Ab Fab

Ghurkas 267

NuLab 241

"When it came through, we saw it on the screen and I can't tell you the sense of elation, the sense of pride – pride in our country, pride in the democratic system and pride in our Parliament,"

Johanna Lumley

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Swine Flu - A Damien McBride Conspiracy?

This thought has entered my head.

On a day that the Government was humiliated over the Gurkha vote, is about to lose ( has already lost) the MPs expenses vote, and Brown has had a car crash of a performance at PMQs, what do all the networks lead and bleed on? " About thirty people have flu", or "Mexican girl dies in Texas of swine flu" - as opposed to the hundreds of Mexican that die in Texas ever year of general neglect and discrimination.

I know Swine flu is potentially serious, but is this media hype in anyway helping - other than spreading unnecessary panic? And what is the practical advice on offer other than "don't go to Mexico"

I could say all this was one big NuLab conspiracy, especially as Damien McBride has this week astonishingly been spotted in the Commons chatting to journalists - apparently still with his Downing Street issued parliamentary pass! But I wont. Instead I'll say this feels like one big pharmaceutical industry conspiracy.

Meanwhile, GB goes from bad to worse, with that "Resign" e-petition now topping his own website's petitions page, and pulling away rapidly from its rivals. I now don't even know if Brown can hang on until his planned execution day - the day after Euro Election results.

Here though is an alternative exit strategy: He could feign illness and resign on health grounds - swine flu - caught off a Gurkha in Iraq. How appropriate?

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For the Gurkhas

Thanks to Lord Elvis of Paisley's blog

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Gordon Brown is Number 1 - In His Own Chart!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/

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Homage to Catalunya - And Chelsea No More!

. More Than A Song......

"Barca!" was written in 1974 to celebrate FC Barcelona's 75th anniversary. A great song for sure, but penned under the rule of a Spanish dictatorship on its last legs, after 40 years of power. And whilst the corrupt Franco regime had done lots of bad things to the entire population of Spain, nowhere had its vengeance against those who had stood, fought and died for democracy and freedom been harsher than in Catalunya, and its capital city, Barcelona.

But despite the oppression - including the bricking up of the Catalan Parliament, the execution and exiling of its leaders, and the banning of the Catalan language and the the Catalan flag - throughout, a safe haven for the people had been the terraces of FC Barcelona. Even attempts by the dictatorship to crush the club on the field through direct funding of its main rival, Real Madrid, plus the bribery and intimidation of officials and more had failed.

So listen the words of this rousing tune in this context. Yes a celebration of 75, now over a century of a fantastic football club, but more than this. More than a club. Mes.

That is just one - but the big - reason I will be supporting Barcelona tonight against Chelsea, and I hope beyond in the Champions League final in Rome next month. And the contrast between the fast flowing expansive football of a club owned and ran by its own members - its "Socis" 160,000 strong - and the grinding dull output of the personal plaything of a foreign billionaire could not be greater.

And whilst most Chelsea fans have thankfully moved on, amongst them will be a not insignificant band of racists and neo-fascists, who would have been well at home in the Falange of General Franco - they still even use his salute.

So Samsung or UNICEF? Democracy or dictatorship? Football from the community or bought in football - bought in with dodgy money.?

........I'm with the original, and forever, Peoples' Club!

- Et Viva la Quinte Brigada!

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A Legend Speaks!

"During my time at Everton, Goodison Park came to feel like a second home, with the supporters of the club, and the people of the city becoming a second family to me. If you were to take Everton out of the City, I firmly believe the club could no longer call itself the ‘People’s Club’ and I give my whole-hearted support to the campaign to keep Everton in the City."

Duncan Ferguson

Join Duncan in the Campaign

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God is a Wee Bald Guy from Ayrshire - if you work at Scotland on Sunday

Scotland on Sunday is this morning leading with an article in which tycoon billionare, Sir Tom Hunter mumbles something about the Scottish Goverment cutting income tax by 3p. "It has got to be good", he answers to a question from an SoS reporter.

This has sent SoS's editors and top scribes into overdrive - the scoop of the century? Certainly compared with Guido's hyped-up blog expose of a little bit of high jinks in high places, ( that's the one SoS totally missed) Here though the authoritve, real journalistic community - the voice of the nation ( well the EH1 bit) - hits back with this fine stuff.

SoS.... "say no to drugs" - please stop taking those mind altering chemicals.

Lets start with basic facts: A a cut of 3p would lose the Scottich Government about £1,000m per year in lost revenue. So where will these billion pound worth of cuts now required come from?. And how could Eck then still bleat on about the "viscious" £500 million ( near non existant) "cut" impossed by Darling?

And the idea that the UK Treasury, any Treasury, would sit back and allow rich English folks to move their tax base to Scotland to take advantage of our lower rate is a fantasy. Pure fantasy - stuff so unrealist JK Rowling would not put in her next Harry Potter book, if there ever is one, An internal tax haven? When they, ( and the entire G20!) are at last trying to clamp down on the offshore ones.

Sir Tom Hunter blows his nose and SoS would run it as a lead story.

But Tax cuts? Even the Tories in the face of the UK's £175bn fiscal deficit and rising, have all but admited any tax cuts for the forseeable future are an impoosibilty

But here is SoS peddling it a a realistic Scottish only policy choice. Desperate stuff journalistically. "Rio Ferdinand shagged three hookers" would be a more newsworty headline - and he probably did. Yet it's us Bloggers that make things up, hype, publish tripe!

Thsi Blogger preducts, guarantees, there will be no Tartan Tax cut.

When Tavish Scott and his Scot Lib Dem panto sidekick Jeremy Purvis raised this very same issue at Holyrood during the Scottish Budget Debate in February, other MSPs did not know whether to laugh or cry, Fellow Lib Dem MSPs headed for those hills. And the whole infantile idea was quickly buried by Tavish in round two of the Budget Bill negotiations. But the SoS has revived THE BIG IDEA !

I say SoS , because look at what Tom Hunter actually told them on their promting - "It has got top be good,," Of couse it would be - in a theoetical bubble. But then examine the consequences, the reality. Did your sleauth journo not think to ask Sir Tom, about the consequenses, as every political party - SNP, Lab, Conservatce and Green had done relentlessly the Lib Dems, to the point of demolition, only a few weeks back at Holyrood?

Why not? Probably as the repoorter feared, - all but knew - what Sir Tom would have said; Near exactly what I've just said above. What Alex Salmond, Ian Gray, Anabell Goldie, Partick Harvie near every MSP, left, right and centre said a few weeks back, and said so effectivey that even Tavish has belatedly began to agree with them.

But that would have gotten in the way of this "scoop"

And, oh to be a billionaire. I could say anything and be on the front page of SoS. and half of the rest of them every week. An end to this tiresome blogging, thinking. Retire and let these trained, professional, investigative journalists Margo so admires get on with it.

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