A classic example of BBC mock balance on the news tonight as James Cook devoted apparently equal time to Douglas Alexander and Mhairi Black in Renfrewshire East.
Of Mhairi we were told by Cook that her opponents say that her youth shows, and that she carries fighting talk too far. Well, of Douglas his opponents say that he is a war criminal, and that he stabbed his sister in the back. That was not mentioned.
Whereas the “equal time” allowed the SNP candidate included BBC commentary giving direct personal criticism of her, there was no critical note in the Alexander side of the coverage. An interesting example of how the state propaganda system works.
Jon
A little puzzled – please explain how a £10.000 pay rise would save money in the long term (given that outside earnings are precisely that – outside earnings, not paid by the state/taxpayer)?
And Mary – please advise on how to vote given that MPs are troughers/potential troughers (according to you, that is)!
@Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)
28 Apr, 2015 – 10:32 pm
Meet The British Army’s 77th Battalion: Mobilizing 1,500 “Facebook Warriors” To Spread Disinformation
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-03/meet-british-armys-77th-battalion-mobilizing-1500-facebook-warriors-spread-disinform
What’s the weather like in Gloucester?
RobG
“Anyone in the UK can listen to it again on the BBC site, but for those outside the UK, who can’t ‘listen again’, any links?”
________________
Still in Burgundy, are you?
@Lysias, it’s great that we’re seeing at least a little discussion on Left issues, such as NATO membership and Trident. The mainstream media don’t take them seriously (yet) but of course Scottish independence was once thought to be laughable, and now even Rupert Murdoch thinks it inevitable (he is reported to have recently tweeted to that effect).
There is a (Chomskian?) theory that mainstream politics is just an expression of what the various sections of the business party disagree about on how best to run capitalism. Thus, NATO membership and Trident don’t come up, as there is little or no difference here normally. So, the Greens and SNP are to be congratulated here – that these conversations are being had feels like an achievement.
Talking of the Greens, does anyone know the reason for their mysteriously short manifesto launch? I think it was two weeks ago or so, and a few puzzled hacks from Sky and others reported that there was no major speech as one would expect, and the whole affair lasted fifteen minutes. I do like them, but I wonder if they need a bit more practice handling the media.
I’m pretty sure that all those big cock-swingers on here who proudly announce that they stopped watching BBC TV and listening to BBC radio years ago all assiduously log on to the BBC website on the internet.
Which makes them pretty awful bull-shitting hypocrites, doesn’t it.
Jon
Since you’re still here, don’t forget you owe us an answer to the following:
“A little puzzled – please explain how a £10.000 pay rise would save money in the long term (given that outside earnings are precisely that – outside earnings, not paid by the state/taxpayer)?”
Thanks!
Following the Snowden revelations, in America there was some kind of debate about the mass surveillance state, including from president Obama.
In Britain there was no debate whatsoever, apart from what came from the pages of the Guardian newspaper.
Brits now live in a mass surveillance state, and it’s all done totally illegally.
I never thought my country would come to this.
For feck’s sake, wake-up Britain!
Habbabkuk, well I was thinking of ten grand rather than a tenner, but you’re right, I should have explained my thinking more fully. The money saved would be from tigher rules on expenses – it was widely reported during the expenses scandal that the “John Lewis list” was operated in lieu of a pay rise, which MPs had not had for many years, as it was not politically expedient to increase it. So, give them a pay rise, and reduce expenses back to basics.
I was thinking also that if being an MP becomes much less appealing to the kinds of careerists that would, err, “trough”, then we’d get a more honest kind of MP. Perhaps it can be widely rethought as a public duty/service, rather than the revolving door it is frequently seen as now (possibly on all sides of the house).
“Since outside earnings seem to be a theme above, is anyone aware of whether any parties have mentions of the topic in their manifesto? Seems like something the Greens would have something to say about – and most of the others would probably be rather quiet here.”
Outside earnings is one thing but avoiding tax on outside earnings is another thing entirely.
One politician has set up an unlimited company to handle the income from a book he has written. This means instead of paying tax on the money they make at a higher rate as earnings on top of their earnings from the state they can just pay a 20% corporation tax and take the money later as dividends.
http://www.scottishfinancialnews.com/4211/salmond-sets-up-private-firm-to-handle-publishing-cash/
@Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)
28 Apr, 2015 – 10:59 pm
“The British Army will revive one of the most contentious special forces units of the second world war, the Chindits, as a new generation of “Facebook” warriors who will wage complex and covert information and subversion campaigns”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-03/meet-british-armys-77th-battalion-mobilizing-1500-facebook-warriors-spread-disinform
And you thought you were having a good evening, before I got here.
Names all noted, for the forthcoming trials.
What were you saying, Fred..?
Fred, that tax arrangement is quite normal for contractors of all kinds (e.g. in engineering). I don’t think it is generally thought of as a particularly aggressive means of avoidance, but I suppose that’s very subjective. (If only the non-Doms paid 20%! Companies trading through Luxembourg! etc.)
However, in my Fantasy Commons, this line of secondary work would not happen at all. One would have thought being an MP (or First Minister) is a time-consuming job, and one would not have any time spare to devote to creating other sources of income.
I will remind people that the likes of Habba, et al, are funded by tax payer’s money, so that they can come on comment threads like this and deliberately lie to and deceive tax payers.
Any comment from Habba..?
“However, in my Fantasy Commons, this line of secondary work would not happen at all. One would have thought being an MP (or First Minister) is a time-consuming job, and one would not have any time spare to devote to creating other sources of income.”
What would your fantasy Commons say about taking a £65,000 pound golden handshake for leaving the Commons in 2010, going to be First Minister in Scotland then leaving with a pension and going back to the Commons in 2015?
Jon
28/04/2015 11:06pm
“There is a (Chomskian?) theory that mainstream politics is just an expression of what the various sections of the business party disagree about on how best to run capitalism.”
I think you are referring to Thomas Ferguson’s “investment theory of politics” or “investment theory of party competition”. It is a favourite theory of Chomsky’s and he refers to it on many occasions.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Rule-Investment-Competition-Money-Driven/dp/0226243176
Kind regards,
John
Fred,
I’ve not heard about that, but it sounds rather odd to me – do MPs generally get golden goodbyes for leaving the Commons? I’m happy for all MPs and MSPs to get pension contributions during their service. I would have thought moving from Westminster to Holyrood (and vice versa) would be treated as continuous employment, and so not subject to pay awards for going in either direction.
In Alex Salmond’s case, I imagine any extra pay awards are done by a central body, so I assume they were within the rules (i.e. he did not award a discretionary sum to himself). However, whether it would be permitted in the fantasy Commons depends on what the award is for – I don’t see a reason for it, personally.
John, I’ve not encountered Ferguson; many thanks! I will have a look at that tomorrow.
“I’ve not heard about that, but it sounds rather odd to me – do MPs generally get golden goodbyes for leaving the Commons? ”
It was in 2010, first £30,000 tax free. Even MPs going on to the House of Lords claimed it. Salmond wasn’t any worse than the others. He wasn’t any better either.
Excuse me when I go offline. Three days in hospital last week, a dose of radioactive iodine and two hours of scanning on a gamma/SPECT/CT camera have left me like a dishrag. I keep going out like a light and sleep for hours. Plus return of breathing problems and salivary glands malfunction.
I would not be replying to the trolls anyway who collectively decided to try to demonize GG. Suggest they look at:
http://searchthemoney.com/about
Featured
Geoffrey Cox
Constituency:Torridge and West Devon
Elected:2005-05-05
Money found:£1,501,569.32
Then choose any named MP. Quite revealing.
Then Google ‘Donations to Tories’ and much info comes up about hedge fund operators, tax evaders, offshore operations, etc.
The political system stinks and is corrupt.
John Spencer-Davis Reading up on SPECT, I see that one of its uses is to
to determine a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease which made me think of Janner. Have you perchance come across that use of the scan in your patients?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-photon_emission_computed_tomography
In the department where I used to work and where I was scanned on Monday, it is used for myocardial perfusion (MYOVIEW) and also to determine whether a patient had Parkinson’s Disease or Parkinsonism, (DATscan)
Cameron becomes even more asinine. To prevent him breaking his promise not to raise taxes (as he did before when he raised VAT from 17.5% to 20%) he would bring in legislation to that effect.
Truly a moral pygmy/snake oil salesman/spiv.
Will the people fall for the nonsense? Most probably.
Election 2015: David Cameron pledges 5 year ‘tax lock’
The Prime Minister will say that voters should go with their ‘gut instinct’ and trust the Conservatives to cut taxes http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11569593/Election-2015-David-Cameron-pledges-5-year-tax-lock.html
@RobG 23:10pm
Well you are entitled to your point of view, especially on the “illegality” – it might have ***been*** illegal, but the phrase ‘retrospective immunity’ crops up a lot in Interception. Anyway, here’s what a Science & Technology Committee at the European Parliament think about the ongoing subject of Mass Surveillance, reports just released.
Mass Surveillance
What are the risks for the citizens and the opportunities for the European Information Society? What are the possible mitigation strategies?
Part 1 – Risks and opportunities raised by the current generation of network services and applications :
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/527409/EPRS_STU(2015)527409_REV1_EN.pdf (66-pages 1.6MB)

Part 2 – Technology foresight, options for longer-term security and privacy improvements:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/527410/EPRS_STU(2015)527410_REV1_EN.pdf (71-pages 1.6MB)
Mary
29/04/2015 6:53am
I’m not a doctor, Mary: I work with people with dementia and their loved ones in a practical way, making them aware of their rights and entitlements. I have clients, not patients.
I have never heard of SPECT. sorry. Reports I receive from consultant psychiatrists usually refer to CT scans, MRI, or neuroimaging.
Very pleased to have my knowledge improved, though, thank you. Good luck for today.
Kind regards,
John
Reading through a piece in the Huffington Post just now and and one little snippet of information surprised me me.
“The SNP have more private school educated politicians than any other party in the UK including the Bullington Club Tories who they so love to bash.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/azeem-ibrahim/how-left-wing-is-the-snp_b_7165226.html
Fred
An interesting link, thank you. I have learnt something there.
But does that not just go to show that most of the SNP supporters and propagandists on here (most of whom, in turn, are not Scots)don’t really care about the SNP and/or Scottish independence except to the extent that the SNP and/or independence might serve to bring harm to the United kingdom and, in particular, to England?
As the Chairman of Hardy Spicer said all those years ago : they are poor dears.
And Galloway made a real fool of neocon Senator Norm Coleman.
Norm’s easy meat. Damn near as dodgy as Blair:
http://www.thenation.com/article/181674/saudi-lobbying-complex-adds-new-member-gop-super-pac-chair-norm-coleman
In passing, whatever happened to the Galloway film project? This was going to scupper Bambi completely, it will be recalled. Crowdfunded, its intial release date has been put back several times, and the last communication from Planet George indicated that it was undergoing a final edit. This I think was in January – subsequently IMDb announced it would be released on 10th March:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3489996/
..but it wasn’t. “The Killings of Tony Blair”, as it has been renamed, was purportedly available on a couple of rather dodgy looking sites last month – though actually viewing it didn’t appear to be an option, and they seem to have gone again.
I do hope Mr Galloway’s enthusiasm hasn’t dried up. But…
Resident Dissident 28 Apr, 2015 – 10:00 pm
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to link to my sardonic attack on the Law Lord, Lord Justice Phillips, who, as chair, took great delight in cutting off any lifeline to Julian Assange, by twisting the law to meet the occasion on behalf of his establsihment masters. I was surprised you enjoyed it so much. I must write more.
In the UK, ‘ten thousand’ is written as 10,000. Comma NOT full stop. He doesn’t seem able to get it.
PS No Habbabreak here. What’s the point of it? I just scroll on unless there is some viciousness directed at me.
Ba’al, good point, about Th$ Killing of Tony Blair. Where is it? I’ve visited a few sites and can find no sign of it. You can still make a donation though.
http://www.theblairdoc.com/
On one site I found this delightful little nugget from when the warmongering prime minister was dynamiting the bankers’ mines to pay for his forthcoming wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (1997).
“Mine is the first generation able to contemplate the possibility that we may live our entire lives without going to war or sending our children to war.” Tony Blair.
Yes. We’ll send other people, and other people’s children, to die on our behalf.
So who’s keeping the book? Will the Chilcot report appear before GG’s film? Will the film appear first? Is George Galloway deliberately prohibiting release until Chilcot appears?
If it is the last, and the authorities all know that, we might never get to see the film.