Yesterday saw a vital indictation of the viability of the coalition – and it was George Osborne who delivered an extremely good result.
Last week I blogged:
Next week, the EU Council of Ministers plans to adopt strict regulations enforcing transparency on hedge funds and private equity firms and limiting their leverage, ie how much they can gamble. NuLabour resisted these very sensible Franco-German proposals, because NuLabour was 100% bought by the City. The Tory right wants to oppose the plans because they are European regulations. Already we are hearing bleats that hedge fund managers will move abroad. Good. The attitude to these proposals will be an imprtant early indication of whether this government is more progressive than NuLabour.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2010/05/on_my_way_to_li.html
This is from the lead story on the front page of today’s Financial Times:
The approval of the controversial rules by finance ministers follows a similar endorsement by a group of EU lawmakers on Monday and brings regulation of the “alternative investment” industry closer.
Mr Osborne decided not to use up political capital in Brussels fighting to dilute an EU directive that has been ferociously pushed by France and Germany
end
More to the point, these regulations had been ferociously resisted by New Labour, just as Brown and Mandelson had ferociously resisted Franco-German proposals to limit bank bonuses and apply other brakes on casino banking. New Labour’s total defence of even the most extreme practices of most unacceptable faces of capitalism – hedge funds and private equity funds – was sickening.
It was notable in the election campaign that the Tories stance on banking regulation – in their manifesto, their rhetoric and the leaders’ debates – was much stronger than New Labour’s, and closer to the Liberal Democrats. There was room to doubt if this was just election populism. Osborne’s decision yesterday is a welcome sign that he Tories really are willing to take on City interests to which New Labour were slaves.
But the significance does not stop there. This decision also shows Cameron and Osborne are prepared to take on their own Europhobes. There will be fury from the combined forces of private equity millionaires and anti-Europeans, being poured down the lines into Conservative Central Office today.
Osborne in fact cleverly played the pro-EU card in the ECOFIN meeting and used his agreement to fund regulation to push forward the single market in financial services – something which has been disgracefully obstructed on continental Europe.
A friend of mine in UKREP Brussels tells me this morning that the view there is that it is great to have Ministers who do not confuse the interest of the City and the national interest as automatically the same thing.
And the icing of the cake for the coalition is that these very proposals for transparency and limitation of risk of hedge funds and private equity funds were initiated in the European Parliament by Lib Dem MEPs – led by my old mate Graham Watson.
“My letter to Nick Clegg on Palestine
As deputy PM, Nick Clegg, it is your duty to live up to your own words on the daily atrocities happening in the occupied territories”
Michael Mansfield
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/20/nick-clegg-palestine-israel-gaza?showallcomments=true#start-of-comments
Ingo
‘Doha has failed because of our inability to see the developing worlds arguments and needs,’
Within the last year I heard one plummy-voiced city commentator state the Chinese economy was fairly inconsequential in terms of GDP. Yo! Apart from the fact that they make everything, including the air-conditioning tools I am in the process of purchasing.
Our politicians know exactly what is going on in the world, but they spend their whole time posturing and making idiots of themselves. British scam mentality and state terror, are finished as a way forward. The UK’s reputation as a bona fide world player is finished. The same mentality that has allowed the banks to steal all our and everybody else’s money, has also been at work in trade and manufacturing.
Why would anybody want to buy a pump from Birmingham, made in China, when they can buy direct from China itself? The whole British economy and foreign policy is Lies, lies and more Lies.
The LibDem Tory pact is just another layer of whitewash over the already flaking layers underneath. Motto: UK Fuctatus, Bonus Continuendum Est.
Anyway, Craig, with regard to Tony_ Opmoc, the question is whether you are more irritated by the idea of a wealthy man giving away all of his self-made wealth through frustration at the selfishness and greed of the political class of the UK, or his stream of consciousness?
When things get tough, the crew get airlifted onto the lifeboat, and the captain goes down with his ship. Your position as a supporter of the incumbent coalition with the founders of Britain’s economic distress, viz the Conservative party, is a great deal more annoying than anything tony_opmoc may have said as I see it.
If the captain looks after his crew, then and only then can he be considered to have discharged his duty and be airlifted to safety too. You have taken the most enourmous risk in pinning your hopes on this election. It was essential in political terms because we had to remove New Labour, whom you accused me of supporting for some reason, but it is pretty nauseous to see you proclaiming future hope for this unholy alliance of fools. When you take the blindfold off, you will see that you pinned the tail on the donkey’s nose.
A little more George Osborne style humility required, thank you.
Would not dare call the Chinese economic capabilities ‘incosequential’
What i question is our ability to organise a capacity thats based on tangible assets and constant modernising, not occaisional or never, as it used to be the case, the reason why british Motorcycling became uncompetitive and a byword for bad workmanship. Nobody was ever concerned with modernising and bettering the product, making motor parts with machines designed in 1898, other machines from the early 1920’s, with all profits shared out, rather than re invested to a larger extend.
Thats whats wrong, nobody has the trust to start something that has a long term sustainable low profit margin, everyone wants a short term high profit margin, regardless of consequences, the arch dilemma.
Unless we see the longterm sustainable profits as a goal, with ethical and environmental considerations thrown into the melee, we will not see an end to these ripp off merchands and quick fix dealers.
Interesting article from a few years back on how MI5 and MI6 use “journalists” to mislead the public, empire build, start wars etc, from one who was so used. Mentions bluffer Gardner too.
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2007/09/mi6-mi5-intelligence-briefings
Capt Scarlet ?” It is interesting to view your article reference to see just another example of how MI5 / MI6 (and CSIS in Canada too) have used journalists to spread propaganda to the public.
15 years ago John Alderson, former Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall voicing his concerns about the direction that MI5 was heading, (warning us even way back then) said – “MI5 .. Infiltrate organizations, people’s jobs and lives. They operate almost like a cancer. At the moment the acorn of a STASI has been planted”.
To see how these same so called intelligence organizations have also abused our human rights industry just view this:
http://tinyurl.com/HumanRightsIndustry
It does seem a pity that our intelligence services have done what former Chief Constable Alderson tried to warn us about ?” crossed the line from their legitimate role in intelligence gathering to being a secret police; changed their role from being our protectors to trampling on our democracy
Anno –
err no. I gave up a brilliant diplomatic career on principle, and since then I started two highly profitable African companies and have gien up over 80% of them – for nothing -to Africa workers. So my problem with Tony Opmoc is not in the least related to his advocacy of surrendering wealth.
It is connected to the fact that his occasional very perceptive and useful posts are far outweighed by his maudlin alcoholic ramblings.
I agree with Michael Wendy, in fact, I will speak to Royal Naval contacts who might be able to influence the MOD on Naval escorts or at the very least create some relevant conversations in the wardroom.
Roderick
I remember John Alderson on telly from way back, during the Thatcher days. He was much too liberal and intellectual for the secret state. A man of immense common sense too. I think he may have got involved with the Liberals when he retired.
I’ve always felt that the intelligence services were much more trouble than they’re worth and much more of a self-perpetuating entity consumed of its own importance than a productive and useful public service.
I haven’t seen aught since to disabuse me of that view and if anything it’s only been reinforced by their antics during the Blair years.
I suspect John Alderson held a similar view.
I think that even during Leon Brittan’s time as Home Sec he was so unhappy with the performance of MI5 that he threatened a drastic reorganisation. That must have frightened them. It’s said that they leaked some rumours about him.
He went to Europe shortly after that, as ya do.
I hope he explained to young Clegg just what a nonsense the whole thing is.
Anno wrote: “This country needs a thorough IMF thrashing to wean its wealthy from Maggie’s utterly immoral, market theories.”
Unfortunately, that is the very last thing that happens when the IMF ride into town. They don’t go after the rich – of course! – they tell a state to slash and burn its welfare programmes, to sell off any state assets in a mass privitisation scheme, to cut schools, hospitals and state pensions, to grind down on the low end of public sector workers, and to tax the poor more just for starters.
Show me an example of the IMF giving a hard time to the rich – in any country, at any time – sheesh! What they’ll insist on would make even Thatcherites a tad uncomfortable.
glenn: one of Tony’s most recent “very perceptive and useful posts” gave a link to the blog of an Australian professor of economics called Bill Mitchell. He writes at great length and in great detail about the current fiscal situation and is scathing about the baleful influence and agenda of the IMF.
Echoing your comment above for instance he writes:
“This ideological slant of these austerity programs is not headline news. It is all about fiscal responsibility and living within your means. But imagine if the tax rises were aimed at the corporate sector or the high income earners and the spending cuts on corporate welfare and military expenditure. Imagine if luxury cars and clothing and wines were banned to “improve the current account”. Then the ideological nature of these impositions would become transparent. There would be such an outcry the world over”.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=9632
I can’t recommend him highly enough (though he can be a bit heavy going at times).
The Tories and MI5. Like a bunch of nannyless schoolboys.
Idiots all.
Public school, eh. Leaders my arse.
The only sane one was Harold Wilson.
Love the way Callaghan lied; even Brown lied all those years later to protect these idiots from deserved public ridicule. That’s all censorship amounts to in this country. Protecting idiots and imbeciles from ridicule.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266837/Revealed-How-MI5-bugged-10-Downing-Street-Cabinet-Prime-Ministers-15-YEARS.html?ITO=1490
Okay, who’s gonna call a false flag on this one?
http://angrysoba.blogspot.com/2010/05/north-korea-blamed-for-cheonan-sinking.html
A serious development, I’m sure you’ll agree. Sadly we can’t blame Cameron and Clegg for it as it was sunk before they were even in power.
“Okay, who’s gonna call a false flag on this one?”
Will this do?
http://kevboyle.blogspot.com/2010/05/korea-latest-false-flag-exercise.html
“I was struck by …….the neat neologism “bankster””
You may like the collective noun for bankers. It’s a ‘wunch’. Think it over..
“..the reason why British motorcycling became uncompetitive and a byword for bad workmanship.”
The history of that industry is a paradigm for the collapse of British manufacturing as a whole. Geoff Duke, (one of Britain’s best ever racers), told an illuminating ancedote. He stated he would be able to win the championship on the factory Norton, (rather than his slower privateer machine). The racing team agreed that he could win the championship on the works bike, but the board had calculated that if he did so, he would earn more than the directors, so they were instructed to turn him down. Duke then approached Gilera. The head of the family agreed that he could win the championship on their bike, but said that he couldn’t make such a decision without further consultation. He left the room and an old Italian lady, dressed in black, came in, walked silently around Duke, and left. The head of Gilera then came back in and said, “Mamma says you can do it. Welcome to Gilera!” Duke went on to win 5 succesive world championships for the team, ending Norton’s dominance of the sport.
A wunch of bankers?
Now, let’s see…
Angrysoba,
I’m listening to Craig Murray’s right-wing buddy Alex Jones as I’m also curious as to whether they’ll say that the South Korea boat incident was a false flag.
The answer, of course, is yes.
But then the controversy in Bangkok is also somehow a false flag.
And AGW is a false flag.
But it’s interesting to note the one false flag we know of in the States – the original tea party. So funny that the truthy 911 truthers felt that they had to imitate the tea partiers.
All those nutters who say anyone who postulates a conspiracy is a nutter, might find it instructive to read Carroll Quigley’s “The Anglo-American Establishment,” a history of a vast imperialist conspiracy funded, initially, by Cecil Rhodes, and still going, despite having been largely responsible for the WW2, the collapse of the British Empire and various other disasters.
http://www.amazon.com/Anglo-American-Establishment-Quigley-Carroll/dp/0945001010
The implication is that the shenanigans of MI5, et al. may pale into near insignificance compared with those of the private sector.
MJ: Thanks for the link to Bill Mitchell’s blog, it looks very promising indeed. If you’re interested in economics you might try reading Ravi Batra’s “The new golden age”. Some of his writing is linked to from his homepage:
http://www.ravibatra.com/
“Greenspan’s Fraud” is another good one.
The whole basis of “supply-side economics” is an utter fraud, but it’s been practiced by Reagan, Thatcher and their successors ever since. I wonder if this lot we’ve got in charge now are going to fall for it.
Privitising state assets is one of the best mechanisms to transfer money from the taxpayer to the investor classes – I’m appalled to read in today’s Guardian that that is precisely what Vince Cable wants to do with the Post Office.
“Interesting article from a few years back on how MI5 and MI6 use “journalists” to mislead the public.”
It’s hardly news, considering that even before WWI and the formal differentiation of MI5 and MI6, (now the SIS), MI5’s founder Vernon Kell served as an intelligence staff officer in Tientsin while also being foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.
At a benefit concert where Prince Edward was the patron of the charity concerned, his bodyguards and security staff cleared the whole area in front of the stage to allow the press to take photos of him in front of the band. The enraged audience started throwing bottles and chanting, “Fuck off, Eddy!”. This was reported in the tabloids the next day as, “Edward wows audience at pop concert. Prince Edward received a rapturous reception from a crowd chanting, “Eddy, Eddy, Eddy!” Journalists don’t have to be actual members of the intelligence services in order to lie and distort the truth to favour establishment interests. The girl in the band who reported this incident to me held left-wing views and, had she been asked beforehand, would undoubtedly have said that the press was untrustworthy and regularly distorted and lied. Nevertheless, she was still rather shocked when confronted with a concrete example. I suppose seeing is disbelieving.
Some more evidence of glenn’s evidence fail …
But for an even better demonstration, go back to the 911 thread.
Craig, a successful diplomatic career in today’s terms is biding one’s time from second degree to retirement without saying anything and hoping for a puppet re-stringing as a grey suit as a reward.
In my opinion what you gave up was a bum job going nowhere, in order to be a successful opinion moulder on the internet. Why? because the anti-Islamic bent of the British establishment which has always blinkered this country, had started to poke its eyes out from the roots. There was an excuse for ignorance of the truth and morality of Islam when the world was ‘smaller’ in travel time, but to engage on a campaign of vilification and lies at diplomatic and political level, and instruct ambassadors to contradict evident truth, as for example in Gaza, err, we have become the laughing stock of the whole world, that a once respected nation should now have been reduced to the blatant lies of a David Miliband.
Why have the diplomats not been able to influence the previous administration? Because the influence of the Zionist bankers is stronger than the great and the good. The present coalition is flirting with the bankers like a child, and no evidence of any will to put them in their place. No grit at all from any of them. Not even a recognition that the bankers might be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
If we trust the banks again, to lead the economy in the directions to which we all aspire, they will destroy us again. No. Get rid of them entirely, except as the French and Germans have done in the capacity of citizens’ banks. Fuck the City off for good, wherever anybody will take them. Flush their memory down the toilet of history. There isn’t any point in building our future on the sinking sands of the banks. Thanks for your generosity to Africa. May Allah reward you both.
I am uncomfortable not only with you but with many commenters who go on this “Zionist banker” meme. There is a banking lobby which has too much influence and there is a zionist lobby which has too much influence.
But the overlap between them is not enormous. The “zionist banker” stuff tends to racial stereotyping and also in many cases tends to postulate non-existent levels of organised conspiracy.
I’m actually impressed by anno, in that he’s one of the few commenters at this blog who thinks that 911 was actually done by Muslim extremists. In fact I think he’s proud of it.
Good Lord, if you need some more evidence of Larry’s evidence ‘fail’, go back to the 911 thread. Handy hint: if you want to get rid of Larry for a week or two just ask him to state the evidence supporting the official account. It’s like watching Roadrunner disappearing over the horizon…
Glenn
You might be interested to know that some countries manage very well without any post office. After all, what do we ever receive in the post except rubbish from the Inland Revenue and fliers from banks?
“What do we ever receive in the post?”
Love letters, postcards, driving licences, letters from abroad, CD’s, DVD’s, books, recycled books (amazon). Recycled clothes, stuff (ebay) magazines; birthday cards, wedding invites, cash.
Craig,
Here’s more on the Bankster (Zionist or otherwise) meme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzlTjhGxr7Y&feature=related
with quotes on:
Conspiracies in general by Benjamin Disraeli, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Senator William Fulbright, David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger;
and on banksters in particular by Woodrow Wilson, Henry Ford, (New York Mayor) John Hylan, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Curtis Dall (FDR’s son-in-law), James Warburg, Senator Barry Goldwater, Professor Carroll Quigley (Havard, Princeton, Georgetown U).
Your rebuttal of this line of thought (or angysoba’s) would be of interest.
Alistair Darling said that one in four pounds coming to the exchequer come fromtax on banks. If you buy a £100,000 house on a mortgage, you end up paying an additional 200,000 in interest. That huge economic power gets concentrated into ready cash when loans are sold to third parties.
It is totally obvious from these facts that the wealth of the bankers vastly exceeds the disposable wealth of government. The Chairman of Lloyds TSB felt so powerful that he could in the past refuse to handle any money transfers to Interpal, and steps have been made to ensure that the funds that are transferred only go through United Nations middle-men.
The wealth of the banks gives them the power to twist the political allegiances of the whole world’s traders, as well as directly influencing and blackmailing governments. As Jesus, peace be upon him, is reported to have said about a simple man,’ How is it that knowledge is given to simple men, and is denied to the great scholars of our faith.’
Craig, your refusal to accept the obvious truth of the overwhelming power of the Zionist bankers, is more to do with your rejection of the truth of Islam, than your ignorance of the truth of world politics.