A great concert

Posted by SuperDiamondDogs on Aug 19, 2011 on YouTube

So thats how you get to meet the Queen

My vocabulary (as you know) is not very big, So when i watched "This Week" last night i thought i had misheard or got the wrong end of the stick of something someone said. So i gets back this morning to double check that i heard correctly or that i had not caught it out of context.


Step forward Alan Johnson who came out with this breath-taking abuse of the English language, Apparently it is a sign of courage to bomb and terrorise  parts of Ireland and mainland England, I remember the  90`s when this happened, The windows in my flat (double glazed) shook (and i was living in Barking at the time), Yes Alan that was "courage" or when the IRA showed courage by doing this .

I know some MPs are not very bright but what the IRA done and demonsrated was not courage.

Besides what sort of example are showing the world?  Bomb us and meet the Queen?


I am happy that the IRA are no longer terrorising people in London, But to be rewarded in the way they have, where they have not been held to account for the crimes they commisoned is a utter disgrace, and to top it of they get to meet the Queen.

If you can bare to watch a terrorist shake hands with the Queen then the clip is here.



Video Via liarpoliticians

It did not take long.

I was hoping to see Ed Balls stand up in the House of Commons and apologise for his party`s mess in the Barclays affair.

Well I was disappointed, not only was Ed not there, we didn`t get the apology that was required either.

Have no fear though! You can always rely on Dennis Skinner to take every opportunity possible to blame everything on Baroness Thatcher. According to this clip Mr Skinner claims that Barclays did the crimes in 2005 due to leglislation passed in the 80`s, It seems he forgot that the FSA and tri-party system was set up by Comrade Brown and Balls (and actually opposed by the Tories at the time).

I have no problem with people admitting they were wrong and made a mistake (hell I have made loads) . but to say black is white and white is black is nothing but breath taking hypocrisy.

Then again there was a time when a Labour PM liked bankers....

     

 Videos Via liarpoliticians and Youtube 

Update: according to Guido Fawkes there was a different view expressed from the Labour front bench in the Lords.

  

A great tune :)

Its live and Darren Hayes is SOOOOO hot !!!! :)

Enjoy :)

Would you trust this man?

It seems the former PM (Tony Blair) is guest editing the Evening Standard today.

I say good luck to him, he won 3 elections for the labour party and is their most successful leader in recent history. He is also the man that allowed Gordon Brown loose on the British economy (and that went well did`nt it).

We have heard lately from the labour party about Jeremy Hunt misleading parliament, Well lets never let them forget this from the former PM Tony Blair :

So Labour, How is the hunt for those pesky WMD`s coming along?

Life aint perfect

Think about it......

Someone sittin on the fence....

What a day, the Labour fightback marches on!!!!

Apparently the PM (Call me Dave) has proposed cutting or scrapping housing benefit for under 25`s,  and as normal someone from Labour goes a little bit over the top.

As readers will know i am all for free speech, but when people go a little bit over the top and rant its always worth reading.

Step forward Labour Councillor Julie Hodgkiss , who doesn't hold back in think what she thinks of Tories:

This

"And what of kids leaving care? Have they answered that yet ? #toryscum"

And then this :

"

#Bedroomtax. Where are we going to build this city of adapted bungalows Mr Cameron? #toryscum"

Followed by  this :

"Let's tell all the kids sitting an exam THAT day, they're all stooopid and their work is pointless !!! Rahhh #toryscum"

And then calmed down with this :

" I'll stop ranting now twitter. Goodnight."

Good idea, If Ed Miliband and Labour want to appeal to potential swing voters maybe its not a good idea to label them as "toryscum" eh? 

Just a thought.....


Update: I missed one :

"People. PEOPLE, human beings, have to live SOMEWHERE. #toryscum"

This will inspire!

As tweets drift down my time line (when i look at it) something sometimes catches my eye, sometimes out of curiosity or someone i always read, So when Better together tweeted this i thought i would have a look as i had only just followed them.

"BBC has sneak preview of our leaflets which start going out in the morning http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-18572750"

That's the tweet.

What caught my attention was the leaflets which they mention this , what a joke, boasting about the amount of money that taxpayers give to other countries, i mean that is really going to win voters over? they see their politicians with their snouts in the trough on a daily basis and the same politicians then boast about how much of your money they give away, still at least they are not buying Jets with it eh?.

Anyway if people were paid to design those leaflets then i say they are as out of touch as the people they campaign on behalf of.

I am all for Scottish independence, but i also what a fair contest.

Links Via BBC and Daily Mail and video from Youtube.

This tune is to help make those lovely People in Scotland  feel very patriotic :)

A tune from my younger days.

Enjoy :)

Oh, how we change over the years......

I wanna tell you something

I love blogging, i love reading an opinion from any side.

I want to focus on one word of that sentence. That word is "reading", as you readers know i am uneducated and from a different background from some readers and followers on twitter, Yes i have had a rough time in my past, but my biggest regret is not being able to read ( and write) properly.

I have so many things i want to say to you but cannot express or explain, while my spelling has improved (thanks spell check) and i strive to learn even by asking what some of you see as silly/stupid questions, well they not silly or stupid to me. One tip i picked up was to always ask questions (even if you get no reply), if you don't ask the question then you have no chance of a reply.

Like i said i want to improve.

Some of you will know that for Christmas i was given two books, They are :

1: Animal farm by George Orwell

2: The original River Cottage cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

 I wanted these so i could learn and improve my reading skills, However my wish to improve has been taken over by a touch of fear. To get into a book you must be able to understand properly ,quite quickly to keep up with flo of story etc.

Reading and understanding a words on a blog is ok, but try reading a book needing to use google to find out what the words mean is slightly different.

The two books i mention still sit their waiting for me to read them with me wanting the same, however fear is holding me back.

But i intend to overcome this, slowly but surely.

Good Strike Rate!

That was a comment from tonight's T20 cricket.

This is what the noble game of Cricket has come to, the player in question had hit 18 from about 10-12 balls (including a massive six) in setting a target for his team to defend (which they didn't). That's it people to be good/great you have to be a 20/20 *star*, i cringe after watching a lot of the IPL, the interviews before the toss, Talking to players during the game dancing ladies and men plus all the fire works. No people this is not cricket.

When players are now travelling the world doing the t20/ipl/big bash roadshow deciding whether they will represent their countries or pick up another fat cheque from a 2-bit circus of *entertainment* and disrespecting the great game of Test Cricket just to stroke their own egos.

How do we turn this around? Its simple, as fans we should use the market, lets stop watching this, If we don't watch they wont broadcast meaning they wont play it. I would love to see more 4 day county games rather than 4 nights/afternoons of bash and scamper.

The highest level of the game is 5 day Test cricket, the fair battle between bat and bat, the real test of your mental and physical ability.

A Test cap is worth more than any IPL cheque, Big Bash trip and domestic slog put together.

We are all custodians of the game.

PC Pain 2

I need to access at wireless network that already exists , am using the same modem.

Need idiots guide (step by step) please?

Update

Thanks for all your tips, However the PC is being very moody, i shall win with this* :)


*Just not today ;)

You have all been very helpful.

Update:

It seems my desktop has not got Wifi.

This problem will be sorted, thankyou again for all your help :)

P.C Pain

It finally arrived.

Nearly a week late my new PC arrived, It looks fantastic, i have a better screen, faster bits inside it and it was fairly easy to set up. So once done i excitedly downloaded firefox (i like it) and then log in to twitter and mail etc, then i came across a problem, it seems a few of the buttons are in the wrong place, the @ button gives you this " and the # button gives you \ .

Now i know that sometimes mistakes happens and the odd rouge bit can slip through the net but it doesn't inspire confidence in the rest of the bits if they cant even get the keyboard right.


Update:

After one failed attempt i done it , so thankyou for your help HappySlayerUK and  Tachybaptus  :)

Another Labour policy?

In an piece today, Jon Cruddas ( Labours policy review) has hinted that the Labour party under Ed Miliband will offer the voters a referendum on our membership of the EU , this is from the post :

"He wants to plug the public into the debate on Europe by offering an "in/out" referendum once the shape of the new Europeon union in known"

While i and many people will welcome this i seem to remember Ed Miliband ruling it out, Has Jon managed to change Eds mind?

The thing is, if any of the main parties offer us a referendum (and they convice us that they will keep the promise) it would give them a boost in the polls and help restore trust in politics.

So i do welcome this policy from the Labour party  and i hope that Ed Miliband will come on and tell us that he does back a referendum.

But what will happen if we vote the wrong way? ;)

Cricket

It`s been a sad day for cricket.

This morning we got the sad news that Tom Maynard had passed away and to be honest I have been trying to get my head round it. I cannot put into words how i feel, this has drained everything out of me today and made me cry.

Tom was only 23.

My thoughts are with Tom`s family and friends.

Rest in peace Tom

This is a statement from Surrey Cricket club : here

Say it again?

I am not a fan of doing politics on a Sunday but, i have just came across this tweet : here which you can also see here .

Matthew Hancock MP says "Very powerful restatement of why it's wrong to leave our debts to our children" , quite right as well.

One slight problem! When the coalition came to power the debt was around 800 billion pounds, yet Treasury says its going to rise to as much as 1.4 trillion pound.


So Mr Hancock , how exactly are you dealing with the debts?

Unless he meant our grandchildren? 

Weekend music

Enjoy :)

How Dare You!

While watching the England V Sweden game from Euro 2012 i was keeping a eye on twitter just to see reaction and emotions to the games events.

As you know on the list of people i follow are politicians, well today its Ian Austin MP with this one : picture or to see original tweet see here , Now i am sure he did not want to offend Liverpool fans, however i do think that that calling Andy Carroll a "donkey" is a bit harsh, this is a player that Liverpool Football Club paid £35 million pounds for.

I mean, imagine in a Tory MP called a Labour MP a "donkey" there would be outrage at Guardian Towers!!!

And, besides i think many donkeys up and down the country will be offended by that comparison ;)

On the other note, England did win 3-2 against Sweden.


Pic via Mister_Snoops

Is this Labour policy?

As most readers will know on a Thursday evening i sit down to watch BBC Question Time.

Each Thursday evening we are treated to the brightest and best political commentators and elected (and unelected) politicians to debate the subjects that are current affairs. Every now and then you get a insight into a certain parties thinking and policy direction.

This week step forward Labour spokeswoman Emily Thornberry who, while talking about the coalitions education policy she slipped this little gem out.

It seems that Labour policy is that children should not be taught the names of Kings and Queens of England.

One might also wonder other things they would like not be taught to children, namely always leaving office when they have run out of other peoples money maybe?


Video via @liarpoliticians

Re-Match?

There has been some fallout form the Tug of war, on one hand you have Guido Fawkes claiming that Total Politics cheated, yet on other hand you have Shane Greer saying that no-one cheated .

Well with the BBC footage being lost "the recording was corrupted." all claims and counter claim going back and forward must be settled at some stage so this debate can be closed.

Even tho they raised over 4k between them there are some bruised egos about.

But fear no more, Shane Greer of Total politics has left the door open for a re-match :

" lol, perhaps next year ;) "

Well Guido and rabble, are you up for this? will you choose you training a bit better, but will you risk your egos again?

Same time next year lads? :)

Calm down!

Well i thought Prime ministers question time on Wednesday was pretty dull, But apparently i had missed the Prime minister *insult*  Steve Rotheram MP.

So after two days of watching the debate going from side to side i decided to take another look and listen, You can view the clip here .

I do not see or hear any *insult* , I hear a badly read out planted question get the reply it deserved, but no insult.

And of course if Steve is insulted by that remark then i advise him to get a thicker skin or get a job elsewhere, or even politely suggest that if he cant take it then don't give it (Dennis Skinner take note as well) or some may start accusing you of double standards and hypocrisy.

And i don't think anyone would want that.

Video via liarpoliticians

Tug of War

Well it happened.

The Tug of war was won by the Total Politics team, they swept aside the team from Guido Fawkes ( with a member of Labourlist).

I have tweeted banter to Shane Greer and Total Politics team, but i will be gracious in defeat and say the better team won.

However, the Guido Fawkes team raised £3,045.00 and the Total Politics team raised £1,695.00 for MacMillan Cancer Research Link here.


So well done all that donated and took part, tho i don't think we have heard the last of the bragging rights ;) 

You can view a picture of the winners here 

also figures of donations were correct when written :) 

A quote from the Guido Fawkes team tweeted after " Oh the humiliation...", i think that says enough.

Update : Guido Fawkes has tweeted to explain his teams humilating performance

" Who knew drinking beer wasn't training for tug-of-war?"

Update : Guido Fawkes claims that Total Politics might have cheated .

Update :Shane Greer has got in touch to say that "Both teams had eight people pulling during each of the two rounds (the number required by the rules). There was no cheating, by either side."

A Plea

I wrote about this before here , Well it`s almost time.

These are the two teams :

• Christian May (Media Intelligence Partners)
• Mark Wallace (CrashBangWallace.com)
• Daniel Hamilton and James McLoughlin (Bell Pottinger Public Affairs)
• Paul Staines and Harry Cole (Guido Fawkes Blog)
• Giles Dilnot (BBC Daily Politics)
• Jonathan Isaby (TaxPayers' Alliance)
• Mark Ferguson (Labour List)

And the opponents are :

 Shane Greer (  on twitter)
-Iain Dale (on twitter)
-Mark Carrington
-James Stephens
-Ben Duckworth
-Grant Tucker
-Lewis Carpenter
-Sam Carter
-Henry Rubinstein
-Ben Waterton

Please donate, it is a great cause. Check out the website .

Update :

Rumours of either team doing this are untrue ;)

 

Who benefits at the BBC?

If you managed to suffer Question Time last night then you might have missed this :

David admits to getting winter fuel allowance 

This proves that benefits do need to be means tested, I will take a bit of a guess and say David is not living in poverty, Indeed some may suggest he is part of the 1% of top earners.

I was always under the impression that the welfare state was set up to be a safety net for those in need? for those in between jobs, for the sick and disabled. Yet now we are in a position where the poorest taxpayers are funding the benefits of those better off than themselves.

And we wonder why the benefits bill is high?

In a totally un-related story The Telegraph reported on the 23rd of March this year that some BBC staff were paid through companies to avoid paying tax (this is perfectly legal ).

The Telegraph says :

"The corporation said “around 3,000” workers bill the BBC through personal service companies under deals which allow them to make their own tax arrangement rather than being paid through the PAYE system.

The broadcaster admitted that 31 of these people are paid more than £100,000 a year without having tax deducted at source, while five earn more than £150,000 annually.

However, the true figure could be higher as the BBC said it excluded “talent” such as high-profile presenters and reporters, as well as people working in commercial subsidiaries, including BBC Worldwide."

Wow! who would have thought that , BBC staff avoiding tax and receiving state benefits.

Youtube video via @liarpoliticians

Nick Clegg

On the 19 April 2012 the BBC reported this :


" In April 2011, Mr Clegg said any adverts for internships with Liberal Democrat MPs would come with "real support to cover costs" in order to "give new people opportunities to participate in that kind of political activity".

Nick Clegg tells Newsnight in April 2011 interns will be "properly remunerated"

The deputy prime minister said they would "conform with minimum wage legislation as much as possible" - a statement taken by some to mean that all interns would receive a salary."

Ok Mr Clegg , lets hold you to this.

Example one :

35055

6 June 2012

15 June 2012

Job Title:

Parliamentary Intern

Working For:

Adrian Sanders MP (Torbay)

Location:

London

Salary:

Voluntary position: lunch and travel expenses provided

Job Details:

Adrian Sanders, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Torbay, is looking for an intern for his Westminster office.
The position will provide an opportunity to gain experience of working in a busy MP’s office and to develop research and press skills. Interns will be able to draft press releases, write correspondence, prepare briefings and carry out other research work.
The successful candidate will be able to benefit from a diverse range of work to suit their interests and professional development, will have access to training and advice for career development.
The successful candidate will have an interest in politics, good written skills and sympathy with the aims of the Liberal Democrats. An interest in scrutinising Government and developing innovative policy would be beneficial.
A commitment of three months is desirable: full and part time applications will be considered.
Upon appointment you will be required to comply with the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, undertaken by the Members’ Staff Verification Office (MSVO). See www.w4mp.org/html/msvo/main.asp for further info.

Closing Date:

15 June 2012

Interview/Start Dates:

Interviews to be held the end of the following week.

Job Contact:

Please send a CV and covering letter to smithtj@parliament.uk
or alternatively post to Adrian Sanders MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

Website:

http://www.adriansanders.org

 So Nick is that another broken promise?

The link is here to the advert : advert

Just to be clear, i have no problem with unpaid interns. I just don't like hypocrisy!

Tony Benn explains Socialisim

I had forgot about this clip from a few years ago. I think its quite funny.

Enjoy if you haven't seen it :)

If passing a law solved every problem...

A while ago i asked a question on twitter to which i didn't get an answer, The question was "When was the last time a government left office with less laws than when they came to power?"


The reason i ask this is because if passing a law solved the problem the UK should be a utopia of peace and harmony. The last Government passed all type of laws yet by the time they left office we were in a worse state than when they came to power. Its not just criminal laws, There was a law taking people out of "poverty" ( in days gone by that would be called getting a job), But to do it they had bribe people with tax credits, so they take your taxes then hire people to process the forms to give you back a slice of the money they took in the first place (why not just cut everyones taxes?).

See that is one example of well intentioned legalisation  (or forcing state dependency depending on how you look at it) that has unintended consequences, loads of fraud, wrong claims etc.

And then there is anti terror legalisation (that would only be used for terrorists, tho who decide ho the terrorists are is down to the state), despite voiced concerns about how it would be used it went into law and then the State abused the power.

Anyway this current Government promised us "the great repeal bill", now that was two years ago and yet no sign of it. So i will predict that at the end of this parliament there will more laws and regulations than at the beginning.

You don't put lunatics in charge of the mad house, you don't put thieves in charge of the bank and of course you don't let lawyers make the law.

Taxpayers save the Queen?

I don't want to be a killjoy but (i hate that but) i need to get something of my chest.

So a nice old lady had a trip on a boat down the Thames. REJOICE!!!!


Ok, i am writing this at about 4am in the morning ( so apologies for any mistakes/typos). While the Queen/Royal family have about 80% support in the country (lets face it any politician would dream of that poll rating), The Queen has no direct power, in fact her role is ceremonial, Her Majesty is not elected nor stands on a manifesto, In fact when you look at it The Queen has lived her life in a goldfish bowl, no freedom to have her own life, Hell she cant even do the things that most kids done.

The problem i have is that the Queen and monarchy is against my beliefs, Yet my heart has respect for the Queen. In Her Majesty 60 years she has seen many PM`s Presidents, Kings and other dictators. Yet when i see the Queen on my screen my heart melts, the service she has shown is second to none.

Plus there are the many Prince Phillip gaffs.

The more i write this post, the more i think, Do i want a President Blair? Or President Blair?, No i don't, they have caused their damage (i suggest a lot less than the Queen). This throws into thought about whether to have a parliament where we get plastic politicians ( and God forbid we do this in second chamber) or a ruled by monarchy or ruled by ourselves?

Anyway until i resolve this question i say this:

God save the Queen

And from an egg....

I don't mind admitting when i am wrong (take note politicians ) and correcting any errors i make.

Up until September last year i had always treated twitter with suspicion, I wasn't a fan and frankly i didn't understand it ( i did have the account before then but never used it), Like with most things with me it was curiosity in the end that made me give it another go. The first few weeks was quiet and i didn't know really how to use it.

My first big break came when i got my first #ff (follow Friday) , It was quite funny as i had to ask what "#ff" meant, it was kindly explained to me and then by the end of the weekend i had about 30 followers, Wow i thought, i cracked it, I thought this twitter thing is easy.

Well now i have over 500 followers and i have come across some amazing people, People who have restored my faith in humanity, I have also come across some wonderful people that have a likeness for jumping out of planes (for charity). This has always opened my eyes to other wonderful things, Like poetry, I had never read a poem until i arrived on twitter, yet just a few months on i cannot wait until the weekly poem is selected.

Now while twitter only allows you to use 140 letters  ( and with my lack of vocabulary) this still can prove tricky i hope those that have followed me from beginning understand what i mean when i try and say something.

Twitter was also key in me making desicion to start a blog (and some Dutch courage), Ever since i started this blog i have truly felt liberated, in fact to anyone thinking of writing a blog i say this , Just do it.

On a side note i have never blocked anyone (have un-followed a few people), but i have been blocked by quite a few lefties which shows that the Labour party still hasn't changed and is still hostile to the working class (but that is for another day).

I would also like to thank those that have been supportive and patient with me and thank you for also restoring my faith in humanity :)

A Choice (follow up post)

The other day i blogged about having a choice, well this is the follow up post to it.

I had the choice of spending the day at Lords cricket ground watching day 1 of a county match (and spending money i didn't have) or not going.

I really wanted to go and watch (well who wouldn't want to go to the home of cricket!) and support county cricket. I wanted to see the glorious ground, the pavilion, the groovy media centre, To be fair it was only £16 to get in, but then you add travel card and drinks and food you are talking £50 plus, OK that doesn't sound like a lot of money but when its just before payday and you have already spent some of next months wages is it a lot.

Anyway, that is my problem and i am not bitter.

I am not going to call for cricket to be banned because i cant afford to go, nor am i going to throw my toys out the pram. Instead i am going to try and get my finances in order by the end of the year (just in time for Christmas) and try and put money aside to go next year (tho am going to try and make a county game before end of season if all goes well). It means i am going to have make tough choices, cut my own spending (on the pub and takeaways) and do what it takes to make sure i live within my means.

So looking back i think i made the right choice for the right reason. Tho i am disappointed that i let someone else down at the last minute.