Raking up old ground

Am looking at all this stuff about the Fawcett report today. Obviously am not writing much what with having a large plaster cast on my arm which keeps hitting different keys and deleting things I've written, but am getting a wee bit irate.

Let's get one thing straight: I hate strip clubs. I do not tolerate boyfriends going there and if they did it would be the old Spanish Archer. Essentially, strip clubs are full of tits in every sense of the word. Yes, women might make a lot of money out of it but that's because they're selling themselves and making themselves a play thing of a man. Not nice and consequently requires larger renumeration. Each to their own.

However, I also don't like women such as Dr Katherine Rake coming up with dodgy reports funded partially by the tax payer (they get money from the Home Office) and sponsored by one of the most incompetent women on the planet.

Women like Jowell, whose complete fuck up over the Olympics is, in my opinion, only set to get worse are an embarrassment to the female species. Dr Rake also thinks it's okay to publish results of reports and then go on BBC radio and acknowledge how her data was of poor quality.

So why publish the results?

I hate strip clubs, but it's my choice whether or not I go in them, associate with people who think that buying women is acceptable or indeed women who chose to take their clothes off for fat, flatulent probably impotent men.* It's not my business to tell someone I don't know that they aren't allowed to go in there, aren't allowed to work there or associate with the workers. Why would it be and so how is it Katherine Rake's?

I can see how working in a male dominated environment might mean your colleagues traipsing off to a titty bar and some women might not like that, but then don't go. And to be quite honest, if you haven't managed the art of wrapping men around your little finger then you're wasting that male dominated opportunity.

I work in a male dominated environment and my colleagues have more chance of being corrupted by me than they have going to do business in a strip club. Not that they would do business in a strip club because it's too loud and they aren't oiks.

70s feminism is, it seems, coming back. Well, I'm not burning my bra, that's for sure. It's agent provocateur.

*I admit, that may be my biased attitude. But it's my blog.

Consider me amused at the story that the Prime Minister got lost at Windsor Castle during the state banquet held in honour of the Puppet President.

Such a shame they found him.

Bar the Bastard!

So, it's hotting up. The campaign to bar our money grabbing, economically illiterate Chancellor from pubs across the country has moved up a notch since the snob started pushing the genius idea.

Now, our brothers in Brussels have shown their support with the MEPs most popular bar in Brussels, O'Farrells, barring him...


But as Nigel Farage commented, these politicians are so dull and out of touch with reality that they probably never go in a pub. Would you want a drink with them? They'd never get the round in, let's face it.

I wouldn't draw the line at Darling, either, but pick up on a UKIP press release from last summer saying any MP who voted for the smoking ban should be barred since they have caused massive problems for the pub trade, because of their small minded, selfish sanctimonious attitude.

Things the govt does wrong No. 1732538

As if student loans weren't enough of a stupid idea which burden young people with debt at a time when just living is expensive enough, the govt have announced that since 1998, 154 prisoners have been allowed to claim financial support from the student loans company. The total comes to £730,000 which of course is a tiny amount compared to what prisoners have spent on them to keep them in porridge and plasma tvs.

It's typical of this government to let such a fuck up happen. If someone's address is HMP Broadmoor surely someone sorting out the loans and grants could work out they won't be paying much towards their board and lodgings...

Where is this shop when you need it?

I am not convinced this was the most deadly thing on sale. Just down the road was a snack bar style outlet which only opened in the evening after much alcohol had been consumed. During this time, the dead man's leg could be seen being heated up and served. During the day, it just sat there getting older and smellier...

Says it all, really

An MP fairly near me decided not to turn up to the vote on the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty despite being a Tory and therefore supposed to be eurosceptic. Numerous contacts have been made to him asking why he did not turn up. Did he, for example, have something else more important to do, such as emergency heart bypass surgery?

However, since none of us live in his constituency we can't get an answer from him and have instead been directed towards his website. I duly clicked on his site to read the words of wisdom, and went to the page titled 'Lisbon Treaty'

Classic.

*in the little box on the right hand side is a PDF offering his explanation which says he is in favour of the Treaty which he is going to vote in favour of the Treaty but didn't want to 'help the government' by voting with them against a referendum

It's a lifestyle choice

Am getting rather enraged listening to the debate on Radio 2 about women and maternity leave. There was a woman on who was surprised when she applied for jobs to find out they didn't want to employ her because she was pregnant. Well, of course they don't. If I needed to employ someone I would hire a guy, as cute as possible, because he's not going to get pregnant and leave me up shit creek without a paddle. They cancelled her interview, which she thought was appalling, but they were just saving both their time as they knew they weren't going to give her a job.

Why would someone, particularly in a small business, hire someone who is then going to stop work for at least a few months? They get trained up then they leave and the employer is stuck in the same place they were, except they now have the bother of maternity leave and pay. Their colleagues then also have to take on extra work with no more pay whilst someone gets paid for fulfilling their lifestyle choice. It's not discrimination, it's sensible business. Hell, if she's that great she won't find it hard to get a job once she's had children and can go back to the world of commerce.

As a woman who doesn't want to have a child, these women who take the piss with their maternity leave and such behaviour tar us all with their brush. An employer doesn't know that I don't want kids and am not going to leave them in the lurch after only a few months, so for that reason they may not employ me, or another young woman. The way I understand it, women can go on mat leave for up to two years and then can inform their employers that they aren't going to come back to work. How is that regulation for good business practice?

Because having kids isn't a right, which is why I don't think people should get handouts from the state for having children. If you want a child then that privilege comes with the responsibility and in my opinion that responsibility is paying for it. These days, everyone chips in with paying for children in the form of taxes for child benefit, council houses for single mothers, state schools, the free at the point of use NHS services and all those transport initiatives other people got but I never did. Hell, my parents had to pay private school fees because the school in my area were so bad.

With this government it's harder and harder for people to be able to fund themselves I know, because the tax burden has risen so much and the state wants you to be reliant on them. But I don't understand how these women can not see the point of view of the employer.

I don't pretend to have the answers but I see this legislation as incredibly damaging to women wanting to get employment. The contract between an employer and an employee should be just that: between them. Politicians, most of whom have never had a real job in their lives (don't forget where this legislation arises from!)should be the last person sticking their honks into this business.

Harsh? Maybe. But it really does annoy me.

Outside the tent pissing in?

We usually expect some form of descent in politics, but from the leader of the party? That's a bit much, surely....

You may be a Taliban if...

Our troops in Afghanistan show they've retained their sense of humour, coming up with the following:

'YOU MAY BE A TALIBAN IF...'

1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.

2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.

3. You have more wives than teeth.

4. You wipe your backside with your bare left hand, but consider bacon 'unclean.'

5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.

6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.

7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.

8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.

9. You've ever uttered the phrase, 'I love what you've done with your cave.'

10. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.

11. You bathe at least monthly whether necessary or not.

12. You've ever had a crush on your neighbour's goat.

Budget Blues

Well, that was so exciting that I actually fell asleep listening to it. The man is quite simply so dull and yet he managed to once again take a further punch to the economy of this country.

Eleven years of stealth taxes. Eleven years of moaning and drivel about how they are going to eradicate child poverty and yet Darling says there are still around half a million children living in poverty. So that means the Labour party have failed, does it? That their policies don't work? Oh no. It means that they need to take yet more of your hard earned money and waste it. Instead of encouraging people to go back to work, through a higher personal allowance for example, they're going to make it even more attractive to have a child and sit around letting hard working tax payers pay for you.

And once again we were robbed with the excuse of trying to save a few mangy polar bears who aren't in trouble anyway, all in the name of 'green'. Watermelon, more like. Green on the outside and deep red on the inside.

And how is the rise in duty on booze going to have any effect on 'binge drinking' when you can still buy eight cans of strong lager in a supermarket for the price of a pint? All that does is harm pubs which are closing at a rate of 4 a day anyway thanks in large part to the smoking ban. Raising the price of drink just makes it more likely that people will stay at home because they will get better value for money and can smoke. Hurrah.

Along with the slipping through of the 'I know we're broke and already wasting far too much money, but spending is going to be £20bn higher in the next four years than I announced in October' we're also going to be having road pricing, and I wonder if the money 'put aside' for funding will be used for Galileo at all?

Still, he does have one thing going for him. He's so dull that people just glaze over and he gets away with it. I went one step further. I fell asleep.

The Chancellor, delivering his Budget, is the only person allowed to imbibe alcohol in the Chamber.

The rest of us, however, need to drink to cope with how much more of our money is being taken and wasted by the government.

More money than sense?

Do you have more money than sense? Are you easily persuaded to believe crack pot theories and political ideas? Do you have no grasp of economics but also a few quid going spare?

Then why not call the BNP nazi ranting'information'hotline.



A snip at £1 a minute. Of course, it will cost more than a minute because as we are mentally retarded we speak quite slowly....

Call us and help fund our nasty party full of socialists, homophobes and racists who think that they should control most every aspect of your life.

Go on! What have you got to lose? Apart from money, time and the inconvenience of trying to stop your ears bleed...

I wish Ashton was dropped

Apparently Jonny Wilkinson was the only one who played badly in Scotland, according to Brian Ashton so he has been dropped for the team playing Ireland on Saturday. He has been replaced by Cipriani who I think should have been playing at Full Back last weekend but there we go.

Am glad I sold my ticket to Twickenham.

And just for the ladies:

understatement of the day

London-based clients of the international prostitution ring at the centre of the FBI investigation into New York governor Eliot Spitzer will be hoping they are not revealed as "Client 6" in the next few days.

I should imagine not.

incompetent broadcasting

Andrew Gilligan pointed out in the Evening Standard yesterday that Ken Livingstone cannot seem to open his mouth without lying about something:

Both the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and his main rival, Boris Johnson, recently made separate appearances on the BBC's Vanessa Feltz show.

Each answered questions from callers and from Ms Feltz for the same length of time. Allowing for the questions, news and travel bulletins and station promos, Mr Livingstone spoke for approximately 35 minutes. In that time, he said 36 things that were untrue or misleading, an average of one every 58 seconds.

Over the same length of time Mr Johnson said 11 things that were untrue or misleading, an average of one every three minutes 10 seconds.

What has really annoyed me is that if the evening standard can work out that they are saying untrue things, then why did Vanessa Feltz let them go unchallenged for 30 minutes? Surely as a broadcaster with a large audience, funded by the tax payer naturally, she has a duty to pull them up when they spout shit? Or is she just completely unaware of politics, in which case, why is she presenting a show which deals with politics? People use the media to find out about candidates and the position of London Mayor is an important one. I happen to think that when people read a paper or listen to the radio they should at least be able to get some semblance of truth rather than listening to a crook and a giggly fat bottle blonde. At least Boris is intelligent.

It's like when we were calling people up about the vote on the Lisbon Treaty in the European Parliament. Most people working in broadcasting didn't have the first clue it was going on, or even that MEPs were voting on it. Some didn't even know that MEPs did vote on it, let alone that the parliament actually has a bigger say than Westminster over it. And they decide what news is and what people get to listen to. It worries me, it really does.

Not only do I pay for EU waste in my taxes, but some fuckhead in Strasbourg has stolen my iPod from the computer in a private office. I don't know why they bother having a lost property office there because it must be empty.

They are allowed to attack people and because I'm not an MEP I cannot make a complaint and they don't have to do anything. Fuckers.

What's wrong with this country part, oh thousands....

Apart from the fact that Shirley Williams gets airtime and that the RFU hasn't fired Brian Ashton yet, is this idea that everything in life has to be lovely and easy and sugar coated.
For example, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers think that primary school children shouldn't have any homework. And we didn't have to wait too long before the usual 'unfair on poor children' angle was thrown into the school dinner:

"Middle-class children can go home and get help with their homework; disadvantaged children can't and then they get in trouble,

What a crock of shit. And notice they don't use middle-class and working-class, but simply imply it through 'disadvantaged' as they know perfectly well that there are thousands of working class parents out there helping their children with their schooling and encouraging them and making them do their homework.

Trixy's sister is a teacher and setting and marking of homework is just part of the job, like the long holidays, but I think this new whinge from the left is just a way to do less work.

The union's motion, to be discussed at the conference in Torquay, will say:

"Conference notes with deep concern that many children in our schools appear unhappy and anxious.

"Children should be able to explore, experiment and enjoy their learning without feeling pressurised.

"Homework has become an increasing pressure placed on children in primary and secondary schools."

Don't tell me, no one can win on sports day as it's the taking part that counts and you can't stream children in case someone gets called a 'divvy D' for being in the D group maths. (which happened at my school and then they changed it to C2 so the name was changed to divvy C2 except by my father who mentioned that changing the name was silly when he was at parents' evening and still kept on asking my friends why they were a divvy D.)

Children should get on with learning instead of running around the school hall waving bits of chiffon to make sure they aren't repressed. I don't see how not being able to add up and form a sentence will make them happy when they are older and in a dead end job.

ID cards...how money can be made

Despite them saying that ID cards would be delayed because the government appear to have a fondness for losing information, naturally they are going to press ahead with their fascist plans.

As a reader of Private Eye, I am wondering why the BBC included a comment from David Blunkett, which said:

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett, who introduced the initial identity card scheme, has previously said it would not work unless everyone had to have a card.

Because as declared in his register of members interests, Blunkett is a paid adviser to the Texan security firm Entrust which is interested in bidding for the ID card programme.

# Chair of International Advisory Committee to Entrust Inc. (from 1 March 2007); company providing internet security systems. (£25,001-£30,000)

It doesn't strike me that he is the best person to go to for a disinterested comment on the subject.

who?

I was on college green having a ciggie today when the Lib Dems who were breaking the three line whip (It really does take the Lib Dems to have a three line whip on not actually doing anything) came over to be interviewed

I was rather amused to hear the broadcast chaps talking sotto voce asking who these supposed important people were...Lib Dem front bench on what? Who?

PM talks bollocks

I can't believe, well, no, I can believe, that Gordon Brown just said that people who thought the Lisbon Treaty was the same as the EU Constitution were alone in Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

"The fundamentals of the Constitution have been maintained in large part. We have renounced everything that makes people think of a state, like the flag and the national anthem." El Pais (25 June)
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier

The mandate approved by the EU will "preserve the substance of the constitutional treaty". Agence Europe (25 June)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero

"A great part of the content of the European Constitution is captured in the new treaties", Zapatero said. "Everyone has conceded a little so that we all gain a lot", added Zapatero. El Pais (25 June)
Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern

"Given the fact that there was strong legal advice that the draft constitution in 2004 would require a referendum in Ireland, and given the fact that these changes haven't made any dramatic change to the substance of what was agreed back in 2004, I think it is likely that a referendum will be held... thankfully they haven't changed the substance - 90 per cent of it is still there."

On the change of name for the EU Foreign Minister he said: "It's the original job as proposed but they just put on this long title - High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and also vice President of the Commission. It's the same job [.] it's still going to be the same position." Irish Independent (24 June)
Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen

"The good thing is...that all the symbolic elements are gone, and that which really matters - the core - is left." Jyllands-Posten (25 June)
Finland's Europe Minister Astrid Thors

"There's nothing from the original institutional package that has been changed" TV-Nytt, (23 June)
Finland's State Secretary for EU Affairs Jari Luoto

There are few differences between it and "the constitutional treaty which has already been ratified by Finland's Parliament". YLE News
Elmar Brok MEP

"Despite all the compromises, the substance of the draft EU Constitution has been safeguarded." Euractiv (25 June)
Jo Leinen MEP

"We kept the substance of the Constitution"
Gerard Onesta MEP

"It's incredible to see what we sli pped under the carpet"
Johannes Voggenhuber MEP


Not quite then, Gordon.
"All the Constitution is there! Nothing is missing!"

R Day

I'm just looking at the research paper on the European Union (Amendment) Bill from the House of Commons Library which says:

The content of the Treaty, though not its structure, is similar in a great many respects to the EU Constitution.

I have just been trying to find an area of Justice and Home Affairs which I am being told is substantially different from the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. (It was also a treaty, you see) and the only differences I can find are that there are new articles giving more power to the EU in the Lisbon Treaty than there were in the TECE and that there are EU institutions which are granted immunity. Like Europol. Policemen and their families who can't be arrested or prosecuted and who are appointed by people who are not accountable to the voters in the EU.

And today, arseholes Brown and Clegg will ensure that MPs who were elected on a manifesto of promising a referendum deny that very same referendum because they are too scared they will lose it, and their EU bubble will burst.

They haven't quite grasped the idea that they are lent power by people and they are supposed to do what we want and not what they want to do. I don't know why they are so keen on the EU. Maybe they are paid to be? Maybe they realise it's the only way they will get their socialist, communist policies through in this country?

Who knows. What I do know is that people will remember that they can't be trusted and I hope that if they don't take to the streets to protest at the fascist behaviour of our MPs they do kick them where it hurts and throw them out at the first possible opportunity. And then make them spend time in gulags to see what happens to opponents of this regime they are so enamored of. Maybe some mild violence and torture thrown in for good measure. And starvation. And endless episodes of coronation street in Flemish.

Music for plebs

It's bad enough that we have classic fm on the airwaves, with wall to wall Nessun Dorma, clapping between movements and film music masquerading as high quality classics. One of the few treats for those who listen to complete works is the annual proms where I try to listen to as much Wagner as possible and thus avoid people who normally go to glyndebourne and hum along to famous themes.

Now the Minister for Culture, Margaret Hodge, thinks that the proms aren't inclusive enough.

She praised "icons of a common culture" from Coronation Street to the Angel of the North and said culture could "enhance a sense of shared identity".

I don't watch Coronation Street, it's a pile of shite. I like to listen to great music played by great musicians. What does Hedgehog want? Mahler's Symphony in D minor followed by some Drum and Bass excerpts and then some reggae?

These people must be terrified of upsetting anyone but white people and embarrassed and scared of promoting our cultural traditions. I hope this encourages more people to go to the proms and stick two fingers up to the stupid cow.

Here comes the....er....

Given that the Tory Party are all about the social left these days; wind farms on our hats, hugging each other and staying well away from the notion of tax cuts being a good thing, I was rather surprised that the esteemed organ of the party on t'interweb has chosen not to say anything about the forthcoming double-frocked nuptials of Alan Duncan.
The Telegraph reported that David Cameron was "thrilled" about it, having embraced same sex marriages in his first conference speech, so why was it not even mentioned in Tory Diary? Surely the first member of the shadow cabinet getting hitched to another chap is worthy of comment besides a link to the Telegraph story?

Or perhaps the powers that be at ConHome Towers are none too keen on this piece of news? The mutterings that reach my pretty shell-likes do tell me that someone high up and his virtuous and religion led bedtime companion are not fans of Steps or Abba tribute bands...

When there's nothing else left

I was not that surprised that the coverage of two protestors on a crane was not given anywhere near the coverage as a few hippies how clearly never have to travel on business. Indeed, it was not even mentioned on the today programme, but we know that particular show to have very clear views on the EU anyway.

What made me scream was the comments of that liar Jim Murphey, still insisting that they are the guardians of knowledge and that the Lisbon Treaty is not in any way the EU Constitution in a different pair of shoes.
He said:

"The place to make these decisions is in this chamber, not on a crane half-way above the city sky of London.

Seemingly, in his socialist ignorance, failing to see that the time has passed for trusting MPs to represent us since most of them are breaking their manifesto pledge to us by refusing to hold the referendum promised.

Does he not understand that people coming from all over the country, climbing cranes and risking being locked up for this issue means that for most people now, the time has come to take action ourselves?

The vote on the referendum amendment will take place tomorrow. I hope that everyone causes their MP as much bother as possible in the process of informing them that they want them to carry out the wishes of the electorate.

On a tangent, but stil rather important, the Irish referendum will be taking place on the 29th May 2008. The EU wanted to keep this a secret for as long as possible to harm the No side, but I feel that they can fuck off.

Angela Merkel will also be changing the times of her visit so not to jeopardise the yes campaign (or scare the children) and, true to form, they will be hiding forthcoming legislation which they know will be unpopular and also highlight how they have been lying about this treaty just being about tidying up.

I do hope that people realise what it is we are dealing with. Parliamentary democracy in this country is slipping away into the ether. They only represent themselves.