There have been two things fluctuating every hour in Britain over the past few days – the volcanic dust cloud from Iceland, and the state of talks between the Tories and the LibDems, and Labour and the LibDems. Funny how a Party that came third in the popular vote and in the number of seats, can stop our Parliament from getting on with its business, cause a dip in the money markets, and ultimately even have the final say in which Bills manage to get through the Commons.
In the past couple of hours, Labour seem to have given up their wooing of the LibDems, so we’ll just have to wait and see if they (the LibDems) will crawl under the duvet with the blue brigade. The talks are cloaked in secrecy, making the election of a Pope seem like a school open day. We don’t even have the benefit of smoke being emitted, to give us some idea of how things are going. I suppose the no smoke rule is because they are so worried about the environment. It’s certainly not done me any favours, as I was hoping to make a quick buck out of my not inconsiderable number of peatbanks.
Of course, most Labour top knobs will see this as a blessing in disguise – tough measures have to be taken right from the outset if our economy is to recover, and their hope is that the electorate will clamour for an early election, blaming the other two parties for making us tighten our belts. Gordon Brown’s belongings are exiting Downing Street as I write, leaving another scramble for the leadership of the Labour Party. Many Conservatives do not like the idea of being in a coalition of their party with the Liberal Democrats, and vice-versa. Alex Salmond is bleating over his Cullen Skink that nobody seems to want to make a deal with him. As far as I can see, not many politicians in Britain today care a hoot about the electorate or how to reverse the country’s slide into poverty – all that matters to them is their own inflated egos and bellies.
If you think our politicians are bad, bickering and sniping and taking a couple of days to form a coalition government, then take a look at Taiwan - where legislators have finally passed a controversial law after repeatedly getting into physical fights in parliament over the issue. The controversial legislation - which would open university enrolment to students from the Chinese mainland - has sparked repeated bouts of fisticuffs this year. It finally passed late on Monday after legislators grabbed one another's arms and necks, in a move that is expected to bring the two main rival parties closer together - and not just so they can get more punches in. The new law would allow the admission of up to 2,000 top students every year from China, which claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan. It is intended to help build people-to-people relations after decades of limited contact. But it's raised fears that it will force Taiwanese students out of the system and see them going to offshore universities. 'The Chinese mainland will attract our best students, meaning Taiwan's educational industry will go bankrupt and unemployment will rise,' opposition legislator Tsai Huang-lang said.
Meanwhile, a friend of mine across the Pond sent me the following snippet -- The outer road along Interstate 44 near St. Louis is freshly paved — with asphalt made from recycled swine manure. It is believed to be the first time asphalt has been created from swine manure. Two St. Louis County companies, road contractor Pace Construction Co. and the engineering firm Innoventor, joined together on the project. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Innoventor perfected the process of converting the animal waste into a bio-oil used in asphalt binder. Hog producers are optimistic that, if the project works, it will create an additional source of revenue while helping the environment. I don’t think I’d like to be driving on it in one of their sweltering hot summers, somehow.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Friday, 7 May 2010
2010 General Election
Well, that’s another General Election out of the way, and Britain seems to be in an even worse state than it was beforehand, if that indeed were possible. We have a hung Parliament, which is certainly not what the country needs at this moment.
Gordon Brown is still the Prime Minister, although not an elected one. Since becoming the Labour leader, there have been a couple of attempts to oust him, but those have fizzled out, although another attempted coup could be in the offing in the next few weeks. David Cameron, after becoming head of the Conservatives, reckoned that they should try and modernise their image if they really wanted to govern the country – well, they did change tack, and have won the most votes in the election, but not enough seats to give them a majority in the Commons. Some Tories will no doubt be wondering if he really is the man to be in charge of the Party. Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats might have come out on top in the leaders’ debates which were televised over the past few weeks, but that popularity wasn’t translated into votes last night, which means that the media might have been impressed with his appearances, but the majority of the electorate weren’t. Again, how happy are the rank and file going to be with his leadership, and overall campaign strategy?
I would suggest that what is needed in Britain today is a leader, in whichever party, who has some moral fibre, and who can gather around him a team of advisors who want to be there for the overall good of the country, and not to boost their own egos and bank balances. In all successful organisations, there are competent leaders – take some successful football clubs as just one example. Think of Celtic, Liverpool, Manchester United – all very successful clubs while there was an able man at the helm. They had Jock Stein, Bill Shankley, Alex Ferguson respectively – men who surrounded themselves with good coaches, and player who worked together as a TEAM, which is very important.
Our democracy in Britain has proved to be one of the best forms of government over the years, but it stops being democratic when bills are being forced through by applying the party whip, when individual members are forced to toe the party line, often against their own wishes or beliefs, and especially their constituents’ wishes. Each member is elected by his constituents, and to serve them properly, he/she should vote according to the way that the majority of them would want him/her to vote. There is also a strong case to be made for proportional representation, as the number of seats that the Liberal Democrats manage to get are ridiculously low compared to the number of votes cast for them nationwide. I recall someone saying that the best form of government was dictatorship, combined with assassination for any dissenters, but fortunately we in the UK are rather more refined than that – so far.
On a lighter note, I’ve had a look a look at what some of the party leaders gorged themselves on, particularly at election time. In the 2 weeks leading up to the big day, Margaret Thatcher went in search of chooks, and ate 28 eggs a week, while Gordon Brown demolished 9 bananas a day, to make up for cutting KitKats and fizzy drinks out of his diet. Harold Wilson loved to cover his food with Worcestershire Sauce, but decided to be photographed with HP Sauce instead, so that he could be more readily identified as being one of the masses. Mind you, he’s the only man in the last 100 years to have won 4 General Elections, so there’s something to be said for carrying a bottle of it in the hip pocket. Winston Churchill, of course, preferred liquid sustenance, especially brandy and champagne, which he took every day, sometimes as early as breakfast time.
I’m now feeling peckish, so it’s down to the kitchen for HP covered eggs, followed by a couple of bananas, washed down by some sparkling wine – non-alcoholic, of course, as I’m waiting patiently for a call from No 10, so as to give the new incumbent some tips on cooking haggis and sheep's head broth.
Gordon Brown is still the Prime Minister, although not an elected one. Since becoming the Labour leader, there have been a couple of attempts to oust him, but those have fizzled out, although another attempted coup could be in the offing in the next few weeks. David Cameron, after becoming head of the Conservatives, reckoned that they should try and modernise their image if they really wanted to govern the country – well, they did change tack, and have won the most votes in the election, but not enough seats to give them a majority in the Commons. Some Tories will no doubt be wondering if he really is the man to be in charge of the Party. Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats might have come out on top in the leaders’ debates which were televised over the past few weeks, but that popularity wasn’t translated into votes last night, which means that the media might have been impressed with his appearances, but the majority of the electorate weren’t. Again, how happy are the rank and file going to be with his leadership, and overall campaign strategy?
I would suggest that what is needed in Britain today is a leader, in whichever party, who has some moral fibre, and who can gather around him a team of advisors who want to be there for the overall good of the country, and not to boost their own egos and bank balances. In all successful organisations, there are competent leaders – take some successful football clubs as just one example. Think of Celtic, Liverpool, Manchester United – all very successful clubs while there was an able man at the helm. They had Jock Stein, Bill Shankley, Alex Ferguson respectively – men who surrounded themselves with good coaches, and player who worked together as a TEAM, which is very important.
Our democracy in Britain has proved to be one of the best forms of government over the years, but it stops being democratic when bills are being forced through by applying the party whip, when individual members are forced to toe the party line, often against their own wishes or beliefs, and especially their constituents’ wishes. Each member is elected by his constituents, and to serve them properly, he/she should vote according to the way that the majority of them would want him/her to vote. There is also a strong case to be made for proportional representation, as the number of seats that the Liberal Democrats manage to get are ridiculously low compared to the number of votes cast for them nationwide. I recall someone saying that the best form of government was dictatorship, combined with assassination for any dissenters, but fortunately we in the UK are rather more refined than that – so far.
On a lighter note, I’ve had a look a look at what some of the party leaders gorged themselves on, particularly at election time. In the 2 weeks leading up to the big day, Margaret Thatcher went in search of chooks, and ate 28 eggs a week, while Gordon Brown demolished 9 bananas a day, to make up for cutting KitKats and fizzy drinks out of his diet. Harold Wilson loved to cover his food with Worcestershire Sauce, but decided to be photographed with HP Sauce instead, so that he could be more readily identified as being one of the masses. Mind you, he’s the only man in the last 100 years to have won 4 General Elections, so there’s something to be said for carrying a bottle of it in the hip pocket. Winston Churchill, of course, preferred liquid sustenance, especially brandy and champagne, which he took every day, sometimes as early as breakfast time.
I’m now feeling peckish, so it’s down to the kitchen for HP covered eggs, followed by a couple of bananas, washed down by some sparkling wine – non-alcoholic, of course, as I’m waiting patiently for a call from No 10, so as to give the new incumbent some tips on cooking haggis and sheep's head broth.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Council Mayhem in Western Isles
I am fed up of seeing Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and Tweedledem, those three bears who are trying to get their paws into the No 10 honeypot, staring at me from every newspaper that I look at, and from my seven television sets. I’ve decided therefore to give all that a miss on this pre-election day, and have a quick peek at what the honourable members of my local Council have been up to lately.
7 miles south of where I live, I see that they are constructing a footpath between the villages of Newmarket and Tong. Very admirable in normal circumstances, especially if folk actually walked along that route. However, in over 50 years of travelling on that road, I reckon that I’ve seen the grand average of six humans perambulating there per year. Of course, they might be using it during the night, whilst I’m dreaming of the best way to cook poached salmon. Admittedly, numbers of red deer have taken to frequenting the area over the past year, and maybe it’s meant to be for their convenience.
Two miles further down the road, and I come to a standstill at the infamous Laxdale Bridge. Probably built with leftover stones from Hadrian’s Wall, it is still single track, causing huge tailbacks from the north in the early mornings, when folk are trying to get to work, and from the south in the afternoons, when the same people are trying to rush home for their curried mince and tatties or gugas, as the case might be. The problem caused by this bridge has been discussed countless times by succeeding councils, but nothing has been actually done about it. There is talk at the moment of installing traffic lights, but that will not solve the problem – only a widening of the bridge to accommodate two lanes would seem to be the only rational solution. It seems that Scottish National Heritage, or some such group, has the bridge listed as being of special interest or something, but I’ve yet to spot any bridge twitchers, complete with binoculars or cameras, in the vicinity.
In the main town, Stornoway, work has begun on demolishing one of the car parks there, despite the fact that there haven’t been enough parking spaces for a number of years now. The public toilets there have also been shut, with the Council telling us that we can use the ones in the bus station. Unfortunately, that closes at 6pm, so that means we have to run a tight ship as far as our toilet needs are concerned. It seems that the former car park area is to be used as a focal point for the area, complete with bandstand. Now, my regular readers will be aware of the fact that I started to learn playing the fiddle last November, but there was really no need for them (the Council) to push out the boat for me in this manner.
I noticed a couple of weeks ago that a certain firm, who are recruiting staff for work to be done online from home, have placed an intriguing advertisement in my local paper. The pay is not actually much more than the National Minimum Wage, but they DO state that workers will have the added benefits of no travel, food, or clothing expenses. The ‘no travel’ part of that is true enough, but are workers expected to sit naked at their computers whilst starving as well? I don’t think I’ll be phoning for an application form, somehow.
7 miles south of where I live, I see that they are constructing a footpath between the villages of Newmarket and Tong. Very admirable in normal circumstances, especially if folk actually walked along that route. However, in over 50 years of travelling on that road, I reckon that I’ve seen the grand average of six humans perambulating there per year. Of course, they might be using it during the night, whilst I’m dreaming of the best way to cook poached salmon. Admittedly, numbers of red deer have taken to frequenting the area over the past year, and maybe it’s meant to be for their convenience.
Two miles further down the road, and I come to a standstill at the infamous Laxdale Bridge. Probably built with leftover stones from Hadrian’s Wall, it is still single track, causing huge tailbacks from the north in the early mornings, when folk are trying to get to work, and from the south in the afternoons, when the same people are trying to rush home for their curried mince and tatties or gugas, as the case might be. The problem caused by this bridge has been discussed countless times by succeeding councils, but nothing has been actually done about it. There is talk at the moment of installing traffic lights, but that will not solve the problem – only a widening of the bridge to accommodate two lanes would seem to be the only rational solution. It seems that Scottish National Heritage, or some such group, has the bridge listed as being of special interest or something, but I’ve yet to spot any bridge twitchers, complete with binoculars or cameras, in the vicinity.
In the main town, Stornoway, work has begun on demolishing one of the car parks there, despite the fact that there haven’t been enough parking spaces for a number of years now. The public toilets there have also been shut, with the Council telling us that we can use the ones in the bus station. Unfortunately, that closes at 6pm, so that means we have to run a tight ship as far as our toilet needs are concerned. It seems that the former car park area is to be used as a focal point for the area, complete with bandstand. Now, my regular readers will be aware of the fact that I started to learn playing the fiddle last November, but there was really no need for them (the Council) to push out the boat for me in this manner.
I noticed a couple of weeks ago that a certain firm, who are recruiting staff for work to be done online from home, have placed an intriguing advertisement in my local paper. The pay is not actually much more than the National Minimum Wage, but they DO state that workers will have the added benefits of no travel, food, or clothing expenses. The ‘no travel’ part of that is true enough, but are workers expected to sit naked at their computers whilst starving as well? I don’t think I’ll be phoning for an application form, somehow.
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