Lording it.

OK so we lost the Empire – but that need not have been the end of it for those of us bred to gad around the world being superior.  There were plenty of places on our doorstep, like for example Greece.  You could go on holiday to Greece, your money went a long way and if you felt like buying a nice beach-front property – you could – it was dirt cheap.  Then along came the EU and took a load of our cash and gave it to the Greeks and now things cost about the same as back home and those of us instilled with a British sense of superiority were robbed of this self-indulgence.
With perfect timing, the USSR collapsed and there were a whole new bunch of places where one could stroll about staying in the best hotels and eating at the best restaurants for mere pocket change. Locals would bow and scrape at the might of the British pound.  Then, bugger me if they didn’t start getting richer too – have you been to Prague lately?  Phew!  Estonia is not quite the bargain it once was and Latvia is catching up too.

Over the last few years even Thailand has been narrowing the gap and this damn awful recession has accelerated the process.  Five years ago, everything was about a quarter of the price it was in the UK – now it’s down (or up, depending on your point of view) to one third – within a few years it will be half.

Soon we will start being the ‘cheap’ country where the world’s rich come to look down on us as they sprinkle their yen or dollars onto to our outstretched hands – can’t say we didn’t have it coming 🙂

Are we there yet?

It’s a bit sad really isn’t it? – you’d think with all our history, diversity and breadth of character we would be able to come up with something more exciting than this three (two?) horse race.

Here’s the Cad & Bounder guide on which dullard to vote for on May 6th.

Labour – well, they do seem to be engaged on a steady as she goes don’t panic and our sheer sense of calm and indifference will get us through the recession strategy which actually is quite attractive.  After all, who wants to panic? –  and they do seem to have made mostly good calls since the recession (but not necessarily before it).  Of course they are lying to us and hiding things from us, but they are in government and that’s par for the course nowadays.

Conservative – as a business owner I should vote Conservative – even though I didn’t the last three times.  DavCam does a lot of tub-thumping; not sure I’m too keen on that. They may well cure our debt more quickly but will they screw up my business and income in the process?  I’m more inclined to let them fail this time as it will probably mean Boris running for the leadership.  Now THAT will be an interesting election.

Liberals – they are possibly quite correct when they say that they offer policies more in tune with the electorate but that the voter has to believe in their ability to win before they will vote for them.  And so, we probably won’t vote for them – bless – I like Vince Cable does that help?

The Democrats – Yes absolutely – I LIKE the cut of that man’s jib – all together now… YES WE CAN !!! – so that’s who I will be voting for when…. what do you mean I can’t?….   Really?….  America only?….

Damn !!

Honoured by the Ruskies

Today Russian diplomats will hand out medals to Brits in a ceremony to recognise the sacrifices of the North Atlantic Convoys during World War Two.  The award ceremony will take place on board HMS Belfast which is the only ship remaining that took part, now a visitor attraction. It is currently moored on the Thames near Tower Bridge so if you want to ‘Trot’ down there and do a bit of flag waving, feel free.

During the subsequent ‘Cold War’ the value of these convoys to the war effort was somewhat pooh-poohed by Russia  saying that the shipments made little or no contribution to their battles against the Nazis.  This ceremony is intended to put the record straight.

But wait, that’s not all – possibly even more interesting is that on May 8th/9th** the British army will be parading through Red Square. Moscow has invited British, American and French troops to join the annual celebration of the end of the war.  That should make for a bit of historic television.

**Amusingly, when the Allies told Stalin that surrender had been achieved in Europe his first thought was that it was a trick.  He had to check this out for himself before he would believe them and so the Russians celebrate the end of the war one day later than we do.

Bangkok Latest

From the BBC website:

Thousands of anti-government protesters in Thailand have boarded motorcycles and trucks for a mass rally in Bangkok in the latest stage of their campaign.

The “red-shirt” movement, many of them supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, wants the government to step down and call new elections.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has admitted his country is divided, but has refused to step down.

The numbers of protesters are down since the rallies began last weekend.

But thousands of people dressed in red rode motorbikes or boarded cars and trucks to flood the streets of the Thai capital in a bid to boost support for their cause.

Many of the anti-government protesters are from rural areas of Thailand where Mr Thaksin remains popular.

The prime minister has offered to talk to the protest leaders, but only after their campaign in Bangkok is called off.

The red-shirt leaders say they will remain encamped in Bangkok but will scale back their protests in order, as they put it, to conserve energy and resources.

Violence is unlikely now but it will be interesting to see when and if the talks offered by Abhisit happen and what could possibly come out of them – the red shirts want him out and an election called, but that’s unlikely to happen.

Sam Cam (cam)

From the Daily Mail.  Potentially the wife of our next Prime Minister in a risqué fashion shoot?  Big deal !! – she looks good and they’re hardly pornographic are they?  This could be our big opportunity to show the French that they don’t have the monopoly on a bit of glamour in politics……

Full details here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1259654/David-Camerons-wife-Samanthas-risqu-fashion-shoot.html

It’s only logical

Well only 9 votes in it, but Obama got his healthcare vote through.  The Republicans are furious no doubt, but their ‘arms folded and say no to everything’ approach got them exactly where they deserved to be.

All the hype aside, it boils down to this – are you prepared to see your fellow countrymen get sick and die so that you can keep a few extra dollars in your wallet? – Well, are you?  Is that the mark of a civilised country?

As Spock once said….. the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.. I can assure the skeptics that once this all dies down you will, in time, be able to say with enormous pride that America is a great country because it puts its citizens first.

For a significantly more erudite comment on this, look here:

http://futiledemocracy.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/historical-healthcare/

Mass Delusion

Now the RMT (Railway union) want to strike – possibly over Easter.  Add this to the British Airways strike. A gift for the Tories who are already talking of a ‘Spring of Discontent’
Surely they know that no matter how tough riding out the recession is going to be for all of us, they stand a better chance under Labour than under the Tories. The media only need to say ‘Spring of Discontent’ a few more times and voters will flock to the blue booths on May 6th.
Idiots – if you must strike, why not do it in June?

Expenses and Perks – corruption?

Salary + Benefits –   it’s a common enough term  isn’t it?  But what constitutes a benefit?  The term can cover a vast range of things – pensions and company cars are quite common, some staff get generous discounts on company goods,some get mobile phones, laptops, subsidised canteens;  can anyone remember Luncheon Vouchers?  Are they still around?

So, in essence, there are very few employees out there that don’t have some sort of perk.  Human nature says that whatever perks we get we tend to consider as a right, but whatever someone else has – that we don’t have – is a perk and we are jealous of it.  Some of this irrationality has spilled out during the MP’s expenses row – and the most self righteous indignation has come from the press – surely the pot calling the kettle black here?

What do MP’s earn?  About £64k I think.  A good salary for sure in the scheme of things – but for someone helping to run the country?  Frankly, I think it’s cheap.   Tenure is not certain either – you can be voted out every five years.

It is said that back in Margaret Thatchers time there was a move to increase MP’s salaries but it was decided that this would be unacceptable to the public and so they were encouraged to make up any deficiencies via the expenses system.  i don’t know the full truth of this, but if this was what happened it turned out to be terrible mistake.

So MP’s have my sympathy really – I have earned more than them for doing a lot less work and carrying significantly less responsibility.  Obtaining money slyly was obviously a bad thing to do, but you can see how they got there  – it’s just a shame we can’t put them up to – say – £100k and dispense with most of the expense claims.

Making sense of the Thai Psyche

Thailand is  known as the Land of Smiles, with good reason.  Thais like to display good manners, avoid loss of face for all parties and stay clear of conflict.  Thus you see the Red Shirts currently protesting against the government in a good-natured happy-clappy mode.  The authorities on their part are trying to be cordial and not overtly harass the protestors.

There is a downside to the Thai Psyche and all this politeness.  Thais, studiously avoiding conflict or loss of face in their everyday lives really lose their cool when they do break.  You will see a display of temper out of all proportion to the offence or slight.

So, back to the current protests.  Two opposing views – neither will budge – excessive politeness on both sides.  There are no signs of either side making any concessions in an effort to resolve this problem peacefully.

I fear for the outcome – especially as I have friends in Bangkok.

Class War

The union UNITE have got themselves into a right pickle with this strike.  It was a supreme mis-judgment to have supported the British Airways cabin crew in their fight against what seems to be an utterly trivial complaint.  All around the country people are losing their jobs, or taking pay cuts and pay freezes and in this current environment most are fully aware that this is a consequence of recession.  Presumably the cabin crew see that a small minority of workers and bosses in the UK are immune from the effects of the global turn-down and want to be part of  that elite group.  But to strike when they are not facing any cuts in their pay or conditions just seems exceptionally petty to the rest of us, putting their  perceived elitism in the same selfish category as bankers.

But, UNITE went ahead with this cause and now cannot afford to lose.  If they back down it will be seen as a victory for big business over the unions – a public humiliation with echoes of Margaret Thatchers time in office.  UNITE have been in Washington seeking support of the US Teamsters with a possible view to escalation.  A bloody showdown seems inevitable.

After the bankers have led us into this gloomy new world you can understand the appeal of class warfare and yet now is probably the worst possible time for it.  I myself had the choice of Virgin Atlantic or British Airways for a flight in the next few weeks – I chose Virgin.

UNITE dismiss condemnation of their actions by accusing people of not knowing the facts.  Well guys, you have had several months to tell us all – truth be told I think we do know the facts.  It’s about a reduction from 15 to 14 cabin crew on long haul flights – it’s about new terms and conditions for employees that haven’t joined yet.  We also know that BA cabin crew are amongst the best paid in the world.  We know that BA is losing millions of pounds.  Wake up and smell the coffee guys before you find that coffee is being exclusively served by cabin crew in bright red uniforms.