Personal Blogs

I went out to see Dark Waters last week. I mentioned it on the blog a few weeks ago. It’s the story of lawyer Rob Bilott who sued Dupont, initially, on behalf of Wilbur Tennant, a farmer whose animals had died, or were dying, in Parkersburg, West Virginia and which eventually became a large, class-action law-suit, which he fought for 20 years on behalf of the citizens of Parkersburg and won many millions of dollars for them in compensation. Although, it’s not much good, when your health is buggered.

Mr Tennant’s animals were being poisoned with the chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA/C8, which is made by Dupont and which we know as Teflon. Your non-stick pans are coated in this stuff and it has also been used on waterproof clothing, stain-resistant rugs, microwave popcorn bags and even dental floss. Add that to the fluoride in the toothpaste and that’s a nice little toxic mix to put in your mouth.

It is estimated that 99% of all humans on the planet have PFOA in their bodies because once it is in it is very hard to get rid of.  The worst thing about it is that Dupont knew how toxic it was but just never let on. They released it into the water in Parkersburg and it was also released into the air. They even tested it in cigarettes which they gave to their employees and who, of course, took ill but weren’t told why.  It has been linked to six diseases, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pre-eclampsia and high cholesterol and it was also found to cause birth defects; one of the real life children affected by this appears in the film, Bucky Bailey.

It’s a deeply moving story (at least I thought so) of the little guy (as always) getting screwed over by those with money and power. I highly recommend you go see it because we don’t see enough of this kind of exposure anymore.

Coincidentally, I’m reading Dark Actors at the moment; this is the story of Dr David Kelly by Robert Lewis who ‘committed suicide’. He was the only person to speak out against the ‘dossier’ for war with Iraq, remember that fake news? He was vilified and hounded by New Labour and the media for his honesty. I’m only 79 pages in at this point but it gives a very good insight into that New Labour toe-rag, Jack Straw and Tony Bliar too.

Considering now the whole Epstein/Prince Andrew/ Bill Clinton and other various scumbags story that is playing out, it wouldn’t take a genius to join the dots of a Mossad/CIA led honey trap whereby up and coming politicians/celebrities are seduced by the glamour on offer from the likes of Epstein, then filmed and recorded, and which is then used to blackmail and control them and ensure the agendas of the puppet masters are followed. 

I also read another book this week, it was a very short one and I got through it in an afternoon. It is the Great British Skripal Hoax by Nicholas Kollerstrom, and available from richplanet.net. I never believed the Skripal story for a minute, the whole thing is too absurd (do they really think we are that stupid??) but what is most disturbing about it is where exactly are the Skripals? Are they being held against their will by British and/or American intelligence? Are they even alive? How can people just be made to disappear in an allegedly ‘free and open society’ and no one even question it or do anything about it?

It’s worth a read especially in relation to a man by the name of Christopher Steele, who compiled the other fake dossier about Trump and the alleged Russian interference in the last US presidential election. Apparently, Mr Skripal who was a double-agent and was released from Russia as part of a spy swap, was about to leg it back to Russia and the security services (MI6) couldn’t allow that to happen because he helped Mr Steele compile the dossier which the Russians would then know about, and who knows what else he may have had to tell them.

By the way, also beware of an organisation called Integrity Initiative, it’s just another black ops group spouting propaganda on behalf of the deep state.

The thing about all these dark and dirty goings-on is that they aren't really very secret at all. We are all aware of the propaganda and lies that are pumped out by a compliant media and there is no such thing as an investigative journalist any more, at least, not in the mainstream media. Everything is hiding in plain sight, we know that the politicians don't really run the country; we know there are dark actors behind the scenes manipulating and controlling everything. We and they know that there is little or nothing we can do about it, some people just don't want to know and who can blame them when we see how ruthless and murderous they are. But still, it does no harm to remind ourselves just how rotten the deep state is and it is laudable that there are still people out there, researching and reporting on the rot that corrupts politics and business and are prepared to take them on and expose it.

We haven't had a working government in Stormont for 2 years now.  It's a political stalemate between the 2 extremes of Irish Republicanism (Sinn Fein) and Unionism (DUP) which are, in all probability, irreconcilable.  Especially, since the DUP hold the balance of power in Westminster and are keeping Theresa May in office and the Conservatives in government.

The same political stalemate is happening in the US with the stand-off between a Republican president threatening to close down the Government again and the Democrat-controlled Senate refusing to fund his wall.

Then, we have the political shambles of Brexit with Theresa May incompetently lurching from one crisis to the next and unable to deliver a 'deal'.  There is political stalemate with Europe refusing to renegotiate and neither the Left nor the Right anywhere able to fully grasp the reality of life outside the Parliamentary bubble for the rest of us and deliver what we want and need and not just on Brexit.

The stagnation of politics in the West at the present time is because we are caught between 2 irreconcilable positions, the Left and the Right, or public vs private and there is no-one of competence, capable of stepping up and delivering a coherent and practical alternative. (Well, apart from me!)

The other problem is that the political structure and the policies of the Left and Right are years out of date and do not serve the world of today.  The Right dominates at the moment because the Left have collapsed and failed to address the reasons for this.  Tony Blair did attempt to move Labour from the old policies of the 70’s that had kept them out of office and towards the middle but unfortunately, he kept going in that direction and ended up more right-wing than some Tories. 

The Right believe in capitalism, especially Free Market Capitalism which has been the doctrine since the 1980’s.  It doesn’t matter that it collapsed in 2008; those on the Right still refuse to acknowledge its failure or to acknowledge that it worked best when it came with a social conscience as it did in the time of people like Cadbury and Rowntree.

The political doctrines of the left and right were drawn up when the parties were formed, either in response to or opposition to, events or social and political conditions as Labour did after the Second World War when the populace demanded change.  The Welfare State was set up to address the demand for better health care, education and housing and to provide a safety net against poverty.  However, the Conservative Party detest the Welfare State and have been doing their best to dismantle it since then.  Their belief in the private over public is best seen in the way they sold off and privatised all the nationalised industries. 

Here in the North, Sinn Fein are becoming strangulated by their ‘ideals’.  Their refusal to sit in Parliament was a policy drawn up a hundred years ago as a protest against British rule in Ireland.  Since they have signed and accepted the Good Friday Agreement, they have accepted British rule in the North so why are they not taking their seats?  They also have a problem with the oath to the Queen but let’s be realistic about it, would anyone think they really meant it? Or they could do what Tony Benn always did and cross their fingers.  If they were in Parliament, they could at least drum up support against the oath from other Parliamentarians and get rid of it altogether.  Ironically, if they had taken the seven seats they won after the last election, they could have made life very difficult for the Government and since they were able to change their position on the EU from anti to pro within a couple of years, I don’t see why they can’t make that change.

The doctrines of the Left and Right, like Sinn Fein and the DUP are based on certain ideals.  Each has their own belief in what the world should be from their perspective and they try and shape it to fit in with those ideals.  That’s not to say that having ideals is necessarily a bad thing but when it translates into policies and dogma that are unchangeable and cause political stagnation then it becomes a problem. 

The politic world is ripe for change, a middle way has to be found between left and right, a balance between public and private because as history has shown us, neither of these options has worked when put into practice. It is time to abandon the doctrines of the past and move towards a new way of working. Brexit has shown that issue-based politics has driven a wedge through the left and the right but it also offers hope of a better way of working in the future.  Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) it would mean the parties within Westminster would have to abandon their dogmatic political position and work to deliver a solution where politicians would work together to resolve the issues instead of trying to impose a party-based solution more concerned with keeping a government in power but which cannot deliver in the long term.

We need a complete restructuring of the political landscape.  We should decide on the issues, healthcare, housing, transport, security, education, what are we willing to support through taxation, what kind of society do we want and what are we willing to do to create it?  In abandoning party politics and moving towards issue-based politics, we would be dealing with the actual problems, free from the dogma and rhetoric of the past and instead, focussed on finding a solution to today’s problems. It would also mean a reduction in government and an end to cronyism and corporate predominance. 

There should also be rules in place so that only people who actually live in a constituency have the right to stand for election in that constituency. This would get rid of the London-centric politics which has split the country and left those outside the London and Parliamentary bubble feeling disconnected and forgotten.   

While many are worried about Brexit, we should see it as an opportunity to redraw the political landscape.  Once Britain is free from Brussels, we have the chance to start over, to wipe the slate clean and rebuild society and the political structure.  Margaret Thatcher once said ‘there is no such thing as society’, this was a very famous quote but it was only part of what she said, she went on to say, ‘There are individual men and women, and there are families.  And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after ourselves and then look after our neighbour.  It is time to look after ourselves. 

Change will come, the disaffection of the people with politicians and the political structure is evident across the world.  We have hit an impasse and Brexit has revealed the failure of the Left and Right to find a way forward or to offer a solution.  If we are to move forward, then we have to address the realities of the world today and create a political structure that serves the needs of the people and the country first.  The day of party politics is coming to an end, change can be frightening but with a little courage and imagination, there is no telling what kind of society we could create.  All it takes is the will to make it happen, we can be idealistic and wish for a better world but at the end of the day, it is up to us to create it.  Idealism does have its place, it can and does inspire us to action, great men like Mahatma Ghandi were idealistic and achieved so much but it was achieved through action and by facing and dealing with the realities of the day.  

Idealism fails when it doesn’t deal with reality as we have seen only too well in the last century. 

Albert Einstein once said, ’Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow’.  I think we should learn from yesterday, act today and tomorrow will take care of itself’.

A few weeks ago, a bomb went off in Derry; a stark reminder of what can happen when the ‘ideals’ of the past, impinge on the present reality.  When vacuums open up in politics and leadership (quite often between their ears!), the worst elements step in and try to fill them. 

Well Jimmy, can you believe it?  The fight we have all been waiting for is finally on!  The 2 big hitters of the Northern Ireland political scene, Sinn Fein and the DUP are finally set to slug it our in a clash that has been dubbed 1690 vs 1916!

These two have been dancing around one another for years and there have been many skirmishes along the way but there was never a decisive victory that one could claim over the other.  But here we are now and who could even begin to try and predict the outcome of this?  The line has been drawn between them for the first time in over 40 years and the last election has ironically, strengthened bother their hands. Red hands at that! (That's just a little 'in' joke for the Ulster folk)

They have laid waste to the SDLP and the Ulster Unionists, those former giants of the political arena whose glory days now seem, sadly, behind them.  How this will turn out, is anybody's guess!

In the green corner, we have Sinn Fein or the Shinners as they are affectionately known, thought not by the DUP!!  Sinn Fein are the political wing of the now retired IRA. (they haven't gone away, ye know!)  They were on the 'Catholic' side during the Troubles.  They fought for many years in the 'armed struggle'...sorry, I have to apologise, it seems I got that wrong!  They didn't fight but they 'supported' the armed struggle or as they called it 'the fight to free Ireland from the yoke of British Imperialism'.  Although the DUP would have a lot more to say about that and still consider them a 'bunch of bloody terrorists!'.  Okay, what a pair!  This is hotting up to be the fight of the century, although I'm not entirely sure what century we're talking about, but the trash talk had been going on for years!

Anyway, they have now laid claim to the nationalist mandate in the North and have grown in political strength and confidence since the end of the Troubles.  However, the big question remains - will they ever really have the confidence to get over the past or themselves and take the fight to the Wembley Stadium of politics (or should that be Croke Park!) the British Parliament???

The only all-Ireland party, they're also a growing political force across the border in the Irish Republic or their 'true' home and where last year, they fought the good fight against the introduction of water charges.  A big pro-EU party, which is ironic considering their name and their history.  Sinn Fein translates as 'ourselves alone' and they have fought for years against British rule in Ireland! 

Their big date in the calendar is Easter when they have rallies and marches to commemorate the Easter Rising and last year was the biggie as it was the 100th anniversary.  This was when Ireland started the fight that led to the founding of  the Irish Free State.  Strange that the Shinners seem quite happy to hand over the sovereignty of the country to the EU, the IMF and the World Bank after all that, but there you go...although, I think if truth be told, I think the Irish government have already done that!!

We don't really know how determined they are in their support for the EU, after all, it was that very same EU that imposed the water charges they fought so hard against recently!!  There are a few theories on this, some say that since they are newcomers to the international political scene, they want to enjoy the ride on the old gravy train to Brussels for a while longer and don't want to give up the perks and benefits of the EU especially since they have only just got their snouts in the trough!  Others think it's just the same old; whatever the DUP are for, they're against!

Anyway, whatever the reason, they have now moved up into the political heavy-weight class and there seems to be no one who can slow them down or stop them!!  And that, ladies and gentlemen, are Sinnnn Feeeiiiinnnn!!

Over in the red corner, we have the DUP or the Dupers, as some like to call them and not affectionately at that!  But don't mistake the 'red' in their corner for the colour of their politics because they are as far away from 'red' as you'll ever get!! 

Stalwarts of the political scene in Northern Ireland, they have been around forever, going right back to the early days of the troubles.  There are those who say there might not have been any troubles if that 'big mouth Paisley had shut up'.  Not my words, Jimmy, just the word on the street...

Anyway, if any party ever gave credence to the saying, 'politics is showbiz for ugly people', then it's the DUP.  Anti-EU, pro Brexit, they don't really need the trough of Brussels as they've just been given free rein to the British public purse.  (Seems there was a magic money tree after all!!!)  They were always able to depend on government support throughout the years of the Troubles, a reward for their staunch loyalty to all things British, even threatening the government when it seemed they weren't being British enough.  We'll never forget the 3rd Force or the Anglo - Irish Agreement protests, will we, Jimmy?

The DUP were on the 'Protestant' side during the Troubles, albeit a very conservative right-wing version of Protestantism.  They once refused to allow ELO to play in Ballymena as it was deemed to be too decadent!  Kidding???  I wish I was!

Like Sinn Fein, there's a big day out in the calendar for the DUP too, the 12th of July!  This is the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne when King William of Orange (Protestant) beat King James (Catholic) in a battle for the throne of England back in, yes, you've guessed it, 1690!  And they've been celebrating ever since which is ironic as the DUP aren't exactly renowned for being party people!  Another ironic fact about this is that King William (or Billy as he's also known) was, as one historian described, an 'avaricious homosexual'.  The DUP are well know for their anti-homosexual stance and had no qualms about getting rid of former DUP rising star, Paul Berry when he was reported to have indulged in some 'compromising' behaviour in a hotel somewhere in Belfast, a few years back.  Last seen, wandering in the political wasteland with a couple of unseated Ulster Unionists.  Awwww, shame...

Anyway, theie success in the recent Parliamentary election has added to their strength and power and they have teamed up with their natural allies...The KKK?  No, not at all, the Tories!  So, Arlene, has climbed into bed with Theresa (metaphorically, of course!) in the biggest act of political prostitution ever and the DUP are laughing all the way to the bank!  Oh what a party!

Money is what the DUP are all about, (Protestant work ethic and all that) and they do love to spend it, especially when it isn't theirs!  Always in the top rankings for MP's expenses, in 2015 the DUP took the top 2 places in the list with Jim Shannon claiming £205,798.23 and Ian Paisley Jnr, £195,247.59. 

They're also involved in a bit of trouble back in Norn Iron at the moment, in the Cash for Ash scandal where they paid businesses £1.60 for every £1 spent in a heating renewal scheme that is set to cost the taxpayer £490m over 20 years!  We won't even mention the Invest NI building, the most expensive rental property in Belfast at £25 a square foot which is going to cost the taxpayer another £120m also over 20 years!  This property was built as part of a PFI scheme and here's the real joke, after 20 years, the property developer is still going to own the building!  Oh, this is too much!!  You couldn't make it up!!

So, we are now poised to watch the 2 heavy-weights of Northern Irish politics fight it out to the bitter end (cos no one does bitter like they do here!!)  What do you think Jimmy, are the Shinners punching above their weight or will the brash newcomers take out the old dinosaurs!!

It's a tough one to call, Saint, Unionism isn't exactly known for standing their ground when it comes to a real fight,  They ran away from an Irish Republic back in the day, too afraid to let go of the old apron strings of Britannia and still don't seem to have the bottle to take on a United Ireland and fight their corner.

Sinn Fein, I have to say, seem hungrier for success.  For years, they liked to play the victim card blaming the British and the Unionists for repressing them but, changed times, Saint, and you can see their confidence growing with every election.  Who, 20 years ago, would ever have thought the 'bad boys' of Irish Republicanism would ever sit in Stormont with the DUP?  Or rather, the DUP would sit with them!  It seems 'Never! Never! Never!' was only until big Ian got the top job and the big pay packet.

Still, it's a close one to call, Saint, but if I had to pick a winner, I would have to put my money on the Dupers.  They've been doing the politics thing a lot longer and that experience has stood them in good stead in the past.  And big Arlene, I'd think twice about tackling her myself, a tough old cookie or as they say in Ulster Scots, 'a grand big cuddy!'.

The Shinners might be younger and hungrier but they don't have the experience of the old dinosaurs and you have to ask yourself if they are capable of delivering that knock-out punch when needed.

Ok, Jimmy, thank-you for that and I have to agree and go with the DUP too.  At the end of the day, they have the government on their side and as long as Theresa can hang on to power, they'll have the upper hand.  Mind you, you know the old saying, 'a week is a long time in politics', and we've seen some storms in the past year with Brexit, Trump and Corbyn all defying the pollsters!

And as if things weren't hot enough, the 12th is just around the corner and we all know what that means!  The old sectarian divisions will be ripped wide open again!  Bonfires!  Riots!  And you won't believe this Jimmy, on top of all that, Linfield (Norn Iron's version of Rangers) are set to play Celtic on July 11th in Belfast!!  What is going on in the world???

Hold on, Jimmy, I'm getting some news...just announced...apparently the Stormont Assembly is on hold, Sinn Fein are stalling over a promised Irish Language Act from Tony Bliar, sorry, Blair!  But you know Norn Iron, you can't have one side getting something without the other getting something too, so the DUP are demanding equality of footing for Ulster Scots!  See you, Jimmy!  Ah hah, what a game!

There are rumours that the Shinners are really holding our so Arlene won't get to spend the big bribe...sorry, pay off...sorry, what is it then??  What?  'The price of strong and stable government'... Really?  Is she still using that old line?  Well, I never...

Hold on, more breaking news...it's...it's...it's all off!!  Summer recess, they've all gone off on holiday to September.

So, what do we do now, Saint?

I'm f*cked if I know, Jimmy!

Following on from the last posting, I touched on the failure of the global capitalist system and the present economic situation and I would like to go back to that subject and expand on some things.  

Firstly, the present situation is not going to improve greatly in the near future basically, for the reasons I stated before, that being the failure of the present capitalist model which governments won’t or can’t admit to.  

There are many things wrong with the system and these problems go hand in hand with our political structure.  The way government is organised is out of date and the two main parties are still trying to govern with agendas that were relevant to the past but bear no relevance to the world we live in now. We have the Conservatives on one hand who are traditionally (and still) the party of the upper classes and the rich. On the other, we have Labour struggling to re-define itself in light of the New (Tory) Labour legacy of Tony Blair, and weighted with the historical legacy of the welfare state. 

Going forward, whoever can really define the middle road between public and private sector, in a way that works for everyone, will have the next election sewn up. This is where the Lib-Dems have failed and it should be where they are leading the way. Government should be the referee between public and private to ensure that workers are paid and treated fairly but not to the point where private enterprise is stifled. Its role should be to provide balance. 

So, going forward, here a few suggestions to improve and revitalise politics and the economy. The House of Lords has to go, the class system is the biggest obstacle to creating a society that works for everyone and as long as it is maintained by government, then the division between rich and poor is going to grow wider until it leads to revolution. This might have happened in Britain after WW2 but the creation of better employment practices and the welfare state by Labour probably stopped it.   

Next, I think the day of party politics is over, the two main parties come from perspectives that are out-of-date.  The Conservatives want to dismantle the welfare state but historically it is because of how the private sector did business and exploited it’s workers that lead to the creation of unions and the Labour Party. So the Conservatives are a retrograde party always trying to turn the clock back and skewing everything in favour of private business to the detriment of the ordinary working person. 

Labour are the traditionally the party of the working classes although, you would hard pushed to find many working-class on the Labour front bench these days. They are perceived as the supporters of the public sector and are often portrayed as the enemy of business and the private sector. 

Every time we elect a new government, we are changing between these two opposing positions. This constant changing just keeps screwing everything up as they come in and out, every 4 years or so, with their ideas on the best way to run things and set about dismantling the work of the previous incumbents. (The exception to this was the New Labour government who carried on the Tory agenda). This hits the state education system worse than other areas and probably accounts for how badly it performs in relation to the ‘public’ school system whose teaching and results remain consistent and, which probably accounts for the upper class dominance in the echelons of power and state. It’s a wonder, now when I think about it, why the Tories have never sought to privatise the government and they don’t seem to mind being paid out of the public purse! 

Come to think of it, maybe we should privatise the government, at least then we would be able to sack those who don’t do the job they’re supposed to do instead of having to wait until the next general election. 

Realistically, what do we need to run the country? A good accountant to manage and distribute taxes.  Then what???  Why do we need all these government ministers and politicians? Wouldn’t we be better off employing people to run our services and wouldn’t it make more sense to have someone who has worked in education or health, and spent most of their life working their way up through the system, to be the Minister for Health or Education. Someone who actually has years of experience in the field and not some upper class twat who never did a day’s work in their life and only got the job because they were best mates with the PM through college.  

It would take the politics out of politics and instead of general elections for political parties, we would have referendums on issues like going to war, or free health care. Imagine if we’d had a referendum on the Iraqi war, do you think it would have happened? There could be televised national debates on the issues, with those for and against putting their arguments and then we could all go to the polls to decide what to do. It would make us more responsible as citizens and more involved in the real issues that affect our lives.  

One of the main problems with politics today is that people outside of London feel cut off from the government and that most politicians are out of touch with the reality of our lives. So in order to remedy this, I think that most of the power should be taken out of Westminster and given to County Councils, with each county having an elected Governor.  Issues could be brought up through councils (these should also be elected and you would have to be resident in the county to stand for election). It would be the job of the Governor to liaise with the council and the offices of Ministers. The main task would be to let the government know how much money is needed for roads, health, etc. and to ensure that it is distributed properly. I also think that in order to prevent corruption, each county should have an independent Ombudsman to look into complaints and through them people could challenge any perceived unfairness or mismanagement. Maybe we could pay the majority of our taxes to our County Councils instead of to the treasury too, so we have more control as to how our money is spent and it would benefit our own areas more. 

All vital services like energy, transport, police, education and health should remain under the control of Government but to allow for private enterprise to maintain and reduce some of the waste, there should be a 51% Government to 49% Private split in their provision. I think all these services should also be managed by county councils with government overseeing from a distance.  

Going back to the economy and the global capitalist system, I also think it is time to start putting up a few trade barriers. I really think there should be a ban on global corporations and if we can’t ban them, we should make them return a percentage of their profits to the country they trade in regardless of where they are based. 

The big global brands have sucked the life out of our local and small businesses and all their profits go out of the country. I also think that a percentage of business profits should be shared among the people who work in the business. This could be done directly but I think that the best way would be to do it would be with a profit tax which would be specifically for health, education and pensions. Most people don’t mind paying their taxes if they are guaranteed that the money is used productively and they can see the benefits they get return.  In order to be fair about it, it should be capped, so that small businesses don’t get crucified with taxation the moment they start making a profit. 

So, what do you think?  Comments, as usual, are welcome.