ive been reading through the web boards over at the bbc tonight, asking if there is support for todays youth debates in parliament.
50/50 split i think in favour and against.
the biggest bugbear seems to be aimed at those who post saying it is a gimmick and they would rather young people gained some experience before forging ahead in politics. i agree with this view on the whole.
its no slant against young people, but it will not engage anymore young people in politics, than are already engaged in it. many of the supporters stated that the young people today "were trying to do something better and good for themselevs and their communities" sorry that doesnt wash with me.... they dont have any experience (which is a fact) they do not have power to do anything (as they cannot vote) i would ask young people in favour of this youth parliament some questions:
- did they debate today about cutting student loan fees (they are going to have to pay these in future) - what about the drastic failing of this government on manufacturing? whats being done about this? - how about how our borders are wide open and all local services in all areas are crushed under the weight of people using them (it wont be long before these young people experience not being able to find a house, or get an nhs dentist, or find work to pay ever increasing bills etc) - how about imposing rule of law on us from unelected european council and installing phoney blair in office without anyone anywhere having a vote on it?
there are many more topics that were not even considered for todays debates by the youth parliament, the point is that until people have experience of things/life/work/failings of the system, then how can they even begin to address them? its not an attack on you young uns, its the facts, most people dont just decide at an early age which party they are going to vote for in the future, you have experiences in life and if the system lets you down, or doesnt protect you against business or you cant use a tennis court locally, or allows a bank to take money from you via yur bank account, then you will be more inclined to vote for another party.
for 12 years now this government have set up talking shop after talking shop... who say one thing and are told they are "being listened to" and then go and do the exact opposite when it comes before parliament! you only have to look at MPs conduct over the post office closures..... campaigning locally and in the local paper signing petitions etc, then going to westminster and voting in favour of the bill that forces all the closures (even the profitable ones)
you young uns are on the whole good people, and have excellent skills and attributes, but you lack the experience to make informed judgements, just as i could not make an informed judgement about a gas supply.... it comes with experience, and until you have some then the voting age should remain at 18.
you wouldnt take your car to be fixed by a baker would you - its the same way for politicians, they cannot sort out a rough society if they are sat in westminster every week and dont experience it )
Denz on 10.31.09 @ 03:56 AM CST [link]
Wednesday, October 28th
Labour masterplan is revealing before our eyes
the top inner circle of the labour party - blair/brown/mandelson and a few select others who have bank rolled the labour party - are now showing their true colours.
in 1995 they got together and hatched a plan to bring labour out of extinction and safeguard not only the party holding power but set themselves up for life in the process.
go back to just before the general election of 97 - 18 years out of office, labour's core vote destroyed by thatcher and major's policies that actually worked, the plan was to get power for labour and change things so that they always had a hand on power in the future. before you dismiss this out of hand... just look at the facts
Labour's core vote: by 97 it had gone, the policies in the previous 18 years had to a large degree been very successful for everyone. pre 79, labours core vote consisted of people who lived day to day, they had no pensions, no opportunity of a mortgage unless they saved with a bank for years and then only a slim chance. they took holidays in england, not choosing to use public transport, but relying on it. the people wanted more than this, labour's core vote wanted better. love her or hate her, thatcher gave them freedom and power over their own lives.
no longer did they go hungry or without money in support of others who had come out on strike now they could buy their own home now they could have competitive mortgages now they could fly abroad on european holidays now they could afford to buy and run a car, no longer reliant on public transport now they could save for their own pensions which paid out more than the state allowance, so they could plan ahead yes they could strike, but only if the majority in their workplace voted for it
it took some hardship - it took some years - but it became the norm. labour's core vote of the past was gone forever. why should the people vote for labour? people didnt need the state to dictate their lives, the state was there as a safety net only.
in 97 when labour came to power, they had transformed and cut away years of historic rut they had presided over. we had nuclear power which many labour MPs spent years campaigning against, as blair said in a speech in june 1995, "we should not be dictated to and pay over the odds for our energy to other countries, whilst their staff earn fat salaries" - blair's policies in office did exactly that.
labour had their left wing policies trashed and proven to be worthless over 18 years of conservative government, the national debt was almost paid off and we were moving into a surplus. labour wanted revenge and a way of keeping their hand on some form of power, so that never again would their arguments be seen to be worthless.
as a former advisor to the government revealed last week - labour wanted to smash the conservative project - just as labour themselves have had done to them.
blairs first assault, was europe. a highly effective policy of keeping power within labour's hands. under the guise of "being at the heart of europe - controlling europe" blair systematically made friends in europe by giving ground and surrendering vetos and opt outs from european legislation. these friends would come in useful in the future!
the labour party had to come up with a way of getting a core vote and holding on to some form of power, someone would have to need to vote labour and they would have to be relevant. but how could this be acheived?
with core vote now gone, they needed a new core vote and the european union provided a perfect opportunity. free movement around the european union, the opt out was removed and the people came... not a few thousand every year, but millions, from inside and outside the EU! if you take a person from a country where they live in abject poverty and give them free housing, policing, schooling for their kids, free healthcare, money to live on if they do not work, freedoms (that we all take for granted) - then these people are not going to vote out the party and people that give them this are they? years of non eu people living for 6 months and then being given an eu passport to allow them to walk into the uk, and live here, and claim from the state, has been going on unopposed for the best part of a decade.
labour now had a new core vote, people who never before dared to or got the vote in their own home country. suddenly they got a say, and blair/brown benefitted from it at election times.
if anyone opposes any aspect of this policy they would be put down with the race argument!
there was another favourable outcome for labour, in that by giving up a variety of opt outs and vetos to europe, they were making many friends, friends that would serve them well in another part of their plans... holding on to some form of power!
first it began with local councils - by traditional standards you vote in local people to get things done, in your immediate area - under blair's labour government this is no longer the case. as a councillor revealed to me weeks after winning a council election - councillors dont shape policy, they dont "do" things anymore, they can only ask questions of the civil servants who are actioning plans set for them by...... yes you guessed it, blair's governmental departments. a genius plan whereby the public believed that the councillors were in control of budgets, plans, etc, anything went wrong and the finger pointed at local councillors and the public would vote them out. anything that was a success would be attributed to the government department who enforced the policy over the council via its unelected civil servants, who worked in ivory towers of council offices and were untouchable by the british public! this would enhance the government as being one of action on a national scale and help provide ammunition to win votes at the next general election.
after 5 years or so, this phase of labour's plan to smash the conservatives in the same way they had been almost to extinction, was in place.... now for phase 2!
phase 2 was not quite what they had planned.... originally phase 2 of labours masterplan was to set up regional assemblies. sadly for labour after giving scotland and wales a few small powers - in the hope that this would give labour officials another platform to cling to power should their government be voted out of office at westminster - the people saw this coming by a country mile (92% voted "no" in the north east referendum for a regional assembly) it was a non starter.. it was proven to be a wise move to stop this process, as with the benefit of hindsight, labour lost power in both scotland and wales - so blair/brown moved to the next phase and started actioning it.
phase 2 was now westminster - what would happen if, despite its core vote of immigration supporting them, they would have lost a general election? all their plans would have been unravelled in a five year stretch of opposition. historically, the labour party have always operated by "backroom deals" say one thing in public but do another behind closed doors. even now only information can be revealed by using the freedom of information act request, anything that was not asked about would be revealed under the 30 year rule of law, and by this time the plan would have been actioned and it would be too late for the conservative party.
by giving up the vetos and opt-outs, labour had made many european friends, now they wanted europe to return the favour. campaigning for centre left and left wing governments all over europe, helping them to win power in their respective countries, meant that when they came back to europe, the power players in europe were on their side when they announced that laws, almost identical to the laws of the UK, would now be the top ruling court over. again, a genius plan, for labour that is.
slowly there began a trickle of powers given away to fall under european control, then more and more went to europe, in effect rendering our parliament at westminster the same as a local council, elected representatives who could only ask questions of those in power elsewhere who had the real power. the people were given the impression of having a say using their vote, but the real power being held in europe. the power to over rule the uk government on anything from fish stocks to releasing of prisoners is no longer under westminster's control.... it has gone.
with labour falling behind in the polls under brown, time started to run out, so the labour party needed to speed things up if their plans were going to be put into place. the lisbon treaty was changed in name only and signed up to, without going to the british people. as brown fell further in the polls, labour started seeing that the immigration core vote they had built up was now asking questions of labour, and didnt like what they were hearing. the odd park and new play area for kids, the grants for setting up a muslim business or advice centre, just werent cutting it anymore, housing renovations new roads, everything was thrown at immigration estates, nothing could reverse the trends of an opposition winning the next general election. it might never happen and labour plans for holding some form of power might be saved, but they couldnt take the risk!
as time drifts away from brown being forced to call a general election, a light is shone on labours plans as never before. the sudden urgency for poland and czechs to sign the lisbon treaty says more about what labour are afraid of than it does about why the conservatives oppose the treaty or want the governments to delay signing it. at each european summit, labour have given up opt outs and vetos and also tied the UK in to huge fines should in the future (under another party of government) we pull out of a deal that blair/brown have brokered.
why are labour so keen to sign away powers to europe? to keep their hand on power!
president blair of europe is THE most revealing factor... brown hates this man, mandelson has said so on numerous occasions, yet hes now supporting him being the first full time president of europe? why is he so keen for this to be in place before a general election is called in the UK?
labours top inner circle of people are lined up to take european positions, which of course benefit the labour party more so out of office than it does when they are in office in westminster! europe can now impose and over rule the government of the UK on so many issues - exactly as our local councils are dictated to by government via civil servants! if things go wrong, the government of the day (ie not a labour government) takes the blame and the opposition (the labour party if they are voted out) get ammunition to use to win back power. if things go right, then the opposition can point to their control and influence in europe being a major factor giving the labour party a boost in the eyes of the public.
giving up the opt outs and vetos - enables labour's inner circle to take top jobs in europe these jobs are not voted for by the people, they are positions of favour, labour have been scratching the backs of governments all over europe for 12 years, in the last 6 months before an election where they could be voted out of office at westminster, they are now openly canvassing for these "friends of labour" to install blair as president!
by being in top positions in europe, over ruling the UK parliament when labour are not in power there, is a way of giving labour relevance and protecting themselves from becoming the irrelevant party they were during 18 years of conservative government. Labour are out of office in most local councils, county councils are mostly run by libdems and conservatives, i think labour only has one left, labour have lost heavily in european elections, in wales, in scotland, in northern ireland, etc, all indicators show that the public dont want them, and the one man they ejected from office, tony blair, is now a popular favourite with the labour party to be president of europe?
labour are no longer about helping people, standing up for the workers and the less fortunate, their ideals and policies have been shown by the eye of time to be a failure. their simply acting out a master plan to remain in influence and power, so that even the british public cannot vote them out and be rid of them.
out there in internet world there are some very very clever and slippery people. the amount of tricks and schemes to get you to use a website and earn them some kind of reward is staggering!
the reward could be increased traffic or cookie dropping so they get a commission etc.
one technique i come across most often is the blog or forum owner, who posts for nothing more than attention, a way to encourage others to post and drive traffic to their site. people love giving their opinion - it is natures way of proving themselves or summat, but they cannot resist falling into the trap laid perfectly for them by the forum/blog owner!
i read marketing blogs all the time, fascinating they are, not because of all the little snippets of insider information, these are rare, but more for the complete contradiction they show in the user and the gullability of the readers: example - i wont name the website/blog here as its unfair, because im not particularly interested in getting any "feedback" or increasing traffic etc. plus i dont want you getting caught in the trap yourself, which you invariably will!
from reading the two main posters on the blog - they drop in bits of info about how successful they are, one poster in particular posts about how he has relied on one website for most of his income, that his family and himself can live off, and successfully manage. now he wants to branch out and have a few other websites, all carefully chosen, etc, and good opportunities to expand his portfolio, blah blah blah. in earlier posts he tells us about how he has benefitted from this procedure and that way of doing things, in other posts he reminds us of a way of life he enjoys (expecting us to believe its all from one website) but the post (or the traffic trap) is the one that is very clever:
he is planning to set up a blog using a popular content management system - he lists how he sets it up and what few add ons he uses when he sets up... this is "the trapdoor" to which others will fall through! before i go any further think about this - he tells us he is successful, he drops hints about how he is expanding the number of websites he has, how he sets targets for himself, and in other posts he portrays himself as a bit of an expert on SEO and various other aspects of website building, even to the point of telling the readers that he is being hired by a company to promote their website - as a sideline!
back to the post - he is fully qualified to set up and use this CMS system, yet he apparantly uses very few add ons and knows little of how to configure a website??? how odd! here's the trap... if he writes a post, detailing about this CMS that he uses, it is just his opinion and thats that, if he posts very little detail with the CMS's name in the title, and "plays dumb" - then visitors to his blog then post about what they use and what they find works best!
this bloke is successful, regular readers hold him in some esteem, trying to weedle information and tips out of him, this is human nature's way of increasing their own self esteem by foolishly believing they can actually provide this "guru" with information he does not know! now what will generate more traffic?: - a blog post on a content management system used all over the net, with his own tips - or a blog post about the CMS with a couple of tips, and 30-40 comments from other people, with links pointing at add ons for the CMS and increasing the value of the post in a search engine?
if this bloke is for real and really does struggle with setting up a website, so much so, that he has to post what little he knows on a blog post (revealing this to the internet world), then how come he can support himself and his family from approx one single website and its sales clicks? this doesnt add up - very clever it is as well, his "post" will now carry much higher weight in search engines than if he just posted all he knows about setting up a website using this particular CMS!
another quick example of the obvious "trapdoor" approach: instead of a blog, this person owns a forum... the users of this forum are good old fashioned normal people like you and i, the forum owner posts on a particular subject.. lets say "croatia"
he posts asking the others on the forum what it is like there - hes been thinking about a holiday there - can anyone recommend any resorts etc.
the "trapdoor" is set - the regular people who dont run websites, ie, the basic users of the forum of course want to contribute, off they go posting about when they went there and where abouts they went, what the food is like any good places to eat, activities, etc. BINGO - the trap has been sprung, the forum owner has generated interest, has planted a seed about holidays, has gained some valuable information from people that have been there (for free) and as happens, a month or so later, the post is edited to contain a link to a great website about croatia.
of course what the forum members dont realise is.... 3 days before the post is put on the forum by the owner, his own croatia website (selling holidays etc) is launched - the website linked in the post later is his own (driving traffic to it) - the information from forum members about croatia resorts, places, activities, etc allows the owner to add more content (for free) and it generates more traffic via search engines for people searching for "croatia" which also generates more traffic for the forum.
it is a very clever process, if you want to increase your website traffic then plant a seed, using a trapdoor post and help yourself to a higher ranking as more people post to it!
(should you wish to leave a comment then please do so, i will normally reply to it, but this post is not intended to be for this reason!)
it fascinates me the way that people react to different things, nick griffin on question time tonight was on a hiding to nothing. the BBC had built the show up, the panelists from the 3 main parties had a scripted attack planned. the BNP leader didnt really have a chance of making any impact, yet managed (along with a couple of audience member questions to jack straw) to highlight much of what is wrong with todays world (in my opinion of course)
i am no fan of the BNP, i couldnt give a monkeys either way, but i do respect any person of any view's right to express that view. i might loathe it, support it or not have any particular feeling towards it.... but i would hate to be stopped from expressing a view and that should also apply to everyone else.
the contradictions on question time tonight were startling! griffin was pinned down on immigration, being called a racist by jack straw, he squirmed abit but tried to answer, a couple of questions later a member of the audience asked if labours failures on immigration were to blame for more than a million people voting for the BNP, to which straw looked markedly uncomfortable and waffled for almost 10 minutes.... then another member of the audience absolutely nailed him on the subject... straw had no answer! straw admitted that labour were limiting the numbers coming to the UK, but when griffin also stated he wanted to limit numbers in the same way, before he could finish, straw quipped that it was an argument about skin colour... with the libdem joining in and another 5 minute racist rant from the main parties.
the one single question that (as dimbleby told us) "didnt want the whole show to be about the bnp" - was about the stephen gately article by the daily mail, odeus said jack straw, but "i respect their right to publish as they have done nothing illegal" - so how does this compare to the BNP expressing their points of view? dimbleby normally very good at chairing the program then instantly tried to pin the anti gay question on griffin... so every single question in the show was aimed at the bnp being racist (they may well be, i dont really follow them to be honest) and anti gay.... the fact that griffin stated his party dont want any sexual education taught in primary schools was ommitted from the clips being shown on all the news bulletins. the news bulletins since the show aired have been one sided also... he was slated by a gent in the audience who asked where he would have to go since he is a "non white" yet british through and through..... the news didnt show the answer that griffin gave.... you are more than welcome to stay we wouldnt ask you to leave at all...... but that would undermine the bbc's own news report!
a classic revelation of the show was the libdem's claiming to have fought against opening our borders and allowing free movement of eastern block nationals into the UK..... not only did they support this they would have (if in power) have extended it even more than the original labour policy.
all in all i didnt expect anything deep, nor did i expect to hear much of what griffin was about..... but it was good fun watching a biased audience and panel gang up on him.... trying desperately to counter and ridicule him and his party.
the problem i have with this approach, is that if the three main parties policies were that strong and the correct ones, then surely they would have won the argument hands down? the fact that they didnt get close to winning the argument shows that love or hate the BNP there must be an element of their policies that are based on facts that the major three parties cannot defend!
Denz on 10.23.09 @ 03:54 AM CST [link]
Monday, October 12th
direct line - 8 weeks free car insurance?
same car, less crime in area, 14 years no claims (only 5 applied by direct line) multi car discount, same level of tax, same named drivers... PRICE INCREASED FOR NEXT 12 MONTHS BY £72
now you tell me, how is that "8 weeks free car insurance"?
additional:
just noticed they are part of the RBS insurance group.... (royal bank of scotland) which are partially owned by.. errm the UK taxpayer!
"The public sector net cash requirement, which is the amount the government needed to borrow to fund its spending, hit £44.2bn, the highest on record. Almost half of that came from bailing out RBS..." source BBC website (january 2009)
there can be no substitute for experience having several departments doing the same job, for less money is always damaging, never more apparent when it involves a public service.
less than four weeks have passed since lil tammy came into our world, and already it is clear that having trained experienced people instead of an army of people who have made careers out of giving advice about things they have no experience about, is damaging the service for the people that use it.
expressed milk (this is where breast milk is extracted using a pump into a bottle, so that either parent can feed their child) you would think that a standard could be agreed by all parties on this, after all the millions spent on testing and reviews of it.
baby books from quangos - keep breast milk in the fridge for upto 5 days midwife - you can keep breast milk in the fridge for upto 24 hours doctor - breast milk can be kept refridgerated for 3 days health visitor - breast milk is safe to keep in the fridge for upto 8 days we are left being told to "do what feels right!" - but what is right and what is wrong? you are all contradicting yourselves i told the health visitor... i know it is like that she replied, my advice is to do what you feel is right for you! thats as clear as mud then!!
thrush midwife - i cant see any form of thrush, but get it checked by a doctor doctor - she hasnt got thrush as her cheeks are clear health visitor - she has got thrush - then writes out a prescription! (with no access to my baby's medical records she issues a prescription???) - ironic as this is then dispensed at a supermarket by a person who is training to be a pharmacist, whilst the supposedly watching pharmacist nips off for her break!
colic midwife - she hasnt got colic, as breast feeding doesnt leave a baby with much wind doctor - she may have colic, try something just in case health visitor - she has colic, carry on using the treatment you are using!
i dont know whats more alarming - the fact that a health visitor can issue a prescription and over rule a doctor or the complete lack of any consistant advice issued by so many jobsworths who all work in the same field but have different job titles - all being paid for by the taxpayer???
Denz on 10.10.09 @ 09:35 AM CST [link]
Friday, October 9th
tiredness... causes stress
its been a while since ive posted on here for a reason..... im whacked out! lack of sleep has set the weekly clock racing, just over three weeks ago, we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of our latest addition to the family, now time has flown as we try to grab an hours sleep here a quick 40 winks there.
how can a little bundle of joy create so much mess? so much noise? so much stress?
of course we wouldnt change her for the world, as all new parents, shes perfect in everyway, but with a gap of 21 years between newborns, the differences are stark:
* so many "support groups" and quangos are being paid grants and generating so much money for their staff - no wonder more money has been pumped into the NHS, they have new shiney offices and computer systems, new techniques etc etc. * many staff are not the health professionals we used to have.... much of the support comes from unqualified public (who often talk more sense) its clearly causing problems and sending mixed messages to all who are directed towards it
the delivery staff who are auxillaries who are left alone to monitor mother and baby the delivery staff who are young and inexperienced (and often dont have children of their own - everything is theory) they mean well, but its not who you really want to be being advised by when youve been pushing a pineapple out of your arse for hours and all they can say is "hold that push, your doing well" repeatedly!
we went to the midweek classes to get a look at how things work, along with about 20 other couples of all ages. the information those 3 midwives gave over the 4 weeks, was contradictory - its good to walk around - not when we got to the hospital, hoovergerl was dumped on her back old fashion style, there wasnt room for me to sit down let alone walk around or lean against a wall! the information about the hospital and what was available was completely false - they have big rooms so you can move about, etc. - ours was no bigger than small office cubicle in a call centre we stayed in touch with the hospital as waters broke, we rang in every hour, as hoovergerl managed to stay at home during contractions for more than 4 hours - when we phoned again to say we were coming in, we had to wait because they didnt have any beds left!
we ended up waiting in the nurses sit down area for 30 minutes until a cubicle became free, then once in the cubicle, with contractions only a minute apart.... i had to get a staff member to come and see that everything was alright! (ignored for 20 minutes)
so now back home we have been told conflicting information:
- breast feeding milk, when expressed can last for upto 24 hours if refridgerated - then we are told it will last 5 days if chilled - who is correct? - midwives will visit every week for the first four weeks - then they dont turn up in week 3 as the health visitor is coming - then the health visitor doesnt show up - so we are left waiting. - get an express machine so dad can feed baby and give mum a rest... then the doctor tells us how rubbish they are and what a waste of time it is to try them
and when we land on the doctors, after mum hasnt slept properly for 3 weeks... we are fobbed off and given a phone number for a quango who will arrange an unqualified person to ring or visit our home and patronise us into how to breast feed, the fact that we only wanted assurances that baby was healthy and mum was very tired, the doctor heard this as "mums struggling with breast feeding and the family are falling apart!"
half of this post is probably down to the lack of sleep.. the other half is down to the facts of how so much money is wasted in the NHS and all the private "not for profit companies" that are set up around the service.
for years now, the government and businesses have been pushing freeview boxes getting ready for the digital tv turn on. every business under the sun has been pushing these boxes.
now the "retune" has taken place, it has been revealed by those in charge of the changes, that small groups of people "less than 1%" of freeview boxes wont actually work anymore!
on rough estimates, this "less than 1%" represent more than 20,000 customers who bought freeview boxes in good faith! will they get a refund or free exchange? nope... they get nothing but a bill to purchase yet another set top box! and where people have purchased a new tv with freeview built in and it no longer works, they have a tv that wont receive an analogue or digital service at all!
when asked to estimate how many freeview box/tv owners that have gained channel 5 but lost itv 3 and 4, as well as other channels... the powers that be have no idea!
disgraceful that there is nothing to protect these consumers who purchased their equipment in good faith who now find they have no redress. penny pinchers asks: WHY NOT?
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