The Guardian has published an open appeal to Tory and Lib Dem voters to vote Labour in Dundee West. I think that tells you all you need to know about the Red Tories and their priorities. It is also a new low in journalism even for the fanatic and increasingly desperate Severin Carrell, who is a total disgrace to his profession. The costs of publishing the Guardian ought to be counted against Marra’s election expenses: this is not journalism in any sense, merely a puff piece for a candidate.
The five million questions project was a Labour front headed by Marra and merely one of numerous fake “independent” bodies set up to provide the corporate media with disguised sources of unionist propaganda during the election campaign. It was based in the University of Dundee. It is seven years ago that I published a piece headed Dundee University – A Tool For New Labour. The hosting of the fake five million questions “research” for the Tory-friendly Labour candidate for the University seat is yet further evidence. This Labour/Dundee University scheme linked in to the Daily Record. Dundee University administration have a close relationship with this rag. When I stood for election as Rector against the administration’s candidate, fervent Unionist Andy Nicol, the University administration arranged for the Daily Record in Dundee to come out on election day with a full front cover picture of Andy Nicol and the single banner headline “I Was Born to Lead Dundee Students”.
Naturally, I beat the conniving bastards anyway.
I can today reveal from an inside university source that it was Dundee University Principal Pete Downes who fed Alistair Darling with the nonsense about loss of funding for medical research, which Darling used against Salmond in televised debate. All of which fires my determination to stand for Rector of the University again next year and put a stop to these shenanigans.
My good friend Chris Law is an excellent candidate and a truly interesting and dynamic individual with a quick, analytic brain. He is very much his own man. I am happy to say that despite Severin Carrell, Labour have as much chance of stopping Chris Law’s election as they have of turning back the River Tay.
“The SNP is opposed to FPTP. It is our unionist parties who insist on it.”
We had a referendum in 2011. The people voted for FPTP. Including 63% of those who voted in Scotland.
The nosy troll can mind his own business.
We all seem to have taken a drubbing from the beak since he landed back today.
John Goss.
Re Greece,if the EU tries to enforce,a embargo,on it,by restricting Greeks from exporting fruit,or other trade goods to Russia,the mood of the Greek people,in these times of austerity,could force,an exit from the EU.
The financial future of the Greeks doesn’t look to promising,for the EU to prod them with a stick,telling them,you cant export your wares to Russia,may well prove to be a tipping point.
Elections and the Electoral System
Elections are an important part of democracy – a way in which the people can exercise power.
Frequent elections allow the people to participate in the decision making process and ensure that the government is accountable to the people. If the people do not like what a government is doing they have the right to question it and ultimately vote in a different way at the next election.
In 1999 the people of Scotland were given the opportunity to elect a Scottish Parliament for the first time (the Parliament before 1707 was not elected). A decision had to be made about what type of electoral system should be used.
Most people wanted to avoid using the ‘first past the post’ system used in the UK general elections. This system can disadvantage some parties and can allow one party to form a government with an overall majority of seats but at the same time get less than half the votes cast.
Most people were looking to introduce a system which would closely reflect the views of the people of Scotland and produce a fairer match between the way people voted and the number of MSPs each party got elected. In other words, some form of proportional representation.
It was decided to use a system called the Additional Member System (AMS). This system allows people to have a local constituency MSP and also adds other members to make the overall result more proportional. In this way more viewpoints are represented in Parliament.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/visitandlearn/Education/16284.aspx
Its not just FPTP thats used in Scotland.
Delusional David Cameron has insisted the Tory-led coalition government “protected the poorest” in society, in an interview with the Independent newspaper.
“I haven’t changed. I am a compassionate Conservative”, he told the journalist, whilst travelling from Belfast to Cardiff during a four-nations tour to promote his support for the union.
“We had to make difficult decisions”, he says. “I would argue that this has been done in a compassionate way. We protected the poorest, the pensioners, the NHS. We had a balanced plan.
Sure you did David.
The shooting of the African American man Walter Scott.
He’s shot eight times,in the back,whilst running away,from a police officer,the incident is filmed on what looks like a mobile phone,the clarity is reasonable to good,yet not one drop of blood can been seen.
See for yourself.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VQgjAY-Mm8s
Virtuoso pianist Valentina Lisitsa has been replaced by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and accused of engaging in public incitement of hatred after she posted political opinions critical of the Ukrainian government’s conduct in the country’s civil war.
Lisitsa, who was born in Kiev, is a world renowned pianist, with some of her performances garnering millions of views on YouTube.
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s aggressive attempt to censor her is a chilling insight into how perfectly legitimate political views that challenge the mainstream can be treated as “offensive” or “hate speech” and used to cripple someone’s career.
“We had to make difficult decisions”, he says. “I would argue that this has been done in a compassionate way. We protected the poorest, the pensioners, the NHS. We had a balanced plan.”
Jesus, did he really say that? Planet Cameron. Not of this earth.
And what the hell does balanced have to do with it. The poor did nothing cause this issue. The rich did everything. And they are BETTER off.
I hope for his sake I never meet this man.
Guess it’s clear that all Cameron says is totally scripted. Told to him. Why he avoids debate like the plague. An empty suite.
It gives even Farage a kind comparative credibility, He may be a vile piece of XXXX but at least he airs his dirty brown shirt in public.
@Ishmael
8 Apr, 2015 – 9:28 pm
Just like ‘they’ never talk about nuclear weapons, etc, it’s also never mentioned that the unregulated bankers trashed the economy, and not only were they allowed to get away with it (via the biggest transfer of wealth in history – ie, the tax payer’s were made to bail them out), they’ve also been allowed to carry on as before. It’s called corruption, and it now occupies all levels of life in USUK.
The way the media spins all this and sells it to the public is really no different from East Germany during the Cold War, as Lysias pointed out on another thread.
kind of* comparative credibility
Agree Rob, naturally having a German background I paid close attention to this history.
What get’s me though is back then, no real counter narrative. Where as today it’s everywhere, I guess it’s that that make the extent of their obvious trajectory hard to really believe.
Did they really think this was not going to backfire amazingly? Like the world is not watching?
RoS
“Good to see the Greeks open up trade routes with Russia,in spite of the,ridiculous sanctions,of the EU.
Putin met with the Greek PM,to try and resume negotiations of trade. Greece used to export tons of fruit to Russia,mainly strawberries,before the unjust embargo came into force.
Trade in this matter in particular, should and hopefully,will take precedents,over,propaganda politics.”
___________________
Whatr do you mean by “trade in this matter”? Do you me
Do you mean in the matter of fruit?
And do you mean “precedence” rather than “precedents”?
You must have been rather hot under the collar when you penned your latest bit of drivel.
Habbabkuk, are you not in the slightest, a bit bothered about yourself ?
@Ishmael
The 2008 bail-out of the American banks was totally against the wishes of US citizens, huge numbers of whom called their representatives on Capitol Hill before the bail-out vote went through. As a result the bail-out was cancelled. The politicians pushed it through behind the scenes the following week, totally against the wishes of the people.
Moore’s ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ gives a good overview of it all. I believe this documentary film can still be found on YouTube.
And do you know what I found..? having the inclination to reply to you, and looking for authorative links that would be acceptable to most people: these links have all now disapeared from search engines.
My oh my. We really are in East Germany again.
ps. just found Moore’s documentary, still on YouTube…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgcdtOcfqfc
It’s two hours long, so I’m guilty, yet again, of linking to long vids.
pps. and don’t worry about Habba: he’s probably irritable because he hasn’t yet had his nappy changed today.
“As a result the bail-out was cancelled. The politicians pushed it through behind the scenes”
I didn’t know that. Interesting, I almost took the heads of some MPs who had the gall to come around asking for votes after that.
“It’s two hours long, so I’m guilty, yet again, of linking to long vids.”
OMG, isn’t it the worst crime, people are only allowed to concentrate for a few seconds, tut, tut. You’ll pay for that…
Maybe if the war ever ends.
‘war’ attack, whatever.
I need a Drink but the pub is full of people I can’t associate with, think I have some vodka stashed, cleaning lenses comes second atm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rryc8Kjzx6M
slainte.
You know, I think a big problem is this nation, country, still has not come to terms with the fact we are abroad killing lots of people.
Yea “Iraq was wrong” I hear it so often. Like a filthy rag covering the ongoing killing.
I hate being the bad guys. Such an aggressive nation. I can see ‘diplomacy’ ‘failing’ again, where next shall it fail? On the Russian border?
Fuck you USA.
I feel better.
My ‘problem’ I’v worked it out. Is I went east, and everyone is basically the same. Or maybe it’s that I came back…
I remember flying back to the UK after staying in the most degraded parts of Delhi. People say Muslims, Asians ect, they stink, but the first thing I noted was the smell of shit coming from people back in the uk.
People don’t notice because they are always in it, you need to stay among a people for some time to get sensitive to such things perhaps.
Opinion Poll: Greek PM Tsipras Popularity at Impressive 78%.
lysias thanks, they are holding on. +++
Spain next.
Fuck you Germany. lol my days just getting better and better.
Lysias, it is good news about Tsipris, that the Greek people stand by him. The debt was run up by former Greek governments and banksters. That debt is the debt of former Greek governments and banksters, in my opinion. Some may not agree. To my mind we need to get back to square one. We have had no Keynesian economics for decades. John Kenneth Galbraith was executed by Milfred Friedman. Since then savers have been penalised and debt encouraged. Workers’ taxes are being used to pay off the US national debt when those who robbed the country should be paying it, the bank-robbers (and by that I do not mean those who rob banks, but those who rob us).
Good comments Lysias and Ishmael.
I’d say an issue is even since the formation of modern states. The ruling elites in them have used a Marxist type analysis only in so far as it’s useful to maintain massive control and domination over the population…
Like deliberate blind spots. I mean they really don’t care what fucks up. And most of the time they are aiming for that.