happening with Swine Flu in the UK. The HPA is in no rush to issue a day by day set of updates. every week or so will will get sudden jumps in figures.

Now the cause of preventing panic is a good one - so their actions are not necessarily irresponsible. But they are also very convenient for the failing state organisation that is managing this outbreak.

Many of us are now getting first hand stories of the mess that handling swine flu has become. Some people get Tamiflu - others don't ( different GPs - same town ).

One person I heard of yesterday had tried 4 different health care contact points (NHS direct, GP etc ) to get help for his wife who showed symptoms of Swine flu and has MS. Eventually he had to refuse to leave a hospital before they would issue any.

Health care people I know report confusion and a lack of information.

And the governments response ? To send their minions on camera to say we are best prepared. ( As ever they ignore specifics ).

This Labour government is now dangerously low on credibility, just when it most needs to be believed

Once when your prime minister told you something, especially when backed by figures or statements from our impartial civil and public services you'd believe him/her.

Those days we're doomed to end from May 1997 onwards.

New Labour - the party that won power through the dark arts of media manipulation, stories, media grids and its smear campaign ( remember sleaze ).

Labour held power though daring people to call them liars ( remember "I'm a pretty straight sort of guy" ) and meaningless, but focus group tested, catch phrases such as "education,education, education".

Then when that was no longer enough they bullied and coerced ( please note their first reaction is still to trash the reputation of the person saying something inconvenient rather than answer the point as is evidenced here ). They placed their people in as Speaker, head of the BBC, Chief constable of the Met etc etc.

But then that wasn't enough to hold back reality - so they started lying more openly. The most notorious being the WMD claims made by Blair with one particular press officers help at No 10. Blair hid behind the security services. He produced dossiers and told us in hushed terms that it was the best work of the security services, some internally tried to warn him and then the media - but one of their number has now died under suspicious circumstances. The man who organised the smear campaign against John Major's government could not stand supporting going to war on this basis. He resigned, and then not long afterwards died whilst walking on MOD land.

Labour's credibility at this point is requiring some very robust action. So they bullied the BBC and launched a witch hunt followed by the Hutton White wash ( so good that Alistair Campbell and Cherie Blair signed copies at Labour fund raisers ).

Labour promised that Helmand province would just be a policing operation. The coffins filled with our son's and daughters tell a different story.

Labour said Military commanders had what they needed and had asked for. They lied.

Labour down graded the ministry of defence by giving it a part time minister, then 4 others in short order. The current incumbent is ranked 21 out of 23 in the Cabinet.

Labour - and its disgraced leader Gordon Brown - said that helicopter numbers for the troops has increased to mislead the public into thinking that provision had improved when in reality troops had increased in the same proportion.

About a year and a half ago Gordon Brown told us how our economy was best placed in Europe for the coming "downturn" ( as the ever helpful to Labour BBC re-badged the recession ). That turned out to be rubbish. Indeed much of our problems were caused by Brown with his economy fueled by debt.

Education is now an embarrassing word for Labour - they have even abolished the word from ministerial titles as they only spend capital money on further ed colleges in their constituencies.

A few months ago Brown told us all how the UK amongst the best prepared in the world for a Flu pandemic.

Then the truth emerged that the NHS had no where near enough face masks ( countered with spin and lies about their effectiveness - you don't need them anyway we were told ) before ordering another massive batch for the NHS.

The government failed to react to the returning people from Mexico. Hence our outbreak is a few months ahead of most of the rest of the world ( we only lag behind Mexico and the US - where Quarantine really isn't an option ). Those few months may cost dearly as the wait for the first vaccine for the most vulnerable.

But we are told the NHS is ready - just unable to cope. ( Hidden away from public view ethics committees will be drawing up the rules of who dies and who lives by rationing access to the totally inadequate supply of ventilators for the most serious cases. ).

NHS Direct can't cope, GPs can't cope. No one knows who's getting Tamiflu and who isn't - though anyone who pops up on the radio gets shouted down by this government and its henchmen.

Now we are told deaths could range from 15k to 65 k most likely ( with the doomsday 750k still not ruled out ).

But do they have the credibility needed any more to carry this off ?

What is of course missing from the reassuring statements about seasonal flu killing so many each year is that this time it won't be Granny and Grandpa ( who have immune systems that can fight this flu ) but young Jimmy, Jane and Mum and Dad.

Even if the total deaths were the same as seasonal flu - they would be far more visible and impact a very different section of the population.

The government says today - Don't Panic. ( And its a responsible message at this time ).

But their history of lies, deceit, misdirection and spin make them very unlikely to be believed, and panic is a very real possibility ( and direct consequence of the lies, spin and deception that have been listen above and come from the dark heart of the New Labour project ).

How long before you hear of scuffles and unrest at Hospital A&E units ? Who is going to believe what they say as they try to calm worried parents and anxious families down ?

We have to trust to God and luck - because its all too clear the Labour government is not trust worthy or trusted by anyone.

[ This is of course why any patriotic Labour MP should vote for country not party and end this government. But they won't as many of them are second rate or morally compromised who put their life careers in politics with its offer of gold plated expenses and pensions way above the good of their fellow man. ]

Its that time of year again

Iain Dale and his minions over at Total Politics are doing their blog ranking thing again.

I'd like to say I don't care - but like everyone else I'll be looking at the results.

My advice is be honest - rank the blogs you actually read and like, even if they're run by confused Fib Dems and deluded Lefties.

The rules etc are explained by the 47 not out blog father himself here.

You have till 31st July.

Personally I think this could turn into a bit of a farse as years go on - like the BBC Radio 4 personality of the year vote. You Total Politics guys need to get some real-time info - like a hit counter or something to put on blogs - but then I guess Wikio politics already do that.

I bet this will be the first year serrious manipulation of the results is tried. If Dolly was still about you'd know he'd try.

Labour just keep sinking to new moral lows

Brown continued insistence of trying to deceive people about his personal responsibility for the under equipment of our forces in Afghanistan is just par for such a snivelling coward of a man (see PMQs performance today).

His little helpers, wee Dougie Alexander in this case, are on the radio to repeat the sound bites - how do they sleep at night ?

Labour are morally corrupt and depraved. Short of time now - but go to Wat Tyler at Burning our money for the drift.

The causal nature of Brown and Labour's misdirection and deceit

David Cameron has on a few occasions asked if the Brown is taking us for fools.

Its not hard now to see his point.

Yesterday Brown, our unelected Prime Minister, told everyone that the number of UK helicopters in Afghanistan had doubled in the last few years. ( Good you'd think -or you were meant to think ).

Then David Cameron pointed out that the number of troops had also doubled - hence the ratio of helicopters to troops hadn't changed. ( Not so good given the vulnerability of surface movements to road side bombs ).

We are so used to this government trying to deceive that we are almost to weary to respond. ( As Fraser Nelson has argued this is Labour's plan - keep repeating the lies and deceit until no one has the strength to respond ).

A child can see that Brown was essentially trying to deceive with his answer.

And yet Labour tolerate this sort of behaviour.

And here, Mr Tom Harris MP, is you answer as to why no moral person - especially a Christian - could support Labour. The lies and deceit are an integral part of the nature of the current Labour government. They're entire method of government revolves around keeping the truth from people ( via the narrative and media grid ), they are immoral and shameless.

Blogging on the Afghan War

I've kept out of blogging on the Afghan war for a while now.

I've been sceptical about it for quite some time ( see my post Labour cynically fail our troops in Afghanistan Sept 2007). But the surge in Iraq showed that some success could be possible to a determined and resourced military ( American of course ). Its not me our there, nor my children, and you don't want to give the enemy succour by being over critical. But the government has tried to prevent information getting back from independent sources, and we can't rely on just official information any more. We can count the body bags however.

The government has used the troops as a form of human shield against criticism. They have offered great home comings, promised support "whatever you need" - then ordered officers not to ask for it.

We have the cynical exercise of an Armed Forces day, "Support the troops" starts to sound like "Support the government", but no where near enough helicopters and equipment for UK troops. ( I saw today that the US has 3 times as many helicopters for the number of troops deployed as we do ).

Brown is quick to use troops as back droops for photo ops of him making speeches ( and think about what bad manners that is with his back turned to them - also co-opting public servants for political window dressing ). But he never pays the required bill.

Labour resort yet again to spin, lies, deceit and misdirection. ( How can anyone deny that Labour are now essentially evil ? By their fruits shall you know them ). The truth is that even the equipment the forces now have has been worn out by the years of fighting. We haven't run a war time budget for defence - therefore our equipment is run down terribly. We may have to pull out to regroup.

But the worse of it is now becoming apparent that our leaders don't know what they are trying to do - except get themselves re-elected. ( See my post Mr Brown wants some peoples children to die in Afghanistan, maybe yours... ).

John Maples asked the question in PMQ's ( before Nick Clegg jumped on the bandwagon - hoping no doubt for a Charlie Kennedy anti Iraq type spike in the polls no doubt ).

Q5. [284666] Mr. John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con): The seven soldiers killed in Afghanistan, whose names the right hon. and learned Lady gave us at the start of Prime Minister’s Question Time, bring to exactly 170 the tragic total of those killed in Afghanistan since 2006. Many people in my constituency are starting to doubt the wisdom of this war and I wonder whether she could remind the House of precisely what our military objective in Afghanistan is.

Ms Harman: The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. We do not want anyone to be in any doubt about the importance of this mission in Afghanistan. It is important to ensure that in the mountainous regions surrounding Afghanistan and Pakistan, we do not have a crucible for the development of terrorism, which threatens people not only in those countries but in the wider region and, indeed, the whole world. This mission is also important for the education of people in Afghanistan. There are now 6 million children in school in that country, compared with only 1 million in early 2001. Our troops have paved the way, working with other international forces, to make that possible. They are paving the way for economic development and a more secure democracy as well as security in the region and the world. We want to make it clear to our soldiers, their families and the people of this country that we have no doubt about the importance of the mission in Afghanistan.

If that was an examination question then she would have scored zero as she answered another question all together. Maples asks something very specific. A question that anyone taking on the role of answering Prime Minister's questions during a time of war would be expected to know of the top of their head.

The truth is Labour have no idea what they are really doing - just that they don't intend to pay for it. The military is seen as "Tory" and hostile. Perhaps they even see weakening it and letting slowly bleed to death and a long term socialist policy objective ( since they won't answer the question when its put straight to them then we have to speculate ).

I suspect the truth is that Labour are in Afghanistan to keep in favour with the US. That's the military objective.

I wonder if Labour will allow "our boys" to vote in their general election - or through various tricks and changes int he voting regulations cheat many of them of their votes as well as their equipment and the support they deserve. Remember in 2005 65% of the overseas forces couldn't vote.

Finally can I take you back to July 2006 and my post on the situation then as we got into the mess in Helmand province whilst being promised that not a shot would need to be fired.

On Andy Coulson

I'm just wondering who's media grid launching the political smear attack on Andy Coulson via the Guardian is on.

We know Labour have dirty tricks units setting up, and this sort of smear and innuendo stuff is just the sort of operation they have run in the past.

I have no idea of Mr Coulson's involvement in doing the electronic equivalent of going through peoples bins by tabloid journalists. However it now turns out that the Guardian had no new evidence and the police see nothing to make any further investigations about.

Right now this looks like muck racking from Labour.

Its going to be a dirty nasty campaign to eject the unelected Scottish socialist destroyer of our economy from office and all his nasty but expensive hangers on.

PS What are the odds on the Prince of Darkness being involved in this one ? It has his style.

How the government and BBC are brainwashing your children against Christianity

Old Holborn has a guest post on the BBC's bit sized GCSE revision site.

Its incredible stuff - and maybe that's how they get away with it. ( The site can be viewed directly here ).

The BBC would like us to believe that religious programming can be left in the safe hands of a Muslim. The relative treatment of Christianity and Islam in these revision articles shows this is just not the case.

Warning: If you have a weak heart or underlying medical condition that will be made worse by a sudden rise in blood pressure then you'd better not follow the links.

The CEP: Gordon Brown puts Scotland first

A bit behind already today, so here's a press release from the Campaign for an English Parliament - that has my support:

---

CEP Media Unit. for release: Tuesday 8am 7th July 2009

GORDON BROWN PUTS SCOTLAND FIRST, NOT BRITAIN.

“On the occasion of the 10^th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament last Wednesday July 1^st Gordon Brown published an article in the Scottish Daily Record,” stated Philippa Cullen of Lower Froyle in Hampshire in her end-of-month message to CEP members in the county. “It reeked with Scottish nationalism. Coming from a British Prime Minister who should put Britain first and speak equally of each nation of Britain it was outrageous. Yet it was totally very consistent indeed with his written pledge of March 31^st 1989 when as ‘one of the leaders of Labour’s campaign for devolution’ he had signed the Scottish Claim of Right vowing ‘to make the interests of the Scottish people paramount in everything he said and did’. His government, he says, ‘has never stopped focusing on delivering for the Scottish people’.

“In the article he celebrated ‘Scotland’s rich and vibrant political history’. Eerily he talked of ‘the bravery and brilliance of Scots in uniform’, no mention of the English who make up the vast bulk of the British Army, Navy and Air Force. He described how he ‘had campaigned for a fairer future for Scotland’ and how he had made policy that ‘pays off for Scots. Our decision to build two state-of-the-art aircraft carriers at shipyards including Govan, Scotstoun and Rosyth has secured thousands of jobs in Scotland and protected Scots’ hard-earned savings’. He omitted to mention that the preservation of shipbuilding jobs in Scotland had been at the deliberate expense of England's shipyards, particualry Devonport and Tyneside.

“He exhibited breathtaking effrontery by saying that ‘the Scottish people rightly felt frustrated in recent decades as unpopular decisions were made on health, education and policing’, while knowing full well that his fellow Scottish Labour MPs in the UK parliament have taken away English MPs’ choice on foundation hospitals and university tuition fees by voting against them and imposing these against English wishes.

“Unashamedly he boasts that the Scots can enjoy ‘influencing decisions in Westminster’ while making no mention of the West Lothian Question. He trumpets on about ‘Scottish solutions to Scottish issues on things such as free personal care for the elderly, tuition fees, free travel for the elderly and prescription charges’, as if England doesn’t have exactly the same issues; and as if he is unaware, which he most definitely is not, that in terms of tax revenue it is the English taxpayer who pays for the extra benefits the Scots nosw enjoy. In terms of tax revenue Scotland is unable to pay its own way. ‘The Union Government invests billions of pounds in Scotland beyond the Scottish Parliament’s £35 billion annual budget’ he writes. What he does not write is that 90% of the Union Government’s revenue comes the English taxpayer.

Because of devolution Brown writes, ‘Scots could finally start taking more control of our daily lives’. Note his use of the word ‘our’. He smugly says “For the first time in 300 years, Scotland once again had its own parliament’. There is no fiercer opponent of England having its own parliament and the English having ‘control of their daily lives’. than him; and he is using all the instruments of the British state to try to make sure it never happens. He boasts of ‘hosting a working dinner in my home in Fife for leaders from all the Holyrood parties’. Would he ever as much as think of getting representatives of the people of England together ‘to focus on delivering for the English people’?

As Brown so rightly says in the article, more truthfully than he realizes: ‘In short, devolution gives Scotland the best of both worlds’

Contacts: Phiippa Cullen: Tel: 01420 23216 Email: imarcher@lineonee.net

Michael Knowles, CEP Media Unit. Tel: 01260 271139. email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk

The establishment is trying to warn us about our current plight

Sometimes its too easy to rant about civil servants and the establishment, especially when they are quiet despite challenges which are a very clear and present threat to our country.

But I have noted a number of attempts by those who serve us, or did so, and are often beholden to the current government to warn us, or prepare on the quiet for the disaster when Gordon Brown debt time bomb goes off. Here are a few I've spotted floating by recently:

1. NHS Trusts currently planning for a 5% cut.
2. Civil servants secretly preparing plans for a 20% cut in departmental budgets.
3. Meryn King's warning about "Fiscal Stimulus" and more recently about plans to reduce the debt.
4. The failure of that gilts auction, that now has the bank of England printing money to fund the government.
5. John Major warning about VAT at 20% and a 5p raise in basic income tax ( whilst dismissing the Labour myth that just the rich can be taxed to cover things ).

There is a common message emerging to both parties that more radical action that is being currently openly discussed will be necessary.

This puts the dishonesty of Gordon Brown in talking about raising public spending into its correct perspective.

PS I wonder if the 20% doom's day plan isn't needed to be able to act intelligently to a rapid funding crisis, which must now be a real fear. You can see the scene - the government is unable to sell any more debt and is on the verge or actually becomes insolvent. The IMF steam in ( if we're lucky and they have enough money left ) and demand large cuts tomorrow. At least a plan would exist so the brutal surgery didn't cut too many arteries of the country. However perhaps the reported planning may be more extreme than necessary to force some sort of prioritisation out of each department and to avoid the fake efficiency savings and accountancy tricks being put forward to the Treasury.

Update Wat Tyler has some insight into civil service activities - and its worth talking a look at his analysis on the 20% cuts here.

We need to start really holding our politicians to account and jailing those who commit fraud by lying

Just read the following in a great article by Peter Oborne:

Scandalously, defenders of the Government argue that this culture of deception is of no real importance — simply part of the cut-and-thrust of political debate. I disagree most vehemently.

Imagine, for example, that the chairman of one of our large private companies, such as BP, had conducted himself as Gordon Brown has done in recent weeks and lied to the Stock Market about BP’s future investment and spending plans. He’d have been forced out of his job by now.

Indeed, it is also highly likely that he would have been visited by the City of London fraud squad and be facing a jail sentence.

It occurs to me that this is precisely what's wrong right now. Gordon Brown should have been arrested by now and be on trial for fraud. In Labour's modernised without morales society they lie as they breath. There need to be consequences.

Brown has condemned our country to poverty for a generation - he should stand trial for the contested truths he spouts ( just as a company director would ) and assuming he gets convicted be sent to prison for a decade.

Sarah - hate to break it to you but its your husband who's exporting Gary McKinnon to a life in prison in the US

The desperation and hypocrisy of Labour is getting beyond belief. Sarah Brown has the nerve to sympathise with the the campaign to stop the automatic extradition of Gary McKinnon - under legislation that Labour brought in !

Labour were warned about the consequences of their abandonment of the government sovereign rite to protect its citizens, but as ever they thought they knew better.

Instead of the crocodile tears, how about getting her husband to the dispatch box to apologise and beg for forgiveness for allowing such an unequal extradition arrangement to exist ( and the one with EU countries also ) and to beg the house to repeal the relevant Labour legislation ?

PS What won't Sarah Brown do to get headlines right now ? She is as guilty of the destruction and demise of the UK caused by her husband as any of the other in the gutless Labour group that allows the unlelcted prime minister to continue for one more day in office.

Crude Britannia - recommended politcal viewing

A few days ago I watched the first episode of the BBC's documentary Crude Britannia - which despite BBC3's growing reputation is actually about the history of oil and gas exploration and production in the UK.

I guess I was drawn to it as its my industry, at least in part. I've spend a few months training to drill oil wells and being a rough neck, and what they tell you on the programme is all true - at least it was a decade ago ( some of the drilling process has become more automated on some rigs since ).

But you should watch it if your interested in politics. Whilst the slightly inevitable left of centre world view which the BBC is so justly famed for comes out, it doesn't spoil the background.

If your under 35 and you want to know what Thatcherism was really all about - look at what was happening to Britain before her.

Also if you have ever read Daniel Yergin's "The Prize" or seen the TV documentary version you'll realise that oil has been central to much of the macro economic battle between countries over 100 years.

In the early 1960's Britain was crippled with debt ( from the second world war - though Gordon has just created a similar amount today ) and had failing industries that couldn't compete ( not so dissimilar to today ).

The one bit of luck Britain had was North Sea Gas and Oil. The revenues gave the Thatcher government the breathing space to conduct its reforms. ( It does not bear thinking about what would have happened otherwise ).

Watching this documentary takes you back to our country at a time of high debt, with unsecured energy sources and when we were having problems paying its way in the world.

That's just where Gordon Brown has just put us back to.

Oil is a critical issue. There's a load of wishful thinking and triangulation about tree hugging energy sources, but they won't keep the lights on. And when the lights go of the truly desperate politics will follow. Most people in this country give little thought to the oil industry that in many ways has kept our country afloat. ( Compare to the coverage the coal mines get in popular culture ).

In the programme you see a pub operating by candle light - I can remember those days (just). However I bet with modern tills, electric beer pumps and health a safety laws they couldn't operate today in the dark. Neither could our massive chilled food supply chain. Which is a shame because its where we are heading right now.

The BBC iPlayer versions can be found below. I recommend an hour watching, especially if you under 35.

Its time we rediscovered what not paying your way in the world ultimately leads to, before its too late.

Episode 1 (recommended )
Episode 2 (Haven't seen yet )

Brown's desperate interview with Nick Robinson

Every time it really starts to fall apart for Brown he phones up the BBC and gets a reporter over to do help get the message that is laughed out of court in parliament. At the 10pm news we had Nick Robinson asking the questions and Brown producing his usual smoke screen of obscurification and incredible answers (BBC post on this is available here - Nick Robinson did mange to get him to almost admit that cuts may happen ).

Having made the zero % increase gaff in PMQs he will have been desperate to divert attention. Such is the dishonest art of Labour spin doctoring and its obsession with news control and deceit of the electorate.

Brown still will not admit that the governments own figures indicate considerable cuts in departmental spending hiding behind the dishonourable fallacy that who knows the future ? Yet at the same time he smears his opponents by claiming he knows their policies with certainty - even when he doesn't know his own government's circumstances.

This man is just unfit for office. If he doesn't know that then its because he's deluded.

Is there nobody in the Labour party willing to put country before their career or fear of the No10 smear machine to save our country ?

Google Trends "Brown Liar"

Haven't had time to watch PMQs yet - but from what I hear the Brown being economical with the Truth thing is going round again .... Google are now able top record the searches for "Brown Liar"

In the interest of fairness I used a comparison for the search term "Cameron Liar" just to get a sense of perspective.