The puzzles of politics
I really want to try to get this right.
As I understand it, there's a hugely important, privately-owned industry that's run into trouble and is in danger of complete collapse. The answer, apparently, is to pump in billions of pounds of tax-payers' money, in other words to take great chunks of it into public ownership. Because, apparently, only the government has enough money to make a real difference. So that's the banks taken care of.
And then, if I've got this right, there's also a hugely important, state-owned industry that's run into trouble and which is also in danger of complete collapse. This time, the answer, apparently, is to pump in billions of pounds of private sector money, in other words to take great chunks of it into private ownership. Because, apparently, only the private sector has enough money to make a real difference. And that's the Royal Mail taken care of.
So here's a thought: given how controversial all this is, why not use the government money that's going to the banks to bail out the Royal Mail - and then ask the private companies that are sniffing around the Royal Mail to turn their attention to the banks instead?
That way, everyone would be happy. Wouldn't they? (All right, I admit it, I'm not being entirely serious. But it is all a bit topsy-turvy, isn't it?)
And here's another thing that's got me scratching my head this week. We have a Freedom of Information Act (good thing too, say all us journalists, because information is our lifeblood). It set up an Information Commissioner, and Information Tribunals, as independent arbiters of what official information should be published and what shouldn't.
It also contains a provision (section 53, if you're interested) to enable a Minister to certify "that they have formed a reasonable opinion that, contrary to the view of the Information Commissioner, the balance of the public interest ... comes down in favour of withholding information." In other words, the Minister has a veto.
And this week, the Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Jack Straw) used that veto to prevent publication of the minutes of Cabinet meetings in 2003 which discussed the legality or otherwise of going to war in Iraq.
Now, the minister responsible for the drafting of the Freedom of Information Act in 2000 was the then Home Secretary (Mr Jack Straw). And one of the ministers most closely involved in the discussions leading up to the Iraq war in 2003 was the then Foreign Secretary (Mr Jack Straw). I draw no conclusions, m'Lud, I merely draw these matters to your attention.
But here's yet another thing. I've come across a minute written by the Defence Secretary just before the Cabinet decided to go to war in the Middle East. Here's what he said (and yes, it has been published):
"Events are moving fast and I am anxious lest I should be carried along with the stream without taking an opportunity of expressing my misgivings ... it would be dangerous to assume that the military operation would be quickly over. It would certainly involve bombing and bombardment with loss of civilian lives which would attract criticism. Military opinion suggests that the operation is likely to be successful but not necessarily short. It is easy to see how we get in, but not so easy to see how we get out quickly."
Oh, sorry, didn't I mention? That was Sir Walter Monckton, who was defence secretary in 1956, as Britain, together with France and Israel, was preparing to invade Egypt over the Suez Canal. The minute was published 30 years later, in 1986.
So if you really want to know what Jack Straw and his colleagues were discussing in 2003, it looks as if you'll have to stick around till 2033.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~17~RS~)
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Robin said:-
"So here's a thought: given how controversial all this is, why not use the government money that's going to the banks to bail out the Royal Mail - and then ask the private companies that are sniffing around the Royal Mail to turn their attention to the banks instead?"
Problem: private companies get their money from banks!
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Robin said:-
"Now, the minister responsible for the drafting of the Freedom of Information Act in 2000 was the then Home Secretary (Mr Jack Straw). And one of the ministers most closely involved in the discussions leading up to the Iraq war in 2003 was the then Foreign Secretary (Mr Jack Straw). I draw no conclusions, m'Lud, I merely draw these matters to your attention."
And Jack Straw also said when he was Foreign Secretary, that he wasn't aware that the British government accepted information gained through the use of torture. Yet Craig Murray our then Ambassador in Uzbekistan told Jack Straw the opposite.
Unlike Robin, I do draw conclusions, no prizes for guessing what they are!
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What they really meant by 'Freedom of Information' is 'Freedom of Trivia'. All the meaningless information you can get, but anything of real value? No chance!
If you want to know how many people turned up at A&E with a particular ailment - you're fine, but ask why we went to war - it's none of your business!
I wonder if they will release the minutes of meetings re: the banks and Royal Mail via a Freedom of Information request.
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There is a deep tragedy in life and it boils down to human frailty and the balance between greed and fear.
We are frightened now (a bear market) a year of so back we were greedy (a bull market) Our perceptions and concerns change.
Ask yourself this question: Does it actually matter what a bunch of people actually did or said when the nation 'knows' they did the wrong thing?
The 'facts' get in the way - democracy does not need 'facts', because deep down the people know that everything is spin and journalists are part of the machinery of spin.
We care about "who, what, where, when and why" a bit, and for more complex, reasons than journalists usually bother about.
Politics is not really mainly about the art of the possible it is also includes an element of what could be called corruption, if one takes a high minded view of things.
Robin, you are not really 'puzzled' about the subject of your blog are you. You would like to thing your audience is however, but what makes you believe that we are any less 'sophisticated' than you? We see the joke too.
There are 'simple' answers to many questions such as if Gordon Brown really wanted to stop a man getting 650,000 GBP a year he could do so quite easily, in the same way Barack Obama has announced (but is it yet implemented?) Just cap incomes using the tax system at 250,000 GBP and hey presto job done, but no, this will never happen. It will never happen because the people will be distracted by something else ('events dear boy') - that's life!
It is far more important to not be distracted by a fog of 'facts' from the heart of the issue and the only one that actually matters now - Are our leaders actually doing the best things to fix the World's economy? Or are they just as 'wrong', or worse more so, than the Japanese a decade ago, or we were all in 1929-1933?
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You really have what we here in America call chutzpah Mr. Ludwig. When do we get to see the Balen Report that the public paid for and now pays the BBC to fight in court to prevent it being released to the public?
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You seem to think that the Balen Report is some sort of Holy Grail exposing BBC anti-Israel bias. You are living in cloud cuckoo land. You will be disappointed if its ever released.
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cecilia, how would you know? Have you ever seen it? Besides that is not the point which your European trained hypocritical mind failed to grasp completely. The point was that BBC is criticizing the government for refusing to release information to the public when BBC as what is in effect a government agency itself is doing exactly the the same thing. Hypocricy in Europe is so rampant that it doesn't even recognize it in itself and so will never deal with it. All I can do is stand back, observe it, point it out, and demonstrate that Europe is by its nature a Neanderthal society beyond all hope of salvation. It is an ethical cesspool.
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Erronous
You really are living in cloud cuckoo land!
What on Earth makes you think the Balen Report will show anti-Israel bias in the BBC?
Evidence suggests a pro-Israel bias.
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cecilia
Which word didn't you understand?
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Marcus.
I can't speak for anyone else but the word I didn't understand was 'neanderthal'. Much too socially advanced for we primitive Europeans. Is it something to do with the 'American dream'?
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The reason I used the term Neanderthal to describe European social development is that I was being generous. Even a tribe of Chimpanzees or Gorillas are not nearly as brutal or savage as Europeans have been and still are. Do you see Gorillas savagely torturing and killing bulls the way Spaniards do under the guise of a cultural ritual. I saw one bullfight live and I nearly threw up it was so disgusting. A Catholic Priest in the stands in full priestly garb near me was enjoying every moment of the spectacle. What a damnation. Do you see Chimpanzees treat each other the way Europeans do in places like NI or the Balkins? Never. In zoos in Europe, it's the people who should be in the cages and the animals roaming free. It would be a more peaceful place that way.
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11 MarcusBarbarius
Marcus, because no matter what the topic, you usually revert to the subject of Europe, it's quite obvious to those who bother to read your posts that you are massively in awe of European art and culture and because you are clearly such a cultured person yourself, in a minimalistic kind of way, you long to leave the primitive society of the USA, where the natives take pleasure in capital punishment, towing blacks behind their trucks, worship guns and militarism and believe that the earth is only 6000 years old and come and join us here in Europe.
I have great sympathy for your plight but unfortunately, because of your condition, it will be some time if ever that it will be safe to let you out. However, we do enjoy hearing about your fantasies so please keep in touch (with reality!).
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Robin
RE: the "veto to prevent publication of the minutes of Cabinet meetings in 2003 which discussed the legality or otherwise of going to war in Iraq."
I understand that Clare Short (a member of the Cabinet at the time who resigned eventually on moral grounds) has gone on record to describe what happened in the meeting: there was no debate!
That may explain why they are reluctant to release the minutes. It shows that there was (or still is) no Cabinet Government in the UK!
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jerkturk, you forget, I tried it. I was even offered jobs although I was there only on a student visa. After a year and a half, I could hardly wait to come home to America. When I got to JFK airport, I kissed the ground. I've seen the other side and not only isn't the grass greener, the grass itself there is an illusion. Most of that art was disappointing. The Mona Lisa was a small painting behind glass roped off in a remote corner of the Louvre where you could hardly see it from a distance. The Prado was a joke. Awful. One crucifiction and Madonna and child after another and so poorly displayed you could hardly see many of them to their best advantage. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Cisty is a far better place to look at the worlds greatest paintings and if there is something of particular interest, sooner or later it is loaned to them for public viewing. A day at the Met can be like a lifetime course in the best art in history.
I'll have you know I haven't towed a black on the back of a truck in many years. I outgrew that phase of my life. Now it's entire continents I prefer towing. Much more fun and efficient that way. BTW, I do not nor have I ever owned a gun. But if I felt I needed one to protect myself, it's nice to know I'd have no problem getting one legally and a legal training course on how to use it properly and safely.
I know you don't like the idea of the majority ruling when it runs against your views of how the world should be run such as legal ownership of guns or capital punishment...but then you are a tyrannical despot by nature. That's part of what the European mindset is all about.
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14 MarcusBarbarius
The only decent bit in that rant is to know that you've never owned a gun! but are you sure that the staff in there would allow you to have one if you wanted one? sounds a bit risky to me!
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Interesting stuff. I couldn’t disagree more with your views on the Freedom of Information Act. I think it will do more harm than good, if it hasn’t done so already.
I am sure that it will cost more lives and money than it will save. It elevates yet another quango in a position of authority over parliament and will stifle good decision making at national and local government. This could be fatal in a time of war.
I wan an idea championed by the media and those with access to the media. I would be nice to hear what MPs think of it, especially as we voted for them and not the media.
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Robin Lustig:
Puzzles are always a game of Politics....
~Dennis Junior~
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