When I was a student, an appalling toothache on a Sunday led me to take too much paracetamol. I didn’t take vastly too much, and only two tablets at a time, but over 24 hours about twice the recommended dose. I am pretty certain it would have done me no harm, but I was sharing a flat with medical students and they insisted on rushing me to Ninewells. There the staff acted on the presumption that it was a particularly ineffective suicide attempt, which it most definitely was not, and instead of doing something useful about the toothache they lectured me about paracetamol.
My long introduction was simply to set the scene for that lecture, which has remained vividly with me, because the picture it painted was horrible in an Edgar Allan Poe sort of way. The doctor said that when people try to commit suicide with paracetamol, they generally wake up a few hours later in hospital and find they are not dead. Most of them are pretty happy about that. But then the hospital has to tell them that they are going to die anyway. Paracetamol has destroyed their organs and in five long days they will be dead. There is nothing the hospital can do to save them. Usually they are distraught.
I have no idea if that is true or just the doctor’s way of improving my views on toothache management. But I certainly never forgot it. It led me to wonder whether today’s statement by Harriet Harman that the Labour Party will not oppose Tory benefit cuts is the equivalent of taking that last bit too much paracetamol. The frank admission that the purpose of the Labour Party is to discern what wins the election and then support that, should finally drive away anybody with any interest in principles from that party. I was not joking when I said that Osborne’s budget outflanked Labour to the left. That is true, even though it was the most unabashedly right wing budget of my lifetime.
The parliamentary opposition to the benefit cuts will come from the SNP, Plaid and Greens, but it will not be allowed much time or given much publicity. The great question remains where the great mass of the abandoned people, with their left wing views, find political expression in England. I should love to believe that horror at Harman’s position will bring a surge of support for Jeremy Corbyn. But you only have to read Guardian and Labour List comments columns to see that the majority of Labour members swallow the line that you have to be right wing to win a general election – a myth carefully fostered by the corporate media but which I comprehensively demolished here.
It was at least as unthinkable that Labour would lose Glasgow as that they could now lose Darlington or Liverpool or Newcastle. But, with Clegg having moved the Lib Dems a long way right, there is still no sign of a challenging party that can emerge other than UKIP and their racist panacea. I find it hard to see what will happen in English politics. But Labour are going to wake up shortly and find they are facing a rapid and inevitable demise.
“You fail to grasp what independence is, it’s exactly about controlling and using all the levers of government, to make your countries society a prosperous one.”
They want to make Edinburgh once again the Athens of the North.
“I understand that. But in my view, the cost to the mass of the working class of both countries was a price that neither were prepared to pay. I strongly believe that this was a major reason why Scotland voted No.”
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Daniel.
At the time of the Scottish referendum, all the media and national newspapers, non owned in Scotland opposed independence.
The press and tv carried quite appalling stories of how Scotland would be attacked from outer space our airports bombed our mobile phone charges would go through the roof, how a independent Scotland woukd cause the Balkanisation of Western Europe.
The press and tv continued with, the need for barb wired fences and guard dogs on the border between Scotland and England, our pensioners wouldn’t recieve there pensions, we wouldn’t recieve the BBC, even though Scots contribute £300 million a year to tv licences.
We’d be thrown out of Europe even though the EU told Westminster the answer to that particular question, when Alex Salmond asked David Cameron to make clear the EU’s position he failed to reply.
Plus a million other false accusations that Scotland would collapse if it left thd UK.
Then we were promised the “Vow” by a London owned newspaper the Daily Record and a retiring unionist Labour backbencher with absolutely no power to enforce it, namely Gordon Brown.
This led to the Smith Commission, which in turn led to watered down powers not worth the paper they were written on.
But here’s the thing Daniel against such overwhelming odds, the yes camp were only a small percentage short of gaining independence, 45%/55% I think we’d have romped home in a fair fight.
“ROS, Indeed it would be most satisfying, particularly for my sister who put £100 quid on Corbyn winning from the outset, prior to his selection, at ridiculous odds. Put it this way, if Corbyn does win, she will be be treating four of us to a trip to Madagascar for a month all expenses paid.”
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Daniel.
I sincerely hope that Mr Corbyn wins, and you and your sister and the rest of the family, get a holiday out of it.
“I sincerely hope that Mr Corbyn wins, and you and your sister and the rest of the family, get a holiday out of it.”
Fingers crossed, ROS.
Anon1
13 Jul, 2015 – 10:16 am
“I’m backing Jeremy Corbyn for leader.”
Fred
13 Jul, 2015 – 10:34 am
“Tom Watson for deputy.”
…………………………………………………
Grow up you two please.
ROS @ 7.35,
I’m aware of all that. If I had been living in Scotland, I would, all things considered, have voted Yes. I am seriously considering moving to Glasgow.
Jeremy Corbin has just been on Ch 4 news, purportedly to give the Labour left view on Harriet Harman’s audition to join the Tories. Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked a couple of shallow questions on the subject and then turned to foreign affairs. He asked why Corbin had called Hamas and Hezbollah his”friends”. Corbin tried to explain the context but Guru-Murthy kept interrupting him, focussing on the word”friends”. Eventually it became a shouting match, with Corbin repeatedly accusing Guru-Murthy of being a tabloid journalist.
It’s worth watching when it becomes available on 4 OD. I’ll post a link later
I’m not sure if Corbin has done his leadership campaign any favours, but he’s gone up a couple of notches in my opinion.
RoS, the troika is now gunning for Tziprias and Syriza, their goal is a new more right leaning Government that is easier to mall and direct.
Putsch anyone?
“The Labour Party is now officially dead. If Corbyn fails in his bid and consequently doesn’t leave the Tory party, we in England are reliant on the SNP to take the lead on our behalf. What the “negotiations” have resulted in is the transfer of national Greek sovereignty to the bankers who are now in a stronger position than they were prior to Syriza coming to power on a mandate of anti-austerity. The gap between the 1% and the rest of us has become even greater. Harman’s announcement and Tsipra’s capitulation is a double-whammy for the working class.”
Well, good Thoughts Daniel, but how do we ask the SNP to please and cajole us into their mindset. Should they tease us with fair proportional votes for all in England?
or explain why it is so much better to save the 25 billion it costs to move Trident south and scrap it altogether?
I’m sure there are better reasons such as ‘ending austerity’ which appeal to English voters as much as to Scottish.
Personally I could envisage that Independence for Scotland, as an issue to be debated by the English, at a general election, would enrich the debate about fair democratic discourse and decentralisation of powers to the best suitable, most efficient and beneficial to all level as well.
The SNP could rock our boats too, as long as they don’t try and replace the two Tory parties, understand that sustainability matters a lot and that wars are not compatible with a sustainable existence, available energy management, transfer of knowledge and interchange between cultures.
They would also close the small gap between themselves and the Greens, here and in Scotland, both their social justice issues are compatible, speak of the heart, human rights, the rights of a child, centrally to a truly democratic society.
“I’m aware of all that. If I had been living in Scotland, I would, all things considered, have voted Yes. I am seriously considering moving to Glasgow”
_____________________________
Good for you Daniel, Glasgow has developed since the 70’s into a cosmopolitan city, it may just be to your taste.
“RoS, the troika is now gunning for Tziprias and Syriza, their goal is a new more right leaning Government that is easier to mall and direct.
Putsch anyone?”
_______________________
Nevermind I don’t foresee Syriza and Tsipras bei g replaced by a more right leaning party, afterall Syriza has capitulated, I would leave them i power to face the wrath of the poor Greek folk.
What better result could the troika hope for than to have a left wing givernment help enforce deep austerity.
After Sundays vote I’m sure many Greeks will feel a deep sense of betrayal, why have that anger vented on a replacement government.
As for the SNP at Westminster, they have limited clout at best, even after forming alliances, Labour are still the main opposition i theory if notni g else
Last sentence should read, in theory if nothing else.
My apologies.
In challenging the Osborne/Harman narrative, this is what Jeremy Corbyn in an interview on this evenings Sky News said:
Corbyn:
“I think we have made a mistake on giving so much ground to Osborne, particularly on the treatment of young people in the budget and treatment of people in larger families. Why should the third and subsequent amount of children be penalized depending on the random date in which they happen to be born?
Interviwer:
“Why should the tax payer support larger families”?
Corbyn:
“We have a system in which even Thatcher signed a European convention protecting the rights of the child. What number were you”?
Interviewer:
“I’m playing devils advocate. This is only going to be introduced for future families and that they have a choice as to how many children they have. Surely encouraging families to have a smaller amount of children must be a good thing.”
Corbyn:
“I agree. But they don’t need encouragement. People having small families happens anyway. The average family size over the last 50 years has come down. But because of the idea that there are some large families, that children should be penalized for being born, is simply not right. We could cut rising welfare expenditure by capping rents thereby saving on housing benefit and improving drastically the living wage thereby undercutting the subsidising of low pay paid through the benefits – a system that currently works to the advantage of large multinationals like Tesco. We need to pay people more so the that the tax yield is greater and the economy does better. It’s a win-win situation.”
Interviewer:
“How are you going to pay for it”?
Corbyn:
“We have to raise the taxes of the wealthiest. Over the last few years, child poverty has increased, homelessness has increased, the use of food banks has increased and overcrowding in houses has increased. So we need a different and more humane approach to welfare.”
I think the Greek people have been shafted by Syriza. There is simply no appetite for further cuts at the behest of yet more QE of bundles of cash into the pockets of bankers. We are talking about widespread civil disobedience.
Question being, do the Greeks think they’ve been shafted by Syriza? Or by Europe? Merkel et al may have been a touch too clever; their intransigence may tend to unify Greece rather than subdue it. Which could lead to UDI, with an economy based on smuggled cigarettes and flogging retsina to the decidedly liberal western Turks (for facetious instance). They could weather that. Retaining their remaining assets and their pride might be worth it. Also, they might consider opening the floodgates for refugee migrants heading for northern Europe. Civil disobedience takes diverse forms.
Just speculatin’.
Eddie-g
13 Jul, 2015 – 5:08 pm
“Bernie Sanders draws large crowds…”
………………………………………………
He may draw large crowds Eddie but he needs to draw large wads of cash from rich and powerful corporate backers to pay for his campaign.
I can’t see that happening unfortunately.
“UKIP and their racist panacea”
WTF are you talking about? Farage was at pains throughout the election campaign to let people know that he was a globalist who favored immigration, if at a slightly slower pace than that facilitated by Blair and Cameron. In fact, it was Farage’s insistence on his love of immigration that most probably accounts for his defeat in wherever the Hell it was he lost, since 70% of the British population want an end to the tory-labor-liberal project for the genocide of the British nation by mass immigration and multiculturalism.
Jeremy Corbyn is currently attempting to engage with the gutter tabloid questioning of one of the presenters of Channel 4 News. It’s a must see.
“He may draw large crowds Eddie but he needs to draw large wads of cash from rich and powerful corporate backers to pay for his campaign”
Funds is only part of his problem, Doug. He’s got everyone excited becuz he’s a soshulist. Unfortunately he is mum about foreign policy. Dare I say it….Israel?
Node, Guru-Murthy’s line of questioning was absolutely disgusting and Corbyn came across stronger for it. If there is any doubt that the intention of the mainstream media to adopt anything other than a demonizing posture when interviewing those who don’t adhere to the Westminster narrative, then those doubts can be dispelled after having seen this travesty of an interview. I urge everybody to see it.
“In fact, it was Farage’s insistence on his love of immigration”
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Tbd.
Could almost have been believable, until you added the above sentence, then we entered the realms of fantasy.
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/ten-other-things-nigel-farage-has-tried-to-blame-on-immigration–ey8RKw_kFg
Another self hating immigrant or is it the original one?
These emotional, and irrational, tired arguments that always shove the “British people” somewhere; setting themselves up as the “spokesperson” for the “British people” are in fact racists supremacists trying (the operative word) to sound less racist by pretending they are part of the greater “British people”.
“[Do}the Greeks think they’ve been shafted by Syriza? Or by Europe? Merkel et al”
I would like to think they are able to grasp that they have been shafted by all of them given that they are almost certainly “all in it together”.
“Funds is only part of his problem, Doug. He’s got everyone excited becuz he’s a soshulist. Unfortunately he is mum about foreign policy. Dare I say it….Israel?”
________________________
Benn, it could be Sanders has presented himself, as too far to the left, Iowa has a progressive tradition but it also has more moderate Democrats, Sanders will , have to try and convince the Caucusgoers that he’s the man for the job.
I would say the same applies to New Hampshire, he’s got to do well in those two states or he will become less viable by the time the race hits South Carolina.
Tbd (8:28 pm) is obviously Canspeccy. Alfred, you may as well be yourself and besides, I liked your cloudscape Gravatar.
He has an impressive left-handed voting record ros. Again, however, when the political rubber hits the foreign policy road, his tires will go flat even if his crowd-funding somehow manages an Obama coup as in 2008.
Well, his tires will go flat for me, anyway.
Node 7:48pm
Daniel 8:30pm
I don’t know whether Jeremy Corbyn has done his leadership candidacy any favours either, but I am sure he has done himself no harm at all with the public with that interview.
He looks like a leader to me. I’ve always had a great deal of time for Corbyn’s views, but usually regarded him as something of an old buffer, and I’ve clearly been mistaken.
It’s clear that his candidacy, win or lose, has immense usefulness because it is forcing the media – quite literally – to put an alternative perspective front and centre. They don’t like it much, do they? When was the last time Saudi Arabia’s involvement with ISIL was put in such a clear way on mainstream TV?
I’d rather listen to two minutes of Corbyn than two hours of the likes of Miliband, and I am sure I am not alone.
Kind regards,
John
The perception may well be that the Troika is punishing the Greek people (as it announced that it would) for simply registering the ‘wrong’ opinion. In that light Tsipras may have been rather astute.
As usual, I’m seeing a lot of complaint that Tsipras should have thrown the Greek toys out of the pram, and left himself with the blame for the inevitable mass poverty that would result, extending well up into the middle class. Not a good scenario. Realpolitik, not any notional complicity with the ccreditors/predators, would have dissuaded him. The EU terms play well into the concept of the Greeks being unfairly victimised for being Greek, and I have no doubt that Tsipras will be playing this for all he’s worth at home now. After establishing that, he may even resign, very gracefully, and let it play out.
Just speculatin’, still…
Daniel : ” Guru-Murthy’s line of questioning was absolutely disgusting and Corbyn came across stronger for it.”
Yes, Daniel, before the shouting began, Corbyn was shaking his head in disbelief at questions like “so you’ve got no problem with somebody coming from abroad as a migrant with five kids, say, and claiming five lots of child tax credit, five lots of child benefit, housing benefit ….?”
Here’s a link to the piece. Jump to 4’45” if you want to skip the preamble.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/channel-4-news
This is what Varoufakis was up against: a foregone conclusion. With some unexpected praise for Osborne on the way:
http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2015/07/yanis-varoufakis-full-transcript-our-battle-save-greece
HL: You must have been thinking about a Grexit from day one…
YV: Yes, absolutely.
Well worth a read.
Node @ 9.15pm:
People like the Guru Murthy are a disgrace to the journalism. I remember similar treatment he meted out to George Galloway in relation to Castro/Cuba.