Unbelievable! – Families’ fury over extensions jibe, LEP

I haven’t used this blog in a while, but I am getting quite incensed by the state of politics again in both the UK and the U.S, so I thought I would perform a resurrection.

I’m working towards the return of Stolen News to the air (more on that on a later post), but in the meantime, this one local story got me so angry I realised I must not keep silent.

I can’t believe the gall of this guy! Who does he think he is? Does he have no soul? And this is Preston’s Guild Mayor next year?

I would expect better from any human being, never mind a Labour representative. And I have to suffer his term as Guild Mayor?

What really got my goat was this one quote:

“In a few years, if anything happens to the child, they’ve got a big property worth three quarters of a million pounds.

“I’m just a bit concerned people are using their children to get big extensions.”

The sheer lack of humanity; for someone who is a representative of a relatively small area and thus has no excuse for being so removed from ordinary folk around him; is staggering to say the least.

Although neither a parent myself, nor wanting children, do this guy really think if parents lose a child they will be comforted by the value of their house? This is a terrifying disconnect in Cllr Crompton’s terms of reference.

I never thought that I would thank God for the removal of Labour from national power. Now we simply have to remove them from local power, or at least remove the inhumane useless ones such as this guy.

Arrival In The United States

Well, despite being off the air for a few months, (all due to what I have called the ‘Great Crash of 2010’ where my entire laptop was corrupted, most unfortunately which included my broadcast software hence the few month hiatus), my interest in the United States has not lessened one jot. Now, thanks to the charity of one of my best friends, I write this sitting in JFK airport, lusting after some wi-fi (this terminal is not equipped apparently, too old) and absolutely ecstatic.

My feet now stand on my own promised land!

First impressions, well not a great deal so far as all I have experienced is the world of the airport. Except that it is big, busy and everyone is very friendly. Far friendlier than I expected, which is not to say that I had low expectations, I just expected people to be busy. I can barely believe I’m here, as even last night I was convinced in the back of my mind that something or other would crop up and prevent me getting here.

So while I’m here, and especially since we are approaching the mid-terms, I intend to dive straight in and attend as many events and listen to as many speakers as our schedule will allow. The situation is ripe right now, as we see by the continued beatification of Sarah Palin, with her new challenger of Christine O’Donnell who certainly is a contender for the 2010 Gold Medal of Conservative Freakazoid. It is absolutely fascinating as an outsider looking in, but it truly scares me the thought that people such as these stand a chance of holding power. I can understand the swing to the right within the Republican party, and the drive to purism by the rank and file, but are these voters in the Primaries really the rank and file of the party or simply the most motivated? Megan McCain and Colin Powell are calling for the moderate Republicans to stand up, the latter on this weekends Meet The Press. Are these motivated right-wing purists enough to actually win State-wide elections? Or will the Republican moderates recoil in horror? I hope that the latter will be the truth, but so far there is no guarantee.

Yet the night of O’Donnell’s election seemed to me to be the first night that the current press paradigm of overwhelming anti-incumbent feeling across the country was demonstrated as true. Although there have been a number of incumbent seats being lost in the Primary process, by far the greater amount of incumbents seemed to have retained their party nomination. Junkie as I am for Fox, NBC, ABC, CNN and of course the hallowed MSNBC, I have yet to believe this much-publicised anti-incumbent swell is actually the threat it is touted to be.

It seems more to me that the press power-houses (dare I say lame-stream media?) are pushing this story, to what end I am not convinced. Certain funders such as Murdoch or the Koch brothers come to mind, who both stand to benefit as astroturf groups sow chaos in their wake, either collapsing the role of government or at least ham-stringing any progressive policy moves that may threaten their economic base.

Yeah, I’ve never really seen the sense in ‘government currently isn’t working, so let’s disable it further’ philosophy. I mean, come on! These people will not be happy until Mad Max is an accurate representation of reality.

Of course, now I can actually ask the people on the ground what they think. Well, the Californians at least.

Bloody Sunday – is this the end of it?

Now this is not an easy topic. Today the Saville Report into the events of Bloody Sunday was released. I learnt this through my phone while at work with the headline ‘Bloody Sunday report states those killed were innocent’.

Wow. And about time too. This all happened before I was born, but I grew up under its spectre. Friends of mine overseas were surprised to learn that as a child I knew what a suspicious package may be and who I should tell about it. I cannot number how many times train journeys were delayed or events cancelled or postponed due to bomb scares.

If you do not know what I am talking about, the BBC have composed an excellent report here. The report vindicates those slain in Derry, Ireland, the fuel for so many later recruits to the Republican cause. In the light of todays revelations, one can understand why, even if their later actions cannot be condoned.  Two wrongs only ever breed further wrongs.

The fact that the majority of the families are satisfied with this result and not clamouring for prosecutions is a testament to both themselves, and just how far the peace process in Northern Ireland and the desire for peace has come.

However, on BBC Breakfast I saw a representative for the Paratroopers state how little would be gained by prosecutions.  Now, while I actually agree with him, I do not think it would be the place of a former member of the regiment in question to announce this publicly, especially not on such an emotive topic and prior to the announcement of the conclusions of the longest-running and costliest inquiry in British legal history. This second enquiry began in 1998! Twelve years of investigation.

I wonder, is it unpatriotic to question our troops? I certainly do not think it is unpatriotic to question the orders that they are given by government. This is a lesson I do not think the UK forgot, even as the US went through a period post 9/11 where to question the orders the troops were carrying out was to demonstrate a lack of support for the troops.

What rot! I am so glad that attitude is fading. I support our boys by the act of questioning. I have no wish for them to be sent into harms way if there is no need, and I have utmost respect for those who are willing to place themselves in such danger.

However, if our troops are ever at fault, how is it unpatriotic to investigate and call to account those who are responsible? Our troops represent our country, and thus we demand a certain standard of practice. Does it do our national interest any good to sweep such matters under the carpet?

Before looking into any prosecutions regarding Bloody Sunday, which I think would be counter-productive, we really need to keep alive the debate of just what we expect from our soldiers. Forget the national interest or reputation, this is for them. How can they be expected to know where the boundaries are, especially in the deadly heat of combat, if they are worried that months or years down the line, we will turn on them for some action that at the time, had made sense and seemed standard operating procedure.

If we really demand that much from our forces, the very least we can do is to give them the respect of clear direction.  We must never allow some of the abuses that have occurred in Northern Ireland to happen again, no matter who was originally responsible, no matter who the ‘us’ or ‘them’ may be. If we are ever to seek peace, then the standard must be set high, always.

The Sky Is Falling Down

I don’t know why I am upset.  This is exactly what I wanted.  Knowing the Conservatives would get in, I advocated for the Liberal Democrats as a moderating force, to reign in the excesses of either party.

I had very little reaction to Gordon Brown’s announcement that he would call a leadership election for the Labour party last night, and that he would not stand nor support any particular candidate.

I was angered this morning by a texter to the BBC breakfast show that accused the Lib Dems of holding the country to ransom. Sorry buddy, that’s the way our process works, it was totally constitutional. It is a dirty, frustrating, backroom process while the country holds its breath, but that’s the way it is. You would think that the way the polls were showing a hung result, that the parties would have actually planned a little for this. But no, they were all too concerned with outright victory to even consider the what-ifs and maybes that the general population knew to be a certainty.

If we do get some form of proportional representation, that attitude will have to change.

But to hear that there would be no Lib-Lab coalition, that prominent members of the Labour party may have derailed such talks, that back-benchers were also putting the knife in and actually wanted to be in opposition, I feel betrayed.

To hear that there will now be a Lib-Con coalition simply makes me feel dirty. This was a contingency plan in my mind all along, admittedly one most likely to come about.

This was what I voted for. Ignoring the fact that Labour won in my seat not the Lib Dems, but that is an argument with my fellow voters, not the politicians themselves. The fact that my vote had no impact on the national picture itself is just the way the dice rolls. At least the Liberals are still in a position to sway national policy, with the potential of a number of cabinet seats. No more crazy wars at least. Maybe.

This is what I voted for.

Isn’t it?

Why do I feel so dirty?

Does Nick Agree With You? Phone Him And Ask!

This is an email I received last night, that I thoroughly support, especially if you were looking at the Lib Dems to be a liberal/progressive alternative. I’ll reprint it in its entirety here.

They promised us change.

The Lib Dems stood on a platform of change – including a manifesto promising change to our unfair electoral system. They said they wanted this to be the last broken election.

And now faced with the allure of power, the Lib Dems are in talks with the Conservative Party about forming a coalition government. We have no idea if Nick Clegg will hold firm on a fair voting system, or whether he will be one more politician to break his promise to the voters.

In the election, “I agree with Nick” was the mantra. But does Nick agree with you now? If you want to know the answer to that question, call the Lib Dem headquarters and ask them straight:

http://voteforachange.co.uk/callnick

Yesterday, I was part of an amazing protest outside the Lib Dem meeting in central London. Remembering what Nick promised us in the campaign, thousands of people chanted, “don’t sell us out”.

This is our historic opportunity for change. All our hard work over the last year comes down to the next few days.

If we don’t tell the Lib Dems – right now – where we stand, we may not have another chance. Call the Lib Dem HQ now, and ask them if they will promise not to do a deal with any party without ensuring that real voting reform is on the table.

http://voteforachange.co.uk/callnick

This is it – our chance to change Britain for the better. Let’s make it happen.

Willie

So, give it a go. Don’t let the first chance we have had for electoral reform in decades disappear under the distraction of a manufactured economic crisis.

Welcome to Stolen News

In my element!

Welcome to the blog of Stolen News, and what an excellent time to start. As I write, the UK political system is in turmoil after the election of last Thursday, with no clear winner achieving an overall majority of 326 seats in Parliament.

Left wingers are screaming for Nick Clegg’s head for splitting the vote. After offering to be the left wing alternative, but then asking to talk first with David Cameron of the Conservatives, who after all did win the most seats, many are feeling betrayed.

With good reason as well, or so it appears.

First, a note of introduction. Stolen News is my personal radio show, broadcasting though Radio23 on http://radio23.org Sundays at 5pm BST, 9am PDT, 11am EDT and 4am in Australia (ouch). I doubt I have many live Australian listeners, still I also have a podcast available. You can join the Facebook group to receive updates and reminders about the show. (Don’t worry, I won’t flood your inbox.)

Anyway, back to the plot. I may yet be proven wrong (in fact when it comes to faith in politicians, then it is more than likely that I will be), but could it be that Clegg is setting the Tories up to fall flat on their face? Showing them to be unable to make the appropriate compromises in order to form a stable government in this time of (seemingly endless) crisis.

Constitutionally, Gordon Brown should have first dibs on forming the alliance, but Nick Clegg is alleged to despise Brown, and Gordon knows how low his approval ratings are, so by standing back at first, I think both he and Nick may have played masterful strokes.

One can only hope. But to the public eye, so much for the anti-Tory alliance! Still, I comfort myself with the thought that the Liberal Democrats should at limit restrain the Tories from cuts that are too savage.

Maybe by the time I go on air, we might have a government!

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!