tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35177051108362561832024-03-13T11:12:23.010+00:00NAMED, BLAMED and SHAMED with Harry BlackwoodAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-83888433425590434312014-06-06T19:41:00.007+01:002014-06-06T20:00:26.962+01:00BUBBLE ABOUT TO BURST?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OVpM9UY8Nv0/U5IHwnObK6I/AAAAAAAAAsA/Bxh7GCCPDuI/s1600/Christine+Lagarde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OVpM9UY8Nv0/U5IHwnObK6I/AAAAAAAAAsA/Bxh7GCCPDuI/s1600/Christine+Lagarde.jpg" height="386" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">International Monetary Fund chairperson Christine Lagarde is highlighting that something needs to be done about Britain's housing bubble. The IMF are suggesting either a rise in interest rates, more house building, or a combination of both.</span></i></td></tr>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">It's Friday. It's financial. It's Friday Financial with JULIAN SAYER.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Mortgage
misery on the way for millions.</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">This week I want to give a quick
recap </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">on
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">what's been happening since I
started writing this blog back in February, both on the subjects I have
covered, and geographically around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">First domestically. A few weeks ago
I covered the problems building up in the housing market, and it looks as
though it will become even worse than I had feared. The Bank of England even
admits a housing bubble is forming, the bubble is out of control and when it
bursts it will cause misery for all involved. This is the concern for millions,
and if it does it will so damage the UK and its economy over the rest of this
decade. This paragraph was taken from the article b</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">elow which is well
worth a read:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">"The independent think tank
raised the alarm about the most vulnerable 770,000 households already with
mortgages, saying they were “doubly exposed”. Typically, they might have very
low equity in their home (less than five per cent), might be self-employed or have
an interest-only mortgage, making them less attractive to lenders. Secondly, it
would take only a relatively modest rise in rates by 2018 for a third of their
income to be eaten up by mortgage repayments."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/money/mortgages/millions-face-becoming-mortgage-prisoners-as-rise-in-interest-rates-could-trap-to-23m-homeowners-9399137.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/money/mortgages/millions-face-becoming-mortgage-prisoners-as-rise-in-interest-rates-could-trap-to-23m-homeowners-9399137.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">How is this Governments gamble to
ride the housing market to stimulate growth for the UK economy going to end?
They will have to be very careful, it's already overheating and they have an
extremely difficult balancing act ahead, but these housing bubbles don't tend
to end well! As a whole the UK economy is growing, but it lacks of any real
strength, which means it is very susceptible to outside shocks, and everywhere
you look around the world, business is struggling and central banks are
panicking.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27731567">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27731567</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Next the tax burden in the UK is
not going away, it is in fact getting worse. The latest figures shows borrowing
by the Government is actually continuing to rise. This coupled with the reduced
tax revenues will mean the Government will have to raise taxes on the easy
targets of middle England and P</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">ay </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">A</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">s </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Y</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">ou </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">E</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">arn</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">. The lack of any real ease in the cost of living crisis
within the UK means there are many more years of hard times for the working
poor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/city-news/new-tax-scandal-report-claims-3573085">http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/city-news/new-tax-scandal-report-claims-3573085</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The next problem that both the
consumer and Government will have to face are the interest rate rises and
inflation that is bound to come, if and when the economy recovers. It's
estimated nearly 2 million households will struggle with any rise in interest
rates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/20/uk-britain-inflation-idUKKBN0E00N120140520">http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/20/uk-britain-inflation-idUKKBN0E00N120140520</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">A very good article was written
this week about the problems the world economy is storing up. The massive
Quantitive Easing (QE) that nearly every central bank has undertaken to try to
save their respective economies has stored a lot of huge difficulties around the
world that will be an almost impossible task to unwind. It's an excellent
article and well worth a read, this was taken from it;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">"</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">There are troubling signs that globalisation may be in
retreat. There is a risk of yet another epoch-defining and disruptive seismic
shift in the underlying economic regimes. This would usher in an era of
financial and trade protectionism. It has happened before, and it could happen
again," he said."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">This is the article and something
we have seen coming for the last few years, how it plays out will frighten many
economists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10876377/The-nagging-fear-that-QE-itself-may-be-causing-deflation.htm">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10876377/The-nagging-fear-that-QE-itself-may-be-causing-deflation.htm</a>l<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Let's have a quick look around the
world at the troubles the world economy is having. The USA is the most
important economy which dwarfs every other, in size and spending power. If
America sneezes the world catches a cold the old saying goes. Well America
appears to be sneezing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-05/half-country-makes-less-27520-year-and-15-other-signs-middle-class-dying">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-05/half-country-makes-less-27520-year-and-15-other-signs-middle-class-dying</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Japan was the first to experiment
with QE and was dubbed <i>Abeonomics</i>
after their Prime Minister. It never really succeed</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">ed</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">, and Japan has become the most indebted country in the
world, with no real hope of ever paying their debt off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-05/abenomics-legacy-greatest-misery-33-years">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-05/abenomics-legacy-greatest-misery-33-years</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">China has struggled, as their
economy is based on exporting to the developed world. As these exports have
struggled as have C</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">hina's companies. This in turn a</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">ffects the raw materials they import from Australia and
South America to make these goods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-02/china-hsbc-pmi-misses-economy-contracts-5th-month-row">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-02/china-hsbc-pmi-misses-economy-contracts-5th-month-row</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">South America is feeling the heat
as well;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2014/5/20/argentina-fesses-up-price-of-milk-doesnt-lie-but-politicians.html">http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2014/5/20/argentina-fesses-up-price-of-milk-doesnt-lie-but-politicians.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Europe is in many ways a basket
case, countries such as Italy and Greece are building up debts similar to Japan
and will never be able to pay them off. It has huge </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">problems, in debt,
unemployment</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">, pensions and demand. The E</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">uropean
Central Bank has just about used up all it</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">s tools trying to restart the economy. Let's see how the
latest one works.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN0EG1EV20140605?irpc=932">http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN0EG1EV20140605?irpc=932</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Hot off the press, Mexico is the
latest to press the panic button.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-06/it-snowed-mexico-mexican-central-bank-unexpectedly-cuts-rate-due-worse-expected-econ">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-06/it-snowed-mexico-mexican-central-bank-unexpectedly-cuts-rate-due-worse-expected-econ<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Finally, I reported about the
fixing of various markets</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> by the global investment banks. A</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">s the investigations continue, it seems the theft and
deception entered every market they were allowed to operate in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-03/gold-price-manipulation-was-routine-ft-reports">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-03/gold-price-manipulation-was-routine-ft-reports</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Anyway, hopefully now I am back in
the groove, I will continue my blog next week with a very important piece on
understanding how we got into these troubles. Next week's blog will be on
Financialization. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Enjoy your week.</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-64281304129653769412014-05-20T16:24:00.003+01:002014-05-20T16:30:46.875+01:00PUTTING THEMSELVES FIRST<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2jn3wC9Epc/U3txTIqTsrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/6YLXTA8PPaM/s1600/Putting+Hartlepool+First+logo+and+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2jn3wC9Epc/U3txTIqTsrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/6YLXTA8PPaM/s1600/Putting+Hartlepool+First+logo+and+pic.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN-US">Why P</span><span lang="EN-US">utting </span><span lang="EN-US">H</span><span lang="EN-US">artlepool </span><span lang="EN-US">F</span><span lang="EN-US">irst</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> are no different. More greedy politicians. More snouts in the trough. Zero integrity.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>By</i><b>HARRY BLACKWOOD</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">I was born in Hartlepool </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">fifty
eight</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> years ago </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">and have never lived
more than five</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> miles a</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">way from the
magnificent Christ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Church which
stands proudly in the centre of my home town.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mention this, not only because
I'm a proud Hartlepool bloke, but also to counter a stupid comment from a woman
the other day on The Hartlepool Mail website who suggested I should keep my
nose out of Hartlepool political affairs because I don't live in the town.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The intensely misguided Stella
Leighton (if that's her real name) is technically correct but when I was editor
of the Hartlepool Mail I could run from the front door of my current home to my
office (within spitting distance of the aforementioned Christ Church in under
half an hour. It's five miles. Reckon ten minutes on the bike would sort it
now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">My affiliation with Hartlepool (I
worked and l</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ived
in the town for more than forty years </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">plus
my connection and editorship of the local newspaper, combined with a lifetime's
interest in politics puts me in a unique position to pass comment on all
aspects of Hartlepool life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the local council elections are
just days away I'm going to stick with politics.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">In
the fifty eight</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> years of my
Hartlepool life, I have watched my town and its people being failed, abused and
taken for gra</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">n</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ted by national and local politicians alike. I've seen Tory
governments like the current one ignore the problems and challenges the town
has. I've seen </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">self-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">serving
bastards like Peter Mandelson use the town to further his own personal and
political objectives. I've been exasperated to see Labour and Tory Councillors
whose only interest is a little bit of power and a few quid expenses, sail from
one election to the next without lifting a finger to achieve anything.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">I watched with horror as a football
club mascot dressed in a monkey suit, who stood in the mayoral elections as a
joke, attempt</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ed</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> to morph into a serious politician once he'd realise how
much bigger the pay cheque was than the one he'd been receiving at a local call
centre.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">But worst of all. I've watched the
current MP Iain Wright - a local bloke wh</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">o you could expect
better of - </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">redefine the term 'spectacularly
useless'. Like 99.9% of politicians, Wright is in it for himself. From his
mealy mouthed words in the local paper to employi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ng his wife part time
on almost £</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">30,000 a year, Wright takes the
piss out of the electorate in his safe Labour seat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BUT WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE THINGS
ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE. THERE'S A NEW POLITICAL GANG ON THE BLOCK.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With more bluff, bluster and mouth
than a group of cider-fuelled teenagers at a school disco, Putting Hartlepool
First have been bombarding social media with their political message. That
message is about as worthless as the town's MP: VOTE FOR US, WE'RE BETTER THAN
THE OTHERS.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yep, that's pretty much it: The others are crap so vote for us. Surely
nobody would buy that old tosh?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Well, just as you'll soon discover
that democracy is a joke after a two minute chat with the average voter, it was
fairly obvious that the thick, the gullible, the disillusioned and those
desperate for change, swallowed the bullshit pumped out by these political
opportunists hook, line and sinker. Thankfully, there were others (myself
included) who didn't buy this nonsense and began asking serious and relevant
questions of Putting Hartlepool First</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> (PHF)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">. It became obvious immediately that PHF don't like
answering questions. Not only do they not like answering them but they take
grave offence at people even having the audacity to ask them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xPu5Ep6ococ/U3tvyc9Z7CI/AAAAAAAAAq0/chNyMO8ns2c/s1600/David+Riddle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xPu5Ep6ococ/U3tvyc9Z7CI/AAAAAAAAAq0/chNyMO8ns2c/s1600/David+Riddle.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PHF chairman David Riddle.</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">As the days went by, their Facebook
page became a laughing stoc</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">k. Comments they didn't like we</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">re deleted, whole threads removed and a complete raft of
people were blocked from commenting. Surprisingly, local criminals, violent
thugs and football hooligans, together with other unsavoury characters, were
encouraged to post. There was racism, homophobia and general nastiness that
would put UKIP or the BNP to shame. Instead of condemning and exposing these people,
PHF chairman David Riddle courted these people. No surprise at all. This is a man who
has no scruples. He'd sell his granny for a few votes in the Hart election. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Oh
yes, the Hart Ward. T</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">he
one Riddle wasn't going to stand in because he thinks Councillors should only
stand in their own wards. Hmmmmmm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, I digress. As the debates
raged, it became apparent that PHF and The Hartlepool Post web site were in
fact one and the same. Hartlepool Post is nothing more than a vehicle for
Putting Hartlepool First. The methods employed on the Hartlepool Post Forum are
the same. The posters (almost all PHF members posting under a variety of names)
abuse people and censor their views. Eventually they are blocked from posting.
Joe Stalin himself could learn a bit from how these people handle dissenting
voices. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SO IT'S WORTH ASKING WHO THE HELL
ARE PHF AND ARE THEY ANY BETTER THAN THE REST?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second part of that question
can be dealt with easily. No. They're not any better. I'd put my life on the
certainly they're a whole lot worse. Everything they say and do backs that up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for who they are, they are
nothing more than a bunch of disillusioned, low-achievers playing political
games to draw attention to themselves and get a bit of power to brighten up
their shallow lives. They could easily be PTF - Putting Themselves First. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vg1CQF1KERU/U3tvyUmBNSI/AAAAAAAAAqw/mCSG_-ml3r8/s1600/Cllr_Geoff_Lilley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vg1CQF1KERU/U3tvyUmBNSI/AAAAAAAAAqw/mCSG_-ml3r8/s1600/Cllr_Geoff_Lilley.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hartlepool councillor Geoff<br />Lilley.</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">While the figurehead of the group
is chairman is David Riddle, the brains of the operation (steady on there
aren't many brains amongst this lot) is veteran councillor Geoff Lilley. I'd
love to say that Lilley is a seasoned political campaigner with an ounce of
integrity and honesty but I refuse to lie. He's another one with his snout at
the trough who is in it for himself. If it didn't attract too much attention,
the party could be called Putting Lilleys First. I use the plural, because
Geoff's wife Alison is also a councillor. So, two Council allowances coming
into the house. Very nice. Beats working f</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">o</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">r a living. No wonder Geoff hasn't had a job since
Accrington Stanley were a leading force in professional football.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">What we have is Lilley using Riddle
as his meal ticket. Big Geoff wants Riddle to succeed so he can be king maker.
If Riddle succeeds, he'll be eternally grateful to Uncle Geoff and will fight
to get extra allowances for Geoff. Mr Lilley likes these that's why he tried to
get </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">the
vice chairman's salary</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">
doubled. Who knows, if PHF do well at the elections the Lilleys could be the
Hartlepool version of the Kinnocks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The long term plan has already been
discussed. Riddle and Lilley can both see how vulnerable Iain Wright is as the
town MP and Riddle is arrogant enough to think that he can take the seat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, getting independents into the
council chamber is nothing more than a ruse. It's utter bullshit. If that was
the aim, people would stand as independents. There would be no need for PHF,
PLF OR PRF. It's just a launching pad for a Riddle MP challenge as PHF endorsed
candidate with Geoff Lilley In the background pulling the strings. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, there you have it in as neat a
nutshell as I can manage. I've left lots of dirt out. I've kept the insults to
a bare minimum. These people have no interests in the advancement of the town
or the betterment of the people. They are cyclical political chancers. They are
liars. They are bullies. They are censors. They curtail free speech. But worst
of all they are incompetent with no political or strategic skills worth talking
about. They are in it entirely for themselves. PUTTING THEMSELVES FIRST. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If that's what you want feel free
to go out and vote for them. But be prepared for me to come back to say I told
you so . . . . </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-21041084934912314542014-05-19T18:46:00.001+01:002014-05-19T18:50:33.193+01:00TEN REASONS NOT TO VOTE UKIP: REASON NUMBER 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81wvU2VZZ0s/U3pCQHwV3pI/AAAAAAAAAqM/vec98NRG9W8/s1600/David+Silvester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81wvU2VZZ0s/U3pCQHwV3pI/AAAAAAAAAqM/vec98NRG9W8/s1600/David+Silvester.jpg" height="414" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">UKIP's David Silvester has been widely condemned for calling the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act “contrary to the gospel”. </span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>YOU BELIEVE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH 'GAY'</b></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I
used to live my life thinking live and let live. That was before we started
getting lots of rain and gay people started getting married. Obviously the two
things couldn't possibly be connected. Could they?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Well,
obviously not. Well not if you're rational and level-headed. But what if you're
a UKIP supporter?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Since
the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the nation has been beset
by serious storms and floods. One recent one caused the worst flooding for 60
years. The Christmas floods were the worst for 127 years. Is this just global
warming or is there something more serious at work?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">David
Silvester (suspended UKIP councillor) – who called homosexuality a “spiritual
disease”, thinks that God is punishing us for allowing people of the same sex
equal rights. This one also works if
you are a religious person who doesn’t want their religion hijacked by
extremists.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Then
there's Dr Julia Gasper, former chair of the Oxford Branch of UKIP who said
this: "As for the links between
homosexuality and paedophilia, there is so much evidence that even a
full-length book could hardly do justice to the subject.” FFS. She also thought
that gay rights were a “lunatic’s charter”, and likened homosexuality to
bestiality. Lovely woman. She also said that she wouldn't talk about
her comments to a journalist, because it was “None of your business”. I disagree. We have the right to ask questions of those
who seek power, especially when they spout hate like this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Here's
another little cracker: “The evidence is quite clear that the percentage of
homosexuals who molest children is very high and cannot be dismissed.” That pearl of wisdom is from UKIP member Jan
Zolyniak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Then
we have Douglas Denny, of the Bognor branch who protests with imagery that has
clearly had him awake at night… “I just wish they would keep their homosexual
nature and practices to themselves and stop trying to ram it down my throat
telling me they are ‘normal’ when they are not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Gay
adoption is “unhealthy”, and a form of “Child abuse”, according to Winston
McKenzie, the 2012 candidate for Croydon.
Winston seems lovely, and a man of conviction, who stands loyal to his
policy. Which is why he has run for election
with every political party in the country, and failed every time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">But
UKIP members are not always homophobes.
Two notable exceptions are Olly Neville, former leader of UKIP youth
organisation ‘Young Independence, and Richard Lowe, former UKIP candidate for
Chester. Both bravely stood in support
of Gay marriage. Both were subsequently
fired because of that support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
2004 candidate for Mayor of London Frank Maloney, refused to go to Camden to
campaign. His reasons? There were, “too many gays” and “there is a
problem with gay parades.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">But
fear not. If you feel that just reading
this article puts you at risk of “getting gay”, UKIP have the answer. Just go for a brisk jog. 2013 local election UKIP candidate John
Sullivan says that physical exercise regimes in schools would prevent people
from being gay. Just keep your eyes
closed in the showers John. We don't
want to put you off your “protesting a little too much” homophobia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The
lovely Harry Perry, mentioned elsewhere, thinks that homosexuals are, “An
abomination against God”. He was
suspended for his “crackpot views”. So
if you hate homophobia, this is who wants to represent you, and if you hate
homophobia, these people don't even have the courage to stand up for your
bigotry. Either way, the bigots lose.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-11436794739107745212014-05-11T20:06:00.000+01:002014-05-11T22:04:45.788+01:00TEN REASONS NOT TO VOTE UKIP: REASON NUMBER 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GzfNSx1YPlE/U2_JZkXdTzI/AAAAAAAAAp4/UZ0AlSrivFc/s1600/UKIP+Elgar+Tweets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GzfNSx1YPlE/U2_JZkXdTzI/AAAAAAAAAp4/UZ0AlSrivFc/s1600/UKIP+Elgar+Tweets.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>James Elgar, 19, now denies being racist and sexist and 'did not recognise' some tweets. What a surprise. Neither is the bigot impressed with northern Britain either.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">YOU DESPISE IGNORANT RACISTS,
BIGOTS AND NAZIS.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UKIP have a cunning plan to defeat
those people who look at all ten instances of racism that their pig ignorant
supporters spout. They think if they keep repeating "we are not
racists" enough times the public will believe them. It's not going to
work. We all know they're blood racists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take this for starters: “How we can
possibly be giving £1bn a month, when we’re in this sort of debt, to Bongo
Bongo Land is completely beyond me.”
This was sexist and racist Godfrey Bloom, showing that when you can’t
even be bothered to do your research, some people will be happy with a
reference to some “foreign land” or "bongo bongo land".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our forefathers fought and died in
some “foreign land” to stop these racists taking over. Don’t disgrace their memory by voting for
UKIP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what if you are Asian, love or
care about someone who is Asian?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a nice bit of hysteria from
a leading light in UKIP: “They groom and rape underage white girls, stab and
rob innocent old white people, bomb innocent white people” beggars belief I
know but this was posted on Facebook by
James Elgar, a UKIP candidate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's worth noting that Mr. Elgar is
banned from Woking football ground at the moment. Sounds like a riot… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In his defence, his father said he
isn't sexist because his best friend is a girl. His dad also told the Daily Mirror, that he isn't racist, because, and I
kid you not, “Last night he came home at 10:30 with a curry”. Now, I've got a.
Dry fertile creative mind but even I couldn't make that up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only a matter of time before they
play the "he has a black doctor" card.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let's suppose you oppose
apartheid. What's that you say? Everybody is against apartheid? Not so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Williams Griffiths, a member
of the West London Branch of UKIP, said after the death of Nelson Mandela, that
some people were ‘intended by nature’ to be slaves and were ‘marked out for
subjection’ from birth”. Remember South African
apartheid? Remember the Nazis in
1933? Are you seriously going to vote
for this?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as is often the case with these
little blogs I've saved the best until last.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So cop this: Paul Wiffen, formerly
campaigning for Ilford South and the Former Chairman of the London Region of
UKIP said: "You Left-wing scum are all the same, wanting to hand our
birthright to Romanian gypsies who beat their wives and children into begging
and stealing money they can gamble with. Muslim nutters who want to kill us and
put us all under medieval Sharia law, the same Africans who sold their
Afro-Caribbean brothers into a slavery that Britain was the first to abolish.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hell's teeth and Jesus H Christ on
a stick. You don’t have to be one of those Left-Wing scummy types to deplore
racism. You just have to be a decent
human being. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't vote is my advice. If you must
vote then spoil your voting card with a huge X. Please don't vote for these
racist Nazis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And whatever you think, please
don't think that voting UKIP is in any way a protest against the main parties.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Doing that is like shitting in your
hotel bed to protest about poor service at the hotel bar and then realising you
have to sleep in the bed.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More later . . .</span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-39666519791888652692014-05-09T23:08:00.002+01:002014-05-09T23:24:26.967+01:00IT'S LIKE ANIMAL FARM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfWc-KAA9qQ/U21VHgLqR4I/AAAAAAAAApo/PVvc1CbzzVU/s1600/Putting+Hartlepool+First+logo+and+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfWc-KAA9qQ/U21VHgLqR4I/AAAAAAAAApo/PVvc1CbzzVU/s1600/Putting+Hartlepool+First+logo+and+pic.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>JAMES CAMPBELL reveals his on-line</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> experiences of Putting Hartlepool First, a group that says it is aiming at a new way of doing politics in Hartlepool. It's good intentions don't appear to be put into practice.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Since around Mid-March I've
been occupied mainly with a Hartlepool political group called Putting
Hartlepool First (PHF).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I call them a political group
because they do seem to be a little confused about what they are themselves
despite having been around in some form or other since 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What initially attracted my
attention was that they described themselves as a group of independents who're
opposed to the way the town is being run but recognise that the way the party
political system was used in the town restricted the ability of a true
independent from being able to influence change. They even say that they have no whip to
enforce policy or a party line and members are able to vote however their
conscience tells them to. I liked this train of thought because one of my core
beliefs is that elected representatives acting in the interests of their party
often runs contra to the interests of the people they represent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first contact with PHF was
via their Facebook page and resulted in a series of frustrating debates where
posts and questions that challenged the views of PHF were regularly deleted and
on some occasions people who had done nothing more than ask a question were
blocked from the site too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The full details of this is
here:<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1676240229"> </a></span></span></span><span style="color: #333300; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px;"><u><a href="http://wp.me/p2BV0e-8q">http://wp.me/p2BV0e-8q</a></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last Facebook interaction
with PHF was to post that blog on their page where it was deleted within 8
minutes and I was blocked within 10 minutes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After that I realised that the
audience of my blog was limited to my existing audience and those who they
shared it with and I felt the people who were reading the PHF Facebook page
were not getting the full picture so I decided to post a link to my blog in the
forum pages of the Hartlepool Post.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd been reading the
Hartlepool Post since August 2013 and had thought it to be a good independent
site highlighting relevant issues in Hartlepool that were not necessarily being
reported by the Hartlepool Mail. I also
knew that among the forum users were a number of PHF members but also many
others of varying political persuasions.
I was also aware that a lot of people in the town followed the forum
without contributing and in short I thought it to be a fairly neutral and
unbiased place to discuss this sort of thing.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact many of the
contributors had stated that the Hartlepool Mail held a bias towards the
incumbent Labour council and would report things that showed the council in a
good light and had a reluctance to challenge the council. They'd even gone as far as to say that when
they posted comments on the Hartlepool Mail online forum, that those opposing
the council had a tendency to be deleted by the forum moderators.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granted, my first post on the
forum was somewhat controversial and was a direct attack on a popular group in
the town (who were by this point referring to themselves regularly as a party)
but even so I never expected the response I got, which was to be attacked from
the off by a number of members who, as it turned out were all affiliated to PHF
in some way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was asked on a number of
occasions what my affiliation was and when I told them I didn't vote and why I
was roundly attacked again despite explaining several times that if I found
somebody who I felt was honest, competent and did things for the right reasons
I would vote for them but until then I was staying at home on polling day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now here's the rub, I don't
know if any political candidate is honest and competent until I've personally
interacted with them outside of their individual or party publicity
machines. So on the Hartlepool Post
forum I began to ask questions of people who I knew to be councillor (there
were very few on there operating under their real name) or who had expressed
that they might be standing in the upcoming elections on May 22nd.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This brought on a reaction of
horror from some users that someone who openly doesn't vote would want to know
stuff about politicians and councillors.
I was accused of having various unhealthy obsessions with people on the
forum. I was also accused of becoming
fixated on PHF (mainly because of my initial post but also because a lot of my
posts were in direct response to members of PHF attacking me in the debate).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They eventually closed the
thread in which the main debate was taking place and re-named it "Very
Boring Thread". <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_9OdlKQTX6o/U21HiqBgT6I/AAAAAAAAAnI/Sn_g0OtGsZI/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_9OdlKQTX6o/U21HiqBgT6I/AAAAAAAAAnI/Sn_g0OtGsZI/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic1.jpg" height="115" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They also put me on a method
of restricted posting called "Pre-mod" where an administrator of the
forum had to approve any post I made before other users could view it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was immensely
frustrating so I tried to contact the admins for a justification and this was
what appeared:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1MtaT8xtr2c/U21H1222UZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/VddeNCB-f9Q/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1MtaT8xtr2c/U21H1222UZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/VddeNCB-f9Q/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic2.jpg" height="172" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a result I was effectively
sidelined from any real debate, so instead I began to find out who was who on
the forum (the confirmed identities are as I know them now, not at 31<sup>st</sup>
March).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">SteveL / Admin</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Steve Latimer – PHF Candidate for Headland &
Harbour<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">DRiddle </span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">:<b> </b>David Riddle – PHF Candidate for Hart<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">SRMoore</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Shane Moore – Conservative Candidate for Hart<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Lord Elpus</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Geoff Lilley – PHF Councillor for Fens &
Rossmere<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">MK1</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Unconfirmed but named as Michael Kenny, unsure of
any official role in PHF but definitely a PHF supporter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Pensionater</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Name not known, seems genuinely neutral but has
aired increasingly anti PHF views in recent weeks as a result of various
attacks made against him in the forum<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Mican</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Name not known, seems relatively neutral<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Kipperdip</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Name not known, aligned to UKIP<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The Great Dictator</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> : Name not known but I have reason to believe this is
Stephen Close<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">After a frustrating week or
so I was removed from "pre-mod" and was allowed to post normally
again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I continued to ask various
questions of various people and attempted to contribute to debates in a
meaningful way but still I was accused of an anti PHF bias.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the election candidates
were officially announced I loudly announced that it was looking like
"None of the above" for me in my ward, mainly because of the party
political affiliations and historic performance (non performance) of the
candidates either in my ward or when they had stood or represented other
wards. The one new candidate was Joanne
Banks of PHF.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My reasoning behind not
wanting to vote for her was based on several debates Joanne and myself were
involved in on the PHF Facebook page where a number of her views were the polar
opposite of my own but also she struck me as very naïve and inexperienced in a
political debate. On occasion she
struggled to convey her opinion clearly, a key skill for a councillor one would
imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To her credit Joanne Banks
contacted me individually via Facebook to ask why I thought she wasn't a good
candidate to which I responded:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly I'd like to say, I
have no problem with you standing and seeking to improve the town, if your aim
is as simple as that it's to be congratulated. As is the fact that you're the
first of the De Brus ward candidates to contact me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I take a view of politics
both local and national from the position that I will not buy into the system
of voting unless I believe the person I am voting for can make a change for the
better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since the official
announcement of candidates I've expressed that I don't feel that any of those
standing fulfil that simple requirement. I have tried not to single any
individuals out but have mentioned in discussions with friends some experiences
about individual candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reasons I feel that I
cannot vote for you as a representative of my ward stem mainly from some of the
discussions we were both involved in on the PHF page.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My main concern was your
position on traffic calming measures. Having four young children, living close
to a main road that has three schools immediately adjoining with an already
high volume of traffic (that also has a lot of heavy construction vehicles
currently and the potential future increase associated with the new homes being
built nearby), your comments on a similar road led me to believe that your
position on this issue was the polar opposite of mine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A number of your other
ideas, although well intended struck me as idealistic and impractical. In some
cases again contra to my own personal opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From these conversations I
felt you were a little naïve about what any group of councillors may achieve
and to be honest perhaps might not have a handle on how underhand and devious
some of your opponents will be. This in itself isn't a bad thing but it does
leave a doubt in my mind of your ability to deal with some situations you'll be
placed in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally and this is
definitely not a personal point, you've aligned yourself with PHF who, for
whatever reasons on their Facebook page decided to avoid or half answer direct
questions, including those about who I was even talking to at times. This led
me to have doubts about the integrity of those at the heart of this loose
alliance of independents. One of my key beliefs is that anyone representing a
political party, by default stops putting its electorate first because of a
party line. Initially I thought I'd stumbled upon a group that behaved
differently in PHF but I'm now certain that time will prove them to be no
different.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also asked why, when she
lives in Hart ward was she standing in De Bruce ward.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her response was:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided to stand for de Bruce
as I have been brought up there and understand their problems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This didn't quite sit right
with me, it felt like a bit of a wishy washy answer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I posed the question in
this way on the Hartlepool Post forum (This is the second or third posting of
the original question):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w02H4Aj3oWo/U21IUp13gvI/AAAAAAAAAnY/xYJV2UZLK3Q/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w02H4Aj3oWo/U21IUp13gvI/AAAAAAAAAnY/xYJV2UZLK3Q/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic3.jpg" height="176" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all, David Riddle of
PHF had said he was willing to answer questions:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sKWylIlRZH8/U21IgVOrhaI/AAAAAAAAAng/YAC5YU4l0tU/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sKWylIlRZH8/U21IgVOrhaI/AAAAAAAAAng/YAC5YU4l0tU/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic4.jpg" height="156" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He also later said this:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FEI8venHfDU/U21I7h1R1DI/AAAAAAAAAno/jlW5Tqt3kkU/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FEI8venHfDU/U21I7h1R1DI/AAAAAAAAAno/jlW5Tqt3kkU/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic5.jpg" height="302" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My concern was this: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Riddle a senior PHF
member had decided that he wanted to fight Hart ward. Might he or others within PHF have dissuaded
Joanne Banks from standing in her own ward (even if she may have wanted to)
because this decision was already made?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got this response from
David Riddle:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cNzc3MlyuyY/U21JQ80Od3I/AAAAAAAAAnw/Xfp3tvB7ZYU/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cNzc3MlyuyY/U21JQ80Od3I/AAAAAAAAAnw/Xfp3tvB7ZYU/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic6.jpg" height="348" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If so, this already
demonstrates that PHF were starting to develop something in the way of party
orders, with Joanne being a newer member, would this potentially mean, if
elected that she might be encouraged/advised to vote certain ways on certain
issues to suit PHF rather than the residents of De Bruce ward?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put another way, if David
Riddle was elected councillor of Hart ward and Joanne Banks was elected
councillor of De Bruce ward, what if a decision needed to be made that would
benefit Hart ward (and David Riddle as its councillor and Joanne Banks as a resident
of the ward) but might detriment De Bruce ward, how would that decision go?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I posed the question this
way:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-47ctolrV5Q0/U21JlUNSzvI/AAAAAAAAAn4/YmHrJaq2L0s/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-47ctolrV5Q0/U21JlUNSzvI/AAAAAAAAAn4/YmHrJaq2L0s/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic7.jpg" height="614" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a slightly separate
tangent in this thread MK1 made a ridiculous statement that politicians had to
tell lies and be dishonest to survive<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I challenged this and was
rounded upon again so I posed the question to all election candidates, it took
lots of cajoling to get anyone from to answer. Shane Moore (Conservative)
opposing David Riddle in Hart ward was the first to answer and posted this,
which prompted a response of sorts from David Riddle, note he doesn’t say that
he would not lie or not omit things.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-daqYt9P7NaA/U21J3RyoWjI/AAAAAAAAAoA/FmK2tdxzu24/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-daqYt9P7NaA/U21J3RyoWjI/AAAAAAAAAoA/FmK2tdxzu24/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic8.jpg" height="342" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then got accused of
badgering PHF and David Riddle again on several occasions despite avoiding
directing anything at any individual.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This gave me the idea of
opening up a debate for <b>ALL</b> election
candidates and as a result of a suggestion by another contributor, all of the
current incumbents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I posted this:</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2I_ydGloEOs/U21Kch5_dgI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/YbvL6XiuR1o/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic8a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2I_ydGloEOs/U21Kch5_dgI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/YbvL6XiuR1o/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic8a.jpg" height="310" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then set about trying to
contact as many candidates as possible sending them a link to the
discussion. Potentially this thread now
had a very wide audience in the Hartlepool political scene. Certainly a lot of the key players involved
had received the link and subsequent contacts on various social networks
confirm, how wide an audience was reading at this point.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PHF's David Riddle and Steve
Latimer were very quick to point out the others that wouldn't reply without
themselves replying. This was basically
a re-occurrence of PHF's tactics throughout the entire election campaign: Point out how bad the current incumbents are
but don't say what you would do differently.</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6sua9GoP-DY/U21KFgeaoJI/AAAAAAAAAoM/WkvGA8NKBfc/s1600/It%25E2%2580%2599s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6sua9GoP-DY/U21KFgeaoJI/AAAAAAAAAoM/WkvGA8NKBfc/s1600/It%25E2%2580%2599s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic9.jpg" height="274" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj269ZjNZzc/U21K06Tf53I/AAAAAAAAAoY/7HbtOCYsgRc/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj269ZjNZzc/U21K06Tf53I/AAAAAAAAAoY/7HbtOCYsgRc/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic10.jpg" height="164" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shane Moore didn't answer but
offered to meet me in person to discuss things, I was prepared to meet him on
the basis that I would be able to post his answers on the thread.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked David Riddle and
Steve Latimer directly if they would answer, here are the responses:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8wQmDZSZfQQ/U21LHs045XI/AAAAAAAAAog/gkYFN8J2Ihs/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8wQmDZSZfQQ/U21LHs045XI/AAAAAAAAAog/gkYFN8J2Ihs/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic11.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I was astounded that someone
standing for election would call me that in open forum (he also appeared to
have struggled on the spelling front too), it did make me wonder what the
people of the Headland would think of someone representing them who was unable
to conduct themselves in a public debate without resorting to foul language and
abuse…..So I posted the screenshot on Facebook and Twitter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Funnily enough the next day I
was back on "pre-mod".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I posted this to ask why:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e2NSxfrYHxM/U21LWB736EI/AAAAAAAAAoo/Td9QOQHLEuE/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e2NSxfrYHxM/U21LWB736EI/AAAAAAAAAoo/Td9QOQHLEuE/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic12.jpg" height="270" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was the response:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s82UwLH-9-Q/U21LgVqv48I/AAAAAAAAAow/yq4ESRKXLCI/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s82UwLH-9-Q/U21LgVqv48I/AAAAAAAAAow/yq4ESRKXLCI/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic13.jpg" height="146" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it seems I'm repetitive,
boring and intimidating to new users……<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's examine my most recent
posts on the forum then:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.forum.hartlepoolpost.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=610">http://www.forum.hartlepoolpost.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=610</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judge for yourself whether
they are repetitive or boring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, in another thread
a number of the current forum users also seemed to be reaching the same
conclusion as myself:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QdFqINQDN9M/U21L7YlJTHI/AAAAAAAAApE/aTw1fg3-eDo/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QdFqINQDN9M/U21L7YlJTHI/AAAAAAAAApE/aTw1fg3-eDo/s1600/It%E2%80%99s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic14.jpg" height="112" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zc3Lv2y-97E/U21L7fI6lDI/AAAAAAAAApI/npWM37ITFTU/s1600/It%25E2%2580%2599s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zc3Lv2y-97E/U21L7fI6lDI/AAAAAAAAApI/npWM37ITFTU/s1600/It%25E2%2580%2599s+Like+Animal+Farm+Pic15.jpg" height="260" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the way I see it now is
this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PHF accuse the current group
in charge of the council of poor performance and corruption.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They do not state what they
would do differently<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When challenged they avoid
answering questions<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They accuse the Hartlepool
Mail of political bias and selective censorship<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A forum moderated by
(possibly owned by) one of the PHF candidates appears to have a strong
political bias and those whose opinions differ from the PHF group are subjected
to bullying tactics and on some occasions abuse<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PHF state they are not a
party, but refer to themselves as a party<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PHF state that their
councillors are free to vote as their conscience directs them, but one of their
candidates is currently standing in a ward outside the one they live in whilst
another stands in that ward showing that there is some sort of primacy in rank
towards key wards happening<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm starting to struggle to see how PHF are any
different to the group currently in power in Hartlepool. In fact they seem a bit amateurish by
comparison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s kind of like the part of Orwell’s Animal Farm
where you realise Napoleon is just like a shit version of Mr Jones……you can
guarantee that given the chance they’ll soon be walking on two legs, carrying
whips and consorting with other farmers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My experiences on the
Hartlepool Post forum have not changed my opinion of politicians and political
groups in any way shape or form, I'm still not voting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It speaks volumes of that
particular outlet when the only contributor on that forum who is also a
candidate in the upcoming elections to conduct themselves with any sort of
integrity is a member of the Conservatives, Shane Moore.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-63427724762741622672014-05-08T19:14:00.000+01:002014-07-17T19:31:53.986+01:00THE PETRIE DISH EFFECT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n-Wad9kEc3k/U2vJGtwacPI/AAAAAAAAAm4/JR72NCpNw9E/s1600/Petri+Dish+Planet+Earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n-Wad9kEc3k/U2vJGtwacPI/AAAAAAAAAm4/JR72NCpNw9E/s1600/Petri+Dish+Planet+Earth.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">ANDY
FLEMING details how we need to completely replace our current economic paradigm
if we are to have a future on the Earth.</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">It’s
so easy to be negative about the current global economic system. And of course
there is every reason. Most readers will be aware that the economies of
virtually all major developed nations including China are well, stuffed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">When
it comes to a solution however, yesterday’s Labour Party European Election
broadcast brought home our dilemma. In its theatre and comedy it was excellent,
vividly portraying the economic abyss we have descended into as a nation.
Character assassinations of Cameron and Clegg flowed freely, highlighting their
promotion of the philosophies of greed, inequity, deceit, self-advancement and
privilege.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">There
was of course no reference to Labour’s immense culpability in our economic
plight. Neither was there one positive economic policy proposal of how the
people’s party was going to fix things. Apart, that is, from the usual rhetoric
of economically castrating the bankers, with whom until late 2008 they were so
intimate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">They
offered no practical policies because here’s the thing; there aren’t any. That’s
because the whole current global economic paradigm based on greed, central
banks, drugs, money laundering, the military industrial complex and war is
quite simply not fit for the new millennium. Tinkering around at the edges with
an economic system originating in the sixteenth century simply won’t work, and
here’s my rational for saying this, based surprisingly not in politics but in
science.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Cast
your mind back to your high school biology lessons. Do you remember Petrie dishes?
Those shallow glass containers into which a food substrate was poured, such as
agar jelly. A small sample of bacteria was introduced onto the surface of the
agar, the lid was replaced and within a few days the organisms had reproduced
exponentially covering the entire surface of the jelly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
spectacular success in the growth of the bacteria was tragically short-lived. A
few more days and they would not only be seen to have exhausted their raw
materials (i.e. food substrate), they would also have poisoned themselves with
their own toxic waste products.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Now
at this point you may be wondering what all of this has to do with economics,
and you may also think that I have a darned cheek in relating human economic
affairs to a humble bacterium, even though we originally evolved from such a
microscopic life form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
point is, the reproduction of the bacteria in the sealed and closed ecosystem of
the Petrie dish provides a superb analogy of how our current economic system has
developed and of its relationship with the Earth, its resources and biosphere.
This again is a closed system, only on a planetary scale. You’ve heard of the
Greenhouse Effect, well welcome to the Petrie Dish Effect!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Examining
our place in space and time using this scientific analogy we are left with the
disturbing prospect that unless we adopt a new economic model, our exponential
population and economic growth will outstrip our planet’s capacity to provide
carriage for the human population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Just
like the bacteria in the Petrie dish, we shall surely exhaust our resources and
poison ourselves with our own waste products. And of course, it’s already
happening. Environmental degradation for which we are responsible is now so bad
that in many major cities the population wears breathing masks, and important
commodities such as oil and gas are becoming more scarce and expensive. Witness
the controversial drilling in the Arctic Ocean and shale gas fracking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Now
I’m not an economist or for that matter an environmentalist. I’m not a
politician either, but as a sceptic I notice how the word “economic growth” is proffered
as the solution to all of our economic ills from virtually every political
charlatan walking the planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">And
that’s at the heart of the ultimate human economic and environmental dilemma.
Our current economic paradigm in any of its guises, left or right wing, Keynesian
or monetarist, requires exponential and infinite population and economic growth
on a finite planet to function at all in the long term (and even then it
provides little happiness or fulfilment for the overwhelming majority of the
world’s population).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">It’s
a paradox that strikes at the heart of conventional economic wisdom and one
whose solution, I believe, is critical to the very survival of human beings on
this planet. Because, following the Petrie dish analogy to its logical ironic
conclusion, the bacteria by their very success in reproducing also destroy
themselves. An ultimate environmental booby-trap, and one that’ll happen to us
if we continue to conduct business ‘as usual’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
Petrie Dish Effect is only an analogy, an approximation, and like all such tools
it’s imperfect. Clearly, humans do have a few aces up their sleeves that
bacteria don’t! We don’t need to be a slave to evolution and wipe ourselves out
due to false wants, greed, a broken economic mind-set, and what would be a mass
extinction nuclear conflict over natural resources. We have intelligence to
effect change, we have ingenuity to devise solutions and we have empathy, care
and compassion for each other and the other creatures with whom we share our
tiny planetary home, the Earth. Do we have the will as a species to use them? I
hope so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Many
of my political conversations inevitably develop into an argument about
so-called ‘human nature’. I‘m accused of being an idealist in propounding ideas
such as equity, compassion, empathy and sustainability. My views, it is said
don’t take into account the other, negative forms of ‘human nature’ such as
greed, aggression, lies, deceit and self-advancement. And yes, I agree human
society and economics has to be a trade-off between the needs of the
individual, the needs of society and the capacity of the environment to repair
itself and support us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">But
I don’t believe for one minute that ‘human nature’ is set in stone as an
inalienable or God-given unchangeable attribute. I may fully sign-up to
Darwinian Evolution, but never to social Darwinism. A society of intelligent beings
without morals and where only the strong survive, where the weak and disabled are
marginalised and where co-operation is usurped by back-stabbing competition and
mistrust, is surely the road to hell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">We
need to initialise change locally at our own personal level and use our innate
intelligence to take a look at our own lives, treating those we know and the
environment more kindly. We can as
individuals reach out, engage and touch people, espousing ‘people power’,
registering our hatred of greed, corruption, bullying, militarisation, sexism,
racism, xenophobia and aggression at all levels. We can reject the push-button
society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">We
can decide to make and label greed, selfishness and other negative human traits
as anti-social as other sociopathic tendencies. Most of all we can trade and
develop our lives and societies sustainably so that there is a healthy world
with resources worth leaving for our children. It’s not rocket science, it’s
just prioritising worthy human attributes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">It
is essential that every decent individual (and that’s the overwhelming
majority) on this planet ends their sleep-walking and realises that these
changes, incorporating as they must new economic and political institutions,
aren’t just desirable, they are imperative for our very survival. We are at the
cusp of a new brighter future and have arrived at simultaneous and pivotal
economic, political and environmental turning points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">‘Saving
the planet’ or ‘saving the Earth’ are often used as environmental wake-up calls.
But the Earth has been here for at least 4.5 billion years and will be here for
about the same period in the future. If we take up the challenges and change that
I’ve identified, we will be part of that future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-69095099667229237012014-05-06T18:57:00.005+01:002014-05-06T19:27:03.747+01:00TEN REASONS NOT TO VOTE UKIP: REASON NUMBER 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TTZDir6pmHg/U2khHSUNOnI/AAAAAAAAAmo/todIz77qIcU/s1600/Paul+Nuttall,+UKIP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TTZDir6pmHg/U2khHSUNOnI/AAAAAAAAAmo/todIz77qIcU/s1600/Paul+Nuttall,+UKIP.jpg" height="340" width="640" /></i></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Paul Nuttall, Deputy Leader of UKIP who openly admits he usually can't be bothered to turn up to vote at the European Parliament, whilst defrauding the taxpayer of £80,000 per annum in salary plus mega expenses. They're all in it together, except with UKIP you also get a right wing blend of sexism, racism and homophobia.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>YOU DON'T LIKE GREEDY, LAZY, MONEY GRABBING POLITICIANS</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">By</i><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">HARRY BLACKWOOD</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK. So, you've told all your pals that MPs of all parties are money-grabbing, corrupt, greedy, incompetent bastards who are not worth voting for. Congratulations for stating the bleeding obvious.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then you go and spoil your impressive performance by saying you're thinking of voting UKIP. Hold it there buddy, I need a serious word with you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it comes to being corrupt, greedy, incompetent and filling their bank accounts with your hard-earned dosh, UKIP take the biscuit. In fact they take the whole packet of biscuits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thinking of voting UKIP to protest about the way our MPs do their job? Think MPs should work harder. UKIP MEPs don’t. In fact, they pride themselves on not bothering to vote at the European Parliament, although they do turn up occasionally to collect the £80,000 we pay each of them and to bang in some quite outrageous expense claims.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall says of his own voting record, “I’ll hold my hands up. My attendance record is flaky to say the least. But so what? I treat Brussels with the contempt it deserves.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nice. These people are laughing at the tax-payer, taking money to do nothing, and having a jolly old time “playing at politics” with your tax payers’ money and never actually bothering to go to work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you think that Nigel Farage is a good honest bloke, down to earth, represents the common man, and is the sort of bloke you could have a drink with, think again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m sure you could have a drink with him. If you could afford it. Not only has Nigel Farage claimed over £2 million in expenses, but he is the son of a millionaire stock-broker. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nigel himself, this man of the people, is a millionaire stock-broker himself, (you know, just like the people who gambled away your pension fund).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good old Nigel who you could have a drink with down the pub, probably wouldn't want to sit next to an oik like you anyway, because you, unlike him, would not have been able to afford to go to the £10k a year top public school that Nigel was educated in. Meaning that Nigel's childhood education, is probably worth more than the value of your house will be, after these people destroy our economy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And remember this is the same Mr. Farage who wants to increase your taxes if he gets elected. The same Mr. Farage who employs his wife AND his alleged bit on the side out of our taxes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you believe that the AV referendum was a waste of time and tax-payers money. Well done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nigel Farage didn’t. He was all for it, declaring that the current First Past the Post system is “a nightmare for UKIP”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe you believe that UKIP can do a better job of running the country than the other main parties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that’s up for debate, it's hard to find anyone who thinks that any of the big three parties have done a good job, but at least they are organised. UKIP “forgot” to put their party name on the candidates’ ballot paper for the Local and Mayoral elections in London 2012. These people want to run your country, by the way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They have incompetence in their DNA. Along with racism, homophobia and a firmly held belief that gay marriage causes flooding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may like to have a rethink . . .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-36208732227705650852014-05-04T22:33:00.000+01:002014-05-04T22:37:36.200+01:00TEN REASONS NOT TO VOTE UKIP: REASON NUMBER 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9oa-lw7zJM/U2awh2QMp7I/AAAAAAAAAmU/0iwZWtxbgmk/s1600/Godfrey+Bloom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9oa-lw7zJM/U2awh2QMp7I/AAAAAAAAAmU/0iwZWtxbgmk/s1600/Godfrey+Bloom.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bloom-in Awful. He may look as innocent as Victor Meldrew, but this odious individual is UKIP's Godfrey Bloom. His brand of sexism and xenophobia is so extreme he is even an embarrassment at European Parliament group meetings of his own party. </span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>IF YOU ARE A WOMAN, YOU LOVE
A WOMAN, YOU HAVE A MOTHER, DAUGHTER OR SISTER OR YOU HAVE WOMEN FRIENDS.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><i>By</i><b>HARRY BLACKWOOD</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Many of UKIP's members are sexist
pigs. It all filters down from the top. Honest broker Nigel is said by fellow
UKIP top brass to "have an eye for crumpet". Yes, he's married. His
wife works for him but never mind eh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">That should be enough to put you
off them for life. If it isn't, here's a few more:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Women who do not clean behind their
fridges are “sluts”. An hilarious quip
from Godfrey Bloom. He says he was just
joking. Oh, how we laughed…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Women are “”nowhere near as good as
men” at chess, bridge and poker. Stewart
Wheeler the UKIP party treasurer said that.
Two points here. The first is,
what on earth has that got to do with running a country? The second is, tell
that to Victoria Coren, this country's best and most successful tournament
poker player, and the first player, (not woman, but player of any gender), to
win the European Poker Tour twice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Then there's the UKIP candidate
being investigated after his Twitter feed was found to contain apparently
racist and sexist remarks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">James Elgar's account also included
references to hijacked planes, rape by "Asian boys" and
"foreigners and weirdos".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">One of his tweets said: "There
is [sic] no women in the CBB final? That's because they are all in the kitchen
where they belong..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">So, if you are female and
considering voting UKIP, I'd really like some of the drugs you're on.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-56833658353827264002014-05-02T19:27:00.002+01:002014-05-02T19:30:21.395+01:00HOME SWEAT HOME<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GQlgUrfrvQA/U2PiqRWCetI/AAAAAAAAAmE/TT2wyCBlQq0/s1600/House+prices+at+estate+agent's.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GQlgUrfrvQA/U2PiqRWCetI/AAAAAAAAAmE/TT2wyCBlQq0/s1600/House+prices+at+estate+agent's.jpg" height="352" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>A young couple look in horror through an estate agent's window at the ridiculous cost of buying or renting a home in Britain today.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" height="142" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">It's Friday. It's financial. It's Friday Financial with JULIAN SAYER.</span></b><br />
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Millions
are working themselves into the ground just to pay the the rent</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">IN
EVERY facet of society the working population are finding it harder and harder
to get on in life. I have looked at employment, pensions, tax, and inflation,
and everything is going against a hard working person. This week I want to look
at how difficult it is to get on the housing ladder, and who is benefiting from
this artificial market.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since
Margaret Thatcher sold off the council houses and promised everybody should
have the chance to own their own house, the UK has fallen in love with home
ownership. We have seen over the years just how important the housing sector is
to the economy. A booming housing market often means a booming economy. The
solicitors, Estate Agents, removal men,
DIY stores, carpet shops to name but a few all benefit enormously when house
sales are high. It's been an important part of this Government’s economic
policy to try to help get the housing market moving again after the financial
meltdown back in 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
the 2007 financial crisis, lending changed overnight. The leveraged
institutions simply could not get hold of funds in order to lend for mortgages.
Employment became harder and salaries reduced and house prices fell. Demand
dried up and they simply stopped building houses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
wealthy were eager to buy every asset that the Quantitative Easing driven, low
interest rate environment demanded. Housing is back in demand. With
demographics, immigration and a reduction in supply, there is a huge shortage of
houses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Government even realised there is a problem;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/key-issues-for-the-new-parliament/social-reform/housing-supply-and-demand/">http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/key-issues-for-the-new-parliament/social-reform/housing-supply-and-demand/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
problem is that with supply failing to keep up with demand, rents are rising
faster than incomes in some parts of the country, meaning that a higher
proportion of people's wages are spent just keeping a roof over their heads.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salaries
fell year-on-year in many regions of the UK in March, with the exception of Wales
(+14%) and the North West (+1.0%). The greatest fall was in London, where
advertised salaries dropped 6.8% to £39,112 – equivalent to a drop of £2,854
year-on-year.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demand
for extra homes in England is now estimated at around 210,000 properties a year,
compared with average output from housebuilders and social housing providers of
154,000 extra homes a year over the past five years. The accumulating gap
between demand and output points to a shortfall of 1.1 million homes in 20
years’ time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
of the effects of rising house prices is the increasing difficulty that many
people have in trying to purchase their own property. With average UK house
prices approaching £200,000, and with average earnings around £25,000, new
buyers find it almost impossible to get on the property ladder. Lenders will
typically lend up to 3.5 times earnings, so an individual on average earnings
of £25,000 is only able to borrow £87,500, effectively ruling them out of the
housing market. High prices mean you need a larger deposit, higher salary, no
debts and an excellent credit rating. Not easy in this financial climate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
new rules recently introduced by mortgage lenders are supposed to protect the
financial system from giving out excessive loans to people who can't afford the
repayments. These rules are given here in detail:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.money.co.uk/article/1009465-the-new-mortgage-rules-that-could-stop-you-borrowing-and-how-to-get-around-them.htm"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.money.co.uk/article/1009465-the-new-mortgage-rules-that-could-stop-you-borrowing-and-how-to-get-around-them.htm<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unable
to scrape together enough of a deposit to meet the loan to value criteria set
by this industry consultation, more people will opt to rent, pushing up already
historically high rental costs and making it harder to save for a deposit in
the first place. Renters are caught in an impossible position, paying higher
rents, on reduced salaries to save up for an ever increasing deposit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since
2001 the number of households renting in the UK has broadly doubled to 4.8m,
with a predicted further one million people will join them in the next five
years in light of the more stringent regulatory mortgage environment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s
the problem:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nine
million people in England are stuck renting - and more and more of them are
families. These homes are often in bad condition. Worse still, many renters
won't complain to their landlord out of fear they'll face eviction - something
that's happened to over 200,000 renters in the past year alone. Landlords have
their tenants over a barrel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
average private rent paid by renters has increased by 67 per cent between
2002–03 and 2011–12, according to the English Housing Survey. Over the
equivalent time period (2003–2012), average full-time wages in England rose by
25 per cent (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2003– 13). This means that
it is 2.5 times more expensive just to put a roof over your head over the last
ten years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
past seven years has seen the banking industry destroy the global economy.
Every aspect has been effected, from higher taxation in order to pay back the
debt, taken on by tax payers to fund the bail out of the banks, to lower
salaries, poorer job prospects and poorer more expensive housing. You are
seeing that this Government's policies have reduced supply, causing prices to
go up and who pays the highest price? The poor and most vulnerable who can't
afford to even rent, the young who if they are lucky enough to find a job,
can't muster a deposit on a zero hour minimum wage contract. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then
again who has benefited from all this? Namely, the wealthy who could afford to
buy the housing stock, the private landlords, who can charge above market rents
do to the lack of supply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr
Osbourne's response to this was to inflate prices in the housing sector with
his help to buy scheme, instead of actually building more houses, which would
have created proper employment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His
next step is to suggest making welfare savings by cutting housing benefit for
under-25s and restricting council housing for those earning over £65,000 a
year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
policies only inflame the problems. The report below suggests one million
houses will be needed at below market rents to cope with the young and most
vulnerable in society who simply can't afford to put a roof over their heads.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.centrepoint.org.uk/news-events/news/2013/july/cambridge">https://www.centrepoint.org.uk/news-events/news/2013/july/cambridge</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
policies are splitting society, creating divisions and increasing inequality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
you know, here in the UK we follow the American model only a few years behind
in the cycle. Look at the economy, look at zero hour contracts in employment,
look at the privatising of the NHS! This is what has happened in the US housing
market, 1 in 3 of all US housing is unaffordable to its citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/04/05/zillow-study-shows-1-in-3-homes-are-unaffordable-meanwhile-vacation-home-sales-soar/">http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/04/05/zillow-study-shows-1-in-3-homes-are-unaffordable-meanwhile-vacation-home-sales-soar/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where
is the housing market heading? I wonder?......<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/may/01/bank-of-england-warns-housing-market-property-price-boom-crash?commentpage=1">http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/may/01/bank-of-england-warns-housing-market-property-price-boom-crash?commentpage=1</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck house hunting this bank
holiday, you voted for it!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-12594753135862385472014-05-01T18:50:00.003+01:002014-05-01T18:57:32.411+01:00MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKAh_9HeFpQ/U2KGTmb0I0I/AAAAAAAAAl4/GecGENAkbes/s1600/Nigel+Farage+Pint+and+Cigarette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKAh_9HeFpQ/U2KGTmb0I0I/AAAAAAAAAl4/GecGENAkbes/s1600/Nigel+Farage+Pint+and+Cigarette.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP enjoying his customary pint and cigarette. This clever marketing ploy as a 'man of the people' disguises the unpleasant truth about this far right party of racists, homophobes and sexists.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US"></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN-US">Public schooled, ex-banker has
conned the public through the bottom of a pint glass</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>By</i><b>HARRY BLACKWOOD</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">WINSTON CHURCHILL famously said:
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with
the average voter." Never a truer word and it seems that old Winston must
have been talking to the same sort of people that I converse with on F</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">acebook </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">and Twitter as well as the real word.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without wanting to sound superior
(obviously I am) most people's knowledge of politics and the democratic process
(which is a total sham) could be written on the back of an envelope with a
six-inch emulsion brush. They'll be able to tell you every X Factor winner
since 1936 but ask who is foreign secretary or leader of the opposition and
they'd be knackered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Is it </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">any wonder then that</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> a party of racists, homophobes, sexists and general
oddballs have managed to convince a huge proportion of the electorate that they
are the voice of reason?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter which way they try to
spin it, UKIP is a party for people who aren't very bright. It has to be.
Anybody with an IQ into double figures would quickly realise that UKIP is
nothing more than BNP Lite; a party for people who are happy to trot out the
line "I'm not racist, I've got a black doctor"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">But it would be stupid to say that
all UKIP voters are closet racists. Of course they're not. Just most of them.
But I want to focus on the others. The ones whose only excuses </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">are that</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> they are stupid, suffering from cognitive dissonance or
they're desperate for change. It's the last one that I think explains the UKIP
phenomenon.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">People are so pissed off with
lying, cheating, thieving, disingenuous politicians that they'll vote for
anyone rather than mainstream parties. It's that despair that Nigel Farage -
the biggest con man that British politics has witnessed since Tony Blair - has
latched onto </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">to
take UKIP into the big time.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Give Farage credit where it's due.
He's an ace bullshitter who was probably selling used cars or Kirby vacuum
cleaners in a previous life. He's even managed to con the BBC into giving him
as much airtime as all </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">the
mainstream parties put together. The gullibility of the BBC on that one is so
painful it burns. This is a party without a single MP who are being feted as
serious contenders on the sole basis that people don't want to vote for any of
the other useless bastards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The broadcasting media even fall
for Farage's 'man of the people' character. Not just once or twice but every
time. Here's Nigel having a pint leaning against the bar; now we have Nigel outside
the boozer chatting to other drinkers; oh look, there's Nigel on his mobile
phone having a crafty fag. If it wasn't so bloody serious it would be funny.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The very people that Churchill was
describing are convinced that Nigel is just your normal, average bloke. He
patently isn't.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Farage is a public school educated,
ex-investment banker who was too right wing to be a Thatcherite. He's got as
much in common with the average bloke in the street as Prince Charles has with
Bob Dylan. But why should the public discriminate against Farage? Take any of
them, Clegg, Cameron, Miliband, Osborne, Hague, they're all from the same
mould; posh blokes who shouldn't be
within a mile of politics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Despite his background and his
racist tendencies from an early age, Farage is, in many ways, the voice of
reason in UKIP. Yes, he's a rabid, right wing nutter but at least he hasn't
called for all mosques to be bulldozed as one of his candidates did this week.
Nor has he - at least to my knowledge </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">- blamed</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> the floods this year on gay marriage as a UKIP councillor
did. No, it has to be said, that despite his inherent eccentricity and general
unsavoury views, Farage is fairly moderate compared to most UKIP supporters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact the bloke can truly be said
to be a political magician. He's a tax avoider, a serial womaniser, and has
claimed more in expenses than the average banker racks up in bonuses. Yet still
huge numbers of the public intend to vote for him. But the big question is will
they?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">There's no doubt that in the European
elections which will be ignored by the majority of the electorate, the little
Englanders of UKIP will be out in force, hell bent on giving the mainstream
parties a bloody nose. But come the general election next year, UKIP will have
been well and truly found out and the fools who think that walking into a
polling station is somehow taking part in democracy will have realised that
UKIP are just the same as the rest . . . but a bit nuttier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I'll stick my neck out. Come the
aftermath of the 2015 general election, UKIP will be in the same position they
are now. They won't have a single MP.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Churchill had it dead right. Most
voters are stupid. Just not THAT stupid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-13116675163721534802014-04-30T22:34:00.000+01:002014-04-30T22:42:58.107+01:00THE UK RAIL RIP-OFF: PART 3 – NEGATIVE REDISTRIBUTION RIDES THE RAILS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJJw9anH-gc/U2FlclMm83I/AAAAAAAAAlA/VWslS2LbxXo/s1600/Class+156+at+Castleton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJJw9anH-gc/U2FlclMm83I/AAAAAAAAAlA/VWslS2LbxXo/s1600/Class+156+at+Castleton.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>A Northern Rail Class 156 Sprinter, calls at Castleton Moor on the Esk Valley Railway with a Whitby to Middlesbrough service. This line was saved quite arbitrarily from the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, and yet for 20 years since privatisation has seen only a couple of trains per day in each direction. Unforgivably, none of these services are suitable for commuting to either of the line's termini. This railway awaits an imaginative and innovative operator who will maximise its undoubted potential at the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In last week's post </span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://namedblamedandshamed.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-uk-rail-rip-off-part-2_24.html">Privatisation Profiteers Ride the Rails (at your expense)</a>, ANDY FLEMING examined</b></span><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> the Tories'</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> half baked, inefficient, horrendously expensive and disastrous privatisation experiment with our railways. </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In
the last post in this series he examines why Britain's rail network now the
most fragmented and expensive in Western Europe to both passenger and tax payer
alike, has become a cash cow to train operating companies who reap the
profits, while you and I pay the losses.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following
the botched privatisation of British Rail in 1994, hopes were high that a
change to a New Labour government in 1997 would see re-nationalisation of this
strategic national asset in a country crying out for an affordable, reliable,
safe and fully integrated environmentally-friendly public transport system.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
of course we didn’t see any such change. The key was in the word ‘New’. What we
received was just a continuation of Major’s full-baked policies in railways and
elsewhere, just different cronies enacting them. Sure there was the odd left
winger full of bluster who was ready to drop all of their principals, in order
to give the impression that there may be a little socialisation of the economy
but of course it was a mirage. As would become clear following Tony Blair and
George Bush’s illegal Iraq War of 2003, the petroleum industry was still pulling
the strings despite the environmental rhetoric and run-ins with hard working
truck drivers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
phoney environmentalism was however a deceitful and duplicitous way of launching
a full scale assault on the motorist with crippling petrol taxes, while simultaneously
John Prescott was announcing an investment in railways so grand that the
Victorians would have been jealous. It was of course all lies. Most of the £30
billion funding for the network announced in early 1999 wasn’t new money at
all, just recycled promises from the last days of Major’s corrupt and sleazy
administration. New Labour were of course masters of lies, dishonesty and
deceit (these grotesque human traits were of course spun as ‘spin’ to the
gullible).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was brought home to me one night when BBC Look North carried a visit by Tony
Blair to a primary school in Ferryhill, part of his Sedgefield constituency.
One little girl asked the Prime Minister a fantastic question that deserved a
fully honest answer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Please
can you re-open Ferryhill station as there are a lot of people here who can’t
afford cars”</i>, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His
answer would be the reason why I wouldn’t vote Labour ever again,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“I’d
love to be in a position to do it, but it would be just far too expensive</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was clear where this charlatan’s loyalties lay and they certainly weren’t with
his constituents’ needs in a civilised society for even a basic public
transport system. And he certainly couldn’t care less about the environment.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A71lnVwUakM/U2FpXLxQ0nI/AAAAAAAAAlM/J1ImulXWOTc/s1600/Ladbroke+Grove+Rail+Crash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A71lnVwUakM/U2FpXLxQ0nI/AAAAAAAAAlM/J1ImulXWOTc/s1600/Ladbroke+Grove+Rail+Crash.jpg" height="356" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The high price of greed and privatisation. The Ladbroke Grove Rail Disaster occurred when a Thames commuter train and Great Western express crashed outside Paddington Station in London, killing 31 people and injuring more than 400 others. The individuals responsible for privatising our railway network should be haunted by the horrors of Paddington.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">A
stark wake-up call about why voting is a totally pointless activity. In future,
if you ever delude yourself and think that the </span><i style="font-size: 13pt;">raison d’etre</i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> of elected representatives is to speak up for the
99.9%, re-read the above paragraph. Because although Tony Blair couldn’t find a
pittance in national terms for a little station on the East Coast Main Line at
Ferryhill, he would sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of
pounds to conduct his and his sidekick’s illegal war in Iraq. But the railways
aren’t Halliburton, General Electric, Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin are
they? They should be there to provide a service for ordinary people. But Blair
of course couldn’t have given a jot about ordinary people. Connections made!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right
up to the present day it really wouldn’t have made any difference who had been
the government as far as the railways were concerned. A series of appalling
accidents such as Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield on what should have been the
safest mode of land transportation were the real reasons why the hated, inept
and greedy Railtrack was sort of semi-renationalised into Network Rail. While
executives such as Gerald Corbett were trousering a fortune, basic maintenance
of points was being cut and neglected and broken rails had turned up across the
network. Train protection technology in which our continental neighbours had
invested but we had not meant that Signals Passed at Danger (SPADs) were a
frequent issue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Train
Operating Companies (TOCs) eager to cash in on this house of cards, came and
were then forced to hand the franchise keys back either for appalling service,
lack of investment or because the railway was not the cash cow it had first
appeared. Remember names such as Connex, MTL/ Spirit, Arriva Trains Northern,
or Great North Eastern Railway (GNER)? The latter returned the keys to the
State not due to the rail business – it had after all inherited a newly
electrified ECML and new electric Class 91 locomotives on what was the UK’s
premier route. It left the business because its parent company Sea Containers
went belly-up. National Express couldn’t hack the franchise either so out of
desperation, most of the Inter City traffic on the route has been run at
increasing profit by East Coast. But guess what? East Coast is a nationalised
franchisee now being primed for yes, you guessed it – privatisation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who
is making the money from this privatisation for privatisation’s sake? Well it
certainly won’t be the taxpayer, who just as in the case of the banks is the
victim once more of the privatisation of profit and socialisation of losses. It
will no doubt be city investors, the banks and pension funds – oh, I nearly
forgot to mention no doubt some of their friends in politically low places.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
the last thirty years I have opposed the privatisation of strategic state
industries for a plethora of reasons. Some of these have been social, some
political and some for economic or practical reasons. In the case of the
railways I see no benefit whatsoever to the travelling public after two decades
of privatisation. Infact, many commentators estimate that the cost of the
railway in real terms to the Exchequer is up to six times more than it would
have been under British Rail. Sure, there has been investment in infrastructure
and rolling stock – there had to be because the railways had been so run down
after decades of neglect under both Labour and Tory governments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
there has been little investment in regional rail exemplified by the decrepit
network in north east England with a history of uninspiring franchisees. Open
access has provided opportunities for some innovative companies such as Grand
Central (unfortunately now bought out by Arriva), and Hull Trains, but there
has been little movement to increase electrification route mileage. Reopening
of lines or stations, very popular amongst the electorate, has become so
hideously expensive under the privatised railway that few routes are being
resurrected. Most of the main exceptions are in Scotland whose quite pro-rail
parliament has sanctioned the re-opening of part of the Waverley Route to
Galashiels and the Borders whose closure was so short-sighted under Labour’s Barbara
Castle in the late sixties.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Privatisation
is a political red herring and always has been; it's just a right wing ideology designed for the negative redistribution of wealth from the 99.9% to the rich elite. The state versus free enterprise debate is sterile.
Because what matters is not who the shareholders are, but if the organisation itself
has any competition. And whether private or public the railway has very little.
If you don’t like overpriced and unattractive rail travel, then how does the
alternative appeal to you – the worst maintained and congested road infrastructure
in Europe. Hardly a more appealing option.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
there’s the thing on ticket prices and monopolies. The railway still operates
under laws of economics from a parallel universe. In most industries, as sales
increase a company grows and increases capacity. Not so in the rail industry.
How many times have you travelled on an over-crowded and what should be illegal
train, thinking to yourself why don’t they build more carriages? In most industries, demand would indeed be met
by increased production. In the Alice in Wonderland economic world of Britain’s
railways the answer is, and has been since the sixties to choke off demand by
raising ticket prices. The effect: more individuals forced back into cars which
has been the supposed antithesis of government policy over the last twenty
years. It’s called non-joined up thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
I stated in part one of this series of posts, the British have always loved
railways. It’s not surprising as Britain was the country of their birth,
Stockton-on-Tees, where I write this, part of their very cradle. But we have always
hated the people who have mis-managed them on our behalf. It doesn’t matter
whether that has been a civil service department or a bunch of private rail
operators cashing in on the money merry go round and blame culture of our
fragmented railway network. A monopoly is a monopoly after all, there’s just
the sniff and price of more corruption in a private industry where there’s
billions of pounds of public cash being mis-spent under the instructions of
bent politicians and a castrated Office of Rail Regulation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having
said that both private and public monopolies are bad the clincher for me in
saying “bring back British Rail” is this - the six-fold increase in subsidy in
real terms for the private railway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now,
which political party in believing their own rhetoric, said privatised railways
would be much more efficient than the state monolith that was British Rail? The
Tories. After twelve years in power and with all of the above evidence
available to them said it would be too expensive to re-nationalise the rail
industry? New Labour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More
evidence, if you needed it, as to why voting is a waste of time.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-26511068866342925502014-04-27T21:40:00.000+01:002014-04-27T21:50:28.465+01:00THE RISING PRICE OF DECEPTION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" height="142" width="400" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It's Sunday. But it's financial. So it's Friday Financial
with JULIAN SAYER.<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Why and how inflation and falling wages hasn't bothered
the wealthy.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I want to look at
inflation and the cost of living crisis. There was a lot of fanfare last week
with the announcement that wage increases have finally passed the rate of
inflation. The full details of the announcement can be found here;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27047966">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27047966</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">On the surface it sounds great, the
bedrock of a recovery is in place and good times are just around the corner.
But, if you look into w</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">hat has happened over the last forty</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> years and the consequences over the coming years, then a
different picture emerges. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">These figures include all the high
ranking salaried jobs mainly in the banking and financial sector that we the
tax payer so happily saved back in 2008. These salaries have and are rising
faster than any other. These million pounds salaries and the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ir huge
bonuses will adversely a</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ffect
this data, boosting the percentage higher and disproportionately. Our
Government does little to cap them as it encourages the City to make more and
more money. Just look at the figures involved, who else gets million pounds
salaries and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">two
hundred per cent</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> bonuses?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27154184">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27154184</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wages for the average person have
stagnated and inflation has eroded the spending power that this reduced income
can buy. For example average earnings adjusted for inflation have dropped 7.2
per cent since 2010 – leaving millions more than £2,000 a year worse off. This
is where the economy has been hurt.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">In my research I came across this
article from the </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Daily </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Telegraph</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">, from which I gleaned the following startling facts;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/10682032/Beer-bubble-how-price-of-a-pint-has-risen-twenty-fold.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/10682032/Beer-bubble-how-price-of-a-pint-has-risen-twenty-fold.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The research, using data provided
by the Office for National Statistics, found that draught lager had risen from
14p a pint in 1973 to £2.87 last year. Petrol prices were 17 times as high,
with the price of a litre of diesel growing to around £1.41, from 8p in 1973.
Wages have simply not kept up. From my own research from 1994 to the present
day average annual real earnings have only increased by 9.49%, while the retail
price index (RPI) has increased by 42.38%. Basically, the average salary can
buy a lot less than they did in 1994. You are officially worse off. This data
was taken from these figures;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/ukearncpi/export.php?year_source=1970&year_result=2013&use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=NOMINALEARN&use%5B%5D=REALEARN">http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/ukearncpi/export.php?year_source=1970&year_result=2013&use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=NOMINALEARN&use%5B%5D=REALEARN</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The official method of measuring
inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Retail Price Index (RPI) was
once used and is often still referred to. Both track the prices of things we
commonly use – food, clothing, transport, energy and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Money supply which can fuel inflation
has grown faster than the economy. In 1971 there were 31 billion pounds in
circulation. Now there are just under £2,100 billion (£2.1 trillion), most of
it coming in Quantitive Easing (QE) in the last eight years. That is a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">sixty
seven </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">fold increase</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> and is</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> a very important factor to understand. Are we </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">sixty
seven</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> times richer? Some people are. But
most of us aren't. This money supply has nearly all ended up in </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">assets of the well off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Research by <i>Positive Money</i> shows that only about </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ten per cent</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> of newly-created money has gone into the kind of consumer
goods tracked by CPI. So all CPI does is
measure the effects of about </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ten per cent</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> of money creation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Positive Money's</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> research shows that </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">thirteen pe</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">r cent of newly-created money has gone into real businesses
that create jobs and boost economic growth; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">thirty seven </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">per cent into financial markets and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">forty </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">per cent into residential and commercial property. So the
staggering amount (77%) has gone into finance and property, money going to
money. The rich have had a field day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it any wonder the financial
sector has grown so disproportionately large and powerful, or that the British
are so obsessed with houses? That's where the money's gone, the wealth gap just
got bigger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Wages have not kept up with the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">sixty
seven</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">-fold increase in money supply. They've
gone from about £2,000 in 1971 to around £25,000 today. Many families now find
themselves having to work longer hours, with both husband and wife working just
to raise a family, they are taking on larger debts and having fewer children
just to maintain an ordinary middle class lifestyle. Many of their children
face unprecedented levels of debt and, in many parts of the country, will never
be able to buy a house. In next week's blog I will examine just how impossible
it is to buy a house now and how inflation, rents and the lack of house
building is conspiring against you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This Government quickly realised
that housing market is an easy way to try and stimulate the economy, and has
done everything in its power to create another housing bubble. Another worrying
outlook is that the last time countries were loaded with Government debt as we
are at the moment, they basically inflated that debt away. The best example of
this was after the Second World War. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Expect interest rates to go up,
they want them up in the long run in order to get the debt down over time.
Indeed if you look at our projected debts for the next few years in
inflation-adjusted terms (as opposed to a ratio of GDP) you can see the reason
why inflation must continue in the UK, and why it will almost certainly will be
helped higher by Mark Carney in some way. For lots of people mortgage payments
will </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">become
a burden over the next ten</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">
years. In my view before we all rush to load up on ultra-cheap mortgages, we
need to check we’re in a job that is certain to be awarded inflation-linked pay
rises, and this government does have a good track record at that!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">What chance does a young person
have now to live a normal life? They come out of university with tens of
thousand pounds worth of debt, and now face a jobs market where wages are
suppressed, and an impossible task to buy an over inflated priced house. Even
if they can muster up the deposit, the income mu</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ltiples and
questionnaires make</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> it near
impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27128734">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27128734</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, in the parallel universe
things are just rosy. Today, the world’s 200 richest people made $13.9 billion.
In one single day, according to <i>Bloomberg’s
Billionaires Index</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/2014-04-22/cya">http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/2014-04-22/cya</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Keep on voting, you deserve it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-83469633332589310862014-04-24T20:30:00.002+01:002014-04-30T22:35:20.228+01:00THE UK RAIL RIP-OFF: PART 2 – PRIVATISATION PROFITEERS RIDE THE RAILS (AT YOUR EXPENSE)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lcL-cLc6q1A/U1jq4YGDAVI/AAAAAAAAAjI/VWgqSk3oYFQ/s1600/Bring+Back+BR+protest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lcL-cLc6q1A/U1jq4YGDAVI/AAAAAAAAAjI/VWgqSk3oYFQ/s1600/Bring+Back+BR+protest.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3 style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span class="caption" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 22px;">Rail privatisation was implemented in a way that made no economic sense whatsoever, but satisfied the Tory dogma of state equals bad; private equals good.</span></span></span></h3>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In last week’s <a href="http://namedblamedandshamed.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-uk-rail-rip-off-part-1-coming-off.html">UK Rail Rip-Off:Coming off the Rails</a>, </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ANDY FLEMING looked at how our once great national
railway system that was the envy of the world, was butchered by politicians
obsessed with imposing free market disciplines on a strategic national
monopoly. In this post he takes a look at the Tories' half baked, inefficient,
horrendously expensive and disastrous privatisation experiment with our
railways.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">You can always detect a political zealot.
They are just like religious zealots and fundamentalists. The very last thing
any of them can be bothered to do is learn any facts about the particular area
they rant about. And I don't mind, I'm all for freedom of speech, just so long as
they don't wreck our industries and economy or blow up aeroplanes. But that's
just what's been happening to the British economy over the last four or five
decades.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">It has of course been an agenda dominated by
right wing libertarian politics that has espoused an age old doctrine first
propounded by Adam Smith and his "hidden hand" in his tome <i>The Wealth of Nations</i>. Like a hydra that
keeps having its tentacles amputated, its philosophies of deregulation,
"rolling back the state", and the wholesale privatisation of
strategic state natural monopolistic industries just keep growing back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The same old tired policies practiced right
up to 1945 keep getting trotted out in every new generation of right wing
politicians. They regard them as panaceas to every conceivable societal ill. It
took an 'Old Labour' government led by Clement Attlee to civilise Britain, to
legislate against children being sent up chimneys or down mines or becoming
illiterate adults. Centuries of Adam Smith's free markets had failed to provide
even a meagre standard of living for the majority of the population. The whole
ideology was and still is just an excuse for individual greed masquerading as a
political and economic ideology.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">In just a few a few short years following VE
day thanks to collective state intervention, Britain gained a socialised health
care and education system, a Welfare State, socialised housing and the
nationalisation of decrepit and rundown yet vital and strategic monopolistic
industries including steel, coal and the railways. Such is the nature of global
capitalism however, that even in the fifties a civilised society meant a
society in which wage, safety and environmental protection costs were higher.
Corporations and international capital always on the lookout for a workforce
and a nation to exploit started to relocate their sweat shops run with slave
labour to places such as Hong Kong and Japan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">It wasn’t long before the worsening balance
of payments and trade deficits were being blamed on workforce laziness,
unionisation, wages, infact everything under the sun as long as that didn’t
include archaic British management practices or an early sixties Macmillan
government led by a bunch of politicians like Profumo who epitomised the word
sleaze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Nationalised industries bore brunt of much of
the blame and especially Britain’s railways. Nationalised in 1948 out of
desperation resulting from decades of private company neglect, the “Big Four”
railway companies (London Midland Scottish, Great Western Railway, London and
North Eastern Railway and Southern Railways) became united and nationalised as
British Railways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j_bFWsW9pXU/U1kl3tt8bpI/AAAAAAAAAjk/E3Jfd8JnTt8/s1600/Pines+Express.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j_bFWsW9pXU/U1kl3tt8bpI/AAAAAAAAAjk/E3Jfd8JnTt8/s1600/Pines+Express.jpg" height="376" width="640" /></span></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It's April,1964 and even before Beeching swung his infamous axe, secondary but still important routes were being axed. Here is 34085 '501 Squadron' having to take a new route following the </span></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>closure of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway near Sway.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">At the time, the railways were faced with
special problems. Before the Second World War both goods and passenger traffic
was being lost due to the private motor car and lorry, both of which offered
flexibility, no intermodal changes during a journey, and freedom in days long
before traffic congestion. Prestigious expresses and high speed steam trains
with romantic names were instigated such as the <i>Coronation Scot</i>, the <i>Pines Express</i>
and the <i>Flying Scotsman</i> were
instigated to lure passengers back thanks to their luxurious accommodation and
futuristic looking motive power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">By 1945, after six long years of war and
starved of funds, Britain’s railways were literally falling to bits. There had
been a handful of things that ensured Britain had not been invaded by Nazi
Germany, and most people will be able to name the well-known ones: the RAF in
the Battle of Britain, the USA’s hand being forced at Pearl Harbour, and the
carnage inflicted on the Soviet forces and people in defending Stalingrad. Well
also add our railways and railwaymen. Because without them the mass movement of
goods and people for D-Day, the evacuation or for the war effort generally
would not have been possible.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1OyG1HbYGZI/U1lhv50UgTI/AAAAAAAAAj0/3a9p7pcyTgA/s1600/Evening+Star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1OyG1HbYGZI/U1lhv50UgTI/AAAAAAAAAj0/3a9p7pcyTgA/s1600/Evening+Star.jpg" height="392" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The very last steam locomotive of them all, and the peak of UK steam rail engineering. </span>British Railways Class 9F 92220 Evening Star on the Settle to Carlisle railway in 1984. Built in 1960, withdrawn in 1967, Evening Star had a design lifespan of at least half a century and was only one small part of the hideous waste of taxpayers money inflicted by politicians and rail managers on BR in the 1960s.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">As Britain entered the 1950s the British
Transport Commission overseen by Parliament announced a huge investment in
British Railways. But, as so often is
the case with politicians, on the face of it the Plan sounded great, but it was
investment in the wrong place. The Modernisation Plan of 1955 promised that new
rolling stock and infrastructure were to be procured, limited electrification
was announced as too was a massive investment in new locomotives to completely
replace the tens of thousands of inefficient and labour intensive steam
engines. In continental Europe such huge post war investment was being used to
replace steam with electric traction and electrification across entire
networks. In the UK virtually all of the funds went towards cheaper dieselisation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">It was a typically British penny-pinching
short sighted political fudge. Steam was withdrawn completely in 1968 and yet
the <i>Evening Star</i>, the very last steam
locomotive of them all with a predicted lifespan of fifty years came in to
service in 1960, only to be withdrawn a couple of years later. Such was the
extravagance, waste, lack of planning and political ineptitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">If all of this wasn’t bad enough the railways
were losing money hand over fist. As discussed last week the <i>Beeching Report</i> called for mass line closures,
and mass closures there were. Wagonload traffic more or less disappeared and
was lost to road haulage. Most goods stations were closed, and what was left of
local services were hauled by diesel multiple unit usually on track-singled and
unmanned branch lines with unstaffed stations operating on a one engine in
service principle. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7k2cjqTCB8/U1liUsYJG-I/AAAAAAAAAj8/tt3F5G_E7j0/s1600/Richard+Beeching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7k2cjqTCB8/U1liUsYJG-I/AAAAAAAAAj8/tt3F5G_E7j0/s1600/Richard+Beeching.jpg" height="506" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Ex-ICI supremo Dr Richard Beeching in 1963 promoting a copy of his new report that would decimate Britain's rail network: The Re-Shaping of British Railways.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Richard Beeching didn’t stop the losses but
they were reduced; in many respects because route mileage was reduced </span><i style="font-size: 13pt;">per se</i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">. But neither, despite his still loathed
name was he just a crude economic butcher. He was an archetypal technocrat.
Some of his proposals were unexpectedly of great benefit to British Railways.
For example, the introduction of the Inter-City brand stopped the haemorrhaging
of long distance traffic on main lines. Freightliner was introduced, where
whole container trains travelling between two terminals (one often a port) for
forward distribution to businesses via lorry. However, whole areas of the
country and some quite large towns were left without any rail transport at all,
and strategic rail arteries such as the Waverley Line from Edinburgh to
Carlisle via Jedbergh were lost.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">In all of this talk of huge losses, line
closures and ‘bustitution’ of rural rail services, there was no mention of the economic
or environmental benefits of rail services. For some unknown and quite
peculiarly individualistic British political reason no official explanation was
ever given as to why rail transport was expected to make a profit, while
billions of pounds of public money were poured into the burgeoning motorway
network, directly subsidising one of the greatest purveyors of social
inequality yet to be invented: the private motor car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">One can only assume that the dual political
and economic standards were due in no small part to lobbying and corruption by
politicians, the motor trade, the petrochemicals industry and the construction
industry (remember from last week that the Minister of Transport Ernest Marples
in the early sixties was a director of Marples-Ridgeway Construction). And
motoring and road transport were particularly appealing to right wing
politicians as they signalled freedom, independence, flexibility and best of
all were free of powerful unions such as ASLEF.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kF6zUdaKd7k/U1lj3JAhP6I/AAAAAAAAAkI/wHT73J6Z9P4/s1600/Inter+City+125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kF6zUdaKd7k/U1lj3JAhP6I/AAAAAAAAAkI/wHT73J6Z9P4/s1600/Inter+City+125.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">By the mid-seventies British Railways, whose
name had been shortened to British Rail (BR) had, with little investment
transformed Inter City travel with new coaches, liveries and marketing. The
introduction of the High Speed Train (HST) or Inter City 125, first on Brunel’s
Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Bristol and then cascaded on to the
East Coast Main Line (ECML) from Kings Cross to Edinburgh was another stunning
victory for British engineering ingenuity on a relative shoestring. It was
quite simply, the fastest <i>diesel</i>
train anywhere in the world. Period. And that’s why Chairman (later Sir) Peter
Parker commissioned those “This is the Age of the Train” television
commercials. The keyword here of course again was <i>diesel</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The rest of Europe was meanwhile investing in
new purpose built higher speed electrified intercity main lines, something that
BR wanted to do, but being starved of cash by the Treasury (that was trying to
pay off the UK’s emergency International Monetary Fund loan of 1976) it simply
couldn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">While Inter City travel, especially for
business people and the middle class was starting to look increasingly more at
least plane if not space age, suburban and rural branch lines were still lost
in time between the Age of the Railway Children and the 1950s. Clapped out
diesel electric multiple units which in many respects had saved much of the
remaining network from closure, still plied their trade along unappealing and
unstaffed branch lines. Towns and villages with still lucky enough to have a rail
service found that their ticket offices had been closed in favour of paying the
guard on the train, the so-called ‘Pay Train’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Enter Margaret Thatcher, a woman who truly
hated railways. And despite successes with HST and Freightliner there were many
good reasons why the corrupt politicians and quangos who had mis-managed them on
our behalf should have been hated (but not the industry <i>per se</i>). In what should be the most civilised form of mass transit
yet to be invented, billions of pounds had been squandered since the Modernisation
Plan of 1955 on inadequate diesel hydraulic transmission locomotive designs ordered
in a rush without proper prototype testing. Infact, whole classes of
locomotives had to be withdrawn such as the Class 52 “Westerns” on the
Paddington route. By luck, rather than good management the HST had just become
ready for introduction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">And then there were the huge wagon load
marshalling yards, built in the mid-sixties, only a few short years before
Beeching’s recommendation that BR should surrender wagon load traffic to road
haulage, instead concentrating on profitable train load such as Merry-go-Round
coal traffic direct from pit head to power station. Further embarrassment came
for BR when the eighties revealed a certain wrong type of snow and leaf that didn’t
like railways. Then there was the debacle of the public debut of the tilting
electric Advanced Passenger Train (APT) on the West Coast Main Line from
Preston to Glasgow. Ironically, once again this train was a triumph of British
engineering in a nationalised railway systematically starved of funds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">A full fifteen years before Virgin Trains
introduced the Fiat Pendolino based on the same</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T-8J7MacFnQ/U1lkQglz12I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/bYkeZHlsoYw/s1600/APT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T-8J7MacFnQ/U1lkQglz12I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/bYkeZHlsoYw/s1600/APT.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> technology, BR had come up with
both an electric train for the twenty first century and one that would work on antique
Victorian infrastructure with tight curves and yet still manage a top speed of
150mph. Unfortunately, unlike HST, BR did quite get the tilting or the marketing
right for its debut performance. A right wing government and right wing press
desperate to denounce the railways as an inefficient nationalised Victorian
anachronism wasting billions of pounds, were ecstatic at the sight of dignitaries
and reporters leaving the APT at Glasgow, either queasy or actually being sick
as a result of the prototype tilting mechanism, that could have easily been
corrected. But the damage had been done. Nobody had faith in the APT and it
would be towed off to reside at York’s National Railway Museum until the
political dinosaurs were full of remorse when hindsight, Fiat and Richard
Branson revealed their folly and ignorance. Another British invention ahead of
its time with no support from gutless politicians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Despite the recommendations of the Serpell
Report of 1982 and the proposed closure of the Midland main line between
Carlisle and Settle (both discussed last week) and the closure of a couple of
freight and branch lines, BR survived the eighties surprisingly well. Infact
despite the Thatcher government’s hatred of nationalised industries and
railways in particular there had been far more investment than during the
mismanagement, political duplicity and strife of the Heath and Callaghan
governments of the seventies. The reasons for this boost in investment would
become clear by the early nineties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">A whole new generation of both electric and
diesel multiple units had been introduced including the Pacer (a bus vehicle on
a rail chassis, that although cheap with gearbox problems and presenting terrible
ride qualities had been the saviour of many branch lines), Sprinter, SuperSprinters
and south east Networkers. A plethora of heavy duty Class 58, 59 and 60 freight
locomotives had been introduced for the railway’s bread and butter work of Merry
go Round coal trains. And the real icing on the cake was the wholesale
electrification of the ECML from Kings Cross to Edinburgh complete with brand
new Inter City 225 push-pull locomotives and train sets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Finally, and particularly at the insistence
of the French government (with the proviso that one day a road tunnel would be
built to appease Margaret Thatcher), the new Channel Tunnel was to be rail and
not road. Built by TransManche Link (TML), this vital freight and passenger
artery to Europe was opened by the Queen and France’s President Mitterrand in
1994. This remarkable feat of engineering carries high-speed Eurostar passenger
trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for automobiles and other road vehicles, and
international rail freight trains. The tunnel connects end-to-end with the LGV
Nord and High Speed 1 high-speed railway lines through Kent (which itself was
years behind the French (LGV)).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Political short sightedness, ignorance and
ineptitude in the UK again reared its ugly head. Many people have forgotten
that a direct railway link from Scotland and the north of England to the
continent had been planned. This was shelved however, once again on cost
grounds by John Major’s Tory government. The idea was for regional electric
Eurostar trains to depart from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester or Newcastle and
avoid central London on their way to Paris and Brussels. Even the regional
Eurostar sets were manufactured and bought, only to hideously languish in
sidings for a decade, eventually finding a role on the ECML, augmenting 225
services from York to London for GNER.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">If BR couldn’t be butchered, pruned or even
better closed, then it surely could be; you guessed it – privatised. Now this
really was privatisation for privatisation’s sake on the part of Major’s
government. Margaret Thatcher had dreamt up some draconian and deranged
policies such as the Community Charge or Poll Tax, but even she hadn’t really
contemplated the wholesale privatisation of BR. Because it was fully baked
right wing ideology and political fundamentalism, it had to work regardless of
the cost to the taxpayer. In this perverse Alice in Wonderland world, the Mad
Hatter was the Fat Controller and if the tax payer couldn’t save any more money
on the nation’s railway then the Tories friends in low places could certainly
benefit from another state industry giveaway. Bear in mind that you and I had already paid a
massive amount of hard earned tax for the early nineties investment in new
rolling stock, train sets and the ECML electrification scheme. There weren’t
too many goodies left to sell off to the Tory Party’s patrons. The majority of
yours and my assets had already been squandered and stripped, but this particular
family silver in the form of our railways had certainly been well polished and
primed ready for privatisation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">In advance of privatisation, an internal
market had been created within BR and the organisation had been internally divided
into sectors in both the passenger and freight sectors. Under this process,
post privatisation the government could establish the subsidy level required,
if any, for each future franchisee holder, prior to sell-off. The passenger side was broken down into Inter
City, Provincial and Regional Railways. Likewise, the freight sector was divided
into, metals, coal, petrochemicals etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The privatisation of British Rail was set in
motion with the Major government’s British Coal and British Rail (Transfer
Proposals) Act 1993. This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue
directions as to the disposal of holdings to the relevant Board. This was
necessary since (in the case of the British Railways Board) they had to act, at
all times, within the rules established by various Transport and Railways Acts,
none of which would have allowed the Board to 'sell-off' any of its assets. The
subsequent direction from the Secretary of State forced the creation of
Railtrack PLC. This then paved the way for the Railways Act 1993, and the operations
of the British Railways Board (BRB) were broken up and sold off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_hQx3fplZdQ/U1llR7Up37I/AAAAAAAAAkc/LlQazM0gMnw/s1600/Gerald+Corbett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_hQx3fplZdQ/U1llR7Up37I/AAAAAAAAAkc/LlQazM0gMnw/s1600/Gerald+Corbett.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></span></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Gerald Corbett, Chairperson of the hated and not missed track authority, Railtrack. Corbett resigned after the Hatfield rail disaster where cost-cutting on maintenance was identified as a key cause of an avoidable disaster on what should be the safest form of land transport. As an aside, Corbett is now chairperson of Betfair!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Railtrack took over ownership of all track,
signalling and stations. Railtrack let out most of the 2,509 stations to the
franchised passenger train operators, managing only a handful of the largest
city termini itself; maintenance and renewal of the infrastructure was also
contracted out to British Rail Infrastructure Services, leaving Railtrack's
directly-employed staff consisting mostly of signallers. In the original
privatisation plan, Railtrack would have been the last part of British Rail to
be sold, but with the approach of a general election in 1997 at which the
Conservatives faced almost certain defeat, Railtrack was hastily privatised in
May 1996 in an attempt to ensure that the new structure could not be reversed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Office of the Rail Regulator was
established to regulate the monopoly and dominant elements of the railway
industry, and to police certain consumer protection conditions of operators'
licences. He did this through his powers to supervise and control the
consumption of capacity of railway facilities (his approval was needed before
an access contract for the use of track, stations or certain maintenance
facilities could be valid), to enforce domestic competition law, to issue,
modify and enforce operating licences and to supervise the development of
certain industry-wide codes, the most important of which is the network code.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Probably the Rail Regulator's most
significant power was the establishment, usually every five years, of the
financial framework in which Railtrack (now Network Rail) operates, through the
carrying out of access charges reviews. This settled the structure and level of
access charges which the infrastructure provider is entitled to charge train
operators for the operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the
national railway network. ORR's role only covered economic regulation; safety
regulation remained the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive, but
that position changed in 2005 when safety regulation was transferred to ORR.
The first Rail Regulator was John Swift QC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising
took responsibility for organising the franchising process to transfer the twenty
five passenger train operators (known as Shadow Franchises) to the private
sector and then develop the refranchising programme for the future. The first
round of franchising was based solely on the lowest cost bidder wins. The first
Director of Passenger Rail Franchising was Roger Salmon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Twenty-five passenger train operating units
(TOUs), converted to train operating companies (TOCs) shortly before each was
privatised, split by geographical area and service type. This meant that, for
example, a major city terminus would be served by an ex-InterCity TOC and one
or more local commuter TOCs, with consequent competition for train paths into
and out of the stations, which had to be resolved by Railtrack and the Rail
Regulator. The first batch of TOCs to be established (be privately operated)
were SouthWest Trains, Great Western in February 1996, and C2C in May 1996.
TOCs own fewer assets, hiring most of the assets (trains, tracks and stations)
required from Railtrack and the ROSCOs and contracting suppliers to undertake
heavy maintenance on the trains or provide on-board catering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">There were three rolling stock leasing
companies (ROSCOs): Angel Trains, Porterbrook Leasing and Eversholt Leasing,
later HSBC Rail. These were allocated all BR's passenger coaches, locomotives,
and multiple units. Freight locomotives and wagons were owned by the freight
train operators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">If this wasn’t complicated enough there were
six freight operating companies (FOCs) including Mainline Freight in the
south-east, Load-Haul in the north-east, Trans-Rail in the west, Railfreight
Distribution, international and wagonload trains, Freightliner (UK),
container-carrying trains, Rail Express Systems, parcels and mail trains and
Infrastructure maintenance and renewal trains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">There would also be a whole range of
companies providing infrastructure services to Railtrack, along with companies
providing other specialist services including European Passenger Services (to
operate the UK part of the Eurostar service) and Union Railways (to implement
the High Speed 1 construction project).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">This monstrosity of a fragmented railway
system resembled some sort of hideous Smorgasbord where diet had gone out of
the window. However, it wasn’t calories that were going to be notched up big
time. It would be yours and mine hard earned taxes. It would account for why after
privatisation, far from being more economical and efficient our railways would
become the most expensive in Europe for both fare paying passenger and taxpayer
alike. Shamefully, in Major and Blair’s topsy-turvy world, our railways were
going to end up costing six times more in private rather than public hands. And
that would be acceptable to corrupt politicians leading an economically
ignorant public.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Remember that old cliché of private good,
private bad? Well this is demonstrably not so in the case of railways where
arbitrary political interference in a natural monopoly would never lead to a
free market. We may be going to talk more about railways again next week,
rather than a competitor mode of transport, but to quote the title of arch free
marketer Friedrich von Hayek’s 1944 yarn, this form of deranged economics
applied to strategic state industries is truly a <i>Road to Serfdom</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://namedblamedandshamed.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-uk-rail-rip-off-part-3-negative.html">Nexttime: Part 3 – Negative Redistribution Rides the Rails: The Privatisation of Profit and the Nationalisation of Losses</a></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beeching R., The Reshaping of British
Railways, 1963, British Railways Board, HMSO.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Henshaw, D., 1994, The Great Railway Conspiracy.</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span>
</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-23677707444875257462014-04-22T19:16:00.000+01:002014-04-22T19:19:25.315+01:00POWER TO THE PEOPLE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t9Bmxe3h-EQ/U1aw53EHOOI/AAAAAAAAAiw/3TbX1qnkA5o/s1600/Starbucks+-+Polly+Toynbee+joins+protesters+inside+the+Conduit+Street+branch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t9Bmxe3h-EQ/U1aw53EHOOI/AAAAAAAAAiw/3TbX1qnkA5o/s1600/Starbucks+-+Polly+Toynbee+joins+protesters+inside+the+Conduit+Street+branch.jpg" height="372" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Polly Toynbee joins protesters inside the Conduit Street branch of Starbucks (Image courtesy of The Observer)</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>by</i><b>HARRY BLACKWOOD</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">We've already got it. we just need
to use it properly </span></b></i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WITH the World Cup due to start in
Brazil shortly, it's very appropriate that coffee has been in the news
recently.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Firstly we had the news that Cafe
Nero had been following the long practiced tradition of multi-national coffee
chains and had been avoiding tax. Next up we had Starbucks - the company that
led the way in tax dodging - announcing t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">hat it was moving its
European headquarters </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">to
the UK. They cheerfully added that this would mean they would be paying more
tax. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Well, that's jolly good of them.
See, in the past they've not been able to see the benefits of coughing up tax.
Oddly enough they've been unable to see that things like hospitals and schools
and other nice stuff is paid for from tax receipts. So, it's </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">nice that
they've at last seen the error of</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">
their ways and will now be tipping vast sums of money into treasury coffers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So why the change in attitude from
Starbucks? Have they suddenly developed a guilt complex or taken on a new
philanthropic approach? Have they hell. Since the outcry a couple of years ago
over their tax avoidance, they've been losing customers. This is nothing other
than soft soap PR. Rest assured they'll still be doing their utmost to deprive
the Treasury of as much as they can. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk down any High Street and
you'll still see idiots paying through the nose for Starbucks coffee despite
all the publicity and boycotts in 2012. Quite frankly I despair. Our town
centres are awash with coffee shops - both multiples and independents - so why
the hell would anyone choose to give Starbucks their hard earned cash? In fact
why would anyone choose to NOT use an independent?</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LWYDExo2PTo/U1axYDCEBqI/AAAAAAAAAi4/HKGDXe6Y9Dc/s1600/Starbucks+-+UK+Uncut+posters+on+the+side+of+Starbucks+branch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LWYDExo2PTo/U1axYDCEBqI/AAAAAAAAAi4/HKGDXe6Y9Dc/s1600/Starbucks+-+UK+Uncut+posters+on+the+side+of+Starbucks+branch.jpg" height="400" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>UK Uncut posters on the side of<br />Starbucks branch.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The issue engages me all the time
and I can see massive opportunities to develop people power if only we could
get these sheep to think. When the original Starbucks boycotts happened, it had
a massive effect on the company but it didn't go far enough. Just think how
quickly Starbucks executives would be offering up back tax if NOBODY AT ALL used
their coffee shops for just a week. They'd be begging George Osborne to take
money off them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The enlightened among us must lead
by example and get people to realise how much power they have. By simply
getting people to act as one we can achieve ANYTHING. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recent Syrian folly by the
government is a perfect example. The Government were more than happy to join
with the <span style="font-size: 13pt;">USA in an invasion of Syria until People Power took hold. Letters and
emails to MPs did the trick and the government was forced to back down. Think
about it. If we can prevent a war then how difficult can it be closing down a
chain of coffee shops that thinks it's clever to avoid tax?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine if the great British public
decided that supermarkets should start paying the living wage to all of their
staff. It could be achieved very easily. If every man, woman and child in the
UK refused to shop at Tesco for a week it would have instant results. Not only
would Tesco have a rethink but you can bet your bottom dollar that Asda,
Morrisons and the others would be concerned the same thing would happen to
them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And don't be fooled by the bullshit
the supermarkets would spout about not being able to afford to pay decent
wages. Tesco made £3.3 billion profit
last year. They can EASILY afford it. We wouldn't even have to listen to
threats of raising prices. They're in competition. Any nonsense with rising
prices and we can again pick them off one by one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">The same could be done with petrol.
Nobody uses Shell gara</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ges for a week until they drop </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">prices. See how quick they react.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sooner the people get the
message out there that WE are in charge, the sooner we can make inroads into
the inequalities, unfairness and greed that are the hallmarks of a corrupt
capitalist system that is out of control.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Peop</span><span lang="EN-US">le power. It's the
future.</span></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-15444238735123090672014-04-20T18:43:00.003+01:002014-05-14T15:19:07.879+01:00THE BRITISH BROADCASTING CONSPIRACY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2kaxttZj2D0/U1QpKfuUzeI/AAAAAAAAAic/ggb0timWBDM/s1600/Metro+Radio's+James+Whale+presenting+the+Night+Owls+phone-in,+April,+1976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2kaxttZj2D0/U1QpKfuUzeI/AAAAAAAAAic/ggb0timWBDM/s1600/Metro+Radio's+James+Whale+presenting+the+Night+Owls+phone-in,+April,+1976.jpg" height="446" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>It's April 14, 1976, and Metro Radio's James Whale presents the station's late night phone-in programme, Night Owls. Metro Radio was one of the first nineteen commercial radio stations to gain an IBA licence following the demise of the North Sea pirate station in the late sixties. It's on air date was July 15, 1974.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>ANDY FLEMING analyses how over the past thirty years freedom of speech, innovation,
personality, choice and </i></span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><i><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></i></a></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">imagination have been sacrificed within Commercial
Radio, in favour of maximising company shareholder value and franchise revenue
streams for the government. And politicians are once again the culprits! Our
airwaves have been sold to the highest bidder without a thought for local
public service or quality content.</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do
you have a long memory? Do you remember how after her General Election victory
in May, 1979, Margaret Thatcher 'transformed' the economic landscape of Britain
with her 'resolute approach'? It was a defining moment in the social, political
and economic history of our country. Because until that date all previous
governments whether Conservative or Labour subscribed to the so-called social
democratic consensus. In other words the British economy would not be
comprehensively exposed to the vagaries of the free market, and neither at the
same time would it be a full blown command economy as per the Eastern Bloc with
all the limitations in terms of individual freedom such collectivisation would entail. Capitalism was to be the economic system rather than socialism,
but the worst excesses of the free market would be excluded by a collectively provided
welfare state.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qeyVKy9eYag/U1McEQq4acI/AAAAAAAAAfA/Y_U-yyIlXo4/s1600/British+Broadcasting+Conspiracy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qeyVKy9eYag/U1McEQq4acI/AAAAAAAAAfA/Y_U-yyIlXo4/s1600/British+Broadcasting+Conspiracy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
the UK was dragged into the modern world with a National Health Service, a free
education system for all, benefits for the elderly, disabled and those
unfortunate enough to be unemployed, a properly integrated public transport system
and of course, 'homes for those returning heroes' from fighting Nazi Germany.
Britain was going to be a more pleasant, fairer society where opportunities
were going to be accessible to everyone without the exploitation and poverty of
the inter war years. The Gold Standard was dropped and this new social
democratic consensus was to be underpinned with Keynesian economics. The
government would regulate capitalism by stimulating the economy in a recession
with capital projects and would restrict the money supply when the economy
overheated in one capitalism's cyclical booms. That was the theory at least,
and until the late sixties and an ever increasing balance of payments deficit
the mixed economy model seemed to be a practical compromise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regulation
seemed to work, whether it was in employment, unemployment, housing, transport,
and telecommunications or as especially applicable here, the media. However
with the devaluation of sterling crisis in 1967 and then a major world oil
price shock in October 1973 as a direct result of an Arab-Israeli war western
economies had been hit by an economic tsunami. And it was one from which
Keynesianism was not to recover sparking as it did political and industrial
strife including three day weeks and Winters of Discontent. With another oil
shock in 1979 as a result of the Iranian revolution, the last government of the
old social democratic order and the last true Labour government led by Jim
Callaghan was swept away by a new Conservative Party in government led by Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher. Her government was totally different to those of
the preceding four decades, espousing as it did, a return to 'monetarism' to
reduce inflation (restricting the money supply) as propounded by her economic
guru Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek before him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thatcher's
policies were socially brutal and divisive. Whole state industries were to be
privatised and closed if not profitable irrespective of the country's strategic
needs, or if the result led to mass unemployment. Inflation was to be reduced
at all costs as was taxation; but just income tax and mainly the rates for top
earners. VAT was doubled, and from the outset there was a re-distribution of
wealth from the poor to the rich. Benefits were slashed in an effort to cut
state spending and regulations across business, including in the media were cut
to maximise profits. State 'red tape' to protect the consumer was apparently
strangling private enterprise. Infact, Thatcher's whole philosophy could be
summed up succinctly as state equals bad; private equals good. Period. But what
would the effect of these gargantuan economic changes be on the media, and radio
in particular?</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
suppose commercial radio in the United Kingdom can be traced back in a cheating
fashion to the thirties, ironically (due to government censorship) with a radio
station broadcasting from outside our country. To Britons, this was the only
commercial radio station available, the high power Radio Luxembourg broadcast
from the Grand Duchy in order to circumvent the UK-wide ban on any broadcast
radio apart from the BBC thus preserving its total monopoly, and preventing any
criticism of the government.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaeMV8oWMT8/U1P6NBfgJnI/AAAAAAAAAiI/xjLC-HrAnzg/s1600/Radio+Luxembourg+208.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaeMV8oWMT8/U1P6NBfgJnI/AAAAAAAAAiI/xjLC-HrAnzg/s1600/Radio+Luxembourg+208.gif" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
popular music, news, views and jingles of The Station of the Stars or Luxy 208
broadcast back then, were fresh and new to the UK population, masses of whom
tuned in and tolerated the fading night time AM medium wave signal in order to
gain at least some choice from the monotony of BBC and establishment propaganda
being broadcast by the ‘Home Service’ and later the ‘Light Programme’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
the sixties high power radio stations broadcasting from ships in international
waters were taking on the BBC. This offshore competition also had catchy names
and call signs such as Radio Caroline, Wonderful Radio London, Radio Jackie,
Swinging Radio England, and Radio 390; the list of illegal, unlicensed and
unregulated offerings went on and on.
With American sounding jingles and output (indeed there were many US
disc jockeys presenting on the pirate ships), over fifty per cent of the UK
population tuned in, listenership of the state broadcaster started to
haemorrhage, as the population voted with their radio dials.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed,
the output of these stations to the UK government and the BBC was regarded as
an unholy concoction of unimportant working class popular music, vulgar
commercials with heretical anti-establishment news and views thrown in. They
were almost inciting an insurrection amongst the young with their dissident
content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hp901xj2WA0/U1OCmMjJoWI/AAAAAAAAAfc/HlQ9t_ZCd8A/s1600/Radio+Caroline+on+199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hp901xj2WA0/U1OCmMjJoWI/AAAAAAAAAfc/HlQ9t_ZCd8A/s1600/Radio+Caroline+on+199.jpg" height="137" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWoRIBgScUs/U1P6vrDVDcI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/d2UbjE4bE4E/s1600/Radio+London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWoRIBgScUs/U1P6vrDVDcI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/d2UbjE4bE4E/s1600/Radio+London.jpg" height="200" width="167" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Iconic
broadcasting memories of the sixties. Radio Caroline publicity (left) and Radio
London's transmitter ship and studio broadcasting in the North Sea outside
British territorial waters, MV Amigo.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
music, of course was shifting more 45 RPM vinyl than ever before; you know the
bands; small outfits such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and The Animals –
the list of ‘unimportant music’ was pretty endless! Harold Wilson’s government of the sixties was
ideologically tormented by these pirate broadcasting upstarts who made no
attempt to hide their philosophy that the airwaves were for the people, not the
government. In other words they wanted nothing less than freedom of the
airwaves and an end to the BBC monopoly </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VuIjIiWdtw/U1OGfcxqfpI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ebUc1OIT_gM/s1600/Marine+Offences+Act.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VuIjIiWdtw/U1OGfcxqfpI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ebUc1OIT_gM/s1600/Marine+Offences+Act.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on broadcasting. What’s more, these
North Sea stations weren’t just playing pop music as a hobby or for the fun of
it; they were big money-making concerns and were immensely profitable.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Politicians
want to control and legislate for everything and have never really liked the
idea of private organisations and individuals having access to the airwaves, or
freedom of speech. It means relinquishing control of the drip-feed of
manufactured news that is allowed, with the prospect of somewhere on the wavebands
criticism of both their shenanigans and the bent system they prop being
broadcast. That’s the real reason as to why the media is so important to them
and strict control is vital. In its extreme, censorship brainwashes, wins
hearts and minds and is in essence what Marxian sociologists call the
ideological state apparatus. The pirates were of course, also commercial in
nature, another reason why in the post war social democratic consensus world
that the Labour Party in particular hated them. All of a sudden, media studies
doesn’t sound quite so irrelevant does it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the words of sociologist A H Halsey, Britain was changing, and massively so.
Women were becoming more liberated and freer, and students were protesting
against and challenging the old ways of doing things. The rebellious nature of
the pirate stations reflected this and hence they were particularly attractive
to young people who were finding a collective voice across the western world in
opposition to the nuclear arms race, the Vietnam War, environmental degradation
and corruption and sleaze in politics and society generally. Young people also
enjoyed more disposable income than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This,
after all was the era of the consumer boom of the sixties and with only
fledgling Independent Television (ITV) and crusty conservative-minded
newspapers as the only forms of advertising mediums on the UK mainland, the
pirate stations were not stifled by competition in their targeted demographic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was only a matter of time before Wilson’s government acted to protect the BBC
monopoly and the state propaganda machine with a two-pronged approach, the
launch of Radio 1 as a dedicated national pop channel in 1967, and Anthony
Wedgewood Benn’s (actually enacted by Edward Short) Marine etc Broadcasting
(Offences) Act of 1967 that outlawed the supply and advertising revenue of the
North Sea pirates from UK businesses. Fledgling music radio for young people
was thus effectively nationalised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
you can’t legislate against an idea or uninvent pirate radio stations, and the
principle of less government censorship and freedom of the airwaves was clearly
not something that Radio 1 was going to appease. After lobbying from the
pirates, advertisers and listeners alike Ted Heath’s Conservative government of
1970 politically capitalised the youth vote on the demands for the introduction
of independent radio, free from BBC control. The Postmaster General,
Christopher Chattaway brought forward the Sound Broadcasting Act of 1972, which
gave the Independent Television Authority (ITA) new responsibilities and powers
to oversee a proposed initial network of nineteen local commercial radio
stations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g1UfJWwtCDY/U1OIAERrhFI/AAAAAAAAAf8/xgoNe3p_5p4/s1600/Christopher+Chataway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g1UfJWwtCDY/U1OIAERrhFI/AAAAAAAAAf8/xgoNe3p_5p4/s1600/Christopher+Chataway.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMEkNHgKG_s/U1OIAFmUpNI/AAAAAAAAAgA/bBLs5LyuprM/s1600/Tony+Benn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMEkNHgKG_s/U1OIAFmUpNI/AAAAAAAAAgA/bBLs5LyuprM/s1600/Tony+Benn.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Tory
Postmaster General and former athlete Christopher Chataway (left) whose 1972
legislation enabled independent radio and Tony Benn (right), whose 1967 Act
effectively closed pirate radio broadcasting aimed at the UK from international
waters.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
broadcasting, as in most other aspects of life the expression that you can’t
please all of the people all of the time holds especially true. Many were
hugely disappointed by the new medium that was still tightly regulated by the
government through the newly formed </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf3I6fCoG4Y/U1PpcSQdJVI/AAAAAAAAAg0/LPi9j1XMHpg/s1600/IBA+logo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf3I6fCoG4Y/U1PpcSQdJVI/AAAAAAAAAg0/LPi9j1XMHpg/s1600/IBA+logo.JPG" height="56" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA)
with its strict control of programme output. These local stations had to be all
things to all people, and in any case, to their detractors they were not the
national pop stations that they had </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjhcY4MyMx8/U1OKQruye4I/AAAAAAAAAgM/dwAhMlE07oQ/s1600/Capital+Radio+194+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjhcY4MyMx8/U1OKQruye4I/AAAAAAAAAgM/dwAhMlE07oQ/s1600/Capital+Radio+194+logo.jpg" height="58" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
expected. Infact the first commercial
stations to open in October 1973 were both in the capital and were nothing like
pirate radio at all.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They
were the London Broadcasting Company (LBC) a London rolling news station and
Capital Radio 194, a general entertainment service. Even the latter was a very
different format to that pioneered by the pirates.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-weiSecOLlAA/U1OKiI3InRI/AAAAAAAAAgU/tEXZ-nvH9YA/s1600/LBC+IRN+Bob+Holness+and+Douglas+Cameron+1976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-weiSecOLlAA/U1OKiI3InRI/AAAAAAAAAgU/tEXZ-nvH9YA/s1600/LBC+IRN+Bob+Holness+and+Douglas+Cameron+1976.jpg" height="502" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LBC and Independent
Radio News' presenters Douglas Cameron (left) and Bob Holness (right)
interviewing guests on their highly popular AM programme for London in the
summer of 1976.</span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Unlike
the BBC whose main revenue stream is, and always has been the licence fee,
commercial radio by its very name and nature has never received any state
funding. In its early years the official name of the medium didn't even mention
the word commercial at all. In the Sound Broadcasting Act, 1972, it was simply
referred to as Independent Local Radio (ILR). The IBA provided the signal
carriage infrastructure from the studios, provided and maintained the
transmitters and advertised the official government approved franchise service
areas. It was also responsible for ensuring that the output of each ILR station
met strict government regulation in terms of content, commercials and technical
quality.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XB8qCayaS10/U1OvrhTYfwI/AAAAAAAAAgk/3J6Yx_zTAQQ/s1600/ILR+National+Map%252C+1977+%2528IBA%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XB8qCayaS10/U1OvrhTYfwI/AAAAAAAAAgk/3J6Yx_zTAQQ/s1600/ILR+National+Map%252C+1977+%2528IBA%2529.jpg" height="640" width="482" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The
diversity of the first tranche of ILR stations by April, 1976. There were
nineteen programme contractors providing radio services for the IBA. All
staunchly independent, locally owned and each providing a comprehensive local
news, information and entertainment service for their respective communities.
Compare that to 2014; thanks to over-deregulation ILR effectively no longer
exists, just a couple of quasi-national networks owned by three international
media corporations. No localness or public service obligations. Choice for the
listener? What choice?</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
successful programme contractors who became the franchisees in each of the
nineteen areas in the first phase of the introduction of ILR were thus
commercial enterprises with shareholders and boards of directors. The boards
also included IBA representatives and members of the listening public, often
high profile local personalities or business entrepreneurs. The programme
contractors, of which here in the north east the Metropolitan Broadcasting
Company (MBC/Metro Radio) and Sound Broadcasting (Teesside) Limited (Radio Tees
257) were two of the first examples in the country, had as their main revenue
stream income from on-air advertisements plus other business revenue from other
ventures such as merchandise sales, magazines and radio station annuals and
special publications.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z2I_oUFIIdA/U1MXJx1tKoI/AAAAAAAAAew/cZO4BF909Wc/s1600/Early+days+at+Metro+with+Don%252CLen+and+Harry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z2I_oUFIIdA/U1MXJx1tKoI/AAAAAAAAAew/cZO4BF909Wc/s1600/Early+days+at+Metro+with+Don%252CLen+and+Harry.jpg" height="488" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pioneering times on
July 15, 1974 and the start of broadcasting at the north east's new Independent
Local Radio (ILR) station, Metropolitan Broadcasting Company (MBC)/Metro Radio.
Founding presenters, (left to right) Don Dwyer, Giles Squire, Len Groat and the
late Harry Rowell, a news editor at Tyne Tees Television.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
IBA's Code of Advertising Standards and Practice strictly controlled the
content, amount and frequency of the advertisements and when they were
broadcast, and monitored the output of each station closely to ensure all
inappropriate commercials were excluded from each channel. Sponsorship of
programmes in the seventies was not allowed and advertising had to constitute a
maximum of nine minutes' output in each 'clock hour'.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coupled
with a programme contractor's strict IBA franchise agreements and restrictions
on 'needle time', technical quality, speech, drama and specialist programming,
in retrospect regulation was overly heavy handed and it was going to be years
before any of the fledgling ILR companies would make any return on the
shareholders' capital investments. If all of this seemed daunting there were
even more economic challenges for the fledgling stations in competing with the
BBC. Life was particularly difficult for the new independent stations in areas
where there was a pre-existing BBC local radio station.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
was intense competition in the advertising market too, namely from local and
national newspapers, many of whose titles pre-dated the launch of ILR by more
than a century, and of course Independent Television (ITV), many of whose
stations by the mid-seventies had become well established and had become
thriving companies in their own right. Despite an enthusiastic embrace by local
advertisers of the new medium across the ILR network, of particular concern to
the programme contractors that were located outside of the huge cosmopolitan
conurbations was the relative lack of interest in their services by national
advertisers. This was in no small part due to the structure of the ILR which at
the very best could only be described nationally as a loose, fragmented
conglomeration of largely unrelated services.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
yet, paradoxically it was also a key strength of seventies ILR stations:
independent, distinctive, locally owned, and engaging all members of their
communities. Commercially however, it was to be its real Achilles Heel. Yes,
there was a newly formed national federation of programme contractors, but it
had little experience as a lobby group and would need time to develop if large
well-known brands such as Coca Cola, Nescafe and Ford were to advertise across
the network. National advertising was after all where the big money lay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All
forms of advertising are highly susceptible to local and national economic
conditions and yet again this would have another negative effect on ILR
stations, particularly stations such as MBC/Metro Radio here in the north east
whose opening coincided with coal and power strikes and oil price shocks
complete with recessions and three day working weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vjkEzwxOz3Q/U1PqkvkEqTI/AAAAAAAAAg8/n9fbMLbohSM/s1600/Mike+Baker%252C+Radio+Beacon+303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vjkEzwxOz3Q/U1PqkvkEqTI/AAAAAAAAAg8/n9fbMLbohSM/s1600/Mike+Baker%252C+Radio+Beacon+303.jpg" height="542" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breakfast Show
presenter Mike Baker opens </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beacon Radio 303, ILR
for Wolverhampton </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the West Midlands
on April 12, 1976. </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This brought to an
end the development of </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the first phase of
commercial radio in the UK.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">By April 1976 and with the opening of Beacon Radio 303 in Wolverhampton and the West</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Midlands,
the first phase of the introduction of ILR in the UK was prematurely brought to
an end. As outlined above, the Labour Party had always disliked the idea of
independent or commercial radio, a philosophy that dated back to the sixties
pirates and Callaghan’s government instigated the Annan Committee on the Future
of Broadcasting which would not produce its report until 1980. It could have
been much worse: many of the initial tranche of programme contractors had
expected Labour to abolish the fledgling commercial stations all together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-50MBT-HTtSM/U1PtzzRyb9I/AAAAAAAAAhg/igXigpQXbUM/s1600/Radio+Tees+1980s+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-50MBT-HTtSM/U1PtzzRyb9I/AAAAAAAAAhg/igXigpQXbUM/s1600/Radio+Tees+1980s+logo.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With
the coming to power of Margaret Thatcher in 1979, and an overly sympathetic government
towards the programme contractors, the scene was set for a rapid expansion of
ILR and by the end of the eighties decade there were nearly one hundred ILR
stations in all major conurbations. However, the growth of the network
coincided with the deepest recession since the Second World War with mass
unemployment being accepted as a </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcMxPhvOLnk/U1Ps5cAULDI/AAAAAAAAAhI/6EUvsUJ0mz4/s1600/Metro+261mw+97vhf+well+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcMxPhvOLnk/U1Ps5cAULDI/AAAAAAAAAhI/6EUvsUJ0mz4/s1600/Metro+261mw+97vhf+well+cropped.jpg" height="163" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">price worth paying. Inevitably some programme
contractors such as Centre Radio, Gwent Broadcasting and Radio West in Bristol
were bankrupted and ceased broadcasting. In the north east, the ailing Radio
Tees 257 </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">(Sound
Broadcasting (Teesside) Ltd.), had cut its broadcasting hours and shared
off-peak output with Metro Radio, and was eventually bought out by them. By the
mid-eighties the IBA was having to lighten regulations as it realised many ILR
stations were simply not going to survive at all under the changed economic
climate.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast
forward to 2014, and both the broadcasting and economic landscapes are now
unrecognisable compared to the seventies and early eighties, and in many ways
are much, much worse. The radio industry
from a listener’s point of view has been subject to the same havoc as wreaked
by right wing ideologies in many other state and privatised industries. And
that of course is excessive deregulation. Just as in transport, housing, health
and education, the same failed laissez faire ideology taken to extreme has
destroyed a once imaginative, creative and locally based industry. Even worse
than that it hasn’t provided the much vaunted choice for the listener espoused
by every government since 1979 either. Have a flick through your radio dial. On
FM you will hear the same artists and music tracks being repeatedly played in a
so called better mix of music or your favourite music or whatever the catch
phrase is. The advertisements are identical on each station, infact the only
difference is in the liners. However, the voices reading them are identikit.
And just as in all those other wrecked industries these balmy ideologies were
not just embraced, but actively accelerated under the last so-called Labour
government.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly,
the IBA was abolished by the Thatcher government in 1990, to be replaced by
light touch regulation from the Radio Authority. Technical standards dropped,
frequency allocation became haphazard, and by the mid-nineties computer
automation led to recorded voice links with fewer live programmes, while tight
playlists led to the heavy rotation and repetition of songs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Secondly,
further listener choice and programme quality was reduced and had been
predicted by many media analysts when in 2001 the “Labour” government’s Queen's
Speech contained proposals to abolish the Radio Authority, and replace it with
a quango that would be even deeper into the pockets of the politicians and the
big media groups. OFCOM, this new body, would replace several existing
authorities, and was conceived as a "super-regulator" to oversee
media channels that were rapidly converging through digital transmission.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
this task it is not fit for purpose and it has singularly failed to protect the
viewer, listener or consumer in all parts of its remit whether these are areas
formerly under the control of the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the
Independent Television Commission, the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel),
the Radio Authority, and the Radio communications Agency. Its lack of
effectiveness for the consumer has led to further programme contractor buy-outs
which in turn have conspired to virtually annihilate distinctive local
companies, presenters and programmes that have been replaced with syndicated
shows. Specialist programmes have been
dropped, meaningful speech content has been decimated and local output in many
cases now consists of a local breakfast peak drive time show only.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From
diversity of tens, if not hundreds of local programme contractors in the
eighties providing meaningful speech output, locally-orientated programmes,
local ownership and a full local news and information service courtesy of fully
staffed local newsrooms with professional reporters, commercial radio has
deteriorated into a couple of quasi-national networks, owned by a handful of
yes, you guessed it, multinational corporations. And it all sounds the same
wherever in the country you are. It's pasteurised, homogenised and generally
sterile, all presented at breakfast by the same sounding Emmas and Waynes in every location. Sounds familiar? It should do, because I could just as easily be
talking about the supermarket sector, fast food outlets, furniture stores or the petrochemical
and oil industry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
largest private operator in the UK radio market is Global Radio which bought
the former media group, Gcap Media. Its acquisitions include Classic FM and
London's most popular commercial station, the once proudly local Capital Radio.
Other owners are Bauer Radio (German) and UTV Radio, which mainly own stations
that broadcast in highly populated city areas. Even Independent Radio News
(IRN), the once wholly-owned subsidiary of the London Broadcasting Company
(LBC) (itself now owned by Global Radio) has been replaced by guess what? Yep,
that’s right Sky News.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Consciousness-raising
is all about making those connections. And we’ve made plenty in this post.
There’s plenty for you to explore in what is a fascinating area of society, and
that’s the media and the radio industry, and the methods by which politicians
and regulators have conspired to destroy it over the last thirty years. The
same sad story has been repeated with local newspapers and Independent Television.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
yet, despite all of the homogenisation and lack of choice, I don’t blame the
few remaining huge corporations who are raking it in and using our airwaves as
the proverbial cash cow. Blame lies once again solely in the hands of
generations of bent and corrupt politicians who have regarded OFCOM and the
Radio Authority before it as just government revenue generating streams
providing lucrative franchise payments from automated jukeboxes. Which is
absolutely tragic for what should be one of the most personal of mediums.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
government and OFCOM have no interest whatsoever in the output being
transmitted on the nation’s radio waves, as long as it is in accordance with
their propaganda. They are certainly not bothered about the interests of the
listener whether it be in choice, quality, localness or any other expected
criteria. Their only interest is financial. How different from those lofty
social democratic ideals for Independent Local Radio at its inception in 1973.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
a child I lived in Stockton-on-Tees and often used to walk into the town centre
from my home down Dovecot Street. That was where the Radio Tees 257 studios were
located. Outside would be a large number of reporters' cars and promotional
vehicles, all emblazoned with the station’s logo and strapline. What most
people didn’t see were those stickers on the back windows, so prevalent on the
windows of private companies in the seventies. The sticker read “Stop strangling
businesses with red tape and regulation. Free private enterprise…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
lesson of Independent Local Radio is that a certain amount of freedom whether in speech or in
regulation is great. Throw in too much freedom with insufficient regulation
however and the companies are handed enough rope to hang themselves with
aggressive and anti-competitive mergers, buy outs, syndication and cartels. And
that is the antithesis of freedom at any level; it certainly doesn't constitute
a free market. Once again: does it remind you of supermarkets, public
transport, telecoms etc.? There are those connections again!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">ANDY
FLEMING is a blogger who currently publishes two websites: <a href="http://andromedachild.blogspot.co.uk/">Andromeda Child</a>
astronomy for everyone, and <a href="http://metroradio261.blogspot.co.uk/">Metro Radio 261MW 97VHF: The North East SoundTribute</a> Website that incorporates a fascinating history to the development of
commercial radio in the north east of England.</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://metroradio261.blogspot.co.uk/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y2An23Gnvh8/U1P0GDraRtI/AAAAAAAAAhw/bg9ovmQw4nY/s1600/Site+Banner+MedRes.jpg" height="92" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://andromedachild.blogspot.co.uk/"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AkuzDdP9at0/U1P0cuOiTXI/AAAAAAAAAh4/9rSr1n6mv3Q/s1600/Andromeda+Child+Banner+March+16.jpg" height="105" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bibliography</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halsey,
H. A. <i>Change in British Society</i>. Based on the 1978 BBC Reith Lectures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Nothing
Local About it: London's Local Radio</i>, 1983, London Radio Workshop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>IBA
Yearbook: Radio and Television 1976</i>, Independent Broadcasting Authority.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stoller,
T, <i>Sounds of Your Life: A History of Independent Radio in the UK</i>, 2010, John
Libbey Publishing Ltd.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hayek,
F., <i>The Road to Serfdom</i>, 1944, Routledge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Websites</b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fleming, A.G., </span></span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://metroradio261.blogspot.co.uk/">Metro Radio 261MW 97VHF: The North East Sound Tribute</a></i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Website.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groat,
L., <a href="http://lengroat.blogspot.co.uk/">Radio Like it Used to Be</a> from one of Metro Radio's original presenters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lister,
B., <a href="http://brianlister.blogspot.co.uk/">Brian Lister's Radio Blog</a> from Metro Radio's Head of Technical Operations.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eyx2Q4wY9Ws/U1GkoyG6EtI/AAAAAAAAAec/oLMQr_YEg_Q/s1600/State+retirement+pension.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eyx2Q4wY9Ws/U1GkoyG6EtI/AAAAAAAAAec/oLMQr_YEg_Q/s1600/State+retirement+pension.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></i></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>There may be trouble ahead... retirement pensions will increasingly become unaffordable in the coming years, whether it's the state retirement pension or company and private pension schemes</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" height="142" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">It's Friday. It's financial. It's Friday Financial with JULIAN SAYER.</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's official. The UK state pension
is worst in Europe.</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a busy two weeks looking
after my six year old during the Easter holidays, but that's the conundrum of
modern life. One of my pet hates is the lack of time modern life gives you;
investing your most precious commodity (time) into the teaching of your
greatest asset (your children.) So I am afraid this week's blog will be a short
piece. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How a society looks after it's
young, old and most disadvantaged says everything about it. This Government's
continued attack on the most disadvantaged continues relentlessly. The poor,
unemployed, handicapped, young and old are all suffering with reduced income,
while the rich and multinationals continue to flout the tax laws stashing trillions
of pounds in off shore tax heavens. This week I want to take a look at what's
happening in the pensions industry, how it's affecting the pensioners now and
how it will affect you when you retire in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Havi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">ng worked in the
industry for twenty</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"> odd years,
one thing I know for sure, is that this Government will continue to reduce the
amount of pension you are going to receive in the future. Everything points
towards it, an ageing population, reduced tax revenues, low employment levels,
and longer life expectancy. In the UK we were once the envy of the world with
our well run state and private pension schemes, and those lucky enough to have
worked in the "golden generation" have reaped the rewards and are
enjoying the benefits of these schemes. Sadly, just like our other world
renowned institutions like the NHS and Railways, our pension system will be run
down and hived off for the profit of the few, and to the detriment of the many.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I want to take a look at
what the Government offers you, and then how the private sector is coping with
the pension promises they have made.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a long hard slog of broken
promises, legislation changes, and Government cuts, it's now official: the
British state pension at a maximum £110.15 a week is the most miserable in
Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Compared to average income, as a
percentage, even Hungary and Slovenia offer better pension benefits. British
workers on average earnings typically get a state pension worth 32.6% of their
working wage. If you compare this state pension to other countries, it doesn’t
look good. Italian workers, can expect 70% of their working salary when they
retire. In the developed world, only Mexicans receive less proportionately from
the State pension than British workers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The average European State pension
is worth 40.6% of average earnings. If you want to retire comfortably on State
coffers compared to those in work, one of the best countries is Austria, at
76.6% – or the Netherlands, even better, at 90.7%. Many Europeans also retire
earlier than their British counterparts. This will have to change as the rest
of Europe grapples with austerity, and as we have seen in the UK, pension
benefits are an easy target for cash strapped Governments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's clear and apparent that here
in the UK you will be forced to look after yourself, the state can no longer
afford to take care of its citizens, as they pander to the Multinational tax
evading companies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traditionally, there are two sorts
of pension schemes, public and private. Public sector workers are almost 10
times more likely to have "gold-plated" final salary pensions than
their counterparts in privately owned companies, official figures show. So how
do private schemes stack up? There has been a relentless attack on private
pension schemes over the last 30 years. In an effort to reduce costs and boost
profits for the corporate gods, final salary pension schemes are all but dead
in the private sector. I do think it's only a matter of time before the axe
falls on these public sector final pension schemes. You are already seeing
their benefits eroded, the fire service, police, the NHS and teachers have all
seeing their own contributions increase and or retirement age increasing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the private sector Final Salary
schemes were rolled out by big employers after the war, and rapidly became the
norm for workers of all on all sorts of salaries. In 1963, £1 in £4 of all
pension savings in the private sector was in a final-salary type scheme. By
1979, which was the peak of this form of pension saving, this proportion had
rocketed to £9 in every £10. Then came the great reversal. Just like the
Government pension schemes, increased lifespans, successive changes to
legislation which made the arrangements more costly to employers, and poor
investment returns came together to make the schemes unaffordable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">As companies continued to chase
profits, costs need to be cut, and in difficult economic times, the easiest way
to cut costs are to reduce salaries and benefits, and this is never mo</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">re
apparent than over the last seven</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">
years. Salaries have been stagnating and pension contributions eroded. Just one
example of many is given below;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/11/lloyds-bank-pension-cutbacks-under-fire">http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/11/lloyds-bank-pension-cutbacks-under-fire</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's obvious that you are
continually expected to look after yourself in every respect, the hiving off of
pension schemes into private hands offers an awful lot of money to the well
connected winners of yet another Government sell off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">Once in private hands, your once
safe guaranteed pension is open to all the vul</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">tures of the City’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">s money men. You are expected to know all about management
charges, growth rates, allocation rates, annuity rates, mortality drag, and all
sorts of financial jargon meant to confuse the unwary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big problem over the coming
years with this, is that this new world of low interest rates means growth
rates will suffer. Many pension plans assume they will earn 7% to 8% annual
returns, an assumption which is far too high. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In reality, public and private
pension funds will earn an annual return of 4% or less in the coming years due
to near zero percent interest rates and financial repression. This in turn,
could well cause bankruptcy for many of the final salary pension schemes. This
will push everybody into money purchase pension pots, causing you all difficult
decisions, in an area few can grasp.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">These pension funds are a
traditional mix of equities and bo</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">nds which in my view will under-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">perform in the coming years. Many stock markets appear
overvalued after </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">quantitative easing </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;">driven rises of the recent years. Bonds offer all time
record low yields and are at all time record highs in price. They will fall in
value in the coming years, as interest rates go up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a heady mix of problems for
the Government and the pension industry. In my view there is only one outcome,
.........more broken promises, longer working life's and more money for the
city fat cats.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the UK, total Government
spending would have to be cut by more than 25% or the NHS and benefits
expenditure slashed by around 50% compared with the level implied by current
policy, if the UK is to avoid tax increases and all spending is to be met out
of tax revenue in the long run. Some measures have been planned in the UK which
will address the situation, such as a proposed rise in state pension age, but
these measures are being implemented slowly and are inadequate on their own. If
you really want to sleep you can read the conclusions here they are
frightening;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/Gokhale-Interactive-PDF.pdf">http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/Gokhale-Interactive-PDF.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Europe the situation is far
worse, they are more reliant on state benefits and the retirement age is often
far lower.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Governments are pushing you further
away from your family, further away from retirement, and asking you to work
harder for the corporate good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Easter, you voted them in.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-56446946393278748302014-04-17T15:45:00.000+01:002014-04-17T15:49:40.068+01:00BBC OFF THEIR TROLLEYS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PYYhDrdxfWA/U0_iGDyYXiI/AAAAAAAAAdw/wKLbjOt7iEQ/s1600/Tesco+logo+on+store+fascia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PYYhDrdxfWA/U0_iGDyYXiI/AAAAAAAAAdw/wKLbjOt7iEQ/s1600/Tesco+logo+on+store+fascia.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The irony
of Tesco profits being hit because workers don't earn enough.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>By</i><b>HARRY BLACKWOOD</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">HAVING worked for the BBC for a short time, I can tell you
categorically that most BBC journalists don't know their arse from their elbow.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Such is the narrow gene pool that the BBC selects its
journos from (think Oxbridge and public school) that it's no surprise that they
get the wrong end of the stick when it comes to even the most basic news
judgement.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">This week there was a classic example of what I'm talking
about when Tesco announced its yearly results. The High Street behemoth posted
profits of £3.3 billion. Worth pointing out at this juncture that a billion is
a thousand million. So, a bunch of glorified corner shops pulled in 3,300 piles
of dosh with a million quid in each. Nice work of you can get it. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27046105">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27046105</a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">But the BBC wasn't interested in this massive amount of
profit because some highly paid executive had already decided that 'the story'
was a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">six per cent </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">drop
in profits. Except it wasn't. If you strip out new store openings, the like for
like fall was only 1.4%. Not too shabby in times of austerity, inflation and
queues outside food banks.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sJig22ebAU0/U0_oypptULI/AAAAAAAAAeI/JVMrTqhVHak/s1600/Tesco+Wage+Check.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sJig22ebAU0/U0_oypptULI/AAAAAAAAAeI/JVMrTqhVHak/s1600/Tesco+Wage+Check.jpg" height="237" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">That was only the half of it though. Having made a decision
that they'd spin the story to make it look like Tesco profits were falling off
a cliff, the BBC then did its usual crass development of the story to make it
suitable for its perceived "dumb" <i>Breakfast</i>
audience. They did that by suggesting that Tesco shoppers were deserting the
stored in favour of cut price rivals like Lidl and Aldi.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Now, I could say that there is no conclusive evidence to
suggest that thousands of Tesco loyalty card holders are making a beeline to
their German rivals but let's say IT IS true. So how come the useless BBC
couldn't see the huge irony?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Surely this irony can't
be wasted on the establishment messengers at the Beeb, that even Tesco's
own staff can't afford to shop at Tesco. It might be the ultimate irony but it
also happens to be true in a lot of cases. It follows the pattern in the USA
where Walmart workers on low pay have to use food stamps. Let</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">s see that on a billboard
poster. Tesco pay most of their staff
such shit wages they have to shop in cheaper stores like Aldi and Lidl.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">But here's an even bigger irony: guess which store pays the
best wages? That's right, the German discounter Aldi. So, w</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">e must wonder whether affluent </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Aldi
workers shop at Tesco to even things up.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The larger social issue was of course beyond the remit of
the BBC. They'd get threatened by the government with their charter if they did
such a nighty thing, but why didn't they look at the long term effect of Tesco
and other supermarkets of an economy where wages aren't even high enough to
allow people to do a weekly shop. Capitalism eating itself.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">It's obvious to everyone who doesn't have an Iain Duncan
Smith mindset that if you have a minimum wage that is set way below the
accepted living wage, something has to give. We've gone past the point where
hardworking families (yes, that bullshit buzz phrase beloved by politicians of
all colours) give up life's little luxuries in order to make ends meet. Now we
have low paid workers having to use food banks to fill out the cupboards and an
increasing number of children living in poverty. The army of working poor is
growing larger by the day. And that is precisely what is hitting the profits of
Tesco and other stores. By paying everyone shit wages you prevent them from
buying the very products you employ them to sell. If it wasn't so serious it
would be bloody funny.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">But the real disgrace of this low wage economy is that the
taxpayer is subsidising all these greedy, grasping companies who think they're
doing people a favour by paying a few pence above the minimum wage. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Work in Tesco. Shop in Lidl. Visit a foodbank. You couldn't
make it up. </span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5u54Y9nv07I/U071K7YMXXI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/39VXdBBbylQ/s1600/End+of+the+Line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5u54Y9nv07I/U071K7YMXXI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/39VXdBBbylQ/s1600/End+of+the+Line.jpg" height="436" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>The end of the line? After decades of neglect and funding cuts, by the late eighties much of Britain's once great national railway network was starting to look like this. Even worse, a large proportion of route mileage was already gone thanks to the infamous Beeching Cuts of the sixties, most of which were executed by a Labour government.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">In a regular series of posts ANDY</span></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></span></a></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">
FLEMING takes a look at our non-integrated and not fit for purpose public
transport system. He starts by taking a recent historical look at the UK’s
railway system, one of the most expensive in Western Europe for both passengers
and taxpayers. It isn’t long before corrupt politicians are seen to be taking
the public for a ride along the rails.</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They say that travel broadens the
mind, and foreign travel especially. I was a late starter in getting “the bug”
for it. In fact it was on our honeymoon in August 1989 in Paris that I first
set foot on foreign soil. And as a graduate student of sociology with modules
in transport and planning what a shock it was.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived in Paris via train, to
me the most civilised form of mass transport, at Gare du Nord. The journey had
been a real eye opener. We had travelled all of the way by train from
Darlington, enjoying an overnight stay in central London and then using the
ferry for the short crossing to Boulogne (this was before the Channel Tunnel of
course).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing remarkable in this, but on
a personal level, visiting France for the first time was a big event in my
life. At the age of twenty nine I had previously developed the view that
everything about our country was best. Its education, health care, welfare, and
other state systems and infrastructure were at the apex of civilisation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first footsteps on to the
Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) express train shattered
this UK-centric worldview. Clearly, before I had even tested a word of my
pigeon French out on an unsuspecting local person, this wasn’t just a journey
of discovery in terms of culture, society and country; it was a tale of two
completely different national railway systems, and it would be a comparison in
which Britain would inevitably come out a very poor loser. Bear in mind too our
journey was at the time TransManche Link (TML) were still excavating the
Channel Tunnel, Eurostar trains were still a couple of years in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On time we left Boulogne and
travelled through the beautiful countryside of northern France at high speed on
our way to the nation’s capital. We were seated inside a second class
compartment, but it appeared to both my wife Gill and myself to be perfect
luxury. In fact, we had initially inadvertently mistaken our coach as being
first class and we might be reprimanded for sitting there. Our worries soon
abated on a walk down the train to enjoy the delights and service of a fully
stocked restaurant and buffet car. That’s because first class was even more
luxurious. This was first class travel with a second class ticket. Through
Amiens and on to Paris we were whisked to pull into Gare du Nord on time to the
second. This was how rail travel should be, I thought.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rFmF8IZw6C8/U072U-B7K5I/AAAAAAAAAdc/OKW_K12FnkM/s1600/A1+Tornado+crossing+Ribblehead+Viaduct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rFmF8IZw6C8/U072U-B7K5I/AAAAAAAAAdc/OKW_K12FnkM/s1600/A1+Tornado+crossing+Ribblehead+Viaduct.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle Railway with steam locomotive A1 Tornado crossing on a scenic railtour. This viaduct came to symbolise the struggle in the 1980s to keep what would become once again a strategic national freight artery open. Duplicity by politicians and British Rail massively inflated the cost of repair of this magnificent Victorian structure. This, and a closure by stealth policy of diverting trains away from this, the most scenic of railway lines was revealed by a national public campaign to be the massive deceit and fraud it was.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mind inevitably returned to the
previous day’s journey courtesy of British Rail (BR). Britain was enduring the
dying days of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher and her laissez-faire free
market economic policies in which anything owned by the state equalled bad and
anything in private hands was good. And she had a distinct dislike for
nationalised industries, and railways in particular.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed Tom King, her Minister for
Transport in the early eighties had wanted to turn Marylebone Station in London
into a bus and coach terminus. The Serpell Report of 1982 that he commissioned
saw railways as an anachronism; a Victorian mode of socialised transport as far
away from their utopian vision of free market motoring as one can get. Viewed
by many transport analysts as “Beeching on steroids” its main outrageous
proposals were for a future where Britain would have virtually no railway
system at all. With the lowest passenger numbers of any year in the second half
of the twentieth century, 1982 in some represented the nadir for Britain’s
railway system.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serpell was rejected; he went too
far even for the right wing Thatcher cabinet, but his philosophy was still
alive: BR was being run down and starved of investment. Our railway network’s
vital infrastructure was disintegrating after decades of neglect by governments
of all colours. BR under instruction from the Department of Transport was using
underhand tactics to close strategic main lines such as the Woodhead Route
between Manchester and Sheffield and was operating a closure by stealth policy
in order to justify closures. They undertook this by the use of carefully
manipulated passenger and transport surveys, diverting services away from lines
they wanted to close and finally by inflating repair figures for the
infrastructure of doomed lines.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BR under encouragement from the
Tory government could present an overwhelming case for line closure. The whole
fraudulent politically inspired policy was epitomised and finally exposed in
the successful fight by people power to save the main line between Settle and
Carlisle. It’s now a vital strategic freight artery and popular passenger
route.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From what I had seen so far as I
stood on the Parisian station platform, SNCF, unlike BR was a nationalised
industry of which the French were rightfully proud. Public transport especially
rail travel was in many respects a way of life to them, and their belief in the
strategic and economic importance of a well-funded railway network was there
for everybody to see. It was apparent straight away to even a casual visitor
that railways in France were clearly something that should be prioritised and
receive substantial public investment. They were, and still are relatively
cheap, reliable, punctual and safe. Regarding integration with other modes of
transport, well, the French must have invented that phrase “integrated
transport”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was in stark contrast to the
British view with which I had grown up: that railways were, and still are, a
drain on taxpayers’ funds. My first journey abroad including as it did rail,
Parisian Metro and bus travel illustrated well that it wasn’t railways or
public transport that were the anachronisms. No, the true anachronisms were the
British politicians who, being in the pockets of the road lobby, the motorway
construction and oil industries, had been systematically dismantling one of our
vital national assets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Subsequent visits over the years to
Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels, Innsbruck and Barcelona confirmed that it was indeed
the UK that was out of synchronisation with other major western economies when
it came to transport policy. Successive governments have consistently placed
one of the chief purveyors of social inequality and environmental degradation
on a pedestal: the motor car.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the years to come my views were
vindicated: the virtual sole reliance on road transport for freight in
particular and the inevitable congestion from mass car ownership and the loss
of a substantial portion of our railway infrastructure means that our small and
densely populated country’s economy is now in a poor position to distribute
what few goods it still makes to both domestic and international markets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Beeching Report of 1963 which
closed nearly half of the UK’s railway route miles is still regarded as one of
the most significant acts of political and corporate vandalism ever wreaked on
the British economy. Richard Beeching was head-hunted from ICI at the behest of
Tory Transport Minister Ernest Marples, to instil a private sector philosophy
in an organisation that should have been concentrating on public service. As a
director of Marples-Ridgeway Construction, Marples was simultaneously allowing
his henchman to decimate our railway network while trousering a fortune, as
Marples-Ridgeway benefitted from lucrative Government contracts to build
Britain’s burgeoning motorway network. Rumours of corruption and scandal
rightly engulfed his department during his tenure at the top, but nothing was
ever done.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet it was Wilson’s Labour Government
that enacted most of Beeching’s proposals, and his Transport Secretary Barbara
Castle was still closing now much-need railways to Keswick and Alston as late
as 1976.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The British have railways in their
blood. We were after all the nation of their very birth, the north east of
England where I live, was their cradle. The people of our country have always
loved railways. They have always hated the individuals and politicians who are
supposed to manage them on our behalf. That’s because most of them are, and
have been corrupt. We deserve much better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://namedblamedandshamed.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-uk-rail-rip-off-part-2_24.html">Next time: Part 2 - PrivatisationProfiteers Ride the Rails (at your expense)</a></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bibliography</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beeching R., <i>The Reshaping of
British Railways</i>, 1963, British Railways Board, HMSO.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whitehouse, A., 1990, <i>The Settle
and Carlisle Railway: The line that refused to die</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Henshaw, D., 1994, </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Great
Railway Conspiracy.</i><br />
<i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-32860624022989231272014-04-14T20:24:00.001+01:002014-04-15T19:34:37.594+01:00VOTE LABOUR, TORY OR LIB DEMS. GET MORE OF THE SAME OLD SHIT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vcEzjx9YmCM/U0w1o60fxfI/AAAAAAAAAdA/Iuib7_xvnIc/s1600/Don't+Vote+-+Bollocks+to+the+lot+of+them.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vcEzjx9YmCM/U0w1o60fxfI/AAAAAAAAAdA/Iuib7_xvnIc/s1600/Don't+Vote+-+Bollocks+to+the+lot+of+them.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Britain's political landscape is a wasteland
of so called 'centre ground' politics. Conservatives are the same nasty T</span></em></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em>ories
they've always been but they pretend to have discovered compassion. New Labour
are Tories with Red ties and a few quid from unions. The Lib Dems are just
lying Tory bitches and the new kids on the block - UKIP - are merely a more
racist, homophobic version of the Tori</em><em><span lang="EN-US">es. Guest blogger PAUL SOUTHWOOD</span></em></span></b><em><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> bemoans a
lack of choice and explains that not voting should be seen as a positive action.</span></b></span></em></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em>
<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">It's not apathy that stops people voting,
it's the realisation that politicians are all the same.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">VOTER APATHY. Already, the phrase has become
enshrined in media-speak as a pocket-sized explanation for why </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">so many people stay away from </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">ballot boxes
at elections. But it is a misnomer - like describing comets as falling stars or
fossils as figured stones. Perhaps there are some apathetic non-voters out
there; I haven't met any. I have on the other hand met angry non-voters. After
some thought I have decided to join them</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"> as</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"> I am angry
too.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">Voters of course, are horrified. If you
don't exercise your right to vote they say then you have no ability to effect
changes nor any right to criticise the elected government. And the vote, they
say is a right for which our forebears fought - at great cost to themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">Political parties of course feel no such tug
of' historical heartstrings. This seems especially true of the present Labour
Party; historically, nobody much can be said to have made any great sacrifice
for the cause of Toryism.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Sadly, history can make a mockery of
sacrifice, and it can do so In short order. 'If I die,' wrote many Red Army
soldiers before battle was joined at Kursk "then count me a
communist." Yet even if their sacrifice chan</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">ged history, where now</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"> is their
cause '? The Vietnam War cost one side millions of casualties, and scarified
the conscience - and pride - of' the other. Yet now, increasingly, Vietnam is
an aspiring Singapore.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">History is littered with such lost causes -
some deservedly lost. If British democracy is not to join them, then British
politicians must manifest the one characteristic that makes voting in a
multi-party state worthwhile - difference.</span></em><br />
<a name='more'></a><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">T</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">he latter commodity is i</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">n short supply
of late. It's not just that politics has shifted to the right; it has also come
to occupy ever narrowing bands of ideas. Increasingly it's any political colour
you like so long as it's blue with the prospect of the wavelength shortening to
ultra violet dimensions. This phenomenon became apparent before the 1997
election. "Vote Blair," said the graffiti in Oxford, where I was
living at the time, "for more of the same shit."<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">The political spread was being reduced,
practically before the electorate's eyes, into little more than a choice
between the wet and the dry wings of Thatcher's Tory party. Core Old Labour
voters saw Blair coming, and stayed away from the polls. There being more such
voters in safe Labour seats, the outcome of this attitude was clearer in such
constituencies. Hull East: 54.2%, Islwyn (Neil Kinnock's old constituency):
60.1%. Left wing Tories, too, stayed away - put off by the Major regime's image
of sleaze.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">The 1997 election was decided by a collision
of the respective right wings of the two main parties, together with tactical
voting where this could be focused against a Tory candidate. For both major
parties, the left-wing vote - Tory europhiles and 'wets'; Old Labour socialists
- were notable largely by their absence from polling stations. On fiscal and
social policy alike, the manifestos of the political parties represent little
more than fine-tuning. And in privatised (not to say feudalised) Britain, the
power of politicians to effect change in the name of those who elected them is
seen to be strictly curtailed. The resulting political consensus that made the
four or five yearly trek to the local school or commu</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">nity centre worthwhile – choice, was absent.</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">"No
vote - no voice",</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"> said the old posters, trying to
encourage young people to get themselves onto the electoral register. And so
still say the fervent voters, horrified at the growing scale of electoral
absenteeism. But, in truth, it is a bleak message - suggesting that the ballot
box flashed at us every few years is indeed the only voice we have, and seeming
to confirm Lord Hailsham's assessment of the British political system as an
"elected dictatorship."<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">We need a different view of democracy than
this. We need a view of democracy that sees it as an active agent in people's
day-to-day lives; in jurisprudence; in culture; in the freedom to speak out, to
demonstrate and - where need be - to take action.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Voters and non-voters are equally entitled
to participation </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">in
</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">such a robust, living democracy; to exclude non-voters from it is to
accept the strictly limited 'democracy' of which Lord Hailsham spoke. Voting is
a component of democracy: it should not be considered the complete and entire
artefact.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">Indeed, not voting itself is a democratic
action. Quite properly, voting is a right. But a right, by definition, is not
an obligation. When democracies try to make voting mandatory - as, for
instance, in Australia - then the electoral process runs the risk of supplying
politicians with a false sense of popular approval.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Some commentators have used the term
"voter apathy" to</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"> argue the opposite - that a s</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">ection of the
electorate feels good about the political and economic direction of Britain,
and feels no need for the traditions of voter intervention. Clearly, this is
tosh. There is no sense of popular dissatisfaction, and thus apathy, about a
world of uncertain and insecure employment, health service delivery, old age
provision, cheap rentable accommodation or increasingly expensive higher
education. Such commentators have woefully misjudged the mood of the non-voting
public.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">It is not apathy that stops people voting
but anger and the realisation that, deprived of choice at the ballot box, they
can make no difference through that route.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">That such </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">a </span></em></span><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">formerly
highly regarded nexus of change is being abandoned by so many is a clear
indication of the narrow and rotten state of politics: politicians should look
to it and amend. The alternative is that this particular artery to the heart of
democracy be allowed, slowly, to fur up.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></em><br />
<em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></em></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-72141273791524571302014-04-12T23:26:00.000+01:002014-04-13T09:24:01.326+01:00KNOWLEDGE OR CERTAINTY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p15Pddmoc0g/U0mvAzq_kbI/AAAAAAAAAbY/_ufgUTouX4k/s1600/NASA+Apollo+11+Saturn+V+Launch+and+Buzz+Aldrin+descending+Apollo+11+LEM+ladder+onto+Moon%2527s+surface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p15Pddmoc0g/U0mvAzq_kbI/AAAAAAAAAbY/_ufgUTouX4k/s1600/NASA+Apollo+11+Saturn+V+Launch+and+Buzz+Aldrin+descending+Apollo+11+LEM+ladder+onto+Moon%2527s+surface.jpg" height="350" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>It's July 16, 1969 and the start of the greatest voyage in our history: Apollo 11 is launched from Cape Kennedy atop a Saturn V booster (left). Four days and over 200,000 miles later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first people to set foot on another world (right). And all thanks to Newton's Laws of Universal Gravitation and Motion, exquisitely accurate at non-relativistic 'everyday' speeds.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
</span><br />
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<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Politicians
and religious leaders invariably state with</i></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><i><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aAJ0nVR7tUE/Uzh579mfLOI/AAAAAAAAAWw/_-8NhwMvKNU/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></i></a></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"> certainty that their beliefs and
preachings are the absolute truth. Guest blogger ANDY FLEMING investigates
knowledge and certainty, and in the process reveals how a society that
dispenses with true scientific scepticism inevitably ends in tragedy.</span></i></b><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All of my
life I've been fascinated by science, and although I'm not a scientist (I was
however a laboratory analyst at ICI for many years, and I am an amateur
astronomer) I still consider science to be the best human method for explaining
how we, and the entire cosmos came to be. Unlike many other areas of human
endeavour such as religion, our scientific theories, although still only
approximate descriptions of reality, are testable, falsifiable and most
importantly, can be verified by peer review. This cannot be said of many other
academic disciplines, as instead of logical, rational thought, they rely on
each individual's belief systems and their hypotheses are hence not testable in
the real world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Humankind's
scientific theories are however, at best only approximations of reality, albeit
often exquisitely accurate approximations. Over decades and centuries they have
been developed and amended in the light of better data and evidence. For
example Newton's Laws of Motion and Universal Gravitation were perfectly
adequate up to 1915, and indeed are still used in determining a spacecraft's
trajectory. Such an example is NASA/JPL's's <i>New Horizons </i>mission to Pluto, due
to arrive with perfect accuracy to the nearest second at that distant dwarf
planet in 2015. However, Sir Isaac Newton cannot be placed in the driver's seat
in very strong gravitational fields or at relativistic velocities (speeds
approaching that of light), due to effects including time dilation and Lorentz
length contractions. And Newton’s speculative contention that
time is a universal constant was proved incorrect by Einstein. It is the speed
of light that is a universal constant.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is in
such situations that Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, developed from
the edifice of Newton's work must be engaged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cbojzzm2Dq4/U0m1swN_vqI/AAAAAAAAAbo/JgJ0jr0eh9k/s1600/Isaac+Newton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cbojzzm2Dq4/U0m1swN_vqI/AAAAAAAAAbo/JgJ0jr0eh9k/s1600/Isaac+Newton.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uBFGkKlvhMA/U0m2MZpvOsI/AAAAAAAAAbw/qj5IKEf-cb0/s1600/Albert+Eisntein+as+a+young+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uBFGkKlvhMA/U0m2MZpvOsI/AAAAAAAAAbw/qj5IKEf-cb0/s1600/Albert+Eisntein+as+a+young+man.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Isaac
Newton in 1689 (left). His Laws of Motion are perfectly adequate for launching
spacecraft to the stars. Albert Einstein as a young man in the early twentieth
century (right). His Theory of General Relativity builds on Newton's work at
relativistic speeds and in regions of strong gravitational force, and is a
requirement when adjusting clocks in GPS deep space systems due to even
miniscule amounts of time dilation as a result of the varying strength of the
Earth's gravitational field both on the planet's surface and in orbit.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Through
science's language of mathematics and through its empirical research and practical
experimentation, the two pillars of modern physics (seemingly bizarre and
counter-intuitive in their verified predictions to both the public and
scientists alike) – Quantum Mechanics and General
Relativity are supremely accurate descriptive approximations of physical
reality. Most importantly for our civilisation, and unlike the revelations,
myths and prophecies of pseudo-science and religion, they ‘bring home the bacon’, witnessed by the presence in
our lives of television sets, computers, the internet, the Global Positioning
Satellite (GPS) system, telecommunications, nuclear power – the list is seemingly endless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BHs_yzJ6ab4/U0m3ixGBdqI/AAAAAAAAAb8/XX711-LWOw8/s1600/Effects+of+extreme+gravity+on+space-time.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BHs_yzJ6ab4/U0m3ixGBdqI/AAAAAAAAAb8/XX711-LWOw8/s1600/Effects+of+extreme+gravity+on+space-time.jpeg" height="332" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Space-time
being dragged and contorted in the bottomless infinite gravity well of a black
hole (left). Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, his 'theory of
gravity'... forecast these bizarre objects decades before their discovery and
fully accounts for their effects on the surrounding cosmos. In General
Relativity, Einstein also merges special and temporal dimensions into one:
space-time, and introduces the equivalence of indistinguishability of
acceleration and gravity.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">However,
despite all the enormous benefits that the scientific enterprise has brought to
human kind – life-saving vaccines,
medicines and medical procedures, electronics, technology, even the manned and
robotic exploration of our Solar System, there remains a concerning mistrust
within the general population of science and scientists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As
previously explained, science and its theories, as a human activity is never
perfect. Scientists are not infallible,
possessing the same vulnerabilities, frailties, prejudices and personal agendas
as each and every one of us. And let's face it, science and mathematics are
difficult subjects; such accurate models and descriptions of reality based on
evidence and calculation are never going to be instantly decipherable to the
layperson without at least some scientific education.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When it
comes to the general public understanding of science, there is also the issue
of public science education (or lack of it) in the West. We have conspired to
produce a situation where our societies and economies totally depend on science
and its offspring, technology. And yet virtually nobody knows anything about
science. With scientific decisions being taken over important issues such as
climate change, energy supply, atomic power, atomic weapons and stem cell
research by largely scientifically illiterate members of the public and their
elected political representatives, it's a state of affairs that will eventually
blow up in our faces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">However,
I think that the distrust and suspicion of science has another reason all
together, and this can be found in some of humanity's darkest moments and
activities. Here I'm talking about the misuse of science, especially by
politicians, exemplified in weapons of mass destruction, the holocaust in Nazi
Germany in which eight million people were murdered, and the fact that in the
1960s over half of the world's top scientists were involved in some respect in
the atomic arms race between the former Soviet Union and the United States.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iHeJ21QioWo/U0m7Dh8x_qI/AAAAAAAAAcI/RCgd_5Vju28/s1600/Jacob+Bronowski.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iHeJ21QioWo/U0m7Dh8x_qI/AAAAAAAAAcI/RCgd_5Vju28/s1600/Jacob+Bronowski.jpg" height="400" width="361" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">T<i>he late
Dr Jacob Bronowski, responsible for the epic 1973 BBC<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Television
documentary series, "The Ascent of Man". (Image courtesy of the BBC).</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fFUXq1wT3ls/U0nSW_gom0I/AAAAAAAAAcg/miJOewpOV34/s1600/Robert+Oppenheimer+Destroyer+of+Worlds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fFUXq1wT3ls/U0nSW_gom0I/AAAAAAAAAcg/miJOewpOV34/s1600/Robert+Oppenheimer+Destroyer+of+Worlds.jpg" height="345" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The
battle lines were drawn through the very heart of the scientific establishment,
the further development of J Robert Oppenheimer's Manhattan Project 'bomb' (see right graphic) being
simultaneously propounded by Edward Teller, and yet vehemently opposed by that
greatest of all scientists... the genius Albert Einstein.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All of
the above historical abuse and misuse of science are emphatically not, however,
the fault of science itself. As that brilliant polymath Dr Jacob Bronowski
(1973) explains in his fabulous chronology of the development of the scientific
method, and how science works, "The Ascent of Man”, such abuse of science is what happens when human leaders
aspire to the power of gods, and believe they have absolute knowledge and
certainty. It is also what happens when the population at large indulges in a
philosophy of ignorance stemming from a high degree of scientific illiteracy
and an absolute lack of healthy scepticism. It is the epitome of Bronowski's
"push button society" complete with a total absence of any check in
reality, the very cornerstone of true science.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V40g0sDhTjk/U0nQIwytkpI/AAAAAAAAAcY/7t859J7WX9I/s1600/Bertrand+Russell+Quotation+Graphic+on+scepticism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V40g0sDhTjk/U0nQIwytkpI/AAAAAAAAAcY/7t859J7WX9I/s1600/Bertrand+Russell+Quotation+Graphic+on+scepticism.jpg" height="253" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The very
bedrock of the scientific enterprise is testability, repeatability,
falsifiability and verifiability by peer group. No other area of human
endeavour is so unsympathetic to an individual's challenging new hypotheses.
Indeed, scientists still compete for a Nobel Prize to be the first to discover
cracks in Einstein's greatest achievement, his Theory of General Relativity,
despite the fact that it is nearly one hundred years old. And certainly at some
point in the future, someone somewhere will nail down a flaw in Einstein's
edifice. And therein lies another unique facet of science: unlike politics or
religion there are no ‘authorities’ in the subject; no ‘high priests’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Anyone
can make an astonishing discovery and propound a new theory, but it must be
falsifiable, verifiable and testable. After all, Einstein was slow to learn to
talk, a difficult pupil at school (which he left early), held an ordinary
position as a patents clerk in Berne, Switzerland, and yet went on to be the
most famous scientist of the twentieth century. His concise and humbly titled
1905 paper <i>On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies</i> ushered in the
paradigm-changing concept of special relativity and the age of modern physics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To be
successful in science one needs imagination and scepticism both. Regarding the
former, there is no greater example than Einstein's strides in relativity, all
derived from one amazing imaginative thought as he toured Italy on a bicycle:
what would the world look like if one rode on a beam of light? What an
incredible thought for a sixteen year old child. Little did he know it at the
time, but this single thought would lead inexorably to nothing less than a
total revolution in our concepts of space, time and energy. But imagination is
not enough; scepticism is particularly important in the ability to distinguish
fact from speculation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I hope
that by now I've explained adequately how all of our science, indeed all of our
knowledge is never absolute, never certain. Never perfect. The pursuit of the
truth may indeed set you free, but through science you'll never acquire the
absolute truth about the construction of reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But what
happens when an individual or nation confuses its imperfect knowledge available
through science, with the unattainable ideals of certainty or absolute
knowledge, and aspires to the latter?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Such
aspirations, with no test in reality inevitably lead to the gates of Dachau,
Buchenwald and Auschwitz, the refugee camps of Gaza or genocide in Rwanda or
the Balkans. The ultimate result can be gullibility on an industrial scale and
the dispensing of scepticism by a whole people who are mindlessly prepared to
allow their evil political leaders to mislead and manipulate them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9TsoRZBbeZ0/U0pB9odHTrI/AAAAAAAAAcw/IGWVHOZeqYI/s1600/Ascent+of+Man+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9TsoRZBbeZ0/U0pB9odHTrI/AAAAAAAAAcw/IGWVHOZeqYI/s1600/Ascent+of+Man+logo.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In 1973,
BBC Television first broadcast <i>The Ascent of Man</i>, widely regarded still as one
of the best documentary series ever made. The expensive sets, on-location
filming around the globe, huge production values and the sheer enthusiasm of
its presenter Dr Jacob Bronowski were all attributes that would ensure its
success. One such location was the pond outside the crematorium at the
Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, into which the ashes of millions of
holocaust victims, including those of the relatives of Dr Bronowski were
poured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">With
certainty, but without any evidence in reality whatsoever, the Nazi Germany
believed all of its victims to be inferior or sub-human. This despicable
genocide was not perpetrated by science, or even by gas, it was committed by
individuals defaulting to a push button society, individuals who were not
prepared to confront their own ignorance, prejudice and arrogance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bronowski's
ten minute clip at Auschwitz is regarded by many as the most poignant and moving
moment in the history of broadcasting. As Bronowski scoops up the pond's
sedimentary ashes, he is seen to have tears in his eyes as he logically
explains how humanity allowed itself to stoop so low. He describes the
unthinking, non-sceptical, unscientific push button society that was Hitler's
Third Reich.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Scooping
up the ashes of a generation of an entire people, he movingly states that,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“There is no absolute
knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists,
open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it
with humility. That is the human condition; and that is what quantum physics
says. I mean that literally.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Holding
the ashes of Holocaust victims in the mud, Bronowski’s entreaty to all humanity is that,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“We have to cure ourselves of
the itch for absolute knowledge and power. We have to close the distance
between the push-button order and the human act. We have to touch people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now
please, watch Dr Bronowski's clip filmed at Auschwitz and edited from this
wonderful documentary series. It is an excerpt from <i>"The Ascent of
Man",</i> Episode 11, <i>"Knowledge or Certainty"</i>, at the crematorium
and pond at Auschwitz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QMQcdVpD1pw" width="640"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Bibliography:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bronowski,
J., "The Ascent of Man", British Broadcasting Corporation Books,
1973. ISBN: 978-0563104988.</span><span lang="en-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-87425891430653763092014-04-11T20:15:00.000+01:002014-04-11T20:52:49.367+01:00CHANGE THE WORLD BY CHANGING YOUR SHOPPING HABITS: BUY LOCAL!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bOKGJm00bFc/U0g7nY0ORdI/AAAAAAAAAaM/9Vi59Ns_VV8/s1600/Shop+Local+in+the+High+Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bOKGJm00bFc/U0g7nY0ORdI/AAAAAAAAAaM/9Vi59Ns_VV8/s1600/Shop+Local+in+the+High+Street.jpg" height="398" width="640" /></i></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>More people are beginning to rediscover the benefits of shopping at independent local shops. It's better for the community, provides better quality, is environmentally sustainable and is free of supermarket cartels and should stimulate competition and better consumer choice.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">Sick
of hearing tales of multinational coffee shops who don't pay UK corporation
tax? Annoyed at the way supermarkets screw customers and suppliers? Wish that all those empty units in the local
shopping centre were turned into thriving independent retailers?</span></i></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><br />Well,
follow LUCY PATTERSON'S lead and do something about it. As Lucy explains, by
shopping and thinking local, we can not only create employment but create
communities.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Change
the world by changing your little bit of it. </i></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FROM
the industrial revolution, to the dawn of the world wide web, it would appear
that we are constantly led to believe that international is better than
national; national is better than local.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">But
what about local?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">In
this age of globalisation and international banking meltdowns, I firmly believe
that there is a place for the local to re-emerge.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I
see embracing what I have on my doorstep and utilising it to its best effect as
the currently missing catalyst for improving society. I am not talking about
buying successfully ‘localised’ products and services; ones that we are led to
believe have been developed with our particular culture in mind; I mean grass
roots local. Products and services that are developed by people actually living
within the community they serve; products and services that give back to the
community in which they are based.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Think
back to the times when your parents or grandparents had to buy their food from
local shops and producers. Said producers were accountable for their wares and
their trading places formed the hub of communities. Whether it be the market
stall, butchers shop or simply the farm gate; there was transparency and
simplicity in the sourcing of the things we needed and if something ran out or
was not available at the time, we went without; sustainability and seasonality.
Simple.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gTaJABZFBaA/U0g9khHgRNI/AAAAAAAAAaY/bE0ahNgY-Vc/s1600/High+Street+Shop+Local.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gTaJABZFBaA/U0g9khHgRNI/AAAAAAAAAaY/bE0ahNgY-Vc/s1600/High+Street+Shop+Local.jpg" height="346" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Now
cast your mind to the present day, when almost everything we need – and even
more that we don’t – can be purchased via the internet from a supplier that
works on a global scale. You don’t even have to interact with a real person to
do your weekly shop and you certainly don’t need to worry about whether
asparagus is in season before you click ‘buy’!</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">And
if you work from home - as many of us do these days - then chances are you can
go days without engaging face to face with a single other soul beyond your
immediate household. (Face time does not count.)</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Are
you feeling the sense of community?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Do
you relate to your neighbours?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Do
you even know your neighbours?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Now
I’m not naïve enough to believe that globalisation doesn’t have its place.
Indeed it stems back further in time than the ‘powers that be’ would like us to
believe. It is not a wholly new phenomenon – just think</span><span lang="EN-US">
of the spice trails of the fifteenth</span><span lang="EN-US"> century. The difference now is that it has become an
extreme. An extreme that too many people accept as the norm, without question.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">You
need a book. You visit Tesco.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">You
need milk and a loaf of bread. You visit Tesco.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">You
need your shoes heeling. Oh, now why has the little cobblers shop on the High
Street closed down? You need your shoes heeling. You buy new shoes in Tesco.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">You
don’t worry about the cobbler losing his livelihood. You don’t worry about how
he is now feeding and clothing his family, even though he lives on your street.
You didn’t even know he lived on your street.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">You
see where I’m going with this don’t you? Sure, I’m attempting to tug at your
heart strings, but if you’re reading this with any emotion at all, I’m onto a
winner. You see thankfully, slowly but surely, there are a growing band of people
like me – and hopefully you – who are making a conscious decision to get back
out into their community, discover what small local business’ there are in
their area, ask their neighbours what they do for a living and then try to
support them in doing so.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">New
buoyancy is developing. A new form of local economic and community empowerment
is emerging. People are looking to places other than Starbucks to buy their
morning coffee. The knock on effect of this is that people are becoming more
aware of the impact their pound can have within their local community; meaning
they are supporting themselves as well as their neighbours.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Technological
advances and the emergence of social media are being reclaimed for the benefit
of ‘the local’ with dedicated hash-tagged hours surfacing on platforms such as
Twitter to give voice to the small local business’ and community groups that
would otherwise not be found and who certainly do not have the marketing
budgets required to survive in the dog eat dog world of the multi-national
corporations. This is more dog help dog.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Puppy
socialisation at its best. Now if I lay down and play nice, will you give me a
biscuit? I can recommend several great local bakers.</span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>JULIAN SAYER is on holiday but will return next week for a GOOD FRIDAY FINANCIAL</b></i></span></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-56649752346422855352014-04-06T20:07:00.001+01:002014-04-06T20:15:08.311+01:00A POLITICAL FOOTBALL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mymHiryqu8s/U0Gi06bY-WI/AAAAAAAAAZk/kWu1NRm0hvU/s1600/Wayne+Rooney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mymHiryqu8s/U0Gi06bY-WI/AAAAAAAAAZk/kWu1NRm0hvU/s1600/Wayne+Rooney.jpg" height="272" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Coining it in: Wayne Rooney is paid £500,000 per day and is laughing all the way to the bank. James Campbell reveals an uncanny similarity between professional footballers and their bosses, and politicians. The solution: don't support professional football and in the political arena, don't vote.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Whether
</span><span lang="EN-US">it’s voting</span><span lang="EN-US"> or supporting, the solution is in our hands</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="146" width="200" /></span></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Guest
blogger JAMES CAMPBELL offers a solution to football supporters who are </b></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fed up
being ripped off. He explains how direct action against the ills of football
can also be applied to politics.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
WAS talking to a Newcastle United fan the other day and he was bemoaning the
fact that money had ruined football.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
general terms he thought it was obscene that the likes of Wayne Rooney was
getting paid £300,000 a week and that Mike Ashley was using Newcastle United to
make money for himself and had no interest in the footballing success of the
club beyond that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I
asked what he was doing about it. He didn’t have a clue what I was on
about. So I asked if he held a season
ticket at Newcastle or a Sky Sports subscription to watch football. Yes to both.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So
I said OK, cancel both, don’t go to another game, buy another shirt or any
other merchandise until things change.
Encourage others to do the same.
The response: “Ye cannot dee that, ye’ve gotta support ya team man.”</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I
asked if he’d protested in any way. He said they often chanted anti Ashley
slogans at games and once turned their back on the field before a game….so he
pays the man he hates his hard cash to shout abuse at him.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So
I explained that he was as responsible for the ruin of the game as Rooney,
Ashley and all of the others fleecing it.
He looked utterly scoobied.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So
in really simple terms I went on. What
do you think would happen if everyone just refused to renew their tickets and
cancelled their Sky Sports?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Blank
look…..</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WR-ga1_zwf4/U0GlzercJ-I/AAAAAAAAAZs/YOxxIEIaN6U/s1600/Don't+vote+for+the+love+of+freedom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WR-ga1_zwf4/U0GlzercJ-I/AAAAAAAAAZs/YOxxIEIaN6U/s1600/Don't+vote+for+the+love+of+freedom.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">OK
this is what would happen, cash flowing into the club would stop from ticket
and merchandise sales. Advertisers and
other sponsors would stop pumping money into a club where attendances
disappeared because there would be no audience to see the advertisements.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">If
everyone did this across all football clubs then the profit in it would
disappear for these deep pocketed money men.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Same
with Sky, if everyone stopped their subscriptions they’d begin to get the
message, stop showing football and more importantly stop pumping their money
into the game.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Once
the cash into the game dried up the obscene amounts of money being paid to
players would stop, then as a result the game would be played only by those who
genuinely enjoyed the game, had a passion for it and as a result would probably
be better at it. It would probably be
more watchable without huge sums of money at stake and therefore better for fans. In short ultimate the power is with the
punter, as long as they act together.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">This
is much the same as my view on voting…..</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Replace
players with MP’s, paid obscene amounts of money for doing very little and to
be honest, most probably couldn’t give a crap about what they do as long as the
money keeps flowing.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Replace
teams with political parties with supporters who will blindly follow their team
regardless of how badly they let them down over and over again.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Replace
owners and sponsors with party donors and lobbyists who on the face of it are
also supporters pumping money into their party for the love of it, but in
reality they expect that money to be repaid several times over, it’s an
investment. You put money in so that
MP’s change laws to make you profits or vote on things in a way that protects
your interests.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The
currency paid by the supporters? Your
vote! None of this can work without the
votes.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Voting
validates the whole thing, they use the vote to say everything they’re doing
they do it in your name. So like
football what we need to do as a nation, if we want to fix our political system
and get back people who will only represent us because they believe it to be
the right thing to do and to protect the interests of the people they
represent, is very, very simple.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>STOP
VOTING!</b></span> Do it now, encourage others to do the same…..It will only work if
everyone joins in!</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">FEEL IT? LOVE IT? THEN SHARE IT!</span></b></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sysUD2G-GTE/Uz8Rjr9l90I/AAAAAAAAAZA/zHyR9CkyjDk/s1600/No+to+the+Banksters!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sysUD2G-GTE/Uz8Rjr9l90I/AAAAAAAAAZA/zHyR9CkyjDk/s1600/No+to+the+Banksters!.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Whether it's Spain, Greece or the United Kingdom, once proud nations have had their strategic state industries, wealth, assets, cultures and futures systematically stripped and sold-off to pay for the damage wreaked by greedy investment banksters and their friends in politically low places.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4HSJX9qBIc/UyIyLvQnDpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/vdYu0ldNGD0/s1600/Friday+Financial+logo+medium.jpg" height="142" width="400" /></a><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">It's Friday. It's financial. It's Friday Financial with JULIAN SAYER.</span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Banksters
have stripped countries of their assets and brough</b></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">t misery to millions.</b></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In every
region of the world I can think of, the sovereignty and wealth of each nation
is being sold to the highest bidder.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The once
proud people of each country are having it sold from beneath them. Each nation,
and the people within it, are under attack, not from the so called terrorists
we hear so much about, but from within the financial markets that demand their
pound of flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In every
country, the people who run the Government have largely decided they no longer
wish to serve the country's best interests, but prefer instead to serve the
interests of the chosen few; the billionaires, the hedge funds, and the
investment banks. They are in the process of gorging themselves on the sales of
assets, houses and nationalised industries all around the world. The general
public is being short changed in every respect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here in
the UK whether it's the Royal Mail or LloydsTSB, the taxpayers' assets are
being sold to help keep the nation's debts under some sort of control. You can argue
the rights and wrongs of selling all the state's assets, but when you do, at
least get fair value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is
no doubt that the Royal Mail sale reeks of desperation and mismanagement. Royal
Mail shares are currently more than 70% higher than the 2013 sale price. The
investment bank that advised the Government made millions, even Mr Osborne’s best man had his finger in the pie. Everybody involved
made a nice little turn, with the exception of the taxpayer who lost out to the
tune of £750m. A full breakdown of the
sale can be found here;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26819971">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26819971</a></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hTBjCWi0klY/Uz8SRmC_WBI/AAAAAAAAAZI/e4FBbYWILgc/s1600/Barcelona+Spanish+Protesters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hTBjCWi0klY/Uz8SRmC_WBI/AAAAAAAAAZI/e4FBbYWILgc/s1600/Barcelona+Spanish+Protesters.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Anti-riot police clash with demonstrators at the end of a march dubbed "Disobedience 2014" in Barcelona on March 29, 2014. (Image courtesy of RT, AFP Photo/Quique Garcia).</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has
been going on in every country. As the debts around the world get bigger, both
individuals and countries are having to sell their assets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can
see the sales mounting up all around, and this is nowhere more evident than in
the European Union (EU.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the
dust settles and historians write their accounts of the economic plunder that
has occurred, right at the top of their list will be the depression like
conditions in Southern Europe. I could have chosen Greece, Italy, Portugal or
numerous other countries, but the one I want to use to illustrate exactly what
is happening is a country a lot of Brits
have a liking for ....Spain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you
think of Spain's plight since 2007, think the UKs recession and times that by five! Spain was hit particularly hard following the 2007/08 financial crash, their
property bubble burst, the construction industry folded and unemployment
soared. Spain has now seen six straight
years of job destruction. Some 198,900 jobs disappeared in Spain last year, and
3.5 million have vanished since the country's crisis began in 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vaNmDUU7gyo/Uz8S3S7bOgI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/nOHClWiy7O8/s1600/Einstein+-+The+World+will+be+destroyed+by+those+who+do+nothing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vaNmDUU7gyo/Uz8S3S7bOgI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/nOHClWiy7O8/s1600/Einstein+-+The+World+will+be+destroyed+by+those+who+do+nothing.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are
1,832,300 households in Spain where nobody has a job. That is 1.36 percent more
than a year earlier. Some 686,600 households in Spain have no income at all — not even social security. That is twice the figure seen in
2007, or before the crisis struck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than
3.5 million in Spain have been out of work for at least a year. Some 2.3
million people have been out of work for at least two years. Some 69,000 found
work in 2013, but unemployment actually rose in the final three months of the
year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spain's
new jobs are of poor quality. The number of ongoing positions in Spain fell by
269,000 in 2013 while the number of temporary contracts rose by 81,300. Some
69,000 found work in 2013, but unemployment actually rose in the final three
months of the year. This is because the number of 'active' people in Spain — those working, or seeking employment — actually fell by 267,900 last year, leaving a smaller pool
of people fighting for the same jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many
people - especially those in the 16–35 age group - have simply given up looking
for work, or have left the country to look for work elsewhere. They are
therefore no longer included in the official figures. Working Spaniards put in
5.86 million hours of overtime every week from October to December, up 18.4
percent on a year earlier. With this huge unemployment came the pain, some
350,000 families have been forced out of their homes since the property market
crashed in 2008. The full horror of this disaster can be seen here;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26228300">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26228300</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Spanish
economy has been destroyed, families have been torn apart, and hundreds of
thousands have lost their homes. These homes (and many villas) built in the
property boom now lie on the Spanish banks' balance sheets. Spanish banks are
burdened with as much as 40 billion euros of repossessed houses and are under
increasing pressure to sell as prices fall.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spanish
banks acquired the assets after companies and homeowners defaulted during the
country’s worst economic slowdown in
50 years. Spain was forced to seek a European bailout for the industry and
reduced the number of savings banks to seven from 45. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spain's
Banco Popular just released earnings showing a 19.6% rise in non-performing
loans at 1.2 billion euros. This is the highest bad loan ratio on record at
14.27%. Spanish Banks need to start raising some money to repair their balance
sheets ready for the EU stress tests later this year. How they will do this is
selling these properties to investment funds and hedge funds. As the Spanish
banks’ juiciest real estate assets
are quietly transferred onto the books of the world’s largest financial institutions. Shopping malls, office
buildings, industrial estates (for those with a voracious appetite for risk)
and residential properties… all are being snatched up at
bargain basement prices, at prices as much as seventy per cent below their original value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The list
is growing and features some of the biggest names in global finance – names such as Blackrock, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JP
Morgan Chase, Spain’s Santander, Bill Gates, New York
hedge fund Davidson Mempner Capital Management LLC, and Venezuelan billionaire
financier Juan Carlos Escotet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the
financial crisis hit the banks were saved by the tax payers billions, in return
those banks have slowly been starving the very people that saved them. Bank
lending has dropped to a perilous rate, their balance sheets are loaded with
bad loans while the super-rich are circling, buying up whatever takes their
fancy. Be it Spanish property, Greek railways or soon to be Ukraine pipelines,
the plunder is remorseless. As a said I could have chosen just about any
country to illustrate this;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/greece-protests-sell-off-historic-buildings">http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/greece-protests-sell-off-historic-buildings</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This tale
is mirrored in just about every country not only in Europe, but around the
world. There are no figures, but millions of families have had their lives
ruined, children are living in poverty, and communities torn apart. Yet the men
who caused this tragedy are set to literally make trillions of euros on the back
of this misery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Has this
huge transfer of assets helped their economies, no, not at all. Their debts are
still growing, unemployment is still a huge issue. The deficit Eurozone
countries (Ireland just as Greece, Spain just as Portugal) are still in chains,
caught up in a negative cycle between un-payable debts, insolvent banks,
recessionary forces and mindless universal austerity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you
don't think this matters to people in the UK then you are very much mistaken.
It is now a global economy. What the people of the UK and every nation must
grasp, is that their elected Governments are meant to protect their interests,
and not the interests of the chosen few. Too many times countries such as
Italy, Spain, and Portugal have unelected Governments, brought in by the troika
who have different agendas. Can the ECB, IMF and EU really have Spanish
interests at heart when deciding what has to be sold to balance the books?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The EU is
doomed to fail. It is in a hopeless
position because it cannot do what needs to be done. It’s thus condemned to hard times and blighted lives,
especially for the young in the South - Greece, Spain, Italy and
Portugal. It will be burdened with internal nightmares while another tragedy
unfolds on its eastern border in Ukraine. Europe will take a generation to get
over this, if indeed it ever does! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the
pain will continue for years to come, those responsible have made billions and
offer no help or solution. Protests and civil unrest have only just begun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following
my article of Friday 12th March titled "loaded dice in the world's
casino" it looks like you can add the stock market to the list of rigged
markets. It's a crazy world, and it's all about greed and money.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/31/us-markets-hft-flashboys-idUSBREA2U03D20140331">http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/31/us-markets-hft-flashboys-idUSBREA2U03D20140331</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having
written pretty much all of this this week's blog, I was just about to send this
off to Harry, when I read this. It pretty much goes along with everything I
have said, but what is surprising is that it's the right wing Daily Mail the
published it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2591299/How-vampire-squid-controlling-lives-They-helped-cause-crash-Then-profited-Now-Bank-England-Fed-ex-Goldman-Sachs-chiefs-pulling-levers-power.html#ixzz2xeqSdhoN">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2591299/How-vampire-squid-controlling-lives-They-helped-cause-crash-Then-profited-Now-Bank-England-Fed-ex-Goldman-Sachs-chiefs-pulling-levers-power.html#ixzz2xeqSdhoN</a></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-3743136068774693782014-04-03T20:49:00.001+01:002014-04-03T22:17:26.414+01:00CAPITAL PUNISHMENT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CzhZsYJW2_8/Uz3Pzg-01fI/AAAAAAAAAYw/rOupUy7wvmQ/s1600/Housing+Bubble+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CzhZsYJW2_8/Uz3Pzg-01fI/AAAAAAAAAYw/rOupUy7wvmQ/s1600/Housing+Bubble+2.jpg" height="368" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Rising
London property prices bringing misery to millions</span></b></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i>by</i><b>HARRY BLACKWOOD</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">ONE
of the most accepted signs of madness is hearing voices inside your head. These
voices generally tell the affected person to do irrational things that could be
easily described as mad.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Well,
all over the country - but especially in London and the South East of England -
there are people who </span><span lang="EN-US">are </span><span lang="EN-US">very obviously mad. There
are voices in their heads that are telling them that now would be a good time
to buy a house. As crazy as it sounds, they are doing precisely that. It's
madness of the type that affected The Dutch in the 17th century when tulip
mania gripped the country and tulips were changing hands for thousands of
pounds.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The
UK equivalent of this form of madness can be seen every day on the streets of
London where very ordinary houses are changing hands for more money than the average
person will earn in a lifetime. What's more, this gross stupidity is belong
encouraged by the government with the BBC, as usual, acting as chief
cheerleader.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The
government wanted to create a housing bubble in a desperate attempt to mask the
dire state of Britain's economy, but they saw that there was a major problem:
lenders unwilling to grant mortgages much above 80% and potential buyers being
unable to save the massive amount of cash required for a deposit. Enter stage
far right the Help to Buy Scheme.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oJkSNkVuoSk/Uz24wDYVEdI/AAAAAAAAAYg/13akPwLEA2s/s1600/House+Prices+London+Estate+Agency.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oJkSNkVuoSk/Uz24wDYVEdI/AAAAAAAAAYg/13akPwLEA2s/s1600/House+Prices+London+Estate+Agency.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Prices through the roof. A young mother looks in despair through an estate agent's window at the astronomical cost of homes in London.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Under
this scheme, potential buyers can borrow up to £600,000 and only pay 5%
deposit. So, it doesn't take a genius to work out that £30,000 deposit and a
loan of £570,000 and hey presto you've bought yourself a house in London.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">But,
there is always a snag. The snag in this particular "if it’s too good to
be true, then it probably is" scheme is twofold. To start with, while
£600,000 will buy you a small mansion in the North of England, such an amount
won't get you very much in the capital. In fact, in most parts of central
London, your £600,000 will buy you a shit hole.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Latest
figures released by Nationwide show that the average price for a property in
the capital is now £362,699. Considering this figure takes into account tiny
flats in areas that you wouldn't make your worst enemy live</span><span lang="EN-US">,</span><span lang="EN-US">
and you can work out that your £600,000 isn't exactly going to have you living
in decadent splendour</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26844488">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26844488</a></span></u><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">An
indication of what you might get for such a colossal sum of money can be gauged
from an excellent article in this week's Guardian by Suzanne Moore. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/02/london-housing-bubble-property-market-madness">http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/02/london-housing-bubble-property-market-madness</a></span></u><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Suzanne
went to look round a two-bedroom ex-council flat in Kings Cross that she lived
in 20 years ago. The council paid her £15,000 to leave the dingy flat in a poor
area and she was glad to take the money and get out. That same pokey flat has
just sold for £500,000. I don't know about you but I do</span><span lang="EN-US">n't
even like venturing </span><span lang="EN-US">to the King's Cross area to get </span><span lang="EN-US">a </span><span lang="EN-US">train. I
certainly wouldn't want to make my home there.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">But
let's press on and assume that our imaginary 21st century equivalent of the
Dutch tulip hunters have been totally
brainwashed by the government bullshit and have decided to leap head first into
the property market with their £30,000 deposit in hand. At current interest
rates the monthly mortgage payments would be about £2,700. But look what
happens if mortgage rates went up to a reasonable 6%. Your monthly outgoings
would rocket by over £1,000 to £3,700 a month.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Without
sounding too much like that prat off the tele</span><span lang="EN-US">vision</span><span lang="EN-US"> "</span><span lang="EN-US">so who would live in a house lik</span><span lang="EN-US">e this?</span><span lang="EN-US">”</span><span lang="EN-US">
Well, I have no idea. But </span><span lang="EN-US">I </span><span lang="EN-US">know who won't be living in
it. It won't be a nurse or a doctor and it's probably even beyond the scope of
a hospital surgeon unless he has a wife who also works. It certainly won't be a
firefighter or a teacher or a social worker or a soldier who risked his life
for his country.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">But
there are millions of doctors, nurses, firefighters, teachers and ex-soldiers
who work in London or the outskirts. So where do they live?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Well,
these essential people who keep the capital functioning have been forced out of
London long ago and as prices rise they are being forced further afield. That
itself poses a number of issues. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, soaring
house prices in London (an 18% increase in the first three months of 2014)
radiate out across the South of England. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So,
you live miles outside London but to afford to live there you need to earn
London wages. To do that you need to commute into the city. That means paying
thousands </span><span lang="EN-US">of pounds </span><span lang="EN-US">in rail fares and add</span><span lang="EN-US">ing</span><span lang="EN-US">
two, three, four or even five hours to your working day in travel time. Your
eight hour day is now a ten or twelve hour day. For much of the year you leave
home in the dark and return in d</span><span lang="EN-US">arkness. You hardly see
your fam</span><span lang="EN-US">ily
and have no time or inclination to socialise or enjoy life. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">It
may sound like the script from </span><span lang="EN-US">a </span><span lang="EN-US">science fiction
horror tale but it's how more and more people are living. Truth is they're not
living, they're existing. They are working to exist and existing just to work.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So,
why not open your eyes and see this con for exactly what it is? Perhaps the
French legal definition for mortgage might help? The literal translation is
death pledge. That is exactly what millions of people are currently buying
into: a life of slavery and endless toil in order to just survive. A pledge to
do so until death do us part. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Work
to pay the mortgage. Work to pay the train fares. Work to pay off the student
loan. Work to pay the child-minder. Work to pay the car loan. Work, work, work
and more work. Then you die.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Never
has there been a man who has been lying on his death bed and said: "I wish
I'd spent more time at work". Work has always been grossly overrated but
now it's nothing more than slavery. Trust me, it's only going to get worse
unless we do something about it.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
choice is ours. Always we have choices.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><SCRIPT charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=GetScriptTemplate"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT><A HREF="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fnamblaandsha-21%2F8003%2F40aadcb5-141f-4f63-a878-9ab1726cd6c9&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.co.uk Widgets</A></NOSCRIPT></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097295489579259265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517705110836256183.post-30329103528767092732014-04-02T00:15:00.004+01:002014-04-03T12:08:00.490+01:00REFLECTIONS ON ME, YOU, MANKIND AND A MOTE OF DUST<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_474jmH_lI/UzszOZoy3LI/AAAAAAAAAW8/Jn_4DtsAY7Y/s1600/Voyager+1's+Journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_474jmH_lI/UzszOZoy3LI/AAAAAAAAAW8/Jn_4DtsAY7Y/s1600/Voyager+1's+Journey.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A voyage of discovery. It's September 5, 1977 and NASA/JPL's Voyage 1 spacecraft is launched atop a Titan IIIE/Centaur booster at Cape Canaveral's Launch Pad 41 (left). Thirteen years and 3.7 billion years later scientist Carl Sagan insists with NASA's Administrator Richard H Truly that for the benefit of public education the cameras of mankind's little robotic emissary are turned towards the inner solar system for a photograph of the Earth. At this distance, beyond the orbit of Neptune our planet is photographed as just 0.12 of a pixel (right).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><b><i>As guest blogger, ANDY FLEMING in his own lifelong </i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><b><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR-tKTW8oR0/UxjBSUxz5-I/AAAAAAAAAPc/1AfTtmk03mM/s1600/Guest+Blogger.jpg" height="146" width="200" /></a></i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><b><i>voyage of consciousness-raising, makes the ultimate connection between our ancient and vast cosmos and the human spheres of politics, economics, and philosophy. In the process he deduces that our very survival depends on new economic institutions, caring for each other and cherishing our Pale Blue Dot, the Earth, the only home humanity has ever known.</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m sure that all of us who share the same political,
economic, sociological and philosophical perspective of this unique, revealing
and informative blog arrive at this standpoint via a variety of routes. For some
of us, our journeys may have been circuitous and lengthy, perhaps taking a
lifetime. Meanwhile others may have been encouraged at an early age to foster a
sense of equity, fairness, critical thinking, healthy scepticism and a disdain
for greed and selfishness.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My own voyage of awareness, consciousness-raising,
synchronicity and connection-forging has taken me from my college education in science,
then my university education in sociology, my employment in youth work, the
retail sector and the media and then on to my burning passion: marvelling at
the vastness of the cosmos and our place in space. Anyone who knows me knows
that my avid interest is mankind’s original science of astronomy, practised by generations
of human beings, way back into the mists of antiquity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whatever subject we use as a vehicle in our individual
journeys of discovery that reveal who we are and from where we came (both as
individuals and collectively as a species), the road often includes a pivotal
turning point or spiritual awakening. Our whole world view changes profoundly
and with it our beliefs and aspirations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Such profound personal development and change often arises
through exposure to the works of great philosophers, sociologists, poets,
authors or religious leaders. And yes, sometimes, as in the case of Nelson
Mandela politicians too! Such progress may also not be without some personal discomfort
and stress, and indeed to some people, change may be a psychological imperative
as they battle their own personal demons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Personal change within the political or religious spheres
for example may lead to profound conflict with one’s peers, friends and family
as one develops new ways of seeing society and the physical world. These new
beliefs and new ways of thinking with healthy scepticism often place the person
on a direct collision course with prevailing paradigms and the orthodox
perspectives of the social and physical worlds. The invariable outcome however is
a better, healthier human being at peace with oneself, the wide world and the
cosmos.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JObw3gMUXBc/Uzs_ACY5TqI/AAAAAAAAAXM/zhIiuMCqt4Q/s1600/Carl+Sagan+quote+on+scientific+illiteracy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JObw3gMUXBc/Uzs_ACY5TqI/AAAAAAAAAXM/zhIiuMCqt4Q/s1600/Carl+Sagan+quote+on+scientific+illiteracy.jpg" height="322" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To individuals such as myself, this is of paramount
importance because I had reached a stage in my life where psychologically and
philosophically I no longer wished to live in a world dominated by prejudice,
greed, corruption, war, surveillance, ever eroding personal and civil liberties
and employment rights, the industrial-military complex, and the inequitable
distribution of wealth and natural resources. I no longer wish to live in a
society governed by individuals who directly or indirectly incite hatred
against minority groups, the unemployed, the poor and the disabled. Their almost
psychopathic lack of empathy to the poverty and suffering of others I find
repulsive. No longer do I wish to live in a country or a world where a few
individuals possess fifty per cent of humanity’s wealth whilst a callous blind
eye is turned to poverty, starvation and environmental degradation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-axsU6dJ8p64/UzvZZnQ6r-I/AAAAAAAAAX0/Ak1RXrk_-g0/s1600/NASA's+Voyager+1+spacecraft+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-axsU6dJ8p64/UzvZZnQ6r-I/AAAAAAAAAX0/Ak1RXrk_-g0/s1600/NASA's+Voyager+1+spacecraft+2.jpg" height="232" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft. At a distance of about 19 billion<br />kilometres as of April 2014, it is the farthest human made object<br />from Earth.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For me, this major pivotal, life-changing turning point and
crystallisation of thought came when I read what I consider to be the most profound
prose ever written by a human hand. It’s about a tiny pale blue dot of light
measuring 0.12 of a pixel that was imaged by the NASA/Jet Propulsion
Laboratory’s Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1990, at a record distance of 3.7 billion
miles from the Earth, beyond the orbit of Neptune, and at the edge of our solar
system.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m getting down from my soapbox now and I’m going to be
quiet, because I would like you to carefully read it please. Here it is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Consider
again at that dot. That’s here, that’s home, that’s us. On it everyone you
love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever
was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands
of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and
forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization,
every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father,
hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt
politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner
in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a
sunbeam.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of
blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph,
they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the
endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the
scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their
misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their
hatreds.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our
posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some
privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale
light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our
obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from
elsewhere to save us from ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else, at
least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes.
Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our
stand.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It
has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience.
There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than
this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility
to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue
dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 107%;"><b>Listen to Carl Sagan narrating this profound quote, taken from his 1994 book <i>Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sQi3ftW_o4E" width="640"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The author of these spine-tingling and spiritually
uplifting words was not a religious leader or
philosopher. Neither was he a
politician or a world leader. He was a scientist of the highest standing, a
NASA astronomer whose accolades included creating and presenting the fabulous PBS
documentary series <i>Cosmos</i>, scientifically
briefing the NASA Apollo astronauts before they left for the Moon and being
involved at the highest level with the Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2 and
the Mars Viking Landers of 1976. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">He spent most of his career as a professor of astronomy at Cornell University where he directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. His works received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the US National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal, the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book <i>The Dragons of Eden</i>, and, regarding <i>Cosmos: A Personal Voyage</i>, two Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award and the Hugo Award.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> His name, was Dr Carl Sagan.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TLrofjCjLLI/UztDFpT7uhI/AAAAAAAAAXk/XNXgtbsA60Q/s1600/Dr+Carl+Sagan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TLrofjCjLLI/UztDFpT7uhI/AAAAAAAAAXk/XNXgtbsA60Q/s1600/Dr+Carl+Sagan.jpg" height="320" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Carl Sagan (1934-1996).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Through his work I have come to realise the importance,
perhaps even uniqueness, of both Homo sapiens, and our Earth, and why as a
species we must survive, and protect our beautiful blue planet. This is despite
the fact that at the moment the human future looks bleak with wars, greed,
corruption, squandering of natural resources, gross consumerism and a lack of
empathy to others being the order of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But like Carl Sagan I firmly believe that our species can
eventually rise to the challenge and replace old and corrupt economic models
and institutions based on greed and infinite growth, with new ones based on
human need and environmental sustainability. We can then advance and equitably
share our adequate, although finite planetary resources. Because, let’s be
clear; there are indeed enough resources on our pale blue dot for everyone if
they are shared equitably. Children know this, they also show an uncanny
imagination, and awe and wonder of the natural world. It’s just that as they
grow older their parents and the education system kicks it all out of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Many years ago, my then toddler son once said to me after
his day at nursery, “there is enough food (and resources) in the world for
everyone’s need, there isn’t enough for everyone’s greed”.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JacN1Q3mvMM/Uz1Ah11fuWI/AAAAAAAAAYI/RB_dw88SJJY/s1600/Engage%252C+Think%252C+Inspire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JacN1Q3mvMM/Uz1Ah11fuWI/AAAAAAAAAYI/RB_dw88SJJY/s1600/Engage%252C+Think%252C+Inspire.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> What a fantastic
thought for a five year old, and why adults can’t think like this, I thought.
His toddler musings on the physical world also showed a similar imagination,
with questions such as “why is the sky blue?” Instead of shrugging him off with
“because it is stupid!” which seems to be response of today’s time-poor
parents, I gave him the response a child truly deserves. As a proponent of
basic scientific literacy I told him in simple terms that the sky is blue due
to the scattering of sunlight in the Earth’s atmosphere by tiny particles of
gas, called Nitrogen atoms.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is the birth-rite of every child to explore both the
cosmos and the social world anew, in a society where knowledge is prioritised
over the cult of so-called ‘celebrities’, be they from the worlds of movies,
music or sport. Every person has a right to a basic understanding of how the
world and cosmos work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We have contrived to produce a world where greed,
prejudice, superstition, social and economic ignorance, and scientific
illiteracy and have been allowed to develop and co-exist with high technology.
Many of our scientists have been corrupted and are employed by the military
industrial complex making armaments and weapons of mass destruction. We live in
a society totally dependent on high technology and science, and yet virtually
nobody (and most worryingly of all, our political leaders) knows anything about
science. It’s a heady combination which if not halted will one day blow up in
our faces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I am convinced that if we are not to destroy ourselves
then we must prioritise social and scientific education and cherish and care
for both one another and the Earth itself. To be able to exercise choice,
political or otherwise requires real knowledge, not the propaganda espoused by
a few powerful individuals and companies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We owe it to ourselves, our fellow human beings and that
vast cosmos, so immense and so old from which we arose. As Carl Sagan (1980)
said, we and are so special precisely because:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Some
part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return, and we
can, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 107%;"><b>because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star stuff.<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">We
are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bibliography
and Recommended Reading:</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sagan, C. and Druyan, A., <i>Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the
Millennium</i>. Ballantine Books, 1997. ISBN: 0-345-37918-7</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sagan, C., <i>Cosmos</i>,
Random House, New York, 1980. ISBN: 978-0345331359<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sagan, C., <i>Pale
Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space</i>. Random House, 1994.</span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">ISBN:
978-0345376595<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sagan, C., <i>The
Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, </i>Ballantine Books,
1996.</span> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ISBN:
978-0345409461.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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