Time, and the lack spare moments, has affected the continuity of this record, and to those who have mentioned this, apologies. But, and this is written with a smile, there is little income generated here..

Georgian President Saakashvili is a 'political corpse' according to Dmitry.. as the Russian return to it's rightful position as once enjoyed when it was 'the USSR' continues..
No fear here of isolation by Western countries that have condemned the Russian intervention... in fact Dmitry had praise indeed for the French refusal of join in the movement to impose trade restrictions against Russia..
An interesting progression, this Russian re-development.
Regaining it's international clout through the phase in which the west was courted.. NATO.. the increasing economic ties with the EU, China and India with Russian oil.. It's use of that commodity as an economic weapon in Georgia underlined country's growing influence.. The cooling of relations with the West.. refusal to meet NATO commitments indicate the beginning of the next step, wherein Russia, while not totally alienating the West, will keep the possible return to 'Cold War' status alive if for no other reason than to keep the particular 'fear factor' that phrase in the back of the minds of millions of American voters..
Great timing..
Recall the timeline.. fighting between Russia and Georgia began on 7 August after the Georgian military tried to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia by force.. Russian forces launched a counter-attack and the conflict ended with the ejection of Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia..
Now, Russia has since recognised the independence of both regions.. no other country has.. nor does it matter if any other does.
What matters is that Russia has a safe route for the construction of more pipelines to a growing market..

One of the problems the Asian countries will face more and more is typified by some problems Tata Motors is facing in West Bengal..
The problem is one integral to economic development.. the use of land once farmed to build factories.. West Bengal is not what one might call the most attractive of locations to invest in.. This factory is important for the development of the area..
It's the poorest of the farms which will go first, but whether Indian.. Chinese culture can keep pace with the cost of literally jumping into an infrastructure which would support a lifestyle anywhere near that available in the West.. is moot.
While it may well be what they're all working for.. the cost is only now becoming evident.
Inflation in India is a topic previously mentioned here, and it's future discussed.
The same with China, and the roll-on effects will sweep Asia, possibly causing more damage than any tsunami yet experienced.. The effects this will have on us, will be explosive..

It is disturbing however, when one takes a step back and thinks for a moment.. that come November we will either have a Republican in tenuous power facing some of the most important international and domestic situations ever faced by a man who will still be thought of as 'the most powerful man' on earth.. or by an Democrat international tyro, being led by a Vice-President who has international experience, but who's job it will likely be to cut, as gently as possible, alliances which have taken years to build, while the US becomes isolationist, concerned more with repairing the American Dream than debating the value of immediate involvement in issues the likes of Iraq.
Regardless Barak's statements to the contrary, his primary aim is to make America, and Americans, feel good about their country and themselves again.
When Britain did this, it was 1949.
We'll see what develops over the next 58 years..

Astounding.
This American Presidential campaign could not have been scripted better, had the best of Hollywood imaginations been working overtime..
Of far more importance, is this latest move by the Chancellor to allow the £Sterling to slide so dramatically against the Euro.
It's a canny move, with the $American recovering, and the Euro itself vastly inflated..
With the bald statement that "a lot of British taxpayers are going to be pissed off with the developments the economy will face in the near future..", that statement made a couple of days ago on the BBC.. Alistair has, for once, been forthright, and has left no room for misunderstanding..
Now, it is also a fact that it matters little whether the Tories or Labour is in power during the recovery process.. the solutions remain the same, and while the vox pop appears to be calling for Cameron.. it will be a case of six of one..

We are seeing more and more signs of a resurgent 'Russia'.. and while it has been said that Russia itself will never be a superpower again, one must point out it's tightening of relations with China and the EU.. with it's support of Georgian dissent.. with it's oil and it's ever increasingly sophisticated infrastructure and it's distancing itself from the West.. talk of resumption of 'cold war' diplomacy..
Smoke and mirrors..
It's almost taken for granted by the Western man on the street, that there is a cordial trade relationship between our markets, and the main Middle Eastern oil suppliers. How much thought is given to what talks might be going on between Moscow and Riyadh...

Keep an eye on Canada..
Prime Minister Harper could well call a snap election.
It's odd, how Canada has managed to keep such a low international profile..
World's second largest producer of gold.. diamonds.. oil.. with untapped northern reserves..
Quiet people, eh?

It might be worthwhile to keep half an eye on India today..
A nuclear development deal with the United States has the government facing a vote of non-confidence..
The left-wing has withdrawn it's complete support for the deal.. a number of reasons the likes of allowing some international inspections of existing facilities, something never called for before.. to simply dealing with the United States itself..
And while the deal may well be in India's best interests, considering it's desperate need for energy, it's become the focus of old enmities..
Interesting to note, that while India has the second largest population, politics is of any interest to some 9% of the population in general.. 29% in the cities themselves..
And many of those who are interested, have felt closer, perhaps less apprehensive would be better, with improving relations, economic and social, with Russia, rather than the US..


Also something to watch is how the current meeting of the World Trade Organisation will manage to escape reaching a final unanimous decision in a 'Free Trade Agreement'..
If an agreement is not reached that these talks.. there likely never will be one finalised, leaving developing nations to go it alone..
It's been seven years since the Dohar Round.. the stakes with the Indian and China markets opening so rapidly and how that market will be divided.. will be a integral part of any of the 30 nations before it's even considered whether any one of them begin decreasing their agricultural subsidy legislation.. allowing producers in countries the likes of Africa a competitive product..
The refusal of the WTO to reach an agreement which could be integral in bringing some African countries into their marketplace, could be a policy which will eventually bite them badly.. The reserves of oil which are even as yet undiscovered under that continent, may well have repercussions..
But.. billions of £'s are at stake if commitments are made and met..
Well.. met. The commitments were made seven years ago.

It would seem the government has finally seen the wisdom of a program initially proposed by the Conservatives some eight months ago, and is moving an entire strata of British society into a different layer.
Social Benefits, for a single man or woman, are not generous in Britain, but they are, barely, enough to live on. What they do not provide, a trait shared by all social-welfare societies, is something with which to fill the time of those out of work, be they skilled, or unskilled.
Still, the government's taking a soft approach to effecting this change. Those out of work, and having claimed social benefit for a year, will be required to do four weeks of 'community service'.. picking up rubbish.. painting over graffiti.. work around the community itself which even the Unions aren't interested in..
After two years though, claimants will do this work full-time. This effectively gives them a job, albeit for an employer who legislate your wages to provide you with an incentive to either look for better work, or entering a Trade.
But it's not 'the dole' anymore, it's a paycheque.
It's a change some will find difficult to adjust to.. a work ethic will have to be learned, for you can be fired from this work.. suspended would perhaps be a better word..
This won't hit the system until the Spring.. We won't see the real effects of this change for at least three years, but it could be a move that, over the long run, brings our workforce back on the rails..

Now this comes as figures have been released, that indicate that a single person needs an annual wage of £13,400, to maintain a minimum standard of living.
Now this definition of 'minimum standard of living' was not limiting itself to merely paying the bills, buying the groceries, meeting one's financial obligations.. but also took into account what a healthy social life and some indulgences would cost.. a car, for instance..
Keeping this in mind, keep in mind the £74 a fortnight a single man or woman on benefits takes home..
And that heating bills..something everyone pays here, owners and tenants.. will be increasing an average of $400 this year.. an increase of £1thousand is projected by 2010..
And we have the highest jobless figures in 15 years to cheer us.. As new housing starts stop dead, we're watching more and more of our Contractors laying their men off..Sectors not usually thought of, such as house-movers, are complaining of losses in business to the extent of 45%..

Now, not to say we're alone in our problems.. far from it indeed..
But it is time to seriously begin to think what should be a priority now, for there is soon coming a time a lack of preparation could be catastrophic..

One has to laugh.
We are bent on self-destruction, and all, depending on your perspective, over the possession of the likes of a 49" flat-screen television.

For ten years, while Gordon was the Chancellor, and for this past year while Alister has been the puppet-Chancellor, there was one financial rule that had been set in concrete.
"The Government must not accrue borrowing debt that exceeded 40% of GNP."
This policy, which by the way was a plank in both the Conservative and Labour platforms lo those years ago, has been one of the major factors in keeping Britain's economy separate from those of our European cousins.. in keeping our Government within in bounds of basic solvency.. in maintaining the highest possible credit rating for the Government, and the country.
Now, it would appear that with elections looming, the economy flagging, new polls suggesting the basic poverty level for a single person in this country is anything less than a gross income of £13,400 pa, inflation already at a new high and projections are for even higher consumer costs to come, that Gordon's faced with two alternatives. Raise taxes, or borrow more.
We're at our credit limit, and if government economists haven't learned from such examples as the disastrous New Democratic Party's policies in Canada's Ontario some 15 years ago, then they have only to look at the underlying situation in the United States today, to realise Keynesian economics simply don't work..
Those working to keep their debt load under control, while juggling a family, are going to find it increasingly difficult. The price of petrol, foodstuffs, mortgages, holidays, the toys kids demand as luxuries these days, will stretch their financial situations to near breaking, and in some cases, bring those who have borrowed beyond their means back down to earth, and into a situation they may well have thought they had earned their way past..
But the government cannot..must not..interfere with personal debt situations..
Further, as unpopular as it may well be, tax loopholes provided for industry, and the wealthy, must be tightened..
And if the cry comes from those who have invested well, and who can actually claim to be the movers and shakers of Britain, that they are being targeted, then unfortunately, so must it be. For those that are the wealthy, a temporary dip in their disposable income may mean the loss of a fair bit of the comfort they've unquestionably earned, but we are at war, both literally and economically.
Selling the family jewels to save a business that will eventually allow them to be replaced, is a far better option than watching that business disappear completely.
And if any comfort can be gained by those who will still carp over the gap between rich and poor, for the wealthy, relatively speaking, will still be far better off than the Prole, let the Prole take comfort in the fact their incomes, while somewhat less, are still there because some of those assets of the wealthy which have been taken, have kept them in their jobs..
That everything costs someone something.
But, Gordon will take the easy road, and perpetuate the cycle of 'bust and boom', and will announce no new taxes of any consequence, but a rise in the Government's borrowing ceiling.
At this rate, he's bringing the Euro much closer to this shore, and us all a step closer to losing the autonomy we've fought for, for time immemorial.

A final note for the night here..
One might take notice of the recent movement of Saudi Arabia, to bring the violently different factions of Islam to a meeting of the minds.
Now Saudi's themselves, the majority of them and the Royal Family, are members of a Sunni sect called 'Wahhabism'.. considered to be one of the most fundimental and strict of the Islamic communities..
It is, to be taken in context, a veritable command from those who lead Islam itself, for the Saudi's to 'invite' religious leaders from throughout the Islamic world to attend what amounts to a General Synod, so to speak..
This conference is taking place in Spain.. is in fact being co-hosted by King Juan Carlos and his government, in the interests of 'understanding and tolerance'..
One might ask.. why, at this particular time, has it become expedient for Saudi Arabia to call these talks..
To, in effect, make suggestions 'difficult to refuse' to certain factions, demands with timetables to unite those who've been fighting over the interpretation of a few verses in the Q'ran for centuries..
What is Saudi Arabia planning for a dogmatically united Islamic world.. or at least a an Islamic Middle and Far East tolerant of their peculiar doctrinal differences ..?
Most would likely applaud, and openly admit their relief at this sudden involvement of Saudi Arabia..
'About time..' most would say..
But two questions are begging..
Why now?
And, what's the bigger picture, beginning any extrapolation with the basic assumption that Saudi Arabia, will profit..?

An interesting, if somewhat confusing political dance Gordon's performing these days..
With the announcement that the planned 2p tax inclease on fuel, scheduled to come into effect next month, would now be postponed until next March, he's at least attempting to put on the face of a government sympathetic to the problems of a population facing price increases which are putting them far above their projected household expenditures.. problems that are an inconvenience to those in middle and upper income classes, but which are about to cause real hardships in those households on lower incomes and benefits..
But it's a drop in the ocean.
It will not stop inflation.. up a half today at 3.8%..
It will not stimulate industries around the country by kick-starting the likes of housing starts.. major appliance replacements.. or stop the slide in the value of existing properties and the creation of negative personal equity..
Gordon's been the Prime Minister for just over a year the now. But he was Chancellor of the Exchequer for ten years with Tony.. and is the man responsible for bringing us, through his policies and timed sell-offs.. into the position we enjoy today.
It's as though he's driven us all in a two-ton removal van a mile and a half down an allyway with a half-inch clearance between two buildings..
Gods help the man left with the task of backing us back out.. He'll not be given much time, and figuratively speaking, there'll be a gun to his head..

Haven't mentioned the New Yorker's infamous cover yet, for the simple reason that as a broadcaster, we were taught never to report on suicides..
A stupid, stupid editorial decision.

It's been quite a couple of days..
The economy is following the path it chose when it lead those who could least afford credit the ability to accrue massive debt.. When a trillion or so has been literally thrown away in the disposable elements of foreign conflicts.. When we chose to put the fuel of our economy.. no pun intended.. in the hands of those who are not fond of our society, and who are doubtless smiling as they watch us wander in a sea of conflicting, and equally useless short-term solutions, which themselves must be amortized to rest on the projected production of our grandchildren..
George has finally taken a thoroughly unpopular, but absolutely necessary step in allowing offshore rigs in what were considered 'sacrosanct' environments.
Ecologically, a potential nightmare, but without that domestic production getting into the development and operational stages, the US might well find itself unable to afford to supply itself with any oil going for more than $150 a barrel.. with some true optimists placing the new benchmark at closer to $200..
A tad high perhaps, that..
But what the US is going to need in it's next leader, is a man who can call on the best minds to find a path through this terrible legacy..
Who can deal with the extrication of the US military from the Middle East without leaving what will certainly turn into an utter shambles if premature..
Who can turn American consumers into American customers.. increasing the demand for domestic products by the loosening of credit, to viable venture capital ventures..
Who can turn this housing downturn around, by offering those who lost their homes and still watch them sitting empty, the chance to re-finance, with proviso's allowing for either further downturns, or eventual recoveries.
Always better to have a property occupied, and if it could be by their former owners, the equity would be protected..
Not feasible in many cases, perhaps.. But to some it could be what they need.. to develop the attitude America's going to need..
Hard to inspire someone to work, when they've lost what they've worked for..
However..

Problems here as well..
Inflation hit an 11 year high at 3.8%.. up a half..
The housing market has seen prices falling for the third consecutive month.. and new housing starts are at levels not seen since the early 90's..
Even the Bank of England.. usually one institution that holds to the maxim' if you've nothing good to say, say nothing..' has somewhat gloomily extrapolated we'll hit 4% this year.
Now. What that means for us, is higher food prices.. higher petrol prices.. higher gas prices.. higher electricity charges..
And we've already been warned.. British/Scottish Gas has, albeit in the friendliest manner possible.. told us to expect an average 11% rise in our heating costs next winter.. Food costs are expected to rise with the cost of diesel and rising prices from producers..

And while this is happening to us.. to the US.. keep an eye on what's happening in Russia.. China.. India..
Vast populations.. economies which are just barrelling along.. but facing the same problems..
They have the cash, but lack the infrastructure..
We abound in infrastructure.. and have priced ourselves out of the workplace..
A slight digression there..
Food. That's what we're all going to be short of..
Hard to imagine, when you think of the endless flat plane that is Saskatchewan, with wheat from horizon to horizon.. that there would be a shortage..
Imagine it was hard, when they planted this years rice crops in the Irrawaddy Delta, with plans to feed a quarter of South East Asia.. that it would all be gone.. utterly lost..
That the price of rice in China's rising at a rate that the government's seriously concerned..
And no help from India.. their major rice fields, in the West of that country, were destroyed by the same typhoon's which took out the rest of the Far East's 'breadbasket'..

"I will end the war in Iraq."
Barak Obama pledged that on his first substantial speech on foreign policy.. even though it was confined to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan..
Now, let's look at that statement.

'I'.. a power word, deliberately used to assure, and ensure, that this is his doing..

'..will end..' A declaration of definite intent, or purpose, of commitment. No room for misunderstanding here..

'..the war in Iraq..' Words the American people have been waiting.. expecting to hear.. for five years.

Barak went on to say, the last troops will be out of the country by the summer of 2010.. while intimating very forcefully, that this withdrawal was not a retreat, but the completion of a job. What could be inferred was 'whether than job is done to completion, or not..'
Barak left a number of loopholes in this statement on withdrawals.. saying 'a force will always been present in one form or another.. to protect American Embassies and Consulates.. and interests..' No number was set on those to be left to safeguard American interests.. but according to Barak, they would still have a military mandate, to search and destroy Al Q'aeda or any terrorist threat, when they could be located..
So whether the bulk of American troops will indeed be home in 2010.. is contingent of the expedience of withdrawals, at that time..
It was eloquent bumf..
John McCain.. upon reacting to Barak's statement.. could only hold his head, and turn slowly in a circle.
Oddly, there was sympathy with the man..

Now.. a brief thought here..
At what price 'security'..? And what need is there for the government to have a National Database which includes all the life details, medical history,you name it, of everybody?
One can see those who've run afoul of the Law being kept track of.. but why each and every one of us?
It may well be a government project to toss about a couple of hundred million for the Civil Service to play with, but it has sinister possibilities, and no obvious benefits..
One must question what path we're being allowed to be led down.. It will affect our grandchildren..

A final note here..
Anyone remember Tony.. Tony Blair..?
Right..
This poor man has been given a task so far fetched.. so impossible.. that it's perhaps going to win him the Nobel Peace Prize eventually.. but will certainly kill him in the process..
Take a look at Tony.. eleven years ago when he swept to power..
Take a look at him now..

Ahhh...what a world..
Iran has, in one sense like a child showing those who have been perceived as bullies that they've taken the Charles Atlas course, and just won't have sand kicked in it's face anymore, and in another, far sinister sense, demonstrated it has the capabilities to hit Tel Aviv..
And naturally, in Tel Aviv, this demonstration has... having come from a man who's vowed to 'wipe Israel from the map..', is cause for some consternation.
Couldn't have come at a better time either.. with the US labouring under a lame-duck Presidency, and the inevitable internal confusion that follows any change of power..
And the same picture in Britain.. with those in the Middle East almost certainly making plans to change their strategies for negotiations to deal with a Conservative government..
We know Israel has the capability to 'turn Iraq into rubble and desert'.. we were told so by their Defence Minister..
But then, what of the traditional enemies.. those who attacked again and again until 1966.. Will the United Arab League stand by and watch while one of it's members prepared for war..jihad.. and wonder if Israel is prepared for something pre-emptive..?
One wonders how long the Middle East would burn, if it were rendered radioactive..
Ah.
But what type of madman would set such a process in motion..?

Economics.. now there's a topic for quite a bit of speculation..
How far down is 'bottom'..?

There have been some interesting observations made recently by the cross section afforded through Chat..
One which appears to be universal, is a sense that something's not quite right with the world, on a vaguely spiritual level. People from India, China, Holland, Britain, the United States, have all mentioned a general malaise.. a sense of discontent which transcends individual economic situations..
A gloom settling in, perhaps we, all of us, are bombarded with the problems of the world. When the man on the street must assimilate all the senseless death and injustice of the entire world, issues the likes of Local Council's tardiness in repairing the potholes can become the focus of personal crusades..
Molehills made mountains, to sublimate the inherent knowledge that when dealing with the bigger picture, we are simply passengers on a train out of control.

Zimbabwe.
Now, where might our collective social concience be..? Africa, since the rapid desertion or removal of Colonial Governments, has seen it's successes, but is not anywhere near what it could be..
Now make no mistake, it's not a declaration of Manifest Destiny to say most African independant nations are utter failures.. political shambles.. It's merely a statement of fact..
Robert Mugabe perhaps personifies the worst in a long list..Idi Amin.. Mohammar Khadafy..
It's a continent which has eagerly thrown off the rule of Europe, but which, for the most part, has discarded all social concience and returned to basic tribalism..
Terrorism, intimidation, fear, and no Law per se, only those enforced by those Impi loyal to the current Chieftain, leaves Africans, on the whole, at deaths door.
Again, it begs the question.. What truely motivates the collective Western concience?

Again, one can only laugh.
The Irish people voted on their country's position on the Lisbon Treaty, saying overwhelmingly 'no' to a document they saw as a thinly disguised EU Constitution.. Their concerns revolved around the abrogation of legal and financial control to Brussels..
Legal issues such as the right to abortion.. economic issues concerning subsidies and the access of migratory workers to permanent residents..
However.. in spite of this Irish 'no' vote, and similar results in France and the Netherlands back in 2005, and the absolute condition being in place that requires 100% agreement among EU member States.. Disregarding these refusals, Brussels wants the Irish to have another 6 weeks, to possibly change their minds..
Unbelievable. It's not that the eventual necessity will be an economically and judicially coherent European conglomerate, for it certainly will be.
But it's the kack-handed manner in which they conduct their diplomacy..

There may well be some talk of 'stagflation' bandied about over the next few weeks or so..
Be not decieved. It's going to be a cold winter around the world.. with energy and food prices on an unstoppable rise..
The phrase 'blame the weather' springs to mind. And trite though it may well be, that will become more and more apparent to each and every consumer on this planet.
Grain and corn reaching unprecidented highs on the Commodities market.. The American midWest underwater..
And the downstream spiral is plain to see..
Add to that universally higher prices for fuel..
One has to actually feel a sense of pity for whomever takes over the American Presidency and the new British Prime Minister..
It's difficult to make any explanation of the necessity of personal money management to societies who have become used to having the option of the never-never..
Even more difficult to keep all the balls in the air..
The upcoming electoral platforms will be exceedingly interesting, to say the very least..
It may take constant translation to separate the verbal wheat from the chaff..

"My wife says I'm bonkers, but I must make a stand"..
So announced Shadow Home Secretary David Davis as he resigned his Seat today, to protest what he calls 'the erosion of civil liberties' following the passing of the Terrorist Detention Bill..
Now some are saying this is a brave gesture.. to put his membership in the Commons on the line to underscore his dismay as the government takes just a bit more away from the British man-on-the-street..
Others say it's a publicity stunt.. one designed to demonstrate that at least those in his constituency stood behind his stance against the 42 day detention plan..
However, Labour has already announced they will not stand a candidate in this by-election.. the LibDems have done the same.. and it would appear that David will return to his Seat unopposed..
Takes the edge off the gesture, really..

And yet another sign George is losing power and influence, with the Supreme Court's decision that those detained at Gitmo, have the right to challenge their detention in Civil Courts.. The decision was close.. five for, four against.. But it's left George in yet another bind..
This could cause a legal quagmire, with one of those detainees, alleged to be a ringleader within al Q'aeda, in a military court..
What rights will these foreign citizens have, in an American Court? What will happen to Gitmo itself, and to those being held there.. where will they be transferred to?
Will some detainees find themselves close to immediate release, simply because of the manner in which they've been held..?
Another of the issues which will ultimately be left to the next Administration to resolve..

And let's stay with Zimbabwe.. examine what we allow..
Tendai Biti, the Secretary General of the Movement for Democratic Change,the MDC. returned from a trip to South Africa to be arrested immediately, and will be charged with Treason.. He's facing the death penalty, for his vehement criticism of Robert Mugabe's regime
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who faces President Robert Mugabe in a 27 June run-off poll, was arrested twice again today..
There are obvious signs the military, under the control of Mugabe, will play a major part in the upcoming sham of a run-off election..
But, it would be interfering with the internal matters of a Sovereign Nation for the West to intervene.
We never would accept that..

Two more items to ponder..
The first to be filed for future reference.. That the UK has completed it's satellite system.. SkyNet.. designed to improve military communications, to make communications between the three branches of the military to co-ordinate and integrate their Intelligence..
Kind us makes us the westernmost point in the Geopolitical map, of the group collectively as 'The West'..

And.. It seems the Saudi's are going to actually spend some of the Foreign Reserves of currency, as King Abdulla unveiled a plan which will see six major developments built over the next 15 years.. the largest to be built just north of Jeddah, to be named 'King Abdullah Economic City'..
Seems the Saudis are starting to plan for the future.. with revenues at a ridiculous $1billionUS a day, it would seem the issues of education, social welfare, diversification of the country's economic base, a population boom.. with 40% of Saudis under the age of 15, it has been decided they should be trained, educated, at standards acceptable to worldwide standards..
It's amazing what distance Saudi Arabia has come since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.. and what they can now afford to do with the money their various markets have provided..
One would wager highly that Gordon would trade his soul, for the contents of the Saudi Treasury..
George as well, for that matter..

It seems that a £billion is what it takes to keep Gordon from falling even flatter on his face..
Such is the amount that will be heading to Northern Ireland to bolster their Assembly's coffers, and it was the support.. and only of the 9 Members of the Democratic Unionists that carried his Bill to extend the length of time a suspect charged under the Terrorism Act to 42 days without charge and without appearing before a Magistrate.
And while, truth be told, there appeared to be public support for the Bill, those in the Legal, Judicial, and Law Enforcement Agencies were unanimous in their opposition to it.. quoting Civil Rights that date back to the Magna Carta..
One must smile. Those who commit terrorist acts have indeed frightened us, to the point we are willing to abrogate those Rights and Freedoms which defined this country.
Shame.
It begs the question: how many, controlling so much, can be brought to ignominious
breaches of Civil Liberties, by so few..
It is a dangerous indication of what we will allow in the future, to 'guarrantee' the safety of our comfortable lives. It demonstrates that rather than commit ourselves to eradicating the source of this global unrest, we would sooner retract further into a protective shell, and that is certainly not the mindset our society was built upon..
Not to wander too far off point.. but one could easily discern the motivation which drove us pell mell into Iraq.. while an even more insidious dictator is killing his own citizens in Zimbabwe. There would be little profit for us to commit to removing Mugabe, whereas the establishment of another foothold in the Middle East was of paramount importance. But this demonstrates the methodology, the reasoning, behind the Wests stand as the 'policemen of the world'.
It will be interesting to see what the new regemes in London and Washington will do with the legacy they're going to be left..
Whatever it is.. we will, and count on this, be told to 'be afwaid..be werry afwaid..'
And the problem is, we will have good reason to heed this advice, because we are, of necessity, going to be looking at a future far less comfortable, far more restricted, and far intimidating, than that which we enjoy today.
Imagine oil stabalising at about $150 a barrel.. a loaf of bread costing £2.25.. the average wage buying less and less, while the equity one had thought to have accumulated for old age, steadily reducing in value until in some cases, retirees find themselves in negative equity positions..
And it's a process that absolutely nothing is going to stop.. until we've gone through the worst of it. Hopefully during that timespan, we'll have had the sense to elect a government or two, dedicated to changing the economic dependencies we've developed over the past century or so..

An incredible testament to the importance of the picture as a whole, these past months..
Western governments literally throwing pennies to the crowd.. both the US and Britain floundering in an economic spiral..
The individual, once secure in the illusion of an adequate income face-to-face with the reality of debt.. the panic which becomes an underlying fact of life ..dictating
an almost surreal view of how their lifestyles are going to change..
Much the same as that faced by any government.. pick one..
And therein the problem. This is not an Okie Migration during the Depression and the dust bowl which prompted it.. This is pandemic..
We have an American election looming over us, with the Party everyone wants out of power, demonstrating the the entire electorate they they are, united, with a plan in hand for a single term with McCain at the helm.. which would deal with the gaffes and doubtful decisions which have put the country in dire straights.. Four more years, to effect the measures needed to bring the country back on line.
Yup.
But then, we have the absurdity of the first African American candidate fighting it out with the first female candidate for the Democratic nomination..
If memory serves, it was quite a while ago that it was proposed here, that perhaps it would be an Obama/Clinton ticket for the Democrats..
Then again..after this race, which it would appear will be won by Barak Obama, it might well be neither will want to be that close to the other.
But, if the American voter is looking for stability.. for an experienced, older hand on the helm.. McCain's going to take the final ballot..
Will the Republicans, working on what will admittedly be a four year plan, and aided by the essential conservatism of the American voter when the choice is either a black man or a woman, manage one more swing of the bat?
Or will the disillusionment factor, which cannot be ignored, usher in a new era in American politics?

Oil. One can only say, outrageous but expected.
Gold. Ibid.
Foreclosures. Ibid.
House prices falling like stones, and the drying-up of credit. Ibid.

To end for the now, this upcoming vote on the extension to the length of time police can detain a suspect under the terms and conditions of the Terrorism Act, is of great importance to Gordon. There stands a good chance 50 or more of his own Party will vote their conscience, and that Gordon's Bill will be defeated.
But while this demonstrates what would appear to be minor murmurings throughout the back benches, that Gordon's performance has taken Labour to new lows and a new face might improve their chances.. it's no more than a tempest in a teapot.
Again, this Bill is important to Gordon, but it's not a Vote of Non-Confidence.
It's defeat would only underline the recent swing towards David and his Tories.
Crewe and Nantwitch! Unthinkable!

Interesting times..
Much more to comment upon..
Soon.

A couple of thoughts to end the day..
Internationally.. Condalessa's turned the heat up a dgree or two.. her comments to the effect that 'too much power is centred in the Kremlin' is a not so thinly veild attack on Vlad.. and Vlad's not about to disappear from the Russian government..
A tone is being set by the Bush White House with Russia that will be something of a concern for the Republican who'll likely inherit.. It's also a situation the Republicans can campaign strongly on.. they haveing the supposed 'long-range plan'..
Extraordinary, for such a senior American diplomat to be so blatently rude to their host..

Now..
Two senior American 'officials' have flown to Turkey in the hopes of defusing a situation which is causing adeterioration in the two NATO allies' relationship.
Eric Edelman, an ex-US ambassador to Ankara, and Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried are to hold talks with top Turkish foreign ministry officials..
The US has criticised Turkish threats to stage cross-border raids on Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq.. and, perhaps a more volotile issue in the minds of the Turkish man on the street..ties have also been strained by a US congressional vote branding the killing of Armenians in 1915-17 as genocide..
It's a label no Turk wants affixed to it's history..
This could be a crucial issue.. what with Turkey awaiting admission to the EU.. the constant factor of Turkey being an Islamic State..
It's an ally the West does not want to lose.. other than perhaps the country which epitomises 'the West'.. the US..
Why Congress voted to accept that term is a mystery.. one which perhaps deserves some investigation..

And.. some mention must be made concerning the statement from retired American Lt.General Ricardo Sanchez.. who has labelled US political leaders as "incompetent" and "corrupted"..
He continues with condemning the current strategy in the conflict, which he warned was "a nightmare with no end in sight".
Encouraging..
The White House responded.. by pointing to the report by current commander Gen. David Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who said the situation was 'difficult'.. but marked by gradual improvements.
White House spokesman Trey Bohn said.. "We appreciate his (Gen Sanchez's) service to the country... As General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have said, there is more work to be done, but progress is being made in Iraq."
Gen Sanchez was commander of coalition forces in Iraq for a year from mid-2003..
He retired last year in the aftermath of the scandal over detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.. He himself, was cleared of any wrongdoing.
'Delaying defeat' was the eventual outcome of present While House strategy, said Gen. Sanchez..
It's a certainty it's a situation George will hope to control, a best as he can.. and one from which he'll be only to happy to turn his back on..

Now, back at the ranch..
A leading environmentalist..Sir Jonathon Porritt.. said "soaring" speeches about making the UK a world leader in fighting climate change were not backed up by action..
Now, this issue was one of the main planks in the Conservative 'manifesto'.. as delivered in Brighton at their annual conference.
Environmental issues.. alternate fuel development.. viability studies supporting certain projects which have been subject to funding delay by Tony's Labour were trooped out again.. and it was pointed out that while the studies were, in some cases, several years old.. all they had predicted as far as weather changes had taken place..
It would seem that Labour is now willing to address the issue with more diligence..
Ten years of procrastination is pretty good, in political terms..

Not much to announce in the way of real developments in the postal strike issue..
While it's been released that 'Ministers are pleased' at the details which appear to have brought the threat of rolling strikes to an end, and a return to normalcy as we have come to accept it..
But.. we've yet to hear any of those 'details' in any confirmed sense..
It is understood that the "big pillars" of management demands were in place including pension fund reform, a pay rise this year of around 2.5% and the reform of working practices.. but the company had not "got it all its own way".
Quite frankly.. it's been somewhat refreshing this past week or so.. not to see the unending stream of bills and circulars littering the floor in the morning..
But there are many of us who have been waiting for parcel deliveries..

While simplistic to the extreme.. to many in this country the government has only five jobs..
To ensure tax dollars are spent wisely.. to keep our Armed Forces up to date.. to manage our healthcare system properly.. to keep our streets safe and fires put out.. and to ensure the garbage is picked up and the post delivered..
That's it.
And it is source of constant wonder to us all, why no government appears to be capable of delivering.

Some snippets which have been sitting on the desk for a while.. worthy of commen, but eclectic in their application to the larger Puzzle..
Now.. the details of a settlement in principle which has been worked out between Royal Mail and the TUC have yet to be announced.. but it would appear that deliveries should be back to normal, conservatively speaking, by mid next week..
But it begs the question.. why goes the government allow such costly disruptions to our national infrastructure, when a simple solution is directly at hand? What did the government gain from this?
Perhaps indeed, it is the support it felt was needed, to limit the powers of the Unions.. the movement upon which Labour itself was founded.. without it seeming to be a direct attack on workers rights..
Might be interesting to see whether or not Gordon uses his gifted time in office to bring in legislation that would pre-empt much of that which we might have seen if the Tories were in power..

Now Condaleesa's not having the best of times in Russia..
With Putin merely changing hats, so to speak, the US is well aware that while their own political movers and shakers will be changing when George steps down, the Russian's have a plan in motion that will re-establish that country as one of the superpowers..
Condaleesa didn't have much success in selling the new American surveillance systems planned for eastern Europe.. and while the Poles and the Ukrainians are hot for the American business, Vlad has no intention to stop short of reminding them they were once part of the USSR.. and European gas and oil come from Russian suppliers..
Now however.. Condaleesa's announced that she'd like words with leading Russian activists.. those in favour of a closer relationship with the West.. that she had an interest in their view of 'human rights and democracy' in Russia..
An interesting possibility.. that the US might support the growth of a movement in Russia that's diametrically opposed to that Vlad's leading his country towards..
How much would Vlad put up with..?

Now.. an interesting note from a couple of days ago..
Both Alistair Darling and George Osborne, the Chancellor and Shadow Chancellor respectively, made it quite clear during the introduction of the pre-budget report earlier this week, that commitments to Foreign Aid would be met.. That we would not default on our international pledges to help the starving masses..
Yet..
A report on armed conflict in Africa has shown that the cost to the continent's development over a 15-year period was nearly $300billion.. £146billion..
The research was undertaken by a number of non-governmental organisations, including Oxfam..
It says the cost of conflict was equal to the amount of money received in aid during the same period..
This is the first time analysts have calculated the overall effects of armed violence on development... at least according to the UN Agency..
And that's tripe.
There have been dozens of studies and analyses on the actual beneficial effects of our donations.. each of them pointing to corrupt government officials.. political manipulation in the distribution of the aid materials and cash.. profligate waste through lack of distribution infrastructures..
And some of these studies are over 30 years old, with exactly the same problems highlighted.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a significant amount of money out of our national economy, to help those who's lives have, or are in the process of being, destroyed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our making what amounts to an investment in countries which have potential.. in people who both want and need at least the basics for human survival..
But it is absolutely pointless to continue to pour money into the pockets of those already wealthy, at the expense of those who's lives remain hopeless.
Would it not make more sense to demand that along with the cash, comes administrators.. contractors.. materials the likes of plumbing and lumber.. agriculturalists.. who would themselves be responsible for the expenditure of the total amount promised in foreign aid.
And would it not then be the responsibility of the various governments who's people are being dragged into the present, to protect these aid workers from groups the likes of the Janjamacoute.. would it not be a matter for the ANF..?
Would seem to make more sense.. and while it would undoubtably cause a huge uproar from countries in receipt of such aid..
What face we would gain as a society, from China..
Recall the initial statement in this particular comment.. We have paid for the weapons.. not crops..
Surely it's a case of 'fool me once..'

And just as a matter of interest.. Google the name of this blog..
Google powered more than half of all search requests carried out around the world in August..
A global study by analysts comScore revealed that more than 61 billion searches were performed by more than 750 million users in the month.. that users performed more than 37 billion searches via Google, more than all the other major search engines combined..
Yahoo was the second most used engine, followed by Baidu, the Chinese language search engine.
Creatures of habit.. are we?

It's a serious situation for the Burmese junta now..
Until today.. the generals could count on China to deflect any real action against them. But China has joined with the other 14 members ..The security council statement, which also called for "genuine dialogue" with the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, marked the first time that Beijing had agreed to UN criticism of the junta.
The statement did not threaten sanctions, but the significance of its unanimous support by all 15 members of the security council would not have been lost on Burma's generals..
Once again.. great face for China here..
And.. just as a reminder of the size of the country.. the scope of their projects which are quickly bringing a previously quiet presence into our economin sphere..
China plans to move at least 4 million people from their homes to ensure the "environmental safety" of the Three Gorges Dam, state media reported.
The shift of a population the size of Ireland, which is due to take place over the next 10 to 15 years, will be one of the biggest environmental resettlements in modern history..
Moving 4 million people..
The Chongqing municipality vice-mayor, Yu Yuanmu, said the move was necessary to protect the ecology of the giant reservoir formed by the dam.. that's according to the Xinhua news agency.

Oil.
$82.77 a barrel for US sweet crude at the close..
Need one say more?

started the day with one.. can't think of a better way to end the week but another..
"Securitisation"
Used by Paul Rogers of the University of Bradford, during a discussion on the merits of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to environmentalists..
The professors point was that even the military has think-tanks working on the status of global security, should rising sea levels flood vast areas of the Far East..
"..that the 'securitisation' of the area over the long term, qualifies the award to those who are looking at future effects on disappearing land mass, and the relocation of those who once lived there.."
It's good to laugh, sometimes.

Just a small point to begin this morning.. concerning the deterioration of the English language..
"Unincentivised"?
Used during an interview with the BBC by our Shadow Health Minister, Andrew Lansley, when referring to the lack of incentives provided hospital staff.. nurses.. cleaners.. healthcare workers.. to maintain a constant level of cleanliness and adequate individual patient care, when their numbers appear to be constantly shrinking..
And this is an educated man..

Regardless.
That issue remains one of two stories at the fore in our media. Not the verbal blunder mind, but the state of our hospitals and clinics..
Back to this in a moment..

The issue facing the man on the street as he reads his paper, is stress. How it's affecting our children..
A Cambridge based think=tank has released it's conclusions, that Primary School students are being overwhelmed.. not only with the exams, the SATs they must sit, but with the state of the world in general..
One can recall when nightmares were the spawn of Saturday afternoon horror movies.. and a vague yet persistent worry our parents seemed concerned about called 'the Cold War' and 'the Cuban Missile Crisis'..
But for those who took part in this study.. some 750 kids under 5 years of age.. their concerns ranged from world economic issues, to violence on the streets, to the breakdown of the family.
Less than a third of the children polled sat down with their entire family for an evening meal.. More than half expressed, in the terms of a child, fears about family finances, and the future Mom and Dad had together.. More than two thirds said there had been 'talks' with their parents about the importance of studying and paying attention in class now.. and these kids are in pre-school..
Even more disturbing is the apparent lack of success parents and teachers are having with these children.. That fewer than half of 4 year olds, entering the formal school process for the first time, can read even simple words.. unable even phonetically to string together 'r-ed' to get red..
This would seem to point to a trend among teachers, wherein their role is less now that of an educator, and more of a social psychologist..
The Tories were pushing this issue hard during their conventioneering.. the re-establishment of family values.. the rearranging of parental priorities so that family issues are taken at least as seriously as those dealing with work..
It's an apt picture though which comes to mind.. that of the Dutch boy trying to stop the leaks in the dike..
And while on the subject of the Dutch and children.. kids in the Netherlands are rted the happiest and most content in Europe by a UNICEF study.
It, of course, has to do with a number of factors.. but it seems the most influential were the Dutch attitude in general concerning issues the likes of sex.. marihuana use.. and drink..
Because parents are more relaxed, the dynamics of the problems are less severe than in countries where they are seen as more of a serious issue..
Yet that is not to say the importance of an education is not impressed on Dutch children.. what is significant, is that they are not pushed beyond their boundaries either by their parents, or their peers..
Interesting. Swedish children are second on the list, by the way..

Now. This issue of British health care is one which will continue for quite some time.. the Opposition will have ten years of figures to recount.. ten years of Labour promises to toss across the floor of the Commons..
And this story which came out yesterday concerning 90 deaths directly attributable to hospital care, or lack of it.. and hospital conditions.. will demand statement and counter-statement..

At least it'll take some of the focus off the fact we won't be getting regular post through the door for a while..

There are many governments running subsidised health care programs.. the various schemes run by the Canadian provinces spring to mind among the examples of those which provide excellent service.. but there are few given the annual budgets of our NHS..
And very few with the problems we're facing..
The deaths of 90 hospital patients from clostridium difficile are "scandalous", according to Health Secretary Alan Johnson.
Kent police have launched an investigation into whether that county's Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust should be prosecuted for the deaths..
The Healthcare Commission said a "litany" of errors in infection control had caused the "avoidable tragedy".
It said nurses at the trust were too rushed to wash hands and left patients to lie in their own excrement..
This, in a British hospital..
The health secretary has told the trust at the centre of a hospital bug investigation to withhold any severance pay from its former chief executive.
Rose Gibb of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust resigned on Friday after four years in the post..
One question reverberates from last Wednesday's Question Period.. a question asked by David of Gordon.. 'all the billions of Pounds allocated to the improvement of the British health care system over the past decade.. the institution of basic hygiene proceedures.. Where has all the money gone..?'
Gordon was Chancellor during all the years ofpromises of an improved health system..
It's his question to answer..

We back to intermittent postal service across this island, as postal workers start a series of wildcat walkouts..
The issue at the core of the dispute is that of pensions.. Not to imply the prospect of modernisation and the loss of 45 hundred jobs, and current wages aren't legitimate concerns of the Union.. but with an aging workforce, the pensions some of these men and women have been working towards for thirty years just may not be there when the time comes to start collecting..
The government has not invested wisely.. and the man or woman who puts the post through the slot fully understands the position they're in..
But again.. two words for the government.
"Essential services".

Finally.. a note here..
A leading industry survey shows house prices across the UK tumbled last month at the fastest rate for two years, while demand from first-time buyers plummeted sharply, adding to widespread evidence that the housing boom could be over.
Emphasis on 'could be'..
If housing prices fall a too precipitous rate.. those banks and equity funds now holding defaulted mortgages could find themselves even deeper in the hole..
It does not bode well for the British building industry, dispite government promises of a million new homes built by 1012..

And herein the basic flaw in the pre-budget report delivered by Alistair earlier this week.. He assumed our economic growth would continue, albeit at a slower rate than predicted.. and all indications are he's overly optimistic..

While many would smile at the very idea of political debate being entertainment, have never seen the British House of Commons in full swing..
And never is it any more entertaining .. during 'Prime Minister's Questions'..
Now, to explain for those who's various forms of government might not have such a procedure.. what it entails is a half hour, every Wednesday at noon, where the Prime Minister faces off with the leader of the Opposition, in a full-out, insult laden, sarcastic attack on whatever issue might be in the public eye..
Now.. Prime Minister's Questions follows a different format to those of questions to other ministers. MPs do not normally give the prime minister prior notice of the subject which they are going to raise..
This element of surprise allows opposition MPs, in particular, to try to catch the Prime Minister out with an awkward question..
And, the Prime Minister must respond without delay, thinking on his or her feet..
This is where it gets interesting..
Today, was a session which will go down in history, as a classic..
It is common knowledge that David and Gordon actually dislike each other. Each believes the other to be guilty of the lack of ethical values, and moral fibre..
But yesterday.. David attacked Gordon with such vitriol.. with such vehemence.. throwing accusations which ran the gamut from irresponsibility, to demonstrating to the British man on the street that Gordon's government essentially regards the individual as 'fools'..
Gordon's retorts became equally as forcible.. but the Prime Minister did repeat himself a few times, occasionally flustered by the tone of the Conservative attack..
Now.. another feature of Question Time, is that MPs in attendance can comment while a statement or a response is being given.. catcalls.. jeers.. derisive laughter.. all allowed, within the discretion of the Speaker of the House.. who does, mind you, frequently intervene in the scrum, and call for a general quiet..
Gordon has, for the first time, given the Opposition genuine issues to practice their sarcasm skills..
And one must say.. Gordon will certainly be fervently be mouthing that old Gaelic valediction.. which translates to 'may no new thing happen..'.

British households might be seeing something this morning that's been missing from what was a daily routine.. There might be post through the door for the first time in a week..
But it could be short lived.. a new round of rotating strikes has already been announced.. starting early next week, and continuing until there's some resolution of the differences between the Royal Mail and the TUC..
65 million pieces of mail awaited the workers who returned to their jobs this morning.. with the Union saying it will take some time to get through, but RM managers claim it amounts to not much more than one day's worth of backlog..
Regardless.. the effects of this strike have had downstream effects.. catastrophic effects in some cases.. Some businesses which do the bulk of their business over the internet and which rely on the mails for their deliveries, have simply found even this last strike too much, and have folded. Others, who find themselves close to the edge, are dreading the possibility of no mail over the Christmas season when they conduct a significant percentage of their business..
'Essential Services'..
Our politicians need to consider the option seriously..
We'll discuss this more, as the situation develops, and more figures are released which reflect the ripple effect throughout our economy..

Now.. this past summer has been touted as perhaps the wettest since records began being kept.. Floods throughout the Island have left insurance companies facing a bill which could amount to close to £3billion.. and the government has announced that it's only willing to throw some £600million into a relief fund for those towns, cities, and villages worst affected by the waters..
This has prompted an announcement from insurers this morning, that they'll not be offering 'flood cover' for homes built on flood plains.
Consider. The government has promised the construction of a million plus new homes throughout the country over the next two years.. and factoring in how many of those homes must be built on areas with the possibility of flooding should this summers weather repeat itself.. it means many of these new homes will not be offered coverage protecting them against what might euphamistically be called 'an act of God'..
It's undeniable we need more housing. It's inevidable they will be built.
But whether or not flood preparations on offer from the government will meet what's seen to be the minimum needed to be done to reduce the risk of property damage, is moot..
There will be a Parliamentary debate on the issue today, involving the Environment Agency and the plans they have come up with to contain the overflow should the rains return.. But if events unfold as they normally do, it will be a cost that's eventually and inevidably passed along to those looking for insurance.
Not a positive sign for either the housing industry, or those who're looking to get on to the property ladder.
Oddly enough, this past summer's flooding was forcast by the Environment agency back in 2004..
Again, this is an issue we'll be keeping a close eye on..

Now.. an issue which is of growing concern throughout British society..
A survey by the charity, the Howard League for Penal Reform, suggests that a full 50% of all schoolchildren have been thevictim of crime.. often right on school grounds.
This goes beyond the archtypical school bully taking lunch money from the weaker.. but has escallated to severe beatings.. theft of mobile phones, iPods, electronic notepads..
And what is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this trend, is that these items are not stolen to be sold, or kept for the use of the thief.. but are taken simply for the thrill.. the exercise of power so to speak.. with most of that being stolen destroyed in front of the victim..
There is little enough to distinguish humans from animals, without the disappearance of common values and ethics and manners..
It must be said that most of the blame must be laid at the feet of the parents of those who become delinquent..
It's far too easy to blame society as a whole, for the failure on a personal level of those who sire these 'yobs'..
There is still an argument to be made, for young offenders being removed from a parental environment which does not actively promote respect for others and their property. It might well be time to re-evaluate the penalties imposed upon those involved in anti-social behavior.. Compulsory national service, or a return to the Borstal system, begins to appear attractive..
This trend can likely be traced back to attitudes developed decades ago..
It was a mere 4 years ago, that Vergers at Sheffield Cathedral were sent on self-defence courses amid the rising tide of violence against church workers.
And figures published in March 2003 showed that since 1999 there had been a 33% surge in the number of violent crimes against vicars and other ministers..
During that period, 561 attacks were recorded, including two murders in 2002.
This past week.. Members of the clergy were advised to take off their dog collars when they are on their own, to reduce the risk of being attacked.
National Churchwatch, which provides personal safety advice, says vicars are attacked more often than professions such as GPs and probation officers.
The organisation's Nick Tolson said all clergy should consider the advice, including the Archbishop of Canterbury..
The group also produces security advice for all UK churches and churchworkers.
In the past decade, five vicars have been murdered.
A number that in itself, disappears when taken in context of those who've been victims of a violent death over the same period of time.. But certainly an indication of the loss of respect for those, who have traditionally been seen, as non-violent people, and those who represent a non-violent lifestyle..
In a survey of 90 London clergy carried out last year, nearly half said they had been attacked in the previous 12 months.
One vicar, from Willesden, north-west London, said his vicarage had been machine-gunned.. but still did not believe he had experienced violence.
Taken in the context of the random incidents of berserkers in the US, and the world in general recently.. one can admit that particular Vicar has a point..
Just another piece of the Puzzle..

It could well have been scripted to be a pre-election economic platform, this pre-budget statement from Alistair this afternoon..
The national economy.. was going to be adversely affected by the American Housing Bubble.. growth has been downsized to around 2% or 2.5% for the coming year..
Oddly enough we heard the same from George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor at the Tory conference..
Net borrowing.. to be kept within 'sustainable levels' guided by 'restraint'..
A bit of a non-statement there..
However.. net borrowing was forecast to fall from £38billion this year to £23billion in 2012.. roughly £3billion a year if we start now. How, was not quite explained though..
And on the environment.. Alistair said aviation duty would be paid on flights, rather than individual passengers..
We heard that proposal just a week or so ago from.. the Conservatives..
Now Alistair touched on a myriad of taxation issues.. allocation issues.. funding issues.. but to make what seemed to be a long statement much shorter.. it boils down to the usual suspects..
A promise of a judiciously administered economy.. of improved funding for better public services.. without the fine details of just how the money is going to be raised..
It must be said that the Shadow Chancellor had a field day..
And it was also clear, that while Gordon is officially Prime Minster.. he had made more than a small contribution to that which was delivered to the Commons this afternoon..

A couple of points to end the day.. outside the scope of Britain's immediate problems..
Ibrahim Gambari.. the UN Envoy who's just returned from Burma.. briefed the UN Security Council today.. having warned the Burmese junta leaders that continued human rights violations would lead to 'serious international reprecussions'..
During his 4 days in country, he met senior generals and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi...
The government claims at least 10 people were killed in the crackdown after last week's protests.. Mr Gambari said he feared the real death toll could be much higher..
One can only reasonably suspect the Envoy's fears were emminently justified..
But the problem here, is the financial relationship the junta has with Beijing and Delhi.. China has opposed what would amount to effective sanctions against Burma in the Security Council, saying that it's an internal matter, and something the UN has no mandate to interfere with..
But.. some signs the junta is not entirely without minds which can grasp continuing world pressure on their economy..
Earlier, reports suggested that General Than Shwe, the head of the ruling junta, had agreed in principle to meet the detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi..
However..he insisted that Ms Suu Kyi must give up her calls for international sanctions to be imposed against the regime, according to state media reports..
Mr Gambari said he was "cautiously encouraged" by the news and called for "maximum flexibility" from both sides.
Now, to see if such a meeting will in fact take place..
If indeed it does, and China can make itself seen as a mediator.. What face the Chinese would gain..
And what commitment could be forged between a nation that needs favoured status in oil trading, with a nation holding huge reserves..
Meanwhile, the reality of the supression of the recent protests throughout the country continues..
An undercover correspondent in Rangoon met two fugitive monks, and was told in one neighbourhood that the army had disposed of the bodies of monks killed during the crackdown by burning them in the local crematorium..
The military government is also reported to be holding monks in disused municipal buildings.. even those who applauded the monks during their demonstrations are being hunted down..
The atmosphere in Burma's main city is tense and fearful.. and will remain so until the junta can devise how a change in he basic governmental structure of the country can be effected.. without either disrupting the status quo.. or diminish their own power..
It would not do, to allow what appears to be positive moves by this junta, to lull to any degree the outrage at the fate of the protesting Buddhists..
Where arey are..
How many are left..

Or, that Darfur is still in uproar.. Charges that government troops and Janjaweed Rebels armed by the Sudanese government have attacked the only Darfuri rebel faction which agreed to a ceasefire with Khartoum..
Apparently the machete is still one of the weapons of choice against women and children..
That the UN's commitment of troops and aid still has not been met..
A number of rebel groups and the government have committed themselves to take part in new peace talks in Tripoli expected to begin later this month.. and there are suggestions that the spate of recent attacks is connected to the repositioning of forces ahead of these talks..
But analysts say that not only are the rebels splintered.. conservative estimates say there are at least 12 to 15 factions.. but that there are also splits between tribes, leaders in the field and political figures in exile..
Yet.. by next year the UN and AU are meant to have deployed the world's largest peacekeeping force.. 26 thousand troops.. to Darfur.
The hybrid force will absorb the 7 thousand African Union troops in the region who have struggled to protect civilians, admitting they are outmanned and outgunned..
But is this too, an 'internal problem'.. and has the UN or the international community any right at all to interfere..?

A fair attempt by Gordon when he spoke with the Parliamentary Labour members to minimise the damage incurred over this past weekend..
Even managed an uncharacteristic quip.. telling his sitting members that at least he had forced the Conservatives to reveal their strategies, which he could now tear apart..
Or adopt..
He'll have his time in office to demonstrate his abilities, or reveal his shortcomings..
And David will hone his political tactical leadership skills while leading the Opposition..
Facing us is Alistair the Chancellor's pre-budget report tomorrow.. which will announce that Britain's growth is greater than any other the G7 nations this year.. but which also must contain the forecast that 2008's going to be a bad year.. GDP forecasts suggest growth will slow, as the ripple effects of the US housing collapse filters through to the wider economy.. add to that this years interest hikes will begin to hit both the companies who've financed themselves through their immediate problem by taking loans at exorbitant rates.. and the consumers who've put themselves into record levels of individual debt..
To wit.. Northern Rock is paying 6.75% to the Bank of England for the cash it took to keep afloat.. Mind you, Northern Rock may well weather what appeared to be a catastrophe.. it's stock's rising again..
The Treasury expects the economy to notch up growth of between 2.75% and 3.25% for 2007.
That's in line with City forecasters..
But its 2008 forecast of between 2.5% and 3.0% is looking increasingly optimistic.
Consumer spending is expected to slow considerably.. credit's tightening..
And regardless of what might be said in Alistairs speech tomorrow, taxes will rise..
Another thought.. Lower official growth forecasts may have been one of the factors that persuaded the prime minister not to call a snap election.
They would have put government borrowing targets under more pressure and tied ministers' hands over vote-winning give-aways.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch..
The mail's not being delivered.. the NHS is screaming for more funding.. Local Councils will be demanding more from Westminster than the recent £50 million which is to be earmarked for 'local integration programs'.. a sop to give the impression the Ministers and elected representatives in Parliament are truely making an effort to ease racial integration.. And, the recent forcasts are that some 65 hundred jobs in the City's financial sector are to be cut because of this recent uproar in the markets..
Now this may seem somewhat insignificant in the big picture.. but it is a significant trend. Jobs, in the financial sector, have been on the increase.. 11 thousand over the last year.. It indicated a growth economy..
This reduction in staff, signifies the opposite in the eyes of the man on the street..
Now.. back to the revision in growth estimates for 2008..
Global Insight predicts a growth rate of less than 2%..slower economic growth means reduced tax revenues, and the spending targets set by Gordon when he was still chancellor will be hard to meet..
So.. Alistair has inevitably had to tread very carefully when preparing the Pre-Budget Report and the longer-term Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets out the government's expenditure over the next three years.
Should be interesting speech..

And, the $Am continues to slip.. oil prices continue to increase.. the price of gold is on the rise..
It's an interesting time..

Well..
Gordon faced the media early this afternoon, and took something of a masochistic stance when faced with a barrage of questions specifically aimed at his involvement with the rumours concerning an impending election.. and his backing away from a plebiscite when faced with the poll results which followed the Conservative Conference..
It was almost a Tony attitude.. a 'mea culpa'.. but not a 'mea maxima culpa'..
Accepting that perhaps he should have quashed any talk of elections before it was spun into a national frenzy, he initially told the media that he had not 'bottled out' from a national contest, but then accepted that as Prime Minister, he himself was responsible for whatever his advisers had allowed to blossom..
His prime concern now was to get on with implementing the business of government.. to put into action the plans he had laid out in his own manifesto as presented at his own party's conference, and that the idea of a general election was something we could all put out of our heads for the foreseeable future..
But.
The reaction from the media was something bordering on contempt. Gordon has gone from a man who's character had been typified by careful consideration, to a 'politician' who's every statement must now be scrutinised for spin.
He has taken his first hundred days of successes, and tossed them away, and is now back to square one, both in the eyes of the public, and the media which feeds the crowd..
But Gordon does have the time to repair the damage, and this is a factor which cannot be discounted. If he manages to weather the oncoming financial and international crises which are in the offing over the next 18 months, he may find himself back in the race when the time the next election must be called..
However.. he faces the Commons later this afternoon to deal with the Iraq situation.. at least that's the proposed subject for his appearance before Parliament..
And if David allows this agenda to continue as planned.. Gordon still has Prime Ministers Questions to face on Wednesday, when this 'dithering and taking his countrymen as fools' will certainly be brought up..
There are a rocky few days ahead for the Prime Minister.. and his opponents are lining up their arguments to throw at him.. one after another..
An exceedingly unenviable position for Gordon..
Food and drink for David..
But the main concern is how soon.. or even whether the British man on the street, will forget this gaffe..
Much will be expected.. much demanded.. from a man who's gilding has worn transparently thin..

Having gone through arguably the worst weekend of his political life, Gordon will face the media this morning at his monthly press conference.. no doubt with the focus being the failed spin attempt of the possibility of a snap election..
The former Chancellor will also have his economic record dragged back into the limelight during this scrum.. a record he would have had preferred to see put behind him once he took the post of Prime Minister from Tony..
Unfortunately.. there's nothing Gordon can pass responsibility on to Alister Darling, yet..
Should provide us with some interesting soundbites, if nothing else..
And later this afternoon, he'll face Parliament, returning from it's Summer recess..
Now the agenda was meant to have been Gordon's plans for troop withdrawals from Iraq.. but he shot that bolt last week in Basra while paying a snap visit to the British contingent in Iraq..
So reasonably, one would expect David and his Opposition to also deride the PM on his electioneering tactics..
While it has to be said, Gordon's not done a bad job since he took the reins.. it cannot be minimised, this damage he's done himself and his Party with bringing the country, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say allowing the country to be whipped into a frenzy of election speculation..
It would be safe to say, the honeymoon's over..
Ahh.. and the Royal Post began their second of their announced strikes at three this morning, which will preclude home delivery until perhaps Friday..
Once again, the issues here are pensions.. wages.. and modernisation plans the Union says will cost their membership some 40 thousand jobs..
Gordon's going to have to answer for that, as well..
More to come as this day unfolds..

While indeed, today's newspapers will be tomorrow's scrap paper.. the message will have some lasting effect on Gordon..
"Bottler Brown" many are calling him.
His decision not to hold an early poll has fired the gun for that cruelest of sports - a press field day..
Mr Brown gets a thorough going over in both the broadsheets and the tabloids..and in what is surely a first, both the 'Mail on Sunday' and 'Independent on Sunday' opt for the same headline.. "Brown bottles it."
Papers of all persuasions agree that the PM's "dithering" has damaged his reputation for strong leadership and as a conviction politician.
It's also brought Gordon's record of 'hidden taxation' throughout his tenure as Chancellor under Tony back into the limelight.. something Labour would sooner see put behind them..
In the Sunday Times Mr Brown is "all mouth and no trousers".. helpfully illustrated with a mocked-up picture of the PM in his boxer shorts.. it concludes he is a "victim of his own spin" and adds the country will think less highly of him..
Meanwhile, an article by Tory leader David Cameron goads that the Tories are ready but the PM is not.
One has to say Gordon made the right decision, that now is not the time for an election.. but his fuelling the speculation that his Party was ready and willing to increase their majority, appeared to wilt following the polls published following last weeks Tory Convention..
The voting public in this country will forgive politicians almost any indiscretion.. but is not tolerant of those who shy away from what's seen as a confrontation..
Gordon's record will needs be spotless for the next 18 months or so..
And that's quite an ask.
And what with the issues facing Parliament, David will be smiling at this point.. For what the Conservatives will face in the future, is a government which has some exceedingly unpopular issues to deal with..
Better Gordon dig the hole just a bit deeper, for surely there are neither quick fixes for the problems we will continue to face on the home economic front.. nor for those we're involved with on the international stage.
Either way, this has turned into a win/win situation for the Conservatives..

One issue we have been trying to keep on top of over these past few years.. is climate change. But, it would seem there is far more attention paid to the increasing numbers of hurricanes affecting the US and Caribbean, than the typhoons which yearly sweep through the far east..
While it is undeniable the weather patterns in the West have changed, and the effects have become far more damaging.. we hear little concerning storms the likes of Typhoon Krosa, which has caused a million Chinese to be displaced and a death toll which would be exceedingly difficult to estimate..
It would seem that a fuller picture is being denied us.. with the 'global' effects being sidelined..
Perhaps it serves certain interests to keep our concerns localised, for a broader understanding of how the weather is changing might well damage the credibility of some of those lobbying for fewer global emissions..
Something to think about..

Ahh Gordon..
It was always a doubt, that the Prime Minister.. after waiting ten years to have that title, to hold that power.. would chance diminishing his majority in the Commons, or in fact, turning his Party into the Official Opposition, by calling a snap election..
David has pulled his Tories back into a position of power.. defined himself at this part party convention as a man who has solid planks upon which to build a government..
And going head to head at this moment, would be daft.
Quite right too.
Gordon's been making the moves of late that would have led one to think he was gearing up for a contest.. announcing troop pull-outs from Iraq in Basra before announcing it in the Commons.. as it is that announcement will be made Monday..
There are also plans for a pre-budget report in the near future..
And while speculation had run rife that we'd be heading to the polls on either the 1st or the 8th of November.. we're now told that while Gordon will make an announcement 'soon' concerning a snap election.. it's now odds on he'll be laying the thoughts of a quick campaign to bed..
Gordon has two years to either improve his country.. to introduce legislation which may well have been originaly Tory, but which now can be added to Labour's laurels..
To improve his own standing.. entrench himself on the international stage..
And while the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats may make political hay for a couple of weeks over Gordon's 'dithering'.. It will soon be back to business as usual in the Commons..

What's of more interest at the moment, is a proposed £9 billion train/subway system which would bisect London..
Ken Livingston is the current Mayor of London.. he's Labour..
Boris Johnson's the Tory opponent, and certainly a contender.. It wouyld not be much of a surprise to see Boris campaign against this new train system.. there's much debate about it's necessity.. it's cost.. the fact it would funnel so much government money into London, and what the downstream effects would be for funding for other British cities also crying for Westminster funding..
One would suggest that if the name Boris Johnson is an unfamiliar one to any readers.. that a Google of the man would be interesting to say the least..

Just one more breaking story that deserves mention this evening..
It's what Gordon.. and David.. have been waiting for.. The results of the latest polls, following the Conservative Convention..
Well..
An ICM poll for the Guardian newspaper indicates the gap has narrowed to just 1%compared to 7% a month ago...
This follows two other surveys which suggest Labour's lead has dropped to 4% and 3% respectively.
It would be a daring move from Gordon to call a plebecite, as had been predicted, this November..
All in.. so to speak..

Concerns over wages.. only a 2.5% increase on offer..
Concerns over modernisation plans which.. according to the Union.. would cost close to 40 thousand jobs throughout the system..
Now.. after this strike ends next Wednesday..the CWU plans to stage a programme of rolling strikes each Monday until the dispute is settled.
The union's deputy general secretary, Dave Ward, says the strikes were "a proportionate response to an employer that is completely out of control," after five weeks of negotiations..
So.. Royal Mail has decided to start imposing changes on workers' conditions without union agreement from next week.
The Royal Mail spokesman has asked customers to avoid posting mail during the strikes to avoid a backlog.. but if they do, to post it at Post Office branches.. they'll remain open as usual.
But.. it's another legacy from Gordon's stint as Chancellor..
And it's raised the question as to why some professions have not been deemed 'essential services'.. police.. firemen.. doctors and nurses.. ambulance drivers.. postal employees.. all of course entitled to Union representation for negotiation with their various employers.. but denied the right to any work action other than 'work to rule'..
It's a choice when one makes when one takes on the job..
Accepting that what you've chosen to do.. any work issues must go to binding arbitration.. and while this process is underway, it's work as usual..
'Why has the government not adopted this process..?' has been asked a number of times by a number of people, and business concerns.
This will cost tens of millions, with the bulk of that sum to be absorbed by the smaller businesses who exist through mail order..
Unpopular.

And it's going to be a hard winter for our farming community..
What with livestock contained within a rather large exclusion zone.. wherein they can't be taken anywhere but their own fields.. the farmers are running out of graze and are dipping into feed that was meant to have kept a diminished stock through the winter..
Stephen Dennis.. who runs the Farm Crisis Network in south-west England.. says calls to its hotline have "quadrupled" in recent weeks..
"Some people are desperate now. They are just getting by day-to-day..it's the biggest time of year for moving livestock from one area of farms to another and also for rents and bills to be paid. The ban on exports is creating a massive backlog in the system and causing meat prices to plummet. Meanwhile, winter food stocks are being used up at the very time cereal prices are soaring."
Ahhh.. just what we need.. with the global economy teetering..

And the word from the States.. orders for factory goods saw their biggest drop in seven months in August.. according to US Commerce Department data.
Orders fell by 3.3% compared to a month earlier.. worse than the 2.8% forecast and reversing July's 3.4% rise..
Fewer orders for commercial aircraft had been a major factor behind the fall, down nearly 40% for the month..
But analysts seemed unperturbed by such figures..
"Signs that the world's biggest economy is slowing.. come amid wider fears over a global credit crisis that has impacted markets worldwide.."
Y'think..?
"I don't think factory orders are a significant new indication of weakness," said Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer at Advisors Capital Management..
But hedging the bet here.. investors would be closely watching data to be revealed tomorrow..
Job figures set to be released..

One wonders if Gordon regrets selling that whack of our bullion reserve back when gold was at it's lowest level for ten years..

A very brief note to start the day..
More than 150 thousand postal workers are set to drop tools at noon today.. that means this country will see no post through the slot, 'til next Thursday.
That's a week.
Amazing.
From two deliveries a day, to none whatsoever, in 10 years.
It's a pension fund issue here.. the Communications Workers Union says Gordon could have prevented this..
Unpopular.

The end of the Conservative Conference this afternoon.. and David, speaking without autocue or a script, began his speech as a man who was a doubtful challenger to Gordon's bid for another term, but ended it as a man many could easily see as fit and ready to face a snap election.. should one be called.. and a man capable of leading this country..
About Gordon..
"Now last week in Bournemouth - or Bourne-mouth - we saw the old politics on display. It wasn't just that we' heard it all before, I mean literally heard it all before. I think actually quite a lot of people in America had heard it all before as well. There were the GP surgery family friendly opening hours, we've had that one three times before; eco towns, four times before; competitive sport in our schools, six times before - and no indication about how any of these things are going to be done. But it wasn't just that. It was the cynicism of it. He told us things that he knows he can't do. British jobs for British workers, it's illegal under British law. Deporting people for gun and knife crime, you can't do that because of Labour's Human Rights Act. I have to say to the prime minister: if you treat people like fools, you don't deserve to run the country, let alone win an election."
About the EU..
"When we look at our democracy, we're still stuck in the dark ages. When it comes to politics we just have to take what we're given and put up with it. And to me nothing sums this up more than the European constitution. It's not just that it's an issue of trust. We put it in our manifesto that there should be a referendum, Labour put it in their manifesto that there should be a referendum and it is one of the most blatant breaches of trust in modern politics they won't give us that referendum. But it actually goes further than that. In a world where we have all this freedom and control are we really saying to people that when it comes to how you're governed, how your country is run, you can't have a say, it's nothing to do with you? That's wrong and that's why we'll keep pushing for that referendum, campaign for a no vote and veto that constitution."
The speech lasted just over an hour.. punctuated frequently by ovations from the party faithful who crowded the convention centre..
And left Gordon with a decision. Either rely on the polls which indicated Labour in the lead after their convention.. or wait until he's had the job he's coveted for ten years, just a while longer..
It may well be that the Government will call us to the polls.. But, after this Tory Conference, the outcome may not go quite as planned..
Frankly, it would seem to be a dangerous move to make, to call an election before Labour has had a chance to implement some of the policies they outlined..
But people remember, that many of those planks Labour set down, were re-worded Conservative proposals which were voted down..
All in all.. David made his mark with this speech.. In his own words..
"We can get a great NHS if we make doctors answerable to patients and not to politicians. We can get great schools if we break open the state monopoly, allow new schools in and insist on high standards. We can get safer streets if we strengthen our families and get the police onto our streets. We can get it if we really want it. That's what we've got to do. So Mr Brown, what's it going to be? Why don't you go ahead and call that election? Let the people pass judgement on 10 years of broken promises, let people decide who's really making the arguments about the future of our country, let people decide who can make the changes that we need in our country. Call that election. We will fight. Britain will win."

A casual mention in the last post concerning biological attacks..But it's apparently a possibility the authorities are taking seriously..
A pot of burning chilli sparked fears of a biological terror attack in central London on Monday..three roads were closed in Soho and homes evacuated following the alert.
Specialist crews broke down the door to the Thai Cottage restaurant at seven in the evening where they discovered the source.. a 9lb pot of chillies..
The restaurant had been preparing Nam Prik Pao, a red-hot Thai dip which uses extra-hot chillies which are deliberately burnt.
But the smell prompted several members of the public to call the emergency services.
Alpaslan Duven, a Turkish journalist based in the restaurant's building, said: "I was sitting in the office when me and my chief start coughing and I said this was something really dodgy..
Supranee Yodmuang, the restaurant supervisor, was above the restaurant when she received a phone call from her boss..
"It was about 4pm when I saw the police who were closing off the roads but I didn't know why..My boss rang me and said I had to get out of the building because of a chemical attack."
She added: "Because we're Thai, we're used to the smell of chillies."
What has this society been led into..?

Almost a case of Gordon shooting himself in the foot..
He's announced that by 2008, a thousand British troops will be home from Iraq..
But, what he didn't do was make the announcement in Parliament, but chose to do so while making a visit to Basra today.. And to further the blunder, he failed to mention that 230 of that thousand are already back.. that another 270 of them already had their orders cut to come home.. and that the other 500 were already expected to be returning early next year..
David and his Conference were expected to have been focussing at their Blackpool Conference on traditional Tory platform issues.. social reform.. prisons.. Home Ministry issues..
But this proved to be too much of a temptation to miss..
The Prime Minister has been accused of blatent electioneering with his announcement.. and the pundits are beginning to re-evaluate the advantage Labour might have, by calling a snap election..
Gordon's scarcely put a foot wrong since he's taken over from Tony.. But today's 'misinformation' has the public's attention..

Meanwhile.. at the Tory Convention.. Immigration did come up..
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis.. He told the party conference "unchecked immigration is not inevitable...not the irresistible result of globalisation. We can control it. We will control it".
Davis promised "tough new border controls" and annual limits on economic migrants: "We want the right people and the right number of people."
He also backed "zero tolerance" on crime and pledged to axe ID cards.. a measure Labour backs, and which would cost tens of millions to put into effect.. The money saved by the scrapping of that plan, would be put towards expanding British prisons.. allowing an end to Labour's policy of 'early release', which to this point, has seemingly increased recidivism..
David also had some scathing remarks about Labour's failure to hold the promised referendum on any EU Treaty.."One of the most flagrant breaches of trust" in British politics the Tory leader declared..
More tomorrow.. with the Convention coming to an end. David's closing statement to his Party should be an interesting one..

The backlash from the collapse of the American housing market continues..
A number of big investment banks have admitted major losses caused by bad investments centred on US sub-prime mortgage markets..
Worst hit was Swiss bank UBS which was forced to write down losses of 4 billion Swiss francs..$3.4Am billion.. £1.67billion..
The group said it now planned to cut 1,500 jobs and make extensive management changes..
Later, US giant Citigroup revealed its sub-prime losses would total $1.3billion, as well as $2.6billion in extra credit costs..
And with gold and oil hitting record prices.. One hopes some took our advice and bought bullion.. a slight dip in the price early today, but that can be put down to profit taking..
It's not over yet..

Now, British media is not allowed in Burma.. but there are a host of reports coming in..
Apparently about four thousand Buddhist monks are going to be transported to prisons in the north of the country.. It might be advisable for some International Regulatory Commission to try and keep a head-count, for it's odds on many will 'disappear'..
On Sunday morning, the Christian churches held special services praying for peace and reconciliation for the country.. At least one Catholic church a priest led a prayer for the victims of the military violence.
The church wants to remain apolitical.
It wouldn't do, one supposes, to have Christians actively involved.. even though it is their country.. their rulers.. their cause..
Ahh well..
In the meantime, sources indicate, the streets of Rangoon are quiet.
But, then what can one expect when their are armed soldiers at every streetcorner..

First foot-and-mouth disease makes a reappearance.. disrupting British livestock trade.. then the appearance of bluetongue..
Not being one to promote conspiracy theories.. It might be considered how.. and why these diseases have suddenly appeared..
Biological terrorism is not limited to such as 'dirty bombs'..
Merely something to be considered..

An Interesting morning..
Petrol prices have passed the Pound per litre mark..this due to a plan set in motion several months ago which increased government taxes by 2p per litre. And there'll be another 2p increase next month.. again part of this plan Gordon implemented while Chancellor..
Unpopular.
And, as of this morning, one must be able to prove that one is at least 18 years old to buy a pack of fags.. that's a bump of two years. The shopkeepers, not to mention the kids who live in a culture that is not quite Californian in it's perception of the habit who will now be bothering their parents to keep them in supply, are somewhat bewildered.. a politically correct move, one supposes, but those who've been selling to kids they've known to be smokers for two years now are going to get an amazing amount of stick, and the aforementioned parents are not thanking Gordon for this new bother..
More stress..
Unpopular.
Meanwhile, yesterday's speech by David at the beginning of the Tory Conference impressed his membership with an idea that maybe, just maybe, the country would be less impressed by Gordon's recent successes in comparisons with other world leaders, with his ten year record as Chanellor..
David's speech.. focussing on the usual suspects.. touched on the economy.. our international relationships.. ecology..
And on the whole.. he struck the right note..
Today.. some tax changes.. promises for reductions on those who inherit.. the abolition of the 'Stamp Duty' for first time buyers who's property's going for less then £250thousand..
That revenue coming from a tax on those 'non-national residents.. those citizens of other countries who live, and own businesses in Britain, but who have incomes which are diverted abroad.. thus avoiding British taxation entirely. David wants to charge them a flat rate £35thousand a year. Pocket change, for most of the estimnated 135 thousand who choose to keep their foreign passports..
It's a promising start..
And the one recurring theme we'll have hammered upon us for the next couple of days.. is Gordon's affect on all acpects of the last ten years..
And how David can do better.
Indeed.