Friday 23 October 2009
Monday 28 September 2009
The Lovely Mrs P's Recipe For Spiced Apple Chutney
We have had a surfeit of apples so The Lovely Mrs P has made some SPICED APPLE CHUTNEY......
Makes about 2 or 3 250ml/9 fluid oz jars
• 500g/18 oz apples
• 1 medium onion
• 2 birds eye red chillies
• 250g/9oz Demerara sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice (not mixed spice)
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• half teaspoon sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 heaped tablespoon chopped or grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 350 ml/12 fluid oz cider vinegar
1. Peel and roughly chop the apples and finely chop the onion.
2. Seed the chillies and chop finely
3. Put all ingredients in a pan and bring to boil
4. Cook over a medium heat for 30/40 minutes until mixture thickens
5. Spoon into jars and, when cool, place in store cupboard
Makes about 2 or 3 250ml/9 fluid oz jars
• 500g/18 oz apples
• 1 medium onion
• 2 birds eye red chillies
• 250g/9oz Demerara sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice (not mixed spice)
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• half teaspoon sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 heaped tablespoon chopped or grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 350 ml/12 fluid oz cider vinegar
1. Peel and roughly chop the apples and finely chop the onion.
2. Seed the chillies and chop finely
3. Put all ingredients in a pan and bring to boil
4. Cook over a medium heat for 30/40 minutes until mixture thickens
5. Spoon into jars and, when cool, place in store cupboard
Saturday 4 July 2009
Toby Harnden Is Still The Joke He Has Always Been
Ignore Toby Harnden. How apparently shrewd businessmen like the Barclay Brothers can pay this man thousands of pounds a year to sit in front of CNN and then regurgitate their take on US politics absolutely beats me. At the very least you might have expected him to take a day or so to reflect on a range of possible outcomes for Palin after her shock resignation. But that’s not for our Toby – he jumps in feet first even quicker than Thomas M deFrank of the dying New York Daily News. After all Toby knows far more about AGIA, building codes and the Law of the Sea than “an intellectually idle, self-absorbed, overweeningly ambitious empty vessel” like Palin....
Very few of the US punditry and even fewer of the Brits (except Toby Harnden, of course) have much knowledge of Alaskan politics – it’s like asking David Frum about UKIP – so take anything they say with a pinch of salt. Just remember that Palin, although a Republican, ran against the GOP establishment and won because the good ‘ol boys were mired in corruption. Ever wonder why the Alaska GOP never defended her against the unhinged rantings of Celtic Diva and her cronies and the groundless ethics complaints? Why State Senator Ramras is pushing against AGIA? Because they were hoping that she would not stand down before 2010 and they could slide one of their own into the Governor’s Mansion via some wheeler dealing in the primaries. By handing over to Lt Gov Parnell now she gives him well over a year to get settled in office and ensures he gets a flying start in the primaries. This allows her to help like minded Palin Republicans gain some traction for the next round of legislative elections.
Very few of the US punditry and even fewer of the Brits (except Toby Harnden, of course) have much knowledge of Alaskan politics – it’s like asking David Frum about UKIP – so take anything they say with a pinch of salt. Just remember that Palin, although a Republican, ran against the GOP establishment and won because the good ‘ol boys were mired in corruption. Ever wonder why the Alaska GOP never defended her against the unhinged rantings of Celtic Diva and her cronies and the groundless ethics complaints? Why State Senator Ramras is pushing against AGIA? Because they were hoping that she would not stand down before 2010 and they could slide one of their own into the Governor’s Mansion via some wheeler dealing in the primaries. By handing over to Lt Gov Parnell now she gives him well over a year to get settled in office and ensures he gets a flying start in the primaries. This allows her to help like minded Palin Republicans gain some traction for the next round of legislative elections.
Until the VP nomination her relationship with Alaska Democrats was fairly relaxed. Although she had R after her name she was perceived as a kind of bipartisan Governor. This ended immediately after the Republican Convention. Her speech sucked the oxygen out of the Obama campaign. McCain’s poll numbers leapt and money poured in. Axelrod orders went out to the Alaska Democrats that Palin needed to be destroyed. The MSM was mobilised and hundreds of reporters were sent to Alaska to dig for dirt (far more than were ever sent to Chicago) and Axelrod’s efforts helped to create and sustain an avalanche of hate and vituperation unsurpassed even in the murky world of Alaskan politics.
Harnden and other commentators have made much of the recent Vanity Fair hit piece by the left wing ex NYT hack Todd Purdum. In fact it’s a shallow, poorly researched rehash of disdainful comments about Palin from anonymous McCain campaign staffers plus a handful of interviews with Alaskans who have an axe to grind about her. Like most of the Conde Nast magazine empire VF is losing circulation and advertising revenue by the bucketload. I don’t imagine many copies are bought in WalMart. But the pundits and style gurus love it so they imagine the whole of America hangs on it’s words.
What Palin chooses to do on the national scene is up to her. We do know that over the last few months she had had thousands of requests to do interviews, fundraisers and overseas engagements. I would guess that next week the local post office will have to use more staff to deliver the invitations. Republican incumbents and hopefuls will be selling their souls for her endorsement. Whatever she chooses to do about the White House in 2012 she will become the de facto leader of the GOP.
This woman is not a conventional politician. She ignores the rule book. The Beltway pundits and the party hacks can’t fit her into any pigeon hole. She makes their heads explode. But when she went to Auburn recently, a blue district in a blue state, 20,000 people turned up just to watch her take part in a charity walk. They didn’t come to see and hear the Governor of Alaska. They came to see Sarah Palin.
As Barry Goldwater Jr said of her “She's attractive. She's smart. She got the right message and she doesn't take any crap from anybody.” In an America rapidly falling out of love with an over hyped snake oil salesman from Chicago that message might just start resonating with people outside the conservative base.
Sorry, Toby – I think you might well be seeing a lot more of Mrs Palin than you think...time maybe for a liitle bit more valium?
Wednesday 10 June 2009
GLENYS KINNOCK - ANOTHER IDEAL ZOMBIE FOR BROWN'S GOVERNMENT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Another corpse to join Brown’s government of the living dead. The Rule of the Zombies...it’s like an episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” but, unfortunately, according to the DT it’s really true....
Glenys Kinnock, the wife of the former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, was appointed Europe minister in a move hurriedly announced by Gordon Brown during his press conference.
She will be made a peer and replaces Caroline Flint, who announced her resignation while Mr Brown was taking questions from reporters - 18 hours after endorsing him and saying she would stay put.
Mrs Kinnock, 64, has been an MEP for Wales for the past 15 years and was a party spokesman in the European Parliament on International Development.
Will she add value to this gang of deadbeats? Unlikely seeing she was reported as being one of the worst performing MEPs.
Still she will certainly fit in well with rest of the snouts-in-trough freeloaders in the Labour Government because in 2004 she had her own little expenses scam going in the infamous Sign in/Sod off extravaganza
GLENYS Kinnock was last night embroiled in an EU expenses “scam” that is costing taxpayers millions of pounds.The Euro MP wife of ex-Labour leader Neil was filmed “clocking on” for non-existent parliamentary sessions so she could claim a £175 allowance.Mrs Kinnock whose salary is £56,358 a year plus lucrative expenses is said to have made £4,550 from the practice.And she is among 36 British MEPs caught in a two-year probe in Brussels.
Even better her response obviously became the template answer for most Parliamentary fiddlers in the current fiasco.
She has broken no rules and has got nothing to hide
In other words just the sort of person we need to help Gordon sort out the expenses scandal....
Thursday 4 June 2009
THE FRIGHTENING REALITY OF NORTH KOREA
The ultimate goal of Marxism - the total subjugation of the individual. Watch this and feel the cold dark chill of fear....
Wednesday 3 June 2009
MPs - We have had enough of you. Pack your bags and Go Now....
Those thoughtful chaps at The Grauniad have been chatting with other opinion formers in NW1 and have decided that The People's Voice needs to be heard. Brown must go and we the sweaty multitude can hasten to the hustings to seal the deal - after our betters have decided, of course, what is best for us.
Now what is best for us is proportional representation and fixed term parliaments and a constitutional convention and a referendum and all of it designed by a consortium of sundry academics with names like Vernon Bogdanor, glitterati like Polly Toynbee and a House of Commons where the majority of members and their spouses, parents, children and lovers have been having a whale of a time with money taken from our wallets and purses by HMRC.
Apparently we are not bright enough to make those decisions off our own bat over the next few weeks because an election now would "see Britain stumble into the future without any idea where it will lead". We need to be led by the motley crowd of crooks and spongers who have brought Parliament into disrepute.
The fact is that the chattering classes are scared witless because at this moment in time they have lost control. The absolute contempt that ordinary people hold for the political class also spreads to the media class because we know that they also knew about the scams and the lies and the hypocrisy.
So let's ignore the pathetic pleas from the Guardianistas. This stinking cesspit of a Parliament needs to slither away in shame within weeks and the next 60 days spent in getting constituency parties to either reselect or appoint new candidates and then we elect a new Parliament of clean men and women with a doctor's mandate to purge the shame.
Forget precedent - hold a general Election on the first Thursday of September - let the people speak.
Now what is best for us is proportional representation and fixed term parliaments and a constitutional convention and a referendum and all of it designed by a consortium of sundry academics with names like Vernon Bogdanor, glitterati like Polly Toynbee and a House of Commons where the majority of members and their spouses, parents, children and lovers have been having a whale of a time with money taken from our wallets and purses by HMRC.
Apparently we are not bright enough to make those decisions off our own bat over the next few weeks because an election now would "see Britain stumble into the future without any idea where it will lead". We need to be led by the motley crowd of crooks and spongers who have brought Parliament into disrepute.
The fact is that the chattering classes are scared witless because at this moment in time they have lost control. The absolute contempt that ordinary people hold for the political class also spreads to the media class because we know that they also knew about the scams and the lies and the hypocrisy.
So let's ignore the pathetic pleas from the Guardianistas. This stinking cesspit of a Parliament needs to slither away in shame within weeks and the next 60 days spent in getting constituency parties to either reselect or appoint new candidates and then we elect a new Parliament of clean men and women with a doctor's mandate to purge the shame.
Forget precedent - hold a general Election on the first Thursday of September - let the people speak.
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Amazing Grace
The last few days of Britains Got Talent 2009 and suddenly the media is whipping up a backlash against Susan Boyle and pushing young Shaheen...but maybe the public are not buying into the hype about stage school Shaheen because in Tuesdays semi final they voted for comedy father and son duo Stavros Flatley forcing the judges to push the boy singer into the final as a last minute "judge's choice"
But the real star of Tuesday's show wasn't even one of the competitors. It was thirteen year old Faryl Smith from last years BGT who returned to do a solo spot singing Amazing Grace. She didn't win the 2008 title (she came fourth)but her career has blossomed and her recent album not only became one of the biggest selling classical albums ever in the UK but has also sold quite well in the USA.
Has Faryl got talent????
.
But the real star of Tuesday's show wasn't even one of the competitors. It was thirteen year old Faryl Smith from last years BGT who returned to do a solo spot singing Amazing Grace. She didn't win the 2008 title (she came fourth)but her career has blossomed and her recent album not only became one of the biggest selling classical albums ever in the UK but has also sold quite well in the USA.
Has Faryl got talent????
.
Friday 8 May 2009
Joanna Lumley Reduces Labour Minister To A Quivering Jelly
mmmmmmmmmm....even sweeter than Dan Hannan's speech. Joanna Lumley senses Gordon Brown's government is back tracking on assurances given about the debt of honour owed to thousands of Nepalese Gurkhas who have fought and died for Britain over two hundred years. She then proceeds in a polite but deadly way to stitch him up and spit him out until all he can do is nod fearfully as she issues her orders....
More details here.
Watch and enjoy....
Betrayal?
Revenge
Joanna Lumley staged an extraordinary ambush on Gordon Brown's hapless immigration minister over the Gurkhas yesterday.
In a bravura performance, the actress seized the initiative in her battle for soldiers' rights and reduced Phil Woolas to an abject and humiliated figure.
Adopting the air of an angry schoolmistress, she sought him out at Westminster and frogmarched him to a live press conference for a very public dressing down.
In the process, she effectively rewrote Government policy.
More details here.
Watch and enjoy....
Betrayal?
Revenge
Sunday 3 May 2009
Salute Major Phil Packer
A soldier who lost the use of both of his legs in Iraq is today celebrating reaching the half way stage of the London Marathon, despite the race finishing last week.
Major Phil Packer, 36, suffered catastrophic injures during a rocket attack in Basra, but is determined to complete the arduous marathon on crutches, and is notching up two miles per day.
In a world that seems dominated by pretentious and posturing nonentities a story of true grit and determination....
Friday 1 May 2009
Sucking The Soul Out Of The Daily Telegraph
One of the best things about Private Eye are the stinging barbs thrown at the Dailies and Sundays of the dead tree press in regular features like Street of Shame and Hackwatch. We learn of the shameless plagiarism, the mafia-like nepotism, the corruption, the lies and, above all, the incredible incompetence that seems to be embedded in the DNA of hacks and their managers. After you have read the Eye you can never read another newspaper article solemnly pontificating about politician’s financial fiddles, ministerial inefficiency and celebrity scandals without thinking of that sharp little riposte in Luke’s gospel – “Physician, heal thyself…”
I particularly savour the hypocrisy when the press goes into one of it’s regular puritanical onslaughts on binge drinking and the drug culture when you know that some hacks should never be allowed near a naked flame in case the alcoholic fumes emanating from their drink sodden bodies ignite in a bonfire worthy of a brandied Christmas Pudding…and any drug dealer with a Dyson could source his clients for a week with the detritus of powder left on the floor after any gathering of certain scribblers.
Rarely, however, do these stories appear outside the Eye’s pages for the sound reason that dog does not eat dog so a veil of secrecy surrounds the denizens of Fleet Street – and their bosses, surprising really when you know how much the papers love to run exposures of any other mortal hapless or stupid enough to have got caught up in a financial or sexual scandal.
So imagine our delight when the rather scurrilous blogger Guido Fawkes brought out into the sunlight, not just the vicious attempt to smear rival politicians by Damian McBride and Derek Draper but also the shady, shifty manner in which The Daily Telegraph tried to play down the story at the behest of the Brown regime.
Many were shocked at the conduct of the DT in this matter but to some of us it came as no surprise. The staunchly conservative broadsheet with an enviable reputation for hard news and serious analysis has been going downhill since being taken over by the secretive and mysterious Barclay Brothers in 2004.
To be fair the rot had begun under the colourful and self publicising convicted criminal Conrad Black who seemed at one stage to be recruiting his staff exclusively from the Catholic press. But nowadays, under the leadership of Will Lewis, the Black period almost seems like a golden age, best remembered for a harmless devotion to lingerie.
Lewis (the Eye always calls him Will "Thirsty" Lewis) has culled almost all the most experienced hacks from every desk in an attempt, obviously to cut costs although, strangely enough, he is quite willing to hand huge bundles of crisp fivers to Boris Johnson for a weekly blathering of “cripes” and latin tags. George Jones, the doyen of political reporters, had to go plus whole swathes from the foreign and sports desks as well as Jan Moir who was developing into a sharp tongued and prickly latter day version of Marge Proops.
Thankfully, however, the long established traditions of Telegraph totty were maintained with the elevation of the vapid, Polly Filler lookalikes Celia Walden and Bryony Gordon. Hackette Gordon, indeed, has apparently been described as a “star” by Lewis and she might well be if she were writing the back cover blurbs for Ladybird books but Jan Moir she certainly isn’t.
Many have long suspected that Lewis, a close friend of Ed Balls, has been quietly positioning the DT closer to the Brown regime by appearing, on the surface, conservative, but quietly undermining Cameron from the right (Simon “Hardman” Heffer) and from the left (Mary Riddell) though the number of people who can actually follow the argument in any of Riddell’s weird pieces probably equals the readership of The Morning Star.
Private Eye has much scorn for many lobby correspondents including those from the Telegraph stable.
The old Telegraph stalwart Bill Deedes must be turning in his grave – he certainly was never one for turning down a drink but I doubt he would have anything more than icy contempt for the way Lewis is sucking the soul out of a once great newspaper.
I particularly savour the hypocrisy when the press goes into one of it’s regular puritanical onslaughts on binge drinking and the drug culture when you know that some hacks should never be allowed near a naked flame in case the alcoholic fumes emanating from their drink sodden bodies ignite in a bonfire worthy of a brandied Christmas Pudding…and any drug dealer with a Dyson could source his clients for a week with the detritus of powder left on the floor after any gathering of certain scribblers.
Rarely, however, do these stories appear outside the Eye’s pages for the sound reason that dog does not eat dog so a veil of secrecy surrounds the denizens of Fleet Street – and their bosses, surprising really when you know how much the papers love to run exposures of any other mortal hapless or stupid enough to have got caught up in a financial or sexual scandal.
So imagine our delight when the rather scurrilous blogger Guido Fawkes brought out into the sunlight, not just the vicious attempt to smear rival politicians by Damian McBride and Derek Draper but also the shady, shifty manner in which The Daily Telegraph tried to play down the story at the behest of the Brown regime.
Many were shocked at the conduct of the DT in this matter but to some of us it came as no surprise. The staunchly conservative broadsheet with an enviable reputation for hard news and serious analysis has been going downhill since being taken over by the secretive and mysterious Barclay Brothers in 2004.
To be fair the rot had begun under the colourful and self publicising convicted criminal Conrad Black who seemed at one stage to be recruiting his staff exclusively from the Catholic press. But nowadays, under the leadership of Will Lewis, the Black period almost seems like a golden age, best remembered for a harmless devotion to lingerie.
Lewis (the Eye always calls him Will "Thirsty" Lewis) has culled almost all the most experienced hacks from every desk in an attempt, obviously to cut costs although, strangely enough, he is quite willing to hand huge bundles of crisp fivers to Boris Johnson for a weekly blathering of “cripes” and latin tags. George Jones, the doyen of political reporters, had to go plus whole swathes from the foreign and sports desks as well as Jan Moir who was developing into a sharp tongued and prickly latter day version of Marge Proops.
Thankfully, however, the long established traditions of Telegraph totty were maintained with the elevation of the vapid, Polly Filler lookalikes Celia Walden and Bryony Gordon. Hackette Gordon, indeed, has apparently been described as a “star” by Lewis and she might well be if she were writing the back cover blurbs for Ladybird books but Jan Moir she certainly isn’t.
Many have long suspected that Lewis, a close friend of Ed Balls, has been quietly positioning the DT closer to the Brown regime by appearing, on the surface, conservative, but quietly undermining Cameron from the right (Simon “Hardman” Heffer) and from the left (Mary Riddell) though the number of people who can actually follow the argument in any of Riddell’s weird pieces probably equals the readership of The Morning Star.
Private Eye has much scorn for many lobby correspondents including those from the Telegraph stable.
The old Telegraph stalwart Bill Deedes must be turning in his grave – he certainly was never one for turning down a drink but I doubt he would have anything more than icy contempt for the way Lewis is sucking the soul out of a once great newspaper.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Faryl sings for America
A few weeks before Susan Boyle from this year's Britain's Got Talent went viral and won the heart of America I blogged about Faryl Smith, a young girl from last year's show who reached the final but didn't win.
Faryl sang on "the Ellen DeGeneres Show" yesterday (April 29th) to kick off her USA tour – wonder what America will think of her? Not certain about Ellen’s remark about how Faryl pronounces “water” – was that a fair thing to say to a 13 year old English girl on her first appearance in the USA?
Faryl sang on "the Ellen DeGeneres Show" yesterday (April 29th) to kick off her USA tour – wonder what America will think of her? Not certain about Ellen’s remark about how Faryl pronounces “water” – was that a fair thing to say to a 13 year old English girl on her first appearance in the USA?
Thursday 2 April 2009
OH DEAR – RIOTERS GIVEN A TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE IN LONDON IN 2005
“They grabbed us and started kicking and punching. Then when we were on the floor they tried to push huge filing cabinets on top of us to crush us.”
And all the Greenpeace boys and girls wanted to do was to make a gesture
They made their way to the trading floor, blowing whistles and sounding fog horns, encountering little resistance from security guards. Rape alarms were tied to helium balloons to float to the ceiling and create noise out of reach. The IPE conducts “open outcry” trading where deals are shouted across the pit. By making so much noise, the protestors hoped to paralyse trading.
You see most of the Greenpeace Protestors are nice little middle class students and ex-students who do a bit of on the job Riot/Protest training then in a year or so go back to their comfortable middle class homes and do real work as Equal Opportunity Co-Ordinators or Community Organisers paid for by the ordinary taxpayers whose humdrum lives they so obviously disdain. They dress as if they live in Cardboard City but that’s just a fashion statement.
The Petrol Traders, however, are mainly sharp suited young cockney lads from the East End of London and Essex. They don’t go to University and have gap years because daddy is not a lawyer and they don’t live in a 4/5 bedroom detached house in Berkshire or Surrey. They work hard, drink hard and earn good money but and are so common……
But they were set upon by traders, most of whom were under the age of 25. “They were kicking and punching men and women indiscriminately,” a photographer said. “It was really ugly, but Greenpeace did not fight back.”
Mr Beresford said: “They followed the guys into the lobby and kept kicking and punching them there. They literally kicked them on to the pavement.”
Last night Greenpeace said two protesters were in hospital, one with a suspected broken jaw, the other with concussion.
Check out the details – then you can send a donation to Greenpeace – or alternatively post some money to the traders in an envelope marked “Have a drink on me…
And all the Greenpeace boys and girls wanted to do was to make a gesture
They made their way to the trading floor, blowing whistles and sounding fog horns, encountering little resistance from security guards. Rape alarms were tied to helium balloons to float to the ceiling and create noise out of reach. The IPE conducts “open outcry” trading where deals are shouted across the pit. By making so much noise, the protestors hoped to paralyse trading.
You see most of the Greenpeace Protestors are nice little middle class students and ex-students who do a bit of on the job Riot/Protest training then in a year or so go back to their comfortable middle class homes and do real work as Equal Opportunity Co-Ordinators or Community Organisers paid for by the ordinary taxpayers whose humdrum lives they so obviously disdain. They dress as if they live in Cardboard City but that’s just a fashion statement.
The Petrol Traders, however, are mainly sharp suited young cockney lads from the East End of London and Essex. They don’t go to University and have gap years because daddy is not a lawyer and they don’t live in a 4/5 bedroom detached house in Berkshire or Surrey. They work hard, drink hard and earn good money but and are so common……
But they were set upon by traders, most of whom were under the age of 25. “They were kicking and punching men and women indiscriminately,” a photographer said. “It was really ugly, but Greenpeace did not fight back.”
Mr Beresford said: “They followed the guys into the lobby and kept kicking and punching them there. They literally kicked them on to the pavement.”
Last night Greenpeace said two protesters were in hospital, one with a suspected broken jaw, the other with concussion.
Check out the details – then you can send a donation to Greenpeace – or alternatively post some money to the traders in an envelope marked “Have a drink on me…
Monday 30 March 2009
THE HARD MAN AND THE ANGEL - SIMON COWELL MEETS FARYL SMITH
OK so Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent can be corny and designed to push all our emotional buttons but it does provide some magical feelgood moments in what can sometimes be a shallow, cynical world….remember that 2007 youtube clip of Paul Potts that went viral? Well people are still checking it out, maybe at a time of their life when they need an optimism buzz….and Paul is now making a fairly steady living with his music.
Well there is another Paul Potts who has sprung from comparative obscurity to fame from BGT 2008 – and it wasn’t the winner. It was Faryl Smith a 12 year old girl who eventually came 4th and this was her audition.
Yes – I know it’s got all the schmaltzy ingredients – shy young girl, proud dad, Amanda Holden with goosebumps – nevertheless, when all is said and done, that voice is pure gold and although Cowell is a very shrewd businessman he also know his music…watch his face while she is singing.
Cowell wanted to sign her but she signed instead for Universal’s Classical division because she wants to be a classical singer, not a pop singer. In early March 2009 her first album was released and became an intant best seller - you can sample the album here...
She appears to be just a typical 13 year old, play football, sings with her local choir. Her accent is Birmingham, very unfashionable in dinner party circles (like Sarah Palin’s accent in the USA) but when she starts singing you can picture the angels smiling…
Here she sings a version of The Blue Danube...and later gives some tips about singing....She seems sensible and normal - let's hope she stays that way. I think her album will be released soon in the USA - it will certainly be worth a listen...
Well there is another Paul Potts who has sprung from comparative obscurity to fame from BGT 2008 – and it wasn’t the winner. It was Faryl Smith a 12 year old girl who eventually came 4th and this was her audition.
Yes – I know it’s got all the schmaltzy ingredients – shy young girl, proud dad, Amanda Holden with goosebumps – nevertheless, when all is said and done, that voice is pure gold and although Cowell is a very shrewd businessman he also know his music…watch his face while she is singing.
Cowell wanted to sign her but she signed instead for Universal’s Classical division because she wants to be a classical singer, not a pop singer. In early March 2009 her first album was released and became an intant best seller - you can sample the album here...
She appears to be just a typical 13 year old, play football, sings with her local choir. Her accent is Birmingham, very unfashionable in dinner party circles (like Sarah Palin’s accent in the USA) but when she starts singing you can picture the angels smiling…
Here she sings a version of The Blue Danube...and later gives some tips about singing....She seems sensible and normal - let's hope she stays that way. I think her album will be released soon in the USA - it will certainly be worth a listen...
Tuesday 24 March 2009
SOME BRITISH VIEWS OF PALIN IN 2012
Just thought it might be interesting to flag up some British takes on Governor Palin. The first one is a post to a right wing blog called conservativehome. On the whole this is a pretty lively site that reflects a wide range of Tory opinion but tends to lean to the right rather than the centre – hence my disappointment at this post from Daniel Hamilton. It’s a brief survey of the possible Republican runners for 2012. Overall it does not lack insight although there is some meaningless rubbish about Rush Limbaugh. However when I reached the end I had to read it through again to see if my senility had blocked my fading memory…but my brain cells were still fortunately present so I sent this polite message to Mr Hamilton…
mmmmmmmmm…. I wonder which of these has been invited to make the keynote speech at the big RNC fundraiser in June…now that’s a difficult one. Surely with your in depth research and your chats with DC insiders you were given a clue since whoever is invited must be considered a very important figure in the Republican firmament. After all the event is scheduled to signal the rebirth of the Republicans after last years debacle….and to raise money for the 2010 campaign.
I’ll make it easier for you – it’s the one person you didn’t mention in your post – Sarah Palin….now was that just a lapse of memory or just a Freudian slip?
Frankly I would expect that sort of thing from James Forsythe at the Spectator’s Americano site as he is so far into Frum, Brooks, Noonan and the rest of the Republican elite that he can be safely ignored when it comes to discussing the real world of Republican politics…..but from someone posting on conservativehome we should deserve better.
Why has Palin been invited to give the keynote speech? Because she is the only Republican who can guarantee a full house and a full bank account. She is also the only Republican who is worth anything in terms of endorsement for those Republicans hoping to break into Congress in 2010. Now that is the reality – after all the mudslinging from the Democrats, the muckraking from the media and the disdain of the RNC elite they still need her.
Now for another view from The Daily Telegraph……
Simon Heffer has never been the most refined of hacks (note his rather tasteless comment about Levi) but he does have a knack of sniffing out the realities of politics from the people at ground level.
“Even if none of them has, this early on, declared an interest in fighting in 2012, it is assumed there are three likely contenders” he wrote recently in the Daily Telegraph. “One is Sarah Palin, far more popular in middle America than the liberal media here or anywhere else wish to give her credit for. Because of her vice-presidential candidacy she has a higher profile than almost any other Republican, something that counts for much in a country where brand recognition on television seems to outweigh almost any other consideration. …
Mrs Palin, meanwhile, is throwing herself into her job as Governor of Alaska, but maintaining high-profile links with her colleagues in Washington. She has been asked to deliver the keynote speech at the Republicans' biggest fundraising event of the year, in the capital in June. How she plays that evening will have a considerable bearing on 2012”
Then something from Rupert Murdoch’s Times which earlier this year ran an article about the Governor also bucking the trend from the British media.
“Two months after she crashed to defeat as John McCain’s accident-prone side-kick in the 2008 presidential race, Palin remains a prime source of national hilarity. Yet the “hockey mom” who cracked jokes about pitbulls and lipstick and focused world attention on Wasilla enters 2009 as a key figure in Republican plans for political revival.
Palin ended 2008 with a striking run of personal successes in high-profile popularity polls. According to a poll by Gallup she was the second most admired woman of the year, after Hillary Clinton. Time magazine chose her as the world’s fourth most influential person, behind Barack Obama, Henry Paulson of the US Treasury and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
Last week she triumphed in an annual poll, commissioned by a property website, as the person Americans would most like to have as their neighbour. She finished ahead of Oprah Winfrey, the television chat show queen, and Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer.
For all the abuse she endured as an underprepared vice-presidential candidate who knew more about skinning moose than resolving Middle Eastern conflict, Palin continues to excite Republican voters enthralled by what they see as a unique political style that could one day put paid to Obama. She has not returned to the Alaska governor’s office to lick her wounds.
An internet campaign is already under way to promote Palin as the Republican party’s best choice to challenge Obama in the presidential elections of 2012. More than 60,000 people have joined TeamSarah.org, an umbrella group that unites numerous pro-Palin fan clubs such as Catholics for Sarah, Texans for Palin and Small Business-Owners for Sarah.”
And another thing, Mr Hamilton…
Remember that while Sanford, Jindal, Romney and co. have edged themselves into the Republican limelight over the last few weeks. Palin has deliberately concentrated her efforts in Alaska and taken my advice about going de Gaulle (well, can you prove she didn’t do it because of me…..lol…)
Michael Steele, as you indicate, is under a lot of pressure from certain elements in the party. That pressure will evaporate if Palin defends him at the fundraiser such is her strength amongst the grassroots.
The accepted wisdom is that she would only appeal to the base, The Times dares to question that assumption. Of course she might not decide to stand in 2012 – but any candidate who does will not get anywhere without her endorsement, such is her power in the Republican Party. I am surprised you have not grasped that…
mmmmmmmmm…. I wonder which of these has been invited to make the keynote speech at the big RNC fundraiser in June…now that’s a difficult one. Surely with your in depth research and your chats with DC insiders you were given a clue since whoever is invited must be considered a very important figure in the Republican firmament. After all the event is scheduled to signal the rebirth of the Republicans after last years debacle….and to raise money for the 2010 campaign.
I’ll make it easier for you – it’s the one person you didn’t mention in your post – Sarah Palin….now was that just a lapse of memory or just a Freudian slip?
Frankly I would expect that sort of thing from James Forsythe at the Spectator’s Americano site as he is so far into Frum, Brooks, Noonan and the rest of the Republican elite that he can be safely ignored when it comes to discussing the real world of Republican politics…..but from someone posting on conservativehome we should deserve better.
Why has Palin been invited to give the keynote speech? Because she is the only Republican who can guarantee a full house and a full bank account. She is also the only Republican who is worth anything in terms of endorsement for those Republicans hoping to break into Congress in 2010. Now that is the reality – after all the mudslinging from the Democrats, the muckraking from the media and the disdain of the RNC elite they still need her.
Now for another view from The Daily Telegraph……
Simon Heffer has never been the most refined of hacks (note his rather tasteless comment about Levi) but he does have a knack of sniffing out the realities of politics from the people at ground level.
“Even if none of them has, this early on, declared an interest in fighting in 2012, it is assumed there are three likely contenders” he wrote recently in the Daily Telegraph. “One is Sarah Palin, far more popular in middle America than the liberal media here or anywhere else wish to give her credit for. Because of her vice-presidential candidacy she has a higher profile than almost any other Republican, something that counts for much in a country where brand recognition on television seems to outweigh almost any other consideration. …
Mrs Palin, meanwhile, is throwing herself into her job as Governor of Alaska, but maintaining high-profile links with her colleagues in Washington. She has been asked to deliver the keynote speech at the Republicans' biggest fundraising event of the year, in the capital in June. How she plays that evening will have a considerable bearing on 2012”
Then something from Rupert Murdoch’s Times which earlier this year ran an article about the Governor also bucking the trend from the British media.
“Two months after she crashed to defeat as John McCain’s accident-prone side-kick in the 2008 presidential race, Palin remains a prime source of national hilarity. Yet the “hockey mom” who cracked jokes about pitbulls and lipstick and focused world attention on Wasilla enters 2009 as a key figure in Republican plans for political revival.
Palin ended 2008 with a striking run of personal successes in high-profile popularity polls. According to a poll by Gallup she was the second most admired woman of the year, after Hillary Clinton. Time magazine chose her as the world’s fourth most influential person, behind Barack Obama, Henry Paulson of the US Treasury and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
Last week she triumphed in an annual poll, commissioned by a property website, as the person Americans would most like to have as their neighbour. She finished ahead of Oprah Winfrey, the television chat show queen, and Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer.
For all the abuse she endured as an underprepared vice-presidential candidate who knew more about skinning moose than resolving Middle Eastern conflict, Palin continues to excite Republican voters enthralled by what they see as a unique political style that could one day put paid to Obama. She has not returned to the Alaska governor’s office to lick her wounds.
An internet campaign is already under way to promote Palin as the Republican party’s best choice to challenge Obama in the presidential elections of 2012. More than 60,000 people have joined TeamSarah.org, an umbrella group that unites numerous pro-Palin fan clubs such as Catholics for Sarah, Texans for Palin and Small Business-Owners for Sarah.”
And another thing, Mr Hamilton…
Remember that while Sanford, Jindal, Romney and co. have edged themselves into the Republican limelight over the last few weeks. Palin has deliberately concentrated her efforts in Alaska and taken my advice about going de Gaulle (well, can you prove she didn’t do it because of me…..lol…)
Michael Steele, as you indicate, is under a lot of pressure from certain elements in the party. That pressure will evaporate if Palin defends him at the fundraiser such is her strength amongst the grassroots.
The accepted wisdom is that she would only appeal to the base, The Times dares to question that assumption. Of course she might not decide to stand in 2012 – but any candidate who does will not get anywhere without her endorsement, such is her power in the Republican Party. I am surprised you have not grasped that…
Monday 23 March 2009
PALIN FAILS THE ESTRICH GRAVITY TEST
Susan Estrich thinks the Republicans are in a vacuum.
“Imagine how different things might be right now if there were a Republican Party. I mean a party like the one led by Ronald Reagan, George Bush or Newt Gingrich; a party with a program, a single set of talking points, and the technological and communications advantages to get their message across. That kind of Republican Party. The kind that doesn't exist right now.”
Estrcich makes some valid points in her broadside. She suggests that at present it’s only people like Limbaugh and Beck who are making the shots against Obama’s incompetence. She castigates the Republicans in Congress and the RNC as “the people who do, or should, call themselves the leaders of the Republican Party” and suggests “they should make way for others who could fill those shoes.”
To be fair any political party that has suffered a substantial defeat after several years in power is bound to be in aftershock. The old authority structures are broken and the vision ahead is bound to be unclear. It happened to the Conservative Party in Britain after 1997 and after eleven years the Tories are still only half way along the road to recovery. Clearly the Republicans do not want to wait that long.
At present it doesn’t matter so much who is calling out Obama as long as the shots are striking home and there is enough evidence to indicate that the Styrofoam temple is beginning to show some dents. But before the end of the year there does need to be a Republican politician who can spearhead the counter attack but this is where, regrettably, Estrich seems to go all David Brooks….
“Sarah Palin is still the big draw for Republicans, with Bobby Jindal now a distant second. But neither of them, as recent history has painfully proved, have the experience, gravity, understanding or credibility to go toe to toe with Tim Geithner, Larry Summers and the rest as to what the economy needs, and doesn't. Until the Republicans find some folks who can, this will remain a one-sided game, even on weeks like this, where that one side finds itself in the sort of situation that a real opposition party could exploit.”
Ah – we’re back along that track again – Gravity Road. What Estrich means is a guy in a suit who can discourse about Adam Smith across the glistening crystal goblets of a DC dinner party and who looks comfortable in a board room. The one sort of person the Estrich Republicans do not need is someone who does her own shopping, changes a few diapers and puts on her own lipstick – oh and also masters the intricacies of a multi billion pipeline deal, presents a State budget and goes toe to toe with a whole bunch of Geithner clones in her own state – she might be able to connect with the folks but…….no credibility you see, darling……..
BTW.......
Estrich, of course, is obviously the one person you would search out if you needed an insightful analysis of the Republican Party having strongly supported both the Dukakis and Clinton campaigns. She was a Harvard high flyer and then a DC legal luminary and now is an academic with USC and a lawyer with a high profile Los Angeles law firm. She is therefore the ideal person to lecture us all about the economics of wealth creation unlike someone who has merely helped run a commercial fishing business.
Above all Estrich is a feminist who believes women need to empower themselves in the world of politics and succeed in their own right, not just as the appendages of men. Naturally she is a passionate supporter of Hillary Clinton and totally disdainful of Sarah Palin…..
“Imagine how different things might be right now if there were a Republican Party. I mean a party like the one led by Ronald Reagan, George Bush or Newt Gingrich; a party with a program, a single set of talking points, and the technological and communications advantages to get their message across. That kind of Republican Party. The kind that doesn't exist right now.”
Estrcich makes some valid points in her broadside. She suggests that at present it’s only people like Limbaugh and Beck who are making the shots against Obama’s incompetence. She castigates the Republicans in Congress and the RNC as “the people who do, or should, call themselves the leaders of the Republican Party” and suggests “they should make way for others who could fill those shoes.”
To be fair any political party that has suffered a substantial defeat after several years in power is bound to be in aftershock. The old authority structures are broken and the vision ahead is bound to be unclear. It happened to the Conservative Party in Britain after 1997 and after eleven years the Tories are still only half way along the road to recovery. Clearly the Republicans do not want to wait that long.
At present it doesn’t matter so much who is calling out Obama as long as the shots are striking home and there is enough evidence to indicate that the Styrofoam temple is beginning to show some dents. But before the end of the year there does need to be a Republican politician who can spearhead the counter attack but this is where, regrettably, Estrich seems to go all David Brooks….
“Sarah Palin is still the big draw for Republicans, with Bobby Jindal now a distant second. But neither of them, as recent history has painfully proved, have the experience, gravity, understanding or credibility to go toe to toe with Tim Geithner, Larry Summers and the rest as to what the economy needs, and doesn't. Until the Republicans find some folks who can, this will remain a one-sided game, even on weeks like this, where that one side finds itself in the sort of situation that a real opposition party could exploit.”
Ah – we’re back along that track again – Gravity Road. What Estrich means is a guy in a suit who can discourse about Adam Smith across the glistening crystal goblets of a DC dinner party and who looks comfortable in a board room. The one sort of person the Estrich Republicans do not need is someone who does her own shopping, changes a few diapers and puts on her own lipstick – oh and also masters the intricacies of a multi billion pipeline deal, presents a State budget and goes toe to toe with a whole bunch of Geithner clones in her own state – she might be able to connect with the folks but…….no credibility you see, darling……..
BTW.......
Estrich, of course, is obviously the one person you would search out if you needed an insightful analysis of the Republican Party having strongly supported both the Dukakis and Clinton campaigns. She was a Harvard high flyer and then a DC legal luminary and now is an academic with USC and a lawyer with a high profile Los Angeles law firm. She is therefore the ideal person to lecture us all about the economics of wealth creation unlike someone who has merely helped run a commercial fishing business.
Above all Estrich is a feminist who believes women need to empower themselves in the world of politics and succeed in their own right, not just as the appendages of men. Naturally she is a passionate supporter of Hillary Clinton and totally disdainful of Sarah Palin…..
Thursday 19 March 2009
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
In 1994 The Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life was set up by the then UK Prime Minister, John Major, as a result of public concern about the financial probity of holders of public office. It was concerned with standards in public life generally and particularly where public funds were involved.
The Committee set out a list of principles that they suggested should apply to all aspects of public life:
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
1. Selflessness
Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.
2. Integrity
Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.
3. Objectivity
In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.
4. Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
5. Openness
Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
6. Honesty
Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.
7. Leadership
Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.
Although drawn up to inform public office holders in Britain it strikes me that these are universal principles that should apply to office holders and politicians throughout the world. As Cicero, the great defender of Rome’s ancient laws once said “the foundation of justice is good faith” so how can ordinary people have confidence in any political system if they cannot have “good faith” in their leaders. It might therefore be an interesting exercise to pick any politician and measure them against this seven point scale, scoring 1 – 10 for each principle where 10 = excellent and 1 = very poor….one might even find there are one or two politicians who would score zero……
The Committee set out a list of principles that they suggested should apply to all aspects of public life:
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
1. Selflessness
Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.
2. Integrity
Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.
3. Objectivity
In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.
4. Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
5. Openness
Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
6. Honesty
Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.
7. Leadership
Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.
Although drawn up to inform public office holders in Britain it strikes me that these are universal principles that should apply to office holders and politicians throughout the world. As Cicero, the great defender of Rome’s ancient laws once said “the foundation of justice is good faith” so how can ordinary people have confidence in any political system if they cannot have “good faith” in their leaders. It might therefore be an interesting exercise to pick any politician and measure them against this seven point scale, scoring 1 – 10 for each principle where 10 = excellent and 1 = very poor….one might even find there are one or two politicians who would score zero……
Saturday 14 March 2009
OBAMACANOE – AND BIDEN, TOO
Although I am a Brit with little knowledge of American history I have nevertheless been intrigued by the fact that President Obama’s supporters have constantly compared their hero to Abraham Lincoln, a comparison never discouraged by the President himself. That Lincoln was the first Republican President and that the Democrats were the party of slavery has, of course, been carefully airbrushed out of the message. However with the fumbles of the first few weeks raising questions about his abilities I am beginning to wonder if there might be a more appropriate model for Obama’s Presidency – Presidents William Henry “Tippecanoe” Harrison and John Tyler.
Early in 1840, as Andrew Jackson’s successor, there was a general feeling that President Van Buren, a Democrat, would be easily re-elected for a second term. After much internal debate the Whigs chose General Harrison, with Tyler as VP candidate but Van Buren appeared to be the favourite.
Harrison was an American military hero. His major claim to fame was defeating the Indian Chief Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 – hence his nickname, often shortened to Old Tip.
It was a Baltimore newspaper that transformed the campaign. Disparaging Harrison, it suggested that if he was given a barrel of cider and a pension (Harrison was 67) “he will sit for the remainder of his days in a log cabin…and study moral philosophy”
The Whigs seized the initiative – Harrison (despite his aristocratic Virginia ancestry and his substantial country home) became the “log cabin” candidate and Van Buren characterised as dining with golden spoons. The issues were forgotten and the whole campaign was centred around image – there was even a soundbite that could be easily remembered and chanted at every meeting – “Tippecanoe - and Tyler, too”.
The result was a substantial triumph for the Whigs – not only did Harrison and Tyler win but the party swept to victory in both houses of Congress. Alas the victory was hollow – Harrison died within a few weeks of his inauguration and Tyler became one of the most easily forgotten US Presidents – their Presidencies are long forgotten but the electoral campaign of 1840 remains a model of political spin.
To me it seems that much of 1840 can be found in the Obama campaign of 2008. There was the snappy soundbite – “hope and change” – vague and meaningless but impossible to invalidate. Just as the comfortably off Harrison was transformed into the simple soldier/farmer so the well heeled academic Obama became the boy from the ghetto who made good and his million dollar home in a wealthy Chicago suburb conveniently forgotten. However, unlike Harrison’s soldiering and experience of command, Obama’s whole adult life has been talking and writing about things, raising awareness rather than finding and implementing solutions. But now he has to actually run something rather than discourse about it there are those who are beginning to question if he is up to it. How ironic then if, at the beginning of the next century, students of American political history were to be totally familiar with the campaign of 2008 yet struggle to remember anything about the winning candidates except their names – “OBAMACANOE – AND BIDEN, TOO”
Early in 1840, as Andrew Jackson’s successor, there was a general feeling that President Van Buren, a Democrat, would be easily re-elected for a second term. After much internal debate the Whigs chose General Harrison, with Tyler as VP candidate but Van Buren appeared to be the favourite.
Harrison was an American military hero. His major claim to fame was defeating the Indian Chief Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 – hence his nickname, often shortened to Old Tip.
It was a Baltimore newspaper that transformed the campaign. Disparaging Harrison, it suggested that if he was given a barrel of cider and a pension (Harrison was 67) “he will sit for the remainder of his days in a log cabin…and study moral philosophy”
The Whigs seized the initiative – Harrison (despite his aristocratic Virginia ancestry and his substantial country home) became the “log cabin” candidate and Van Buren characterised as dining with golden spoons. The issues were forgotten and the whole campaign was centred around image – there was even a soundbite that could be easily remembered and chanted at every meeting – “Tippecanoe - and Tyler, too”.
The result was a substantial triumph for the Whigs – not only did Harrison and Tyler win but the party swept to victory in both houses of Congress. Alas the victory was hollow – Harrison died within a few weeks of his inauguration and Tyler became one of the most easily forgotten US Presidents – their Presidencies are long forgotten but the electoral campaign of 1840 remains a model of political spin.
To me it seems that much of 1840 can be found in the Obama campaign of 2008. There was the snappy soundbite – “hope and change” – vague and meaningless but impossible to invalidate. Just as the comfortably off Harrison was transformed into the simple soldier/farmer so the well heeled academic Obama became the boy from the ghetto who made good and his million dollar home in a wealthy Chicago suburb conveniently forgotten. However, unlike Harrison’s soldiering and experience of command, Obama’s whole adult life has been talking and writing about things, raising awareness rather than finding and implementing solutions. But now he has to actually run something rather than discourse about it there are those who are beginning to question if he is up to it. How ironic then if, at the beginning of the next century, students of American political history were to be totally familiar with the campaign of 2008 yet struggle to remember anything about the winning candidates except their names – “OBAMACANOE – AND BIDEN, TOO”
Tuesday 10 March 2009
AND THIS WAS THE MAN WITH A PLAN?
You can't have Palin in Washington - she's a rube who has hardly ever been outside her state Americans were told.......whereas Obama is a sophistictated Ivy League guy who has been all around the world so he will be at ease with all those foreign leaders. Not only that but he also has surrounded himself with the best brains to plan his first 100 days..........he'll hit the ground running.
Well, Sir Gus O'Donnell is a very sophisticated chap - he's the UKs top Civil Servant and normally he is the very epitomy of discretion - but not today. Today he is very angry because he has come up against a wall of incompetence - not from Paraguay, not from Upper Niger but from The Obama White House. Sir Gus is trying to sort out a few things for next month's crucial summit when the G20 meets in London to try to work out a co-ordinated world strategy for dealing with the global recession..............and nobody in the White House is answering the phone!
"He has a reputation for being the archetypal senior civil servant professional, unflappable, and, above all, discreet.But Sir Gus O'Donnell risked sparking a transatlantic tiff today with an imprudent remark about Downing Street's relations with the White House.
The head of the civil service, Sir Gus said the handover to President Barack Obama's administration was severely hindering preparations for next month's G20 summit.
In an extraordinary blunder, the usually-guarded Sir Gus said no-one in the U.S. Treasury department was answering telephone calls.
He said it meant the Government was finding it 'unbelievably difficult' to hold discussions ahead of the meeting of world leaders in London. Even though the world was in the grip of the worst economic crisis in decades - top of the G20 agenda - Number 10 was having trouble getting in touch with key personnel, said the Cabinet Secretary.
'There is nobody there,' he told a civil service conference in Gateshead.'You cannot believe how difficult it is.' "
Sir Gus, welcome to America's new Global Strategy - Cook County style.................
Well, Sir Gus O'Donnell is a very sophisticated chap - he's the UKs top Civil Servant and normally he is the very epitomy of discretion - but not today. Today he is very angry because he has come up against a wall of incompetence - not from Paraguay, not from Upper Niger but from The Obama White House. Sir Gus is trying to sort out a few things for next month's crucial summit when the G20 meets in London to try to work out a co-ordinated world strategy for dealing with the global recession..............and nobody in the White House is answering the phone!
"He has a reputation for being the archetypal senior civil servant professional, unflappable, and, above all, discreet.But Sir Gus O'Donnell risked sparking a transatlantic tiff today with an imprudent remark about Downing Street's relations with the White House.
The head of the civil service, Sir Gus said the handover to President Barack Obama's administration was severely hindering preparations for next month's G20 summit.
In an extraordinary blunder, the usually-guarded Sir Gus said no-one in the U.S. Treasury department was answering telephone calls.
He said it meant the Government was finding it 'unbelievably difficult' to hold discussions ahead of the meeting of world leaders in London. Even though the world was in the grip of the worst economic crisis in decades - top of the G20 agenda - Number 10 was having trouble getting in touch with key personnel, said the Cabinet Secretary.
'There is nobody there,' he told a civil service conference in Gateshead.'You cannot believe how difficult it is.' "
Sir Gus, welcome to America's new Global Strategy - Cook County style.................
THE PALIN SNUB TO THE BRITS THAT WASN'T......
Hot Air picked this up from “This Week”
“Sarah Palin, the Alaskan governor and one-time Republican vice-presidential candidate has delivered a humiliating snub to Tory MP Edward Leigh. Like a number of other misguided souls, the former Tory minister appears to have developed something of a crush on Palin, or the ‘pitbull in lipstick’ as she dubbed herself. Such was his ardour that he took the extraordinary step of asking her to have dinner with him and some chums at the House of Commons.”
As usual with "This Week" it’s a snarky piece aimed at humiliating Edward Leigh and, of course dissing the Governor although it seems that the current order from Axelrod/Emanuel to their media “friends” is now to hit her as a Prima Donna rather than an airhead.
In actual fact Mr Leigh’s invitation was on behalf of the Cornerstone Group, a small right wing posse of Conservative Members of Parliament who attempt to keep the Thatcher flame alive and operate on the margins of the Opposition. It was probably one of hundreds from all over the world that poured into Alaska last autumn. This Week would probably call them all “misguided souls” nevertheless it says something about the lady’s impact that they arrived in such numbers. I would even hazard a guess that, after President Obama and Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin is the only other US politician whose name would be easily remembered by people outside the USA.
It wasn’t a snub – it is obvious from her refusal to attend CPAC and the NGA that her priority for the next few months is the government of Alaska. Unlike former Senators like Obama and Clinton she actually has a day job and decisions to make that will impact upon the people of Alaska so she can’t go swanning around the world pontificating with the great and the good. One day, I expect she will come to the UK and I hope she meets up with Edward Leigh and his colleagues…indeed I would hope even more that she would call at my house near Gatwick Airport for a cup of tea and a cream cake but, meanwhile, give the girl a break!
“Sarah Palin, the Alaskan governor and one-time Republican vice-presidential candidate has delivered a humiliating snub to Tory MP Edward Leigh. Like a number of other misguided souls, the former Tory minister appears to have developed something of a crush on Palin, or the ‘pitbull in lipstick’ as she dubbed herself. Such was his ardour that he took the extraordinary step of asking her to have dinner with him and some chums at the House of Commons.”
As usual with "This Week" it’s a snarky piece aimed at humiliating Edward Leigh and, of course dissing the Governor although it seems that the current order from Axelrod/Emanuel to their media “friends” is now to hit her as a Prima Donna rather than an airhead.
In actual fact Mr Leigh’s invitation was on behalf of the Cornerstone Group, a small right wing posse of Conservative Members of Parliament who attempt to keep the Thatcher flame alive and operate on the margins of the Opposition. It was probably one of hundreds from all over the world that poured into Alaska last autumn. This Week would probably call them all “misguided souls” nevertheless it says something about the lady’s impact that they arrived in such numbers. I would even hazard a guess that, after President Obama and Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin is the only other US politician whose name would be easily remembered by people outside the USA.
It wasn’t a snub – it is obvious from her refusal to attend CPAC and the NGA that her priority for the next few months is the government of Alaska. Unlike former Senators like Obama and Clinton she actually has a day job and decisions to make that will impact upon the people of Alaska so she can’t go swanning around the world pontificating with the great and the good. One day, I expect she will come to the UK and I hope she meets up with Edward Leigh and his colleagues…indeed I would hope even more that she would call at my house near Gatwick Airport for a cup of tea and a cream cake but, meanwhile, give the girl a break!
Tuesday 3 March 2009
THE OBAMA ECONOMY – FOR WEEKS IT’S BEEN JULIE ANDREWS….IS IT NOW GOING EDWARD G ROBINSON?
“U.S. companies, consumers and communities may grow so addicted to government financial help that cutting them off could trigger another recession soon after the current one ends.
Between the U.S. Federal Reserve's trillions of dollars in lending programs, the $787 billion stimulus package and $700 billion -- and counting -- in bank bailout funds, no one can accuse officials of soft-pedaling their crisis response.
But there is increasing concern that when the flow of public money subsides -- beginning next year when much of that stimulus package is spent -- the economy still won't be strong enough to stand on its own.”
mmmmmmmmmmmm………..if Reuters are saying this it could be the first crack in the Styrofoam temple. The story was that all that was needed was a few trillion here, another trillion there and hey presto by the middle of 2010 the glory days would be back, folk would be borrowing to buy houses, cars, holidays and hamburgers and everyone would be back in work and earning so much they wouldn’t notice the tax increases needed to bail out the bailouts – but if nobody’s spending then hopenchange will be looking a little careworn….but then the Chicago Gang can always blame it on W….except, as the WSJ points out
“As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.
Americans have welcomed the Obama era in the same spirit of hope the President campaigned on. But after five weeks in office, it's become clear that Mr. Obama's policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence -- and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.”
Now Pelosi/Reid and the MSM are still gambolling on the sunlit uplands of Obamaland, promising everyone that it’s all Julie Andrews now that W has slunk back to his ranch but the stock market is where people have to put their money where their mouth is and in that real world it’s looking a little more Edward G Robinson – which is why Governor Palin’s housewifely approach seems increasingly sensible…
“Sarah took a wise and reasoned approach to the stimulus bill, taking only money for infrastructure projects and eschewing funds that came with strings attached -- those being mandates that the state would be left to fund. She did not use this bill as an opportunity to grandstand, nor did she capitulate and try to milk everything out of the bill and then some.
Sarah's Budget Director delineated how non-state entities were to apply for funds through competitive grant processes. Since these funds do not go the state, they do not result in future unfunded mandates.”
(Hat tip http://sarahs-accomplishments.blogspot.com/)
Now the big question – if you were making your will and you needed to appoint someone to manage a trust fund for your kids, who would you choose – Sarah Palin or Barney Frank…….now, take some time to consider
Between the U.S. Federal Reserve's trillions of dollars in lending programs, the $787 billion stimulus package and $700 billion -- and counting -- in bank bailout funds, no one can accuse officials of soft-pedaling their crisis response.
But there is increasing concern that when the flow of public money subsides -- beginning next year when much of that stimulus package is spent -- the economy still won't be strong enough to stand on its own.”
mmmmmmmmmmmm………..if Reuters are saying this it could be the first crack in the Styrofoam temple. The story was that all that was needed was a few trillion here, another trillion there and hey presto by the middle of 2010 the glory days would be back, folk would be borrowing to buy houses, cars, holidays and hamburgers and everyone would be back in work and earning so much they wouldn’t notice the tax increases needed to bail out the bailouts – but if nobody’s spending then hopenchange will be looking a little careworn….but then the Chicago Gang can always blame it on W….except, as the WSJ points out
“As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.
Americans have welcomed the Obama era in the same spirit of hope the President campaigned on. But after five weeks in office, it's become clear that Mr. Obama's policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence -- and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.”
Now Pelosi/Reid and the MSM are still gambolling on the sunlit uplands of Obamaland, promising everyone that it’s all Julie Andrews now that W has slunk back to his ranch but the stock market is where people have to put their money where their mouth is and in that real world it’s looking a little more Edward G Robinson – which is why Governor Palin’s housewifely approach seems increasingly sensible…
“Sarah took a wise and reasoned approach to the stimulus bill, taking only money for infrastructure projects and eschewing funds that came with strings attached -- those being mandates that the state would be left to fund. She did not use this bill as an opportunity to grandstand, nor did she capitulate and try to milk everything out of the bill and then some.
Sarah's Budget Director delineated how non-state entities were to apply for funds through competitive grant processes. Since these funds do not go the state, they do not result in future unfunded mandates.”
(Hat tip http://sarahs-accomplishments.blogspot.com/)
Now the big question – if you were making your will and you needed to appoint someone to manage a trust fund for your kids, who would you choose – Sarah Palin or Barney Frank…….now, take some time to consider
Monday 2 March 2009
Governor Palin - going de Gaulle?
The one thing that Gov Palin has not been short of since the election has been advice from Republicans and the media – stand for governor again in 2010, go for the Senate, go for POTUS 2012, wait until 2016, write a book, go into the media, give up politics and concentrate on her family – the options are endless.As an outside observer, however, it strikes me that she is intelligent enough and shrewd enough to make up her own mind. I think that maybe she has already decided on a course – I believe she is going de Gaulle.
General de Gaulle entered France alongside the Allies at the head of his Free French army after years of exile in London. Initially greeted as a returning hero by the French he served as the President of the Provisional Government but within two years he had resigned, disillusioned by the re-emergence of the old inter party squabbles that had characterised the pre-war regime.For the next few years he led his own political party but, tiring of the political rat race in 1953 he withdrew from public life and retired in self imposed internal exile to his home in the village of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises to write his war memoirs, and many pundits wrote him off as a man whose time had passed.
His followers, however, retained their cohesion because they saw de Gaulle as a man of destiny who one day would be called forth from his exile by the people of France to rescue them at a time of great danger – which is exactly what happened in 1958 when France was torn apart by the Algerian crisis. The General returned to office but this time on his own terms and remained in power for the next decade.
Since the Alfalfa Dinner Gov Palin appears to have chosen Alaska as her own Colombey-les- Deux-Eglises, far enough away from the mainstream of US politics, concerning herself with her responsibilities as Governor and keeping a distance between herself and the spotlight, just as de Gaulle did in the 1950s. She has stayed away from CPAC, she did not attend the NGA, causing some irritation amongst some elements who would prefer her to act as some Joan of Arc type figure scorching across the lower 48 thrusting and slashing at the President and Congress. Staying out of the spotlight is not an option for some of these folk who often see politics as showbiz where your PR people will tell you that you have to be forever working on your next film or album to remain in the public eye.But the Governor does not need any of that – like de Gaulle she is so deeply impressed upon the public’s imagination that she needs no PR, she is simply there.
De Gaulle was relatively unknown to the French people in 1940 but millions of them heard his broadcast from London at the moment of their deepest despair and in those few minutes he became the inspiration and hope for so many. Governor Palin walked onto the stage at the Republican Convention, electrified millions and stole their hearts forever with her grace, her honesty and her love of life sealing there and then a contract and covenant of support through fire and flood whatever may happen. Camille Paglia called her an immensely talented politician whose time had not yet come. But perhaps, one day, just as in 1958 with de Gaulle, a message will go across Canada to the north saying her time has come – and then the banners must unfurl…..
General de Gaulle entered France alongside the Allies at the head of his Free French army after years of exile in London. Initially greeted as a returning hero by the French he served as the President of the Provisional Government but within two years he had resigned, disillusioned by the re-emergence of the old inter party squabbles that had characterised the pre-war regime.For the next few years he led his own political party but, tiring of the political rat race in 1953 he withdrew from public life and retired in self imposed internal exile to his home in the village of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises to write his war memoirs, and many pundits wrote him off as a man whose time had passed.
His followers, however, retained their cohesion because they saw de Gaulle as a man of destiny who one day would be called forth from his exile by the people of France to rescue them at a time of great danger – which is exactly what happened in 1958 when France was torn apart by the Algerian crisis. The General returned to office but this time on his own terms and remained in power for the next decade.
Since the Alfalfa Dinner Gov Palin appears to have chosen Alaska as her own Colombey-les- Deux-Eglises, far enough away from the mainstream of US politics, concerning herself with her responsibilities as Governor and keeping a distance between herself and the spotlight, just as de Gaulle did in the 1950s. She has stayed away from CPAC, she did not attend the NGA, causing some irritation amongst some elements who would prefer her to act as some Joan of Arc type figure scorching across the lower 48 thrusting and slashing at the President and Congress. Staying out of the spotlight is not an option for some of these folk who often see politics as showbiz where your PR people will tell you that you have to be forever working on your next film or album to remain in the public eye.But the Governor does not need any of that – like de Gaulle she is so deeply impressed upon the public’s imagination that she needs no PR, she is simply there.
De Gaulle was relatively unknown to the French people in 1940 but millions of them heard his broadcast from London at the moment of their deepest despair and in those few minutes he became the inspiration and hope for so many. Governor Palin walked onto the stage at the Republican Convention, electrified millions and stole their hearts forever with her grace, her honesty and her love of life sealing there and then a contract and covenant of support through fire and flood whatever may happen. Camille Paglia called her an immensely talented politician whose time had not yet come. But perhaps, one day, just as in 1958 with de Gaulle, a message will go across Canada to the north saying her time has come – and then the banners must unfurl…..
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