Who Rules The UK?

In Open Democracy today is a long article by Anthony Barnett over the matter of the way LSE got into bed with Gaddafi and the objections made by Fred Halliday.




The first part is about the people involved but if you scroll down to the sub heading Gaddafi’s Calculations it will tell you how and why the Libyan regime was able to insinuate itself into a major UK institution.



The moral here is that not only was it very easy to do this but that so many of our political leaders and businessmen could not wait to take the money and hand over access and to a degree control.



So what else and where else have people with money and access laid there hands on or put themselves into controlling situations in UK politics, business, academia and the civil service?



http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/anthony-barnett/fred-halliday-david-held-lse-and-independence-of-universities?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=201210&utm_campaign=Nightly_2011-03-31%2005:30



Whoever rules, it is not the Parliament we elect nor those appointed under the Crown who are in charge of and managing our futures, it is those they go begging to for favours.



1n 1999 I was at the LSE for the occasion when JK Galbraith was given his Honorary Doctorate for services to economics and government. That there should now be a need for a formal enquiry about how the School makes its awards tells us a great deal.

When In A Hole Stop Digging

In the “Telegraph” James Delingpole presents a succinct case for why we should not be in Libya and why it may be a very bad idea to continue.

 http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100081828/10-reasons-why-we-shouldnt-be-in-libya/

A post from November 2009 reminds me that this one has been brewing for a little time now and guess who we might have to thank?

 http://thecynicaltendency.blogspot.com/2009/11/lord-mandelson-shooting-party.html

It will all end badly because there is no other way for it to end.

Cutting A Night At The Opera

The Arts Council has delivered its verdicts. We shall all hear a great deal about it. The Royal Opera House has been whacked for 15%.

In the spirit of the times I believe that a great many operas being on the long side could be shortened and the appropriate reductions made in staging. So here are a few recommendations:

CARMEN The tobacco factory has relocated to China.

THE MAGIC FLUTE Papageno really does get lost.

EUGENE ONEGIN Tatiana is out of writing paper.

THE LOVE OF THREE ORANGES The man from Del Monte gets there first.

LA TRAVIATA Alfredo decided to go to a better party.

TURANDOT The Prince of Persia wins.

OTHELLO The Ottoman fleet arrives first.

LA BOHEME Rodolfo skips work and goes to the bar early.

TOSCA Cavaradossi falls off the scaffolding.

RIGOLETTO Gilda get the hots for Sparafucile

PELLEAS AND MELISANDE The midges are biting, so they stay at home.

FAUST He is offered a tenured post.

THE TROJANS The Greeks have monthly return tickets.

MANON LESCAUT Des Grieux takes an instant shine to the barmaid.

FIDELIO Leonora decides she likes the job of Prison Officer.

JENUFA Singles culture comes to the village.

KATYA KABANOVA Mother-in-law retires to a houseboat.

CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN The Quorn pack gets the scent.

DER ROSENKAVALIER The Marshal gets home early.

ELEKTRA She decides Clytemnestra makes a good role model.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY Pinkerton’s ship puts back to San Diego with boiler problems.

SALOME John the Baptist escapes.

RUSALKA The water company drains the lake.

LUISA MILLER Wurm turns.

MOSES IN EGYPT Moses has vertigo and passes on the Mount Sinai visit.

ATTILA The lads decide on a package holiday to Ibiza instead.

CAPRICCIO A quickie divorce is less trouble.

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR Lucia decides that Greenock has more to offer.

THE PEARL FISHERS The tenor and the baritone decide to ditch the bitch.

NORMA She opts for single parenthood.

IL TROVATORE Manrico checks with the Registrar of Births.

KING ARTHUR Merlin has a change of heart.

NABUCCO Baal offers the Israelites a better remuneration and benefits package.

DIE FLEDERMAUS Eisenstein gets probation.

TALES OF HOFFMAN The students tell Hoffman they have heard it all before.

ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD & ORFEO ETC. Eurydice wears protective clothing.

BARTERED BRIDE Market forces prevail.

COSI FAN TUTTE The lovers decide group sex is more fun.

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Figaro goes to an Industrial Tribunal.

DON GIOVANNI The Commendatore wins the fight.

LA CLEMENZA DI TITO The Emperor calls in consultants.

SERAGLIO The Sultan makes Constanza an offer she can’t refuse.

THE ITALIAN GIRL The Sultan prefers curry.

LA CENERENTOLA The Prince is a breast man.

THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT She transfers to a Mobile Laundry and Bath Unit as a masseuse.

L’ELISIR D’AMORE The wine is corked. BORIS GUDUNOV The Boyars decide to have a Democratic Republic and vote in the Simpleton.

PETER GRIMES After a couple of pints in the pub, Peter opts for retailing.

THE TURN OF THE SCREW Miles is given a football.

NIXON IN CHINA Kissinger has a better idea.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM Puck’s flight is cancelled.

THE VILLAGE ROMEO AND JULIET The Land Registry has a copy of the Deeds.

THE MIDSUMMER MARRIAGE A garden makeover team arrive.

AIDA The UN sends in a peacekeeping force.

SAMSON A lifestyle adviser arrives before Delilah.

JULIUS CAESAR He reads his horoscope.

UN BALLO IN MASCHERA The Gypsy persuades them to try group therapy .

THE QUEEN OF SPADES They play snap for fun.

DIALOGUE OF THE CARMELITES The Mother Superior misreads the Holy Word as “celebrate” and not “celibate”.

AEMILIA DI LIVERPOOL There is a plague of beetles.

DON CARLOS He prefers a young chick to his stepmother.

L’HEURE ESPAGNOL They have wristwatches.

DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NUREMBURG Walther drowns his sorrows and misses the audition.

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE The boat sinks and the couple drown.

LOHENGRIN Lohengrin drowns.

PARSIFAL Parsifal drowns.

THE RING OF THE NIBELUNGEN Alberich drowns.

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN They all drown.

Power From The People

Just how would we in the UK cope with the scale of power reductions and outages that are occurring in Japan at the present time? My view is not very well at all.

With a hat tip to Some Assembly Required of today linked in the item The Road this is a story from The Seattle Times illustrated the effects on the ground:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014616863_quakenergy28.htm

There has been a lot of informed comment recently, largely ignored by the main media about how close the UK is coming to the margins in the productive capacity relative to increasing demands.

Few of us have experienced large scale power problems that last many days or longer.

Could we be about to find out?

Cherry Ripe

BBC4 last night put on “Anna Nicole” the new opera from Covent Garden, based on the life of the late celebrity Anne Nicole Smith. It is a story of modern times and a tragedy. It is intended to bring Opera into the 21st Century and by all accounts is quite a show.

My reservation is that life of the lady is a “soft target”. It is a pity that the Royal Opera could not be braver and tried a target nearer home and still alive. So here is a scenario for an Opera, “Cherry Ripe” which could be a hit, in more ways than one.

“Cherry Ripe”

Overture – “The Leaving Of Liverpool”

Act One

Scene One

It is outside Lime Street Station in Liverpool, in the background is the Liver Building and a Yates Wine Lodge.

Cherry appears, dressed simply as one of the Legion of Mary and carrying its banner appears walking slowly followed by others telling their rosaries. In the background is a chorus of nuns singing “We Know Where You’re Going” with watching angels praying hang from the flies.

Archbishop Beck steps forward and sings the aria, “Pray for Cherry, Everton FC and God” joined by a group of weeping priests. A group of shawl clad women wearing clogs prostrate themselves on the ground to touch the hem of her frock.

A grinning man outside Yates Wine Lodge is drinking from a pint glass. Cherry sings “Oh my benighted father” gives him a ten shilling note and he goes back inside. Cherry hands her banner to a nun and enters the station alone.

Scene 2

Houghton Street, London. A large dirty grey building with filthy windows. There are two letters above the door L and S, a third one has fallen off and painted in its place is “D”.

A large group of young men and women are sitting on the pavement and in the road holding banners with slogans of the period. They sing a rousing chorus of “Tories Out Out Out”. Cherry replies with the aria “Law will find a way”. They respond with a haunting chorus of “The Law’s an Ass”.

The stage darkens and when lit again Cherie is dressed in her graduate gown and wearing a mortar board hat. Her father emerges from the student bar at the back to sing “You’ll be lucky”, she gives him a pound note and he goes back inside.

A few figures move about aimlessly waving placards with new slogans, they sing “Wilson Out Out Out.” Cherry raises her rolled degree parchment and they all sing. “’Ere we go, ‘ere we go.”

Act Two

Scene One

The interior of the top deck of a London Bus. Cherry is with a young man with a big mouth and big ears. It is Tony, her new friend and they are alone. He sings, “What about a quickie?” and climbs on top of her. While this is going on she sings “Oh where are my briefs?”

They separate and she pulls down her skirt. The conductor appears, sings “That will be two to the terminus” and gives them tickets. Cherry pays. As Tony and Cherry begin to move, her father comes up the stairs. She gives him a five pound note. He sings “There’s Whiskey In The Jar”. Tony gives him the “V” sign as they leave.

Scene Two

Downing Street 1997. The entrance to No. 10 is flanked by a large chorus of people with police officers. The policemen sing “A Policeman’s Lot Is Not A Political One.” The chorus, who are carrying placards, respond with “We Are The Masters Now”.

Four TV news presenters sing a quartet “A Human Rights For Me”. As Tony and Cherry enter, the BBC presenter kneels weeping and sings “Anything You Say.” Tony and Cherry sing a duet “Who’s Sorry Now?” and all join in a rousing final refrain.

As Tony and Cherry enter, a large number of suited men and women talking into mobile telephones appear and stand outside No.10. They reprise the “’Ere We Go, ‘Ere We Go” of the first Act. Then they enter.

Cherry’s father appears, a police officer grabs him by the scruff of the neck. Cherry appears at the window and sings “Let Him Go, Brother” and throws down a handful of ten pound notes. In the scramble her father grabs two and runs off waving one in each hand. The chorus follow him singing “Money, money, money”.

Act Three

Scene One

A large room with bare blue tinged walls. They have portraits of Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. There are three sofa’s, one facing with two at slight angles. Tony sits on one, Cherry on the other and a man with staring eyes, Big Al, is on the other moving ceaselessly and twitching.

They sing a trio, “I Feel An Election Coming On”, a woman comes on to join Cherry and they begin to do Yoga. Standing on their heads they sing “The World Turned Upside Down”. President Bush appears with aides bearing a world map. Big Al hands him a set of darts. The others hum, “A Little Bit Of What You Fancy”.

Bush throws the darts at the map, the first two times Big Al shakes his head, the third time Al looks and sings “Stranger In Paradise”. A group of Liverpool fans cross the stage bearing a banner “Don’t Nuke Iraq Nuke Manchester” singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Big Al then leads a team of generals and civil servants in a dance sequence singing “Hey Diddley Dee A WMD For Me”.

All rush off the stage except for Cherry who begins to count on an abacus.

Scene Two

The same room, again with Cherry, Tony and Al on the sofa’s. Civil Servants, ministers, generals and advisers enter. A picture of Monet’s field of poppies is projected on the wall. They all sing “The Bells Of Hell Go Ting A Ling Ling”. John Reid tap dances across the stage and with Big Al, a general and an adviser sings “Without A Shot Being Fired.”

Cherry walks about with a placard stating “Human Rights Are Rights For Lawyers”. Then there is a general chorus of “We Are All Getting Re-Elected In The Morning” and they dance together.

Scene Three

The stage is bare with only a packing case in the middle with documents. Tony and Cherry appear and sing “When This Lovely Reign Is Over”. They pull out one document and a Queen Anne Country Manor is projected onto the wall behind them and then one of a large London house.

They embrace and a picture of the Pope appears, Tony kneels and an off stage chorus sings the “Ave Maria”. They return to the packing case and as their children come in one by one they are handed documents with pictures of various properties appearing. They all sing “This Old House”.

Pictures of Gaddafi and Mubarak appear, then George Bush to the music of “Strawberry Fields”. Cherry’s father comes in pushing a trolley of champagne bottles, helped by Silvio the butler accompanied by a troupe of lap dancers.

They are joined by a chorus of financiers and hand maidens and characters from the past. Tony and Cherry sing “We’ll Meet Again” and are then joined by all in “I Forgot To Remember To Forget” then “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” finishing with the reprise “’Ere We Are, ‘Ere We Are, ‘Ere We Are”.

During this showers of fifty pounds notes come down and pictures of tax havens are projected behind them finishing with Monaco.

The stage clears and there is a silence. Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao appear, look about them, and shake their heads. They sit down at a table and Marx begins to deal the cards as the curtain comes down.

Cheesy News About Coopers Hill

When my nearest and dearest went cheese rolling at Cooper’s Hill in the late 1950’s it was never like this.

That it should be cancelled in this way is very sad.

In those days it was much more of a local event and all quite fun.

I blame climate change.

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=156675894

Double Gloucester is still on the menu.

Returning The Census

Having been reminded, several times, about the 2011 Census Return, I thought it was about time to see what many are complaining about. After three minutes careful study, my suggested use being rejected on hygiene grounds, I realised that the thing could be done on the machine.

Being inclined to do more daft things online, like so many others, I fitted it in between the analysis of the day’s cartoons and the latest forecasts of the TEOTWAWKI to lighten the mood. So now I am listed forever as a hunter-gatherer sun worshipper.

This is probably more reliable than most of the returns they will get. I suspect that the scale of bad returns this time is likely to dwarf those of previous years and those seemingly sound will be littered with errors or falsehoods. As in 2001 in some districts the size and nature of the discrepancies will be very large indeed.

Also online are the old Census returns up to 1911 which have radically reduced the time and cost of looking into the past and not only for personal family history. It means that it is possible to do other things quickly and simply.

On my travels yesterday I picked up an Evening Standard, the weekly one which also had the property pages. Flicking through them to wonder at the figures, I saw a property in Twickenham not far from a place I know and the station. A three bedroom terrace house, no garage, good condition, is priced at fifty quid short of £600,000.

It is not exactly posh by any means, under the flight path for Heathrow and with a traffic system in the area that is very congested. The local shopping is not very good and other facilities very average, unless you like attending Rugby internationals or support Harlequins.

Days before I had seen a street in Liverpool on the TV, one I knew well but this one was boarded up for demolition apart from a couple of properties occupied by aged pensioners with nowhere to go and no money. Those houses had zero value.

Thank you Lord Prescott and all your chums in the property trade for creating all those wonderful schemes for “urban regeneration” that have ruined the lives of so many. These houses were very similar in type to the one in Twickenham and arguably the local facilities were better.

So I look at another place, Jarrow, for those with an interest in Labour history. It was not difficult to find another house of the same type. This one is still in a functioning residential area, modernised and costs around £120,000, possibly a top price for that sort given the work done on it.

Then I check out the 1911 Census for those streets and look at the entries of the inhabitants. There are many people listed in that Census that I knew well. Also, unlike the bare descriptions of trade because of this I am familiar with the nuances of status and income that are implied. Some I knew will have been in their forty’s so well on in life and work.

In both Liverpool and Jarrow the families living in the streets were of the lower middling/upper working orders, essentially supervisory and higher skilled. Most will have had regular or reliable incomes. Most I suspect will have been in the Senior Classes of the then Elementary Schools and with the others had some kind of trade training or apprenticeship.

Down in Twickenham it was not the same. They had decent working class jobs and varied in type but their income level and skills would have been a little below those of the others. This would fit with the economic structure of the period. Also it suggests that the rentals may well have been lower.

Moreover, I knew these districts in the 1950’s and can recall the situation then. By that time the shift in favour of values in the South had begun to appear. But to look at the divergence now in 2011 is to ask the obvious questions about just how wide the difference is and why?

One is that the dead hand of government mingled with high finance has wrecked the centre of Liverpool. In Jarrow they have not got around to that patch but the values still reflect housing for the more middling orders. But why have the costs in Twickenham gone so very high in comparison?

What it tells me is that there is something very unstable and wrong about the UK economy and Osborne’s budget is not going to do much about it.