Getting Back Into It.

Afternoon,

As I watched the Football results come in from across the country, I am pondering how I am going to get back into the exercise regime that I had been working under for the past eight months prior to Christmas, when I decided to give my body a rest.

However, with the festivities in my eyes, being well and truly out of the way (New Year Eve permitting, obviously) it is that time to get back on the treadmill and the weights.  I started this morning, leaving my place just before 9am and getting to the gym some half-hour later.  Did my usual weights, followed by 10 minutes on the treadmill, before getting back home about 11.15am. 

With Work Commitments the way they are, I am thinking of probably going to the gym before rather than after work this week, and with the gym closing for half-day on New Year's Eve, that does seem to be the best way to go about it this week, before reverting back to form, for when everyone else will be hitting the gym from January 5th!

Rob :)

See The Wider Picture....

On a day when Gaza has suffered its worst bombardment in decades,  in which over 200 civilians have been killed, is it time for the world to ask itself several questions?  As I write tonight, Israel stands defiant in the face of mounting condemnation from the international community, and although we have seen the usual condemnation from America and Britain regarding the terrorists launching attacks into Israel in the first place, we have not seen similar words from other world leaders.

Let me get one thing straight from the very outset.  I support Israel's right to exist, unlike a lot of people on this side of the political spectrum who would not mind seeing Israel taken off the face of the earth, yet turn a blind eye to the homicidal bombers which come out of Ramallah and Gaza.  However, there must be an independent Palestine, that can co-exist with Israel, and it is important that the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas has recognised that fact. 

The problem in this case, like it is in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the influence of outside forces.  More specifically, Iran, Syria and the U.S.  These three nations have almost, in my opinion have treated this conflict like a form of proxy war between the three of them for the past 40 odd years.

It is in the interests of these nations for the conflict to continue so that they are able to strut there stuff in front of the international community.

The Future Of This...

Evening, all.

Some slight changes into how this blog is going to done in the future.  I am now using Windows Live Writer to do my blogs, as it means that I can do them whilst the broadband is offline, which will mean more comprehensive blogs like the one below (on topic, there will probably be one on the inflaming situation in Gaza later). 

I am able to add video from media such as YouTube and Sky News, amongst others, extremely easily as Live Writer makes it ridiculously easy to do that! 

There will be hopefully more links to other related websites of relevance.  As more and more plugins get released, the content will get more and more richer in its quality.

But the rants will not change in its tone nor in its verocity.

That is a fucking guarantee!

Rob :)

A Thought To The Future...

Evening, all.

I was thinking last night about the coming year and what it would bring for me.  I am going to give my own thoughts over the coming next few days regarding the rest of the world, but for now I feel I need to give my hopes and ideas on what I hope will happen in my own personal and private life.

First things first, I have been back home with both my mother and my sister since February, when I had to move back home following the sudden and necessary departure of my housemate due to personal reasons, and at that time I did not have the sufficient funds to be able to maintain my own flat.  This, I hope is going to change with my job situation changing, as I am back in a position to affect how much I earn every month - in other words, commission. 

Kerching!

I am wanting to be able to move into my own place, (note, own place) towards the middle of the year, with several parts of Folkestone being looked at myself.  There is an particular flat which I am very interested in at the moment, which is rent-wise, pretty cheap for the part of town where it is situated - which is important, as I want to get an equilibrium between home and work, because like before, I will probably be going up and seeing my mother and sister on an extremely regular basis, almost everyday! 

However, there is the need, to have my own independence, which as much as my mother tries to disagree with, is extremely hard, if not impossible to have whilst I am residing at home.  For heaven sake, I am 26 years old and although there is a lot of young people my age who live on this estate who are still at home, I am extremely determined to get away from here.  Not because I do not want to be near my family. 

Far from it.  I just want to be away from the estate where I have had endured some pretty sickening taunting over the years.  Of course, it has subsided, almost completely but I do not want to have anything to do with the area, if I can have anything to do with it.

When I am walking up from work or after I have finished at the gym of an evening, I do feel threatened from the hordes of youngsters which trail the street corners up here.  I do not want to have worry about that anymore.  I just want to be able to worry about myself.  I have given up four years of my career, by living at home.  It is blindingly obvious to me that I will not get anywhere in my company, if I am seen as still living at my mother's, as sad as that is.  This needs to be done and that is the end of that.

Moving on to work prospects for the coming year.  As you have probably guessed, I have gone back to my previous job, however for security reasons on behalf of the company I cannot disclose what specific position it is that I work in.  As I said above it does involves earning commission, so the possibilities of how much I earn can vary from month to month. 

But it is not difficulty to presume that I would be earning over £1,000 per month after Tax and NI, when you take commission and overtime into consideration.  This will be great, however money consideration will only dominate my mind for a certain period of time, until essentially I get bored of it!

That is when it is going to time, to take a long, hard and careful look at where my career is going.  I have admitted in recent weeks, that I will probably have to take myself elsewhere within the sector that I work in currently, if I feel that I cannot get to where I want to be, for one reason or another.  I have expressed my displeasure on numerous occasions regarding the way that I was treated between the time I was told that my previous job was being dissolved and being told where there was vacancies. 

However, now is not the time for throwing the shit at those who fucked me over.  It is the time to knuckle down and care about number one. 

Me.

 

Back To Reality...

Evening, all.

First things first, a picture that I would like to share with you all.  This picture was taken just after 8am this morning up on The Leas here in Folkestone, I just thought I would take this picture as a symbol that in these hard times that the world is going through, that there are some things of natural beauty. 

Meanwhile back on Planet Earth, the January Sales started in earnest this morning. In the case of myself, I was outside Debenhams here in Folkestone at 7am, to see if I could pick up any decent deals.  For the record, I did.  I was able to find this very nice Dolce & Gabbana watch reduced by 50%.  And it looks stunning, as you can see down below!

However, I did not pick up further deals.  I am the sort of person who is fussy what he gets himself in the January Sales.  If I want something and I know I can get it that extra bit cheaper then I will do.  I have also resorted to getting a pre-paid Debit Card that I can use online, as I also find that you can certain things, such as clothes that extra bit cheaper.  I intend to go onto one such retailer as soon as this blog is done tonight.

And the sales need to go very well, as sales for many retailers pre-Christmas were described as poor by The British Retail Consortium. 

Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: "We'll see the full December figures in a few weeks, but they won't be pretty. "Discounts and promotions on a scale unprecedented for the run-up to Christmas, combined with weak sales, have put margins under severe pressure. "The government must recognise that every extra tax and regulation has an impact on prices, under-pressure customers and retailers."

Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested that 82% of high street retailers offered either sales or promotions in the run up to Christmas.

My sister prediction that we might see another chain as big as Woolworths going down the toilet might not be as far fetched as I thought.

What it will mean however is that shopaholics like myself will be in heaven this Sale Season.

Rob ;)

RIP Harold Pinter...

Evening,

The sad news that has been announced this very afternoon is the sad passing of the Nobel Prize of Literature winner and anti-war activist, Harold Pinter who has succumbed to liver cancer at the age of 78. 

My generation from a political point of view, note him as one of the key protagonists behind the anti-war protests prior to the Iraq Debacle some years back, however older readers will know him better for such plays such as 'The Birthday Party' of which he not just wrote but acted in.  All in all his wrote a remarkable 29 plays, which seems staggering.

Going back to when he won the Nobel Prize of Literature in 2005, I recall his speech, where he absolutely tore George W.Bush and Tony Blair to shreds. 

Amongst those who have paid homage to Pinter  include veteran politician Tony Benn who said Pinter was a great figure on the political scene. "His death will leave a huge gap that will be felt by the whole political spectrum," he said.

One of the country's finest playwrights of any era, and his loss to the arts as well as the Political Left will be great.

Seasonal Greetings, Comrades!

Morning, and many happy returns for this season.

It seems that the Iranian President has decided to do his own Christmas Message. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly invited by Channel 4 to give his own alternative Christmas Message, which I find rather odd, for all the obvious reasons!

The Message, which will be on Channel 4 this evening at 7.15pm, unlike previous years when they would be shown at the same time as that other message will have English subtitles along with the President's native Farsi, is the first time that a foreign leader would have given a specific speech to Britain on Christmas Day.

He will be shown telling those who watch 'the general will of nations' is for a return to 'human values'.

Unless it is regarding Israel....Naturally.

Of course, some four hours beforehand, Queenie Lizzie would have given her pre-recorded message to her Commonwealth (see what I did there? - I know clever that!).

In the speech, leaked by her advisors - Her Majesty, states that this Christmas is going to a sombre time for many, those who have lost their jobs, who are struggling with their mortgages and loans. The inclination is that, she seems to pointing her finger at the 'Wanker Bankers' and retarded CEOs who did not seem to have seen the tsunami coming.

Talking about those who will be sombre this year, her comments come just hours after the body of a well-known financier was found in his New York office. A victim of the Bernard Madoff fraud scandal which has rocked the financial world - Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet was found at his desk with both wrists slashed.

Nice Christmas Present for the family, that.

At least there will be more Turkey for them...

Sadly, I do not think that will be the last similar case we will have before this Credit Crunch is done with...

Cannot Wait Till This Is Done With...

Evening,

It does seem that Christmas is certainly going to be a muted affair in homes across the country and indeed beyond.  I have come to the simple conclusion that as my mother is working both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, that those two days are going to be nothing more than glorified holidays. 

I have long before now, come to the brutal conclusion that Christmas and to a lesser extent Easter have become like Football, a corporate beanfest, for when the rich cunts in the city, who have fucked over those who have lost everything, still get everything that they and their equally stuck-up brats want for Christmas.

And yet, this government, instead of giving billions back in Tax relief schemes to those families in desperate need, they give our hard-earned money to those incompetent cunts controlling our banks.

Chairman Brown has an awful lot to answer for this Christmas, in fact it seems that the 'Brown Bubble' has indeed burst, with the Tories going back into what seems like a comfortable 7% poll lead according to ComRes.

We had that chance. 

And I fear we have blown it.

Cannot Get Into The Mood...Can You?

Evening, all.

I have had something bugging me these past few days which I feel is not getting as much airtime as it should be in the Media.

Are people actually not in the mood for Christmas, this year.  Because let me tell you something.  I am certainly not in the mood for it this year.  My mother, for one is working both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, more known in this house, as her Birthday, so there is that to think about, personally.

But I also get the feeling, more generally that with the Credit Crunch, truly beginning to hit the country in general, shown in recent weeks with the impending demise of Woolworths, that people are very fearful of the future.  It is all well and good for department stores and companies to be doing 70% Sale Offers, but if people do not know whether or not they are nopt going to have jobs in the upcoming weeks and months, then that money will not be leaving that wallet!

Which obviously means that others will follow Woolworths and fall into that trapdoor.

And the whole vicious cycle begins again....

And the whole point is, that with one company falling, the aftershocks will affect other, smaller companies and shops where trade will be lost.

Can you blame people for not being in the mood?

Rob :( 

Can Things Get Worse?

Evening,

It seems that some of the World's biggest banks have been themselves burnt after burning their customers pockets for the past decade (Ha Ha!)

It all stems from reports from Yanksville where the former Chairman of the Nasdaq Exchange (I am not kidding), Bernard Madoff has been charged with fraud in what is being described as one of the biggest-ever such cases.

Well, I say big.  It is the biggest fraud case possibly ever.  Yes, even bigger than Enron.  And people did some serious time for that.

Such banking institutions such as Britain's HSBC and RBS, Spain's Santander which owns the UK High Street banks Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, as well France's BNP Paribas have reported as being stung by the fraud. 

Oh I do wonder, what they will do to recoup their ridiculous losses...

This comes on the day when the Pound has slumped to an even lower low against the Euro than it had done at the end of play last week.  The Pound touched a record low of 1.1084 euros, which made one euro worth 90.22p, before recovering slightly to 1.1196 euros.  Of course, this does not play well with tourists who pop over the Channel to get some cheap booze and fags.

And still it could get worse.  How, you ask?

If 2009 was to go sadistically wrong it would probably be because there was to be a run on a major currency or a Government bond market than because of wide scale corporate defaults. At this immediate second, the UK continues to remain the lowest hanging developed market fruit.

In other words, we are the least prepared nation in the developed world, to deal with this ongoing financial crisis.

As if we did not know that already...

Night, Night...

The Art Of Spinning....

Evening,

I see that Chairman Brown has made an 'unheralded trip' to Afghanistan, on the same day that four Royal Marine Troopers are confirmed to have died whilst on patrol in Helmand Province.  Obviously, it goes without saying that my condolences goes to the family and friends to those soldiers lost fighting what they have been told is a just cause - and it was for about six weeks, and we've been there now for the past seven years on orders of Uncle Sam and God himself, so it seems.

Why was it 'unscheduled'?  Why should it be 'unscheduled'.  Really, someone not knowing the ins and outs of this would think that these deaths were arranged to make Chairman Brown's point that bit more pertinent, but obviously they were not.  Perhaps it is the past decade of ridiculous spinning that this government has indulged in, which has made me and others who are political thinkers that bit more distrustful of government in general - and the civil service by extension.  The politicisation of the civil service in itself is concerning, such as the media manipulation that A. Campbell indulged in, before it cost him, in the aftermath of the David Kelly Inquiry.

Surely, at a time where the country economic situation is getting grimmer and grimmer, now is the time for the spinning and general bullshit to stop.   I say this, after the Prime Minister was involved in a spin row after the chief of the statistics authority accused ministers of massaging knife crime figures for their own political purposes.  Such acts like these are not going to help us get Labour that historical fourth term in office.  In fact, if the government continues along this deeply concerning whim, then I predict that Labour will not just lose, but we would be reduced to a rump within this country - concentrated within the heartlands of Northern England, certain boroughs in London and the former minefields of South Wales, and that is if we are lucky.

It needs to stop and it needs to stop now.

Off To The Circus!

Evening,

Just a quick message regarding my iteinary for tonight.  Tonight is the company's Christmas Party, which is based on a circus theme.  Which seems rather hilarious considering there is a percentage of people out there in the world which has some delusional phobia of Clowns!

The very thought of being scared of clowns is something that I cannot even comprehend.  In fact when I think about I crease up laughing!

Anyhow, each to their own.  I will be having an hilarious time with all the guys from work, and this will probably as is the case each year by a trip down the club for some further fun and games.

Speak tomorrow!

Rob :)

A Lump In The Throat....

Afternoon,

I was going to write about this earlier in the week, but thought I should give myself a few days to reflect upon it.

A few weeks ago, my mother noticed some form of growth on the left-hand side of my neck.  A lot of people would see that as a major issue of critical concern.  Not me!  I have had a cyst removed from my right arm earlier this yearn after much curious thought from myself into what on earth it was.  Though it was not without its painful moments.  Like having to have the local anaesthetic put into me not once or twice, and then having to have it redressed again a week later as the bandage was getting slightly loose!

Anyway back to the present, I thought it would be best to get to the doctors sharpish and indeed I was able to get an appointment with the quacks whilst I was off, which was rather good, as I had not had a day sick this annual year and wanted to continue this record!

Mother being the caring one, wanted to come up to the surgery and hold my hand, but I would not have any of that!  So off I went up to the doctors, extremely early Wednesday morning for a 8.50am appointment with one of the surgery's regulars.

I am not bothered whether or not I see my regular GP, purely because I rarely go there to really be concerned who I see.  I am one of the NHS' big supporters.  I find it amazing that in this 21st Century of private medical insurance or medicare as our cousins from across the ocean calls it, that the general population do not need to pay an extra penny for this level of healthcare.  There are people in this country of ours who try to drive the Health service down, but it has not done me or my family any harm at all - and is in my opinion, Britain's greatest achievement in the post-war era.

Prior to my appointment I was asked to fill in some form of questionnaire about the standard of service within the surgery, all in all, outstanding, but they do not have a box for that, so I have to just say excellent! 

I went upstairs, went into the Doctor's room, and explain what was the situation, joking beforehand, that I was not here about the tickly cough which had been in my system for the previous fortnight. 

He seemed immediately concerned with what I had said.  A lot more concerned than I thought would be the case.  Better be over-alarmist than not though.  In short he has referred me to an neck and head specialist, which is the norm in these sort of situations.

Oh well, seems like I am going to have another bloody operation!

Governments Should Be Scared Of The People...

Afternoon,

Nobody can help but have been staggered by the horrendous scenes that have been coming out of Greece in recent days. The violence which broke out initially in Athens and subsequently spread throughout the country seems to have been boiling up for some considerable time and it has taken a act of Police Brutality (unsurprisingly) to light the proverbial touch-paper.

The basic facts of what has triggered this wave of violence seems to be this:

Just after 10pm on Saturday, two policemen patrolling in a central street by Exarchia Square, in the centre of the Greek Capital. They had a verbal argument with some young people who were there. During the argument, one of the cops pulled his gun and shot a 16-year-old guy twice. The victim was moved to Evangelismos Hospital to be found dead. From what eyewitnesses have reported, the cop had been swearing against the young man, showing his genitals, before shooting him.

Like so many disturbances before this, it only needs to take a small dispute to get out of hand and then before you know it the government is on the brink and are considering all sorts of measures. Indeed reports have come in overnight of smaller, but politically significant disturbances breaking out in other European Countries, with reports of sporadic violence as far away as Madrid and Moscow.

Personally, what is of more concern is the way that the Greek Prime Minister denounced those who have demonstrated and those who have rioted as 'Enemies of Democracy,'. Such terminology is worrying - just like Chairman Brown has tried to, and up to a point successfully done - opposition is not allowed.

This is the way Europe is going, where dissent is treated as subversive. You must agree with the government way of thinking or you are see as an extremist. Left or Right, Socialist or Conservative. If you do not agree with this government you might as well hibernate until the people have seen sense and have got rid of this government of the jackboot.

While the violence was triggered by the death of a 15-year old boy, the underlying motives of the protest obviously run far, far deeper. As always The Hard Left can mobilize demos because the youth unemployment is endemic and because the government is being forced by economic constraints to adopt a hair-shirt policy at a very bad moment. At some stage a major political party - perhaps PASOK - will start to reflect whether it can carry out its spending and economic revival plans under the constraints of a chronically over-valued currency (for Greek needs).

Then there will be a problem.

Is it really much of a surprise that it is the Greeks who have kicked off first in this riot phase of this long politico-economic drama known as EMU has kicked off even though the post-bubble hangover has barely begun.

Saying that though, there has not been much civil disobedience in countries such as Spain, where they are a year or two ahead of Greece in the crisis cycle.

In the last few years looking in from the outside there have been an number of cities that have struck me as potential flashpoints - and indeed became powder kegs in the case of Rotterdam following the murder of Pim Fortyn, and Antwerp following the Muslim street riots.

Lille, Strasbourg, Marseilles, Amsterdam, Brussels seem inherently unstable, and it seems that the big cities of Spain and Italy are taking kindly to new immigrants - obviously we saw at first hand the riots in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley amongst others a few years back which was a result of growing disillusionment from White and Muslim youths, but thankfully we have not seen that level of violence in the UK.

Inevitably, the picture is going to get very ugly as the continent slides deeper into the shitter next year. The International Monetary Fund expects Spain's unemployment to reach 15pc. Astonishingly for a socialist government, Immigrants are already being paid to leave the country. There will be riots in Spain too (there have been street skirmishes in Barcelona) - no doubt events will get ugly in Britain as well. People need someone to blame and as is tends to be the case, it is those in need or who are vulnerable who are targeted by the fascists who do not have a clue about economics.

More politically revealing still, the Guardian has warned not only of the impact of recession, but also the widening gulf between rich and poor in fuelling political and social unrest. It editorialised, "It would be one thing if everyone was suffering equally. But, of course, there are some people in Greece doing very well indeed, including those with connections to a government with a string of scandals, some of them financial, behind it...

"The more general lesson of these troubles is that unless governments are more attuned to the difficulties faced by their citizens, and particularly their younger citizens, they may well face similar but much worse times in the future, as the recession begins to bite. Greece's difficulties are not a product of the recession, the major impact of which is yet to come in that country. But that does not mean they are not a sort of model of what might happen elsewhere if governments go into the recession without a new emphasis on equality."

There is trouble ahead and it is going to have to take a coalition of Left groups and minorities groups to take this country away from the Federalist claws of the EU and its authoritarian dictators.

This country cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes of the 1980s and early 1990s and allow Thatcherite economics to take a hold.

The Greedy Bankers are going to have to be told in no uncertain terms that each penny of profit that they make, they must give back to the people, of which this government has given hundreds of billions of our money.

This is not a option, this is a necessity.

Right To Choose

Morning,

Cannot help but feel a great deal of anger at the media today.

It should be the right of everyone to decide when to leave this planet, and not for the likes of the Daily Mail and their Christian FundaMentalist chums to make that decision for us.

Rob :(

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Some Quiet Time...

Afternoon!

I am currently on the landing floor outside my bedroom playing silly games with our gorgeous kitten Jaime. Jaime is around seven months old and it can be argued that she is relatively big for her age considering that she was the last one out of her mother's litter.

But oh god she is fucking amazing just to look at!

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And Then You Thought...

Morning,

Just a quick thought about the demostrators who justifably caused chaos at Stansted Airport this morning.

Good on them, and I'll argue that the majority of those who were caught up in the problems there would probably agree with those sentiments.

That if they were not waiting at the airport to get on their plane!!!

Rob :)

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Pondering The Week Ahead

Evening,

I have one of those all too rare weeks ahead of me, I have got it away from work!  I have never taken any time off work in December, so I am looking forward to having some long lay ins whilst the rest of humanity have to get into work in the freezing, Arctic cold as predicted by weather forecasters.  You can see what the weather is like down here in Folkestone, by looking on the left hand side of the blog via Weather Online (thanks!)

As for the cold, I still have that and it is getting more and more frustrating, particularly as it is now affecting the chest and the advise from all the quacks is that you should not go to the gym specifically if the cold is affecting your chest.  This is particularly the case, as I have a dormant form of Asthma, which has not affected me for years, yet from time to time such as now, has a tendency of rearing its ugly head when I really do not want it to!

I have decided that I will be continuing to go to the gym, but I am only going to be doing weights for the time being, as I only use the muscles around my limbs and back.  I believe that if I was to do anything such as Cardiovascular work then, the chest could come into play, which really would not be good for anyone!

As for my current size, I am wearing an extremely tight, yet gorgeous pair of jeans which contort around the hips.  I have had these for some three years and yet it is only now that I have been able to get into them!   I have also checked my weight these last few weeks and it has stabilized between 13st and 13 and a half stone.  I said to myself when I started this regime, that if I got to Christmas around that area, then that would be really good progress.  However, in my opinion I need to get down towards the 11st mark.  I have given myself till late April when I go to Alton Towers like I did last year.  Think that if I was to get towards that area then the circumstances going into that weekend could be substantially different to how they were this April just gone!

Back to now, and on Friday I have the company's Christmas Party to look forward.  The thinking is that hopefully the cold/cough/cattarh would have met its timely death by that point and I can go there and have a good time.  This will probably be followed by the usual gathering down Indigo with all those other revellers who have survived up till then.  I was wanting to go on some major bike-rides this week but sadly my bike has to have its brake-blocks repaired which is something that I cannot deal with, yet my sister can.  

But she is working this week, so she does not have enough time to deal with it.

Shame.

Rob :)

Ode To Gym

Evening,

I am currently on the exercise bike at my local gym, sweating away like a dog. Whilst outside the weather is fucking freezing, in here it is somewhat warmer.

As for the cold, it seems to have spread to poor old Mother, so she will more than likely stay away from work tomorrow.

Speak more, as soon as I get my breath back!

Rob :(

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Burnout!

Evening, all.

Have been in town for the past couple of hours to get some birthday cards for friends that I am seeing later this evening. Still suffering from the cold that I have had for the past few days, though I get the sense that it has not had the intensity that previous bouts have had.

The weather down here has been miserable as my body and I do question whether the amount of exercise I have been doing these past few months has caused this cold. Perhaps the warnings that my body have been giving me recently should have been heeded by myself and I should have cut the level of exercise that I was doing.

Perhaps then I would not be suffering like I am!

Rob :(

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Shadow Minister Arrested For Doing His Job...

Morning,

Just when you thought the world could not get more and more nutty, we have the unedifying picture of the Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green being arrested on Counter-Terrorism charges. The media have used the term "conspiracy to cause misconduct in public office".

You would have thought that the likes of Blair and Goldsmith would have been arrested for their part in taking us into an illegal war in Iraq, but I have not heard any news on that...

It is thought the arrest was centred on four Home Office documents allegedly obtained by the Conservatives, including a sensitive memorandum on likely crime rises during the economic downturn.

You would have thought that, that sort of information was in the public interest.

Speaking outside the House of Commons in the early hours of Friday morning, Mr Green said: "I was astonished to have spent more than nine hours today under arrest for doing my job.

"I emphatically deny I have done anything wrong.

"I have many times made public information that the Government wanted to keep secret - information that the public has a right to know.

"In a democracy, opposition politicians have a duty to hold the Government to account. I was elected to the House of Commons precisely to do that and I certainly intend to continue doing so."

In a democracy, absolutely Damien. Problem is, is Britain a democracy any more?

Guido makes some very interesting analogies between Chairman Brown and the leader of the most corrupt regime in the world. As a libertarian, if on the left compared to Guido's instinctive right-wing thoughts, I can not help but feel rather more insecure this morning, than I did yesterday...

Questions need to be asked, who sanctioned this arrest. Ian Blair's last day as commissioner of the Met is today, perhaps this is a parting shot to the Tories. Apparently the Home Secretary was not aware of such an arrest happening.

Considering that it is a matter of recourse for any arrest of an MP to be immediately reported to the Home Secretary, I think we can safely assume that, that is a load of bullshit.

Or perhaps it is that there are reports that there are British involvement in the Terror Attacks in Mumbai...

A Pictures Tells A Thousand Words...

Cold-Blooded Murder...

Morning, all.

As you are no doubt aware, the people behind such atrocities such as 9/11, 11/3 and 7/7 have it seemed decided to launch another act of cold-blooded murder...

Surely, it is a matter of time until Bin Laden's luck runs out.

He's just pissed off 1.5 billion people...

Inevitable, Wasn't It!

Afternoon,

Started my holiday today and my first cold of the winter duly arrives.

Not happy at all, supposed to be going out at the weekend for some friends birthdays...

Not great!


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Old Labour Resurrected?

Evening from my warm bed. It seems that New Labour is dead following
relevations that Commissar Darling is considering the once astonishing
scenario of breaking the key plank of the NuLab project of not
increasing the top level of tax. It is to be announced tomorrow that
they are going to possibly introduce a 45% tax came for those lucky
people who are picking up £150,000 per year. Seems like 25 years of
hard graft from Mandelson, Blair and Brown are at stake. Naturally,
the hardliner in me is over the moon with this news, but the main
block vote that helped us into power, Middle England could and
probably crumble into the arms of the Tories. It is all up for
grabs.....

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Sleepy Sunday

Afternoon from the train heading back into Folkestone. I have spent
the morning in Ashford trying to look for any bargains in the early
sales that have sprung up across the country. Though you would not
have known it as it was extremely quiet everywhere. The Chancellor
has said that he is going to try and kick start the Economy by
reducing taxes on his pre-budget report which gets announced in little
over 24 hours from now. The papers say that he could cut VAT by 2.5%
pretty much immediately. But what hard-working families need is money
in their pocket and not empty gestures like those mentioned in the
media. If you are going to do something then reduce the tax burden on
us by reintroducing the 10p tax rate. That is the sort of thinking
that needs to be undertaken. Think of us and not the Fucking Bankers.

--
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Aches and Pains!

We are currently outside the Ice Bowl here in Gillingham, after a
somewhat bumpy night on the rink! Luckily, no bones have been broken
and I'll be able to go to the gym in the morning with no problems to
be concerned about. Apart from a fucked up body!

--
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...And now for something very different....

Evening from the warm confines of a coach heading up to Gillingham to
go Ice Skating. I haven't been skating for about 18 months, when the
council got a temporary down the harbour in Folkestone. Before then,
I used to go to the ice rink in Ryde on the Island whilst at school on
a regular basis. It promises to be a great night! Hopefully all
bones will remain in one piece come the end of the night...

--
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This ever deepening scandal...

Morning. I see after months of silence the leader of Haringey has
apologised for his council lack of coherent action during the Baby P
case. No amount of apologies will be enough. People need to pay with
their jobs. But they will not. Naturally.

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Tax Giveaway?

Oh yes please!

Chairman Brown knows that this would be a sure-fire vote winner for Labour, which is fantastic!

The Tories are in a fucking corner of their own making!

Rob :)

Quickly...

Evening from the streets of Folkestone. Right now I am trying to find
somewhere to get something to eat after the first part of tonight's
entertainment. I have been at an event related to work, in Westgate.
Now am waiting for the others to get back from there before indulging
in Indigo!

--
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Beyond Contempt

For all the failings that he had, and let us be fair he had some pretty bad ones, Tony Blair had a way of capturing the mood of a country and as such, he was able to eloquently speak on such subjects delicately. The most discussed issue this morning in offices and workplaces across the country is not the unemployment figures; it is how could the savage beating to death of a seventeen-month old baby happen in the same borough as the equally sadistic death of Victoria Climbié.

This afternoon at Prime Minister's questions, Chairman Brown showed how retarded he truly is. He is inept in sensing the popular mood. Asked a straightforward question about the death of Baby P he went into a pitifully prepared response full of bureaucratic bullshit. His tone was truly off key and made shoddier when he made a cheap partisan accusation. Obviously, something is wrong in the Haringey Children's Services department in spite of the Victoria Climbié inquiry.

The thought of Haringey's own Children Director doing her own inquiry is unbelievable. There is only one thing she should be doing.

Resign and it can be argued that she should not be the only one to fall on her sword.

The list of people responsible for this murder could be argued to go to the very top. It is a Labour Authority after all, and Nu Labour has had a reputation of awarding people of failing authorities with comfortable jobs. One such person is Margaret Hodge, who was leader of Islington Council. Whilst at the helm, in 1985, Demetrious Panton complained about abuse that he had suffered while in the council's care in the 70s and 80s. He did not receive an official reply until 1989, in which the council denied responsibility.

In 2003, following Hodge's appointment as Minister for Children, Demetrious Panton went public with his allegation that he was abused in Islington Council care and had repeatedly raised this issue with no effect. He holds Margaret Hodge ultimately responsible for the abuse that he suffered. Following a media campaign conducted by several national newspapers calling for her to resign from her new post, she responded to Panton by letter, in which she referred to him as 'extremely disturbed'.

Panton then passed the letter to the press, which planned to publish it, only to be judicially restrained from doing so at the instruction of Hodge. The letter was eventually published, mainly because the blocking of the letter was seen as disproportionate. Hodge was forced to publicly apologize and offered to contribute to a charity of the man's choosing as recompense.

As the MP for Haringey, Lynne Featherstone has said this evening 'what society allows a BBC presenter to resign for some hoax call, and yet someone in authority is not held to account for the brutal death of someone in their area,'

Exactly, my point in one. On a separate point, it has to be fair that the way that the local MP has dealt with this has been exemplary in these shocking circumstances.

As for the perpetrators, I have thought long and hard on this one, as I have done after Soham and Sarah Payne and the many other shocking and disgusting acts of criminality by this country's lowlife. The hangman's noose is the first thing which comes to mind, when it comes to these sort of cases, however as an advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, I am very wary of going down that dark route for a number of reasons.

Something is for sure, something must happen.

Rob :(

The Thought Police…

Evening all,

Sorry about the lack of posting these past few days, however I have heard some disturbing reports from friends online who have been told that they are no longer allowed to discuss their work outside of work, or more specifically, social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo, as well as blogging sites such as here.

Capitalism and Corporations run your life, even when you're not at work. Fascism by the back door.

Of course the term 'Thought Police' came from George Orwell's 1984 (thinkpol, in Newspeak) and it was the Thought Police, who had William and Julia (the two main characters in the seminal book, arrested). It was the job of the Thought Police to expose and reprimand thoughtcrime and thought-criminals.

This was by means of psychology and that all-pervading scrutiny from telescreens to find and eradicate members of the social order who were competent of the mere consideration of challenging ruling power. The government attempts to control not only the speech and actions, but also the thoughts of its subjects, labeling unapproved opinion with the term thoughtcrime, or, in Newspeak, crimethink.

It also had much to do with Orwell's own "power of facing unpleasant facts", as he called it, and his readiness to condemn popular ideas, which brought him into conflict with others and their "smelly little orthodoxies". Although Orwell described himself as a democratic socialist, many other socialists thought that his criticism of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin damaged the socialist cause, which up to a point it did. However, those views had to be said for Socialism to become more and more mainstream, which is where it is right now, either through Christian Democratic Parties, such as the CDU in Germany and Labour in the UK.

It can be argued that the Home Secretary is damaging Socialism in its present form, certainly in the UK, with her near on obsessive passion for the introduction of ID Cards, which become mandatory for non-UK nationals within the coming few weeks.

And make no mistake we will be forced to apply for one of them eventually, by book or by crook, Chairman Brown and Commisar Smith will not be denied. They say that it will be protect our liberty against terrorists.

What, like they did in Madrid? No, did not think so…

I don't see Socialists in France, Italy, Germany or Spain demanding tighter laws on our freedom – but then they are not held by the balls by our friends from across the ocean.

And as usual, the government is misdirecting the argument. It says it will not be storing the content of your phone or internet use, as if that makes it all right. It is proposing to record — for life — the particulars of everyone you call or write to and what websites you visit.

Monitoring your communications is more intrusive than probing your home. It should only ever be done under warrant, with good reason. The general expediency of the Home Office is a very bad reason indeed.

Especially in light of the continuing loss of Data from certain government offices…

Do you want the state (and anyone who can gain access to the system) to have a record of your religious and political beliefs, your sexual interests and relationships, your financial and medical worries — "just in case" they ever become of interest to the authorities? Were an individual to spy on you like this, it would be called stalking. It is a crime.

You would not tolerate someone creeping into your home at any time, night and day, to go through you and your family's private things. You should not put up with this.

This could really become Chairman Brown's Poll Tax. I thought the Labour Party would have known better than copy Thatcher…

Oops.

Rob :)

You can get a a hi-res photo of the Freedom. Not Fear mosaic here

So What Are We Fighting For Now?

Afternoon,

Today, the country stopped at 11am, to spend a moment to reflect on those who have lost their lives in conflict in the past 90 years or so. On Tuesday, it is 90 years to the day that the armistice agreement was signed by the Allies and the Germans at Compiègne. However, what is it now that we are fighting for. Are the core objectives the same as they were all those years back or has the waters muddied, to the point that the conflicts of today, dilute the effect and influence that the Great War and World War II continues to have on the nation's psyche.

Could it be that with nearly everyone who fought on the fields of the Somme, Ypres and Gallipoli having passed on, is it time to start thinking what Remembrance Sunday should stand for in the future, and whether it is going to have the same symbolism as it has done before now. Especially at this moment in time, when a large proportion of the population of this country are against the continuing war in Iraq, and the continuous resentment in the World against the West continuing pursuit of Imperialistic goals in the former Raj.

A controversial form of terminology?

Probably, but a large part of the globe sees the continuing conflict in the Middle East and Afghanistan as just that – Britain thinking that she still has her empire and she can use the Middle East as her own personal playground. Of course, we have been here before, and it does seem that we are making the same mistakes as we did back then.

Of course, the last invading army to try it on in Afghanistan was the Soviets in the 1980s and before those us in the 19^th Century. Both invading armies lost, badly. In the case of the British, when they did try to retreat down the Khyber Pass, they were well and truly routed. Moreover, here in lies the fault. It is not the politicians who are laying their lives on the floor for supposed freedom; it is the foot soldiers that are first on the ground and the ones in the line of fire.

That is something that Messrs Brown, Cameron and Clegg would do well to remember.

It does not help having just invaded Afghanistan some eighteen months before, that the current, lame-duck president decided to get all ambitious and create his own caliphate in the Middle East by finishing off some unfinished business in Iraq, with his Defence Secretary old business chum.

Yet it is going to be the President-Elect's job to tidy the shit up from eight years of absolute madness from not just the Bush Administration, but from its poodle in ol' Blighty. Something that might take far, far longer to clean up.

Rob :(

Remember Them...

At 11am today, a nation comes together.

UK or US?

Evening,

A Quick post to pose a very interesting question?

In light of comments made by the leader of the Equality commission, Trevor Phillips, alleging that someone such as Barack Obama would find it a lot more difficult to succeed in the UK, than he has in the United States, is this the case?

Sir Trevor's argument is that the 'system' is biased against change, something which I find extraordinary, considering the changes that have been made in the past decade, such as hereditary peers and the modernisation of the House of Lords as a case in point.

Surely, the system is not against someone from a non-indigenous background, that would be totally unacceptable. But the fact that Sir Trevor has raised this issue in the very week of Senator Obama's elevation to President-Elect must cause real concern for modernisers such as Harriet Harman amongst others. In fact he believed the Conservatives had performed better than Labour in increasing the number of black and Asian parliamentary candidates.

"[The Conservatives] are less democratic. They are happier to impose candidates on the local parties."

Be interesting to see whether this issue is raised in the coming days...

Breaking News: Three people convicted of their part in the Bali Bombings, some six years ago have been executed according to the BBC. Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron (Mukhlas) were shot dead on the island prison of Nusakambangan at 0015 (1715 GMT Saturday), officials said.

Security forces are on alert across the country amid fears of reprisal attacks.

When will we fucking learn? This is what the zealots want.

Lunacy of the Madhouse

Afternoon,

I see the government has decided to use the Obama-Mania sweeping the world to bury some bad news – though somewhat unsuccessfully. You would have thought that following the Government's somewhat stunning victory at the Glenrothes by-election on Thursday, they would have tried to consolidate by trying to keep their nose clear from any controversial proposals.

Don't be silly, this is Nu Labour we're talking about now!

The Home Secretary, Commissar Jacqui Smith has said that 'people tell me that they can't wait to get their ID cards,'

One part of that is true...

If you don't arrange or make an appointment to get your fingerprints and biometrics done, you'll get find a cool £150. Persist and it goes up to a whopping £1000.

That same day, the home secretary was invited to the Social Market Foundation to do a speech, where the glass that she was drinking from was 'taken' by a sympathizer of NO2ID campaign.

The offending glass has according to NO2ID, been going through a methodological process at an undisclosed location (love when people say that!).

From what NO2ID says, this will not just get the home secretary's fingerprints, but it will allow them to create a plastic foil stamp that will allow anyone, yes ANYONE to leave her fingerprints behind say at a crime scene, for example. Last March, German hackers cloned the German Interior Minister's fingerprints using these precise methods.

This is yet another example of this government not listening to the people and listening to the doom-mongers such as those at Wapping. We all know that Blair's policy initiatives originated from the Scum's columns, with its dumb readership. That is not an initiative, that is just pandering to the retarded and insane. Of course, when you have the likes of Kelvin Mackenzie and Jon Gaunt amongst your columnists, they are seen as the height of cerebral thinking in that shit-covered place.

But, Chairman Brown, for all of his flaws, and he does have several – he is Old, Traditional Labour. Yet, here he is, continuing to listen to the same cunts who Blair listen to. Surely, that is where Blair had his problems, continuing to listen to the likes Alastair Campbell and fucking Mandy the Gigolo. Why don't you go the fucking whole hog and bring back fucking Neil and Glenys Kinnock!

The problem with Gordon is that he does not trust his own instincts; he has to go back to Peter and Alastair, almost for their permission to announce some policy. We didn't elect Chairman Brown, but fuck me we certainly didn't elect these fucking two vultures, almost circling around a dead carcass, even after that unexpected by-election victory.

Winning that by-election might make Gordon go for a snap election for January or February next year. That would be a terrible mistake. The victory in Glenrothes can be seen as a defeat against the SNP government in Scotland, and not as a vote of support for Brown's economic policy. Labour did have their majority reduced by HALF; they did not gain anything at all. It is all very well; the victory going with the Media Narrative, that Gordon is the saviour of the world and we should all be grateful for that 'fact'.

Let see what happens when Labour have to defend one of their seats in England. I fear it could be an entirely different story, sadly.

Rob :)

What A Wonderful World!

Seems like the newspapers agree with me. The World is a far happier
place to be with Obama in power.

--
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Is It Me Or.....

Is the world a remarkably better place this afternoon, than was the
case some 24 hours ago.

The change in attitude of people is not markedly different.

Markets are still all over the place.

People are losing their jobs and yet, with Obama getting the presidency things
feel so much better! I am beginning to struggle after getting a
measly 2 hours shut-eye.

All fucking worth it, in the end.

Now comes the tricky part. Actually governing the most powerful nation on
Earth.

--
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Thank Fuck For That!

Just had my meeting, a lot better than I thought it would go. I'm
moving into the admin side of the company, whilst keeping my existing
wage.

To be fair, it couldn't had gone any better than that!

--
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Into The Storm.

Morning. After last night's late night and the subsequent early
morning, I have my all important meeting to decide my next move.

I am wanting to go in there with the impression that I know what I want.

Whether I get remotely that is another thing altogether! I'll update
as soon as the meeting finishes.

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Obama Is President!

Need I say anything else...

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Here's Hoping...

Hopefully, by time we wake up in the morning, this man will be the 44th President Of The United States Of America.

And of the Free World...

Ohio, Florida - Heading to McCain...

According to Zogby.

However, they predict Obama to still win regardless, aibeit closer than we thought earlier.

--
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Some news....at last!

Well I say it's news. It isn't really.

Had a phone call, within the past hour from what sounds like my new boss in waiting. He said that he is setting up a meeting either tomorrow or Thursday with myself and
HR, about my next job role, within the company.

So I hope that this mess is sorted out one way or another, rather soon.

Needs to be.

My current team is moving to their new base on the edge of Folkestone
this weekend. Why is it that companies always leave these things to
the very last minute?

Madness!

--
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The Big Day.

Morning,

Today over 130 million Americans are expected to vote in one
of the most defining elections in U.S history.

Here's hoping that they make the right decision and vote for Obama.

For all our sakes...

I'm going to try and stay up till the election is called. I predict
that if Obama can get Iowa and Indiana in the bag early, then it
should be over by 2am (GMT).

--
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Another Week Awaits.

Morning. As I get the bus into work and another week of fun begins, I
can't help but feel that our government should be doing more to help
the people of the Congo. It is all well and honourable sending
millions in aid, but how do we know that it's going to the people who
need it? We don't. I can't help but believe that the only way that
this devastating conflict can be ended sooner is if the world
intervenes, with military force. That is where the troops truly
should be. Not fighting someone private war...

--
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Congrats, Lewis!

Think I've just recovered from watching that. How the fuck can
emotions go up and down that quickly? Fucking immense, that.

--
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Thought Of The Week...

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finally!

Afternoon! I have for the last few days been trying to set up the m2b
which would allow me to send short thoughts as well as pictures of
relevance. Here's hoping this work.....

--
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Depressing Times

Evening,

I am currently in Costas here in Folkestone, and no I'm not heading to the gym tonight. I'm too pissed off to exert any energy.

Mother is being her typical self, witholding money that needs to be paid for digital, so myself and my sister are frantically trying to find ways to pay her share.

So Mum says, she has to have money for the coming week, even though I gave her £20 just on Wednesday.

Pretty well fucks me off this does.

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Screwed Over...

Afternoon,

I get the sense today that I am in the process of being utterly fucked over by the powers above.

As I have inclinated in previous posts, my position has been quoted as 'ceasing to exist' by my manager. He having got that information by senior management, yet has anyone spoken to me about this?

No, don't be silly!

Can't help but feel I am being pushed out of the door, whether if that is their intention or not.

Feeling very much not wanted.

Rob :(

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Childhood Memories...

Afternoon,

As I write many thousands of teenagers and young adults are heading to Universities up and down the country. I never had the opportunity to do such a thing as my academia and speech and language problems curtailed any chances I had of having such opportunities.

Having such a disorder, was extremely hard and painful. The constant bullying that I ensured whilst at primary school, as well as my poor performance in the classroom did not help at all.

Leaving mainstream school when I was nine, was a blessing in disguise, as I was getting away from the bullies, at home and at school. I wasn't happy at having to leave my parents, especially at that age, but if I was to stay in Folkestone then the likelihood would be that I would have got myself into trouble with the law as I became more and more disenfranchised.

My academia performance improved substantially relatively quickly. The classes in schools such as where I went were far smaller than in mainstream schools. Where I went you would have a teacher and a teacher's assistant at all times, with a speech therapist on hand on occasion. Classes would have 12 students or less, in any one class, which meant that there was more time for teachers to help students on an individual basis - which helps a awful lot.

And it showed for itself when I went to high school in the Isle of Wight. There you have one teacher trying (and failing, most of the time) to control 30 or so students, including some who were very much unruly and disruptive - and whose had similar problems to myself, and yet had not been captured by the Local Education Authority (LEA).

The question of who was failing who needs to be considered...

Meanwhile, the bullying continued without remiss, whenever I was home on holidays, towards the point when I was looking forward to getting back down to the Island. It felt like I was being hounded towards the point of submission. The lack of education concerning my disability do not help. Thankfully, nowadays speech and language problems are dealt with a lot earlier than they were when I started school.

One of my very earliest school memories was when I was at a special school called Parkfield. Parkfield isn't there anymore, last time I went past it, it was a school for those who suffered behavioural problems - very apt that! Anyway, at the time I suffered from severe language problems and had difficulty reading at all.

So the headmaster, Mr Sailsbury (prounounced Strawberry by me!) encouraged to read by giving me incentives, such as riding on the school's motorised go-kart around the schools grounds and the park surrounding it.

One of the more memorable incentives was where I read a passage from one of the many children's books there and if I did it successfully, then I would be able throw a pie full of shaving foam into the headmaster's face! Now from what I remember, he pleaded with me not to, as he had a eye infection but that wasn't going to stop me and it hit his face without touching the infected eye.

However, there was still a lot of shaving foam on the paper plate, so one of the houseparents smothered my face with the shaving cream-covered plate. My face and hair was more messy than the headmaster's!

Not fair that!

When I was at school on the Isle of Wight, I had the opportunity to some amazing things, which I don't think any of my friends at home had when they were that age.

Every year in late April, the Cowes Marina organized something called Youth Afloat - and it opened my eyes to things that I never thought I would be able to do, such as ride on tall ships and dragon-boat racing! I remember getting up ridiculously early (well for a Saturday!) to get over to Cowes, over at the other end of the Island, to get on one of the big boats. Couldn't see myself doing that nowadays!

I also remember my first trip to Wales, when I was 14. Now I was a bit of a adrenaline junkie, had to go mountain biking most weekends, and on this trip I climbed my first mountain, Cader Idris, just shy of 3000ft, some 892m high. The walk up was pretty easy for someone of my fitness (at that time!).

On the way back down, the weather wasn't the only thing which was closing in! I haven't told this story at all, to anyone as it is so funny yet so disturbing! As we got back down to where everyone else was, as only a small number of us had decided to do the full ascent, my stomach began to play up. I was having to get down to the bottom of the mountain before my bowels gave way and the inevitable mess ensued!

Eventually, I got to the toilets and as I went, the bowels exploded and unfortunately for me, the boxers did not get through this ordeal unscathed! So what I did was stuff the boxers down the toilet and flushed them away. Well, there was a river behind the toilets, so at least flooding wouldn't be a problem!

No one ever asked me about those boxers which 'mysteriously' disappeared! Well now you know!

However, although I had some wonderful memories of my childhood, there are some aspects that I was unhappy about.

That will have to wait for another time....

Rob :)

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The Way We Stand

Evening,,

First things first, I have to apologize for the lack of posting in the past few weeks. Like the Prime Minister I have had a hectic few weeks. Unlike the PM, I'm not being feted as the saviour of the world. The absolute opposite in fact.

As I write, my current position at my place of work is at the moment uncertain, with soundings that my position is to cease to exist.

So on that side of things, they are not looking not too clever for me.

Rob :(



Geolocate this post

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Blog Brother - Chairman Brown tries to take over the Internets

Morning,

Guido has a piece on the government's continuing urge to regulate (censor) blogs like mine.

Stephen Carter, who was previously running Number 10's useless PR department, has been called upon to take this on, under the guise of "promoting content standards".  

Yeah, right.  What a fucking load of fucking bullshit.

They couldn't get 42 days in.  They won't be able to do this.

Bring it fucking on, you fascist cunts.

Fucking silent me at your fucking mercy.

Thought Of The Week

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)

Down, Down, Down

Evening!

It's been a bad day for the Markets with the nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley being announced to the Stock Exchange causing panic. The FTSE fell some 269 points today as banks were told that the first £15bn of any losses would be billed to the banks based in the UK!

You Reap What You Sow!!!

I think I can see thousands of people getting their share of the corpse....no, those are midgies!!!

After years of fucking consumers over, with bank charges and ridiculous small print, the banks are getting a taste of their own medicine!

Do think the BBC's attempted fucking of Chairman Brown is pathetic.

He has as much credibility in the world as Robert Mugabe...

Zero.

Rob :)


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The Alternative...

Morning,

While I am working this morning, I have been listening to FiveLive in the DAB. They have been presenting a program in Birmingham, where the Conservatives are having their annual conference. The likes of Davis, Duncan-Smith and Ancram, have been on there trying to impress potential voters at any possible election in the coming 18 months or so.

The Tories have over the past 12 months, been taking advantage of Labour's difficulties with the economy and their internal struggle within the party. However, voters are still not convinced with David Cameron's newly branded Conservatives. I think Cameron's recently released book, edited by the editor of GQ hasn't helped matters, in fact it has made Cameron seem distant from the very voters that he needs to get into power.

Another problem that they have is the lack of policy initiatives that there has been. If voters are going to be convinced by them, then this is the time to be releasing them. If there are not many announcements this week, then Cameron is going to be having real problems in the long term in my opinion.

All in all, possibly a make or break week for them.


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Weighty Issues

Morning,

I'm doing this as I walk up the town to get some shopping as I'm beginning to prepare my own lunches instead of spending on average of £25 a week on lunches.

That'll mean getting a load of wholemeal pasta, and some decent pasta as well as some foccacia bread, which is gorgeous with pasta (in fact, it's gorgeous with just about anything and everything!)

As for the gym sessions, we are giving that a break after five sessions as well as my Footy evening on Thursday. I'll be back there tomorrow. We are as I said yesterday doing more weight training sessions for a few weeks, following something that I found online, which says that weight training is more useful for weight-loss than actual cardio work. If it works, then it is something to consider long term. If I am honest, I feel like that I have lost weight in the past week, in comparison to the last few months. Don't get me wrong I know that I have a lot in the last nine months or so, but this time it physically feels like it!

I wonder why this is the case. Is it because the weight lost, this past few weeks is fat being replaced by muscle, whereas the weight lost before was a variation of muscle and fat.

One thing is for certain, I feel wrecked in comparison to previous Sundays!!!

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What We Don't Appreciate

Afternoon,

Just have to say that it is a gorgeous, late September afternoon here in Folkestone. I'm walking home from the gym having done about 90 minutes there. I'll speak more about that later!

Listened to Liverpool beat Neverton 2.0 in the Merseyside Derby, whilst there. Can't help but feel that we need to winning the games against lesser sides, like we didn't last week against Stoke, if we are going to have a decent go at the title.

Speak laters if I can remember!

Rob :)

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All Is Never Well...

Morning,

There are times when I feel that I have done everything in my power to make life easier for my family, yet it is never enough. Let's take this morning for example, I had just given my sister £10 to get some gas and electric, something which I said I would do. No soon as I had done that, Mum began to get on my case, asking if I was going to the gym. I said I wasn't, and she seemed to have a strip in from that minute onward.

So guess what I'm doing now!

I don't know what I can do anymore. It is becoming a thankless task at the moment trying to make things go like clockwork. At least my health is getting that ever so better over the course of time. I am under 14 stone for the first time in nigh on 7 years! And yet, I don't seem to see where it has all been lost. Of course the beer-belly has been reduced, but according to some of my friends who I saw for a drink on Friday evening, it is my arms which have reduced in size.

That's good because over time that will reduce areas such as my shoulders as the exercise has a bigger effect.

Not doing any Cardio today, as my body is tired, so am going to go on the weights for an hour or so. Followed by a lunch of grilled chicken as done by Mum and the sister and subsequently the game between the Dirty Mancs and Chelsea....and then see whether Europe can do a Istanbul on the Yanks in the Ryder Cup....

....then back to work, tomorrow....

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Labour still isn't listening...

Afternoon,

A poll for the independent this morning says that 54 % of Labour voters want Chairman Brown to leave.  The poll, done by LabourHome, shows that 24% of those questioned believes that David Milliband would be the right choice for the party.

Obviously, those in Chairman Brown's inner circle has come out fighting, (and there's me thinking they leave that to British troops to do that for them).

How fucking typical of the fascists.

New Event

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Coming Out…

Evening,

Chairman Brown suffered his first ministerial casualty today, when the Minister of State for Scotland, one David Cairns resigned his post, citing concerns that Brown couldn't lead Labour to that magical fourth term success.

The resignation of Cairns hasn't come as much of a surprise to many political journalists within Westminister. Cairns worked as researcher to Siobhain McDonagh and served as a councillor in the London Borough of Merton before getting a seat in Scotland. McDonagh was the first of a substantial number of MPs within the Parliamentary Party to request nomination papers ahead of a potential leadership contest, later in the autumn.

Consider that at 11am this morning the BBC were reporting that Cairns had "no intention of resigning", you do have to wonder whether something was said in the intervening four hours to make Cairns resign, or was he leading the Downing Street Press Office on a endless hike…

Probably.

What it does mean now is that Chairman Brown is now vulnerable, in a way that he hasn't before. The numbers are stacking up, some sources are saying as many as 60. Brown needs to hope that he doesn't have to go up to Manchester next week, with this still on the agenda, as Conference could prove to be a very comfortable time.

It's up for grabs…

Unite Or Die

Afternoon,

The current political situation in the United Kingdom is a unacceptable one for many Social Liberal voters, such as myself. The Labour government has in the main achieved a lot for social justice and for hard-working families, such as the minimum wage and Sure-Start, helping babies and young families have the best possible start in life.

However, with the positives, there have been a lot of mistakes, particularly in the past 12 months, with the debacle over the imprisonment of suspected terrorists for 42 days and worse arguably, the terrible 10 pence tax fiasco - which was to be fair, down to MPs not reading the small print in the budget.

Recently, I have become a regular reader of the Conservative Libertarian blogger, Guido Fawkes, and there is a link to his blog on the right-hand side of the page. Guido has been undermining Chairman Brown ad infintum, and the way that the right dominate the blogging scene is a great concern. Of course, there are left-liberal bloggers like myself as well as Rachel from North London, as well as those who are sympathetic to Labour's core beliefs, such as Recess Monkey.

The political scene in this country has become too centred, where once upon a time, you would have three mainstream parties, one left, one right and one who would be there, to cause mischief. Sadly, those days have come and gone, probably forever. And yet we have no-one but ourselves to blame for this. The electorate has become so concerned about image, that the policies and identity of Parties have got lost in the message.

Therefore, you now have the three parties trying to out-right-wing each other, with more and more draconian policies, which does nothing but make this country a nastier and bad place to live - which doesn't help anyone.

Particularly now, when the Labour Parliamentary Party seems to be taking itself down the garden path to oblivion, it is the right time for everyone in the Labour Movement to come together for a greater good. The movement needs to reclaim the Labour Party, and not allow it to self-implode.

That mean standing together in solidarity behind a leader that will get us that fourth term.

And that man is not Gordon Brown.

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A Train Journey...

I wrote the following yesterday, whilst on my way home....it'll make sense!!

I'm writing this on the train, coming back from an afternoon of searching for some Calvin Klein boxers for myself as well as a new belt for my ever-decreasing body. One of the things of a train journey, more than any other form of transport in my opinion, is the vast spectrum of society that uses it.

I play a game everytime I'm on the train, where you have to guess which party they would vote for. On this particular trip home, I have the feeling that the vast majority of the commuters on this train are probably going to be voting Tory at the next election. They look like they come from the private, house-owning areas of whatever town they live in.

You can recognize their children from a mile off. I have a couple of this lot over the aisle from where I am. They have this, "don't care a lot" attitude, but they also have the "look at me, I'm special, I don't need to work", like their parents work at some vulturous merchant bankers - with the obligatory 'Macy's' bag to fucking boot.

The news that yet another Yankee bank has gone to the wall makes me smile....a lot.

Lehmans brothers, survived two world wars and the Great Depression, yet like New Orleans, Dubya outlived them both.

The cunts are getting what they have been sowing for years.

A good hiding and not before time.

A good day!

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Memories Of 9/11

Afternoon,

Today marks the seventh anniversary since the appallng events of 11th September 2001. Four passenger aircraft were hijacked by Islamist Terrorists. Two slammed into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon in Washington, and the final plane ditched into a field in Pennyslvania aided by the brave passengers of United 93, who stopped the plane going into it's intended target, possibly Capitol Hill or the White House.

As for where I was that fateful day, I remember being at Crabble Corn Mill, near Dover, working as a volunteer as part of the Government's New Deal Scheme - the first I heard of it was a couple of hours after the actual event about 4pm. Back then I was still using an analogue tuner to listen to the radio - DAB was still a pipedream back then, so it was a case of hoping to have a decent reception, for the trip, to and from the mill. You just knew when the reception was going to snuff out!

Anyway, I stuck the radio on, and heard the reports coming in that two towers had collapsed. That could be anywhere. They then said that the Pentagon had been hit. By what?
Then they mentioned of more planes being in the air. As the reports became clearer and clearer, and the signal got better and better, so we could understand what on earth was going on.

We got to the train station at Kernesey. Now Kernesey is a very quaint station. A complete throwback to stations of old, even then. A world away from the anarchy of New York. The radio had said that the mobile networks were getting jammed, by the amount of people trying to get hold of colleagues and friends the other side of the Atlantic.

I called Mum up, to see if she had any news on the situation. She said that the TV pictures showed a panoramic view of Manhatten. It sounded very dramatic and I couldn't help but be blasé, thinking, 'nag, it can't be that bad.'

How wrong was I.

I got home, with my sister. It seemed that the journey home was one of the slowest and surreal journeys that I had ever undertaken. The weather back then, was no different to how it is today.

Dull, Grey, Misreable.

I remember as we got into the train station in Folkestone, that the foreign secretary, Jack Straw was on Radio 5 and it seemed he was as dumbfounded and knocked back for six as the rest of us.

Who couldn't fail to be.

America had been attacked in a way, not since Pearl Harbor and Midway.

We got home, and then bang. Right across the screen. A stunning, visual image that has remained etched on the conscious of the world ever since that day.

A day of infamy, indeed.

RIP


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Impressive, Yet I Wonder

Morning,

Following In-Ger-Land's 4.1 win in Zagreb last night, the press have been jacking themselves off over a certain Mr Walcott. No doubt thinking that he is their great hope for the future.

Last time, the press was wanking over such a performance, England had turned over Germany, 5.1 in Munich, courtesy of Owen, Gerrard and Heskey.

Who got through to the World Cup Final, the following year, I wonder?

Why do I think that the performance in Zagreb last night is going to be detrimental to England long-term future?

Such results like the ones in Munich and Zagreb can encourage the masses to fall into absolute overdrive, pressurizing the players further.

Great result, agreed. Will England get far in South Africa? Probably not.

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