The incredible disappearing Jim Murphy. At 18.50 on the front (home) page of the Guardian, top left, appeared a story by Libby Brooks entitled “Scottish Labour Leader Criticised Over Proposal to end Football Alcohol Ban”. I clicked and read the story briefly, in which domestic abuse organisations and the police were criticising Murphy for proposing to allow alcohol at football again. I saw the article a minute after it went up, and as yet there were no comments.
I then returned to the home page to see what else was in the paper, and my eye was caught by the normally welcome absence of Jim Murphy. Within three minutes of being put on the front page, the story had been taken off. By clicking back I could get to it again; it was still there. But there was no link to it any more on the home page and no way to find it if you did not know it was there.
There are two points here. One is The Guardian, which with the BBC has been telling us for a week solid that Jim Murphy is the Messiah, could not have a story revealing what a plonker Murphy is, up for three minutes, without burying it.
The second point is Murphy’s dangerous populism. He has already announced he would repeal the Scottish Parliament’s anti-sectarian measures. He now wants to reintroduce alcohol fuelling of football rivalries. It seems that Murphy has correctly identified the level of core Labour support and is pandering to it. The efforts to rectify some of the more glaring social problems in Scotland have been politically brave in the past few years. For a nasty lowest common denominator rabble rouser like Murphy to start trying to drum up Neanderthal appeal, is deeply unedifying.
Westminster Child Abuse: Claims Of New Murders
An MP says two men who had evidence relating to abuse died in suspicious circumstances as he calls for their cases to be reopened.
http://news.sky.com/story/1396256/westminster-child-abuse-claims-of-new-murders
Murkier and murkier.
‘Two whistle-blowers who had information about MPs’ alleged involvement in a paedophile ring could have been murdered, according to a Labour MP who has handed a dossier of evidence to Scotland Yard.
Speaking to Sky News, John Mann MP claims he has evidence relating to the suspicious deaths of two men – a former Lambeth council official named Bulick Forsythe, and a caretaker whose name he did not disclose.
He said the police were already aware of the potential link between one of the deaths and the child sex abuse ring, which involved “highly influential” politicians during the 1970s and 1980s.’
28 February 2015 – 999 Call for the NHS – national convention for NHS campaigners https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/joanna-adams/28-february-2015-999-call-for-nhs-national-convention-for-nhs-campaigners
‘999 Call for the NHS invites all NHS campaigners, activists, trade unions and concerned citizens to join a National Convention to Save the NHS.
The idea for the 999 Convention for the NHS grew from the 999 Peoples March for the NHS which marched from Jarrow to London in August & September 2014.
The People’s March was a huge success. But while there are many NHS campaigns and organisations at a national, regional and local level, there is more to be done to unite the voice of the people involved in the fight for the NHS.
The ‘999 Convention for the NHS’ in February 2015 will bring together campaigners from across the country to connect face to face and join forces.’
While Fred is wetting himself with schadenfreude re oil prices, a word to the wise here –
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/12/19/oil-price-plunge/20639881/
Right now, the oil market is oversupplied by about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day. However, that glut of oil should be sopped up by demand growth very shortly. Meanwhile, supplies around the world are declining, and could fall further due to lower oil prices. This all suggests the plunge in oil prices could be short-lived; supply and demand could flip faster than anyone expects.
Consider also whether the Saudis are telling porkies (the other side of a scenario I painted earlier) and whether the intention is to – by means of a temporary price crash – to lower the price below break-even for frackers and put them out of business. Discussed here –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30577381
Bad news for the Polonium Chancellor (Toxic! Radioactive!) and the UK’s *growth prospects* ™ there;
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/19/george-osborne-tax-break-fracking-shale-environment
In any case OPEC isn’t about to reduce production, which lends that idea some legs.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102289037
Opinions are (down page) divided on any price recovery.
Further support for the title of this particular blog (apologies if you all knew this already – it should have been more of a surprise to me I suppose), but5 Iraq and Libya invasion loving Matthew D’Ancona is joining The Guardian – from The Telegraph FFS:
Jonathan Fredland is, unsurprisingly, delighted.
http://www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-office/2014/dec/18/matthew-dancona-to-join-the-guardian-as-columnist
Can’t really see the problem here. A friend, very slight man and teacher his late 50s was recently ejected from a Championship game cos he took a swig from his hip flask on a cold Saturday afternoon. I can’t see the problem with that swig and I think criminalising that is profoundly illiberal. The rule against is petty wholly authoritarian.
And more, for those who haven’t come across it, evidence of Russbridger’s ruthlessness in restricting just what views are free to comment (and journalists to employ)…
http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2014/782-grievous-censorship-by-the-guardian-israel-gaza-and-the-termination-of-nafeez-ahmed-s-blog.html
“The second point is Murphy’s dangerous populism”. Yes, appealing to the working class, disgraceful. “He now wants to reintroduce alcohol fueling of football rivalries. It seems that Murphy has correctly identified the level of core Labour support and is pandering to it”. The working class again [the Bastards] “The efforts to rectify some of the more glaring social problems in Scotland have been politically brave in the past few years. For a nasty lowest common denominator rabble rouser like Murphy to start trying to drum up Neanderthal appeal, is deeply unedifying.For a so called Liberal to describe people he will need to vote for him as Neanderthals is, well, very illiberal.
“While Fred is wetting himself with schadenfreude re oil prices, a word to the wise here ”
You really are an obnoxious little shit aren’t you?
Can’t change the inconvenient truth so just attack anybody who dares to speak it.
Scum.
The Guardian gets a particular slagging, for its financial advice, on the latest Keiser Report (696), unfortunately not yet available online.
Fred, you are lying, fact twisting, British Nationalist UKIP scumbag.
Merry Xmas, you naughty little Nazi. 🙂
You’ve obviously not been reading the Telegraph recently, Craig!
An interesting, and selective, attempt at caricaturing the working class as alcohol swilling sectarianists there Harry Law. Not that it will make any difference because Murphy’s ego and ambition has, is and will continue to blind him to the fact that he has been set up and stitched up like a kipper by sections of his own party.
The neo con little wass end does not understand the game plan of parachuting him into the leadership post in Scotland at this juncture in time. Not only has Miliband got rid of an arch Blairite from Westminster to the fringes of the party he knows full well that Murphy’s very obvious character failings will further undermine the power base of the pit of odious snakes that is Scottish Labour by alienating even more voters.
Which leaves open the potential for a Labour administration propped up by more progressive forces, including from Scotland, next May. Enabling Miliband to use them in pushing through more socially and economically progressive policies against what remains of the rump of Blairite entryist’s and infiltrators in the Labour party.
The fact that Murphy and the rest of the Blairite rabble cannot see this is extremely amusing.
Losing ground? RT, Guardian & the facts behind BBC cash call
The Guardian’s latest hatchet job on RT indicts the channel on the basis of it outspending (and admittedly outgunning) the BBC’s international radio service.
The article below was submitted to The Guardian to be published in its “Comment is Free” opinion section as a response to the newspaper’s latest, largely unsubstantiated, piece about RT. So far The Guardian has not published RT’s response.
Evidently The Guardian has developed an obsession with our channel, publishing over a dozen articles directly or indirectly about RT in a month-and-a-half.
/..
December 23, 2014
http://rt.com/op-edge/216903-rt-guardian-outspending-bbc/