Election Posters

The election still hasn't been announced, but the posters are appearing all over the place, especially the Internet ...

This is an unofficial poster - but I like it. I have been saying this for a long time.

This is the official Labour Government's poster

... and this is a Tory spoof on the above.

Another unofficial poster

Would going back to the 80s be such a bad thing? What do I remember of the eighties?

In the 80s, an offender would be arrested. Now, the victim stands a good chance of being arrested for protecting him/herself.

In the eighties, nobody was arrested, fined, tagged and curfewed for selling a goldfish to anyone.

In the eighties, you could sit in the park on a sunny day with one bottle of beer and nobody minded. You could even sit there and drink until your eyes melted and as long as you did it without bothering anyone else, nobody minded. (Thanks, Leg Iron)

In the eighties, you could sit in a pub and smoke and nobody minded. Nobody died from it either. You could also sit in the beer garden of pubs that had them, have a beer and a smoke and nobody quivered in terror if a little bit of smoke drifted their way once in a while. Back then it was not actually illegal to smoke in a laboratory but it was rarely tolerated, because it just wasn't a sensible thing to do. It didn't need to be illegal. (Thanks again, Leg Iron)

There are so many things that were better in the 80s. So, Mr Brown, let Dave take us back there!

Election Fever

We in the UK are due a General Election sometime before the end of June, and it seems that the pundits are backing 6th May for the date when the great British unwashed choose a new Government (or not).

However, reading the various political blogs, as I do, you would think that the campaign is already under way. The bloggers that I follow (from the three major parties and a few from the smaller parties) are at fever pitch, selling their various wares as to how they would repair the damage done by Gordon Brown and his allies.

But there are some, the more cynical, who are looking for reasons why Gordon Brown could put off calling an election at all. He has already stated that, even if Labour do not gain an absolute majority, he will continue as Prime Minister, so taking that a step further, if he could find a reason, some catastrophe, real or imagined, he would refuse to stand for election (he cannot stand for re-election as Prime Minister as he was never elected to the post in the first place).

Personally, I would not be unhappy if Labour suffered a resounding defeat and Gordon Brown failed to retain his seat in Glasgow, casting him to political oblivion - but that's just me.

The problem faced by the electorate is not how to get rid of Gordon, that's easy, but with whom do we replace him? There is only one real choice, by default, as there is only one other party that is likely to win enough seats. Or we could vote so that no one is a clear winner, forcing a coalition between one major party and one or two smaller ones, which would presumably include The Liberal Democrats. Fine, as long as Vince Cable is not allowed to become Chancellor.

I am in the happy position of living in a rural constituency, where the smaller parties do not or cannot place a candidate, so I only have to choose from the three, and maybe some loony independent. It is a Conservative stronghold with a Member of Parliament, Sir George Young, who seems to do his job well enough, with no scandal, no skeletons.

So, come on Gordon, announce a date, dissolve Parliament and let's get the event over and done with, because as far as I am concerned, the lead up to an election is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

Fears Unfounded

So, the US has just voted in Barak Obama as their 44th President.

What a country, where the son of a Kenyan goat breeder can become the most powerful man in the world, and for now, it is really the land of opportunity.

And Kenya is rejoicing; Kenya is celebrating. Kenya has declared a public holiday on Thursday!

The thing that strikes me is that Barak won over the black vote. It was not a forgone conclusion. He is not like most black Americans. His ancestry did not come out of slavery. He is a first generation American from Africa. The black voters were wary of him, but he won.

US 08

Kenya is suffering election fever again, especially around Kisumu.

I so hope that Barak Obama wins the election tonight.

I don't think Kenya could stand another spate of post-election violence ...

Who will do What about Which, to Whom?

An interesting report has been issued from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights regarding who was responsible for the post election violence, naming names.

Names like Uhuru Kenyatta from President Mwai Kibaki’s Party of National Unity, Sally Kosgei, Henry Kosgey, William Ruto, Najib Balala and the late Kipkalya Kones from Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (to mention but a few) are mentioned as "alleged perpetrators".

I am not going into the rights and wrongs of the actions of these people or the reasons for the PEV. Readers who are au fait with the post-election problems in Kenya can draw their own conclusions.

What interests me is that the state-funded KNCHR has produced this large report (159 pages, I believe) about the problems as a result of the Kenyan elections in December, alleging that MPs and other people in high places were involved. But, what is going to do be done with it?

Will evidence be collected to prove these allegations? And if so, will those who people in high places be prosecuted? Will they be at least be relieved of their posts?

I will watch with interest.

Recession looming for UK firms

The "Experts"* have announced that the UK is heading for a recession! WOW! Like you need a degree to work that one out.

With petrol and diesel (why do we pay more for diesel than petrol in the UK?) prices rising by about 1p a day, food prices are going up in proportion.

Our fuel is heavily taxed - by percentage. So if the price at the refinery goes up, the taxes at the pump go up and the government rubs its collective hands as it trots off to the bank to deposit the increase. But a government spokesman tried to tell us that the government was actually losing money with the fuel price rise - I bet he didn't pass his maths GCSE.

People don't have the money to spend, so high street shops, especially the independent ones are closing.

Walk down any high street in any town, and you will see empty shops. It is depressing.

The bottom has fallen out of the housing market and mortgages are very difficult to get since the debacle in the USA.

And what does our esteemed Prime Minister suggest? Don't waste food. Don't throw food away! According to the government, we are throwing away £460 worth of food per household per year!

Why? Because all food is date-stamped and people (some people) will no eat anything that is past its use-by date. It has been stated by many people, the food manufacturers for example, that these dates are artificial, to protect themselves, just in case someone is poisoned by their products.

The UK Government has run out of ideas. Gordon Brown is trying to stay afloat in a tsunami. I wish him luck.

Well no, actually I don't. In my personal opinion, the sooner he resigns or is forced out by his allies, the better.

I am not saying that all the ills of the UK are a direct result of his management, but at least we in Britain would regain some of that 'feel-good' factor if he went.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of the impending election in Glasgow. This is considered a Labour safe seat, but they are having difficulty getting anyone to represent them.

Looking at their performance at recent elections, they will lose, probably to the SNP.

But Gordon clings on to power like a demented despot, the only difference is that he doesn't have a Fifth Brigade to bully people into voting for him.

And we have to wait two years before we can force him out - the Prime Minister we didn't elect.

* Definition of Expert: Ex=has-been; spurt=drip under pressure

Sitting on the fence?

From Daily Mail, 24 June 2008

Staggering from Crisis to Crisis

I have been taking a keen interest in Kenya for about four years now, and until recently, say Christmas last year, everything seemed to be calm. Kenya rarely figured on the news websites or in the UK newspapers.

But, since the Presidential election, Kenya is never out of the news, allegations of vote rigging, violence, political corruption, mass murder, inter-tribal violence, the Mount Kenya Mafia, police brutality,displaced people, assassinations, the Mungiki, food shortages, and now the prison warders strike - have I missed anything?

And all this has happened in the last four months! What is happening to this wonderful country? How can so few people (the legislators) cause so much havoc in such a short time?

Will Kenya ever get back to the peaceful haven that it was before the elections, or will the underlying racial tensions continue to dominate the lives of the wananchi?

As far as I can make out, Kenyans were so proud of their mixed culture, with 42 tribes, Arabs Indians, and Europeans, all living in harmony, and on my first visit in September 2007, I was impressed.

Now, after my second visit in March of this year, although I did not see any violence, I did notice a tension, especially in the Rift Valley. Maybe I was imagining it, but as far as I was concerned, it was there.

Good News or Bad News?

Bush to send top envoy to Kenya

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to go to Kenya amid efforts to end the violence that erupted after a disputed presidential election. President George W Bush said Ms Rice would back the mediation efforts led by former UN chief Kofi Annan.

She would press for an immediate halt to violence, justice for victims, and "a full return to democracy", he said.

Hmmm ... In most cases, when the US sticks its oar in, things go from bad to worse - not always, but usually. I'm surprised they even know where Kenya is! And it has to be remembered that the President sending Ms Rice gained his first term through apparently murky means.

And ... watch out for friendly fire!