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FellowCuckoo

Listed below are comments made by FellowCuckoo between Thursday, 30th July 2009 and Tuesday, 29th September 2009.

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The politics of 'proper behaviour' 3:00pm on 29 Sep 2009 Blair may have taken up the anti-social behaviour issue but he also promised us "joined up government". As in granting licenses for 24hr drinking while the Dept of Health tells us all to drink less. Or bringing in the Human Rights Act and then fettering teachers so that 7 year olds cry "I know my rights" as soon as an adult attempts to stop them misbehaving. Encouraging volunteering but only if we don't mind being put on the potential paedophile database. I could go on ...
Will you pay for a Digital Britain? 8:06pm on 23 Sep 2009 My mother is 89, widowed, blind and almost housebound. She wouldn't know a broadband router if it jumped up, bit her on the nose and said "Hallo cheeky!". But her landline is a vital lifeline to her distant family and the wider world. Taxing her pension to provide faster broadband for others is just absurd.
No-one can rewrite political history 7:51pm on 14 Sep 2009 extremesense @28
"However, for once, I agreed with Lord Mandelson - we need targeted cuts thought through carefully rather than the swingeing cuts that the Conservatives are proposing."
Most commentators are criticising the Tories for not having any specific proposals (other than protecting health and overseas development) so I would be very interested if you could point me to a statement by a Tory front-bencher that substantiates these "swingeing cuts" you mention.
New language, but for Labour an old dilemma 7:55pm on 08 Sep 2009 #1 Well said Tom P Willis: if Alistair Darling knew how to cut costs without affecting services why on earth didn't he do it before?
#15 Boilerbill: "I would prefer it if we voted for a party and what it says it will do rather than against the other one"
I'm with your comments most of the way but, as a bit of a cynic, I've always voted for the least worst option rather than felt I was enthusiastically endorsing a party's "brave new world". At least that way I haven't felt the disappointment that most converts to Blair have felt since '97.
Who was it that said "There is no problem so bad that government intervention cannot make it worse"?
Why don't the Conservatives spell out their plans? 6:23pm on 08 Sep 2009 And why don't Labour spell out their plans?
We've had the same old waffle about "tough choices" from Alistair Darling today but, strangely, no sceptical comment from our Nick about that.
Can Brown convince the doubters? 8:29pm on 04 Sep 2009 @14 Sagamix wrote:
"I'd like to see our involvement "rebranded" along those lines - a war of liberation on behalf of Afghan women "
I share your abhorrence of the way the Taliban treat women and you might even be right that such a cause justifies our involvement and loss of life. Unfortunately, if we rebranded our efforts as you suggest we would instantly lose 99% of the support we currently have from the only people (sadly) who matter in Afghanistan, the men. Just check out Karzai's record on justice for rapists and their victims.
'I love the NHS more than you' 4:15pm on 14 Aug 2009 #4 derekbarker wrote:
"Come on! Hannan is just saying what the tories believe."
What Hannan appears to have said - and I'm surprised Derek that you didn't find time to give us a critique of his book on health care reform when it was published last year - is that the way health care is provided in the UK could be improved. You, me and the Tory high command can all choose whether or not to agree with his ideas but you must see that no improvement can occur in any field unless someone challenges the status quo.
Talking of fields, I'd be interested to know whether you think Tony Blair was right to sack Frank Field for doing what he was asked to do and "thinking the unthinkable"?
Never off-duty 4:33pm on 13 Aug 2009 Duncan was foolish to speak like this but he is correct, actually, to say that MPs are treated like s***. The public are certainly doing so at the moment, not without cause, and the whips treat backbenchers that way all the time. More importantly, GB treated all MPs like s*** when he made his U-Tube announcement of his off-the-cuff, ill-considered and, in the event, unachievable "reforms" without any consultation.
It may be that they deserve this treatment, they may know that many of them deserve this treatment, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant when you are experiencing it.
#45 JohnConstable:
"The sort of people that have run England mostly for their families personal benefit for hundreds of years get another opportunity to gorge at the trough."
You mean like Tony Blair, John, who is now "filthy rich" as a result of running England entirely for his personal benefit for over 10 years?
Osborne sets out Tory agenda 7:37pm on 11 Aug 2009 #18 Distant Traveller
"The Tories ... are thinking of handing over our confidential medical records to Google!"
You haven't been paying attention. The Tories are thinking of handing your confidential medical records to YOU! Seems like a very good thing to me. You will then be able to store them securely online with your choice from a number of providers. Medical records are indeed sensitive but so are bank details and most people feel comfortable using those online.
Google and Microsoft both already have products which are in use in Canada and the USA for online medical records, so this is not an "off-the-wall" idea. Given that HMRC managed to lose the identity data of half the population last year, what makes you think your data is any safer in the public sector?
When the drugs policies don't work 4:49pm on 30 Jul 2009 The solution is obvious. Just nationalise the supply of drugs and have the National Drugs Board run by the same people who used to run British Leyland, British Steel and the National Coal Board.
Simples!

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