Agenda 2019

 British Summer Time arrives at last.   Did everyone remember to put their clocks forward by one hour? It is not a problem for your PC or television or all the other “controlled” items which do it automatically because you entered “GMT” as the time zone when first registering. The problem is all the other fiddly little things like the cooker for example, where it seems to be necessary to have three hands in order to press down two buttons simultaneously, whilst at the same time pressing another button to set the hour and minute functions. The bedroom clock is another problem where match stick type fingers would be distinctly advantageous, because all the buttons are smaller than the full stops in this text, or at least they seem to be for someone with normal size fingers. Now all these irritants, problems and distractions could be illuminated for ever with just one stroke of a pen. Someone, somewhere just has to grasp the nettle and decree that th...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/30/bank-of-cyprus-bailout-60-savings-_n_2985058.html?utm_hp_ref=uk People with over 100,000 euros (£84,300) in Bank of Cyprus accounts could lose up to 60% of their savings in a harsh new EU and IMF bailout deal.     How many more "little details" have the Troika, the banks and the politicians kept up their sleeves? Stealing 60% of  £84,000 from peoples savings is a big shift from stealing only 10%. Which ever way you look at it, it is still state theft. It is just that they are stealing a larger amount.

http://news.sky.com/story/1071610/nhs-drug-plea-for-child-with-blood-disorder  NHS Drug Plea For Child With Blood Disorder.   Indie Smith  The parents of a two-year-old girl with a rare blood disorder fear she faces a "lifetime of hospital visits and dialysis" unless the NHS funds an expensive new drug.Her problem is that the NHS will not continue to fund her treatment, at a cost of £250,000 a year, despite a Government advisory body recommending the drug be commissioned nationally.  It seems to me that there is a very simple solution to this problem. Select any 3 bankers from RBS, Barclays, HSBC, or any of the others, and confiscate £1million from each of  their bonuses for 2012, (just like the bankers in Cyprus confiscated money from savers), and use the £3miilion to fund the treatment for 12 years. By the end of that period, NICE should have come to some conclusion (or better still will have been dismantled and replaced by a more useful...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gross-misconduct--but-police-watchdog-still-wont-throw-the-book-at-hillsborough-police-chief-sir-norman-bettison-8552745.html 'Gross misconduct' – but police watchdog still won’t throw the book at Hillsborough police chief Sir Norman Bettison. Norman Bettison abused his position and would have faced dismissal for gross misconduct, but he resigned from the police and so he keeps his full pension, £83,000 per year, and his knighthood. How is that for injustice.

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/not-so-universal-credit-government-puts-the-brakes-on-trials-of-its-controversial-new-benefits-programme-8554053.html Ministers have significantly scaled back plans to begin piloting their controversial universal credit programme next month.  Iain Duncan Smith: Secretary of State for Work and pensions   Another Iain Duncan Smith failure.This man is an embarrassment to all and sundry. Everything Midas touched turned to gold, but in the case of IDS, everything he touches turns to rat droppings.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/cyprus-a-haircut-for-the-people-a-pay-cutfor-president-nicos-anastasiades--but-banks-open-amid-tight-security-and-cash-restrictions-that-could-last-a-month-8552690.html#disqus_thread   Cyprus: a haircut for the people, a pay cut for President Nicos Anastasiades – but banks open amid tight security and cash restrictions that could last a month. Savers formed "orderly" queues "a haircut for the people, a pay cut for the President but banks are open amid tight security". No mention of the speculators, or the Troika, who have made some profits from the "crisis", or the other "depositors" who withdrew much of their cash in February, before the scandal broke (Who tipped them off?), or the bankers who created the mess in the first place. As usual, ordinary people pay for the incompetence, greed and mismanagement of banks and politicians.

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/27/david-milibands-resignation-tories-_n_2961783.html?utm_hp_ref=uk David Miliband's Resignation Signals Labour 'Lurch To The Left', Claim Tories The Milliband brothers.   Conservative MPs have seized on David Miliband's decision to quit parliament as evidence the Labour Party is "lurching to the left" under the leadership of his brother. (Huffington Post 28th March 2013) Tory bigots doing what Tory bigots always do when seeking to divert attention away from their own incompetence and ineptitude. The "reds under the bed" cliches have been around for decades and are as shallow now as they have always been. Moreover they are fallacious and puerile in suggesting that Labour has "lurched to the left". If that were the case, the party membership would have increased by thousands overnight as all those disillusioned activists who have left the Labour party in droves since 1990 and ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/27/sky-news-or-fox-news-peer_n_2963232.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Sky News Or Fox News? Peers Suggest Ditching Impartiality Rules Adam Boulton Bill O'Reily leaving Fox ?  Sky News is already politically biased. It is just that Fox News is far more obnoxious in its presentation. As they are both part of the same empire, we should be thankful that O'Riely has not got a permanent slot following "Boulton and Co"............Yet !

http://themadlands.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/what-jimmy-savile-really-did/ "If you are not following the revelations about Jimmy Savile closely and believe that he was a loaner who touched-up a few young groupies, then you have been deceived. Jimmy Savile’s actions go far beyond what you can even begin to believe: until you look at the evidence" . March 27 2013 the madlands   Savile at Haut De La Garenne. He visited it on many occasions This article raises some disturbing issues. The reasons for a thorough investigation become more numerous and are compelling.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/26/david-miliband-resigns_n_2958259.html?1364332630&utm_hp_ref=uk       David Miliband Resigns: Former Foreign Secretary To Step Down As MP To Take Job At 'Top Charity' In New York David Milliband.   From the general tone of this article, ( David Miliband Resigns:), the hyperbole ridden “Tweets” and a significant number of the contributions in the comments section, readers could be excused for believing that a great catastrophe has befallen the country generally and the Labour Party in particular. It will come as no surprise to anyone reading my contributions, either on Huffington Post or here on the pages of this Blog, that I do not share the gloom at the prospect of political life without the presence of Milliband major. The “Blairite” faction of the Labour party has lost another, perhaps the only remaining rallying point, for those awaiting the return of a messiah to lead them back to “good ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/back-from-the-brink-eu-ministers-approve-10bn-bailout-deal-to-save-cyprus-8547104.html EU ministers approve €10bn bailout deal to save Cyprus From television reports on BBC and on Sky, the reporters in Nicosia are saying that the only people happy with this "bailout to save Cyprus", are the "markets" and the politicians. There is no mention of the people of Cyprus and their savings, or the ex-pats  and retired British residents who may have their entire life savings on deposit. 100,000 Euro is around £85,000 on today's rates, and can hardly be described as fortune and yet the entire amount could be confiscated from peoples accounts. I stand by what I have said previously. This solution is nothing but state theft given legitimacy by the Eurozone.. Another "victory" for the Troika and the aspirations of Legarde and Merkel for German/IMF domination of Europe and to hell with the ...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/cyprus-bankruptcy-crisis-talks-set-to-go-to-the-wire-with-new-deal-including-20-levy-on-large-deposits-at-main-bank-8547104.html Savers at the Bank of Cyprus will pay one-off tax of 20 per cent on deposits of over €100,000     Regardless of what the cash figure is, or the % levy to be imposed or even who the "depositors" actually are, this is a proposal to legalise state theft from banks. It would set an unhealthy precedent not only for Cyprus, but for every other state in Europe and would encourage governments to believe that they can behave no better than pirates in the knowledge that their actions are endorsed and supported by the "Troika" of the European Union, International Monetary Fund and ECB. The ordinary people of Cyprus and every other country must stand firm against the excesses of the politicians and the sinister members of the troika. The financial crisis in Europe (and beyond) has essen...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/23/athletics-glory-and-cuts-lead-to-clubs-crisis After the Olympic glory, cash crisis hits athletics clubs The legacy The "Olympic legacy", was always nothing more than a myth, a mirage generated by the government and the myriad vested interests, all conspiring to sell the proposition that if we, the taxpayers, spent £ billions there would be long term benefits for public and sports facilities across the country. Anyone at the time or since, arguing that the Olympics were a waste of money, particularly at a period of national austerity, were labeled as killjoys, or worse, as the level of overspend on the project grew and grew out of control. The taxpayers in this country do not have an " Olympic legacy" other than the millstone of paying for the extravaganza for years to come, while the athlete's go back to trawling round the charities and local councils with the begging bowl.

http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/displayarticle.asp?id=504392#comments Tourism in Jersey has been on a steady decline for ten years but back in the island’s hay day, the tourism industry was booming. Condor Ferries Arrivals  Is Jersey pricing itself out of the tourism market? The short answer is of course, Yes. However, the reasons for this situation are complex and varied.The cost of getting to the Island, by sea or air, is expensive and then the prices of the traditional tourist attractions (those that are still left that is), make a day out for Mum Dad and two children rather prohibitive. The article mentions the fact that air travel to Jersey is cheaper than Malaga or Ibiza for a family of Mum Dad and two children. That may well be the case but when the complete cost, including car hire and accommodation is considered, the all up cost of a holiday in jersey is considerably more expensive. The same family, coming by sea with th...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/workfare-why-did-so-many-labour-mps-accept-this-brutal-unforgivable-attack-on-vulnerable-people-8542193.html?origin=internalSearch   Workfare: Why did so many Labour MPs accept this attack on vulnerable people?  Liam Byrne, demanded that Labour MPs abstain; sit on their hands, hide in the toilet, whatever.   We do not have many "Labour" MP's. We have a PLP dominated by the centre right opportunists who have sold out principle in exchange for position (shadow or otherwise) and a rump of Blairites who, in pursuit of popularity,  change their positions more often than their underwear. The front bench  The history of the Parliamentary Labour Party is littered with "disgraceful, grubby chapters" where working people and the poorest in society have been betrayed by the very party created to represent them. Most, but not all, of the PLP have reverted to being members of "the club" in the c...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/18/leveson-david-cameron-press-regulation_n_2901113.html?utm_hp_ref=uk David Cameron Tells Tory MPs He 'Called Ed Miliband's Bluff' On Leveson. Prime Minister Cameron. No matter how you view it, self regulation is self regulation which has proved to be at best ineffective in the majority of instances where such regulatory bodies operate. A Royal Charter to back up press regulation, or press regulation with statutory underpinning may seem diametrically opposed positions, but in the bizarre world of Westminster political intrigue, both options are in fact the same thing. Of course, there are those who may believe that a solution such as this, is no more than a fudged up compromise by two, or is it three, protagonists who have "bottled it". That may however be a bit cynical. Cameron, Clegg and Milliband. On television last night, on numerous channels, first Cameron then Clegg and finally Milliband appeared and...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/18/former-mpc-economists-ada_n_2900881.html?1363643742&utm_hp_ref=uk   Austerity Policies Attacked By Former Bank Of England Economists.  David Blanchflower: The chancellor’s austerity measures have “completely failed”, says the professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the United States. Osborne, he adds, is the “most inept chancellor in 100 years. We have the worst economic recovery since the late 19th century.” Chancellor George Osborne   ‘MOST INEPT CHANCELLOR IN 100 YEARS’. When you consider how many "inept" people have had that job since 1913, that's quite an achievement for Osborne. The worrying point is that being Chancellor of the Exchequer, is considered as a stepping stone to becoming Prime Minister ! Now there is a thought. Osborne could eventually hold both titles. Most inept Chancellor and most inept Prime Minister in 100 years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9936245/Traders-braced-for-market-turbulence-amid-bailout-chaos-in-Cyprus.html  Traders braced for market turbulence amid bailout chaos in Cyprus.   *Brussels and Nicosia try to secure a bailout for Cyprus amid a storm of controversy.  *Reports that Cyprus is working on a proposal to soften the impact on smaller savers. People withdraw money from a cash machine in the Cypriot capital It aught to be the politicians of Cyprus and the Eurozone, together with the IMF and the other bankers who should be facing "a turbulent day",  as they are arrested and interned for theft, usury and conspiracy to misappropriate funds. 

  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/9936333/Helicopter-rescue-poised-for-privatisation.html Britain’s search and rescue operation is currently run by the Royal Navy, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the RAF. "The contract is expected to be awarded to Bristow, a US listed company. If Bristow is selected, the news will come as a bitter blow to UK rival, Bond Aviation, which is owned by private equity firm KKR." £3bn privatisation project for helicopter rescue across the UK. The privatisation obsession reaches new insanity. The "friends" of the Tory party must be rubbing their hands in anticipation of huge profits for such a small "investment".

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/16/cyprus-savings-levy-imposed-eurozone Cyprus: panic as savings levy is imposed Cypriots reacted with disbelief at news they would have to pay a levy   Cypriots reacted with shock that turned to panic on Saturday after a 10% one-off levy on savings was forced on them as part of an extraordinary 10bn euro (£8.7bn) bailout agreed in Brussels. State endorsed theft. The theft of savings from pensioners, ex pats, UK service personnel, and the people of Cyprus generally would be regarded as the most despicable crime that any government could impose in its pursuit of "austerity" savings to secure a bailout. When this act of gross piracy is carried out by and in the name of the Eurozone "officials" in Brussels, and the bankers it becomes even more odious. The Eurozone, dominated by the Germans, the Bankers the IMF and the European political cabal sink to a new level of economic and political iniquity.

                                                Huffington Post generates debate. The Arab Spring Yesterday, I posted a story under the heading of In Bahrain the protests continue.  The entry was also posted in the "Huffington Post" comments section, and drew some replies. This is one which particularly caught my attention: " posted by“katertaif”16 Mar 2013 at 11:35:22. Unfortunately I believe there is a flaw in your analysis. Up until now, those who have come out on top in the countries that have experienced the "Arab Spring" tend to be radical Islamist, who are not friendly towards the West in any way.We have particularly seen how grateful Libya is to us, in spite of all the help and money they received. While words ar...

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/15/bahrain-arab-spring-protests-pictures_n_2883430.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Bahrain Protester Holding Explosive Bursts Into Flames As Police Guards Open Fire     The "forgotten Arab Spring" goes on. It is to our continuing shame in the west that we still support, endorse and welcome to this country, the tyrants and criminals of the al-Khalifa family.

http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/   Extract from an email to her mother, February 28 2003. "I think I could see a Palestinian state or a democratic Israeli-Palestinian state within my lifetime. I think freedom for Palestine could be an incredible source of hope to people struggling all over the world. I think it could also be an incredible inspiration to Arab people in the Middle East, who are struggling under undemocratic regimes which the US supports."   Rachel Corrie    Ten years ago today, Rachel Corrie was murdered by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza. Her killer(s) have never been brought to justice. Another atrocity by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine.   Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003). Visit:  http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/14/leveson-report-labour-and-lib-dems-criticise-david-cameron_n_2877462.html?1363291178&utm_hp_ref=uk  Cameron calls off talks on press reform. Cameron called a press conference to explain his decision Lord Justice Leveson with his inquiry report   There is something quite sinister in the way that Cameron continues to defy overwhelming evidence and opinion, and renage on his previous commitments to implement the Leveson recommendations. It has been felt for some time that there is a hidden agenda somewhere, probably put together behind closed doors during cosy little sessions at Chequers or even at Number 10 and known only to Cameron and a few carefully selected confidants. It is clearly evident from numerous other examples that the concept of "Self Regulation" does not work. For Cameron to argue that statutory underpinning of regulation as proposed by Leveson would somehow re...

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/13/prince-charles-camilla-syria_n_2866680.html?utm_hp_ref=uk-impact Prince Charles And Camilla Visit Syrian Refugee Camps In Jordan Charles and Camilla at King Abdullah Park camp Charles with Syrian refugee children A sanitised visit to the King Abdullah Park camp is hardly likely to give Charles and his wife any real   understanding of what a "refugee camp" usually is. Once again royals are given a view of the world from inside a carefully constructed bubble, rather like the "Gents" sign on the public toilets in the railway station being covered up so that the passenger on the train is not embarrassed as the Royal Express thunders through. Perhaps the couple should have been taken to the Zaatari refugee camp or even the Bashabsheh camp, just two of the many camps established in Jordon for refugees from Syria.   Syrian refugee children at the Zaatari camp Al Bashab...