HYPOCRITES TO THE LEFT AND HYPOCRITES TO THE RIGHT

Ba' heid Boris was never off the news today telling us what a hypocrite President Obama was (incidentally, for agreeing with his (Boris's boss) and weighing in on Cameron's side against Brexit.

The hypocrisy was apparently that Obama would never allow free movement of labour into and out of the United States. (It could be argued of course that within the united STATES of America one can move freely from state to state, find gainful employment, go to college, retire etc, etc. So poor old Florida with its (usually) wonderful climate gets more than its fair share of pensioners fleeing "the snows of New England states" to look after. But it is fair to say that that's splitting hairs.)

So it's a reasonably fair comment from Johnson. It's nothing to do with the American president and in our opinion he shouldn't have commented at all. (I can't begin to imagine what Cameron promised him for his endorsement, but expect us to be at war some time very soon.)

The suit that caused a stoushie (and the President wearing it)

However, when Obama (again at the behest of Cameron) was being equally hypocritical over the Scottish Referendum by advising Scots to stay with the UK (given that breaking away from Britain was a trend actually set by the United States of America), I don't remember Bojo saying a single word against him.

So when it comes to being a hypocrite, let's just say that it takes one to know one, eh Boris?

RAMBLING THOUGHTS: THIS AND THAT AND PRESIDENT XI

The Chinese President and his wife are going on a state visit to London, starting tonight and it seems Cameron is practising being suitably deferential.

It appears that since Obama took up with Frau Merkel, the Eton boy has been searching around for another "bestie" to whom he can grovel, the better to continue to be seen with a big boy somewhere in the world.

He is, we should never forget, quite popular with the Saudi royals, who find him a useful supplier of weapons, and of course, a ready sponsor for their chairmanship of the Human Rights Panel of the United Nations, which is pretty weird for arguably one of the world's worst abusers of human rights. Still, rich though they are, they don't quite have the je ne sais quoi of superpower mates!

We know, of course Dave's friendship with Putin was somewhat strained after the Russian president knocked him back over his request to help defeat the Yes Campaign in the Scottish independence referendum, so that only really leaves the Chinese.

So Gideon, doing his master's bidding, was off last week to Beijing, promising the Chinese they can build England's railways and their nuclear power stations and ...well, anything really, as long as Xi (can I call you Jinping?) will pose for pictures with Cameron and make him look and feel like he actually matters a bit.,... not to mention making that ingrate Obama a little jealous!

I heard that Charlie won't be at the state dinner for President Xi as, at 66 he needs to rest before embarking next month on some foreign visits. Just as well his 89 year old mother doesn't need to rest so much, or hosting Dave's state visit might entail dragging the enchanting princess Beatrice back from whatever holiday the lazy sponging git is on at the moment. 

(As a side note, maybe Iain Duncan Smith would like to look into this potential client's case. It seems that she's been unemployed for 8 months and has only managed 17 holidays. Does this make her a striver or a skiver and should she be sanctioned?)

As Munguin hasn't been invited to the state dinner we won't be able to give you chapter and verse about who sat next to whom, or how many courses there were.

We did, however, manage to get along to Aldi's today and make a wee contribution to the local church's food-bank, then take some clothes to the very excellent Refugee centre in Dundee where fantastic people were working hard sorting donations to take to Calais.

Anyway, we hope their state visit goes well. They would be welcome to come to Scotland sometime for Haggis and chappit tatties and neeps!

Oh, and  have a nice holiday, Beatrice. Don't you worry your pretty little head about poor suffering people, will you?

DON'T TOUCH MY GIRLFRIEND...

Danny (Munguin's man in America) sent me this beauty... and I just had to share this with you.

I've always said that when Obama is finished with being president he should do stand up comedy. And I mean that in a nice way. 

Actually George W Bush should think about it too, but I don't mean that in a nice way!

PATRONISING DRIVEL FROM DOUGIE

This article appeared in the Daily Record. It was so pathetic and ridiculous, I couldn't help taking it apart. Sorry it's so long.  

Must do better Dougie, you patronising git.

++++++++++

IF it ain't broke, don't fix it. With those words, US president Barack Obama explained to me his view on our referendum when I met him in Washington this week. (Just a hint of pride there Dougie? As I said to the king...)

OMG, what an important person you must be Dougie
I see you managed to bump Harry into third place

I had travelled to the US capital with Labour leader Ed Miliband (who? Oh yeah, thanks for explaining who he was), to hold meetings with the president and his team at the White House.

The backdrop to our discussion was the tragic downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine and the suffering engulfing Gaza. (Yes, because you have such influence of affairs of state in the Caucuses, so clearly Obama couldn't wait to consult you and Ed about it, right?)

Together with Susan Rice, the president’s national security adviser, we talked through these immediate troubles facing our world today and discussed how our two countries could continue to cooperate to meet these challenges. (Well, I suppose that’s fair enough. How you co-operate usually, Dougie, is you agree with every word Mr Obama says, then you drop a curtsey and say “thank you sir”. As you and Mr Cameron see eye to eye on virtually everything, I doubt Barack noticed that it was you two, and not Dave and the long faced one with the personality deficit.)

It was a wide-ranging and free-flowing exchange, covering everything from these current crises to the need to tackle climate change in the decades ahead. (OH, aren't you important. Remind me to bow the next time I'm in the same room as you.)

But of course, as a Scottish MP, there was also one other issue I was keen to discuss with President Obama – the choice that we as Scots will all face on September 18. (LOL. You were keen to discuss with the president? Why? It’s nothing to do with him and whilst he’s entitled to his opinion, it’s no more important than that some wee woman living in a wood hut in Cambodia. But still you got to write about it in the paper, and I suppose every little bit helps in these hard times till the 11% pay rise comes along.)

Oh, there you are again in another room with the president

When I asked him his views, the president leaned back, and with a smile responded: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” (Love the literary style by the way.  Really classy. Soooo. It’s not broke? There are people who are working a full week and yet being directed to food banks; 4% of Dundee’s population to use a local figure. Vast numbers of children are living in poverty, Atos and IDS have killed off thousands of people by denying them benefit, Prince William is getting a new helicopter so he can get back from opening things in time to see wee George to bed; the NHS is being privatised and sold off in England, with consequential for Scotland; MPs have voted themselves 11% pay rise while the rest of us are getting none, or 1%; hundreds of elderly Scots die every year from cold related illness… I could go on, but are you getting the picture? Incidentally, Dougie, when was the last time any of your family went through the indignity of going to a food bank to beg for food?)

Of course he understands that the referendum on September 18 is a choice for us as Scots but as he spoke, it became clear that he believes we really are better together as part of the UK family. (On what exactly does he base that "knowledge". You do know that he's probably not even been to Scotland and knows very little about it, right?)

As a hugely admired progressive president, Obama knows and understands the modern world and its challenges. (I read his ratings were at an all-time low.)

Perhaps more than any other modern political leader, Barack Obama embodies the idea that diversity is strength.  (Against whom are you comparing him, or was that just a sound bite? Are you trying to put down for example the Icelandic prime minister who would welcome an independent Scotland, or the European president who doesn't want to see Scotland left out?)

Nationalism is not his creed. (Yes it is really. The United States is the Greatest Country under God, remember. They are fiercely nationalistic and proud.)

Unlike some others, he has no illusions about President Putin. (Are you trying to drag up that old story about Alex Salmond and Putin? It was discredited a long time ago. You're supposed to be a statesman. Say what you mean.  Silly innuendos are for gossip merchants at the water cooler.)

He thinks Labour has a chance at the next elections
Oh well, whatever. We won't notice the difference,
but he'll get a massive pay rise

I believe his views on our referendum will be welcomed here in Scotland, not least because millions of us here also don’t want to walk away from the UK. (Millions of us do, though, otherwise a person of your import wouldn't be writing articles about it and your mate Gordon wouldn't be trying to scare the living daylights out of the sick.)

At this time of year, tens of thousands of Scots are abroad for their summer holiday. (The lucky ones that aren't down the food bank?)

As part of the UK, we don’t just have a British passport (we have an EU passport) – we also have over 14,000 staff working in 267 diplomatic posts across the world to help us in times of difficulty. (You actually have all the staff in all the embassies in the European Union working for you. You probably find consular help easy to get Dougie, you being a VIP. Not so easy for others, though, I assure you. You are usually better placed to go to another consulate.)

We live in a world where what happens outside Scotland affects our prosperity, security, and wellbeing. As part of the UK, we’re a member of the EU, NATO, the G7, the G20, the board of the IMF and the World Bank, and are one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. (And what does all that do for me, Dougie? We know what it does for you. You get to ponse about mentioning over and over that you had a chat with Barack Obama. But for me, or Auld Mrs McTumpshie down the road, what does any of that mean? It means going to war when America tells us to, regardless of the legality; it means supporting America in the G8 and Nato and UN. Very soon the UK will be out of the EU. And, all this clout you talk about…when are we ever going to see any examples of it actually working? Mr Juncker one, was it?)

As a Scottish MP, I led the British Government’s work to tackle global poverty. I saw how Scottish sailors on Clyde-built warships helped to deliver vital humanitarian assistance thanks to the second-biggest aid budget in the world, directed by life-saving Scots based in East Kilbride. (Wait a minute, that wasn't because you were a Scottish MP. Anyway, you were tackling world poverty? Is it getting any better? Why were warships delivering aid? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to deliver aid without all the guns and killing? And why are we arming Putin (whom some seem to admire, according to you) and Israel? Did you discuss that with the president?)

Just an ordinary bloke like you or me
No tie. You can hardly believe that he has been
in the same rooms as the president

As Scots, we've always been outward looking. My grand-parents were missionaries in China. Scottish sailors travelled the globe and our engineers powered the Empire. (The Empire? That was such a good socialist thing, right? When Brits took other people’s lands and their resources and gave them the right to be British and worship Queen Vic? Labour liked the Empire?)

Indeed, in the past, Glasgow was known to many as the Second City of the Empire. This week, all of us will celebrate as Glasgow becomes the First City of the Commonwealth. (At the time it was the second city of the empire, there were very rich people who did very well, and most of the rest of the town lived in grinding poverty. Have you been to the people’s museum on Glasgow Green?)

So as I left the meeting at the White House, I reflected on the president’s words. (As you do when you leave the White House.) Most of us talk to friends before we make a big decision in our lives. (You asked the president, your friend, for advice?) 

As a friend of Scotland and the UK, President Obama offers wise advice ahead of the referendum. As Scots, it’s our time to welcome the world, not retreat from it. (That's what we'll be doing, instead of having it done for us by London.)

And that’s why on September 18, I’ll be voting No. (Well it wouldn't do to ask the president for advice and then ignore it?  You know what, Dougie. As I didn;t ask Barack for advice, I’ll be voting yes because of food banks and poverty and unfair social security, and nuclear weapons and illegal wars and inequality and starvation and the fact that you lot at Westminster have your heads so far up your backsides you never see any of us or our problems.  You vote No for your big fat salary and free visits to Washington, for imagined clout and for expenses, for self importance and two homes and because you clearly don’t give a flying whatsit about any of us.)

ANOTHER DEFECTOR FROM NO...

... AND SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID

A former aide to Labour's Scottish branch deputy leader has announced that she will be voting Yes in the independence referendum.

Welcome to Yes, Anum

Anum Qaisar said UK Labour had turned "toxic" and abandoned its values in order to win power at Westminster, and that their plans for further powers for Scotland were uninspired and inadequate.

She worked in Anas Sarwar's  office in his Glasgow Central constituency as an intern for nine months between 2011 and 2012.

In February, she was reported as saying  she would be voting No because countries should be building bridges and not borders. However, Yes Scotland announced yesterday that the Glasgow University law student had said she had changed her mind.

She had originally been attracted to Labour by their vision of a social justice and equality. However, with time she had seen that these values had been abandoned for the goal of electoral gain in Westminster.

Like many other Labour voters she had come to the conclusion that the only way to revive the party was to remove it from the malign influence of London. She claimed "extreme" right-wing policies would be forced on Scots by Westminster regardless of who was in power after the 2015 election.

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "We respect everyone's view in this debate but we know that the vast majority of our supporters agree with Barack Obama that we are better together as part of the UK." Jeez. It didn't take them long to latch on to that little beauty.

 

Craig Murray knows a thing or two about the
duplicitousness of international relations

Interestingly, as an aside, it seems that Downing Street actually asked the BBC to ask Mr Obama that question, and Mr Obama to make the statement he did.

Within the period of the referendum for the BBC to undertake to do this is, of course, against the law, but that doesn’t matter to the BBC who have constantly given us their one-sided approach and have only charged us £145 a year for lying to us. Incidentally, the BBC seemed not to have reported that Obama also said that he wanted the UK to stay in the EU… Wonder why. 

Craig Murray, who knows a thing or two about international shenanigans, having been on the receiving end of them as a high ranking diplomat with the British Foreign office, has looked at Obama’s statement and has concluded that if, as the President says, the US has a “deep interest” in Scotland remaining in the UK, we can expect hidden interference.

Lord knows what he means by that. But we are certainly up against it. 

And can you imagine what Cameron has had to promise him for this service?

That fond kiss...

Anyway, back to Labour’s Scottish branch deputy leader, he of the truth team that tells only lies. It seems that the poor wee soul's been pushed out of the way as no less a personage than JoLo herself takes the helm at the Labour Party’s life raft for Scottish dependence, with Gordon Big Clunking Fist Brown and seller of books, as her first mate. This leaves Sarwar to organise the windowless bus! 

Now Anas isn't up to much, but, for heaven’s sake, surely the hapless, stumbling, stuttering, blethering, fish wife Lamont doesn’t think that she is any better. 

Oh vanity.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS...

Told you so!

Couldn't happen to a nicer condom, I mean erm prime minister

And so it goes on

Ooops...probably shouldn't be driving with this condom on my head.

It wasn't exactly what he said.
He clearly said that they wouldn't act against Scotland
 until Scotland had rejected independence,
but the pic was too good to reject

He must have a hell of a  house

Don't get excited. He didn't choke laughing... Still...

So what do you say Mrs Nay, I mean May

And they already renationalised their grid in Hamburg

They must think we are real suckers, while we think that they are....
erm grasping MPs

Tut tut. One rule for the ruled and one rule for the rulers

Not that interested in what celebrities say,
 but Annie's always been political

How many times do we have to tell them?

Probably would have been better to deep fry them

Aye Justin, talking of miracles

But not if you are the head of the Bank of England,
or running the Tory party or the new head of RBS...

LOL

No stitch ups there then

We miss nothing!!

Told you...

Thousands and thousands of people
 will die because of greed

A couple of thoughts...

Erm..was ist Ihre Telefonnummer?

Mr Obama has, over the last two days, been obliged to defend his state security apparatus's alleged earwigging on French telephone calls. He was obliged to speak directly to the President of the Republic. 

Today he has had to speak to the Chancellor of Germany to try to pacify her after allegations were made that the NSA had been listening to German telephone calls, including, it is suspected, the calls of the Chancellor herself.

I was wondering if any protests will be made by David Cameron that the calls of British people have been monitored, or does Eton Dave not have the cojones of Monsieur Hollande or Frau Merkel?

Silly question. 

Much more likely that Cameron's response would be: "Shall I fetch you the London telephone directory Mr Obama Sir? Shall I dial for you sir?"
******

Salmonella? More like mad cow disease

Dear Mrs Currie,

I always thought you were a bit of a dim old bird, but today I realised that you are, in fact, completely batshit mad. Actually I do believe that you're even thicker than Nadine.

Even the stupidest of people taking part in a radio debate about Scottish independence, would try to find out the name of the first minister of Scotland. You have no idea how insulting it is that you couldn't be arsed to do that.

Perhaps you'd be kind enough to let us know when exactly it was that you remember Mr Salmond being a Labour MP; much less him trying to be Labour leader. Having joined the SNP whilst at university, he'd have found all that a tad difficult.

I suspect that Mr Cameron has done his very best NOT to give the impression (that you gave in spades) that he is too high, mighty and superior to discuss and debate with a mere first minister. You, in typical incompetent Currie style, blew it all away.

You then insisted, despite everyone else on the radio show disagreeing with you, that Mr Cameron was a better debater than Mr Salmond. Today's PMQs with a bright red faced prime minister fending off attacks after his hastily put together plans regarding domestic fuel prices came under fire, reminded us just what a star debater he is. He may have had the palace connections and the money to get himself the job. It doesn't mean he's the least bit good at it. Still you and he appear to have the same ideas on how the great unwashed should stave off death in the cold of the winter.

Talking of that, Cameron was obliged to put together his ill thought out plans on energy overnight, because your ex-paramour blew him out of the water yesterday.

So whilst on that subject of Johnnie, can I ask you, is it true that he tucks his shirt into his underpants?

Yours sincerely

Munguin

WHO WAS THAT LARD-ARSE WITH THE COMB OVER?

Talking of austerity (as we were in the last post), it seems that whist the rest of us are wondering what the hell Osborne is going to cut next to save the next tranche, Mr Cameron is considering an "austerity" version of Air Force One to transport him or the Queen around.

The idea has been flagged up by Airbus's boss in England, said that Mr Cameron had been let down by the aerospace industry when he arrived in the Far East on a plane built in America and owned by an Angolan company. Downing Street is said to be interested...you bet your life it is.

The plane wouldn't be the flying palace that the president has, but presumably it would be done out to a standard that would be suitable for a man of Mr Cameron's breeding.

So... I read all this in the Telegraph, and of course it is always a laugh to glance at the comments in that paper, so I read down at a few of the usual right wing blethers, and then I came across this piece from Sticky2TheMan, which I thought was hilarious:

Cameron really is the Heir to Blair, isn't he?

Didn't His Toniness claim that the Queen's aeroplane was as much his as hers and steal the keys to fly off to Cliff Richard's paradise island or some such nonsense?

Is it not a tradition now that as soon as a prime minister comes back from playing with the Americans, he puts out feelers to see whether 10 Downing Street can be tarted up to look like the set of West Wing?

However, perhaps we should be less churlish and let our dear leaders have their way.

Perhaps we should allow them to have  their own chamber orchestras dressed in monkey costumes like Louis XIV.

Or - since Cameron has or had his own private photographer funded by the taxpayer - their own propaganda film-maker, like Leni Riefenstahl, with a fully-equipped Hollywood studio.

Maybe a private theme-park and zoo, like Michael Jackson. After all, he was a mere popular music crooner, not a global statesman.

How about a continuous stream of teenage prostitutes, like Silvio Berlusconi?

Or perhaps a private bakery producing nothing but the finest Cornish pasties, to which Cameron is known to be utterly addicted?

Why shouldn't our prime minister show how completely and utterly detached he is from the lives of ordinary people?

The only problem with trying to ape the POTUS is that there is such a vast gulf between the power of one and the other.

After Obama met Cameron, it is said that he asked one of his minders:

"Who was that lard-arse with the comb-over?"

"Political Betting" is one of these rather cliquey blogs on which there is absolutely no point in posting if you don't belong: I don't the latter, so I don't the former.  Their blog is run by some old guy who goes by the name of Mike Smithson. I've kept his title on the blog list because occasionally I like to pop over and read the comments, which always seem to me to be a competition in bitchiness.  Well, that's always good for a laugh, isn't it? Smithson appears, rather like Admin the Numpty at the twee Labour "Hame", to dislike criticism, but where Admin operates a policy of disallowing comments he doesn't like, Smithson simply bars people who make comments which are disagreeable to him. As they now appear to have barred everyone who ever spoke up for the Nationalist cause, I have decided that they no longer serve any purpose on Munguin's Republic, so, I'm taking them off the blog roll, if no one minds.

Poor old Cameron. He goes all the way to the USA, gets a 19 gun salute, gets to ride on the super cool presidential plane Air Force One, and is relegated to the second half of the 6 o'clock news on the BBC by that devastating accident in Switzerland, and the fact that unemployment is up again. Now he's been knocked off the headlines in the Telegraph by the attempt on the life of the American Defence Secretary who was visiting Afghanistan today. And still Cameron makes a speech saying that what our troops are doing in Afghanistan will make the UK safer. We know he is out of touch, but by that much?


Talking of Cameron, does any know if they teach table manners at Eton? I suspect they do. Maybe he just thought he was being one of the guys or something, but when it got round to him on the news, the BBC showed him at  a, no sorry, THE baseball game, which the President was NOT going to miss for anyone, getting "tore in", as we say in Dundee, to some burger, or hot dog, or some other item of American cuisine. I know he has a big mouth but I was wondering just how much more he could cram into it. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for us, I thought, if he choked to death. But all was well, he didn't, so threat of embarrassment over.

Talking about embarrassment, although not for Scotland, ?Sir? Dave Richards (they hand them out to anyone with a few bob these days), chairman of the English Premier League made a cringer of a speech accusing Fifa and Uefa of stealing football from the English... shortly before he fell into a pond, at a gala dinner in Doha. Well, there's always one, isn't there? 


The joy with which employment ministers met the 'slowing of the increase in the upward rate of unemployment', was perhaps a little over optimistic. They expressed themselves sure that this was sign that the UK had turned a corner: George Osborne's policies were after all working. (Yeah right, and I'm Harry Potter.) They were positively gleeful that public sector redundancies, at 37,000, were more than matched by private sector jobs created at 45,000 in the last three months of 2011. But only a few hours later, I read that, in the same period, the number of people working part time, because they couldn't find full time work rose by a massive 110,000. It may be marginally better than being unemployed, but if you need a full time job, only having a part time one (sometimes with no guaranteed hours) is plain miserable.  No things aren't getting any better, but at least ministers can make the figures look that way, if they feel like it.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Fair's fair. I'm a republican, but I can praise individual royals' work when it's good. I've always said that Anne is a star with her Save the Children work. But today I take my hat off to Harry. He may be a bit of a prat sometimes, but he's done a good job of showing other royals how they can behave on tour. He's been a credit to his mum and to Britain the way he's been connecting with people, especially with kids.  You'll not get any bowing and scraping or any idiotic titles and styles from me, Harry; just a well done, mate.

Hague is going to be sued (couldn't happen to a nicer bloke) for providing intelligence to America which then drone bombed  Pakistan killing totally innocent people. Lawyers said that they had "credible, unchallenged" evidence that Hague oversaw a policy of passing British intelligence to US forces planning attacks against militants. And this time he, or they, or both,  got it wrong! We really have to learn that this isn't the good old colonial days when we could go around killing natives with abandon.

On the same theme, I wonder what kind of payback there is going to be for the murders of 16 Afghans, including 5 kids, carried out by a "rogue" soldier. There is sure to be some. It might be better to use this as an excuse to get the hell out of there, with our apologies for the mess we are leaving it in. 


Talking about leaving messes behind us, I was reading this morning that fashionably dressed men in Iraq are being attacked and killed. The Telegraph reported that up to 90 people, all but 2 men, have been killed for being trendily dressed and having floppy hair. It is assumed by the religious fanatics that now hold sway in the country (that we went in to liberate from a dictator), that anyone who is dressed fashionably is a homosexual, and that justifies killing them. Clearly the fanatics should get out more. Oh and to Bush and Blair...well done guys. You certainly liberated the Iraqis.


According to the Independent, the bill for London's Olympics has increased by another £2 billion. You would never credit that we are all in this together, would you? Just how much more is this fiasco going to cost.

Again, this time in the Telegraph, (enough to take you breath away, this one), the London government is going to support people buying homes worth up to £500,000 in an effort to revive the middle class dream of home ownership. Apparently rescuing the banks from their own stupidity and greed, and then handing them further billions of pounds in quantitative easing hasn't actually stimulated any lending (and we all know why that is: they needed it all for their bloody bonuses and salaries). So the government is going to have to guarantee their loans too, out of our money....at a time when house prices are going down. Smart thinking, Cameron.


And finally, while we're on the subject of the idiot Cameron, I noticed in one of the "idiot" papers yesterday that Cameron is going to get a ride in Airforce One. Imagine that! The paper pointed out with glee that President Sarkozy has never been invited to ride in the President's personal plane, ergo that President Obama had a very special relationship with Britain and Cameron. A bit of a leap.  I think it's highly unlikely that the  intellectual Mr Obama, who got where he is despite his origins, and because of his brain, would have much in common with Cameron who got where he got because of his connections and despite his brain.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AMERICA IN GENERAL (AND DANNY IN PARTICULAR)

This is something you shouldn't miss. The president pardons a turkey in a traditional ceremony with roots going back as far as...erm 1989!


The video was sent (by not filmed) by Danny, Munguin's man in America. He pointed out a joke about the "media training"........the ability to gobble without really saying anything. (A reference to politicians' media statements )


Danny also sent this beauty from West Wing a tv series which I think was shown over here. Danny reckons that within its vaults, most every situation that could occur in the White House, can be found.

Don't eat too much guys...

TEA PARTY'S TEA CAKES PUT ENTIRE WORLD ECONOMY AT RISK BECAUSE ... THEY ARE THICK

Our trusty North America correspondent, that intrepid man about Washington, thought it prudent to let me know about (and explain in simple terms), the intricacies of the financial crisis which is currently threatening to shut down America, and with it most of the Western world.

As soon as the Republicans took control of the House, people who know about Washington realised that there was a potential for a major crisis. The necessary increase in the statutory national debt ceiling, which allows the federal government to continue to borrow money, would need to be approved. Normally, says Danny, that presents no problem. The debt limit was raised seven times during the Bush the Younger’s administration. Indeed it is raised all the time, by agreement of both parties.

In Danny’s own words: “Not raising it is simply unthinkable. It would force the United States Treasury to default on its debt obligations....traditionally among the most secure and highly rated in the world. The economy of the United States would implode, and with it, much of the economy of the western world. So the stakes are the highest in the world.....literally!”

So what, you might ask is the problem. Well, try fruit cakes... not literally of course, but it’s an appropriate appellation for people in the so-called Tea Party (which, of course, is not a party at all, but a right wing faction of the Republicans, populated by such nut jobs as Michelle Bachmann), members of which now sit in Congress.

They say no. NO MORE DEBT. It is, as Danny says, ‘religious heresy’ to continue to fund debt.

So the Republican leadership: in the House and in the Senate decided to tell the President that any increase in the debt ceiling must be coupled with huge spending cuts to reduce the budget deficit. And that this must be done by cutting social programmes. Absolutely no new taxes on the wealthiest Americans would be agreed to by Republicans!

President Obama is calling their bluff. He said that he will not cut programmes for the most vulnerable in society while the rich enjoy no tax increases. There will be absolutely NO spending cuts without also increasing taxes on the rich, and corporations. (The GOP wants the social programs that benefit the poorest Americans to pay for it all.) Impasse.

The economies of the West are being held to ransom by people who want to cut the little that is spent on the poorest and the sick, and in many cases may even be stupid enough not to understand what is at stake.

Of course the mainstream Republican Party does understand the implications of allowing the economy to crash and burn...and that the biggest losers in that situation would be...the rich. So Republicans in Wall Street, for example, are telling the leadership to get the situation sorted sharpish.

The very last date for agreement is August 4. I wonder who will blink first.

(Sincere thanks to Danny for his email about this. Parts of the above post are copied directly from it.)

Pics: Michelle Bachmann looking completely mad, and sticking her finger right up that dude's nose. Barack Obama not doing any of that stuff.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS....

I heard the other day on the Today programme that, on the American TV station Fox News, despite the recent shooting of Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, and the plea from thinking people all over America for a bit of common sense in the kind of rhetoric they use in discussing politics, Glenn Becks indicated that he would like to put a gun to the heads of his political opponents. Nice grown up politics, Mr Beck. Why on earth does Mr Murdoch employ dorks like this?

Talking of Mr Murdoch, nice move from Mrs Karen Murphy, landlady of the Red, White and Blue pub in Portsmouth, England. Although I don’t care much for the pub name, I love the fact that she managed to get her premier league football from Nova instead of BSkyB, at a faction of the price, and that when the league tried to stop her, she took them to the European Court in Luxembourg. It looks like she’s going to win. Well done her... and up yours Murdoch.

Still talking of Mr Murdoch, more evidence is emerging that Andy Coulson knew all about the phone tapping. Paul McMullan sat at the next desk to Coulson, and to quote him: "As he sat a few feet from me in the newsroom he probably heard me doing it, laughing about it, etc., and told others to do it." Mr McMullan gave written evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Foot in mouth Clegg has said that the middle classes will hardly notice the tax increases... I suppose he means middle class as in him and David and Gideon ... and for that matter Ed and Ed and ...Alex, Annabel, etc. I sure as hell am noticing them. He really is a pratt. Does anyone know anyone who actually likes this bloke?

Poor old Devine Jim. It seems that his defence was that he was advised by two other MPs to steal the money that he is currently in the dock for defrauding the tax payer of. They both deny it, of course, and one of them, Tom Watson, pointed out that he was a minister and Devine was a backbencher so they would have been unlikely to see much of each other and NEVER socially. “The working class can kiss my arse, I’ve got the foreman’s job at last!” Huh, Mr Watson... erm Minister Watson... oh no, EX-minister Watson. Nob!

It’s rare that I would have anything good to say about Sarah Fergusson but she made a programme exposing the maltreatment of children in orphanages in Turkey, which caused a diplomatic incident. According to Wikileaks, David Miliband (who was no stranger to upsetting foreigners himself), was obliged to grovel when the Turks complained. He admitted that they could not control her. Fair doos. When she was chucked out of the royal family because she had made a fool of herself, the government lost control over her. They should have thought about that. After all they didn’t chuck Andy out of it, and heaven knows he’s made a fool of himself often enough.

America has agreed with Russia to give it details of Britain’s trident missiles as part of their new arms control deal. New Wikileaks show that the US spied on a FCO minister’s private life. Ivan Lewis was reported to be a bully, sexual predator and possible depressive. It does seem that, at least under President Obama, the pretence of a “special relationship” has been abandoned. It was reported that the president found Gordon Brown depressing (who wouldn’t), and it is rumoured the Americans find David Cameron and George Osborne, lightweight (who wouldn’t).

And finally, quote of the week: “If I go, there will be chaos” President Mubarak!

Well duh, Hosni.

Pics: Do I need an excuse for putting up a pic of George. Nah, and I know it keeps Pap happy too. This will just remind you that he’s out to get your money. Murdoch is a scary looking character whatever he’s up to. I thought about putting up one of him smiling, but then I thought: No...You’ve done nothing to me. Jim... or Purple Coupon as I like to call him. Sarah, Duchess of Pork, no worse than her odious ex-husband. President Obama, saying his prayers slightly squinty “Please God, keep that boring sod Brown away from me”.