The Podcast Four - Obvious Headlines

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePodcastFour#p/a/u/2/FpR-AWEr97M

The Podcast Four - Snow panic, special guests and lube-filled toilet visits

The Podcast Four - Gay white rappers get shot 9 times

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePodcastFour#p/a/u/1/1b1sypGyFvE

I'm routed in reality - Me, Matt and George

Iraq - A foreign policy perspective (By Unity on Liberal Conspiracy)

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/01/30/iraq-from-a-foreign-policy-perspective/#comment-101134

The problem here, as with almost everything else that’s been written on the subject in the last six years, is that the majority of people expressing opinions on this issue don’t really understand how foreign policy actually ‘works’ and how it different it is from domestic politics. What they do, for perfectly understandable reasons, is try their best to make sense what they see in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine, Zimbabwe and anywhere else you’d care to mention, by applying their understanding of domestic politics and policy-making to the situation.

This, as you might imagine, often results in them misreading or misinterpreting what actually going on and, more importantly, why?

Take the Vietnam War, for example.

If you ask most people for their view of the Vietnam War, they’d agree with the proposition that it was America’s most significant foreign policy setback of the post-World War II era…

…and they’d be wrong!

Domestically, the Vietnam War a disaster for the US. It spawned civil unrest. It put a severe dent in the American people’s self image for a generation and left behind a legacy of social, medical, economic and political problems, especially in regards to the status of war veterans, some of which still haven’t quite been satisfactorily resolved.

And, of course, America ultimate lost the war and were forced out of Vietnam by what should have been, on paper, a massively inferior military force.

As bad as all that sounds, the Vietnam War was, in terms of US foreign policy, a qualified success – No, really, it was.

Yes, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos did all fall to Communist forces but none of these countries were ever of any great strategic value or importance to the US, anyway...

Cont..http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/01/30/iraq-from-a-foreign-policy-perspective/#comment-101134

George said:

Vietnam was a marked success. Iraq, within the above parameters, is also a strategic success. Israeli influence upon US foreign-policy has been crucial and clear, religious and political principles, as well as the geographical importance, all contribute to anti-Arab, anti-UN, “we can be the next empire” type attitudes and actions.

In future years, when we have grown-up a bit, maybe citizens will start to laugh at a time when people killed each other for a philosophy. For economies, for foreign-policy, for strategic advantage, for a pre-occupation with political ideologies. Idealistic, individualistic, utopian (all words never allowed in warring political discourse).

I give liberalism a bad name.

The Podcast Four - Sachs Sacks Brand

The Podcast Four - Iced Treason

The Podcast Four - Censorshit - On Youtube

Americans vote for higher taxes for the rich - Don Paskini

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/01/27/americans-vote-for-higher-taxes-on-rich-business/

Voters in the American state of Oregon voted yesterday on two ballot initiatives to raise the minimum taxes paid by corporations and increase marginal tax rates on people earning more than $250,000 per year.

Both proposals passed, with 54% support for higher taxes on the rich and 53.4% support for higher taxes on corporations. Apparently, this is the first time that voters in the state have supported a tax increase by ballot initiative since the 1930s.

It is a victory for local Democrats and their union allies, thanks to large turnout by traditional Democratic supports.

It means that rather than planning for spending cuts, the state legislature can focus on new spending priorities.

I’ll be interested to hear how the great and the good analysts who have been telling us that the Democrats have been losing because they have been too ‘liberal’ and ‘big government’ explain this results.

More information here and here.

George Says:

The idea that tax-rises for the rich solve the problems of society, and increase the tax revenues for the state is a commonly held myth. The rich and super-rich have, and always will be, aware of loopholes, tax havens and creative accounting techniques.

What this vote could signify is a changing realisation that more taxes, spread throughout society, are the answer to many problems in the USA, and to a lesser extent here in the UK.

The most important principle, which is unlikely to spread throughout America, although it should, is the realisation that this recession is the fault of the hyper-risky investment banks. The over reliance on the financial sector in both countries has caused huge, long-term problems for so many areas of society. This is crucial, the growing numbers (who never had any interest in economies or financial institutions) are beginning to show disgust, and this is just one way of highlighting that, even if the potential returns from it are minuscule in comparison.

Quotes on the BNP - Against and Against

http://www.rvar.org.uk/pages/views.html#newspapers

“…a stain on our democratic way of life: the British National Party….This is not a political movement. This is a bunch of thugs dressed up as a political party….The policies of the British National Party are based on bigotry and hatred. Its approach is entirely alien to our political traditions….The BNP preaches a message of racism, intolerance and brutality that flies in the face of this country's history and heritage.” Michael Howard, leader of the Conservative Party

Newspapers

"The BNP tries to present itself as a mainstream political party concerned with immigration and crime. But it is not a legitimate party in the same sense as others. A combination of violence, rewriting history and unscientific race "theory" characterises the BNP." Liverpool Echo

Protectors of justice

"Racism remains a cancer in our society. It strikes at the heart of people's right to feel safe and protected by law." Lord Goldsmith, Attorney General

"Racism must not be allowed to flourish. The message must be received and understood, in every corner of our society, in our streets and prisons, in the services, in the workplace, on public transport, in hospitals, public houses and clubs, that racism is evil. It cannot co-exist with fairness and justice. It is incompatible with democratic civilisation." Lord Justice Rose, Appeal Court Judge

Football

“I thought in the last couple of years racism had been cut out of the game. But you read things, you hear things. These things need to be cut out of the game because they're not good for the people involved and not good for the game.”

David Beckham

Trade unions

“The trade union movement has a long and proud record of standing up to Fascism in its many forms….(the BNP) sneak beneath a veil of respectability, just as Hitler did when he high-jacked Germany's fledgling inter-war democracy and closed down all the unions.”

Roger Lyons, Joint General Secretary, Amicus-MSF.

“It’s clear that we need to defeat fascism, not just at the ballot box but to defeat the ideology of fascism and racism.” Bob Crow, General Secretary of RMT.

“I don’t believe that British working people have an appetite for fascism.” Kevin Curran, General Secretary of GMB.

“We are committed to making sure that our members are aware of the consequences of BNP activity, both in the local community and more specifically the workplace.” Sir Bill Connor, General Secretary of USDAW.

“We need to challenge discrimination and disadvantage in the world of work and face the challenge the BNP are posing which is part of a European-wide threat.” Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC.

"Let's stand up to the racists. Let's stand up for respect, dignity and diversity." Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON.

“We underestimated the fascists in Chile. We learned the hard way that you need to keep an eye on them, not only the open fascists, but those who conceal themselves and work in a hidden way inside democratic organizations.” Ernesto Leal, trade unionist victim of fascism in Chile.

Churches

In Lancashire BNP politics are very damaging. The party exacerbates the social problems we already have, and causes new problems….Its appeal is insidious, divisive and dangerous…. I do not think Christians should be silent or inactive. Dale Barton, Churches Together in Lancashire, Inter Faith Development Officer.

The Catholic Church:

"Racism is intrinsically evil, and especially destructive when it expresses itself in organisations and political parties explicitly committed to a racist ideology and engaged in fomenting violence against ethnic minorities. All people share with Christians an obligation not to support such organisations under any circumstances." Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, 1994

The Methodist Church:

"…encourages people to vote in local, national and European elections. While not endorsing any particular political party, we urge people not to vote for candidates who promote racist policies.

…expects members of the Methodist Church to practise and promote racial justice and inclusion and reject any political party that attempts to stir up racial and religious hatred and fear or asylum seekers.” National Council of the Methodist Church, 2004. The Methodist Church has an initiative called "Countering Political Extremism" which is an online information resource for churches concerned about the rise of far-right political parties such as the BNP.

Church of England:

"…believes that any political movement that seeks to divide our communities on the basis of ethnicity is an affront to the nature of God revealed in creation and scripture and is a grave danger to harmonious community relationships;

…consequently, voting for and/or supporting a political party that offers racist policies is incompatible with Christian discipleship..."

From a resolution of the General Synod of the Church of England, 2004.

United Reformed Church

"…we affirm that membership or any form of support for organizations such as the British National Party is incompatible with Christian discipleship.

…we call upon all local churches to continue to practise and promote racial justice and inclusion.

…We call upon local churches to encourage voting during the local and European election in the light of these principles." Mission Council of the United Reformed Church, 2004.

“As people of faith, the defeat of racism is the business of us all. For it is only through the active participation of the many that justice is done and true liberation of those that are oppressed is secured. It is vital that people understand the impact of racism, for instance, the tone of the public debate about asylum seems to have led to an increase in racist attacks. Several asylum seekers have been murdered, but members of settled minority ethnic communities also report greater levels of prejudice. Many fear that the War on Terrorism, including the conflict in Iraq, is further fracturing British society and leading to suspicion and resentment against minority communities.” Secretary for Churches Commission on Racial Justice, the Rev Arlington Trotman speaking on behalf of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. http://www.ctbi.org.uk/ccrj/welcome.htm

What the fascists say

“The electors of Millwall did not back a Post-Modernist Rightist Party, but what they perceived to be a strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan 'Defend Rights for Whites' with well-directed boots and fists. When the crunch comes, power is the product of force and will, not of rational debate.” Nick Griffin, BNP leader.

“I am well aware that the orthodox opinion is that six million Jews were gassed and cremated or turned into lampshades. Orthodox opinion also once held that the earth is flat…I have reached the conclusion that the ‘extermination’ tale is a mixture of Allied wartime propaganda, extremely profitable lie, and latter day witch-hysteria.” Nick Griffin, BNP leader.

“The sick minds who would have us believe that Jews were gassed at Auschwitz are completely twisted.” Tony Lecomber, number two in the BNP.

“A point of detail in the history of the Second World War.” (Referring to the gas chambers in the Nazi death camps.) Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the National Front in France.

“Many who feel that Hitler was right do not believe it is safe yet to state such views openly. But times will change.” John Tyndall, BNP founder and former leader.

“When we get to power our opponents will be swept away like flies.” John Tyndall, BNP founder and former leader.

“Mein Kampf is my bible” (Mein Kampf is a book written by Hitler in which he set out his Nazi philosophy and practice.) John Tyndall, BNP founder and former leader.

"Nick Griffin's pose as a political leader of 'moderation' is so transparently phoney that it can quite easily be demolished by any media hack at any time who cares to do a little research into his verbal and written utterances of the not-so-distant past… Long ago, I came to realise that as far as Nick Griffin is concerned policy stances are simply things to be adopted or discarded in accordance with how they further his ends in the factional wars in which, for his whole political life, he seems to have been engaged…It takes getting to know the man to see through his tricks." John Tyndall, BNP founder and former leader.

“A drunken, warmongering slob.” (Referring to Winston Churchill.) Tony Lecomber, number two in the BNP.

The Podcast Four - Episode 9 - Childishness. Child. Dish. Nurse.

http://podcastfour.blogspot.com/2010/01/podcast-0009-240110-childishness-child.html

Thanks to Dom Farelli

http://domfarelli.blogspot.com/

This week the discussion basis was, “Childishness.” Kev is back in the studio and we’re all being childish.

Topics discussed;

George’s custard intro, status change rape, laughing at the fat girl on the train, fat stats, the lads, more custard, Katona type mums, Kev’s heartfelt campaign, People:Asleep, charity single, reggae fine, Ronan guest spot, food awakenings, Luke shout out, Arwel water story, map rime, research box, more George racism, dense and rivers, Metro is shit, Afghan-bluff, documentary Ken doll, userus is the piss, piss sit, copywrite friend buying, Austrian family values, Chad and Brad and Zack, jump ship (not literally), …..joke….., George’s 147 fears, drug face, scrounge for trafficking, Spain - sorry, France - coffee, Avatar again, Titanic is shit, DVDA on Trannies (DVD TV shows), lost about Lost, Clerks II poster, Kanye West is a gay fish, more racism, Minority TV (MTV awards), Taylor her Swift, Jackass, face purging, Kev loves Hello Kitty and Powerpuff Girls, his words, final purge, end.

EDL Riots in Stoke - Disgraceful local footage - They should be ashamed

The bit with the policeman is a disgrace.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/8476873.stm

"Fifteen people were arrested at an English Defence League (EDL) rally in Stoke-on-Trent after trouble broke out.

Four officers were injured and vehicles were damaged when EDL supporters broke through police cordons. Two of the officers needed hospital treatment.

About 1,500 EDL supporters were at the rally in Hanley to protest about Islamic extremism, police said.

Up to 300 members from the group Unite Against Fascism gathered on the other side of Hanley centre."

Cameron and Osborne - A scandalous history?

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/George_Osborne

Bullingdon Club:

It was revealed in The Daily Mail on 7 April 2007 that whilst at Oxford, George Osborne had been a member of the Bullingdon Club

Bullingdon Club

The Bullingdon Club is a socially exclusive student dining club at Oxford University, without any permanent rooms, infamous for its members' wealth and destructive binges. Membership is by invitation only, and prohibitively expensive for most, given the need to pay for the uniform, dinners and...

, a notorious Oxford University dining club. This had become a significant political issue after it was revealed that David Cameron had been a member of the club and that it was 'infamous for "trashing" restaurants and other riotous behaviour' and 'is open only to sons of aristocratic families and the super-rich'.

http://www.georgeosborne.com/

http://www.georgeosborne.com/search/label/George%20Osborne%20Biography

Slightly biased version.

He could do no wrong even allegations of cocaine use and a lurid photo of him (aged 22) with a black dominatrix published in The Mirror did not seem to damage him.

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2009/06/a-letter-complaining-about-team-camerons-power-is-circulated-to-all-tory-mps.htm

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/files/pdf.pdf

Tony Blair like, top-down instructions, barking orders presidential-ism, Cameron-style.

"We all know that the expenses crisis is a massive problem, but it has brought out clear evidence of what all of us had sensed and feared, namely that the party in parliament has ceased to be a team effort and is now just run and dictated to for the personal advantage of David Cameron and George Osborne. We are concerned that the parliamentary party is just being used and abused by the leader and his inner circle. They are treating the party as if it is their private property. Action is being taken to respond to the expenses scandal but its main purpose actually seems to be to build up a position for themselves of permanent power. Colleagues are threatened with expulsion, older members are being forced out, untested candidates are being invited to apply from nowhere, and all of it is designed to assert a Stalinist hold over the party. The importance of parliament is being sacrificed to help them."

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/acid-rabbi/af32f8d9d8e5e7e852c29b6e22c09048

"George Osborne, the Conservative MP for Tatton who is currently caught up in a row resulting from his claim that the Government refused him permission to see information related to spending, is facing an inquiry into irregularities amongst his expenses submissions. Previous accusations made by the Daily Telegraph, which claimed that Mr. Osborne had deliberately avoided paying Capital Gains Tax, will not be investigated."

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/acid-rabbi/af32f8d9d8e5e7e852c29b6e22c09048

Cameron vote-whoring? Do not let the Daily Mail get a hold of this hot potato, Cameron supporting homosexuality, in schools! Dacre would ring his neck.

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/minor/2009/07/29/david-camerons-fs-up/



I have heard the future Prime Minister say the word 'twat', wow, never thought that would happen, ever in the history of all prime ministers, ever, especially from one who goes on to spout the shit he does in the latter 30 seconds of this clip.

"During the leadership election allegations were made that Cameron had used cannabis and cocaine recreationally before becoming an MP.^[156] Pressed on this point during the BBC programme Question Time, Cameron expressed the view that everybody was allowed to "err and stray" in their past.^[157] His refusal to deny consumption of either cannabis or cocaine prior to his parliamentary career has been interpreted as a tacit admission that he has in fact consumed both of these illegal drugs. During his 2005 Conservative leadership campaign he addressed the question of drug consumption by remarking that "I did lots of things before I came into politics which I shouldn't have done. We all did."<sup>[157]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cameron#Allegations_of_recreational_drug_use

This just makes me want to vote Tory even more, aarrgghh, get the thought out of your head, it is a mental thing to do. He did smoke the weed, and snort the lines, and say twat. Oh my god, I hope he grows some good plants in number ten!

Or does the posh bit just piss you off? Because David is about as posh as they come, full-on, near royalty posh, with his posh fingers in the posh media pies, he has now even got a grasp on the grubby Murdoch clan and the influence at the Sun and the Times.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-camerons-band-of-etonian-brothers-449043.html</sup>

"Old Etonians and No 10 do have a special relationship. The country's most prestigious public school - founded in 1440 - has produced no fewer than 18 of Britain's 52 prime ministers (all, needless to say, Tory), but if Cameron becomes the 19th, he will carry the school with him to No 10 like few of his predecessors.

Herein lies the great Cameron paradox. Since winning the Tory leadership 18 months ago, he has done some very un-Tory things - from urging us to hug hoodies to renouncing the "no-such-thing-as-society" mantra of the Thatcher years. With his open-neck shirts and relaxed manner, no Tory leader has ever been - or appeared to be - quite such a man of the people as Cameron. He rides his bike to work. He goes home to his family in north Kensington (not Notting Hill), he puts his children to bed. He's quite the regular guy.

And yet. And yet. So much of his outlook on life and his political thinking is informed by his privileged past, and so many of his closest friends and advisers, both inside and outside the shadow cabinet, are creatures of that same narrow world. It's not something Cameron likes to draw attention to - but then of course it wouldn't be.

Altogether, 14 of Cameron's front bench spokesmen are old Etonians. Another three work in his private office. Many of the 14 are from a previous generation. For example, Lords Glentoran, Cope of Berkeley, Bridgeman and Skelmersdale left the school fully 30 years before Cameron. But all provide reassuring political ballast to a leadership light on executive experience, as does old Etonian Oliver Letwin - a veteran of Mrs Thatcher's poll tax.

Of the others, there is Viscount Astor, who happens to be Cameron's stepfather-in-law, and Hugo Swire, who has been a holiday companion. Cameron did not know Boris Johnson well at school, being two years his junior, but they overlapped at Oxford, as members of the Bullingdon Club. Among Tory spokesmen, Bill Wiggin is an exact school contemporary and the Cameron and the Wiggin families have many associations. The pair themselves, though, are not close.

Among Cameron's friends outside politics, there is a striking number of Etonians. Pete Czernin, Simon Andreae, Tom Goff, James Learmond and "Toppo" Todhunter were all in the same house and maintain close contact with him to this day. Giles Andreae (brother of Simon), James Fergusson and Dominic Loehnis - all Etonians Cameron got to know well at Oxford or later and who are now in various branches of the media - also remain close." (taken from Independent article in 2007)

It bothers George.

Bleeding the country dry? Coporate takeovers in the UK

A brief history of corporate takeovers in recent years, the impact they have had, both personally and nationally, and some considerations about the future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotpoint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indesit

This particular takeover provided the redundancy package to one family member, four friends and six people 'I know'. It was a major employer in the area, and had many skilled members of staff who had given over twenty-five years 'service' to the manufacturing operations that took part firstly in Llandudno Junction and finally at Kinmel Bay, before the Italian owned company slowly cut the job numbers before finally closing the plant down in 2009.

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2299

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/03/04/bodelwyddan-factory-closure-threatens-300-jobs-55578-23058457/

The eventual closure of Anglesey Aluminum, its name giving away its niche industry, was also the largest employer on the a fore mentioned island; but this did not stop operations moving to Dubai when its parent company refused the help of the National Assembly in Wales and the UK government in Westminster to the tune of £48 million. This closure also affected the family of one close friend of mine.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/09/20/rally-protests-at-anglesey-aluminium-closure-91466-24732382/

How can this be possible under the power of a Labour government? A party created to defend the rights of working people. Free trade is fine in principle, but trade and takeovers that rip out the hearts of communities and at times individuals, highlight that sometimes the negative impact has to be taken into consideration. Whether that means the UK government (of whatever distinction) has to impart some protection on any jobs between UK-based and foreign companies interested in takeovers (highly unlikely). We ban any immigrant takeovers, ridiculous suggestion, ridiculously suggested. Or we hope the only important players in the market, the consumers, can be persuaded to switch allegiance to purely local shops, services and providers. A possibility. Free trade has to exist, governments usually have vested interests when it comes to regulation. The only answer has to be the promotion, to consumers, of local shops, local brands, local finance, local services, local production, local manufacturing, you get the gist. It does not have to be old-fashioned, it can digital, it can be on the radio or in the newspapers, it can be by mouth or council, but it has to be done. There are examples of this happening already, but it has to happen more.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/456429.stm

Old BBC article about the speedy increase in corporatism after Blair took over from Major.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/19/kraft-cadbury-takeovers

More recent analysis of takeovers and the consequent effects on the economy and society in general.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/25/british-companies-sold-foreign-investors

Ten of the most notable disappearing acts of this decade have been:

• British Energy sold majority stake to French power utility EDF in January for £12bn

• Scottish & Newcastle breweries sold to Carlsberg and Heineken in a joint bid worth nearly £8bn in 2008

• ICI sold to Dutch group Akzo Nobel for £8bn in 2008

• Scottish Power sold to Spain's Iberdrola for £11.6bn in 2007

• In 2006, airports operator BAA bought by Ferrovial, the Spanish construction conglomerate, for £10bn

• Thames Water sold to German utility RWE for £5bn in 2006

• Pilkington Glass sold to NSG of Japan for nearly £2bn in 2006

• P&O sold to Dubai Ports World for £3.3bn in 2005

• Abbey National bank bought by Spain's Santander in 2004 for £8.5bn

There will be thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, maybe even approaching millions who will have been negatively affected by these takeovers. Free trade is a brilliant economic principle, but the reality of monolithic entities increasing in size for the advantage of economies of scale versus the incredibly negative human impact of global non-community-based brand-led capitalistic free-trade has to be considered.

I cannot justify my belief in the liberal principle, in this case, when I consider the human impact.

Cameron mock-up most popular politics site

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/01/21/cameron-airbrush-spoof-most-popular-politics-site/

The website publishing spoofing the airbrushed posters of David Cameron – MyDavidCameron.com – has become the most popular politics site in the UK.

Founder Clifford Singer today posted Google Analytics stats showing the site was now more popular than the official Conservatives website.

Launched only two weeks ago, ‘Airbrushed For Change’ had received 105,928 visits, of which 89,827 were absolute unique visitors.

Our busiest day to date was Friday 15 Jan, when we received 20,343 visits.

We had also recorded more than 1400 tweets linking to our site (although there were many more tweets that referred to us without linking and these were not recorded).

More than 500 posters have been submitted.

The stats also show that the site is already more popular than the top Tory blogs.

GEORGE ALLWELL COMMENT:

Hate to get serious about this, because I found them hilarious, but is not all publicity, good publicity? Is this not Cameron’s dream, for a Tory election poster to go internet-mad?

Let us hope this influx of visitors were swing-voters unsure of the Tories, pondering the compassion and progression Cameron espouses, swing-voters who are now crying into their hands, gutted at the realization that both main parties are basically saying the same thing. We live in a democra-ship, we are told we have a say, we have a vote, we have equal power – when in reality we have no choice, like the US, and can only hope that electoral reform can change this and give representation. A voting system that promotes diversity with parties and co-operation between elected officials.

Oh my words, way too serious. Laugh at Cameron, he shines like the sun, glows like the moon and is the Savior of the World!

The UK- Share (holded) -d between the rest

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/25/british-companies-sold-foreign-investors

Ten of the most notable disappearing acts of this decade have been:

• British Energy sold majority stake to French power utility EDF in January for £12bn

• Scottish & Newcastle breweries sold to Carlsberg and Heineken in a joint bid worth nearly £8bn in 2008

• ICI sold to Dutch group Akzo Nobel for £8bn in 2008

• Scottish Power sold to Spain's Iberdrola for £11.6bn in 2007

• In 2006, airports operator BAA bought by Ferrovial, the Spanish construction conglomerate, for £10bn

• Thames Water sold to German utility RWE for £5bn in 2006

• Pilkington Glass sold to NSG of Japan for nearly £2bn in 2006

• P&O sold to Dubai Ports World for £3.3bn in 2005

• Abbey National bank bought by Spain's Santander in 2004 for £8.5bn

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/01/21/the-hypocrisy-over-cadburys-is-nauseating/

And yet the picture’s pretty clear. Like they point out at Unite, wherever it’s gone in the past 10 years, “Kraft has sacked 60,000 workers to pay for other companies it has eaten up”.

The sourest irony of all is that the £7bn Kraft raised to table the bid were financed by RBS which is 84 per cent owned by the British government.

And until any of the major political parties will say loud and clear that Britain can’t carry on turning into a country exclusively centred around City gambles with the rest working in call centres and mobile phone shops, we will witness similar devastation time and time again.

Brooker - Newswipe - Series 2 - Episode 1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00q9ypy/Newswipe_Series_2_Episode_1/

The modern BNP, twits, twats and metrosexuals - from Edmund Standing dot wordpress dot com

http://edmundstanding.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/the-modern-bnp-twits-twats-and-metrosexuals/

Regular readers may recall BNP Legal Director Lee Barnes’s views on social networking sites:

I hate anyone with a fucking facebook account, who twitters, who has a myspace account, who spends time posting up pictures of their sad lives and their ugly mugs on the internet – if you have one of those techno shite accounts then you are sad fucking, no life, metrosexual twat.

One can only wonder, then, what he makes of the BNP’s GLA member Richard ‘Gay Porn‘ Barnbrook’s techno shite activities on Facebook.

For Barnes, modern Britain is:

A simpering, pathetic land of twitting fuckwits, facebook posting arsewipes and simpering metrosexuals… I used to love the British stiff upper lip, now we have the metro-sexual droopy dick.

What would Barnes make of a man whose stated interests include ‘massage’, ‘hugs’, and ‘naked cuddles in bed’?

Would he perhaps tell Barnbrook and his Facebook followers:

So fuck off you non-entitry [sic] dickheads.

You aint [sic] even real.

You are just the souless [sic] product of another wankers [sic] marketing campaign.

Well, probably not. But he may have a point if he did, for Barnbrook is indeed ‘the soulless product of another wanker’s marketing campaign’. And here’s the wanker in question:

As Barnes so memorably put it:

The more you twit, the more you are a twat.

How egotistical do you have to be to want to set up your own twitter account anyway.

Like anyone is interested in what YOU are doing.

Twitter thought-crime: Arrrrggghhhh!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/twitter-joke-led-to-terror-act-arrest-and-airport-life-ban-1870913.html

When heavy snowfall threatened to scupper Paul Chambers's travel plans, he decided to vent his frustrations on Twitter by tapping out a comment to amuse his friends. "Robin Hood airport is closed," he wrote. "You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"

Unfortunately for Mr Chambers, the police didn't see the funny side. A week after posting the message on the social networking site, he was arrested under the Terrorism Act and questioned for almost seven hours by detectives who interpreted his post as a security threat. After he was released on bail, he was suspended from work pending an internal investigation, and has, he says, been banned from the Doncaster airport for life. "I would never have thought, in a thousand years....

George is in a complete and utter state of shock at this example. How is this possible? Thought-crime is on the rise and we have to do everything possible to prevent this from happening again. Without free-thought we are robots. Easily programmed, easily influenced, easily the worst case of thought-policing, ever. I think (freely).

Joining the BNP - Don't Panic Magazine

Marx and Darwin - Brilliant Essay (or talk) by Christie Malry

http://leftiehippie.blogspot.com/2010/01/marx-and-darwin.html

As promised, a little late due to hard drive issues, here's the talk I gave just before xmas.

MARX AND DARWIN

Welcome to tonight's talk on Marx and Darwin. I thought it would be interesting to do a piece on Marx and Darwin, partly to tie in with the 150^th anniversary of Origin of Species (and the 200^th of Darwin's birth) and partly because there are a lot of ways in which evolution was revolutionary and impacted on political ideas. The problem with this is that it is such a huge subject it was hard to know how to focus on it or an SWP meeting. Should I focus on its revolutionary character for religion, or for the way biologists thought about the natural world? Should I look at how Marx related the idea?

Conclusion

What I've tried to argue is that evolution is a powerful explanatory device, and that it can help Marxists in presenting a materialist conception of natural history, in showing that we don not need to appeal to a supernatural explanation for our origins and that we can't rely on any such intervention for justice on our behalf – we have to do it for ourselves.

However, it is important to avoid naïve readings of evolution. We should not be worried by our lack of a special, favoured status, but equally we cannot make evolution either a moral compass or a source of deterministic writing-off of our problems. We need to recognise that social constructions play a huge role in our perceptions of the world around us and focus on the concrete situations in front of us that Marxist analysis can provide.

Hope?

Left Foot Forward - Agree With This

http://www.leftfootforward.org/

The Podcast Four News: Issue 3

Two Hundred Posts and Counting:

This blogging lark, writing small articles, posting links to great or grossly bad articles I read, commenting on other peoples posts, having a ding-dong, watching the videos, laughing in horror or building up rage inside. It has been a blast. It was, primarily, a learning curve. Trying out different things, seeing what I liked best.

The next step has to be more focused analysis, particularly on Wikileaks if it reopens anytime soon. (Make sure, if you can, to contribute to the future of transparent journalism, and exposing the corrupt power-brokers in all the different guises and titles they take.)

One area I am going to increase is the amount of comments and debates I take part in on other political blogs, of all spheres. That is what I enjoy most, listening to other peoples opinions and giving my own, about a range of different topics.

One thing I was very naïve to is the trolls. The fuckers. What a set of horrible individuals. Wonder if it will ever become a crime to post some of the scandalous, horrific at times, posts made by these people. Troll-crime. George would agree to that, surely? The trolls are accomplices of Big Brother, internet hate-police, looking for an argument to attack with bile and vitriol. Destroy the conversation, test the patience, spout lies and accusations, offend, talk shit, and act like flies round shit, if we had scratch and sniff laptops, actually give off a smell which always resembles shit. If you want a couple of real-life examples, Google Richard Littlejohn and Rod Liddle, you will get all the shit in the world. In fact, just take my word for it, your life will be a better place if you never come across any word written by these two, ever.

The areas of focus should still remain; big government, big businesses, big media, big religions and big political parties.

Some of my Favourites:

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/thatcher-proves-good-value-or-is-it.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/political-spectrum.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/podcast-four-episode-seven.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/beating-up-on-racists-again-i-bet-this.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/beating-racists-part-two-this-could.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/racism-cured-with-this-nail-in-martins.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/youve-been-cromwelled.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-hope-for-young-lad-with-pisshead.html

http://watchingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/2010/01/comedy-classic-from-speak-youre-branes.html

Old Holborn - UKIP- Rolling Back The Years

http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/2010/01/ukip-rolling-back-years.html

"The Libertarian Party is agin the EU because it is more big, costly, unrepresentative Government. AND the people of the UK have not assented to it. Therefore it is illegitimate.

I do not give a monkey's if people want to wear burqas,MCC ties or pink thongs in the street. As long as they are doing nothing harmful to others, who cares.

If UKIP and the BNP are appealing to the foul mouthed, drunk, white working classes who were thrown off the train, I was travelling on yesterday. I want the BNP and UKIP to 'ban' them as well. In fact lets ban everything we do not agree with personally."

We do, at least, agree on this subject.

The Podcast Four - Bit of News. Bitter News

http://podcastfour.blogspot.com/2010/01/podcast-0008-170110-bit-of-news-bitter.html

This week the discussion basis was, “Bitter News.” It was a news worthy week, with some forced bitterness and fake anger.

Topics discussed;

International hello, password? Fucking face book again, Hoff-man, bitter news, Avatar, Dom’s ace gag, Crufts apology, Hitler Hounds, Raceformers 2, product placement boners, darts isn’t a sport, Nursing Heinz, is it the shoes? I Am Terrorist, selecting emails, Star texts, Tranny love, Disney’s Sarah Palin, Foxy news stories, YouTube Glen Beck, nailin’ Pailin, Katona take down, November 9th, Hannity & Colmes, 7000 year old dinosaurs, Mormons - come on, wheelchairs don’t sway me, RE - god and Jesus, 11 Pringles in the mouth, self-promotion, cross (keys) promotion, Buddhists don’t mind cock, RHCP still not discussed, cunts4uk, Sunday School revelation and round up, end.

Big Thank-you to the Writing sensation that is Dom Farelli, he actually wrote the stuff above, with his own bare finger taps.

Quotes of the day

http://www.4thkingdom.com/members/index.html

Political Spectrum - Not the 80s computer

Thatcher proves good value - Or is it just cheap shit?

http://richarddnorth.com/category/rdns-manifestos/

Thatcher = Cheap and nasty nonsense

Cath Elliot - In the next decade, I hope global capitalism will end (So does George)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/02/goodbye-noughties-global-capitalism

...So instead, what I would like to see in the next 10 years is a genuine change in attitude towards all of the items on my shopping list. What I would like to see is national governments and international organisations genuinely committed to improving the lot of everyone on this planet, man, woman and child.

...Ultimately I guess what I'd really like to see is an end to global capitalism and to the corporate power that governs all our lives. What I'd like to see is a new international politics, one where greed and self-interest are discarded and where humanitarian concerns take precedence instead. Of course I don't expect us to have got that far by the end of the next decade, but some genuine commitment, some steps in that direction, surely that's not too much to ask?

Slaggy Poor Folk

(Jo) Brand shares Becker's qualms about this show: "With Little Britain, I'd say half the population are taking it in the way it's intended. Others are just laughing at someone who's poor and slaggy."

And this is the precise point. The half that 'get it', the pretentious, we are better than everyone else because we know what is going on here half, and the other half, who are not educated enough. They are worth laughing at, but uneducated-ness is not funny, in real life, is it?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jul/27/comedy-standup-new-offenders

JUST SAY NO TO COMEDY

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jul/27/comedy-standup-new-offenders

You've Been Cromwelled!

http://www.youve-been-cromwelled.org/

Jonathan Darby was born in Tel-Aviv, 1984. At the age of 6 he emigrated to London with his family.

I have been looking at the phenomena of how brands and their visual aspects are taking over public space; leaving us less and less choice about what surrounds us.

I became interested in how activist support groups attempt to subvert corporate intentions and then themselves are consumed and deflected by the greater force of the capitalistic marketing. The power of brands seduces society and sucks and blinds with the pull of the plastic pop culture that supports this takeover and is becoming inescapable in modern day society.

As an artist, I am attempting to observe the inconsistencies that are evident in modern day culture and I believe that we are a branded nation.

It is evident that we are easily sucked into an anti-capitalist stance or hop on the bandwagon against the corporate giants yet we are completely and utterly seduced by them.

Whether I like it or not I am just as much part of this as I write this wearing my Nike trainers.

Our humanity is being diluted as we become one common indistinguishable mass that is easily manipulated to the benefit of capitalist intention. I have chosen to use myself in my work as I honestly believe that I am also the subject of this matter and the first steps to dealing with this is to be straight with myself as to my involvement in it.

I have incorporated references to a painting of Kaethe Kolwitz, ‘The Prisoners’ as she portrayed downtrodden, faceless humanity.

I have used a contemporary setting and have chosen my media carefully as I believe that stencil art has become another classic example of how corporate branding will disarm any reaction to it by incorporating the attack into its own culture.

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/illustrators/?inc=details&id=97450

short story non-fiction tips?

• A single storyline, without sub-plots.
• Three or four characters at most.
• A single viewpoint, or two at most.
• A short time-scale.
• Consistent mood, tone and pace.
• Consistent writing style.
• Appropriate language.
• Brief descriptions.
• Minimum background.
• Concise dialogue.
• No lengthy preamble.
• No contrived ending.
• No preachy message.

Now concentrate on the short stories:

• How many words? The guidelines could specify '750 to 2,500 words', but you might find that most stories are between 1,000 and 1,500 words, with only one or two as short as 750 words or as long as 2,500 words. You could have a better chance with stories in the more favoured lengths.
• What viewpoint do the stories use? First person? Third person? More than one? If all the stories in your sample issues are written in first person, don't waste your time sending a third-person viewpoint story. A mix of viewpoints might suggest that the editor has no strong preferences, but it's worth assessing which viewpoint is used most.
• What kind of stories appear most often? Romantic? Mysterious? Suspenseful? 'Twist-in-the-tail'? Spooky? Other?
• How many main characters per story?
• How many stories have a female main character? How many favour a male?
• What age group are most of the characters in?
• Do the characters have anything in common? Are they mostly single? Married? Widowed? Divorced?
• What kind of names do they have? 'everyday'? or 'posh'?
• What kind of occupations do they have? Housewives? Shopworkers? Secretaries? Teachers? Media-workers? Models? Selfemployed? High-flyers?
• What kind of relationships feature most often? Harmonic? Difficult? Stable? Shaky? New? Settled?
• What kind of backgrounds appear to be favoured?
• Do most stories feature love scenes? How explicit are these?

Every editor lives in hope of finding a wonderful story in the morning post. The more you know about your target publication, the better your chances of making an editor's day.

http://www.bridportprize.org.uk/flashfiction.htm

Racism: Cured - With this Nail in Martin's Coffin.

http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/2010/01/bbc1-audience-plummets.html?showComment=1263568932000

Podcast Four - Episode Seven

Cheers to Dom Farelli (Blogging and Film Writing Sensation)

http://podcastfour.blogspot.com/

http://domfarelli.blogspot.com/

This week the discussion basis was, “Moral Highgrounds.” No Benni Blanco this week, but a week of firsts, our first special guest Kev Cee Jay and our first email.

Topics discussed;

Overselling Kev intro, Littlejohns‘ little intelligence, is Kev eligible? Poor naive Kev, put Chester in the sat-nav, car spin story, Steven Hawkins mention, Taxi lies, £480 a bump, Dad break, remembering Kev dressed as my mum, Kev shits on the podcast episode title, Syrian race, Sherlock Holmes review, Wiki-Films, George’s blog bother, British National Pricks, communist paedo’s, bit of racism, Obama Vs The South, burning Gary Coleman, Kevy plug, building Kev’s celebrity, digits are coming, we need a Karl, Marlon King rape carols, Russell Howard piss-take, George abuses our main listeners, George Carlin, Dom’s moral high ground, most Oasis fans are simple, Kev’s first thoughts on colour - hard cocks, guys version of bra colours, Dom’s criminal confession, Pringle promo, 6 is impressive, Kev’s video challenge, grape medical advice, secret Santa “…in a can” gift, THE FIRST EMAIL, Schindler’s Lift, John Leslie’s podcast, end.

The DAILY MASH - Popular Topic of Today

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-%26-entertainment/bbc-should-make-more-good-programmes-and-less-bad-ones,-says-think-tank-201001152382/

Beating Racists - Part TWO (this could take a while)

Told you it would hurt.

Any ideas of shitty, white-run, dry, left-wing and Christian countries?

Answers on a comment please.

Beating Up On the Racists Again. (I bet this hurt, in the 'right over the top of his head' sense of pain and suffering.

Did you notice my comment. See, told you it was painful.

http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/2010/01/bbc1-audience-plummets.html

These lot will be pleased with the new report from the Policy Exchange.

The BBC Vs The Tories - Let Battle Commence?

http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/publications/pdfs/PSB_-_changing_channel_-_Publication.pdf

This is a section from the Policy Exchange, which has close ties with the Tories, and could be a detailed version of the upcoming election manifesto with regards Public Service Broadcasting and more specifically the BBC.

http://www.septicisle.info/2010/01/how-to-destroy-bbc-without-mentioning.html

Connection from 'Septicisle'

Not that Policy Exchange itself is completely free from Murdoch devotees or those who call him their boss. The trustees of the think-tank include Camilla Cavendish and Alice Thomson, both Times hacks, while Charles Moore, former editor of the Daily Telegraph and who refused to pay the licence fee until Jonathan Ross left the corporation is the chairman of the board. Also a trustee is Rachel Whetstone, whose partner is Steve Hilton, Cameron's director of strategy. Whetstone was also a godparent to the late Ivan Cameron. The report itself is by Mark Oliver, who was director of strategy at the Beeb between 1989 and 1995, during John Birt's much-loved tenure as director-general. Oliver it seems isn't a blue-sky thinker to rival Birt however; his plans are much simpler.

His chief recommendation (PDF) is that the BBC should focus on quality first and reach second. On paper this is a reasonable proposal: the BBC has for too long tried to be all things to all people, although its reason for doing so is that all of the people are of course forced to pay a regressive tax to fund it. Oliver's pointed recommendations on what it shouldn't be doing though give the game away: it shouldn't be spending money on sports rights when the commercial channels do the job just as well when they win the bids. Has Oliver seen ITV's football coverage, one wonders? About the only sport ITV has covered well in recent years was F1, and they decided to not bid for the rights the last time they came up because of the money they'd spent on the FA Cup. The other thing the BBC should stop trying to do is 16-35 coverage, which really drives the point home. The real proposal here is that by stopping catering for the youth audience, the hope is that the young lose the reverence for the BBC which the older demographic continues to have, even if if that has been diluted in recent years. There is a case, as I've argued in the past, for shutting down BBC3 and privatising Radio 1, not to stop catering for the young but because the money spent on both could be better distributed and spent elsewhere. BBC3 in nearly 7 years of broadcasting has produced at most 5 programmes of actual worth, and all of them could have been easily made for and accommodated on BBC2. Radio 1 is just shit, end of story.

All of the points I would like to make myself, made the Septicisle. However, the BBC tickles my media desires simply because it does not have adverts. The licence fee is worth every penny for this reason, and this reason only.