‘Conflict’ Archives
Here we go! The Vatican has denied that Pope Francis failed to speak out against human rights abuses during military rule in his native Argentina. HERE.
Crushed Nuts 2.
Earlier this week, I promised to print the opening of the sequel to "Crushed Nuts on the Cote d'Azur" which is still on Amazon HERE. If you don't have access to a KINDLE, you can download Kindle for PC here and it's FREE! In the original novel, [...]
Dave Camenor and the Banker – a Fable
The Gates to Economic Recovery and New Prosperity were being guarded by the Bankers. A tired and bedraggled band of travellers stood before them. They were led by Flashman, the legendary illusionist and Prime Minister of the Ukshire. The [...]
NRA:A pointless and ill-judged pro-gun campaign.
NRA, rather inappropriately targets the Obama girls:
Merkel Gives No Ground on Demands for Oversight in Debt Crisis
(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel gave no ground on Germany’s demands for more European control over member states in return for joint burden-sharing as she conceded that the bloc has yet to master the debt crisis. The German leader said [...]
House of Lords farce……..
Before MPs vote on whether or not to continue with the reorganisation or reformation of the House of Lords, with the ultimate intent of a totally elected Upper House, they should first consider a few things. For instance, how many in the House of [...]
Barclays Bob
Some may be wondering about the timing of Bob Diamond's decision to "walk" from what is the best-paid and most high-profile banking job in the UK. Some may believe that he was hounded out by the banking establishment. I reckon that he walked in [...]
Insoluble Syria?
These kids are NOT sleeping. They're dead. Syria: Usually in a Civil War, the model is pretty straightforward: The Good Guys versus the Bad Guys. In Syria, they appear to have adopted to European Union Organisational model with LOTS of Chiefs and [...]
Νύχτα των Κρυστάλλων ?
"Greeks are lazy, Greeks are corrupt, Greeks are dishonest, Greeks refuse to obey the rules......" Are they? Do they? Hearing that certain countries are already thinking about "doing something" about future Greek immigration sent a shiver down my [...]
Greek Texas Hold ‘Em
The Greek Syriza leader has the measure of the Eurozone sheep. You may not agree with his politics but Alexis Tsipras is THE ONE that Eurozone leaders do NOT want to negotiate with. They have been bluffing that they're "ready" for a Greek Euro [...]
German Hypocricy knows no bounds – especially in respect of Greece!
Twice during the 20th Century, Germany left Europe in a mess. Now, in the 21st Century, it is their intransigence rather than their high explosives which may once again create European chaos. Germany had to pay reparations after WW1. However, [...]
It’s Different Attitudes……….
American father to his son: " See that man son? That's Stephen Hester. He's Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland. That's a VERY big bank and the British government hired Mr Hester to put things right after it was left in a bit of a mess. [...]
Central Bankers – The Fifth Estate.
Nowadays, the bank to government to Central Bank and back to bank cross-border flows of money (both real and imaginary), the constant borrowing and re-borrowing , the bond auctions etc. appear to be behaving as if controlled by a separate, [...]
50 Predictions for 2012
An economy used to depend on the interactions between consumers, commerce, politics and investors. Nowadays, we have to add banks (which used to be no more than a service industry) as an additional entity. Keynesian economics are all well and good [...]
Christmas Spirit.
One Christmas morning a few years ago, an army chaplain decided to join some squaddies in their armoured vehicle for a routine patrol in downtown Baghdad. As they drove through the dry dusty streets, they were only too aware of the possible dangers [...]
Greece points the way.
Many have said that the defining photograph of 2011 was taken earlier this year, somewhere in or near Tahrir Square. I disagree. For me it is this image . It represents the normally stoic Greeks shouting "Enough!" and trailblazing in a way [...]
John Terry – white c***
Apologies if you find what I've written below offensive but I find both racism and moronic soccer players offensive. John Terry allegedly called Anton Ferdinand, brother of Rio Ferdinand who replaced Terry as England captain, after Terry been [...]
Kim Jong Ill-judged?
Kim Jong Il's death in North Korea will inevitably shift the focus of Western disdain to his son and president "elect", Kim Jong Un. Here in the West, his PR will very soon become as colourfully sneering as that enjoyed by his dead [...]
There may be trouble ahead….
In my predictions for 2011, I suggested riots and civil unrest. Many said that I was being too pessimistic but Italy, Greece , Portugal and the United Kingdom have clearly shown that civil dissidence is on the increase. Tents may be pulled down, [...]
The principle of keeping the management of a national economy away from politicians and handing it to technocrats is very sound - as has been proved over the last THREE years by the procrastination and ineptitude of Euro politicians. However, [...]
Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel says: "Europe is in the middle of its toughest hour since World War 2." .......We didn't start it, love.
The August riots and looting in London are being described as having "spread", with references are being made to "copycat crimes". The reason why the rioting "spread" from London to other cities is because it was advertised on BBC, ITV and SKY. [...]
Syria has been suspended from the Arab League. "Suspended" is certainly a word which seems appropriate to apply to certain members the current Syrian regime.
Remembrance: SONG
When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not [...]
October 2011 Eurozone Output
This is what they said: 1. Over the last three years, we have taken unprecedented steps to combat the effects of the world-wide financial crisis, both in the European Union as such and within the euro area. The strategy we have put into place [...]
Gaddafi dead? Or Alive?
We don't need any more sanctimoniously hypocritical nonsense about whether or not Gaddafi was "murdered in cold blood" or whatever.... Admittedly, because Gaddafi was not taken alive, the legal profession has missed-out on yet another Lawyer [...]
Eurozone decision-makers.
You know when an organisation, government or even a collection of governments is in trouble. The directors, senior management - the leaders - instead of thinking strategically, concern themselves with day-to-day issues. Some call it Crisis [...]
Syria and Hilary.
The reason NATO is showing no interest in direct assistance to Syrian rebels is because they have requested NO foreign interference. They've seen the results in Afghanistan, Iraq, Croydon and now Libya. They are obviously very happy to trash [...]
Morton’s Fork lives!
Libya Post-Saddam-type chaos in Libya will NOT be avoided. That's nigh-on impossible. One of the overlooked plans of the Iraq campaign was the Exit Strategy. Well, bugger me, the West has done it again in Libya. The next major initiative will be [...]
Survival of the Weakest?
Usually when there is any battle between two factions, the stronger of the two wins. It triumphs because there are more of them, they are better organised or have better equipment. This is NOT the case in Libya. Without the NATO intervention, there [...]
Libya: Freedom or Democracy?
Democracy is comparatively easy. Democracy, self-determination, having a say in the decisions which affect your life or whatever else you want to call it - can all be arranged comparatively easily. But there's the much grander concept of freedom - [...]
Riot Overkill
Looking at the increasingly worrying sentencing discrepancies, it looks as if Judges are sentencing people NOT for the mainly minor offences committed but for the fact that people participated in rioting. Opportunist pilferers should NOT be [...]
Long sentence!
A Southampton 18 year-old who set up a Facebook page which appeared to incite people to riot was kept in custody overnight and then released without charge. That does not compare well with the two morons who were handed down sentences of FOUR [...]
The Petulant One
"I condemn you, Gaddafi!!" William Hague briefly came out from behind America's voluminous skirts a couple of days ago to announce that the Libyan embassy was to be cleared of pro Gaddafi officials and that they would be replaced by rebels. Has [...]
The Mass Murderer
Mass Murder by an individual is undoubtedly the ultimate cry for help, the supreme statement as well as the pinnacle of attention-seeking. There are no reasons or answers. There are no solutions. Like an earthquake, the shooter is a natural [...]
Government Pension Scam?
There has been talk recently about the ridiculously high salaries that some Local Authority employees are enjoying. There is another issue which, because of its somewhat technical nature , is not often discussed. It is the way that Local Authority [...]
Political Creep
Recently, military men and politicians have been talking about "mission creep" in Libya. There is a certain inevitability about conflict escalation, yet in spite of tons of historical evidence, politicians ignore the phenomenon - at their peril. [...]
Ratko Mladic, Srebrenica and Lawyer benefits
POSTCARD FROM SREBRENICA The International Court of Justice sits at the incongruously named 'Palace of Peace' at the Hague. The whole process within the Palace of Peace is controlled by lawyers for lawyers. Whilst making MILLIONS in legal fees [...]
Gaddafi the Dictator-King
Muammar Gaddafi has probably been studied by the West more than any other post-war leader, yet, judging by the way that he is being treated by the anti Gaddafi, pro-rebel Coalition, it is plain to see that to them, he is still an enigma. Over [...]
USA to stop shooting
THIS IS DIRECT FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS: US to pull out of Libya air attacks The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign in Libya, hoping Nato partners can take up the slack. The announcement drew [...]
Libyan Arms-for-Rebels Resolution.
WOULD YOU BUY A GUN FROM THIS LADY? There appears to be a debate as to whether or not UN Resolution 1973 gives the Coalition/NATO etc., currently bombing Libya, the permission to supply arms to Libyan rebels. The simple answer is [...]
Gaddafi – mad, bad or “fitted-up”
Politicians are pack animals and their chosen mode of transport is the bandwagon. They have now gathered around Gaddafi and individually are beginning to bite lumps out of him and then scuttling back to the pack in order to give the next one [...]
Chinese Takeaway
Here is an example of what can be done in an emergency, without the fuss and the "headless chicken" organisational ability demonstrated by the Brits, led by William Hague. Greece will evacuate up to 15,000 Chinese nationals by ship from Libya, [...]
Guns & Gabrielle Giffords’ Grit
The Americans should turn-back the clock and reintroduce the assault weapons ban which was in place 1994-2004. Jared Lee Loughner, the latest American shooter would always to be able to obtain a firearm but with a ban on guns with [...]
Cable, Assange. Two of a kind.
The main two players in the news recently have been Vince Cable and Julian Assange - and they both appear to be victims of nothing more serious than male vanity which, in both their cases, seems to have tipped over into arrogance. What is more [...]
Just Take Yemeni!
A typical al-Qaeda dwelling There is one question which you will always be asked about Yemen: " Where is it?" It is in the bottom left-hand corner of the Arabian Peninsula with Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the right. It is the poorest [...]
Obama and his jingoist morons
The REAL face of American BP This is directed at all Americans who (obviously) can read and those whose computer screens are not too obscured by their own drool or by greasy Big Mac smears as they run their finger along the screen while they [...]
What happened to us?
What has happened to the British people? We used to be a subversive unruly lot who would never embrace the absurdity and puffed-up insipidness of government. If we didn't like what we heard, we would tell them. Have thirteen years under the boot [...]
Blair ne regrette rien
Sometimes history slips out of buff government folders and falls into the rough-and-tumble of current affairs, creates an impression, is rewritten and is quietly replaced in its folder - but not this time. I missed the (almost) live feed of [...]
Blair escape
One again Tony Blair has done his Houdini act but the fault is not his. He was badly questioned and his uncompromising stance was unsurprising because it was his only option. You must also remember that when we elect our leaders, we are delegating [...]
Happy Holocaust Day
Wednesday 27th January is Holocaust Day and is the day which sees the perennial blossoming of the controversy surrounding the extermination of over 6.4 million Jews by the Germans. Every year, someone somewhere delivers a provocative [...]
Phony War?
"Message for Gordon Brown!" I wager that very few of us normal citizens were aware of the fact that until today we were on a "substantial" terror alert. That has all changed because as from today, we are on a "severe" terror alert. The mysterious [...]
Shoe Bomber Sentence
You may remember the idiot shown above who was going to take down an airliner by concealing explosives in his shoes. His name is Richard Reid and he has been convicted and sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William Young. Below is the full [...]
Kurds get their Way
"I look nothing like him!" In Iraq, Chemical Ali - real name Ali Hassan al-Majid who is a cousin of the late Saddam Hussein, has been sentenced to death. Again. Fourth time lucky, perhaps. Ali has already been sentenced to death three times. [...]
Chilcott-Blair Inquiry
Evidence for Weapons of Mass Destruction Some commentators have already accused Alastair Campbell of being economical with the truth during his Chilcott Inquiry questioning . This is the transcript of the evidence that he gave to the Chilcott [...]
Rupert Hamer – War Correspondent
A very special guest has been flown back to RAF Lyneham. Sunday Mirror defence correspondent Rupert Hamer was repatriated together with Private Robert Hayes who was also killed Afghanistan. Robert Hayes was the first British soldier to be killed [...]
Wootton Bassett Express
A Wootton Bassett march. Today, the Wootton Bassett Express took to the road again. The two passengers and guests of honour were Sapper David Watson and Rifleman Aidan Howells. Two more young soldiers-in-bits, so let's hope that most of the bits [...]
Big Bang
"I'm off to a Fancy Dress Party..." The first line of "defence" at the 400 Iraqi police checkpoints in Baghdad are small wands with antennas that supposedly detect explosives, but which U.S. officials say are about as useful as Ouija boards. The [...]
Ungracious morons
There appears to be a rapidly lengthening queue of morons awaiting their 15 minutes of fame on the telly. The latest one is complaining that his letter from Gordon Brown arrived yesterday. No comment about the spelling this time but he did [...]
Nobel WHAT Prize?
St Obama This year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama has finally made up his mind that the best way to achieve peace in Afghanistan is to kill more Taliban - as well as sacrificing more American, British and other NATO [...]
Helmand Light
Apparently in Helmand Province, it was customary for a woman to walk twenty paces behind her husband. Lately, however, it has been noticed that men are allowing their women to walk twenty paces IN FRONT of them. It all seems so progressive [...]
The Lessons of History
"Here we go again." This week's Berlin Wall celebrations were as much about Remembrance as they were about freedom. Germany was at the centre of European politics for the entire 20th Century and it is still writing history at the epicentre [...]
Billy the Skid
BILLY "THE SKID" Many years ago, I used to live in Antibes which is in the Midi region of France - between Cannes and Nice. One day, I was on a yacht in the harbour and happened to look across at the boat next door. A man appeared to be drilling a [...]
For the Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill; Death august [...]
It will be long and hard.
" We all lose interest after making a deposit and a withdrawal" We are all looking forward to the banking industry's return to communication through facts and figures. In the last year-or-so they have all shown an increased predilection for the [...]
Freaked Out Over SuperFreakonomics
The following article appeared in the Wall Street Journal on 27th October 2009. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of the author Brett Stephens. Brett writes the Journal's "Global View" column on foreign affairs, which runs every [...]
Joint-up Government
Two executives at the Royal Bank of Scotland have been suspended after alleged corruption at its overseas mortgage operation. The bankers were allegedly asking foreign estate agents for payments worth tens of thousands of pounds in return for [...]
Naughty pirates
DANGER-POLITICIANS NEGOTIATING Who said this? "Piracy and the taking of hostages is unacceptable in any circumstances. We call on those people who have taken the British citizens hostage to release them as soon as possible. They should abide by [...]
Didn’t he do well?
" Oh F*** it!" Quite a lot has already been written about the Nimrod crash which killed 14 crew. Charles Haddon-Cave QC who led the enquiry said that the crash happened because because "defence chiefs put cost cuts before safety". He also [...]
Cherie Antoinette.
"Let them eat a lorra lorra cake, chuck." Tony Blair has not yet broken cover and declared an interest in becoming President of Europe. The post will be created once the Czechs have ratified the Treaty of Lisbon. Gordon Brown has made a decision [...]
Take any card
Credit card companies now appear to be competing not only with each other but with back-street money lenders. If you are in the habit of paying only the minimum monthly payment on your credit card, it could take you up to 50 years to repay the [...]
A grapple for the teacher
"2+2=5" The Internet compensation society is in danger of destroying the education system. Too-aware pupils know that they have the upper hand over their very vulnerable teachers. More than a quarter of school staff (28%) have had a false [...]
Question Slime
"Mr Griffin, stop holding that comb under you nose and do please put your arm down." The British are instinctively racist - and that's in spite of enjoying what is culturally the most diverse population in the world. There has been a [...]
CWU – An Assisted Suicide.
The modern face of Royal Mail So the Royal Mail strike is on. It has been booked to continue for only two days but the fallout will last for the next few weeks. The Royal Mail system will not suddenly right itself after two days of [...]
Merv the Wise
"Bless you all. The economy will soon crash land again- so please adopt the correct position. Stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye." (more...)
BNP or not BNP
President Obama has sent John Kerry over to Afghanistan to smack the back of president Hamid Karzai's legs. It appears that the last Afghan election was conducted fraudulently. As a result it would appear that Karzai does not have the minimum 50% of [...]
Postman Prat
Royal Mail is going to hire 30,000 workers to "help" during the impending strike. Usually the Post Office hires only an additional 15,000 staff for the Christmas rush. Let us hope that this blatantly provocative gesture by the Royal Mail [...]
That was the week….
"Aren't you one of those Fuzzy-Wuzzies that we've been hearing about?" "Actually, I'm the Mayor of London." "Sorry, Doris." Diwali was celebrated at Downing Street . Members of the Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities were invited to [...]
Don Gordo speaks
"Just pay the money, you punks. We don't want no accidents, do we? When Tommy the Legg is unhappy - I am unhappy. Think about it. OK so he's a "testa di cazzo" but he's like a brother. Sei niente senza rispetto!". Many MPs just don't want to [...]
A real Legg-up
"I'm as innocent as the next man." The MPs expenses fiasco rumbles on and Parliament's reputation is still heading South. Much was made of the previous Speaker's lack of management skill and consequently he was removed from office. So where [...]
Conservative Party Conference week.
Boris Johnson once again has showed his leadership credentials by being approachable, witty and engaging. He does make the rest of them look a little bit pedestrian. In spite of his shambolic image, you can sense a rod of steel [...]
Friday October 2nd 2009
Ethiopia has suddenly become the focus for all anthropologists. An ancient skeleton was found in 1992 and it has taken 17 years for the research team to rebuild it. Why all the excitement? The skeleton belongs to an in-between species of humanoid [...]
Thursday October 1st 2009
A survey has just been published of the world's top Broadband Countries - taking into account speed etc. The United Kingdom is languishing in 25th place. The top country? South Korea. Is this another indicator of the rise of the East and the [...]
Wednesday September 30th 2009
So the Sun will not be supporting the Labour Party. No real problems there, except the usual one. Why should an Australian like Rupert Murdoch have any say in which newspaper supports which Party. The Sun is read largely by the drooling classes who [...]
Tuesday September 29th 2009
Interesting statistic which doesn’t appear to be receiving the publicity that it deserves: In the United States, a house is foreclosed or repossessed every 7.5 seconds. As usual, the politicians are taking care of business at the macro-level, [...]
Monday September 28th 2009
Excellent headline grabbing by that jug-eared gargoyle Andrew Marr. He is without doubt a supreme journalist but his questioning of Gordon Brown yesterday was inexcusable. Suggesting that Brown needs prescription drugs to get through the day, [...]
Sunday September 27th 2009
Just down the road in Brighton THEY are arriving for the Labour Party Conference - or should that be the New Labour Party Conference. Did we elect Labour or NEW LABOUR? Anyway, that’s now just a technicality or a long-forgotten dream of how [...]
Saturday September 26th 2009
The American Fed has issued the following statement: “To provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets, and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve will purchase a total of $1.25 trillion of [...]
Friday September 25th 2009
Friday September 25th 2009 The mole who leaked the MPs’ expenses information to the Daily Telegraph has revealed what motivated him to do so - apart that is, from the £110,000 fee that he was paid. It now appears that his primary [...]
Thursday September 24th 2009
The Government has criticised the Football Association for not reforming itself. It has also asked the F.A to spend more time and resources on ethnics and women as well as telling them that they should provide better leadership. Perhaps when the F.A [...]
You calling me a banker?
"Move over, Darling. Please!" Banks are currently reducing their assets and hoarding cash because of liquidity requirements. Put in simple terms, that means that the magic conjured-up money - the so-called Quantitative Easing is making it in [...]
Wednesday September 23rd 2009
Apparently, there is a small but statistically significant rise in patient deaths when junior doctors start work in August. Perhaps the same survey should be done with slightly different parameters: Before pubs open and after closing time. A [...]
Tuesday September 22nd 2009
Did you see Darth Mandelson being questioned on the subject of bankers’ bonuses last night? As Business Secretary, he has the power to stop the bankers in their tracks. But he cannot and he would not answer any bonus-related questions. [...]
Monday September 21st 2009
It now appears that Womens World 800m champion Caster Semenya was tested ages ago and there has been concern over her sex for months. The issue did not suddenly materialise at the last Word Championships. The whole thing has been handed so badly [...]
Monday September 7th 2009-Friday September 18th 2009
Friday September 18th 2009 There has been some concern that Romell Broom may have suffered mental anguish when two Ohio State officials failed to find a vein in order to deliver a fatal injection. According to Broom’s lawyer, Broom had [...]
Clever but Dull
" I see no shits" There have been rumours again that as soon as a General Election is announced (probably May 2010) David Cameron will be challenging Gordon Brown to a Presidential-style live TV debate. That does not seem like a great [...]
Dope, Faith and Clarity
The British Government has spent a great deal of time classifying and reclassifying cannabis. Some argue that it is less harmful than alcohol, whereas others scream that it is the chosen smoke of Satan's junkie whore. (more...)