Cutting back - by Richard... Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Cutting back - by Richard... Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Overheard ...

"So what's the size of the Army now?"
"Dunno – about 105,000".
"And what size does David Cameron want to cut it down to?"
"About 85".
"85,000?"
"Nah ... 85".

He's got to pay for that foreign aid somehow. Needless to say, though, Guardian's content partnerapproves of all this largesse.

Then, of course, there's this: the Commonwealth Development Corporation is looking for an expert in banking or private equity to invest £2.5billion of taxpayers' money in an "anti-poverty" drive in developing countries.

The move follows the announcement that existing chief executive Richard Laing will step down early next year. He made headlines after pocketing almost £1million in salary and bonuses in 2007. Fellow executives at the organisation – owned by the Department for International Development – earned an average £435,000.

Well, it sure as hell sorted out their poverty.

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They don't get it either - by Richard...

I am not going to take the view that public sector workers are the embodiment of evil, while the private sector is all sweetness and light - think Crapita. But you really do have to wonder whether they think money grows on trees.

Of course, if a serious effort was made to cut back the burgeoning cost of greenery and other government waste, there might be a little more left in the pot to reduce the deficit. But even then we have a long way to go before the current public sector pension bill is affordable. Thus, not only don't they get it – they ain't going to get it. At least striking reduces the wage bill.

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The Boy dun wrong - by Richard...

Demonstrating quite how out of touch Cameron is on this aid issue, we see 1505 comments (and counting) to the Daily Mail article which we picked up here. Nearly all of them are hostile, one example (extract) here:

You got this issue very, very wrong Mr Cameron and I fear it will haunt you for a very long time yet to come. Obviously you are out of touch will the general mood of the Electorate in my view and I hope you will pay a heavy price for your dictatorial approach to the subject.

And here is another one ...

I've just been to see my bank manager. I told him there's no money in my account and my overdraft is up to its limit. I also told him my credit card are at their limit but that I wanted to borrow more money. He asked me what I wanted the money for and I told him I wanted to give it away. He told me I was mad and closed my account immediately and cancelled my credit card. He also told me I was stupid and reckless. Cameron just doesn't get it does he?

It is the sheer, unremitting arrogance that sticks in one's craw. He thinks he is right. Thus, what anyone else thinks simply doesn't matter. But it goes even deeper. Last night, he was heard on ITN to refer to "my citizens" back in the UK. Yet, if you ripped out the throat of this patronising slime, with his dying breath he would be wondering what he did wrong.

There is something very wrong here, something fundamentally wrong with our constitutional settlement that allows politicians to behave in this way – with no mechanism to bring them to account.

But do these fools not realise that, if they shut down all the mechanisms of political discourse, and detach themselves so completely from, popular sentiment, the only outlet left is violence? Their armoured limousines, their gun-toting thugs and their riot police will only go so far.

As the man once said, you can piss off some of the people all of the time, and you can piss off all of the people some of the time. But you can't piss off all of the people all of the time. That is just plain stupid - he might just as well tattoo the invitation on his forehead. Does he not realise that that is what he is doing?

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The fat lady sings - by Richard...

Jeff Randall says it had been just a matter of time before such an announcement would be made, declaring: "Well, surprise, surprise. It's really academic isn't it? The Greek government's been bust for ages, I think. This is a game, essentially".

Greece and the eurozone increasingly resemble a dying animal, with vultures circling above, says the Forbes blog. Now, we watch the "colleagues" squirm, as the Finmins hold an emergency meeting today. Where it will all end, no one knows. Tighten your seatbelts. We're in for a rocky ride.

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Not an ounce of sympathy - by Richard... Monday, June 13, 2011

Busy all day, desperately trying to get the referencing finished by the end of the week, I look up out of my ghetto to see Philip Johnston whingeing about how confused the poor little Tories are, at the unTory-like behaviour of the Cleggerons.

But, you would have had to have been as thick as month-old, sun-dried porcine excrement not to have seen it coming. The Great Leader, Cameron, is not, never has been and never will be a Tory. What should anyone be "baffled" when his Grand Coalition doesn't behave in a Tory-like fashion?

But do you remember what all those dim little Tories were saying at the time ... what was it now? He was "keeping his powder dry", wasn't it? Only when he was elected would he show his true colours.

Well, he's now showing his "true colours" – which are exactly the same as before the election, when the self-delusional little Tory Boys were trying to convince themselves – and us – that he was really something quite different.

And are we sorry for them? More likely, we would prefer to rub their smug, stupid faces in the stuff they so closely resemble. Not even an ounce of sympathy could we assemble.

Now, unfortunately, we are saddled with the likes of the Boy. Under criticism even from his own party supporters, what does he do? He tells them to get stuffed, and decides to spend another £800 million, earning the plaudits of one of the richest men in the world and Mary Riddell. That's democracy for you ... vote us in, and we'll do exactly what we want.

Witterings from Witney has got exactly the point: less emphasis on who we actually vote for, and more control over those actually in office, even if Klein Verzet wants to execute them ... some of them ... for a start. Who am I to argue?

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