mccain doesn’t speak for his own campaign

McCain is again getting himself all in a tizzy. One second he’s promising no tax hikes, and in the next he’s saying nothing is off the table.

Helpfully, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s chief economic adviser, disagrees. via. Slate ::

“He has certainly I’m sure said things in town halls that don’t jibe perfectly with his written plan. But that doesn’t mean it’s official…”

Thanks for the clarification. Errr, no. Wait…

harriet harman :: a born liar

via. Chicken Yoghurt

The problem is, the other lot are an even worse bunch of cocks. It’s utterly dismaying. What choice do we have for good governance? None. None at all.

nuclear reaction

Green Peace has set up a new blog, Nuclear Reaction, to call the nuclear-power industry on its massive subsidies, questionable practices, and rampant propaganda. Justin is writing a great deal of the content, so they’ll be no shortage of snarky asides. Recommended.

the irregular photo of the day

Barcelona HDR, originally uploaded by MorBCN.

Not one of mine this time.

that’s a lot of cash for a woman footballer

From the BBC’s gossip column ::

is fox news the new pravda?

[Chris] Matthews: “Did you see FOX television as a tool when you were in the White House? As a useful avenue to get your message out?”

[Former White House spokesman Scott] McClellan: “I make a distinction between the journalists and the commentators. Certainly there were commentators and other, pundits at FOX News, that were useful to the White House.” […] That was something we at the White House, yes, were doing, getting them talkng points and making sure they knew where we were coming from.

Matthews: “So you were using these commentators as your spokespeople.”

McClellan: “Well, certainly.”

I suppose we always knew.

Via. Crooks and Liars (who have the video).

More: Steve Young at Kos.

glasgow east and more

I have just finished today’s blog review over at Liberal Conspiracy. It’s a Glasgow East special, unsurprisingly.

McCain accuses media of bias

He used to call them “my base”.

McCain is lucky anyone still takes him seriously at all. He is running an appallingly incompetent and rudderless campaign. He’s supposed to be a foreign policy expert, yet conveys a stunning lack of intelligence on such matters, and seems to average a couple of gaffs per-day. John McCain’s collapse as a credible presidential nominee has been stunning.

Maybe McCain should come up with a definition of victory in Iraq, that would give the press something to write about.

No blogging today

I have a new book.

Also, I fly back to the UK tomorrow for a week. Blogging will be light.

ban the word ‘chav’?

Oh do go away and die.

The more you read the output by politicos and ‘thinktanks’ the more you realise what a bunch of arse Westminster really is.

cameron backs obama on absent black fathers

Oh pluuueeeze!

Can’t Barack shake this pathetic parasite from his coat-tails?

It’s just soooo scheming. Cameron, utterly unable to transcend the reality that he’s a slippery post-Blair reptile, is desperately seeking credibility by trying to associate himself with Obama The fact that Cameron has been the leader of the Queen’s opposition for two-and-a-half years, and Obama is just a one-term senator and not yet president, conveys perfectly how Cameron’s own “cool-factor” is non-existent.

This is not the first time Cameron has craved association with Obama, and it sure won’t be the last. Of course the two could barely be more different. Obama is good looking, stylish, and charismatic. Cameron is a dweeb.

thatcher: a sell-out to the end?

Adam Bienkov over at LC ::

Why have a state funeral for any of them? Let them pay for their own funeral and if people want to turn up and cheer/cry then it’s up to them.

Ah yes, the Irony of Thatcher having a “State” funeral. It’s almost too good.

I can’t quite stomach this BS, myself. Thatcher was an electorally successful politician, and it’s undeniable that some of the policies she imposed were the rights ones. Hell, even a broken clock… But c’mon, a state funeral? Thatcher created much of the current housing problems by selling off the state’s housing stock. Now I’m all for people owning their own homes, but these were state assets sold at below the market rate. We’ve seen an unstable housing market with massive consumer borrowings (against rising asset values), and it has also led to a less mobile workforce - people live closer to the places where they were born than a hundred years ago (mobility is a key economic indicator for a successful economy).

I agree with many of the privatisations. Certain sectors are better served by market forces, but in other cases (eg. British Rail - though this eventually went through under Major) privatisation crippled infrastructure and helped create some of the most expensive utility and transport costs in Europe.

A state funeral is a bullshit ceremony anyway. Lady Di’s was a mawkish waste of money, and this would be no more valid.

Danilo B&W

Danilo B&W, originally uploaded by tygerland.net.

david cameron…

…expelling the Tory rank and file. One racist at a time.

heathrow t5 still losing 900-bags a day

Seriously. WTF?

Is it me or is travelling just becoming more trouble than it’s worth?

Or maybe that’s want they want us to think…