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Friday, January 27, 2012

Leading questions

As a tribute to the slippery nature Alex Salmond is trying to con his fellow residents out of the UK with his leading question its time for a Friday break and reminder of the shear brilliance of Yes Prime Minister I attach the clip below.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Integrity lost

One of those moral panic type surveys has been reported in the MSM today.

Apparently people in the UK are getting less honest, and more willing to tolerate lies, adultery etc.

For my 2ps worth I'd blame UK soap operas ( esp East Enders ) and programs like "The Apprentice" - where getting caught lying is just seen as evidence of how "passionate" and candidate is about ~~themselves~~ becoming Lord Sugar's next Apprentice.

Lying on CVs is now common place. Adultery is fine as long as its not your partner doing it.

Ultimately we reap what the modern church of the UK ( that's the BBC in case you've missed it ) sows. And the politicians - especially the New Labour types and Tory modernisers who utter contempt for truth and honesty goes unpunished to this day can share the blame.

Sad.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The UK must not lose another refinery

Despite all the anger and outrage you see the BBC whip up on petrol forecourt refining has been in decline in the UK for some time. The reasons are:

Poor margins ( yes really ) - remember refiners have to buy their oil before they sell the products.
Fear of environmental sanctions - large multinationals are afraid on the levels that career politicians will go to for a few extra votes in pursuing what the general public continues to mistakenly believe are all powerful oil majors.
Improved efficiency - we can produce more with less equipment - so some refineries have dropped out naturally - the least efficient ones ( this is capitalism working well ).
Competition from Europe and soon the middle east - the Saudis and others are keen to export products rather than crude. They also need jobs for their exploding populations ( no pun intended ). - imagine the day that the gulf cooperation council announces petrol sanctions against the UK, because that day is potentially coming soon.

The UK didn't blink when ICI was taken over and seems oblivious to the fact that one of the few industrial areas where we were world leaders is quickly being dismantled. The public hasn't realised that many of our major refineries are now owned by non-traditional oil refinery companies.

But the wake up call is arriving today with the closure of Coryton. ( Once Mobil, then BP now a cash starved Swiss company Petroplus ).

Not all refineries are the same, and Coryton produces important products that will be hard to substitute. It also sits next to what was the Shell Haven refinery ( closed and removed ).

Expect the price of Diesel to rise sharply in the South East - if it hasn't already. ( The reason diesel is more expensive than petrol in the UK these days is we now have to import diesel from Europe as its popularity has crossed over our diminishing refinery capability ).

And where is the coalition government on this ?

Well the bad news is that Lib Dem minister are in charge, Cable and Huhne. They are too distracted by their political careers and potential end of them to be looking after the vital interests of the nation.

Huhne has his green fairy land that he inhabits. Reality is coming round soon to knock him out of his delusions.

Cable is too busy hating success and business to notice that ordinary people will soon be stuck.

What will Govt do if Coryton stays shut ? It will have to do something.

Here's what may well happen:

Denial, possibly including something about global warming and biofuels being the future.
Press campaign "do something".
Half baked announcements and calling industry leaders into the dept of climate fairy dreams and/ or Industry.
Cameron takes over from Lib Dem no hopers. COBRA convened - immediate action announced (what is unimportant).
BP take over Coryton again for a temporary time on behalf of the govt.

In the mean time millions of people will have got very hot under the collar in petrol station queues, Labour will blame spiv capitalism, and Conservative poll ratings will plummet.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Escalation in the South Atlantic

Is something up in the South Atlantic ?

A planted question was used in PMQs to allow the Prime Minister to accuse the Argentines of colonialism and that he had been discussing military issues.

This looks like a public warning to Argentina.

The next question is why is it necessary ? You have to assume the military threat has increased. Does HMG have intelligence suggesting trouble ? ( Any linke to the Star Princess being sent back recently ? )

We won't be told, but its starting to look like something is string down there.

If so act now and act decisively.

It was encouraging to see Argentine aggression called by its proper name by David Cameron - colonialism. The appropriate squeals have come from the Argentine govt, but its time the world was made aware that the Falklands are 400 miles away from South America and their people have as much right to their homes, customs and government as those of the United States of America or even Argentina itself.

But it is also an olive branch, if Buenos Aires was capable of seeing it. A similar declaration of no selfish interest as has been made over Northern Ireland. The task for Argentina is to persuade the Falkland Islanders of the merits of being in their country as opposed to the UK. the more they try to bully, the closer the Falkland Islanders will cling to the UK.

Update: It looks like acts of provocation, aggression and bullying are being planned by the thuggish government in Bueno Aires. See here.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Now we'll see what Salmond is made of

Lets be frank, up till now Alex Salmond has had the run of the public subsiy theme park that is Scottish politics. There's no serrious chanlanger in his own party or any of the other Scottish branches of supposed Unionist parties.

But now the Westminster machine has opened one weary eye and focused on him.

It may be that SNP strategists had the opening moves worked out and counter moves anticipated. but events are going to start moving far too quickly for that and wit is going to matter more. Already Salmond is taking hits on the economy and his involvement in the RBS down fall. This is just the start.

The Union breakup debate is going to be more of a spectacle than the AV referendum - and that provided enough entertainment.

As of yet there have been now radical Unionist counter proposals, but I hoep they'll come.

There shoudl be room for a full discussion on the Union and England as well as Scotland's place it it.

Here's hoping...

Monday, January 09, 2012

Appeasement just makes the beast hungry

You'd think this message would have been burnt into the minds of our politicians.

Its one of the earliest lessons of English history. Paying the Danegeld just gets you more Danes with menaces back in a few years.

Sacrificing Czechoslovakia doesn't buy peace, it guarantees war.

For a while the democracies learnt this lesson and Lady Thatcher and President Regan faced down the evil empire of socialism and freed half of Europe.

But with Scottish separatism the lesson was forgotten.

The SNP aren't to blame here - though the swamp of Scottish nationalism has some unpleasant undercurrents, creatures, pools of Anglophobia and views in it.

It was Labour and the Lib Dems who thought playing with the Union would let them get back at Thatcher. So for narrow partisan advantage they played up to the separatism and broke the Union with the rabidly anti-English devolution betrayal of the Union. ( Yes it was Labour that brought this to pass - but the Lib Dems where key partners in crime here ). They thought they could rule Scotland for ever and that appeasing the nationalist beast would stop it in its tracks.

How misguided they were. ( Though lets face it since Labour has been wrong about almost every major decision in politics its not a surprise ).

Now a SNP Scottish Executive ( which the government lacks the guts to call it its legal name ) plays up on grievances, and plans an emotional referendum and Westminster has suddenly realised perhaps they could lose it. ( Though of course no one is offering Scotland independence, but really Greek style rule from Brussels ).

Appeasement has been a disaster - again.

But also the mold of the UK has been broken. As I have said on other forums before only a federal UK can be stable and that requires an English Parliament that contains an English Executive.

Nothing else can prevent the inevitable break up of the UK under the unjust partisan botched job that Labour created when they started the break up of the Union with devolution.

Though perhaps the break up of the UK and its hated citizens with their conservative values was Labour and Lib Dems idea all along, to deliver the home nations in bite sized chunks to the EU.

Friday, January 06, 2012

HS2 is insane - but then so's much of govt policy

I've had a great trip with my kids down to Montpelier on Eurostar and a double deck TGV. The SNCF train was better than the ageing Eurostar. There was room to move about - even with a sofa area at the end of the carriage for those who can't last 5 secs without making mobile phone calls.

The kids loved it. It took slightly longer than the flight, but thanks to the French tax payer and their recognition of cheaper fairs for children it was far cheaper (for me) than flying ( all the cheap Easy Jet tickets having gone ). Very civilised.

So don't get me wrong - I loved it.

But the current plan for high speed rail is insane. There is no ( repeat no) need for the HS link to Birmingham. Maybe Leeds or Manchester could try to make a case ( undermined by trains that have to divert via Birmingham and probably stop there ), but it would be very marginal.

Who benefits ?

Well mostly MPs and civil servants who get back and forth a bit quicker and won't have to pay. This won't be a peoples transport system anymore than Concorde was. (At least not unless you take into account paying for it ;-) ). It will ensure that MPs and civil servants don't give a monkey's about the trains that run from Euston and Kings Cross north.

In Spain they found the High Speed rail pulled more companies into Madrid away from the centre, 180' opposite of the apparent objective here.

This is one of those high prestige monument building projects like the Sheffield or Edinburgh tram systems.

Its not needed, and paying for it will ensure the railways that tax payers used are neglected.

If you want to help the economy don't put down a high speed rail track - build a new motorway. ( Run it through the Chilterns if you must ). That would make sense. The M1, M6,M40 can't take the strain and we know more motorway capacity will lead to better regional growth and economic prosperity.

But the naked self interest groups won't like it.

So I'm guessing we will end up borrowing more billions from our children to waste building something that will actually hurt the country and destroy the regions.

What's needed is a new motorway - why does no one campaign for that ? ( Oh yes I bet the MPs concerned - except perhaps Chris Huhne MP who's a alleged user of motorways - prefer first class rail. )

PS If you move the 2 one character to the left you get a gas that's 25% as toxic as Hydrogen Cyanide ... H₂S.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

I like Diane Abbott but

The now infamous tweet from Diane Abbott MP hasn't been taken out of context. ( The hash tag she used herself shows that she was referring to the present ).

She initially refused to apologies - all we got was weasel words. Even now that #RedEd has been on the case the line carries on being about being misunderstood.

We understood you fine Diane, and what's more you know we did.

Should she be fired ? I hope not. She's one of the few MPs with character who is capable on occasion of being brilliant and independent minded. Yes she's suffered from the intellectual and moral failure of being a socialist, but we are all fallible.

But let remember next time some one from a different race or political creed makes a similar type of gaff not to build up that bonfire on the vanities any higher.

When someone says something racist they need putting right not, in most instances, having their careers and lives ruined.

Perhaps this stupidity with John Terry could be treated the same way.

Cleggie on the radio

I wonder if the producer on Radio 4's Today realises how boring their continual attempts to trip up politicians rather than learn something from them are in radio interviews.

Thanks to the line of questioning which was all - tell us about how you were stabbed in the back by Cameron and your plans to return the favour - all we got was the usual pleading by Clegg to his own membership that look the good things are all Lib Dem in the world and all evil is Tory. ( There will be plenty, perhaps most the the weird sect that is the Lib Dems who believe all that guff, along with our joining the Euro and surrendering to a EU superstate being a good idea - but Radio 4 shouldn't be about them. )

Of course Clegg could have stood up to them and just told them where to get off, but these days he lacks the self confidence and strength of character to do that.

Perhaps that's the news after all ....