UK Politics

[hectorberlioz]

I started writing out...but I have to go to class now...in about six hours....see ya guys later

[hectorberlioz]

Class canceled, but still not enough time....

Anyways, I'm very surprised; you guys don't have a "written law of the land"! ...I mean, I knew you guys flexed more flexily, but I didn't think it was that...human bound.

[sun-star]

We do have written laws, and our consitution is made up of all of them. We just don't have a single document codifying those laws or principles of government.

[The Gaffer]

Any comments on the Tory conference? Saved from terminal dullness by Boris? Not content with slagging off Jamie Oliver (for which I applaud him), he went on to moan about Scotland getting free university education and nursing care subsidised by England, rounding it off by saying that a Scots MP could not become Prime Minister of the UK.

Then to cap it all:

EVEN before he became the centre of attention yesterday, Boris Johnson was demonstrating his media savvy. Giving an interview to an American television station, he produced a yo-yo. Playing with the toy, he said its movement reflected the Tories' electoral fortunes. Then he dropped it on the floor. His swearing forced the crew to stop filming.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

i havent been watching party conference, too busy at my new job, and i sleep most of tuesdays and wednesdays (just got up), but i woulda liked to watch good ol' boris, he cracks me up

[The Gaffer]

Me too.

Though it's a sobering thought that if the Tories got in, he would be in charge of our education system.

[Butterbeer]

hasn't sobered me up ...

he really dropped it just then? ha!


good ol Boris - sod education, make him party leader! :rofl:

[Janny]

Originally Posted by The Daily Telegraph Letters Page

Sir - Surely the correct job title for Boris is "Gaffer"?

Woah.

[hectorberlioz]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

...this is actually pretty hilarious

[The Gaffer]

Usual Daily Mail "reds under the bed" bollocks. Reactionary and prejudiced to the max.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

i hate that ridiculour piece of right wing trash more than i hate something else which i cant quite think of at the moment

[The Gaffer]

Yes, I particularly love how having "homosexuals" working for the BBC is clear evidence of bias.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

haha, shows how retarded the writers and readers of that trash really are, doesn't it?

[hectorberlioz]

Actually, I laughed about the fact that the BBC is so diverse to hiring minorities, that the minorities are now MAJORITY

I think using "minorities" for a term is offensive towards the minorities, btw

[sun-star]

Regardless of what one may think of the Daily Mail, it's interesting to hear senior BBC reporters say that the organisation doesn't reflect the views or makeup of the country as a whole. I for one think that's true. The BBC (along with most other forms of British media, to be fair) is hugely biased towards London and mostly reflects middle-class, liberal attitudes. This doesn't mean it's incapable of unbiased reporting - I get all my news from the BBC at the moment and trust them in most respects - but Andrew Marr's comment there rings true for me:

'The BBC must always try to reflect Britain, which is mostly a provincial, middle-of-the-road country. Britain is not a mirror image of the BBC or the people who work for it.'

I don't know whether the BBC must try to reflect Britain, but I know that at the moment it doesn't.

[Butterbeer]

they tried to address that with ' little britain ' - that covered everything outside of London, apparently

... so the ol' Royal charter should be safe!

[The Gaffer]

Heh

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/fundi...972765,00.html

Tony Blair yesterday became the first serving prime minister to be interviewed as part of a criminal investigation when Scotland Yard officers running the "cash for peerages" inquiry questioned him for two hours in Downing Street.

Basically, Labour and the Tories have been handing out peerages (i.e. seats in the House of Lords and the right to call yourself "Lord" Scumbag) to people who donate or lend money to them. This has been going on for centuries.

Imagine if US Senators were appointed in the same way...

Inspector Knacker of the Yard has finally cottoned on to how this might just be totally and utterly corrupt, thanks to a complaint by the Scottish Nationalists.

[hectorberlioz]

*sigh*

So exactly what is Blair getting in return for his sudden turn in foreign poilicy? I mean, the guy is suddenly saying the liberal (over here) thing, that we should talk to Iran and Syria etc...something smell fishy? Is he trying to stay in for the remainder of his term after all?


One more thing: over here in Amer'ca, the congress is made up of two chambers...Senate and House. People elected to the House are known as "Representatives" not Senators., I've noticed a few mistakes on the part of British news websites who referred to Mark Foley as senator, which he was not. Though I'd clear that up

[The Gaffer]

That's why I made the parallel with the Senate, as they are the most similar to our "upper house" (though you have the privilege of electing them instead of them being appointed by the PM). But yes, I think people over here get the terms congress, senate and house of representatives mixed up.

In answer to your question: "yet more ridicule". For a start, there has been no sudden turn in foreign policy. You'll also have noticed that he has been slapped down yet again by Bush and is now backtracking. This whole middle east tour has been a farce, with everyone except him realising how irrelevant he is.

To be fair, what he wants to do is to get the peace process back on the rails. Sadly, however, Bush has no interest in doing this so there is nothing he can do.

I have to say that I do feel a little sorry for him, in that he found himself in a virtually impossible situation. Ultimately, however, that's no excuse for sacrificing your principles.

And no, I expect him to step down in the Spring. Brown needs a decent amount of time so he can pound the upstart Cameron into the dirt.

[captain carrot]

And no, I expect him to step down in the Spring. Brown needs a decent amount of time so he can pound the upstart Cameron into the dirt.

ah, with Rocky balboa about to open in the cinemas, a timely christmas message heh: a recall for Prezza?