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fairlopian_tubester

Listed below are comments made by fairlopian_tubester between Wednesday, 8th April 2009 and Friday, 10th July 2009.

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Weekly Bonus Question 2:30pm on 10 Jul 2009 A public convenience in Scotland was found to have generated the least revenue in twenty seven years of service. When and how much did its last paying customer insert?
The prime minister is safe - for now 11:38pm on 08 Jun 2009 Nick,

With the dust settled from council and European elections and no more elections forthcoming, almost every elected member of the cabinet having either resigned or expressed their unwavering support, Peter Mandleson all over the media like a rash and the prospect of a long summer recess, I can see why you might consider Brown is safe for the time being.

But his fistprints remain all over a parlous economy, the electorate are still seething over MPs expenses and who knows what else is likely to surface?

How long before the Labour rank and file see through that Brown is reduced to be merely a front man for the Dark Lord himself, a kind of faustian pact while still desperately trying to cling to the last trappings of power?

Look into the clear skies out left field. The next bombshell won't be from the Tories or the Tory press, probably not from your regular briefers. Perhaps another reshuffle needed because the reshuffled cabinet has one joker too many in its pack?

This is a man who has shown he cannot grasp the big things and has no command of the detail. If he had, he might have seen something coming - or been more circumspect with whom he upset on the way up.
Survival but at what price? 8:23pm on 06 Jun 2009 What a farce.

An unelected Prime Minister presiding over a cabinet increasingly comprised of unelected Lordships.

How can we call this shambles a democracy?

Labour supporters - if you love your country and care about your party, get rid of this man (although I fear it's too late on both counts).
'This is no big deal' 1:20pm on 05 Jun 2009 Facing the greatest economic challenges since World War 2, we have a lame duck prime minister, a rag, tag and bobtail cabinet and a rotten parliament.

The only way to deal with this mess is to hold a general election now. Not to elect a new government to full term, but to run until the end of the current parliament (i.e. around ten months) with a brief to shore up the economoy and bring in reform of both houses of parliament. It should then dissolve itself to allow fresh elections for a government to serve full term.

In the meantime, the media should examine critically MPs outside interests: present and former memberships of action groups, secret societies and para-political organisations, making such information available to the electorate; exposing where such inmterests may conflict with the interests of their constituents. The BBC should be made more democratic, particularly in terms of its political reporting.

Following a second general election, we should then examine our level of democratic engagement within the European Parliament. How many of us can name our MEP, identify which grouping they belong to, or even remember all the candidate names for the party we voted for yesterday? We need greater democratic involvement and transparency in the whole process, along with frequent grilling of MEPs on Question Time, Any Questions and Newsnight. Not forgetting the promised referendum on the Lisbon Treaty (and only one - if we vote against, no repeats), if not membership as a whole. Once we have switched the lights on in Europe, then a fresh election (in two years?) when we aren't blinkered by party politics, protests votes and expenses scams wouldn't be amiss.

Finally, while we respect and admire our Queen and wish her a long reign, we must start to consider that she won't be with us forever and whether we want/need a monarchy to continue.

Last night on Question Time, Paddy Ashdown suggested that democracy in this country is in a poor state. I disagree - democracy has a chance to reassert itself and take back government from the political machines. We must not allow the politicians to attempt to revert to business as usual - which is why the latest cabinet reshuffle is little more than a sideline, if not an absolute farce.
Chancellor in distress 9:38pm on 01 Jun 2009 Well I feel let down. I actually thought Alistair Darling was a basically honest guy, trying to do a decent job despite an interfering and meddlesome boss. Now it is evident that he is just like all the rest.

How, in the name of democracy, can we rid ourselves of this rotten parliament? Must we suffer another twelve months while those who haven't the decency to step down continue to draw their salary and expenses until they must face the electorate.

Must we endure another twelve months of a prime minister completely lacking public support runs the country into the ground?

Then must we elect another bunch for another five-year term and watch the same rot unfold?

We need an election now - but to elect a parliament that will sit for twelve months only - with a brief to reform both houses before fresh elections for a new full term take place. We need competent people at this time of econmic crisis, free from careerism and the party whips.
Westminster's answer to Britain's Got Talent 9:27pm on 01 Jun 2009 The difference between Britain's Got Talent and the ex-Chancellor (not the about to be ex-Chancellor) is - apart from the talent - that BGT allows the public to vote.

If Gordon Brown thinks he has the talent to run the country, let him face the electorate.
Welcome to Shizuishan City 2:22pm on 20 May 2009 I thought it was Ava Gardner who said of Melbourne that it was the ideal place to make a film about the end of the world (Nevil Shute's "On The Beach") - has Shizuistan (where the dogs come from?) thought of a twinning scheme?

And while they're at it, how about twinning with Copsa Mica in Roumania and Bhopal in India?
Test of leadership and authority 12:48pm on 05 May 2009 Leadership is a quality that is measured by the number of followers. Authority is itself granted by a higher authority - in our democracy by the electorate of this country.

I don't see much evidence of either even before this vote.
When fiscal stimulus isn't stimulating 11:36am on 08 Apr 2009 Come on, we all know that Governments raise taxes during the early years of their tenure in office, hopefully to be able to lighten the tax burden in their final years in order to stand a better chance of re-election.

Alistair Darling and the ex-Chancellor are in a fix because taxes need to rise in order to service the interest on increased national debt and reduce the shortfall from lower tax revenues from the City. However they will be seeking not to pass on the full pain until after the next election.
The strange case of Macau, the tax haven that disappeared 10:41am on 08 Apr 2009 So just what is a tax haven, when it is black-listed?

All the usual suspects - jurisdictions which benefit from low taxes and lesser regulation - appear to be untouched by the opprobrium of the G20.

No, this is about banking secrecy and the extension of powers of Governments to investigate the financial affairs of their citizens beyond their borders.

It extends the scope of the EU Savings Directive (2003) by putting more pressure on those member states (Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg) that held back on the full disclosure promoted under EUSD (and Switzerland as a special case).

This is another step on a road that has been mapped out for several years.

It might be seen as a Good Thing that war criminals, drug dealers, corrupt statesmen and money launderers cannot hide their gains from the international community; but is there not something to fear from a world system that grants itself full powers of investigation, particularly at a time when the first steps are being taken towards a world currency?

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