In Your Face

In The Navy!

2012-01-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

How reassuring that the world's shipping lanes are being patrolled and protected by such a professional navy!

There Was A Young Man Called Ed

2012-01-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

Spike Milligan clearly was very being very perceptive about the future of Labour when he wrote this:

"There was a young man called Ed sir
Who was always found in bed sir
One day at one
They fired the gun
And Ed sir in bed sir was dead sir"

Bye Bye Ed

2012-01-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

Heaven Preserve Us!

2011-06-09T03:49:00.001-07:00

Heaven (if you believe in such things) preserve us from the possibility of Tony Blair (ex PM and current leader of the "Faith Foundation") from become president of the EU!

Linked In April Fool

2011-04-01T04:05:00.000-07:00

It seems that today (1st April) Linked In, the business networking site, has gained a sudden influx of famous (yet dead) new members eg:

-Einstein
-Tolkien
-Hemingway
-Groucho Marx
-Robin Hood etc

Clearly an April Fool joke, but the question is "in house" or external prankster?

A Waste of Space

2011-03-05T02:15:00.000-08:00

Baroness Ashton is to spend £8.5 million polishing the image of her new EU diplomatic service despite having four spin doctors of her own and the free use of the European Commission's 1,000-strong communications staff.

Criminal Waste

2011-03-04T03:08:00.000-08:00

The reputations of the MOD, and the previous Labour administration, have plumbed new depths as it has been revealed that MOD contracts set up under Labour have resulted in light bulbs (worth 65p) being bought for £22 each and screws worth £2.60 being bought for £103.

This comes at a time when the MOD faces significant and damaging cuts in its budget and operational capabilities.

Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, has publicly claimed to be very angry. However will anyone actually be sacked for this?

Don't hold your breath!

Israel's Blockade of Gaza

2010-06-02T04:39:00.000-07:00

The remarkably inept interdiction at sea by Israel of an aid convoy headed for Gaza, has highlighted a number of issues wrt the blockade and their handling of the interdiction.

1 The 20 mile sea cordon sanitaire around Gaza is not recognised by anyone other than Israel.

2 When intercepting a ship at sea the rules of the game are that you contact the captain and, if he refuses, the country that "flagged" the ship (in this case it is some flag of convenience). Israel did not do that.

3 The interception took places 40 miles outside Gaza (ie in international waters, outwith the Israel cordon).

In short, aside from the loss of life, Israel has not handled this well and will suffer serious "blowback".

Conundrum

2010-05-11T02:47:00.000-07:00

Question: When is a resignation not a resignation?

Answer: When it is Gordon Brown resigning from leadership of the Labour Party, but not from the office of Prime Minister.

Viva El Presidente!

2009-10-28T02:36:00.000-07:00

Gerson Lehrman News

2009-09-04T02:42:00.000-07:00

Off topic, I write articles covering business issues for Gerson Lehrman News, and am an Accounting & Financial Analysis Council Member (AFA Council Members include CFOs, former top regulatory body officials, partners from the world's leading accounting firms, academics, forensic accountants, and other financial executives).

The news articles can be accessed via this link Gerson Lehrman News.

Protests Over Healthcare Reform in The US

2009-08-16T02:51:00.000-07:00

President Obama's proposals for healthcare reform have set off a wave of protests at town hall meetings across the US, and have even spurred British politicians to enter the fray as the NHS comes under fire from certain quarters in the US.

In reality the healthcare issue is being used as the touchstone by the rabid right to stir people up. The rabid right are fanning the flames of protest, using fear of change as their fuel.

The US, like it or not, is changing:

1 It is broke, thanks in no small part to the ruinously costly wars that it started under Bush

2 It owes China, an emerging superpower, $1.4 trillion

3 The GOP is leaderless/rudderless and has its agenda "driven" by dangerous loons such as Palin and unscrupulous "news"/media networks such as Fox

4 The white majority face becoming a minority in "their own" country (as they see it)

5 God doesn't exist, whatever GOP might have you believe

People's fears are being whipped up by unscrupulous networks such as Fox, uneducated politicians such as Palin and retarded bloggers.

Given the number of people with sizeable personal arsenals, this presents the government of the US with a serious problem.

The rabid right may well end up provoking a civil war.

Met Office Fails

2009-07-29T03:08:00.001-07:00

The hapless and hopeless Met Office has failed again with its "forecasting".

In April the Met office predicted that we were in line for a hot, dry summer.

No surprises for guessing that, given the lack of "summer sizzle", the Met Office is now changing its forecast and is predicting "unsettled" weather.

In 2008 they got their summer prediction wrong, and indeed in 2007 they also screwed up.

The Met Office head of forecasting, Brian Goulding, said:

"Seasonal forecasting is a difficult thing to do and this places some limitations on our forecasts".

I have two suggestions for the Met Office:

1 Given the "difficulty" and inaccuracy of long term forecasting, why bother?

2 Why not fine the Met Office everytime they get things wrong? Inaccurate weather forecasts cost others money, why not focus the minds of the Met Office a little more by charging them for their mistakes?

Sugar Backs Brown

2009-06-05T03:17:00.000-07:00

Sir Alan "The Apprentice" Sugar has publicly backed Gordon Brown today.

However, is this endorsement really worth the media hype given that the "reality" "business" show The Apprentice shows that Sugar allows people into the final five of his show who have lied on their CVs?

Vile Politicians Stoking The Flames

2009-03-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

The attack on Sir Fred "The Shred" Goodwin's home by a self proclaimed "anarchist" group of "banker hating" trouble makers, may well be excused by the media as the work of the lunatic fringe.

However, the flames of the "lunatic fringe's" anger have been fanned and given fuel by the less than restrained outpourings of our political "leaders" (Brown, Harman et al) and a compliant ignorant media who have jumped onto the bandwagon of banker bashing.

Doubtless the banks and their boards have screwed up royally. However, this country's economic plight has been brought about not just by the actions of "greedy bankers", but by a profligate government that wasted billions during years of plenty and the failed tripartite regulatory system that oversaw the years of lax credit and greed.

Those politicians and members of the media who happily divert the public's attention, by blaming the bankers solely for this mess, should remember that in the 1930's in Germany bankers and others were also used by the media, and those that controlled the media, as an effective scapegoat and means to whip the public up into a frenzy.

Those politicians that continue with banker bashing, without acknowledging their own responsibility for this financial mess, are little better than the Nazis of the 1930's.

Congrats To Tony Blair

2009-01-06T04:01:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to former Prime Minister Tony Blair for earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in backing the US in the so called "War Against Terror".

Such a pity that his role as Middle east Peace Envoy appears to be not quite working out quite so well!

The Bush Resume

2008-11-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington , DC 20520

LAW ENFORCEMENT:

* Arrested in Kennebunkport , Maine (1976) for driving under the influence of alcohol. Plead guilty, paid fine; had driver's license suspended for 30 days. Texas driving record 'lost' and is not available.

MILITARY:

* Joined the Texas Air National Guard. Went AWOL. Refused to take drug test or answer any questions about personal drug use. Able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam .

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

* Graduate of Yale University with a low C average. Cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:

* Ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
* Began career in the oil business in Midland, Texas (1975.) Bought oil company but couldn't find any oil in Texas . Company went bankrupt shortly after selling personal stock.
* Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.
* With the help of my father and friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay) elected governor of Texas .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS :

* Changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union . Houston replaces Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America .
* Cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
* Set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.
* With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida and my father's appointments to the Supreme Court, become President of the United States after losing the popular vote by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:

* First President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
* Ordered invasion and occupation of two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per month. Am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked,
preemptive attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation.
* Spent inherited U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
* Aided in shattering the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
* Set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
* Helped set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
* Oversaw the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.
* First year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues.
* Proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My 'poorest millionaire, 'Condoleezz Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her though.
* Established the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S.
President. Am the all-time U.S. and world record -holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations. My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History at Enron.
* My GOP used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during 2000.
* Have successfully protected friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation.
* Created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States Government.
* Help break more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.
* The first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
* Withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
* Refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. 'prisoners of war'
detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
* Established the record for fewest press conferences of any President since the advent of television.
* Set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period.
* After taking off the entire month of August 2001, I presided over the
worst security failure in U.S. history.
* Have the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.
* Am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:

* All records of gubernatorial tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
* All records of SEC investigations into my alleged insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in and unavailable for public view.
* All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President attended regarding public energy policy are sealed and unavailable for public review.
* These sealed documents will not be available for 50 years.

Spot The Difference

2008-11-13T03:48:00.000-08:00

The person on the left resigned over a trivial matter, involving a Satanic Slut and Russell Brand, blown up out of all proportion by the media.

No one from Haringey Council has resigned for the death of "Baby P".

Inside The Brown Bunker

2008-09-03T04:03:00.001-07:00

Exclusive footage of life inside Gordon Brown's bunker in number 10.

The True Colours of The EU

2008-06-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

The EU showed its true colours this weekend when faced with the clear rejection by Ireland of the Lisbon Treaty.

Ireland voted "no" by 53.4% to 46.6%. The referendum result against the Lisbon Treaty has thrown the European Union into turmoil because the treaty, which aims to streamline EU decision making, has to be approved by all states.

Were those running the EU in any shape or form interested in the views of the citizens of the EU, this rejection should cause them some period of reflection about where they are trying to take us.

However, it is very clear that those in charge of the EU have no interest in the views of its citizens.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso insists the Lisbon Treaty is still "alive", and has urged other countries to continue ratifying it. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said:

"The others must continue ratification... so that the Irish incident does not become a crisis."

France's European affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said that Ireland should hold another vote, so that the people vote in the correct way:

"The ratification process must be completed.

And during this period, the Irish will have time to think and see whether, with a few mediations or a request from their part, they can revote."

The EU is only a democracy when the voters vote the way that their leaders want.

Cherie's Memoirs

2008-05-13T23:33:00.001-07:00

Those of you who have bothered to read Cherie Blair's excruciating memoirs about her husband's time in office, in which she uses words such as "unmentionables" and "contraceptive equipment" when detailing their sex lives, may be wondering why she brought forward the publication date originally scheduled for October this year.

The answer is simple, it's the money stupid.

Cherie believes, as do many, that Gordon Brown will be out of office by then. She knows that her book, given its tittle tattle expose of the shenanigans at number 10 during the Blair/Brown years, will not sell well once the Blair/Brown years are consigned where they rightly belong, to the dustbin of history.

Ironically Cherie, by exposing her true nature in this book, has provided the world with the clearest insight into the "moral base" of Nu Labour; money focused, self centred and lacking in any form of integrity.

Cherie is to be congratulated for that at least!

Contingency Planning

2008-04-28T02:21:00.000-07:00

Given the threat of fuel shortages brought about by the stoppage at Grangemouth.

Given that this stoppage has been well publicised in advance.

Given that, according to the government, we live under daily threat of a major terrorist incident.

Given that the UK has been pumping oil from the North Sea for decades.

Why is that there is not a contingency plan in place, that covers the Grangemouth stoppage and its negative impact on fuel supplies throughout the UK?

The Crocodile Tears of Labour MPs

2008-04-19T01:42:00.001-07:00

The current furore erupting within the Labour party over the abolition of the 10p tax band is causing Gordon Brown a few headaches.

Labour MPs are rushing to the media to proclaim their disdain for the abolition of the 10p tax band, and are claiming that they will do everything in their power to stop it.

All very nice and heartwarming.

There is one small fly in their ointment.

The announcement about the abolition of the 10p tax ban was made last year, front page in the media, the day after the budget.

Why have these MP's taken a year to raise the matter?

Could it be that the local elections are less than a fortnight away, and they are worried about their seats?

Whilst the abolition of the 10p band may well be a foolish move, the crocodile tears shed by these MP's carry no weight.

Their constituents should be more than a little concerned that it took a whole year for these people to wake up to the fact that this change was to be made.

They are not fit to hold office.

Hillary Clinton and Heather Mills

2008-03-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

"God Bless Heather Mills"

The Hillary and Bill Show

2008-03-14T03:47:00.000-07:00

Those members of the Democratic Party who are contemplating their choice of presidential candidate, Hillary or Barack, may think that the desire of Hillary Clinton to fight on until the bitter end reflects her burning ambition to lead the USA as president.

In some respects this may be true. However, her prime motivation and that of her husband is that they have nothing else in their lives other than the desire to hold high political office.

They made a pact decades ago to stick together to gain high office.

In the event that Hillary loses the nomination, she and Bill will be forced to confront the reality of their lives; namely that they have nothing else.

Such is their fear of being forced to confront their inner demons that they will move heaven and earth to avoid them, even if it means destroying the Democratic Party in the process.

Those contemplating which candidate to vote for need to bear that in mind as they make their decision.

To Hillary and Bill it's not really about the presidency, it's about Hillary and Bill.

It always has been.