BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Wolfgang highlights deeper disquiet: "Authoritarian
Everyone knows what these planned laws mean and most people believe the government should place protecting the innocent far above worrying about the rights of terror suspects, he argues."
This is very frightening. Blair was interviewed by Humphrys about a change in civil liberties. Blair described it as common sense. On the political comment after the interview it was spelled out. Blair is asking the country to take him on trust again. And we don't.
He no longer cares.
82 year old labour members who disagree with him are strong armed out of conference.
They are then excluded under the terrorist legislation.
Free speech is dying.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Justice is not so much blind as dumb in Blunkett's case.
Telegraph | News | Blunkett, the blonde and a spat with Humphrys:
Blunkett is off womanising again it seems. It is another example of parenting and respect from the Blair Government.
Blunkett is threatening heavy pursuit of men who fail to take responsibility for their children. (Blunkett himself, by contrast, was wanting to take over responsibility for children who were not his own nor the product of his marraige, on the basis of his adultery with the wife. Would we have to stone him under sharia law, or just the wife?)
Blunkett promised that if men did not offer what was due then he would take "more than what is due."
That would be just wouln't it, Mr Blunkett?
Blunkett is off womanising again it seems. It is another example of parenting and respect from the Blair Government.
Blunkett is threatening heavy pursuit of men who fail to take responsibility for their children. (Blunkett himself, by contrast, was wanting to take over responsibility for children who were not his own nor the product of his marraige, on the basis of his adultery with the wife. Would we have to stone him under sharia law, or just the wife?)
Blunkett promised that if men did not offer what was due then he would take "more than what is due."
That would be just wouln't it, Mr Blunkett?
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Antiwar Fervor Fills the Streets
Antiwar Fervor Fills the Streets: "Antiwar Fervor Fills the Streets
Demonstration Is Largest in Capital Since U.S. Military Invaded Iraq
The anti war demonstrations were almost efffaced from the news in England today.
At least the Washington Post took an interest.
Meanwhile Blair will try to erase Iraq from the labour conference this week.
We were not there with the protest march in London. We went to see the grandparents. It was a lovely family week end.
We all played cricket- three generations. I don't know if that will happen again. It was memorable.
Meanwhile ostrich Blair digs his head into the sand.
Will anyone dig him out of it?
Demonstration Is Largest in Capital Since U.S. Military Invaded Iraq
The anti war demonstrations were almost efffaced from the news in England today.
At least the Washington Post took an interest.
Meanwhile Blair will try to erase Iraq from the labour conference this week.
We were not there with the protest march in London. We went to see the grandparents. It was a lovely family week end.
We all played cricket- three generations. I don't know if that will happen again. It was memorable.
Meanwhile ostrich Blair digs his head into the sand.
Will anyone dig him out of it?
Friday, September 23, 2005
Basra Protesters Condemn British
Basra Protesters Condemn British: "BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Hundreds of residents and police officers filled the streets in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, shouting and pumping their fists to condemn British forces for raiding a jail and freeing two of their commandos two days earlier.
Iraqi police had arrested the Britons on Monday for allegedly shooting at police and planting explosive devices. British troops then broke the men out of jail by ramming an armored vehicle through a wall. In response, Basra residents and police revolted, attacking British forces in the area."
My last commenter raises the issue of western powers prodding terrorists into action.
Too right. There was an unholy alliance of neo-con Christians and Islamic Binladenistas in the effort to drive Russia out of Afghanistan.
My friend points at this American report that The SAS were setting off bombs in Basra and blowing up the police there. Not entirely surprising the Iraqis were upset.
Not a word of that in the British media.
But why are british soldiers destabilising Basra?
Answers please?
Iraqi police had arrested the Britons on Monday for allegedly shooting at police and planting explosive devices. British troops then broke the men out of jail by ramming an armored vehicle through a wall. In response, Basra residents and police revolted, attacking British forces in the area."
My last commenter raises the issue of western powers prodding terrorists into action.
Too right. There was an unholy alliance of neo-con Christians and Islamic Binladenistas in the effort to drive Russia out of Afghanistan.
My friend points at this American report that The SAS were setting off bombs in Basra and blowing up the police there. Not entirely surprising the Iraqis were upset.
Not a word of that in the British media.
But why are british soldiers destabilising Basra?
Answers please?
BBC Radio Player
BBC Radio Player
Last weekthe BBC picked up on the theme of Christian and Moslem extremism in Old Harry's game. Satan puts them in hell together and they discover they have much in common.
"Allah will sue you for copyright infringement" says the Moslem.
If you can't stand the politics any more go and listen.
I have been having problem with my external links so I hope this one works.
"I used to use terror in hell to drive men insane, but now they arrive having done that already," says Satan.
All too true.
Last weekthe BBC picked up on the theme of Christian and Moslem extremism in Old Harry's game. Satan puts them in hell together and they discover they have much in common.
"Allah will sue you for copyright infringement" says the Moslem.
If you can't stand the politics any more go and listen.
I have been having problem with my external links so I hope this one works.
"I used to use terror in hell to drive men insane, but now they arrive having done that already," says Satan.
All too true.
The state terrorism of Bush and Blair.
There is an article in the Guardian this morning on whether Bomber Harris, war time head of the British Air Force, was a terrorist. That is an oblique approach to the more central issue of whether Bush and Blair will be seen by history as terrorists.
Another article this morning from Global Analyst picks key public addresses about Islamism by President Bush very early on in 2001 and 2002, which have continued up to the present. I juxtapose possible statements about Bush and Blair’s Christian terror. Bush is quoted in italics.
“The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.”
“The face of terror is not the true faith of Christianity. That’s not what Christianity is all about. Christianity is peace. These terrorists, Bush and Blair, don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war.”
“The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself.”
“The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying in effect, to highjack Christianity itself.”
“All Americans must recognize that the face of terror is not the true faith -- face of Islam. Islam is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It's a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It's a faith based upon love, not hate.” 2
“All Americans and British must recognise that the face of Anglo American state terror is not the true faith----face of Christianity. Christianity is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It’s a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It’s a faith based on love, not hate.
“Acts of terrorism like these emerge from a radical ideology that tolerates no dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent people as the best way to achieve its goals.”3
“Acts of terrorism like the invasion of
It is possible to argue that Bush and Blair have not justified the murder of innocent people as the best way to achieve their goals. But overturning the democracy of the United Nations to start a war of aggression in
Many would seek to dismiss my view as extremist. However, the Roman Catholic and
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Golden Time
“Golden Time,” or a “learning community”.
Congratulations are due to the new Acting Head at C….y school. She has, I believe, taken the steps that were necessary and also sufficient to turn around the school. This has all been achieved and implemented for the beginning of the new school year.
I am not sure whether I deserve any credit for all this. Though I was offered remedy by the chair of governors for eight specific formal complaints I made about the management of the school last year I think the organizational changes made by the new head relate to core structures I only mentioned in letters.
I would describe the changes as movements towards a “learning community”. The changing rooms which continued to create chaos for the year two’s all last year have been arranged in ways I recommended. Indeed, it has been done better than I recommended. Not only do the children have clearly marked and sufficient spaces for their things, they even have pegs to hold their shoes together in their marked shoe spaces. Brilliant! J sits down and carefully organises his shoes when he arrives.
Inside the class room there are significant changes too. Places are defined with a written name in place at a desk for each child. There is peaceful music playing as they enter the year three room. The teacher is trying to remember to do the same for the afternoon start. Children now sit down and quietly work at something before the role is called at 8.55 a.m. I have decided to take J in earlier to accommodate to the changes, in line with the suggestion at the curriculum meeting I attended last night.
Another fundamental change is that all children now have lunch at the same time. Children sit in groups together in different areas of the school. I am assured this makes the break easier for all. I suspect this is already impacting on the violence in the playground. I have not heard of any fights so far this term. Walking on the left down corridors is another simple change that is paying off.
Last night I raised the issue of “Golden Time”. “Was this policy still in place?” I asked. “Er, yes,” was the reply from the class teacher. But the head chipped in to say that this was going to be reviewed, and many staff wanted the matter reconsidered. I am very much against Golden Time. I asked J about it.
“Golden rules lead to Golden Time” he parroted enthusiastically.
“What are the golden rules,” I asked. There was a long pause before he suggested he should help someone if they were hurt and report it to a teacher. Golden time, he knows more about. It is time off to play during the school day. This is not what teachers are paid for. The educational philosophy is profoundly mistaken. I think school should be a “learning community” where the norm is learning. I believe Golden Time is about school as incarceration, where you get remission for good behaviour. It mirrors Blairy
I don’t know if anything has changed for year two children other than the general changes. The chair of governors has proposed a more gradual move from play to hard curriculum work. Several of the boys as well as J took a long time to adjust to the sudden shift last year. The Government has decided to target resources on learning achievement early in a child’s school life. No doubt there will be research to support this approach. But there is also research that shows children do as well or better in countries where formal schooling does not start till seven. I think the kind of pressure put on J last year was inappropriate. R was well behind where J is at the same age and is now doing very well indeed and is assessed as gifted and talented.
J just read a whole book to me for the first time this afternoon. He is now settled and secure at school and at home and is ready to take off. Yet we were literally at the point of taking him away from this school at the time the old head resigned. I am glad we were successful in tackling the problems in the school so that our youngest can carry on there and thrive as well as his talented siblings.
:: The First Post ::
"Is it now a crime to eat a cake in Parliament Square without asking permission from the police? Possibly. The cake in question was a small homemade one with white icing, sitting on a rug on the grass just across from the Mother of Parliaments. Spelled out in wobbly pink were the words 'Peace v War'. To consume such a cake in public view may well be to take part in an organised expression of opinion - that is, a demonstration. Twelve people were gathered around the cake, a brown shiny teapot and some Jammie Dodgers, risking arrest. It was a very English protest: the subversive picnic."
Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | It would seem that I was wrong about big business
"Climate-change denial has gone through four stages. First the fossil-fuel lobbyists told us that global warming was a myth. Then they agreed that it was happening, but insisted that it was a good thing: we could grow wine in the Pennines and take Mediterranean holidays in Skegness. Then they admitted that the bad effects outweighed the good ones, but claimed that climate change would cost more to tackle than to tolerate. Now they have reached stage four. They concede that climate change would be cheaper to address than to neglect, but maintain that it's now too late. This is their most persuasive argument."
Doctrine of despair:
It probably is too late already to deal with global warming.
Doctrine of despair:
It probably is too late already to deal with global warming.
Peace & Progress - A Party for Human Rights
Peace and Progress! Some hope!
As the Lib Dems spokesman suggests that police murder of an innocent man is just an operational matter and cosies up to Blair on terrorism a peace and progress party seems a bit like a snow ball in hell.
There is a big protest march in London on Saturday for "Peace and Liberty"
There are no prospects for peace and our Liberty is slipping away.
"Even taking that to be a reasonable approach to the crisis facing Britain, in reality, the political manipulation of the law and those entrusted with the responsibility to apply it, represents a far greater danger to the security of the nation and to democracy than abiding by the principles embedded in the international conventions introduced after the Second World War. In the light of the events in London in July 2005, we need to give even greater attention to Lord Hoffmann’s warning than we did before those awful events had taken place."
As the Lib Dems spokesman suggests that police murder of an innocent man is just an operational matter and cosies up to Blair on terrorism a peace and progress party seems a bit like a snow ball in hell.
There is a big protest march in London on Saturday for "Peace and Liberty"
There are no prospects for peace and our Liberty is slipping away.
"Even taking that to be a reasonable approach to the crisis facing Britain, in reality, the political manipulation of the law and those entrusted with the responsibility to apply it, represents a far greater danger to the security of the nation and to democracy than abiding by the principles embedded in the international conventions introduced after the Second World War. In the light of the events in London in July 2005, we need to give even greater attention to Lord Hoffmann’s warning than we did before those awful events had taken place."
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Church of England Bishops Criticize US Over Foreign Policy and War on Terror
"A group of Church of England bishops issued a report today criticising American foreign policy, the US war on terror and some American Christians' use of biblical texts to support a political agenda in the Middle East, and accuses the US of using illegitimate and dangerous rhetoric."
Good for the Christians!
Well, maybe not. The media spend a lot of time these days exploring Islam and its more extreme interpretations.
It is good that the official positions of the Churches of England and Rome condemn Blair and Bush for their wars of aggression.
But scratch a bit further and you find that the Christians are no more united than the Islamists.
Robin Cook felt he was blocked from progression in the Blair cabinet for: you guessed it, not being a Christian.
A new popular movement of Christians is in the news today for their attack on our culture, in the form of an aclaimed modern opera.
An opera spokesperson put out an appeal on the Today Programme asking for them to promise to stop issuing death threats. A fatwah by any other name!
Can anything stop the crusade of these new Christian soldiers; except an army of Muslims, perhaps.
Come on you humanists, we need you now.
Good for the Christians!
Well, maybe not. The media spend a lot of time these days exploring Islam and its more extreme interpretations.
It is good that the official positions of the Churches of England and Rome condemn Blair and Bush for their wars of aggression.
But scratch a bit further and you find that the Christians are no more united than the Islamists.
Robin Cook felt he was blocked from progression in the Blair cabinet for: you guessed it, not being a Christian.
A new popular movement of Christians is in the news today for their attack on our culture, in the form of an aclaimed modern opera.
An opera spokesperson put out an appeal on the Today Programme asking for them to promise to stop issuing death threats. A fatwah by any other name!
Can anything stop the crusade of these new Christian soldiers; except an army of Muslims, perhaps.
Come on you humanists, we need you now.
Guardian Unlimited Books | News | Bogeyman Blair has the right ingredients for winning rhyme
This may be the way our children's children remember Mr Blair.
A sawdust spinning pizza salesman.
Perhaps I should write a Rumplestiltskin with him spinning straw into gold for King George.
"Baker Tony's Pizza, victorious in the nationwide Time for a New Rhyme contest run by the children's digital television channel Nick Jr, portrays Mr Blair as a baker creating deceptively-attractive pizzas of dye and sawdust that "made all the children cry".
The judges of the competition, who included the poet Michael Rosen and the television presenter Lorraine Kelly, thought that the rhyme's "political undertones" reflected the contemporary social criticism of many much older verses familiar from the cradle or the playground.">Guardian Unlimited Books | News | Bogeyman Blair has the right ingredients for winning rhyme: "'Baker Tony's Pizza,' victorious in the nationwide Time for a New Rhyme contest run by the children's digital television channel Nick Jr, portrays Mr Blair as a baker creating deceptively-attractive pizzas of dye and sawdust that 'made all the children cry'.
The judges of the competition, who included the poet Michael Rosen and the television presenter Lorraine Kelly, thought that the rhyme's 'political undertones' reflected the contemporary social criticism of many much older verses familiar from the cradle or the playground."
A sawdust spinning pizza salesman.
Perhaps I should write a Rumplestiltskin with him spinning straw into gold for King George.
"Baker Tony's Pizza, victorious in the nationwide Time for a New Rhyme contest run by the children's digital television channel Nick Jr, portrays Mr Blair as a baker creating deceptively-attractive pizzas of dye and sawdust that "made all the children cry".
The judges of the competition, who included the poet Michael Rosen and the television presenter Lorraine Kelly, thought that the rhyme's "political undertones" reflected the contemporary social criticism of many much older verses familiar from the cradle or the playground.">Guardian Unlimited Books | News | Bogeyman Blair has the right ingredients for winning rhyme: "'Baker Tony's Pizza,' victorious in the nationwide Time for a New Rhyme contest run by the children's digital television channel Nick Jr, portrays Mr Blair as a baker creating deceptively-attractive pizzas of dye and sawdust that 'made all the children cry'.
The judges of the competition, who included the poet Michael Rosen and the television presenter Lorraine Kelly, thought that the rhyme's 'political undertones' reflected the contemporary social criticism of many much older verses familiar from the cradle or the playground."
Monday, September 19, 2005
THE BRAD BLOG: "* EXCLUSIVE! * A DIEBOLD INSIDER SPEAKS!"
"DIEB-THROAT : 'Diebold System One of Greatest Threats Democracy Has Ever Known'
Identifies U.S. Homeland Security 'Cyber Alert' Prior to '04 Election Warning Votes Can be 'Modified Remotely' via 'Undocumented Backdoor' in Central Tabulator Software!"
Another whistle blower this time inside Bushco.
those of you who don't believe the election in Americva was stolen might now think again.
Identifies U.S. Homeland Security 'Cyber Alert' Prior to '04 Election Warning Votes Can be 'Modified Remotely' via 'Undocumented Backdoor' in Central Tabulator Software!"
Another whistle blower this time inside Bushco.
those of you who don't believe the election in Americva was stolen might now think again.
Independent Online Edition > UK Politics : app6
Shrill note after shrill and piercing note the whistles are blowing on Mr Tony Blair.
Another Downing Street adviser now tells the Independent about Blair's excitement at the prospect of killing Iraqis: well, something like that anyway.
"Labour insiders were furious last night over claims by a former No 10 official that Tony Blair 'relished' ordering British forces to attack Iraq as part of his 'coming of age' as Prime Minister."
this idea of a prime minister coming of age as he becomes a war lord is sickening.
Another Downing Street adviser now tells the Independent about Blair's excitement at the prospect of killing Iraqis: well, something like that anyway.
"Labour insiders were furious last night over claims by a former No 10 official that Tony Blair 'relished' ordering British forces to attack Iraq as part of his 'coming of age' as Prime Minister."
this idea of a prime minister coming of age as he becomes a war lord is sickening.
Sky News : Lib Dems To Call For Return Of Troops
So the Lib Dems want to pull out.
No doubt there will be charges of courtus interruptus.
The question is can Ken Clarke steal their clothes and their political ground and the Tory party at the same time.
Cigars all round if he does.
"'TROOPS SHOULD PULL OUT'
It is the second day of the Lib Dem conference in Blackpool and it is down to business for the party.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell is set to call for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
He will tell the party faithful the move should be made to allow Iraqis to take charge of their own security.
Despite the worsening security situation in Iraq, which he acknowledges is verging on civil war, Sir Menzies will say it is time to begin bringing the occupation of the country to an end.">Sky News : Lib Dems To Call For Return Of Troops: "'TROOPS SHOULD PULL OUT'
It is the second day of the Lib Dem conference in Blackpool and it is down to business for the party.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell is set to call for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
He will tell the party faithful the move should be made to allow Iraqis to take charge of their own security.
Despite the worsening security situation in Iraq, which he acknowledges is verging on civil war, Sir Menzies will say it is time to begin bringing the occupation of the country to an end."
No doubt there will be charges of courtus interruptus.
The question is can Ken Clarke steal their clothes and their political ground and the Tory party at the same time.
Cigars all round if he does.
"'TROOPS SHOULD PULL OUT'
It is the second day of the Lib Dem conference in Blackpool and it is down to business for the party.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell is set to call for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
He will tell the party faithful the move should be made to allow Iraqis to take charge of their own security.
Despite the worsening security situation in Iraq, which he acknowledges is verging on civil war, Sir Menzies will say it is time to begin bringing the occupation of the country to an end.">Sky News : Lib Dems To Call For Return Of Troops: "'TROOPS SHOULD PULL OUT'
It is the second day of the Lib Dem conference in Blackpool and it is down to business for the party.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell is set to call for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
He will tell the party faithful the move should be made to allow Iraqis to take charge of their own security.
Despite the worsening security situation in Iraq, which he acknowledges is verging on civil war, Sir Menzies will say it is time to begin bringing the occupation of the country to an end."
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The American Taliban
""We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."
"Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."
"Being nice to people is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity, as opposed to other religions whose tenets are more along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed'"">The American Taliban: "'We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.'
'Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.'
'Being nice to people is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity, as opposed to other religions whose tenets are more along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed''"
You can see from this why we need a society of passionate humanists.
Thse people make Islamic extremists seem quite moderate.
Under Blair's new terror laws we could maybe have them arrested as they drop by.
Check this site out. Needless to say the Bush's are there.
"Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."
"Being nice to people is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity, as opposed to other religions whose tenets are more along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed'"">The American Taliban: "'We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.'
'Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.'
'Being nice to people is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity, as opposed to other religions whose tenets are more along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed''"
You can see from this why we need a society of passionate humanists.
Thse people make Islamic extremists seem quite moderate.
Under Blair's new terror laws we could maybe have them arrested as they drop by.
Check this site out. Needless to say the Bush's are there.
Friday, September 16, 2005
George Galloway Tour Blog
"Galloway, gave it as good as he got it. ”Hitchens, you have completed a metamorphosis from a butterfly into a slug, reversing the processes of nature.”">George Galloway Tour Blog: "Galloway, gave it as good as he got it. ”Hitchens, you have completed a metamorphosis from a butterfly into a slug, reversing the processes of nature.”"
Apparently the last link to Galloway is broken Try this one.
Apparently the last link to Galloway is broken Try this one.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
At home together
At home together
For the very first time we are at home together. We have been together before, yes. We all went on Christmas holidays together to celebrate H’s twenty first birth day. But that was not a time of togetherness. It was a time of struggle and accommodation, literally and figuratively. Suddenly we feel like one family. H drove off this morning to observe a primary school, taking Caleb and Rosie with her in the car. The girls appear to have overcome all their differences and are swapping clothes and make up, not to mention stories about us. C may have a crush on H already. G thinks so at least.
Something that makes me really happy is the healing process between G and J. The other night he was actually crying for mum. Today he said “I love you mummy,” as he set off for school. He is a clean boy now, and is enjoying his new class at school. His colour work on Henry 8 was judged best in class, as was his tulip painting at the end of last term. He has started to show more of the artistic talent I have felt was there all the time.
The way we worked as a team packing up the tent at the end of the summer holiday was highly significant too, but that was before H joined us. The story of the last two weeks has been one of integrating her into the family at last. She has charmed the boys and formed a stronger connection with G, though it was already strong. I dare to say I have done well in quietly allowing her to make a home with us, even though that has meant her spreading her mess in all but one room in the house. She even colonised R’s room.
R has been staying at her mother’s till yesterday, though she has been here every day for rehearsals. Now it appears a miracle has happened; she has allowed H to sleep in her room. This morning she went to school with her hair straightened with H’s electric gadget.
Tomorrow H is going to take me to see a flat she might want to buy near here.
G thinks it is daft, but H is her own master in these things.
C is very excited by all the new stimuli at secondary school. He loves it. Everyone is helping him settle in, one way or another. R plastic covered his exercise books for him last week after school.
Everyone but H plays cricket in the garden. Even visitors and neighbours are dragged into playing. It all echoes with the winning of the ashes by the National team. Never much of a cricketer at school, I achieved my first ever hat trick yesterday, with mum and boys falling to successive balls.
G and I had our joint three day birthday at the week end. It was the best birthday I have ever had. We went to Stratford to see the best production I have ever seen there. It was a comedy brim full of wonderful errors. I am back to contemplating the mystery of the twin and his lost and found self.
This week has not been all brightness though. I was in despair over the play I am directing on Monday. It seemed impossible that R and her three school friends would be ready to perform tonight. Wednesday felt like a triumph, even if they are still far from perfect. They have come so far in such a short time. Directing your own daughter is a rare and wonderful thing. I would not advise any one to try it though. But it has strengthened us. Her friends admire me to some degree I believe, which is good for her. They just about keep her in line.
Life is never a bed of roses for us; except it is a bed of roses, ones with very sharp thorns. Poor H. Her uncle is in hospital suddenly with three times terminal cancer. It hit us just on my birth day. When she suddenly disappeared in the night I was very worried and struggling with thoughts of mortality through the early hours. But H had just gone out to see a boy friend or a boy who is a friend. She was back in the morning.
I am back in the world again at least for the next few days. G is ready to go out to work as well. H is all set for Cambridge. R is winning lots of merits at school and the boys are well settled.
Is this as good as it gets?
For the very first time we are at home together. We have been together before, yes. We all went on Christmas holidays together to celebrate H’s twenty first birth day. But that was not a time of togetherness. It was a time of struggle and accommodation, literally and figuratively. Suddenly we feel like one family. H drove off this morning to observe a primary school, taking Caleb and Rosie with her in the car. The girls appear to have overcome all their differences and are swapping clothes and make up, not to mention stories about us. C may have a crush on H already. G thinks so at least.
Something that makes me really happy is the healing process between G and J. The other night he was actually crying for mum. Today he said “I love you mummy,” as he set off for school. He is a clean boy now, and is enjoying his new class at school. His colour work on Henry 8 was judged best in class, as was his tulip painting at the end of last term. He has started to show more of the artistic talent I have felt was there all the time.
The way we worked as a team packing up the tent at the end of the summer holiday was highly significant too, but that was before H joined us. The story of the last two weeks has been one of integrating her into the family at last. She has charmed the boys and formed a stronger connection with G, though it was already strong. I dare to say I have done well in quietly allowing her to make a home with us, even though that has meant her spreading her mess in all but one room in the house. She even colonised R’s room.
R has been staying at her mother’s till yesterday, though she has been here every day for rehearsals. Now it appears a miracle has happened; she has allowed H to sleep in her room. This morning she went to school with her hair straightened with H’s electric gadget.
Tomorrow H is going to take me to see a flat she might want to buy near here.
G thinks it is daft, but H is her own master in these things.
C is very excited by all the new stimuli at secondary school. He loves it. Everyone is helping him settle in, one way or another. R plastic covered his exercise books for him last week after school.
Everyone but H plays cricket in the garden. Even visitors and neighbours are dragged into playing. It all echoes with the winning of the ashes by the National team. Never much of a cricketer at school, I achieved my first ever hat trick yesterday, with mum and boys falling to successive balls.
G and I had our joint three day birthday at the week end. It was the best birthday I have ever had. We went to Stratford to see the best production I have ever seen there. It was a comedy brim full of wonderful errors. I am back to contemplating the mystery of the twin and his lost and found self.
This week has not been all brightness though. I was in despair over the play I am directing on Monday. It seemed impossible that R and her three school friends would be ready to perform tonight. Wednesday felt like a triumph, even if they are still far from perfect. They have come so far in such a short time. Directing your own daughter is a rare and wonderful thing. I would not advise any one to try it though. But it has strengthened us. Her friends admire me to some degree I believe, which is good for her. They just about keep her in line.
Life is never a bed of roses for us; except it is a bed of roses, ones with very sharp thorns. Poor H. Her uncle is in hospital suddenly with three times terminal cancer. It hit us just on my birth day. When she suddenly disappeared in the night I was very worried and struggling with thoughts of mortality through the early hours. But H had just gone out to see a boy friend or a boy who is a friend. She was back in the morning.
I am back in the world again at least for the next few days. G is ready to go out to work as well. H is all set for Cambridge. R is winning lots of merits at school and the boys are well settled.
Is this as good as it gets?
George Galloway Tour Blog
"“We who live in the United States or Britain, only have to answer one question, do we stand with the occupier, or with those who are resisting colonial occupation.”
“The swamp of hatred that our policies have created in the Muslim world nourish the mutation of hatred that believes killing innocent people in New York or London is somehow a blow against those responsible in our countries for those policies. All we have done be invading and occupying Iraq is increase the number of people who hate us and the intensity with which they hate us.”"
Why is George Galloway so alone in representing so many of us, and why is it that the mainstream media can refuse to cover his brilliant speeches?
Check out his American tour blog. At least someone is speaking out against the anglo saxon neo colonialists.
“The swamp of hatred that our policies have created in the Muslim world nourish the mutation of hatred that believes killing innocent people in New York or London is somehow a blow against those responsible in our countries for those policies. All we have done be invading and occupying Iraq is increase the number of people who hate us and the intensity with which they hate us.”"
Why is George Galloway so alone in representing so many of us, and why is it that the mainstream media can refuse to cover his brilliant speeches?
Check out his American tour blog. At least someone is speaking out against the anglo saxon neo colonialists.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
The Raw Story | FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping scandals
"'It is appalling that the Bush administration –- which has already badly bungled its response to hurricane Katrina –- would hire a company with a record of gross mismanagement of mortuary services,' said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington D.C.-based watchdog group. 'I can only imagine that this decision was made because of President Bush's long-time friendship with the head of SCI, Robert Waltrip.'"
Hey ho!
The sickness and degradation of BushCo reaches new depths.
Hey ho!
The sickness and degradation of BushCo reaches new depths.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Ditch Holocaust day, advisers urge Blair - Sunday Times - Times Online
So now the fight is on as to which kind of victims we remember publically.
Well you know, we are all victims maybe but some are more victims than others.
"ADVISERS appointed by Tony Blair after the London bombings are proposing to scrap the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day because it is regarded as offensive to Muslims.
They want to replace it with a Genocide Day that would recognise the mass murder of Muslims in Palestine, Chechnya and Bosnia as well as people of other faiths."
Well you know, we are all victims maybe but some are more victims than others.
"ADVISERS appointed by Tony Blair after the London bombings are proposing to scrap the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day because it is regarded as offensive to Muslims.
They want to replace it with a Genocide Day that would recognise the mass murder of Muslims in Palestine, Chechnya and Bosnia as well as people of other faiths."
Scotsman.com News - Hurricane Katrina - Firms cash in on Katrina windfall
Destroy the city, spend public money to fund your own private contractors to rebuild.
Yeah, that's Bushco at work.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts have already been let and billions more are to flow to the private sector in the weeks and months to come.
Congress has already appropriated more than $62bn for an effort that is projected to cost well over $100bn.
Some experts warn that the crisis atmosphere and the open federal purse are a bonanza for lobbyists and private companies and are likely to lead to the contract abuses, cronyism and waste that numerous investigations have uncovered in post-war Iraq.">Scotsman.com News - Hurricane Katrina - Firms cash in on Katrina windfall."
Yeah, that's Bushco at work.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts have already been let and billions more are to flow to the private sector in the weeks and months to come.
Congress has already appropriated more than $62bn for an effort that is projected to cost well over $100bn.
Some experts warn that the crisis atmosphere and the open federal purse are a bonanza for lobbyists and private companies and are likely to lead to the contract abuses, cronyism and waste that numerous investigations have uncovered in post-war Iraq.">Scotsman.com News - Hurricane Katrina - Firms cash in on Katrina windfall."
Don't blame us we'll blame you
"The politicization of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq War marked the greatest intelligence scandal in American history, which didn't stand in the way of giving CIA director George Tenet the nation's highest award for civilians, the Presidential Freedom Medal. Amtrak and the nation's airlines canceled service to New Orleans three days before the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Katrina, but the Department of Homeland Security couldn't get its decision-making command up-to-speed until three days after."
Well, the Brownie has been digested
He obviously did a heck of a job.
What is really worrying is discovery of high explosive under one of the levees.
There is nothing these guys would not stoop to to make themselves richer at our expense, it seems.
Well, the Brownie has been digested
He obviously did a heck of a job.
What is really worrying is discovery of high explosive under one of the levees.
There is nothing these guys would not stoop to to make themselves richer at our expense, it seems.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Divers Find Explosive Residue On New Orleans Ruptured Levy
Divers Find Explosive Residue On New Orleans Ruptured Levy: "One diver, a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saw the burn marks and knew immediately what caused them. When he surfaced and showed the evidence to his superior, the on-site Coordinator for FEMA stepped-in and said 'You are not here to conduct an investigation as to why this rupture occurred, but only to determine how best to close it.' The FEMA coordinator then threw the evidence back into the water and said 'You will tell no one about this.'"
Is it too soon to blame Bush Co for undermining New orleans?
We have only to ask who benefits from the need to reconstruct the place.
Is it too soon to blame Bush Co for undermining New orleans?
We have only to ask who benefits from the need to reconstruct the place.
Friday, September 09, 2005
AlterNet: Swimming to New Orleans
This is not for the squeamish. What has happened is horrendous, like a nuclear disaster in some ways, a vast area and population devastated.
It is like Iraq. They knew it was likely to happen. But they had a plan that they took far too long to implement and which seems utterly inadequate for the scale of the task.
Read on if you dare.
"The city is not at all empty as the news says it is. I find hundreds if not thousands of people in all the different neighborhoods, and they have no intention of leaving. First and foremost, they have nowhere to go. Many people don't want to leave. They don't trust they'll ever be let back in, and they certainly aren't going to allow their homes to be pillaged by people crafty enough not to get kicked out. Finally, they just don't believe the argument that the city will be unsafe and infested with disease.": "I get to the outskirts of the city by about 2 p.m. -- an upscale neighborhood called Metaire, where most of the money of New Orleans lives. To get that far already involved about half a mile of swimming. Everything is destroyed. The area isn't just underwater, it's more that the swamps have risen over New Orleans. There are snakes and alligators everywhere, and the more you see, the more you realize the city isn't going to be livable for who knows how long.
Then there are the bodies. I first start seeing them as I cross from Metaire into what is called Midcity, the neighborhood you drive through to get to Jazz Fest and the fairgrounds. Until now, I've only seen a few dead bodies in my entire life. Some have been pushed against dry spots by, I presume, rescue workers. Others are just floating in the water. There are houses with red marks on them, meaning there's someone dead inside. The most horrifying part of all is what happens when a body is floating in the water for two or three days. It's barely recognizable as a person. When you see one, it's riddled with mosquitoes and who knows what else."
It is like Iraq. They knew it was likely to happen. But they had a plan that they took far too long to implement and which seems utterly inadequate for the scale of the task.
Read on if you dare.
"The city is not at all empty as the news says it is. I find hundreds if not thousands of people in all the different neighborhoods, and they have no intention of leaving. First and foremost, they have nowhere to go. Many people don't want to leave. They don't trust they'll ever be let back in, and they certainly aren't going to allow their homes to be pillaged by people crafty enough not to get kicked out. Finally, they just don't believe the argument that the city will be unsafe and infested with disease.": "I get to the outskirts of the city by about 2 p.m. -- an upscale neighborhood called Metaire, where most of the money of New Orleans lives. To get that far already involved about half a mile of swimming. Everything is destroyed. The area isn't just underwater, it's more that the swamps have risen over New Orleans. There are snakes and alligators everywhere, and the more you see, the more you realize the city isn't going to be livable for who knows how long.
Then there are the bodies. I first start seeing them as I cross from Metaire into what is called Midcity, the neighborhood you drive through to get to Jazz Fest and the fairgrounds. Until now, I've only seen a few dead bodies in my entire life. Some have been pushed against dry spots by, I presume, rescue workers. Others are just floating in the water. There are houses with red marks on them, meaning there's someone dead inside. The most horrifying part of all is what happens when a body is floating in the water for two or three days. It's barely recognizable as a person. When you see one, it's riddled with mosquitoes and who knows what else."
Daily Kos: FEMA Dir. Mike Brown fired from prior job at Horse Assoc.
"'An unmitigated, total fucking disaster.' That's not a quote from Mike Brown, but rather, a quote describing him. And most disturbingly, it's not even a reference to his dismal performance as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This blunt critique was emailed to me from a regular reader who was apparently attracted to HorsesAss.org by her passion for politics and her love of Arabian horses."
I am very late on this particular band wagon.
But this is a fun kind of evaluation almost from the horses mouth.
Bush co is amazing.
Even I begin to doubt they can get away with this level of incompetence. I cannot bare to go on reading the stories of how New Olrleans people were left unaided for days and officials blocked attempts at rescue over and over
I am very late on this particular band wagon.
But this is a fun kind of evaluation almost from the horses mouth.
Bush co is amazing.
Even I begin to doubt they can get away with this level of incompetence. I cannot bare to go on reading the stories of how New Olrleans people were left unaided for days and officials blocked attempts at rescue over and over
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Kinks singer joins anti-Bush lobby - Yahoo! UK & Ireland News
Ray Davies is one of the all time great pop song writers. "Waterloo sunset" is one of the greatest songs of all time. London built the Thames barrier to keep it from flooding. The Americans, as Davies observed first hand, left New Orleans to its fate.
"During another trip, Davies was driven to see the pump houses, and noticed that 'the whole infrastructure was very fragile'.
'The levees seemed insufficient for the amount of water surrounding the city. The roads were uneven and the tap water pressure in most houses was weak,' he said. 'The whole system appeared improvised.'
The singer, who had friends in New Orleans when Katrina struck, added that the city is no longer just an American responsibility."
"During another trip, Davies was driven to see the pump houses, and noticed that 'the whole infrastructure was very fragile'.
'The levees seemed insufficient for the amount of water surrounding the city. The roads were uneven and the tap water pressure in most houses was weak,' he said. 'The whole system appeared improvised.'
The singer, who had friends in New Orleans when Katrina struck, added that the city is no longer just an American responsibility."
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
AlterNet: War on Iraq: Ordeal of a Whistleblower
Guess who has been awarded reconstruction contracts in New Orleans.
Why Haliburton, of course.
And if you challenge Bush-Chaney the best that can happen is demotion as with the whistleblower who complained about the malfaisance in Iraq with that company.
"In a letter from her attorney's office, Greenhouse told members of Congress that the Army gave the no-bid contracts to Halliburton's subsidiary KBR for political reasons.
Greenhouse charged that contracts were approved over her reservations, some of which were handwritten on the original contracts, and extensions of contracts were awarded because underlings signed them in collusion with senior officials without her knowledge.">AlterNet: War on Iraq: Ordeal of a Whistleblower: "In a letter from her attorney's office, Greenhouse told members of Congress that the Army gave the no-bid contracts to Halliburton's subsidiary KBR for political reasons.
Greenhouse charged that contracts were approved over her reservations, some of which were handwritten on the original contracts, and extensions of contracts were awarded because underlings signed them in collusion with senior officials without her knowledge."
Why Haliburton, of course.
And if you challenge Bush-Chaney the best that can happen is demotion as with the whistleblower who complained about the malfaisance in Iraq with that company.
"In a letter from her attorney's office, Greenhouse told members of Congress that the Army gave the no-bid contracts to Halliburton's subsidiary KBR for political reasons.
Greenhouse charged that contracts were approved over her reservations, some of which were handwritten on the original contracts, and extensions of contracts were awarded because underlings signed them in collusion with senior officials without her knowledge.">AlterNet: War on Iraq: Ordeal of a Whistleblower: "In a letter from her attorney's office, Greenhouse told members of Congress that the Army gave the no-bid contracts to Halliburton's subsidiary KBR for political reasons.
Greenhouse charged that contracts were approved over her reservations, some of which were handwritten on the original contracts, and extensions of contracts were awarded because underlings signed them in collusion with senior officials without her knowledge."
If only Katrina were a terrorist
This is enormously funny.
It spells out the madness of American foreign policy over the last few years both republican and democrat.
Enjoy
Time's Matt Cooper notes that Katrina was the anti-9/11 for George W. Bush in more ways than one:
But last week offered no New York bullhorn moment. He can't threaten to get Katrina "dead or alive."
I guess Karl isn't returning Matt's phone calls any more.
If you think about it, it's probably just as well that Katrina wasn't a terrorist. Because if she was, she'd probably still be hiding out in the North Atlantic, periodically smuggling out bombastic videotapes ("Death to puny mammals and their infidel cave hives!") and occasionally sending violent thunderstorms to blow down train stations and beach resorts outside the United States.
And then the Cheney administration would have to go find some other tropical storm -- somewhere in the Indian Ocean, probably -- to declare war on. And that would trigger a long, tedious debate about whether the Indian Ocean had anything to do with the flooding of New Orleans, or whether Cyclone Saddam (or whatever) was secretly storing up lighting bolts in the Bay of Bengal for a sneak attack that would electrocute millions of Americans in their sleep.
Then the neocons would have to cook up some phony intelligence reports showing that tornados spawned by Saddam and Katrina met secretly over the Prague Airport and plotted to blow away Biloxi. And Condi Rice would have to go before the UN Security Council and recite a CIA fantasy script about the Indian Ocean's secret thunderbolts of death, and the chemical weapons trailers hidden in the eye of Cyclone Saddam.
Then Dick Cheney would have to go on Meet the Press and promise Tim Russert that Operation Cyclone Liberation would be a piece of cake, because the waves in the Indian Ocean would greet us as liberators, allowing our troops to walk on water. And then we'd have to have another big argument about how many meterologists it would take to occupy a cyclone, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would say 500,000 and the neocons would say 5 -- until Bush">Billmon: "Dead or Alive
Time's Matt Cooper notes that Katrina was the anti-9/11 for George W. Bush in more ways than one:
But last week offered no New York bullhorn moment. He can't threaten to get Katrina 'dead or alive.'
I guess Karl isn't returning Matt's phone calls any more.
If you think about it, it's probably just as well that Katrina wasn't a terrorist. Because if she was, she'd probably still be hiding out in the North Atlantic, periodically smuggling out bombastic videotapes ('Death to puny mammals and their infidel cave hives!') and occasionally sending violent thunderstorms to blow down train stations and beach resorts outside the United States.
And then the Cheney administration would have to go find some other tropical storm -- somewhere in the Indian Ocean, probably -- to declare war on. And that would trigger a long, tedious debate about whether the Indian Ocean had anything to do with the flooding of New Orleans, or whether Cyclone Saddam (or whatever) was secretly storing up lighting bolts in the Bay of Bengal for a sneak attack that would electrocute millions of Americans in their sleep.
Then the neocons would have to cook up some phony intelligence reports showing that tornados spawned by Saddam and Katrina met secretly over the Prague Airport and plotted to blow away Biloxi. And Condi Rice would have to go before the UN Security Council and recite a CIA fantasy script about the Indian Ocean's secret thunderbolts of death, and the chemical weapons trailers hidden in the eye of Cyclone Saddam.
Then Dick Cheney would have to go on Meet the Press and promise Tim Russert that Operation Cyclone Liberation would be a piece of cake, because the waves in the Indian Ocean would greet us as liberators, allowing our troops to walk on water. And then we'd have to have another big argument about how many meterologists it would take to occupy a cyclone, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would say 500,000 and the neocons would say 5 -- until Bush"
It spells out the madness of American foreign policy over the last few years both republican and democrat.
Enjoy
Time's Matt Cooper notes that Katrina was the anti-9/11 for George W. Bush in more ways than one:
But last week offered no New York bullhorn moment. He can't threaten to get Katrina "dead or alive."
I guess Karl isn't returning Matt's phone calls any more.
If you think about it, it's probably just as well that Katrina wasn't a terrorist. Because if she was, she'd probably still be hiding out in the North Atlantic, periodically smuggling out bombastic videotapes ("Death to puny mammals and their infidel cave hives!") and occasionally sending violent thunderstorms to blow down train stations and beach resorts outside the United States.
And then the Cheney administration would have to go find some other tropical storm -- somewhere in the Indian Ocean, probably -- to declare war on. And that would trigger a long, tedious debate about whether the Indian Ocean had anything to do with the flooding of New Orleans, or whether Cyclone Saddam (or whatever) was secretly storing up lighting bolts in the Bay of Bengal for a sneak attack that would electrocute millions of Americans in their sleep.
Then the neocons would have to cook up some phony intelligence reports showing that tornados spawned by Saddam and Katrina met secretly over the Prague Airport and plotted to blow away Biloxi. And Condi Rice would have to go before the UN Security Council and recite a CIA fantasy script about the Indian Ocean's secret thunderbolts of death, and the chemical weapons trailers hidden in the eye of Cyclone Saddam.
Then Dick Cheney would have to go on Meet the Press and promise Tim Russert that Operation Cyclone Liberation would be a piece of cake, because the waves in the Indian Ocean would greet us as liberators, allowing our troops to walk on water. And then we'd have to have another big argument about how many meterologists it would take to occupy a cyclone, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would say 500,000 and the neocons would say 5 -- until Bush">Billmon: "Dead or Alive
Time's Matt Cooper notes that Katrina was the anti-9/11 for George W. Bush in more ways than one:
But last week offered no New York bullhorn moment. He can't threaten to get Katrina 'dead or alive.'
I guess Karl isn't returning Matt's phone calls any more.
If you think about it, it's probably just as well that Katrina wasn't a terrorist. Because if she was, she'd probably still be hiding out in the North Atlantic, periodically smuggling out bombastic videotapes ('Death to puny mammals and their infidel cave hives!') and occasionally sending violent thunderstorms to blow down train stations and beach resorts outside the United States.
And then the Cheney administration would have to go find some other tropical storm -- somewhere in the Indian Ocean, probably -- to declare war on. And that would trigger a long, tedious debate about whether the Indian Ocean had anything to do with the flooding of New Orleans, or whether Cyclone Saddam (or whatever) was secretly storing up lighting bolts in the Bay of Bengal for a sneak attack that would electrocute millions of Americans in their sleep.
Then the neocons would have to cook up some phony intelligence reports showing that tornados spawned by Saddam and Katrina met secretly over the Prague Airport and plotted to blow away Biloxi. And Condi Rice would have to go before the UN Security Council and recite a CIA fantasy script about the Indian Ocean's secret thunderbolts of death, and the chemical weapons trailers hidden in the eye of Cyclone Saddam.
Then Dick Cheney would have to go on Meet the Press and promise Tim Russert that Operation Cyclone Liberation would be a piece of cake, because the waves in the Indian Ocean would greet us as liberators, allowing our troops to walk on water. And then we'd have to have another big argument about how many meterologists it would take to occupy a cyclone, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would say 500,000 and the neocons would say 5 -- until Bush"
t r u t h o u t - William Rivers Pitt | Washing Away the Conservative Movement
I have quoted Rivers Pitt extensively this morning below. This seems like it could be an important article about a possible turning point in American history. Churchill said any Government must protect its people. True. The neocons are not doing that, while protesting that they are doing it well. True. But it would be a very major step towards another form of society to see Government in America gearing up to face global warming. They still deny it exists.
I am not confident that real change will take place after Katrina.
Given the way the world's weather is changing there will be another one after this one. If nothing happens next time to change Government then I think they will get the message then.
What is worrying is that the elite is still there in control of everything, and with no influence on the media, and nothing short of armed insurrection seems likely to impact on it. Not surprising the people of new Orleans went out and looted guns.
The elite already control the voting machines so they are no longer affected by democratic influence.
"The Katrina disaster in a nutshell: A storm that had been listed for years as #3 on America's list of "Worst Possible Things That Could Happen" arrives in New Orleans to find levees unprepared because massive budget cuts stripped away any ability to repair and augment them. The storm finds FEMA, the national agency tasked to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters, run by Bush friend Michael Brown, a guy who got fired from his last job representing the rights of Arabian horse owners. The storm finds a goodly chunk of the Louisiana National Guard sitting in a desert 7,000 miles away with their high-water Humvees parked beside them. The storm finds that our institutional decades-old unwillingness to address poverty issues left tens of thousands of people unable to get out of the way of the ram.
Grover Norquist, one of the ideological leaders of our current administration, once said he wanted to shrink the federal government until it was small enough to be drowned in a bathtub. Well, those who believe in his view of things have worked very hard to accomplish this, and we see now what happens when you do that. In this case, the government did not drown. An American city did.
Early estimates of the costs to repair the damage to New Orleans are rolling above $100 billion. The invasion and occupation of Iraq has cost many times more than that. The gigantic tax cuts of a few years ago further denuded the federal budget. Conservative and neoconservative dogma required this, and has left us singularly vulnerable. They have always wanted a weakened federal government, and now we have one, and a lot of people are dead because of it. The cost of this storm, plus the cost of the tax cuts, plus the cost of the Iraq war, plus the long-term damage to our economy caused by high gasoline prices, is going to kick the guts out of our government for a very long time to come."
I am not confident that real change will take place after Katrina.
Given the way the world's weather is changing there will be another one after this one. If nothing happens next time to change Government then I think they will get the message then.
What is worrying is that the elite is still there in control of everything, and with no influence on the media, and nothing short of armed insurrection seems likely to impact on it. Not surprising the people of new Orleans went out and looted guns.
The elite already control the voting machines so they are no longer affected by democratic influence.
"The Katrina disaster in a nutshell: A storm that had been listed for years as #3 on America's list of "Worst Possible Things That Could Happen" arrives in New Orleans to find levees unprepared because massive budget cuts stripped away any ability to repair and augment them. The storm finds FEMA, the national agency tasked to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters, run by Bush friend Michael Brown, a guy who got fired from his last job representing the rights of Arabian horse owners. The storm finds a goodly chunk of the Louisiana National Guard sitting in a desert 7,000 miles away with their high-water Humvees parked beside them. The storm finds that our institutional decades-old unwillingness to address poverty issues left tens of thousands of people unable to get out of the way of the ram.
Grover Norquist, one of the ideological leaders of our current administration, once said he wanted to shrink the federal government until it was small enough to be drowned in a bathtub. Well, those who believe in his view of things have worked very hard to accomplish this, and we see now what happens when you do that. In this case, the government did not drown. An American city did.
Early estimates of the costs to repair the damage to New Orleans are rolling above $100 billion. The invasion and occupation of Iraq has cost many times more than that. The gigantic tax cuts of a few years ago further denuded the federal budget. Conservative and neoconservative dogma required this, and has left us singularly vulnerable. They have always wanted a weakened federal government, and now we have one, and a lot of people are dead because of it. The cost of this storm, plus the cost of the tax cuts, plus the cost of the Iraq war, plus the long-term damage to our economy caused by high gasoline prices, is going to kick the guts out of our government for a very long time to come."
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Forced marriage anyone?
I heard a rumour that Mr Blunket is due to be put in charge of the forced marriage unit in a Government reshuffle. It will be a big part of Blair’s renewed emphasis on Parenting Skills development.
Sadly Mr Blair does not seem to be listening to my reports which do their best to emphasise that parenting is more about who the parent is and how they live their lives than any set of parenting skills you can purchase from the New Labour Company Store. Jungian psychology has helpful things to say on the subject. The parent’s shadow often falls on the child. The child will look through the parents instructions to the being of the parent. But then that old analytical stuff is way out of fashion.
New Labour naturally believes in Behaviour Modification; pretty much any kind of manipulative technique when it comes to bringing in the vote. They are easy prey to the kind of psychologists who wrap their manipulative technologies in the cloak of science.
There is much to be learned from the great principles of responsible parenting found in good humanistic programmes. They have helped me be a better parent.
But what really counts is the example you set. Mr Blunket has given us all the best of all possible examples of how to misbehave in his private life. We must not take any notice of this whatever, since private life is sacred to this Government. We are forbidden to consider it or even write about it. Social workers and psychiatrists should have been called in to address the behaviour of the Blairs and Blunketts. Even when caught cheating the New Labour leaders go on boasting about their integrity. Blair pleads with us to believe he was mistaken and his integrity is not compromised.
Massive self deception may perhaps be an essential ingredient of parenting. We can trust New Labour to show us how it is done.
What about these forced marriages, you say? Apparently there is a lot of it about and you don’t have to be Muslim to indulge in it. As yet we have not heard that the reborn Christians of the Blair cabinet are demanding forced marriages as part of their parenting courses. Maybe that will come later. Perhaps they will go for the Sharia method where the woman does not even turn up to the wedding. All those runaway fathers could be rounded up and married to their children’s mother without her having to know at all. It is possible that they are against this kind of thing. But I expect them to change when they see the economic benefits it would bring.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Many believe Hurricane Katrina may be a sign of the coming Apocalypse -- Beliefnet.com
My last post started on this linked site.
This is how it finishes:
"The Book of I Kings reads: “Behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind and earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”"
I would like to add a little.
"And the small voice was George W, accepting a gift of a guitar from a country and western star, while the hurricane blew through New Orleans. But no one was listening to him."
This is how it finishes:
"The Book of I Kings reads: “Behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind and earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”"
I would like to add a little.
"And the small voice was George W, accepting a gift of a guitar from a country and western star, while the hurricane blew through New Orleans. But no one was listening to him."
AlterNet: Did God Send the Hurricane?
AlterNet: Did God Send the Hurricane?: "In a recent CNN poll, 55% of those responding believe that global warming is causing the severe weather we've experienced recently, which is a kind of admission that a huge hurricane is part of the wages of (environmental) sin. Meanwhile, most polls show that 40% of all U.S. adults believe the physical world will eventually end as a result of a supernatural intervention, perhaps with a literal Rapture, Tribulation, Antichrist, and Battle of Armageddon described in the Book of Revelation. Nearly half of all Americans believe the Middle East will be 'heavily involved' in the events surrounding the end of the world. And 40% believe the end of the world will come in their lifetime."
I think that the people on this side of the Atlantic are not aware of the gulf that separates us from nearly half of our American cousins.
It is not just the madness of shooting down helicopters sent to fly out sick people from New Orleans, it is the madness of all those Americans who believe that the last judgement is at hand.
I would say that any country re-electing George Bush was demented.
But then we have just re-elected the war criminal, Mr Tony Blair.
Someone spelled it out in a suicide tele-message this time, after he bombed himself and several Londoners to oblivion; invading Iraq was a crime of aggression. Muslims are going to retaliate, whatever way they can. Blair is not listening to words. Now he will be hearing bomb blasts.
At least now there is a potential leader of the opposition who might stand against him.
I think that the people on this side of the Atlantic are not aware of the gulf that separates us from nearly half of our American cousins.
It is not just the madness of shooting down helicopters sent to fly out sick people from New Orleans, it is the madness of all those Americans who believe that the last judgement is at hand.
I would say that any country re-electing George Bush was demented.
But then we have just re-elected the war criminal, Mr Tony Blair.
Someone spelled it out in a suicide tele-message this time, after he bombed himself and several Londoners to oblivion; invading Iraq was a crime of aggression. Muslims are going to retaliate, whatever way they can. Blair is not listening to words. Now he will be hearing bomb blasts.
At least now there is a potential leader of the opposition who might stand against him.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
CNN.com - Would-be leader raps Blair on Iraq - Sep 1, 2005
CNN.com - Would-be leader raps Blair on Iraq - Sep 1, 2005: "'The disastrous decision to invade Iraq has made Britain a more dangerous place,' Clarke, 65, said in a speech in London."
Well now there is a thing!
Clarke bidding for power on an anti war ticket. That would really change our rotten politics. I hope he wins.
Well now there is a thing!
Clarke bidding for power on an anti war ticket. That would really change our rotten politics. I hope he wins.
Anger rises among Mississippi's poor after Katrina - Yahoo! News
Anger rises among Mississippi's poor after Katrina - Yahoo! News: "Hotels along the interstates and other main roads were packed with these temporary refugees. Gas stations and convenience stores -- at least those that were open -- sold out of water, ice and other supplies within hours.
But others could not afford to join them, either because they didn't own a car or couldn't raise funds for even the cheapest motel.
'No way we could do that,' said Willie Rhetta, a bus driver, who remained in his home to await Katrina.
Resentment at being left behind in the path of one of the fiercest hurricanes on record may have contributed to some of the looting that occurred in Biloxi and other coastal communities.
A number of private residences, including some in upscale neighborhoods, were targeted, residents said.
Class divisions, which often fall along racial lines in this once-segregated southern state, are not new to Mississippi. It traditionally is one of the poorest states in the United States.
In 2004, Mississippi had the second lowest median household income and the highest percentage of people -- 21.6 percent -- living in poverty, according to a report released this week by the U.S.
Census Bureau."
The BBC described these people as stubborn. It forgot to think they might be too poor to get away from the area.
Other reports show news real comparisons where white people are shown "finding things" and black people are shown "looting".
But others could not afford to join them, either because they didn't own a car or couldn't raise funds for even the cheapest motel.
'No way we could do that,' said Willie Rhetta, a bus driver, who remained in his home to await Katrina.
Resentment at being left behind in the path of one of the fiercest hurricanes on record may have contributed to some of the looting that occurred in Biloxi and other coastal communities.
A number of private residences, including some in upscale neighborhoods, were targeted, residents said.
Class divisions, which often fall along racial lines in this once-segregated southern state, are not new to Mississippi. It traditionally is one of the poorest states in the United States.
In 2004, Mississippi had the second lowest median household income and the highest percentage of people -- 21.6 percent -- living in poverty, according to a report released this week by the U.S.
Census Bureau."
The BBC described these people as stubborn. It forgot to think they might be too poor to get away from the area.
Other reports show news real comparisons where white people are shown "finding things" and black people are shown "looting".
AlterNet: Why the Levee Broke
AlterNet: Why the Levee Broke: "The president told us that we needed to fight in Iraq to save lives here at home. Yet -- after moving billions of domestic dollars to the Persian Gulf -- there are bodies floating through the streets of Louisiana. What does George W. Bush have to say for himself now?"
While Iraqis sink in the Tigris, New orleans sinks into history on the back of funding that was diverted from flood defenses to the desert oil supply.
Well, if you are going to spend 67 billion on a war something has to give somewhere.
This time it is the flood protection for a major American city.
Never mind this one George W. All your coastal cities will be going under as global warming really gets going.
Meanwhile you will keep on ignoring the truth I suspect.
While Iraqis sink in the Tigris, New orleans sinks into history on the back of funding that was diverted from flood defenses to the desert oil supply.
Well, if you are going to spend 67 billion on a war something has to give somewhere.
This time it is the flood protection for a major American city.
Never mind this one George W. All your coastal cities will be going under as global warming really gets going.
Meanwhile you will keep on ignoring the truth I suspect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)