SO, we want to reform the Monarchy so Catholics can get involved, travel around the world while briefing against Alastair Darling and then have a big party in England for the G(insert whatever number sounds impressive) conference. I'm actually more of a fan of G4 from X Factor!
It is all exhausting stuff but a is a lot of it actually needed? Shouldn't we just be getting on with the job instead of farting about?
I was also taken by Fred the Shred getting his posh car and house targeted in Scotland. If you know this mystery group, which says it is "only the beginning" please get in touch.
Also, bloggers Derek Draper and Guido Fawkes had a go at each other on TV - and it was utter drivel. I would post a link to the video but it's not worth it! Oh go on, then here it is:
Finally, as a print journalist, it was terrifying to see something that did not feature in the news at all in print or broadcast involving a Tory MEP slating Gordon Brown getting 1m hits on YouTube. The result, the BBC and friends retreated and ran the story anyway.
You can watch the rant here. But, I must admit, I don't think it's worth the hit rates it is getting.
Saturday, March 28
Tuesday, March 17
RANT OF THE WEEK: Sir Fred - This Recession's Scapegoat
OH, how I am fed up of reading about Sir Fred Goodwin and his pension! Another day, and yet another series of stories about it.
Now, he's apparently walked off with another £3m - but hey wait, no he hasn't he has given it back it is reported a couple of hours later. And he's still set to claim £600k or is it £700k a year? I lose track.
To be quite honest, yes it is disgusting and stinks but it's happened and we are all fools for it.
The recession stinks and mistakes have been made so where is the scapegoat? Sir Fred fits that bill as the ex-RBS chief.
And what next?
Oh, we've got local authorities wanting to sue RBS for not revealing details of investments with Cherie Blair leading the arguments as barrister! Unbelievable! What's the point?
The sensible finance chief officer of Lancashire County Council told me he doesn't see the point - it's just lobbing more taxpayers money towards American lawyers and who loses out - we do! And why do we want to do that? This is coming from a man who is overseeing a local government pension pot losing £2.2m a day so he has a right to be angry but he is taking a considered response.
Maybe it's time the rest of us do that - including those trying to find convenient scapegoats for a wider and endemic problem.
It's about time we focused on solving it instead of looking for those to blame.
Now, he's apparently walked off with another £3m - but hey wait, no he hasn't he has given it back it is reported a couple of hours later. And he's still set to claim £600k or is it £700k a year? I lose track.
To be quite honest, yes it is disgusting and stinks but it's happened and we are all fools for it.
The recession stinks and mistakes have been made so where is the scapegoat? Sir Fred fits that bill as the ex-RBS chief.
And what next?
Oh, we've got local authorities wanting to sue RBS for not revealing details of investments with Cherie Blair leading the arguments as barrister! Unbelievable! What's the point?
The sensible finance chief officer of Lancashire County Council told me he doesn't see the point - it's just lobbing more taxpayers money towards American lawyers and who loses out - we do! And why do we want to do that? This is coming from a man who is overseeing a local government pension pot losing £2.2m a day so he has a right to be angry but he is taking a considered response.
Maybe it's time the rest of us do that - including those trying to find convenient scapegoats for a wider and endemic problem.
It's about time we focused on solving it instead of looking for those to blame.
Saturday, March 14
Blogging Accountability
IT is a bleak time for journalism with job losses and redundancies biting at daily and regional papers across Britain.
With profits down at Johnston Press, the company is looking to shake up its management on newsdesks upwards making painful job losses. The same is true at GMG where the Reading paper is going bi-weekly and there are set to be horrific losses at the MEN and its weeklies.
Soon, we could get to the stage where there are simply no local papers left or all that remains is news run on tight budgets by few people with no resources. The result - a poor product which people will not buy anyway making the situation worse.
The internet has flourished with blogging, Twitter and all the rest. It has been good for papers to embrace this but the problem is - it doesn't make anywhere near the same money that traditional newspapers did (note the word 'did'). This is made worse by an active online community of untrained journalists blogging away rivalling the sources where people once went for their news.
And I must admit, today, I too read blogs instead of going to newspaper websites because the content is often more interesting, free from the constraints of owners or editors and can be exclusive.
With papers going out of business as I write, there will be few quality reads left alongside a growing amount of blogs and tweets or whatever attracting the reader.
My only worry is the lack of journalism training tied to those writing them and the resources they have to gain access to the movers and shakers. The authors also often have little concept of libel so risk being sued.
I think it is time for the Government to look at the issue of the decline of newspapers and the media - especially as it is supposed to be a key part of democracy.
In the meantime, as a trained journalist, I'll hedge my bets by blogging, writing for a newspaper and tweeting (or whatever else I can do right now to get people's attention!).
With profits down at Johnston Press, the company is looking to shake up its management on newsdesks upwards making painful job losses. The same is true at GMG where the Reading paper is going bi-weekly and there are set to be horrific losses at the MEN and its weeklies.
Soon, we could get to the stage where there are simply no local papers left or all that remains is news run on tight budgets by few people with no resources. The result - a poor product which people will not buy anyway making the situation worse.
The internet has flourished with blogging, Twitter and all the rest. It has been good for papers to embrace this but the problem is - it doesn't make anywhere near the same money that traditional newspapers did (note the word 'did'). This is made worse by an active online community of untrained journalists blogging away rivalling the sources where people once went for their news.
And I must admit, today, I too read blogs instead of going to newspaper websites because the content is often more interesting, free from the constraints of owners or editors and can be exclusive.
With papers going out of business as I write, there will be few quality reads left alongside a growing amount of blogs and tweets or whatever attracting the reader.
My only worry is the lack of journalism training tied to those writing them and the resources they have to gain access to the movers and shakers. The authors also often have little concept of libel so risk being sued.
I think it is time for the Government to look at the issue of the decline of newspapers and the media - especially as it is supposed to be a key part of democracy.
In the meantime, as a trained journalist, I'll hedge my bets by blogging, writing for a newspaper and tweeting (or whatever else I can do right now to get people's attention!).
Sunday, March 8
Worst Political Quotes of All Time
TO celebrate idiocy in British politics, let's celebrate some of the worst quotes, or misquotes, of our time.
Feel free to add your own by tweeting @betterpolitics
1. "Now is not the time for sound bites. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder." - Tony Blair
2. "I did maths for a year at university. I don't think I was very good at it. And some people would say it shows." - Gordon Brown, who recently told the House of Commons he had "saved the world".
3. "Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3." - Boris Johnson
4. "I don't make predictions. I never have and I never will." - Tony Blair.
5. "Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be too clever by half. The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters." - John Major.
6. Lady Astor to Churchill: "Winston, if you were my husband I would flavour your coffee with poison"
Churchill: "Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it"
7. "Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man." - Iain Duncan Smith, shortly before resigning Conservative Party leadership.
8. "We're not saying, 'We're politicians, trust us.' We know you don't trust us." - Michael Howard.
9. "Go back to your constituencies and prepare for Government." - Former SDP leader David Steel before his party came third in the 1983 election.
Feel free to add your own by tweeting @betterpolitics
1. "Now is not the time for sound bites. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder." - Tony Blair
2. "I did maths for a year at university. I don't think I was very good at it. And some people would say it shows." - Gordon Brown, who recently told the House of Commons he had "saved the world".
3. "Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3." - Boris Johnson
4. "I don't make predictions. I never have and I never will." - Tony Blair.
5. "Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be too clever by half. The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters." - John Major.
6. Lady Astor to Churchill: "Winston, if you were my husband I would flavour your coffee with poison"
Churchill: "Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it"
7. "Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man." - Iain Duncan Smith, shortly before resigning Conservative Party leadership.
8. "We're not saying, 'We're politicians, trust us.' We know you don't trust us." - Michael Howard.
9. "Go back to your constituencies and prepare for Government." - Former SDP leader David Steel before his party came third in the 1983 election.
Wednesday, March 4
Phil Woolas - It's Time to Knight Him
STEP forward Mr Phil Woolas, our favourite Home Office minister.
And isn't it about time we knighted this man especially as he goes on a new crusade of slagging off the Office for National Statistics.
He claims it is playing politics by releasing data to the general public!
Heaven forbid should a statistics body release statistics - what were they thinking?
Oh, wait up, it seems the immigration minister is not happy they are releasing information about immigration figures specifically about the number of British residents born abroad. It is "naive" and "sinister", he says.
But let's get real here, isn't the real politics taking place by the minister himself by making an issue of this so publicly.
And in an era of "open Government", it should not matter if the public knows such information - we are legitimately allowed to have it. We don't live in a former Communist dictatorship, and we quite frankly find the minister arrogant and he has shown appalling judgement here himself.
This is bully-boy tactics of the first kind and I now welcome the Manchester student who recently and successfully threw a custard pie in Mr Woolas' face.
See http://tinyurl.com/afsexv for BBC story.
Relive the classic cream pie moment:
And isn't it about time we knighted this man especially as he goes on a new crusade of slagging off the Office for National Statistics.
He claims it is playing politics by releasing data to the general public!
Heaven forbid should a statistics body release statistics - what were they thinking?
Oh, wait up, it seems the immigration minister is not happy they are releasing information about immigration figures specifically about the number of British residents born abroad. It is "naive" and "sinister", he says.
But let's get real here, isn't the real politics taking place by the minister himself by making an issue of this so publicly.
And in an era of "open Government", it should not matter if the public knows such information - we are legitimately allowed to have it. We don't live in a former Communist dictatorship, and we quite frankly find the minister arrogant and he has shown appalling judgement here himself.
This is bully-boy tactics of the first kind and I now welcome the Manchester student who recently and successfully threw a custard pie in Mr Woolas' face.
See http://tinyurl.com/afsexv for BBC story.
Relive the classic cream pie moment:
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