Cameron Terrified Of Leveson Enquiry.

David Cameron seems to be visibly mortified by the Leveson Enquiry which, it seems, intends to be even handed after all and has declared that it is not in the business of protecting Tories. As Jeremy Hunt's threadbare excuses have worn even thinner and details of both Cameron's and Osborne's rather cosy relationship with Rebekah Brookes has been revealed it is dawning on Dim Dave that he might be in trouble too. Given the sorry account he made of himself in relation to Coulson this is hardly surprising. He's already requested that he appears at the Enquiry after Tony Blair so he can point the finger at Labour and, hopefully, divert attention away from himself. “It’s all he thinks about,” said a source close to the Prime Minister. “He’s terrified of getting somthing wrong, or being caught off guard. He knows that if he fluffs his appearance it could be devastating.” Caught off guard? Can they mean he might inadvertently tell the truth or stumble over the lies he intends to tell? Perish the thought.

Eric Pickles - Another Tory With No Answers.

After William Hague and Simon Burns we were all treated to the thoughts of Eric Pickles on the BBC Sunday Politics Show. Having reitereated the empty phrase that "we should all work harder," that lack of demand in the economy is all the fault of too many worker's rights and reducing the deficit is the only priority, he was asked by Andrew Neil where economic growth was going to come from. He immediately disavowed government intervention and investment and said that the government was relying entirely on a non-existant expansion of exports. Pressed on this he then said that we shouldn't rely on business after all, especially in the face of competition from India and China and the economic dowturn in Europe. In short the answer was that he didn't have a clue - something he has in common with the rest of his Tory colleagues. Tories use words like "growth" but have absolutely no idea how that can be achieved and have no policies - none - that might deliver it. Instead they are straining every sinew to use the present recession as an excuse to impliment and entrench a worn out ideology that has delieverd nothing but poverty and inequality. Essentially they have commandered the lifeboats and left the ship of state rudderless while they make off towards the nearest off-shore tax haven.

Hague Parades His Utter Stupidity.

William Hague, yet another Tory who has never done a real day's work in his life, has told people in business to "stop moaning" and "work harder. "We're trying to rescue the work ethic just in the nick of time," he told the Sunday Telegraph without a flicker of irony considering the number of people this criminal government has thrown out of work. His proscription, apparently, is for businessmen to get on a plane and flog things to the Chinese. What things? The Tories began the process if de-industrialisation in this country and it is typical of them to now call for an export drive and then blame industry for not being able to respond. In case he's failed to notice most of our industry now resides in China and India where it was exported in a cost-cutting exercise that benefitted only short-sighted greedy morons like him. Nor is the expertise still available as thousands of engineers have either left the country or retired without being replaced over the last 30 years. Winston Churchill once famously said; "Give us the tools and we'll finish the job." Nowadays, even if someone was generous to give us the tools, most people would stare at them and wonder what they are for. The Tories turned their backs on ordinary working people in this country years ago and their latest attempts to blame the victims of their spiteful and ultimately harmful policies are truly risible.

Simon Burns In Breathtaking Hypocrisy.

As the NHS is squeezed, hospital beds are reduced, staff continue to shrink in numbers and overheads are cut to prepare for privatisation, the number of patients being treated in corridors and on trollies is climbing steadily. This demostrates quite clearly to any intelligent human being that the Tory reforms consist almost entirely of making things worse. Hardly surprising considering this is what Tories do best. However, the reaction of Simon Burns, the lesser known but even more evil twin of Andrew Lansley, is nothing short of breathtaking. "There is no excuse for patients to be left waiting on trolleys. The NHS has beds free and available, and hospitals should be supporting their nurses to ensure that patients are admitted to them quickly. We will not hesitate to take action where we find hospitals failing to do so." He's absolutely right, of course, there is no excuse and he and Andrew Lansley are to blame. To try and pass this on to NHS staff is monstrous, but is understandable when you realise that Tory tactics are to undermine public confidence in the NHS in order to pave the way for further privatisation. He and Lansley are intent on stealing this national assett and flogging it off cheap to their corporate mates who are queuing up to press money into their hot and sweaty hands. It is an act of sheer criminality.

News International Sees Off Critics.

It seems we all have it wrong after all. Not only is Rupert Murdoch a "fit and proper person," this saintly old man has sacrificed his life in the interests of his papers readers and the persuit of truth. As Rebekah Wade pointed out papers such as the Sun have striven to tell those stories and only ever expressed those opinions that its readers approved of. As for hacking, that was perpetrated by a few naughty journalists who completely misunderstood the business ethos of their managers whose only wish was to serve the public interest. Nor do the executive management of News International bear any responsibility since it is completely unreasonable to expect them to actually manage. No, they were far too busy attending various birthday parties during which politicians, more or less unnoticed, drifted in and out and spoke to no one about anything in particular. Very confusing, especially when politicians and their advisors use each other's initials willy nilly and apparently had no idea what each other think or do. Secret meetings between News International executives and politicians were actually completely open and above board and were only "secret" inasmuch as no one else knew about them. Nothing fishy there then.

Call For Better Incentives To Attract "Talented" Top Civil Servants.

Lord John Browne, who was found guilty of perjury in 2007 but escaped prosecution because the judge in the case thought he'd been "punished enough" when it was revealed that he was homosexual, has called on the government to improve incentives for top civil servants in order the attract "the best talent." We asked the lying peer what he meant; "Well, as you know, many top civil servants have been avoiding paying tax and national insurance by having themselves paid through off-shore accounts using bogus companies. These are the kind of people we need in the civil service and, since the government is being forced to close this particular loophole by peasant opinion, we need to find another way to allow top civil servants to commit fraud. This is the only way to attract the best people with the necessary qualifications in greed, deviousness and theft from leading schools such as Eton and leading universities such as the Oxford or Cambridge Schools of Corporate Cheating. We are losing a great deal of talent from the Civil Service as these people are being attracted into banking and big business where criminal activity is better rewarded."

No Link Between Executive Pay And Company Performance

A report commissioned by BBC Radio 4's More or Less programme has conclusively shown that there is absolutely no connection between executive pay and the performance of top companies, either here in Britain or in the United States. In other words company executives on average bring nothing to the party and are paid huge amounts of money for doing nothing in particular. This seems to defy common sense until you have a close look at how the pay of these spivs and conmen is calculated. Essentially they get their mates - other overpaid executives - to fix their pay, while ordinary shareholders are effectively sidelined by corporate shareholders run by those same executives. Worse yet many companies are fearful that, if they fire their useless executives, share prices will fall damaging the company even more. Cosy isn't it? In the last 30 years these corporate vultures have turned the cut and thrust of capitalism into little more than a safe, risk-free gravy train, for them at any rate, and changed corporate survival of the fittest into survival of the greedy. These people like to see themselves as heroes, as ruthless captains of industry. The truth is that many of them are the corporate equivalent of benefit scroungers with little ability beyond milking the system and with absolutely no intention of ever doing an honest days work.

Hospital Workers Forced To Take Pay Cut.

While bankers at J.P.Morgan have been busy losing yet more money and pocketing their unearned bonuses, while politicians across the world continue to put their ego's before the interests of people and pocket bribes while they're at it, domiciliary staff at Addenbrooke's hospital are being blackmailed to accept lower wages. This has nothing directly to do with the NHS, however, since the staff in question are employed by a private company called Medirest. They have told their employees that they can either accept this or lose their jobs. In microcosm it is a fine example of what is wrong with Britain. The cost cutting exercise by Medirest came about because their contract was up for renewal and the hospital, having had its money effectively cut by the Tories, had no choice but to negotiate a better deal. Medirest's immediate reaction was to cut its wage bill - not for the executives of course, but for the ordinary workers. Suddenly contracts of employment were not worth the paper they were written on (unless it was for an executive of course) and blackmail became the favoured tactic. This then is the destiny that the Tories have in mind for the rest of the NHS as it is increasingly privatised by stealth. Now a whole raft of ordinary people will find their disposable income curtailed and they will, innevitably, spend less in the wider economy. This will have a knock-on effect and, as demand continues to plummit, more and more businesses will either go bust or cut wages too. That is how austerity works - or rather doesn't work. Selfish, stupid and self-defeating, austerity is nothing less than a opportunity for rich people to increase their own wealth, pauperise the already poor and cut their tax bill at the expense of the rest of us.

Bankers Are At It Again.

If you thought that the world's major banks learned anything at all after the recent financial crash, dream on. J.P.Morgan, one of the United States "too big to fail" banks has managed to lose yet another $1 billion in dodgy investments. Not that that put a brake on management "bonuses" or, as the rest of us would call it, plunder. We asked the company's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, for his comments; "Who cares? Whats $1 billion to me? Its not as if we have to worry about loses when we have access to US taxpayers money. However, I am still surprised at the loses. We have consulated some of the world's most famous astrologers and they told us we couldn't lose. I suppose in a way they were right, but they led us to believe that reckless and idiotic gambling was actually a dead cert. We've learned a valuable lesson though. We've given up on the astrologers and decided that, from now on, we will only consult with soothsayers and phrenologists"

A Definition Of Britain's Coalition Government.

The Tories are like a gang of yobs who, suddenly looking up from beating up a helpless wheelchair-bound victim, see the hostility of the gathering crowd and say "What?" For the LibDems, who have been cheering on the Tory yobs from the safety of the gathering crowd, its a matter of running off before the police arrive.