Monday 7 January 2013

In the light of the Herald's article yesterday about the files on devolution, we asked, Mr Darling, in his live Scotsman appearance:

In the interests of complete openness and the fullest of information being available to the voters in Scotland's referendum, and, given that there is little likelihood of security implications, should not the UK government  make an exception to their rules about disclosure of information, and release the files on devolution, in line with the disclosure rules brought in by the Scottish government (ie,15 years after the fact)?

Would you not further agree that to fail to do that, without giving good reason, will encourage people to speculate on what it is that the UK government wishes to keep hidden?

Answer came there none.
*****
Today Captain Pugwash Cameron and First Mate Clegg relaunched the coalition coffin, no no no, I meant government. Probably this pretty much sums up what we think of it: (click on picture to enlarge) Actually it's more or less what Tom Strathclyde thinks about it too. But you'd think that he could have chosen another day to do it.
*****
We've all got round to thinking what a horrible man Cameron is and how his government is evil, hurting as it does, the poorest and the least able to defend themselves. He has managed so far to persuade large numbers of the public that sick and disabled people are wicked scroungers... when most of them are not. Like it or not, there are people who are ill, and a quick look at the government's own figures for fraud on sickness benefits will show that there is almost none at all.

He's also talked people into believing that the unemployed are lazy and shiftless because they don't have a job, even allowing his pea-brained finance secretary to run off at the mouth about 'darkened bedroom windows when a shift worker is going off to work in the morning'. 

The pea brain himself seemed not to twig that it was ever thus, that shift workers very often saw dark windows when they went to, and returned from work... on the basis that they were SHIFT WORKERS and worked SHIFTS. He seemed to be unaware that in a 24/7 world many people are at home when others are at work. Osborne, of course, never having worked shifts, would be oblivious to all that. When he was little maids appeared to light the fires and serve breakfast, and it never occurred to him that they were at work long before he opened his eyes.

The bone heads who believe this nonsense and who have recently taken to abusing sick, disabled and unemployed people, might also like to reflect that a large number of these unemployed are in that position because of the policies of Cameron and Osborne. Many more have to get by on part-time wages... And with sky-high power prices (in an oil rich nation) many part timers are forced to stay in bed a little longer to keep warm and conserve energy, which might explain darkened windows even at 8 am.


We should, however, in all these reflections on the Tories, never forget that this most recent persecution of the poor was started by Brown's government. They double the bottom rate of income tax, and started the witch hunt against the so-called "welfare scroungers": they brought ATOS in and they set the original targets. (And don 't let them tell you that there are no targets. They have already told us how much money they will save, so there must be targets.)

Neither should we forget this man, whose lack of concern for human life was so low that he was prepared to do whatever it took to keep George Bush happy.

Even by the standards of this government 120,000 to 1,200,000 is a LOT of dead people.

23 comments:

  1. tris

    We wont take lectures from the secret snp state Alex has shot himself in the foot wid that one.
    The MCcrone strategy wont work this time around Alexs dirty sticky slimy fingers are on to many denial of F.O.I requests the skunk....

    Close but no cigar.


    Guy at work 61 been there 13 years not been unemployed for many years before that. Has been made redundant so in Cameron and Osborne's rhetoric he has gone from a 'striver' to a 'skiver' in one fell swoop.

    Labour do have questions to answer on welfare they did lead of on attacking the unemployed.

    we will see what happens next week at the real and proper Parliament .
    how will the snp MPs vote????? the skunks


    there is a debate going on in the Left of politics on how the term 'Welfare' replaced 'social security' and helped frame how the poor are stereotyped as the cause of their poverty.


    as the Beveridge Report state

    Policies of social security "must be achieved by co-operation between the State and the individual", with the state securing the service and contributions.

    perhaps a reassessment of the past would aid us in the the 21st century.

    Not doling out welfare but securing a decent life for the nations citisens.

    still one can always dream eh???

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  2. 'Secret SNP State'?????

    Niko you are a fuckwit. Sober up

    Derick

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  3. not very anon Derick

    Doesn't make me a bad person

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  4. Hmmm... yes, the word welfare has replaced social security, Niko. Not quite sure when that happened. It's certainly wrong.

    The figures show that there is not really that much fraud. A great amount of the "welfare" that they kindly hand out, goes to working people; another great chunk to pensioners.

    If wages and pensions weren't so pathetically low, then perhaps the state wouldn't have to provide.

    Another load of welfare is handed out (still) to people with children. It's only above £50,000 that it is being stopped.

    There is virtually no fraud in the sickness benefit/incapacity benefit claims, although many mistakes are made by under trained, under paid staff.

    Your dream could come true, Niko. A smaller country is far better equipped to run a decent social security system. Just vote YES.

    Can you give me any concrete evidence of a secret SNP state,or where you got the impression that in the future there would be one?

    Are you getting confused with the UK state. Since 2009 (SNP government time) all documents from the Scottish government are available for the public to view after 15 years (not 30 as in the UK government). But the UK government has overridden the Scottish government with regard to the devolution papers, which will not be published until 2029... despite the Scottish government wanting to publish them in 2014.

    Hmmmm... I wonder who is the more secretive... and I wonder what they have to hide? Alistair Darling clearly didn't want to answer that question today.

    Mind you, he didn't actually answer any of the questions that were put to him.

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  5. Any news about your brothers, Niko?

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  6. Yes Derek..he's that alright!

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  7. No... it doesn't make you a bad person Niko... just an irritating one :)

    Wait till Mr Browlie sees all the things you've written since he's been away....

    ...I assume he's been away?

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  8. The banks got £400Bn from Gordon's Labour Party to stop them going bust yet there's not been a peep about anyone being arrested for fraud or negligence.
    The HBOS inquiry seems to have been kicked into the long grass.
    Maybe they just lost the money by mistake or something.

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  9. I guess the idea is that if you re-launch the Titanic often enough, one day it will get to New York!

    Seems to be government policy these days after all how many times did Gordon Brown re-launch himself? And how many times is it now that the coalition has been re-launched now? I suppose that the re-launch is healthy and good along with U-turns and fiascos!

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  10. Monty: it will turn up when they have their spring clean. You know how things go down the side of settees and behind bookcases... Why only last year I found 43p and Icelandic Krone and 10 Bulgarian Leva.

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  11. The trouble is, Munguin, if they HAD relaunched the Titanic, would anyone have wanted to board her?

    I just thought it was hilarious that the day that they relaunch, a cabinet minister resigns....

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  12. Tris

    Never knew there were documents not released about the devolution process, it might be interesting to see them but I think we could be rest assured that we won't if there is anything that hurts the NO campaign.

    As far as Cameron / Clegg are concerned I found their conference a bit gringe worthy to be honest. Both part of a failed government and trying to put a possitive slant on it.

    To be honest I have slightly more time for Cameron than Clegg and thats not much. At least Cameron is being the most right wing PM since I can rememeber anyway, Thatcher wouldn't have dared do what they are doing to the poor and working poor. Clegg on the other hand is a Tory in Liberal colours. He really is a sad sad man and when I see him and hear hinm he knows he is a dead man walking and the one who will go down in history as the man who killed the Liberal Party. Their race to the bottom in Scotland might even be faster than the Tories.

    The response from Niko and Miliband have been predictable and just go to highlight that the choice at the next election, especially in England is really poor. You can see UKib making a lot of ground over the next 2 years. Over all 2013 will be more of the same nasty politics, the interesting thing will be if people actually start to fight back when the cuts bite over the summer and sadly people see their choice of heat or eat.

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  13. tris..you're probably right. I read in the torygraph the other day that Barry was thinking of minting a trillion dollar coin made from platinum and paying off the chinese with it. Probably hoping they would lose it down the back of their sofa.

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  14. yes here's the story...

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9784898/US-seriously-considering-1-trillion-coin-to-pay-off-debt.html

    If I was in charge I would mint 20 of the blighters. That would cover the debt and give me $4trillion spending money. Sorted.

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  15. Monty: If you got $4 billion spending money can I have a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch jeans?

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  16. Whichever way Bruce it's a plus for us. If they refuse to release them we will know that there was dirty work going on. If they release them we will know WHAT dirty work was going on!!

    I know what you mean about Cameron and Clegg. Cameron is what it says on the tin, an out of touch Eton toff with no idea of what the word is about...exactly what you would expect.

    On the other hand Clegg is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He was elected as a decent middle of the road person... and for a little bit of power turned his back on what he stood for, and what he was elected on...

    But somehow, for all that, I still dislike Cameron more. It's not rational, but I can't help it.

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  17. Monty... Just read the story. They have to mint 20 of them before you can have your 4 trillion to buy me my A&F jeans...

    LOL

    Is't that just like QE... only they actually make the coin instead of it being all in their computers?

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  18. tris...good jeans at Asda. Only £10 for a nice pair.
    They aren't allowed to print any more paper money in America due to some pesky law so are thinking about some big coinage. They could probably just e mail the cash to China etc but there's nothing like the jangle of money in your hip pocket to brighten your day.
    Alice in Wonderland in America now ;)
    They should make a great big can with $1tr on the side and just kick it down the road every month.

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  19. Hmmmm... Asda isn't quite my style Monty, but thanks anyway!

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  20. tris


    asda Snigger bet he aint got a superdry jacket like me(Mrs Niko makes be on trend)


    One of me broths is in January and the other in February both confident of being passed as severely disabled and thus keep their benefits.

    what a world we now live in


    unfortunately both have attempted suicide at various times(not for a few years now)so we keep an eye on them.

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  21. I wish them both well Niko. Fingers crossed. I don't mean to pry, but you mentioned how worried they were. And it has come back from time to time to my head and I wondered how they had got on.

    Superdry... wow. You ARE cool!


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  22. tris...you're a slave to consumerism ;)

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  23. Aye Monty, 'tis true...

    But I look well cool!


    LOL LOL LOL

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