The New Year 2017 has arruved

A New Year's Message.

As everyone, or as it seems almost everyone, is sending out a New Year message to the whole world, I thought that I might commit to print a few thoughts which will only be seen by visitors to this page, "friends" and "followers" on Facebook and Twitter and on "New Agenda on Sunday" and perhaps a few others if readers choose to "share" this content with their followers and friends.

Over the past 12 to 18 months, I have become increasingly worried by the constant assault waged by the media, and I use the phrase media to include television and radio together with the printed press and periodicals, against the ordinary people of this country.There seems to be an orchestrated and widening attempt, to turn the "little grey cells" of people, into some form of gelatinous ball, wrapped in a layer of sponge which will readily absorb everything pushed towards it from the pages of the Mail or Sun, and from the television studio's of the BBC and Sky News. Not that the Mail and Sun are alone in the coordinated promulgation of disinformation, lies and propaganda. The media is overwhelmed with its self appointed role as guardian of the country's conscience, and sole prophet for the guidance and well being of the nation.
The enthusiasm and spin with which the media promote government statements is both brazen and sinister implying a belief that people will accept what is being fed to them on face value, as if the government would never lie and the media will always tell the truth.

Image result for grayling rail fare increases

Take for example, the annual above inflation rise in rail fare, which occurs at least once every year. The increase is justified on the grounds that for every pound income from fare increases, 97p is invested in "improvements" to the rail network. No mention is made of the £billions of taxpayers money given to the rail companies every year in the form of subsidies earmarked for "improvements" to infrastructure and rolling stock. Nor is any mention made of the every increasing dividends paid to share holders, or to the increases in salaries and bonuses for senior management and executives.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling defending the increase

Chris Grayling appears on television defending the fare increase with the pathetic comment that "wages are rising" while at the same time the railway companies announce further cuts to services and reductions in staff levels. The media of course, revel in this "double talk" expecting everyone, particularly those reliant on train services, to believe that government and the train operators are in fact working in the best interests of the traveling public and the taxpayers, rather than creaming off vast sums of money for the benefit of privatised companies and their shareholders.
The case for taking the railways back into public ownership is compelling and the time for taking back control of this vital national service is now overdue.

Image result for Fabian Warning less than 150 seats

Another example of media pushing disinformation, lies and propaganda, is the now almost constant assault against the leadership of the Labour party. An assault which has been raging for almost two years and is motivated by the desire to restore a Labour party more in line with the "status quo" of the past few decades, notwithstanding the fact that the current Labour party leader, enjoys the support and backing of more than 60% of the party membership and which, incidentally is the largest political party in the whole of Europe, if not the world. The continuing reliance on the anonymous source, the smear and innuendo of misrepresentation, the mischievous endeavors to drive wedges between groups and individuals, evidences the malicious intent of the media and the government to persuade people that white is black and that only the media know the truth.

2017 will be a year of momentous change to the world as we know it. Great challenges lie ahead both domestically and internationally and we must ensure that we respond to such challenges in ways which are in the best interests of people, rather than in accordance with an agenda set by the media for their own mercenary purposes and a government, intent on the advancement of the few at the expense of the many.

Northern Ireland and Brexit. The return of "The Troubles"

Northern Ireland: police attacked in another night of disturbances | Northern Ireland | The Guardian When the "Brexit" debate was still filling our newspapers and our television screens, readers may remember why I had changed my mind since voting to leave at the referendum vote. Apart from the economic arguments, which had become crystal clear after peeling away all the lies and misrepresentations trotted out by Bozo Boris and his "Get Brexit Done" conspirators, there was always the problem of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Would it be possible to have a border between the European Union and the United Kingdom where people, goods and services could pass freely between the two nations without customs restrictions, tariffs, duties and all the other formalities? Would it be possible to have one part of the United Kingdom treated differently from other parts of the United Kingdom, particularly when Scotland for example had voted overwhe...

The writing on the wall

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-government-zero-hour-contract-ban-latest-a9257281.html?fbclid=IwAR0OW6qhoVnO9MVH-E9ruKFLnL_V3NQ5PMpYEkGGHEXskJxkAsrr2UJjRIs Two-thirds of voters want Boris Johnson ‘s government to ban zero-hours contracts, a poll has found. There will be many people over the coming months and years who will tell the "pollsters" that something should be done about the homeless, or the costs of electric, gas and water, or about the costs of public transport, or the failing (and privatised) NHS, or the excessive profits and tax avoidance of large corporations. etc. To all those I say, that if you did not vote Labour then you have only yourselves to blame and you must bear the consequences of your actions. Johnson a nd his sycophant cronies have been given a blank cheque to do as they please and sell off vast portions of the British economy to the Americans, (the takeover of British defence giant Cobham by a US private equi...

Greed and envy are good says Boris Johnson.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/embrace-culture-of-greed-says-boris-johnson-8968276.html Embrace culture of greed, says Boris Johnson Boris Johnson. "I stress – I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity." Johnson delivering the annual Margaret Thatcher lecture at the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, Wednesday 27th November 2013 Boris Johnson seeks to emulate Thatcher. He appeals to the evil side of the "nasty" party, for a society where greed is good, where selfishness is encouraged, where division amongst people by envy and status is championed as a proper objective and where the excesses of business and government are regarded as appropriate and right for the advancement of the few at the expense of the many. Johnson is an evil man with evil intent...

Agenda 2019

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