The death of Benazir Bhutto, sadly, didn't come as a huge shock - from the day she made the fateful decision to return to Pakistan to fight January's elections there was an inevitability that an attempt would be made on her life, and so it proved. There are all sorts of theories about who was responsible, and I doubt if we'll ever really know who perpretrated the act - there is certainly a lengthy list of suspects.
I've just learned that both the son and husband of Benazir Bhutto are to take up the reins of her PPP party and will fight the election, whenever that now takes place. Again no great shock there, but whether that decision is in the best interests of democracy I'm not too sure. I'm not a supporter of political 'dynasties' - just because your mother and grandfather were politicians doesn't neccessarily mean that you will naturally inherit the skills to do the job - you won't. The Royal Family over the centuries is a pretty good example of that!
You can't help but feel that there will be a lot more blood spilled in Pakistan in the weeks ahead - and no doubt high on the assassins' list will be the latest members of the Bhutto family who have decided to take lead their party into the election.
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Back from The Smoke
Had a great few days down in London - coldest I've ever known it down there, even for December. We stayed on The Strand, right by Covent Garden, and I love the atmosphere there - if that can't get you in the Christmas mood I don't know what can! Did some shopping and repeated a few of the 'touristy' things, including a Jack the Ripper guided tour. Not much of the old East End left, of course, so the images of Whitechapel shrouded in fog just had to be imagined. Interesting, though.
Took in 'Wicked', a show that's had rave reviews and I can understand why - the two women leads were absolutely top class and it was a brilliant performance overall.
As always the London trip came to an end too quickly - time seems to take on a different dimension down there, the pace of life is so frantic - but I'll be back again soon. As Dr Johnson said: "The man who grows tired of London has grown tired of life". Or it might have been Derek Johnstone!
Back to the real world, then, and it's off to Easter Road now ...
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Christmas Cheer
Not much Christmas cheer around down Easter Road way - the Hibs have hit a mini-slump and aer slowly sliding down the league after another defeat. I said at the start of the season that Hibs would probably finish fifth or sixth and I stand by that - after losing players of tthe quality of Scott Brown, and missing captain Rob Jones over recent weeks, the lack of depth and experience in the squad is becoming clear for all to see. Here's hoping Rob Petrie loosens the purse strings in January and gives John Collins a belated Chrsitmas present. If he doesn't it's going to be a long hard end to the season and the natives are getting restless ...
Anyway, I'm putting the cares of Easter Road and Noo Lab Scotland behind me and heading down to London for a short break. I shall return ...
Monday, 3 December 2007
Playing for time ...
All quiet from the New Labour bunker today - no fresh revelations in the press, but a deafening silence from Wendy's camp as Team Alexander tries to work out a damage limitation strategy. Jackie Baillie was wheeled out to trot out the official line, but I was disgusted to hear Ms Baillie - a politician who I genuinely respected - insinuate that the campaign against Wendy Alexander is gender based! Quite simply, that's nonsense and it stinks - Ms Baillie should be ashamed of herself for her utterances do her, or her gender, no credit. I've always found those who play the gender card - or the race card, come to that - have little else of a positive nature to offer. Too often it's a sign of desperation, the last roll of the dice, and it certainly seems so in this particular case.
Wendy's current travails are of her own making - and there really is only one way out and that is resignation. Having studied Wendy's unusually brief public statement on the affair, the key word in her defence is 'intentional'. Unfortunately, intentional or otherwise, Wendy is guilty of breaking the law. How this could happen when she was surrounded by some of the West of Scotland's most experienced politicians is mystifying, but it's a fact. There are suggestions that she will attempt to buy more time by awaiting the outcome of Electoral and Police inquiries, in the hope that the furore over the cash donations will diminish and so take the pressure off her besieged Westminster colleagues. It's said that Gordon Brown himself has urged her to tough it out.
However if Wendy Alexander really cares about the future of the Labour Party she professes to love, and if she wishes to retain any shred of honour or credibility at all - she must go now. And I say that not because she's a woman, but because she's a public figure who was caught and has admitted to breaking the law.
Those senior colleagues who handled her campaign - whether inept, incompetent 'numpties' or devious, arrogant crooks - should also be seriously considering their positions - not only have their actions greviously undermined democracy but they've also helped further the cause of independence much more effectively than Salmond could ever do. Well done Comrades!
Wendy's current travails are of her own making - and there really is only one way out and that is resignation. Having studied Wendy's unusually brief public statement on the affair, the key word in her defence is 'intentional'. Unfortunately, intentional or otherwise, Wendy is guilty of breaking the law. How this could happen when she was surrounded by some of the West of Scotland's most experienced politicians is mystifying, but it's a fact. There are suggestions that she will attempt to buy more time by awaiting the outcome of Electoral and Police inquiries, in the hope that the furore over the cash donations will diminish and so take the pressure off her besieged Westminster colleagues. It's said that Gordon Brown himself has urged her to tough it out.
However if Wendy Alexander really cares about the future of the Labour Party she professes to love, and if she wishes to retain any shred of honour or credibility at all - she must go now. And I say that not because she's a woman, but because she's a public figure who was caught and has admitted to breaking the law.
Those senior colleagues who handled her campaign - whether inept, incompetent 'numpties' or devious, arrogant crooks - should also be seriously considering their positions - not only have their actions greviously undermined democracy but they've also helped further the cause of independence much more effectively than Salmond could ever do. Well done Comrades!
Sunday, 2 December 2007
In the Brown Stuff ... Money, Money, Money
Gordon Clown, Brown envelopes, etc., etc. It was inevitable that the Sunday papers were not going to make good reading for Labour, and so it has proved. This is one almighty mess and the sad fact is it is self-inflicted.
'Events, dear boy, events', as Harold MacMillan said all those years ago. There are some problems that come along in life that you can't predict and can't really do much about, and Gordon Brown's government has been buffeted by one mishap after another. Leaking viruses from research centres, incompetent staff managing to lose the records of half the population, Northern Rock ... all very worrying, but not issues that can be laid at the door of the government. The funding scandal, however - and it is a scandal - is something completely different. Some people have broken the law here - we still don't know how many will be implicated - and the government's reputation is in tatters. There's been an attempt to steady the ship - loyal apologist Hazel Blears was wheeled out this morning in an attempt to spread the blame across all parties - but for the moment at least this is a Labour problem.
Although I have been a member of the Labour Party for over 20 years I never signed up to this so-called New Labour 'Project' - it strikes me that these New Labour entryists have caused the Labour Party every bit as much damage as Militant ever did - and at least Militant were socialists! These New Labour types, with their fawning admiration of wealth, big business and celebrity, have brought a once-great working people's movement to it's knees. 'Real' Labour members have deserted in droves - leaving the shell of a party which bears little resemblance to the party I joined all those years ago. A party filled with too many people who are there for what they can get out of it, people for whom principles are expendable (if they ever had any principles in the first place) and a Party that appears to have lost it's soul, it's very raison d'etre.
I never left the Labour Party - I have always believed that we will return to our roots and that the New Labour phase will come and go (the New Lab types won't stick around when things start to go belly-up, they'll move on to some new 'project'). I personally feel some responsibility for being part of a silent majority of the membership who acquiesced and did nothing to stop this takeover happening. With a few honourable exceptions (Glasgow MP Ian Davidson, take a bow!)elected politicians of the old school have also been very reluctant to speak out - claiming their silence is down to 'party loyalty', sadly for many it's a bit more pragmatic than that. It's the fear of losing their incomes - be that their seats, quangoes or other forms of patronage. No doubt these Bastions of the Left will find their voices again later when it's safe and convenient to do so.
While the Westminster saga is bad enough - and it comes to a sad day when a Labour Prime Minister can be humiliated by stand-in Lib Dem (or should that be stand-up) leader Vince Cable, who has the Commons rolling in the aisles when he cracks jokes about Mr Bean - we've also got our own wee Tartan version of sleaze, les and corruption up here now too.
Sure, the sums of money are not as large - but the issues are the same: deceit, concealment, lies, breaking the law. And incidentally, why did Wendy need £17,000 to 'fight' a campaign anyway? was she shadow-bowing herself? It seems a lot of money for what was basically a coronation tour!
My hope is that when the enquiries are concluded - those responsible pay for their criminal activities not only with their jobs, but with their freedom. Only then can you start to rebuild confidence in a democratic system that too many people now see as inherently corrupt.
As to the future, it's inevitable that party funding must be looked at again but I would strongly advise against any attempt to force taxpayers to pay for political parties. Political parties are in essence clubs with memberships, and non-members e should retain the right to decide whether or not they want to join or donate to these organisations. My guess is that many would choose not to, with the upshot that the political parties must offer more to appeal to members. And if the donations just aren't forthcoming, the parties will just have to adapt and fight smaller, less expensive election campaigns with fewer officials on the payroll. That's not rocket science - that's the real world.
There will be casualties - and so there should be - but in an odd way I think the events of the last week could turn out to be of lasting benefit to the Labour Party. It's an opportunity to clear out the corrupt, ditch the New Labour spin and get back to Real Labour politics. A chance to start afresh in rebuilding trust with both the electorate and party members. The next General Election could still be two years away and I genuinely believe that there is still enough time to recover from what is undoubtedly a dire situation, although Labour cannot afford any more mishaps. Remember Neil Kinnock enjoyed a percentage point lead over John Major that was double that enjoyed by David Cameron at the moment. The result of the General Election? Yes, indeed.
'Events, dear boy, events', as Harold MacMillan said all those years ago. There are some problems that come along in life that you can't predict and can't really do much about, and Gordon Brown's government has been buffeted by one mishap after another. Leaking viruses from research centres, incompetent staff managing to lose the records of half the population, Northern Rock ... all very worrying, but not issues that can be laid at the door of the government. The funding scandal, however - and it is a scandal - is something completely different. Some people have broken the law here - we still don't know how many will be implicated - and the government's reputation is in tatters. There's been an attempt to steady the ship - loyal apologist Hazel Blears was wheeled out this morning in an attempt to spread the blame across all parties - but for the moment at least this is a Labour problem.
Although I have been a member of the Labour Party for over 20 years I never signed up to this so-called New Labour 'Project' - it strikes me that these New Labour entryists have caused the Labour Party every bit as much damage as Militant ever did - and at least Militant were socialists! These New Labour types, with their fawning admiration of wealth, big business and celebrity, have brought a once-great working people's movement to it's knees. 'Real' Labour members have deserted in droves - leaving the shell of a party which bears little resemblance to the party I joined all those years ago. A party filled with too many people who are there for what they can get out of it, people for whom principles are expendable (if they ever had any principles in the first place) and a Party that appears to have lost it's soul, it's very raison d'etre.
I never left the Labour Party - I have always believed that we will return to our roots and that the New Labour phase will come and go (the New Lab types won't stick around when things start to go belly-up, they'll move on to some new 'project'). I personally feel some responsibility for being part of a silent majority of the membership who acquiesced and did nothing to stop this takeover happening. With a few honourable exceptions (Glasgow MP Ian Davidson, take a bow!)elected politicians of the old school have also been very reluctant to speak out - claiming their silence is down to 'party loyalty', sadly for many it's a bit more pragmatic than that. It's the fear of losing their incomes - be that their seats, quangoes or other forms of patronage. No doubt these Bastions of the Left will find their voices again later when it's safe and convenient to do so.
While the Westminster saga is bad enough - and it comes to a sad day when a Labour Prime Minister can be humiliated by stand-in Lib Dem (or should that be stand-up) leader Vince Cable, who has the Commons rolling in the aisles when he cracks jokes about Mr Bean - we've also got our own wee Tartan version of sleaze, les and corruption up here now too.
Sure, the sums of money are not as large - but the issues are the same: deceit, concealment, lies, breaking the law. And incidentally, why did Wendy need £17,000 to 'fight' a campaign anyway? was she shadow-bowing herself? It seems a lot of money for what was basically a coronation tour!
My hope is that when the enquiries are concluded - those responsible pay for their criminal activities not only with their jobs, but with their freedom. Only then can you start to rebuild confidence in a democratic system that too many people now see as inherently corrupt.
As to the future, it's inevitable that party funding must be looked at again but I would strongly advise against any attempt to force taxpayers to pay for political parties. Political parties are in essence clubs with memberships, and non-members e should retain the right to decide whether or not they want to join or donate to these organisations. My guess is that many would choose not to, with the upshot that the political parties must offer more to appeal to members. And if the donations just aren't forthcoming, the parties will just have to adapt and fight smaller, less expensive election campaigns with fewer officials on the payroll. That's not rocket science - that's the real world.
There will be casualties - and so there should be - but in an odd way I think the events of the last week could turn out to be of lasting benefit to the Labour Party. It's an opportunity to clear out the corrupt, ditch the New Labour spin and get back to Real Labour politics. A chance to start afresh in rebuilding trust with both the electorate and party members. The next General Election could still be two years away and I genuinely believe that there is still enough time to recover from what is undoubtedly a dire situation, although Labour cannot afford any more mishaps. Remember Neil Kinnock enjoyed a percentage point lead over John Major that was double that enjoyed by David Cameron at the moment. The result of the General Election? Yes, indeed.
Saturday, 1 December 2007
The Song Remains The Same
I bought the latest Led Zeppelin album 'Mothership' a couple of weeks back. It's hardly 'new', of course - it's a compilation of remastered classics. Over the years I've bought all of Led Zeppelin's albums many times over - on vinyl, cassette and then CD.
At secondary school in the early 1970s it was almost compulsory to be seen carrying a Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin album under your arm (or in a Bruce's Record Shop plastic bag) if you wanted to be 'hip'. Right on ...
Anyway I've never lost my love of Led Zeppelin (or Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull or Black Sabbath, come to that) so it was a joy to sit back and listen to those amazing tracks once again. It's a great album, although I could argue about the choice of tracks. I always change my mind about the best Led Zeppelin album (or even my favourite Led Zep track) - it changes with my mood.
At their best I don't think any band in the world came even close to Led Zeppelin, and there are obviously many more like me with fond memories - millions applied for tickets to their London reunion gig next month. No, I didn't get tickets either!
It was a bit of a shock to see a white-haired Jimmy Page promoting the new album and concert - I remember feeling the same when I saw a Pink Floyd reunion gig a couple of years back. Don't they all look old? Then of course you look in the mirror and realise that the years take their toll on all of us - not only rock gods!
At secondary school in the early 1970s it was almost compulsory to be seen carrying a Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin album under your arm (or in a Bruce's Record Shop plastic bag) if you wanted to be 'hip'. Right on ...
Anyway I've never lost my love of Led Zeppelin (or Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull or Black Sabbath, come to that) so it was a joy to sit back and listen to those amazing tracks once again. It's a great album, although I could argue about the choice of tracks. I always change my mind about the best Led Zeppelin album (or even my favourite Led Zep track) - it changes with my mood.
At their best I don't think any band in the world came even close to Led Zeppelin, and there are obviously many more like me with fond memories - millions applied for tickets to their London reunion gig next month. No, I didn't get tickets either!
It was a bit of a shock to see a white-haired Jimmy Page promoting the new album and concert - I remember feeling the same when I saw a Pink Floyd reunion gig a couple of years back. Don't they all look old? Then of course you look in the mirror and realise that the years take their toll on all of us - not only rock gods!
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