Malky

Two such very bad men...

2011-08-26T05:17:00.000+01:00

Rupert Murdoch, Tony Blair and me | Media | The Guardian: Monday 17 March 1997 The chief whip, Donald Dewar, took me aside. "Have you heard about tomorrow's Sun?" "No." "Murdoch is coming out for us. I know you've got strong views on the subject, some of which I share, but I'd be grateful if you could refrain from commenting." I agreed – until 2 May. Tuesday 18 March 1997

BBC Money Box spills the beans: rich will get richer and the rest will get stuffed

2011-08-25T06:30:00.000+01:00

BBC News - Will the 2010s be a 'lost decade'?: Money Box presenter Ruth Alexander uncovers an interesting fact about the post-crash economy - we're not actually all in this together... Annual wage growth will be slow in the first half of the coming decade and will then pick up to 3% in the latter years, according to John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Unsafe in their hands

2011-05-14T08:10:00.005+01:00

Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms are unworkable, says review chief | Society | The Guardian: "The prime minister has become concerned that the bill's promotion of competition has allowed its many critics to claim that the health service will be privatised, undermining Tory attempts to detoxify their reputation on the NHS." Ooops. Too late.

Metro readers oppose Britain's military role in Libya

2011-03-22T09:03:00.000Z

Majority of Metro readers oppose Britain's military role in Libya http://www.metro.co.uk/news/858630-majority-of-metro-readers-oppose-britains-military-role-in-libya The majority of Metro readers believe Britain does not have a duty to intervene in Libya, according to our latest Urban Life poll. Fifty-eight per cent say Britain is wrong to intervene in the civil war while only 30 per cent say

At the mercy of thieves...

2011-03-21T08:31:00.001Z

If was a Libyan rebel I'd be cheering the cruise missiles heading for Tripoli perhaps as much as the poor Palestinians cheered on Saddam's scuds. But here's what I am saying: if I watch a thief breaking into your house, beating you up and stealing your stuff - and he then turns up at mine offering to help me stop another thief doing the same to me, I can know for sure that he is a thief - and

We're at war again!

2011-03-18T08:34:00.001Z

Bahrainis cannot be subdued for ever | Brian Whitaker | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: Bahrainis cannot be subdued for ever | Brian Whitaker | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Saudi Arabian troops arrive in Bahrain to prop up the monarchy against widening demonstrations "While much of the world has been preoccupied with questions about a no-fly zone over Libya, Arab Gulf states have been

The internet is over - or it's now Web 3.0...

2011-03-16T04:00:00.001Z

SXSW 2011: The internet is over | Technology | The Guardian: "The big idea O'Reilly is touting is 'sensor-driven collective intelligence', but since he coined the term 'Web 2.0', he seems resigned to people labelling this new phase 'Web 3.0'. If Web 2.0 was the moment when the collaborative promise of the internet seemed finally to be realised – with ordinary users creating instead of just

SAS? Libya? Diplomatic mission? You could not make it up.

2011-03-06T19:16:00.003Z

(Steve bell cartoon here) SAS-backed Libyan diplomatic mission ends in humiliation | World news | guardian.co.uk: "'I can confirm that a small British diplomatic team has been in Benghazi,' said William Hague, the foreign secretary. 'The team went to Libya to initiate contacts with the opposition. They experienced difficulties, which have now been satisfactorily resolved. They have now left

Time to disown Blairism and point out Tories have no mandate

2011-02-28T09:05:00.002Z

The coalition has sneaked a coup on a sleeping public | John Harris | Comment is free | The Guardian: "What are we faced with? A polite kind of coup, in the service of an all-encompassing project that Klein and her followers surely recognise, and of which Friedman would be proud. The Labour party seems punch-drunk, and racked with confusion about how much the coalition has taken from

Not another bloody Sunday in Stornoway

2011-01-31T21:35:00.001Z

Western Isles' Sunday shutdown likely to fall foul of new equality law | Society | The Guardian: "Councillors in remote Scottish islands could be challenged over hardline religious policies banning work and play on sabbath" Oh yus.

Gideon Osborne - the man with with an arse at both ends of his nose

2011-01-29T10:24:00.000Z

BBC News - Unions are 'forces of stagnation,' says Osborne: "'I regard these people as the forces of stagnation, when we are trying to get the British economy competitive again, moving forward again.'"

Ha ha ha

2010-12-08T23:06:00.000Z

We can't keep treating party leaders like football managers | John Harris: "...his less than loyal 'enforcer', Alan Johnson, [who] has lately been in the unique position of being inside the tent, pissing in..."Ha ha ha.

It's 7:84, or 1918, all over again

2010-11-28T15:19:00.000Z

Why Britain must close the great pay divide | Business | The Observer: "Today, with the return of big City bonuses, I very much suspect [the share of wealth taken by the richest 1% of people in Britain] will be back up to 18%. We should have a national day of mourning when we return to a level of inequality last experienced at about the time of armistice day in November 1918."And then a social

Rudimentary game theory trumps nuclear deterrence

2010-10-02T11:16:00.002+01:00

A nuclear deterrent based on agreement with the French? That's disarmament | Marina Hyde | Comment is free | The Guardian: Trident sub: pic at www.greenpeace.org.uk "Only last week, a Times editorial blathered on about the desirability of Nato maintaining a so-called second centre of nuclear decision-making, prompting a letter from (Air Commodore Alastair) Mackie, which crisply debunked the

More evidence that Tony Blair is a very bad man

2010-09-30T20:24:00.000+01:00

Blair's case for Iraq invasion was self-serving, lawyers tell Chilcot inquiry | UK news | The Guardian: guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 September 2010 18.30 BST The Blair government undermined the UN, bowed to US political pressure and relied on self-serving arguments to justify its decision to invade Iraq, according to evidence to the Chilcot inquiry by international lawyers. A key theme of the

Ed buries Blair (not literally, unfortunately :-)

2010-09-28T20:20:00.001+01:00

BBC News - Iraq war was wrong, says Labour leader Ed Miliband: "'We were wrong, wrong to take Britain to war, and we need to be honest about that.'" At last. Well said Ed.

Better Ed than dead

2010-09-26T18:19:00.004+01:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/comment-permalink/7786088 John Harris on election of Ed Miliband as Labour leader. 26 September 2010 12:23PM Morning all. Here is why this is a good thing, though let's not make the 1997/2007 mistake and get far too carried away. On the social circuit last night, a former Labour insider and left social democrat said this to me: "What this boils down to

FARCing hell is other people

2010-09-18T12:04:00.001+01:00

Ingrid Betancourt: I still have nightmares | World news | The Guardian: "What I saw in the jungle was that we were able to forgive those guys who could kill us, but we could not forgive the person who was suffering with us" That's a scary and fascinating observation.

No mandate for cuts

2010-08-14T13:04:00.000+01:00

Cameron's Mr Nice act still fools some, but the pain is a wake-up call | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian: "Cameron didn't win at all – and that will matter more each day in 2011, the bitterest year of cuts ever known. He has no mandate for the profound changes that he promises will affect 'our whole way of life'"

Stoneist, but not marxist?

2010-07-18T10:06:00.001+01:00

Oliver Stone and the politics of film-making | Film | The Observer: "What would your father have made of the Wall Street of the last few years? I ask. 'Look, he was pissed off when we left the gold standard in '73, although'73 is actually very interesting. It's a really crucial year, because the income of the average working man flattened out in '73 and never went up in spending ability. But

De-composer

2010-07-16T09:50:00.002+01:00

David Cope: 'You pushed the button and out came hundreds and thousands of sonatas' | Technology | The Observer: "He realised that what made a composer properly understandable, properly 'affecting', was in part the fact of mortality. Composers had to die, and the ending made sense of what had gone before. With this in mind, Cope unplugged Emmy six years ago; her work – which he limited to 11,000

Further and faster than Blair

2010-07-10T15:35:00.001+01:00

NHS plan puts government on collision course with unions and doctors | Society | The Guardian: "Professor Chris Ham, chief executive of health thinktank the King's Fund, said it was still an open question whether Lansley's plan to force change on the NHS and the unions when there is no new money would work. 'I think it will be an incredibly hard sell to ask the unions and staff to give up pay and

Declaration of war. Will we fight?

2010-06-19T08:47:00.000+01:00

David Cameron warns public sector over Budget cuts BBC News - David Cameron warns public sector over Budget cuts: Page last updated at 02:59 GMT, Saturday, 19 June 2010 03:59 UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said the budget deficit will not be dealt with by "just hitting either the rich or the welfare scrounger". Speaking in the Times ahead of next week's emergency Budget, Mr

Suicide is painless, pay rises hurt... for investors

2010-06-07T11:11:00.001+01:00

BBC News - Foxconn gives workers second pay rise: "Increasing pay is just one method to make sure workers are more 'stable and comfortable'. Foxconn has also employed psychiatrists and installed safety nets on buildings. While the pay rise is good for workers, investors took a different view. The company's shares fell sharply on the Taiwan stock market following the announcement of the

Suicide right on stage.. roll up, roll up

2010-05-31T09:30:00.000+01:00

Susan Boyle: What happened to the dream? | Music | The Observer: "What isn't in doubt is that vulnerable people are being put at risk, for the most egregious of reasons: our amusement and Simon Cowell's and ITV's profit margins. There seems to be no mechanism in place to stop them. When I ask Phillip Hodson what can be done, he says: 'Somebody needs to die. Basically, there needs to be a Baby P.'

One Laws for the rich

2010-05-30T09:40:00.006+01:00

David Laws could not continue to wield the axe on spending | editorial | Comment is free | The Observer: "The chief secretary to the Treasury might have been motivated by complex psychological processes, but he cannot have been ignorant of the rules – and he broke them" WTF. Complex psychological process goes like this, then: I don't want to get found out so I'll lie. Oh, poor me,

The long death of Woody Allen

2010-05-16T09:15:00.000+01:00

BBC News - Woody Allen's woes over ageing and death in latest film You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger: "'There are some great scenes between Sir Anthony, who has a mid-life crisis in the film, and Lucy Punch in the role of his much younger new girlfriend,' Allen says." Looks like it's past time to stop making movies, Woody.

Tax exile

2010-05-14T15:22:00.001+01:00

BBC News - Sir Mick Jagger goes back to Exile: "It was a bumpy period, historically. There was a war going on, the Nixon thing was happening. Tax was through the roof. It was very difficult. The end of the '60s felt very strained." Gotta love old street-fightin tax-exile tory Mick... no?

Out and vote - Labour.

2010-05-06T07:14:00.000+01:00

Goodbye Gordon Brown turns into the I'm Not Dead Yet tour for Labour | Politics | The Guardian:"'There is an anti-Conservative majority in this country,' Brown says. 'This is not a Conservative moment.'"But when is? >>> Get out and vote Labour!

Electoral reform essential but no panacea

2010-04-29T10:41:00.000+01:00

If Brown's gaffe locks Labour in third, all progressives lose | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | The Guardian:"The existing system, which depended on a now stifled internal democracy in the main parties, has been breaking down for years. Eventual electoral reform of some kind looks increasingly probable, even if it is unlikely to be the political and social panacea some on the centre-left seem to

Scale and duration of bank-bailout cuts becomes clearer

2010-04-18T10:26:00.000+01:00

Financial watchdog: hospitals and schools must face cuts - Herald Scotland | News | Politics:"In a stark warning to MSPs, Audit Scotland says the ring-fencing of specific areas – which is promised by most parties in the election – is a “missed opportunity” to reform services and will only worsen the depth of cuts elsewhere.Its warning, in written evidence to the Finance Committee at Holyrood, is

Malcolm Tucker's "rising tide of yellow piss"

2010-04-16T20:20:00.000+01:00

The yellow surge could soak us all | Malcolm Tucker | Comment is free | The Guardian "I know there's a view that Clegg winning is OK for us. And

Brown admits "mistake over bank regulation"

2010-04-14T08:53:00.000+01:00

BBC News - Brown admits he made a mistake over bank regulation: "In the 1990s, the banks, they all came to us and said, 'Look, we don't want to be regulated, we want to be free of regulation'." "All the complaints I was getting from people was, 'Look you're regulating them too much'. And actually the truth is that globally and nationally we should have been

Step outside posh boy

2010-04-01T18:54:00.001+01:00

The rooshians are coming

2010-03-24T21:43:00.000Z

BBC News - RAF spots Russian jets near Western Isles: A RAF Tornado below one of the TU-160s "Two Russian bombers were intercepted by RAF fighter jets near Stornoway on the Western Isles, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.The Tupolev TU-160 aircraft were shadowed by two F3

Really, what on earth did they think they were doing?

2010-03-21T17:44:00.001Z

BBC News - Ex-ministers in 'cash for influence' row under fire: "Labour MP Stephen Byers was recorded as saying he would work for up to £5,000 a day and was like a 'cab for hire' in the Sunday Times and Channel 4 probe. Patricia Hewitt allegedly said she would need up to £3,000. Both MPs firmly deny any wrongdoing. Chancellor Alistair Darling says what happened was 'ridiculous'. ...

Gotcha! More very bad men, and women too

2010-03-21T12:28:00.001Z

Labour takes on lobbying after MPs caught in sting over cash for influence | Politics | guardian.co.uk: "Stephen Byers, the former cabinet minister and arch-Blairite, (who) was filmed describing himself as a 'bit like a sort of cab for hire'. He offered to trade Westminster contacts for £3,000 to £5,000 a day. Others who were targeted in the undercover operation included former cabinet

A very bad man

2010-03-21T01:03:00.000Z

Tony Blair got cash for deal with South Korean oil firm | Politics | guardian.co.uk:"Tony Blair has received cash from a South Korean oil firm in a deal kept secret until the business appointments watchdog intervened"

Come on you Tucker!

2010-03-20T11:10:00.001Z

Malcolm Tucker's election briefing | Comment is free | The Guardian: "Clegg the kingmaker. Yeah, right. This guy couldn't make a king out of a two-piece Duplo 'Make a King' kit without putting the arse on

Death = religion, life = art, cinema's half dead

2010-03-19T08:18:00.000Z

Peter Greenaway's pact with death | Film | The Guardian:"Greenaway is no longer interested in cinema per se – it's a half-dead medium wasted by taking its cues from books, 'telling bedtime stories for adults. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are illustrated books. Not cinema. I want to be a prime creator. As every self-regarding artist should do.'"

Bust the union, or bust

2010-03-18T08:38:00.001Z

BA strike plan is classic union-busting technique | Business | guardian.co.uk:Gregor Gall makes this astute point in the Guardian, about the aims of Willie Walsh (below) and the directors of BA:"You'd think in the case of something close to mutually assured destruction, BA would seize upon the opportunity to avoid a damaging strike, especially when it's making huge losses.Yet, here's the rub. Yes

Flattery? Getting you nowhere, Stephanomics

2010-03-17T11:41:00.001Z

BBC - Stephanomics: Not lagging, but not leading either But note how much public sector jobs growth continues to flatter the figures. The number of public sector workers grew by 7,000 between September and December, while the private sector workforce shrank by 61,000 over the period. With job losses already being announced in town halls, we cannot expect that to last. Yeah, "flatter the

Smartest guy

2010-03-05T10:04:00.003Z

Jim O'Neill faces red card from Goldman Sachs | Business | guardian.co.uk Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs' chief economist, is part of a group seeking to wrest control of Manchester United from the Glazer family Photograph: PR handout Today, O'Neill is regarded as one of the world's leading commentators on global economics, having devised the acronym Bric in 2001 to

Foot note to history

2010-03-04T00:04:00.001Z

Labour's Foot mythology has finally run out of time | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | The Guardianit was not the manifesto or even Foot that gave Labour its worst election result since 1931. Two other factors were far more important. The first was the Falklands war, which transformed Thatcher's poll ratings on a wave of jingoism (and was unwisely given unqualified support by Foot). The second

How odd. Labour might win. Hahahaha :-)

2010-02-28T13:12:00.001Z

Gordon Brown on course to win election - Times OnlineGORDON BROWN is on course to remain prime minister after the general election as a new Sunday Times poll reveals that Labour is now just two points behind the Tories.The YouGov survey places David Cameron’s Conservatives on 37%, as against 35% for Labour — the closest gap between the parties in more than two years.Oh dear. Poor old Tories. And

Speaking profit unto Tory

2010-02-26T23:14:00.001Z

BBC to close two radio stations and halve web output after Tory pressure | Media | The GuardianThe report has been drawn up by senior BBC executive John Tate, a former head of the Conservative policy unit who co-wrote the Tory party's 2005 manifesto with David Cameron.

A political decision - ringing clarity on free personal care

2010-02-19T10:03:00.002Z

BBC News - Today - Free personal care 'is affordable'An emergency conference on social care for the elderly is to take place today, chaired by Health Secretary for England Andy Burnham. The Conservatives, who broke off from private cross party discussions last week, are not expected to attend.The conference will examine Scotland's social care system which boasts cross party support.Prof Allyson

Branson weighs in

2010-02-17T19:16:00.001Z

Sir Richard Branson supports David Cameron on cuts to speed recovery | News“I believe the UK's record budget deficit does pose a serious risk to our recovery.“It would be damaging if we lost the confidence of the markets through delayed action and saw interest rates have to go up steeply.”He added: “We are going to have to cut our spending and I agree with the 20 leading economists who said we

Hahahahahahaha

2010-02-14T22:23:00.001Z

Turmoil at MySpace blamed on News Corporation | Technology | guardian.co.uk"He absolutely has no idea," he said. "If people really quite understood how little feeling he has for this business, they would fall down laughing – or crying."ROFL.

My Queen and I

2010-02-12T08:32:00.001Z

Alexander McQueen: A genius is lost – and darkness has won | Life and style | The GuardianHe loved to describe himself as an anarchist, but when he received his CBE he told his parents that he locked eyes with the Queen and that it was like falling in love.The bumster genius.

Low wage employers are the fraudsters

2010-02-11T09:29:00.001Z

Why does Britain find social democracy so hard? | Deborah Orr | Comment is free | The GuardianThe "benefit trap" has a vice-like grip, and it exists because greedy scroungers come in lots of forms – most perniciously, in the form of people who insist on their right to offer the lowest possible payment for an honest day's work, even – especially – when they pride themselves above all else on their

"Sure footed" Labour beats "charismatic" SNP in latest Scottish poll

2010-02-08T11:18:00.001Z

SNP frozen out by a winter of discontent - Herald Scotland | Comment | Herald ViewIn a poll across Scotland, taken before the eruption last week of the SNP cash-for-access row, Labour has leapfrogged the Nationalists for the first time since the previous Holyrood elections.....While there is little change in the standing of the other parties, this snapshot shows Labour up five points to 37% at

Oh dear. Poor old criminal Ali...

2010-02-07T15:54:00.004Z

BBC News - Alastair Campbell in emotional defence of Blair on Iraq Alastair Campbell: "I've been through a lot on this...I'm a bit upset"Alastair Campbell has emotionally denied Tony Blair misled Parliament over the intelligence in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war.Mr Campbell had to take a moment to compose himself after being asked the question on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

The narcissist's defence

2009-12-14T16:17:00.001Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/14/tony-blair-ken-macdonald-deceit"Since those sorry days we have frequently heard him repeating the self-regarding mantra that 'hand on heart, I only did what I thought was right'. But this is a narcissist's defence, and self-belief is no answer to misjudgment: it is certainly no answer to death."Bloody hell that's fierce. But true.

A handbag?

2009-11-25T16:40:00.001Z

Prime Minister unveils Thatcher portrait | Number10.gov.uk: "The Prime Minister unveiled a new portrait of Lady Thatcher in Downing Street this afternoon.Margaret Thatcher returned to Number 10 to attend the unveiling at a private reception hosted by Gordon Brown."

With friends like these...

2009-10-29T23:49:00.000Z

Tony Blair's bid for EU presidency sinks | World news | The Guardian: "'It would be right to describe Tony's chances as fading,' one British source said. 'Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel are not terribly enthusiastic. Silvio Berlusconi remains his strongest backer.'"

Time to make them pay

2009-10-24T10:28:00.000+01:00

Obama has got his pay tsar. So let's tax crazy profits here | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian: "'Learn to tolerate inequality,' said Lord Griffiths, vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs, Mrs Thatcher's hyper-Hayekian economic adviser and lay preacher, speaking at St Paul's cathedral. At least he confronted the question head on: is that what people want? Someone should ask them. If

Not fit to run public service broadcasting

2009-10-24T10:21:00.000+01:00

The predictable outcome, after BBC legitimised BNP by needlessly offering priceless tv platform. BBC NEWS | Politics | BNP support in poll sparks anger: "Peter Hain says his fears have been proved right after a poll suggested support for the BNP has risen after Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time.A YouGov poll in the Daily Telegraph suggests 22% of people questioned would 'seriously consider'

Mark Thompson must resign

2009-10-22T17:12:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS | Politics | BBC defends BNP move amid protest: "Labour MP Diane Abbott - the first black woman to be elected to Parliament - told the BBC's Breakfast programme that Question Time was the wrong platform for the BNP.'If you are a black or Asian viewer tonight and you switch on the television and you see Nick Griffin on Question Time - it's not a programme that's going to scrutinise his

Polly goes postal on the banks... and quite right too

2009-10-17T11:43:00.000+01:00

If ever there was a time for an emergency super-tax, it's now | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian: "Adair Turner's suggested Tobin tax would reach right into the wicked heart of the matter by taxing every transaction at the point where they skim the cream off everything, mostly people's pension funds. Goldman Sachs's profits show how a shrunken banking sector coins it as an effective

For whom the Nobel tolls... Obama isn't helping

2009-10-16T09:19:00.001+01:00

Obama isn't helping. At least the world argued with Bush | Naomi Klein | Comment is free | The Guardian: "After nine months in office, Obama has a clear track record as a global player. Again and again, US negotiators have chosen not to strengthen international laws and protocols but to weaken them, often leading other rich countries in a race to the bottom."..."Obama has made some good moves on

New Labour's death wail?

2009-10-15T13:02:00.000+01:00

Labour could be out of power for a generation, MPs warn Gordon Brown | Politics | guardian.co.uk:"The pamphlet was written by: former lord chancellor Lord Falconer; City of York MP Hugh Bayley; former contender for the role of Commons speaker Parmjit Dhanda; ex-Labour MP Calum MacDonald; former Europe minister Denis MacShane; former women's minister Meg Munn; Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer; former local

Berlusconi backs Blair for EU job - nuff said

2009-10-14T21:31:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS | Politics | Berlusconi backs Blair for EU job:"Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has endorsed Tony Blair as his preferred candidate to be president of the European Union.Mr Blair had 'the right credentials' and should get the job as soon as 'legally and politically possible', he wrote to Italian newspaper Il Foglio."

Polly sometimes absolutely hits the mark

2009-10-12T21:42:00.000+01:00

Say it again, say it often: the public sector is paid less | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian:"In a triumph of upside-down logic, the myth that an overpaid state sector is to blame for the crisis has taken poisonous root"

Eton mess... or Eton messiah?

2009-10-12T09:45:00.001+01:00

Cameron is gaining ground because Labour can't admit it fell for free-market ideology | Larry Elliott | Business | The Guardian:"...Cameron has been amazingly successful at shifting the political battle onto his own ground; he has disguised a strategically weak position with tactical elan. Labour has done the opposite; it has allowed a strong strategic position to be nullified by the darts and

String em up. Its the only language they'll understand.

2009-10-10T18:14:00.000+01:00

Taxpayers' Alliance admits director doesn't pay British tax | Politics | The Guardian: "The Taxpayers' Alliance, a campaign group that calls for tax and spending cuts and claims to represent the interests of taxpayers, has admitted one of its directors does not pay British tax.The Guardian has learned that Alexander Heath, a director of the increasingly influential free market, rightwing lobby

Bloody Blair

2009-10-10T08:41:00.001+01:00

Blair faces critics from pulpit and public as Britain remembers Iraq | UK news | The Guardian: "Peter Brierley, whose son Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley died in a road accident while on service in Iraq barely a week after the invasion in March 2003, publicly snubbed the former prime minister at a reception that followed a service commemorating those who served in the conflict. As Blair proffered

Sssself deprecation, hissssed Kaa, will make them trusssst in me...

2009-09-29T01:52:00.001+01:00

Full text of Lord Mandelson's speech to the Labour conference | Politics | guardian.co.uk: "I know that Tony said our project would only be complete when the Labour Party learned to love Peter Mandelson.I think perhaps he set the bar a little too high.Though I am trying my best.But the fact is our project is far from complete."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaa

Couldn't make it up...

2009-09-29T01:44:00.001+01:00

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Egypt anger over virginity faking: "A leading Egyptian scholar has demanded that people caught importing a female virginity-faking device into the country should face the death penalty.Abdul Mouti Bayoumi said supplying the item was akin to spreading vice in society, a crime punishable by death in Islamic Sharia law.The device is said to release liquid imitating

Left? foot forward

2009-09-14T10:31:00.001+01:00

News summary: Tuesday, September 8th | Left Foot Forward says: September 8, 2009 at 8:42 am [...] Welcome to any first time visitors clicking through from Iain Dale’s Diary or Tom Watson’s blog. Left Foot Forward officially launches on Monday, 14th September. From that point on we will email the daily news summary to subscribers. Sign up here. [...]

Fight 'em on the beaches

2009-09-13T14:21:00.004+01:00

"The polls are not actually all that good for the Conservatives, who continue to bob around 40 points when they should be achieving at least 45. It is because the polls are so baleful for Labour that David Cameron enjoys substantial double-digit leads."Not often in the past have I agreed with Rawnsley, one of the most slavish newlabourites and blairistas of the grauniad slate of writers. But the

Me and Sean Sunday riding...

2009-08-24T10:22:00.005+01:00

Tornado 'wrath of God' headline

2009-07-30T09:30:00.000+01:00

Stornoway tornado was 'wrath of God', says minister - The Daily Record:Aye, aye... some people think the Record's headline is a bit of a pain.:-) the headline's a bit of a liberty, as tabloid headlines always are. but not that much.The actual story is just a report of what various people said. the FP minister, when his buttons were pushed by simple questions, just responded according to his

Wacko off!

2009-06-27T10:45:00.001+01:00

Overrated and unpleasant, what more can I say. I felt a bit sorry for Michael Jackson. It can't have been much fun. The Jackson 5 were pretty good. Not really a great idea to force your kids onstage to make your living for you, so the abuse allegations are sad but were never surprising. I quite like Billie Jean as an actual song. But for the rest, just vacuous noise and flashing lights. Thrilled?

Hazel Blears survives - oh dear

2009-06-19T01:19:00.000+01:00

Hazel Blears survives deselection vote in Salford constituency | Politics | guardian.co.uk: "Former minister Hazel Blears has been backed by her party rank and file after a vote of no confidence to deselect her was defeated.Blears faced deselection if she had lost the vote at the crunch meeting of her constituency Labour party."

Scottish battle lines are drawn - Morning Star - Thursday 18 June 2009

2009-06-18T00:00:00.001+01:00

(Thursday 18 June 2009)Malcolm Burns Scottish battle lines are drawn The Scottish political battle lines for the next two years have been drawn with this week's publication of the report from the Calman Commission on Scottish devolution. The UK general election in Scotland due within the year and the

Wishful thinking from Tehran

2009-06-13T14:49:00.000+01:00

Wishful thinking from Tehran | Abbas Barzegar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "observers would do us a favour by taking a deeper look into Iranian society, giving us a more accurate picture of the very organic religious structures of the country, and dispensing with the narrative of liberal inevitability"

Cassandra complex

2009-06-13T09:52:00.001+01:00

Yes, I flip-flopped on Brown. And I hope I'm wrong again | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian:"I continue to fear the worst, but will attempt to restrain Cassandra-like wails of doom."Cassandra.

A little bit universal?

2009-06-11T19:35:00.000+01:00

Obama outlines plan for universal healthcare system in US | World news | guardian.co.uk:"To get his reforms through Congress, Obama will almost certainly have to compromise. He has already hinted that he might back down on some points, such as accepting that there are some individuals, who even with government help, will still be unable to afford to pay for health insurance."

The rebels without a coup - Morning Star - Tuesday 9 June 2009

2009-06-09T00:00:00.000+01:00

(Tuesday 9 June 2009)Malcolm Burns The rebels without a coup In the increasingly surreal nightmare that is our politics today, everything can seem like a game. The absurdity of Gordon Brown hiring reality TV gameshow star Sir Alan Sugar - soon to be made a lord - as a business "tsar" was almost the least

Flush out the Tories and fight them on the beaches

2009-06-07T12:45:00.002+01:00

Comment on John McDonnell article in Guardian: What have they done to our party:also posted on John's blog: Blogger: Another World Is Possible - Post a Comment:John wrote that: "Ambition and self-interest have become more important to many in the Labour hierarchy than the struggles of Britain's people""Malky x said...John's right in his analysis - the current attempt to unseat Brown is all about

Keep your eyes on Mandy

2009-06-06T16:39:00.001+01:00

Misery. It's Gordon Brown as Kathy Bates. And Westminster as Lilliput | Marina Hyde | Comment is free | The Guardian:"Should you wish to give yourself the most despairing of laughs, do consider that Hazel Blears probably regards herself heir to Barbara Castle.For more than a decade, people have cringed at the chasm in ability between those towering political figures who sat in Harold Wilson's

When putsch comes to shove

2009-06-06T16:16:00.000+01:00

When putsch comes to shove | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk:The Blairite coup against Brown may have misfired, but beyond the plotting the very direction of the Labour party is at stake......Of course, the net result of the half-cocked coup is also to weaken Brown's ability to reshuffle his cabinet and strengthen the hand of Mandelson, now effectively deputy prime minister, with

Rebels without a coup

2009-06-04T13:42:00.000+01:00

Labour in crisis: the Hotmail conspiracy | Politics | The Guardian: "The chief whip, not averse to a bit of plotting in his day, said the ringleaders are former Blairites, joined by 'eccentric individualists'.The plotters are said to have a list of up to 60 names of people prepared to sign the letter. The wording of that letter emerged tonight: 'We are writing now because we believe that in the

Around Scotland - Thursday 4 June 2009

2009-06-04T00:01:00.001+01:00

(Thursday 4 June 2009)Malcolm Burns Britain's got problems...It's a hard heart that can't feel a little sorry for a shy and introverted would-be diva from a small town in Scotland who dreamed furiously of playing the lead role on the London stage. And who after many years won the chance to perform for

Around Scotland - Tuesday 26 May 2009

2009-05-26T00:01:00.001+01:00

(Tuesday 26 May 2009)Malcolm Burns Can new Labour restore lost credit with radical democratic reforms? The MP expenses scandal has provided endless hours of morally justified fun as well as outrage for all of us plebs, who would never ever fiddle a claim of course. Duck houses and moats encapsulate Tory greed, and we happily jeer because it doesn't

Ken Gill: 1927-2009

2009-05-25T13:01:00.002+01:00

Ken Gill: 1927-2009 / Features / Home - Morning Star:Gill hardly fitted the cliche image of a Communist. While he could be forceful and committed, he was rarely dogmatic or unnecessarily aggressive. He was tall, with a rugged handsomeness and his soft Wiltshire drawl and ready laughter belied his steely determination. His charm and persuasiveness easily disarmed many of his harshest critics. He

Ducking out

2009-05-23T11:53:00.000+01:00

The Grauniad is sometime very funny...Tory MP Peter Viggers quits over duck island expense claim | Politics | guardian.co.uk: "Tory MP Sir Peter Viggers said today he felt 'ashamed and humiliated' over his expenses claim for an island to house the ducks in his pond.He described his decision to include the feature in his taxpayer-funded second home claims as a 'ridiculous and grave error of

Around Scotland - Friday 15 May 2009

2009-05-15T00:01:00.001+01:00

(Friday 15 May 2009)Malcolm Burns Fighting for fairness Last week, the Scottish Living Wage Campaign awarded its first ever Living Wage Employer Award to Glasgow City Council at a ceremony in the city's Dalmarnock area. The reason for the award was because Glasgow has increased the wages of all low-paid staff up to the Scottish living wage level of

Around Scotland - Wednesday 6 May 2009

2009-05-06T00:01:00.002+01:00

(Wednesday 6 May 2009)Malcolm Burns Stranger than fictionI caught In The Loop, Armando Iannucci's film based on the satirical TV show The Thick Of It, at Glasgow Film Theatre last week. Iannucci's writing and, in particular, fellow Scot Peter Capaldi's dramatic creation of the venal, violent and foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker are brilliant.

Around Scotland - Tuesday 28 April 2009

2009-04-28T00:00:00.000+01:00

(Tuesday 28 April 2009)Malcolm Burns In defence of a People's Charter The People's Charter won enthusiastic cheers around the conference hall in Perth last week, as Scottish TUC delegates heard powerful contributions from numerous speakers arguing in favour. But the motion was lost on a card vote, as two or three of the larger unions had been

STUC supports "magnificent struggle" of workers in Prisme Dundee occupation

2009-04-24T00:01:00.000+01:00

(Friday 24 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth The final act of the 2009 STUC Congress in Perth was to pledge support for the workers who have occupied the Prisme packaging premises in Dundee over the last 7 weeks. Mike Arnott of Dundee TUC said: "When we were told about

Scotland's unions demand Trident cancellation

2009-04-24T00:00:00.000+01:00

(Friday 24 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in PerthCongress reaffirmed its opposition to the Trident submarine missile system, calling on the government to cancel the programme of Trident replacement and work with the Scottish government and others to diversify Scotland’s economy. Tommy Morrison of Clydebank TUC said: "Trident

Congress calls for reinstatement of forced-out newspaper staff

2009-04-23T00:00:00.010+01:00

(Thursday 23 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth Congress passed an emergency motion from the National Union of Journalists on Wednesday condemning the actions of Daily Record and Sunday Mail directors for cutting a quarter of editorial jobs. NUJ Scottish organiser Paul

Restore pension link now, demands STUC

2009-04-23T00:00:00.009+01:00

(Thursday 23 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth The Scottish TUC urged the government on Wednesday to immediately increase pensions above the poverty line - currently at £151 per week - and restore the earnings link. The pensions motion rejected the idea that there is a pensions crisis because people

Way for democracy

2009-04-23T00:00:00.008+01:00

(Thursday 23 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth A packed STUC fringe meeting in the Salutation Hotel heard RMT general secretary Bob Crow make the case for the new left-wing, anti-EU electoral alliance No2EU. "The EU was sold to people on the basis of its social benefits after the war," Mr Crow said on Tuesday. "The capitalist states were petrified that the Soviet

Salmond supports Scottish bank idea

2009-04-23T00:00:00.007+01:00

(Thursday 23 April 2009)by Malcolm Burns in Perth SNP First Minister Alex Salmond told the STUC Congress in Perth that his government would act to establish a Scottish Investment Bank, as called for in the STUC agenda for rebuilding collective prosperity. Mr Salmond said: "In the aftermath of the

Forget the bankers - focus on the workers, Barber tells government

2009-04-23T00:00:00.006+01:00

(Thursday 23 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth In a fraternal address to the STUC in Perth, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber urged the government to show "the same determination in protecting working people from the worst of the recession as it has in protecting banks from the greedy excesses of their bosses."

Health and safety 'needs transparency'

2009-04-22T00:00:00.005+01:00

(Wednesday 22 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth STUC Congress demanded a new culture of transparency in health and safety on Tuesday to address the high level of fatalities in Scottish workplaces. Construction union delegate Harry Frew said: "In the last five years, 148 workers including 35

Delegates call for a balanced energy policy

2009-04-22T00:00:00.004+01:00

(Wednesday 22 April 2009) by Malcolm Burns in Perth STUC renewed its commitment to a balanced energy policy on Tuesday based on a diversity of fuel sources, to enable secure, affordable energy supplies and help cut emissions. Unite union delegate Marie Vannet said: "A balanced energy policy is