´óÏó´«Ã½

FYI, for what it's worth, while some of the last few days' threads are advised as being pre-moderated, this one seems on my browser to be back to being post-moderated.

ENCOMPASSING THE MORAL

Listening to Gordon doing his disingenuous denials to Nick Robinson today, I almost expected to hear a cock crow. There are only two places one encounters the utterly indefensible defence: politics and the kindergarten playground. PLEASE can someone TELL these fool politicians that they sound ridiculous? Where is that damned moral compass when it's needed?

Will the ´óÏó´«Ã½ explain where the MDC is getting its funding from?

What sanctions have been applied to Zimbabwe?

Or whether the former H. Clinton public relations person who resigned over Columbia and was involved in projecting bloated exit poll figures to support the alleged CIA coup against Chavez is involved with the promotion of the MDC?

Will they also mention the increasingly valuable resources in the country located in mainly former white settler lands?

Coming up to the local elections all three main parties are keen to demonstrate just how green they are. However, they all appear to support the continued introduction of traffic calming, ( mini-roundabouts etc. ) which increases carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50%, likewise 20 Mph Zones ( without humps or chicanes ) which add to emissions by 10%.

The alleged road safety benefits are less than clear, heavily traffic calmed Burnley reported a 44% reduction in child deaths over the past seven years, yet Ribble Valley with minimal traffic calming also reported a fall of 42%. It would appear that traffic calming has become a TB infested sacred cow for the eco-fascist leaning groups who were originally and still campaign for its introduction.

It must be reasonable to believe that if politicians continue to introduce traffic calming, anything else they claim to do allegedly in the interest of combating global warming is little more than a marketing scam aimed at those with a lower than average IQ or just poorly educated in science.

When you consider that traffic calming encourages the ownership of large 4 by 4's in towns which further increase the potential pollution generated by traffic, and the only beneficiaries are oil companies and other corporate interests its a bad deal for the people not just the planet. Traffic calming is yet another example of politically inspired false economic growth which limits our ability to compete in the global economy.

Any government serious about protecting the global environment would be actively removing traffic calming from the streets, perhaps its time we got back to true British values as portrayed in the monolog " The Lion and Albert " as far as road safety is concerned.

Speeding can be addressed in most cases by the provision of simple flashing warning signs, but the empty speed cameras at each end of the village of Copster Green on the A59 appear to work admirably in keeping traffic to the 40 Mph limit. The relatively inexpensive measure of simply painting speed camera timing lines on the road at strategic places could also be proven to work for controlling speed without increasing pollution.

I suspect that politicians cling to their quasi-religious position on traffic calming in order to protect the raft of overpaid parasites who design such schemes. Perhaps the money spent on traffic calming could be spent more wisely and efficiently on other areas of council service or simply keeping the roads adequately repaired.

Dear Newsnight

Question

Why is U-Turn a term of abuse?

best wishes
Bob

Hi Barrie (Adrienne here, I've had a make-over). The trouble is, I fear, they play to an audience which tends not see what you, and other world-wise folk, see. That's the Gaussian distribution, dysgenics and demographics for you...sad, but you know that.

HAIL AND FAREWELL

Jaded Jean where have you been?
I miss you in these hurly-burly(s)
Turn up your turnups – join the dance
Come grab yourself some short-and-curlies.

For Adrienne I’ll mourn no more
While on about stuff, here I bang.
As Gordon sips a double Horlicks
Yank that sporran! Make ‘em clang.

There is nothing wrong with a u- turn. Imagine if Adolph had gone to Dover instead of heading east to Stalingrad, so Gordon got the message and realised the game was up and went quietly. It must have been hard for this growling clunking fist of a man to do everything his backbenchers demanded and go against his basic instincts of 'control...control..discipline and smile every thirteen seconds. It doesn't come easy to him and so easy for his poppinjay predecessor. Gordon doesn't do squirm, he wasn't around as the deal was done so he can plead, 'not me, Guv' it was all Alistair's idea. But we know the truth. His eoitaph will be 'how expensive will be that ten pence'

BENDY BUSSNESS


Q Why is U-Turn a term of abuse?

A Because it preceeds ones term of office going round the S bend

Yvette Cooper is almost a good at not answering the question as Teflon Trish Hewitt used to be. It would appear that Darling's smoke and mirrors are not enough to prevent mass rebellion by voters at the coming local elections. I hope that the turnout will be good, Manchester should be interesting considering that the future of the proposed road charging is on the agenda. They dare not hold a referendum as they would be likely to loose it. It could be put in doubt anyway if Bolton Council votes to reject it tonight.

We have a Labour government intent on implementing a tax change that means the rich pay less and the poor pay more.

Furthermore we have a Conservative opposition who denounce this policy as grossly unfair.

I have been transported into a parallel universe. It's the only possible explanation.

I just love these "divvies" who say they are not going to vote Labour anymore.

Well vote Tory or Lib/dem and see how much more money they will get-I don't think.

Tories are unhappy for they cannot now go into default and just knock Labour and fail to say what they will do. Like Obama, they want a "New Way" and Change but fail to say what these are. Sounds good and progressive but tells us nothing. Smart Alec dispatch box speeches with good belly laughs at Brown's expense is all Cameron can offer. He should be on the stage not in Government.

As I have said many times on this Posting the country is ready for another 18 years of Tory Misrule. I can't wait for this era when all our troubles will cease.

As my son and wife suffer a loss of over £600 on this , one low waged and single the other aged 64 and will lose much in tax, we will wait and see what Labour will do by Autumn to address this injustice. I can write an essay on the injustices of Tax credits which have penalised my son when THEY make mistakes and my son has to pay for them.

But Newsnight et al, we know you owe your existance to just try to knock this Government and overstate the problem. You all have forgotten the Tories themselves only woke up to this when Labour Rebels highlighted the matter or why haven't the Tories been at this since last year's budget?

Political opportunists who will be found out when we have to put a cross in a box in two years time. Just what do they stand for?the low paid? You are having a laugh!

I don't think Jeremy asked "what exactly is the U turn going to be" Did he?

It should be: restore the 10% tax
OR raise tax thresholds
OR double the minimum wage to make work worth it - i.e. to give enough to pay the bills and maybe a bit over to buy an icecream or heaven forbid an odd bottle of wine
OR make all 'tax credits/pensions' unmeans-tested so as to give incentive to working for a bit extra.
But it will undoudedly be some tricky arrangement - like a 20 page form to get a once a year means tested £5 payment or some such similar expensive bureaucratic rubbish.
Me, I am thinking of taking up some tax free begging or a little drug dealing perhaps since doing things the 'right way' in our system does not pay.

But then taxes must be raised for the two wars 'we' are fighting also to pay out (or tie up) all those billions to prop up an iniquitous mortgage system, and the Olympics and so on....Oh and not to forget Ministers expenses, Bupa private hospital bills, private schooling, second homes, cars and taxis .......perhaps even Lapdance clubbing... who knows?
Friends in Scandinavia have told me that they have always known Britain as 'the land of the working poor'!

SPOIL PARTY GAMES

Bill Bradbury highlights the impossibility of betterment of the masses through voting for ANY of the parties. The error lies in the belief that we HAVE TO have parties. It is entirely possible to have local representation AND competent national management if we put our minds to it - although having sold our souls to the EU nightmare, we might find any attempt will be met with a paramilitary force with Euro-snow on its boots. As the old curse goes: May you be borne in interesting times.

Brilliant Jeremy tonight - particularly with Yvette Cooper, but my favourite was the trio of Danny Finklestein/Olly Grender/Peter Haim with Jeremy on Gordon Brown ... should he stay or should he go? ;-)

"You should dump this man as your leader"

Killer opener from Paxman..had very little
effect on Yvette Cooper though. Cooper is the one Minister who normally gets wheeled out when labour are on the ropes, stupid enough to take the bullets and also very very stupid.. but with no loss of sleep involved. Anybody else would be embarrassed and in this case mortified but the stupid and inept don't respond like the rest of us do when found out wanting. Who operates this woman? hows it done? is she wireless connected; remote controlled from a labour hack stage left or is it good old fashioned compressed air. I am amazed that nobody saw this abolished 10p tax fiasco coming. Someone should've hung a couple of fiscal planner wall charts (2007/08) at labours central office; that might have helped them not fall into their very own deep and clearly signed-posted trap ( big red arrows pointing: danger ahead), not even good for middle management this lot. And as for the U-turn...well its a sort of U-turn... please tell me you saw that coming as well...and also that Brown quits in early june 08 with Frank Field, Harriet Harman, Ed balls, and Miliband a late entrant throwing their hats into the ring for the vacancy.. well anythings possible with this lot. you do see it...don't you?

Who's yer money on?

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

Nicely Stated Cookieducker. Is it proper to drop the the in thecookieducker?
I think the Queen - who is reportedly quite astute - should call HER army to her side and stage a coup.

I endorse your observations on the Super Dooper Cooper Trooper; her functionality and functioning. Dear Yvette is a pure party product. Get rid of parties and you get rid of
Cooper et al.

Please your majesty: SPOIL PARTY GAMES!