Lifestyle Choices

Silver-spooned slobberychops George Osborne is targeting folks who live on benefits and are classed as 'work-shy.' Sad to relate, it is possible to remember when full employment was an achievable ambition. And then Thatcher came along -  to turn vast swathes of Industrial Britain into a wasteland. And lo! As night follows day - unemployment soared. And remained. And a culture of living off the state was ingrained into sink estate culture. 

Compare and contrast. Simultaneously there was a rapid growth in offshore tax havens, tax avoidance and multinationals using the financial system to reduce their tax bills. For instance, for many years News International made a loss in the UK, but their little office in Lichtenstein made an absolute fortune. And in all that time Murdoch's organs lectured the rest of us about the sorry souls who claimed benefits and who also worked in the black economy. 

So who does slobberychops go for? The soft target of so-called 'benefit scroungers,' which could realise the colossal sum of 5 billion? Or the evasive mendacious mega rich, with their army of slippery accountants who advise them to contribute to whichever party is currently in power and which could realise at least 90 billion for the governments purse?

Well dang my doo dads. Fancy that!

Reform? What bloody reform?

Watching the Parliamentary Channel the other night (someone has to) when the vote was called on the referendum on electoral reform. What a farce. All these old buffers and white middle class suited males milled about for what seemed ages. 

Caroline Lucas (the one Green MP) says the system is 'arcane.' That is polite. It is ineffective, inefficient and downright crap. Over an hour passed to vote on the main issue and a sub-section. What on earth is wrong with having three buttons? In Favour,Against, Abstain. Done in seconds - result announced - next business. 

But no, in the Mother of Parliaments we go down the ritual route. "Lock the Lobby" the Speaker cries. Then like so many lost sheep, the herd of would-be statesman shuffle off to be counted in person by four MPs appointed as 'tellers.' The Lobby is a place where many nefarious activities occur ranging from downright intimidation and coercion to sexual innuendo and groping. It is risible. 

So why does it continue? A combination of party whips, reluctant to lose the power of 'persuasion' and supine MPs hoping for advancement.

We needed reform - we have been offered window dressing. The crap continues.

Root and Branch - nothing but.

Andy Hayman

A pivotal part of the New York Times investigation concerns the relationship between the Met and News International. The role of Coulson is secondary to this yet this aspect has been rarely mentioned by the media - particularly the BBC. 

"Scotland Yard also had a symbiotic relationship with News of the World. The police sometimes built high-profile cases out of the paper's exclusives, and News of the World reciprocated with fawning stories of arrests.

Within days of the raids, several senior detectives said they began feeling internal pressure. One senior investigator said he was approached by Chris Webb, from the department's press office, who was "waving his arms up in the air, saying, 'Wait a minute -- let's talk about this.' " The investigator, who has since left Scotland Yard, added that Webb stressed the department's "long-term relationship with News International." NY Times 5/9/2010

The role of Andy Hayman in limiting the initial investigation to one reporter and one private detective is important too. There was a lot of evidence to suggest that the practice of phone-tapping was widespread (and not just at the News of the World). As the chief investigating officer he would have the power to keep matters under wraps. 

The Guardian reports today, "Hayman stressed that although he oversaw the investigation, another officer was in day-to-day charge. He also denied there was anything improper in his taking work writing for News International newspapers immediately after retiring from the force."

No, Mr Hayman, there was nothing 'improper' but it stinks to high heaven.

The Met

It was good to read Nick Davies's detailed, lengthy article in the Guardian today. He went back through the available evidence, to set out why, at best, the Metropolitan Police have been incompetent in investigating the phone hacking scandal. At worst, there are many reasons to suspect that the malign influence of News International 'bought off' the police. It is clear that the Royal reporter and the Private Detective were the scapegoats for a much bigger issue. They were also well rewarded by News International for doing their time and keeping their traps shut. To date well over £2 million has been spent shutting up the disgruntled bugged. And there are more in the pipeline.

Mind you, the sight of so many ex-Ministers lining up to put the boot in is pretty disgusting considering they did bugger-all about it when they had the chance. But they too did not want to upset the digger and his cronies. Now they have lost the election they feel more relaxed about having a go. Gutless unprincipled wonders.

Tony Blair

"Naive, foolish, irresponsible, stupidity, imbecility," so says Tony Blair in of his government's decision to introduce the Freedom of Information Act. Not an off-the-cuff remark but a comment in his book. Says all you need to know about the man and his attitude to us proles. 

There is a discreet little protest taking place. People are being asked to visit their local bookshop, pick up the venal turds self-serving autobiography  - and then replace the tome in the 'Crime' section!

Andy Coulson

There are several very disturbing elements to this tale. An ex-editor friend says that for Coulson to claim that he knew nothing about the phone-tapping is incredible. He would have had to authorise payments to the Private Detective and others. It also does not square with his very aggressive style as an editor chasing celeb scandals to sell his paper. 

Call Me Dave bought into this style when he appointed him to be a surrogate Campbell to his surrogate Blair premiership. This says a great deal about CMD's judgement.

Even more disturbing has been the deep silence in most of the media about this story. That the News International stable have put the interests of their proprietor  (Mr R. Murdoch, aka 'The Dirty Digger') before the interests of the nation is hardly surprising. That other news organisations did so too is less understandable, until the fact that the Digger owns over 40% of the media in this country is taken into account. Good old 'enlightened self-interest' comes into play. Many journalists would not wish to scupper future employment opportunities. There is also a long tradition in Fleet Street of not attacking each other. The BBC are still cowed by the Hutton Report.

So why does this matter? A fair, open and rigorous press is a bastion in a democracy. The first thing that despots do is to control the media. Next, the police are used to enforce illiberal laws. Which brings us to the most serious aspect of this story. The role of the Metropolitan Police.

There are admissions on record that News International have paid members of the Met for information. This has gone on quietly for years. Where this takes on a sinister hue is the strong suspicion that the Diggers staff have leant on the investigating team to do a cursory job, ensuring much sensitive and damaging information remains buried. This is perverting the course of justice. This is a powerful organisation using its clout and muscle to subvert our democratic processes. If successful, it places News International above the Rule of Law.

And it's not even subtle or crafty. The chief investigating officer - one Andy Hayman - left the Met shortly after concluding his non-investigation - and walked into a job as a columnist with………News International.

Pass the sick bag.

Rawnsley vindicated

Remember when his book came out before the election? Remember how the NewLabour attack machine rolled into action pooh-poohing his tales of a dysfunctional bunch of ego maniacs? Chief among them was a certain venal, mendacious and slimy toe-rag, aka Baron (It Beggars Belief) Mandelson. 

Rawnsley stuck to his guns - with good reason. The latest self-serving dose of 'I Did it My Way' comes from one Tony Blair, ex PM and would-be war criminal. It appears that Rawnsley was too soft in his assessment of the follies and foibles of our leadership clan. All of this was well-known to most if not all Labour MPs. It was certainly well known to the inner circle. And what did they do about the raving and uselessness of Brown? 

What an indictment of our system. What an insight into how much further we have to go to improve our democracy and wean it away from the wealthy , the greedy and the stupid. 

Why the hell should we trust any of the buggers? To amend Churchill's pithy phrase a little, "They rat, and then they re-rat."