Politicians Category
Politicans and world leaders making news and in the news, and spouting hot air
A Heated Debate On Camille Puglia And Hillary Clinton
CAMILLE Puglia is America’s answer to Germaine Greer. Writing for Salon, she notes on Hillary Clinton:
Hillary’s willingness to tolerate Bill’s compulsive philandering is a function of her general contempt for men. She distrusts them and feels morally superior to them…
It’s no coincidence that Hillary’s staff has always consisted mostly of adoring women, with nerdy or geeky guys forming an adjunct brain trust. Hillary’s rumored hostility to uniformed military men and some Secret Service agents early in the first Clinton presidency probably belongs to this pattern.
As Clive Davis notes, “I like the use of ‘rumoured’ and ‘probably’ in the same sentence.”
For someone so full of firm opinion, a paid commentator, this sounds a lot like mindless chatter.
Today the Independent plugged a book from the Centre for Policy Studies entitled Lexicon of Contemporary Newspeak.
A sample given is: “We do need to have a debate about it … We have to have a very big debate about this” said Harriet Harman when asked on the Today programme whether paid sex should be made illegal. When asked for a view, she called for a debate.
The Newspeak politician is like Ms Paglia, and many journalists, all uncertain, fearful of making a decision and trusting their own authority.
Of course, this all gives credence to the bloggers, who can feed off so much uncertainty. The people who post comments on websites can be said to “fuel the debate”.
The point of the debate is lost. It is just a mass debate, an onanistic din of voices all vying to be heard but lacking any authority or objectivity.
This article will of course now form part of debates on journalism, Ms Paglia, the use of the world “objective”, the web, Anoraks, men and women, and the ever popular debate on sex.
Let’s have a heated debate!
Posted: 14th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comments (4)
Gordon Brown’s Hearts And Minds
“SCIENTISTS have created a beating heart in the laboratory in a breakthrough that could allow doctors one day to make a range of organs for transplant almost from scratch,” notes the Times.
No need to donate, like Gordon Brown wants us to. Why not just the State a test tube and the encouraging words “Go for it!” instead?
Posted: 14th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment (1)
Gordon Brown’s Shares Scandal
THE plan so far: Gordon Brown wants to take your organs.
For now, the talk is of waiting for you to first die, although do you really need two kidneys, two eyes (Gordon has made it to the top with just one) and two arms?
Indeed, now with hands free phones, Polish gardeners and Filipino maids, middle class women might need no limbs at all, and can surrender them to people who really need them, like our Olympic hopefuls, pensioners and builders.
Make body part sales tax deductible and the trade may yet take off and aid the UK’s balance of trade.
To the present, and Brown is in the Sun stood beside the headline: “I saw pal nearly die waiting for heart. Donor let him live.”
“British peoples are a giving lot,” says Gordon, noting the Blue Peter bottle tops appeal and donations made to good causes via the National Lottery.
“A friend from school was within a few hours of dying because there was no donor available,” says Gordon, whose heart aches. “People were doubting the operation could happen. Then an organ was found hundreds of miles away. A life that could have been lost now flourishes.”
The moral of the story is clear: the exiting system works just fine.
Thanks Gordon.
Thanks for sharing with us…
Posted: 14th, January 2008 | In: Politicians, Tabloids | Comment
How Globalization Is Viewed By Clinton And Obama Supporters
IN “The Globalization Election”, Fred Siegel writes:
Clinton’s slide in the polls began when she muffed a debate question about whether she supported New York governor Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. But when, in a subsequent debate, Obama botched his answer to the same question, he suffered no political penalty. That’s because Clinton draws her support heavily from white and black working- and middle-class voters who feel threatened by the double bind of increased internal and external economic competition. Obama’s core constituency, by contrast, is made up of people who have benefited from outsourcing and immigration, so the issue of illegal immigration doesn’t cut against him.
As Clive Davis notes, “there’s a clear class divide”…
Posted: 13th, January 2008 | In: Money, Politicians | Comment
George Bush’s Middle East Birds
GEORGE Bush in the Middle East spot the difference contest: 2003 (Iraq), 2008 (UAE)…
Spot five differences and win a good stuffing…
Posted: 13th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
Gordon Brown Owns You And Your Organs
GORDON Brown has “thrown his weight behind” (Telegraph) a move to permit hospitals to remove organs from dead patients without explicit consent.
Good for the ill in need of an organ. But does it mean that your body is owned by the State, unless you opt out?
And does that mean that the State takes precedence over religious beliefs?
Will the wake be enjoined by wonks playing games of Operation with the dearly departed?
Looks like another Labour Party donation problem…
Posted: 13th, January 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Politicians | Comments (10)
Barack Obama’s Plane Crash
NO: “The plane carrying Sen. Barack Obama struck another plane while taxiing at Midway Airport in Chicago early Saturday morning.
At 2:45 a.m. Central Time, the Gulfstream 2 plane that carried Obama, nine other passengers and two crew members struck a parked Cessna 208 general aviation plane, which can carry 10 to 12 passengers.
“There was minor damage to the wings of both aircraft, although no one on either of the planes was injured”
What’s that talke we hear? A warning, you say? A conspiracy? You thought Obama could fly unaided?
Posted: 13th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment (1)
Hillary Clinton Slips In The Recession
SOME economic analysis from Hillary Clinton: “I think we’re slipping toward a recession,” she said. “A couple of people that I met on the street, they work in construction. They tell me it’s slowed down.”
Hillary’s common touch…
Posted: 11th, January 2008 | In: Money, Politicians | Comment
George Bush Postcards: Ed Gillespie Visits Bethlehem
BLOGGING peace. The White House has a new blog – Trip Notes From the Middle East. This from Ed Gillespie “Counselor to the President:
On a personal level, this is an exciting way for someone to visit the Holy Land for the first time. Our delegation made a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem today. It was incredibly moving to see the site believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, and thinking about the impact on thousands of years of humanity that was begun on this sacred spot.
Thousands of years of humanity. Anyone guess how many years? Go on, have a go. And, indeed, it is always good to visit a famous site on your own, with the nutters, tourists and Thompson reps kept at bay by the men in shiny suits…
Posted: 11th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
PM’s Petitions: Corsets For The Fat
PRIME Minister Petitions: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make it compulsory for the Under 5’s to wear corsets”
And: “It is a known medical fact in the UK that most under fives are now obese or the size of small elephants. Therefore, it would make perfect sense to make it compulsory for under 5’s to wear a wale bone corset, thus creating a better posture and slender look!!” – Michelle Minnett
Rejected: “It was intended to be humorous, or have no point about government policy”
Although make it synthetic whale bone, and you’re on to something…
Posted: 11th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment (1)
Tony Blair’s J P Morgan Wage Is Good For Britain
“TONY Blair will earn around £2 million a year in his part-time role as adviser to the Wall Street bank JP Morgan without ever having to go into the office,” says the Telegraph.
“BLAIR’S £1m-A-Year PAYBACK FOR IRAQ,” thunders the Mail’s front-page headline.
Says Reg Keys, whose son was killed in Iraq: “If he had a conscience or any sensitivity he would not have taken this job.”
Chimes Conservative defence spokesman Gerald Howarth: “It will be viewed with some contempt by the armed forces that he picks up this large cheque when he was happy to send British troops into battle ill-equipped and in insufficient numbers.”
“It’s almost like blood money,” comes the headline inside the paper.
But surely if Tony is earning money and domiciled in the UK, he is paying UK taxes. His wages will go into the big pot and be used to pay for things like better guns, improved armour and more soldiers.
Like him or not, Blair has the right to earn money…
Posted: 11th, January 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Money, Politicians, Tabloids | Comments (2)
John Kerry Boosts Hillary Clinton’s Campaign
LIFE for Hillary Clinton just keeps getting better: “Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the White House.
Kerry the flip-flopper. The loser. He backs Obama. Bill Clinton backs Hillary.
Quoting a black American hero in endorsing the man who hopes to be the first black president, Kerry told a cheering crowd, “Martin Luther King said the time is always right to do what is right.” Now is the time, Kerry said, to declare “that Barack Obama can be, will be and should be the next president of the United States.”
Your white loser pal plays the race card. You’re doomed…
Posted: 10th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment (1)
Peter Hain Prepares To Declare
PETER HAIN:
Peter Hain is preparing to admit to the Electoral Commission that he has failed to declare more than £100,000 in donations to his campaign for Labour’s deputy leadership.
It is understood that there are almost 20 donations that his team failed to declare, in breach of the rules for party political elections.
The scale of the under-reporting – more than half the total income received by the Hain campaign – will shock many party members and raise questions as to how such a massive apparent oversight occurred.
An oversight. And these people make the rules…
Posted: 10th, January 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Politicians | Comment (1)
Hillary Clinton Does A Paul Tsongas
PAUL Efthemios Tsongas won the New Hampshire primary in 1992.
Posted: 9th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
Barack Obama Channels Bob The Builder
BARACK Obama’s 2nd Place in New Hampshire Primary Speech.
Big promises. And then some bigger promises. And then some really big ones. But he just lost. Didn’t he?
But can we do it? Yes we can? Or, moreover, can he do it [become president]? Yes he can. Can I do it? Yes I can etc. etc. etc. Remind me one more time…
It’s a perfect job
Can you fix it
Right
Left a bit, right a little, O.K. straight down
We can tackle any situation
Look out, here we come
Can we dig it Yes
Can we build it Yes
Can we fix it Yes
Bob the Builder
Can we fix it
Bob the Builder
Yes, we can
Posted: 9th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comments (3)
Brack Obama Takes On Ron Paul In Web Traffic Race
IS traffic on a candidate’s website a guide to chances of success? If it is Barack Obama has the presidentcy in the bag.
barackobama.com‘s attracts as many visitors as his four main rivals’ sites put together. As Gawker points out, in a web election, he’d be up against Ron Paul.
Posted: 9th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
Baader-Meinhof Gang Were Much Misunderstood, Say German Greens
THE Croydonian notes: “Jutta Ditfurth, a former Green MP in Germany thinks Ulrike Meinhof had it tough:
“Ulrike Meinhof was a much more interesting, much more multi-faceted person than I used to think,” Ditfurth told DW-RADIO. “She was a woman who would have had a huge amount of opportunities and prospects — if only she’d had the good fortune to have grown up somewhere other than Germany.” Source.
There can have been few better places to be alive and in early middle age at the time Meinhof decided to become a terrorist. Africa? South America? The Soviet Bloc? China? The Middle East? Indeed, the BRD was such an awful mother to Meinhof that it allowed her to take a brace of degrees and be a full time student for some years before editing a magazine of the extreme left (Konkret), that continues to be published. Frau Ditfurth is an alumna too….
More, much more, on the Baader-Meinhof gang / Red Army Faction here.
Footnote – I *know* that the Raspberry Reich, or more correctly, das Himbeere Reich, was a dismissive term used by the extreme left for the Federal Republic, but it has proved extraordinarily difficult to pin down a reference because every possible form of googling turns up details on a film of the same name that is ‘A critique of terrorist chic from pop culture maverick Bruce LaBruce‘. If anyone can confirm the reference, I will be profoundly grateful.
Posted: 8th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment (1)
John Prescotts Gives Balls And Mallets A Leathering
SAYS Klim Seabright, secretary of the Croquet Association, in the Express: “When John Prescott was pictured playing croquet a couple of years ago, our sales [of balls and mallets] went through the roof.”
Veronica Vinyl, chairperson of the Leather Trousers Retail Co-operative, was “in conference” when we called…
Posted: 8th, January 2008 | In: Politicians, Tabloids | Comment
Mike Huckabee Channels Osama bin Laden
SAYS Osama bin Laden: “When we become believers, it’s as if we have signed up to be part of God’s Army, to be soldiers for Allah”
Or, as Mike Huckabee had it: “When we become believers, it’s as if we have signed up to be part of God’s Army, to be soldiers for Christ”
Posted: 7th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment (1)
John McCain Vows To Get Osama
IF John McCain were taller and younger, he’d win. Says he to Osama Bin Laden: “Osama, I’m going to get you. Even if I have to follow you to the gates of hell, I’ll bring you to justice.”
Posted: 7th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
Hillary Clinton’s New Slogan
HILLARY Clinton’s new slogan: “I’m here to identify with the little people, who don’t have $8 million book deals,” Sen. Clinton told a near-capacity crowd at the Orange Julius in the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua. “The voters in Iowa said they wanted change. And like my friend Rashid over there at the cash register, I’m saying ‘America, here’s your change’.”
Posted: 7th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
Playing At Serious Policy
AS it says: THE SeriousPolicy Game sets the player on a mission to win Treasury funding for a new policy. Players can get advice from Tony Blair, get on Alistair Darling’s nerves, or get congratulated by the PM. Along the way you wander through a virtual Members’ Lobby, pop into a simulated Treasury and are summoned to a stunningly realistic digital Number 10. A Paris Hilton look-alike provides some light relief and the MC has more than a passing resemblance to Keira Knightly.
But this isn’t satire. It’s designed as an example of how computer games can be put to serious use – for both citizen engagement and education. This game aims to:
- Demonstrate how political processes and decision making can be brought to life in a fun and interesting way through a virtual world
- Highlight to players, whether they be citizens or policy makers, the importance of public engagement in the decision-making process
Got a gun for this shoot ’em up? (Only joking)…
Posted: 7th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
The Democrat-Republican Group Hug
LGF sees: Political Gross-Out of the Year So Far
“We may have our political gross-out moment of the year already, with the Democrat-Republican group hug that followed the GOP debate”
Politicians hugging each other; kissing each – what happened to kissing babies and nannies?
Posted: 6th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
Mr Potato Head Endorses Hillary Clinton And Barack Obama
ANDY Green has met Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.. He got them to take a photo with his Mr. Potato Head:
The story of the young man and his spudhead began in 2004, when Green inherited the toy from his dying grandfather. Grandpa Robert had kept the faux spud on his bedroom shelf, Green says, and treated it like nothing more than a decoration. Green, however, wanted to show the toy around. So wherever he went — and Green’s traveled quite a bit — so went the spudhead. To the Statue of Liberty, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the Marine Corps War Memorial.
His parents and younger sister have a three-word explanation for this.
“That’s just Andy,” says his mom, Jenny Green, a secretary at Clinton Community College.
Says Andy:
He reserves his most intense reactions for Obama and Clinton, both of whom he’s seen face-to-face a few times.
Clinton, Green says, seemed “distant,” “cold,” “fake.”
“Look at her photo with Mr. Potato Head. She’s really smiling, but it looks like a really forced smile. It’s only because I told her she’s one of the last ones to have her photo taken.”
Meanwhile, Obama, Green says, was “engaging,” “open,” “just like one of us.”
“Look at his photo with Mr. Potato Head. He got into it. He’s really having fun.”
Posted: 6th, January 2008 | In: Politicians | Comment
The Nuclear Power Family
DIZZY looks at nuclear power:
The Independent on Sunday has a rather interesting story about the development of nuclear energy policy from the Government. They say that the Government is about to publish their White Paper recommending we build more nuclear power plants (now there’s a surprise!) and part of it will include what it is calling bribes for local community to accept greater dumping of nuclear waste in their areas.
What is interesting in this whole sage is that there is also an article in the Sunday Times which accuses Brown of running an 18th Century-style family clique at the top of Government. As I read it, before the Sindy’s article, I thought to myself how they had missed the Nuclear Family Affair at the top as well.
Most people know that consultation on nuclear was a sham designed to make money for yet more of Gordon’s friends and produce an already known outcome. Now, it seems that, just in case anyone gets a little upset, they’re going to throw cash at people to keep them sweet instead.
Posted: 6th, January 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Politicians | Comment (1)
