There will be CUTS - Coalition Government

Daily Mail: Reports that the new Coalition Government is stressing to the money markets that even with the resignation of David Laws the Coalition will follow through with its planned cuts. The great plus with David Laws was that he came from the money markets, his successor Danny Alexander does not, he will have a lot of fast reading to do over the next days and weeks, but for the Conservative Party the great point is that the Cuts man with be a Liberal Democrat, thus two is always better than one when one has to make drastic cuts in public spending. One can predict that the money markets wont dive when they open on Tuesday, the resignation of Mr Laws is a blow but lets not write off Mr Alexander just yet folks.

Blair and Brown, NEVER WORKED OUT - Balls

Guardian: Has an interview with former Education Secretary Ed Balls and candidate for the Labour leadership, Mr Balls tells the truth about the relationship between Blair and Brown, " Tony and Gordon never found a way to bring it together. ". It seems that the candidates for the Labour leadership want to bury New Labour, with that they are throwing in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, it seems from the Labour Leadership candidates point of view that both former PM's are toxic in this new Coalition Government Era. The problem for Mr Balls is that he is seen as very close to Gordon Brown, while David Miliband is seen as close to Tony Blair. Thus the leadership fight could be the election that never took place between Blair and Brown. One has to in a way feel sorry for Mr Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer for ten years and then PM for two years and 11 months, the shortest serving Labour PM ever, also unlike Tony Blair it can be argued that Mr Brown is not a people person, the bigot remark showed that fault line. Also one can postulate and hope that Mr Brown will look to tell the whole truth of his time in Government, his success as Chancellor but also his fraught relationship with Blair and his succession in 2007 and the near collapse of the banks in 2008, it would be a way for Mr Brown to set out history as he would like future historians to see the past.

UN meeting of Gaza Ships Deaths

Telegraph: Reports on a emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the death of nineteen individuals by the hands of Israel on the Gaza set Ship. Its the usual lynch Israel lobby, what is interesting is what the Oval will do, Obama has enough political problems on his plate at the moment, the Oil Spill, the tensions between North and South Korea, Iran and the US economy, he does not need the old age headache of the Israel and the Palestinian Question. Also if Obama is negative when it comes to Israel one can postulate that the Democrats and Republicans on the Hill will come out and support Israel, as stated the US has the Mid Term Elections in November, Obama has frosty relationship with Israel at the present, thus there is a limit to the political damage that Obama can take to keep the NYT types happy or the UK Guardian. Also Obama cant push Israel to far as he does not want them to attack Iran, if he is not talking to Israel they might as well attack Iran, if they are frozen by Obama what is a little bit more frost.

The UK and the Gaza Ship Deaths

The new Coalition Government in the form of the Conservative Foreign Secretary is taking the usual FCO line when it comes to Israel and its actions, the Mr Hague has stated the following in a statement, “ I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza Flotilla…..there is a clear need for Israel to act with restraint and in line with international obligations. It will be important to establish the facts about this incident, and especially whether enough was done to prevent deaths and injuries. …This news underlines the need to lift the restrictions on access to Gaza, in line with UNSCR 1860. ….I call on the Government of Israel to open the crossings to allow unfettered access for aid to Gaza, and address the serious concerns about the deterioration in the humanitarian and economic situation and about the effect on a generation of young Palestinians‪. " This is typical of the FCO, its on auto to blame Israel and support the Arabs, one could have written above from memory, if the FCO had something different that would have been the surprise.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that a British Soldier was killed yesterday in Afghanistan, the Soldier was a " Royal Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines serving as part of Combined Forces Sangin ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 289 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 255 in combat operations and 34 due to illness, accidents or other incidents. In May of 2010 the UK has lost eight of its Soldiers, how many more this year?

Sestak vs Obama

The liberal left in the shape of the bloated New York Times is coming to the rescue of the Obama Administration, its the case of Congressman Joe Sestak a former US Admiral and the Democratic Nominee for Senator from Penn State. This story has been around for a few months, at its most basic the Obama White House tried to get Sestak not to run against former Republican and now Democratic Senator Arlen Specter, the White House from the murky water of the story either offered Congressman Sestak a paid job or a non paid job, a paid job would be against US election law, that is the bone of contention, the extreme liberal NYT writes the following, " There doesn’t seem to be anything terribly unethical about the White House offer of an unpaid advisory position to Joe Sestak..." The line comes form the fact that the Obama White House has cleared itself, YES folks it cleared itself, would the liberal NYT have accepted that argument during the Watergate scandal under Richard Nixon. As we come to impeached Presidents who made the offer but none other that Bill Clinton, give me a break, of all people to use Bill Clinton, with Clinton there is an automatic suspicion that you need a dictionary to see if he is telling the truth, depending on the definition IS is, but this blog is in the real world, one can postulate that all Administration have done something of this kind but what is so ironic is that Obama Administration is using Chicago type methods in the Oval, it seems that Obama has not learnt from Watergate, Iran - Contra and the Impeachment of Bill Clinton, Obama after the oil leak should get the fact that he does not walk on water, he is not a expert on oil and his political gray cells are not firing on full power, thus lets see if the elite Main Stream Media cover for Obama again, they might want to but this is the Internet age, lets see what bloggers can find out about the Sestak offer.

Cabinet PECKING order - Coalition Government

Daily Mail: Has an interesting story on the pecking order in the Cabinet for new Coalition Government, it points out that the Defence Secretary has had a upgrade to the top ten. The upgrade shows how low ex PM Gordon Brown viewed the job of Defence Secretary, one can argue that at a time of peace then it does not matter, but during the time Brown was PM the UK was still in Iraq and is still in Afghanistan. Thus it shows that Brown while Chancellor created the foundations for the economic crash of 2008 and had no clue about the Defence of the Realm. It can be argued with some justification that Gordon Brown was not up to be Chancellor or PM, he might have been bright but bright guys gave us the Vietnam War and the War in Iraq. Why in earth did Tony Blair allow Gordon Brown to be his successor, was it revenge on the Labour Party and the Country.

The Left and Mr Laws

Guardian: Has a tough editorial on the Laws case, the left wing newspaper states the following on Mr Laws, ".. private torment does not necessarily excuse wrongdoing.... but he cannot have been ignorant of the rules. ". The Guardian supported the Lib Dems in the UK General Election but they expected the Lib Dems to do another Lib/Lab pact after the election, when the Lib Dems went with the David Cameron and the Conservative Party the Lib Dems become fair game to the left wing Guardian, one has to wonder if the Lib Dems had gone with the Labour Party under Gordon Brown would the Guardian have been more supportive of Mr Laws.

Lib Dems knife David Laws

Telegraph: Reports that David Laws was pushed out by his own Lib Dem Colleagues, it reports that Vince Cable and Chris Huhne his Lib Dem Cabinet Colleagues pushed for is resignation over the expenses scandal. It seems that the Lib Dems are a ruthless bunch, glad to see, politics is a brutal business, the Lib Dems could not afford to spend days, weeks or months in the defence of Mr Laws, this is a good move by the Lib Dems, but PM Cameron has got another Lib Dem to replace Mr Laws, thus the Lib Dems will share in the pain of public spending cuts.

Rt Hon David Laws OUT - First Scalp

BBC News: Has a profile of David Laws the Ex Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Well folks this blog was right that Mr Laws had to go, but by going fast Mr Laws can come back at a later date, he permanent loss was hurt the Coalition Government and the Country. Lets be clear hear, its was not relationship status that was the issue it was the allegations over his personal expenses, once Mr Laws has cleared that up and is cleared he should be able to make a comeback within a year, the Dark Prince was in and out of Office, so no reason for Mr Laws not to come back to the Cabinet.

The Truth about New Labour - Campbell

Guardian: Has extracts from the non redacted diaries of the Master of Spin himself, Alastair Campbell. This blog didn't buy the redacted diaries of Mr Campbell, but now that Labour is out of power the full diaries are out, this blog has already made his order for the new diaries, the extracts are great, we see the birth of New Labour, but also the political cancer that was at its core, the fraught relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, this blogger is looking forward to to reading the full diaries, will give full review at the end. Read of the Day.

Campbell on the PM and Laws

Alastair Campbell Blog: Th Labour Master of Spin and of Iraq infamy states his view on what PM Cameron should do about David Laws " My hunch is that the ruthless streak will prevail, and that he won't mind too much,.........if people see that ruthless streak and he can present himself as a strong and decisive leader. ". I have my political problems with Mr Campbell but he is right about the politics when it comes the Laws case, this would be a good example for PM Cameron to show that its new politics, no spinning to protect Mr Laws, noticed so far no Conservative Ministers or MP's out there protecting Mr Laws, lets see if Mr Laws is still in his job by the next Tuesday, politics is a brutal game, Mr Laws should go, to help the Coalition and himself, if he goes he can come back, if he is forced to resign there might not be a come back to the Front Row of politics.

The " Gay " Lover and the Minister

Telegraph: Reports that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws paid his gay lover forty thousand pounds over eight years to rent a rooms from him, this could be against the MP's expenses rules, Mr Laws has said sorry and will pay the money back to the Tax payer. The relationship issue is not important to this blog, the issue would be troubling if the partner was male or female, it smells wrong and shows very bad judgement by Mr Laws. This blog in a subjective manner supports the Coalition Government but in a objective manner this blog is calling for the resignation of Mr Laws, expenses scandal was supposed to end with the defeat of the Labour Party the Coalition Government has to show that its about new politics, the Lib Dems don't do themselves any favours by coming to the defence of Mr Laws, when they start to parse the English Language as to whom is a Partner they sound like Bill Clinton. Mr Cameron has to tell Mr Clegg that he has to fire or make Mr Laws go, the Lib Dems are part of the Government, they have to be ruthless, Mr Laws has to go, he can come back later on but its over for Mr Laws at the present.

Syria, Iran and North Korea

Guardian: Reports on a UN report that states that North Korea is selling nuclear missile technology to Iran and Syria. In it self this is not new, the Israeli attack on Syria in 2007 was based on Syria developing a nuclear plant based on help from North Korea, its the same with Iran, its not how fast Iran can produce the bomb, its how fast it can smuggle the information and parts from North Korea. Thus the question that faces the Obama Administration is what do about North Korea, what ever sanctions they place on North Korea the Communist regime will always be supported by China, also North Korea will use covert means to get money thus the selling of its nuclear technology to Iran and Syria. The nightmare for President Obama is that one day he will be woken up and told that both Syria and Iran with the help of North Korea are NOW part of the nuclear club, also that they might attack Israel. In pure political terms Obama needs his own Henry Kissinger, someone who can develop a back channel with North Korea an and get them back in their box, the question does Obama have the right diplomatic team to get a deal, one can postulate that Secretary Clinton will not wan to be his Neville Chamberlain, the Secretary still has dreams to be the first woman President, thus who else, in many respects Obama faces the same problem that Reagan had in wanting to talk to Iran, of course the Reagan talks lead to Iran - Contra scandal, thus no breakthrough between the US and Iran, in some respects Obama faces a greater problem, at the start of 2011 we see the start of the race for the 2012 Presidential Election, thus time and politcs is not on the side of Obama, lets hope North Korea gets back in to its box, otherwise a wrong move could lead to a regional War.

Tory Win

BBC News: Reports on the last Parliamentary Seat to announce the Winner in the 2010 UK General Election, the Tories have kept the seat of Thirsk and Malton. What is interesting folks is that Labour was pushed in to third and they lost 9% of their vote, it seems that the Coalition is doing well folks, lets see what it is like over the next five years, with the cuts in the Emergency Budget expect the Coalition to be loathed by next year, if the Conservative Party and Lib Dems can keep their political nerve then the tough medicine of the first few years should help the economy recover in time for the May General Election of 2015.

Afghanistan Front News

MOD: Has announced the name of the second British Soldier to die in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Soldier was " Corporal Stephen Paul Curley from 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Force Sangin ". Our thoughts are with the family of Corporal Curley.

Spain and Italy make CUTS

Telegraph: Reports on the Spanish cuts of 15 Billion Euros and those of Italy of 24 Billion Euros. These countries have taken real steps to cut their debt, in the UK the Coalition Government has started with 6.2 Billion cuts in public spending, but this is very symbolic, the Emergency Budget in June will see ever more painful cuts, the good times are over in the UK folks, its back to the drab years of the 1950s, 70s and early 1980s. The Labour Party has really wrecked the UK economy, but they have no shame, just like with Iraq.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that a second British Soldier was killed on Wednesday in Afghanistan, the Soldier was a " Royal Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Force Sangin ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 288 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 254 in combat operations and 34 due to illness, accidents or other incidents. It seems that May is following the trends of the past few months with an increase each month in the death toll in Afghanistan, the UK should expect the next few months to see an increase in the death toll, then a decrease in the Winter period in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Front News

MOD: Has released the name of the British Soldier killed on Wednesday, the Soldier was " Gunner Zak Cusack from 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South) ". Our thoughts are with the family of Gunner Cusack.

Is Obama the next Richard Nixon ?

Roll Call: Reports on a tense meeting between President Obama and Republican Senators, the Republicans the articles states see Obama as a " insulated chief executive out of touch with the American people and oblivious to the political realities of Capitol Hill. ". The above could describe the Richard Nixon years in the Oval Office, that's the problem when a President gets the Nobel Prize for doing nothing, his ego out there already has gone supernova, thus the President cant see that his spending has helped increase the American debt close to thirteen trillion dollars, he is still fighting Bush 43. The American voter can give President Obama a wake up call by returning a Republican Congress, that would force the White House to tell truth to power, Obama has to many left wing staff in the White House, their truth and the real truth are two different things, Obama will get the truth if he sees that his political agenda is dead on the Hill, he will have to cut deals, real deals, even the greats JFK, Reagan got cold reality and dealt with the politics of the time, that is what made them great, Obama needs the harsh reality of dealing in the real world, the Star has to learn that his box office returns are going down, that is the real Chicago way.

The WEAK Army of North Korea

Guardian: Reports on the weakness of the Army of North Korea, it as with the rest of the population does not have enough food, the military equipment is old hat and as one can expect from the first two reasons the morale of the Army is low. Thus the real question that South Korea and the US Administration has to ask what is the price for North Korea getting back in to its box, thus expect back channel deals for more food, for some kind of non aggression pact between the US and North Korea, it as stated in this blog North Korea is a nuclear armed power and has the missile technology to hit Japan another close ally of the US. Any UN sanctions will be weak, China does not want to see North Korea dissolve, it could not deal with millions of North Koreans coming over its border, thus China will keep the lights on in North Korea through its electrical grid. There is no easy answer to this question folks, the US cant take military action neither can South Korea, the same with North Korea, its matter of finding a back room deal that does not make any one look bad, that is the tough part, the US and the rest of the World will just have to accpte the fact that North Korea is part of the nuclear club, and it will not be giving up its membership any time soon folks.

The Need for Action - North Korea = US

BBC News: Reports on the call by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the world to deal with the Communist North Korea. As stated in previous post on this blog neither the US or North Korea will take military action, simple reason North Korea is a nuclear armed power, any UN sanctions will be weak as China does not wants its close ally to fall apart, thus this is all hot air folks, at the end of the day the West, in the case the US will just have to buy North Korea off again, this is not new, its just Poker played out on the World Stage, and North Korea has the best hand as long as it does not go nuts and starts World War Three in the region.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that another British Soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, the soldier was from the " 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South) ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 287 of its Armed Forces Personnel (AFP) in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 253 in combat operations and 34 due to illness, accidents or other incidents. In May of 2009 the UK lost 12 of its AFP, in 2008 it was 3, in 2007 it was 5. Thus far this month the UK has lost five its AFP, these months are the battle times in Afghanistan, the UK should expect more losses over the months.

North Korea on Red Alert ?

Fox News: Reports that the Communist North Korean Army is on Alert for War. Its shadow boxing folks, its North Korean Dynasty making the leadership secure for the next generation, gets the Army on board by showing that the Dynasty is strong and will take action, its a shadow play. The communist North is nuclear armed, it could hit South Korea and Japan with nuclear missiles, but it would be the last act of its existence, thus if the region would not buy a nuclear bunker yet, China has given North Korea a free hand, it wont allow it to start a nuclear war with the USA. As the North is nuclear armed it will just have to be bought off, that is the fact of life folks. There cant be a war between North Korea and the South, the US would wipe North Korea from the face of the earth, that simple and brutal folks, the South has lost a navel vessel with the a heavy loss of life, but it should keep to limited sanctions, not sure the UN is a good idea, China will be forced to Veto any sanctions, the Obama Administration needs China for its Iran policy, if it has a Iran policy. Thus North Korea is a pain, it will just have to be bought off down the line, that is the usual method of dealing with the bonkers Country.

Queen's Speech 2010

Click here for the Queen's Speech of 2010. The top issue for the Coalition Government is the economic mess left by the last Labour Government, the Coalition Government in the Queen's Speech states the following, " The first priority is to reduce the deficit and restore economic growth. Action will be taken to accelerate the reduction of the structural budget deficit. A new Office for Budget Responsibility will provide confidence in the management of the public finances... " The next big date in the political diary folks in the Emergency Budget for June, in that Budget one can expect even deeper public spending cuts, it can be argued that its better to have the economic pain NOW, and have the benefits later, thus this is a political risk for the Coalition, if the pain is to much then the Lib Dems could do a runner, but that is the point of the 55% vote in the House of Commons to dissolve the Government, its a way for the Conservative Party to keep the Lib Dems on the same boat, lets see if works folks, would not yet bet the House on the Coalition lasting five years, politics is to much fun for that resolution folks.

Obama 42% Approval

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll - Rasmussen : Reports that the approval ratings for President Obama has fallen to 42% of likely voters, while those that have a negative view President Obama stands at 56%. This folks plays in to the Mid Term Congressional Elections of 2010, the Democrats on the Hill will understand that with health care reform they have been conned by the White House, the Act is still not popular and a majority of US voters want to repeal the Act. The White House when pressing for moderate and conservative Democrats to vote for health care reform argued that once the Act was passed it would get popular, well folks it was a major league Chicago Con job, in less the Dems on the Hill are very lucky the face political oblivion in November, thus don't expect the House or the Senate to approve any more of the radical agenda of Oval.

World Share Markets

BBC News: Reports on the slump in the World Wide Stock Markets. The causes for the fall are the worries about Sovereign debt world wide, the falling Euro which is based on debt as with the case of Greece and the War threats between South and North Korea. The solutions to these problems are being faced by the new Coalition Government in the UK, thus the stated cuts of 6.2 billion by the Government and the deeper cuts that are expected in the Emergency Budget in June. Thus the UK is dealing with its problems, as for the Euro it is a tougher problem, its a political idea that is sinking due to the debts of Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK. If the Euro is to survive then Greece, Spain and Italy have to be thrown out of the Euro or they take themselves out of the system. The Governments of these countries are weak and can not be expected to take the political pressure that will come with deep public spending cuts. If this action is followed then the Euro might have a future. As for the War tensions between South and North Korea it will not lead to War, well with the proviso that the South will never start a War and China should put the brake on North Korea, the communist North a nuclear armed power, thus the South cant take any action, so in less leadership of North Korea has gone nuts the tensions should decrees over the short period, with the proviso that North has not gone bonkers. Lets see how these stories develop folks.

Cutting the UK Debt

HM Treasury: Has the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the cuts needed to cut the UK Debt. As the UK Treasury states the UK debt stands at 156 billion, thus these first cuts are more symbolic, when 6.2 billion is seen by symbolic by the money markets you get the idea of how much red ink there is in the economic books of the UK. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated the following when it comes to future cuts, " This is the first time this Government has announced difficult decisions on spending. It will not be the last. But I want people to know in the years ahead that we do this not for its own sake but in order to improve the quality of people’s lives and build a better economic future. We inherited an economic mess, but we can come out of it stronger. " There will be a need for even more drastic cuts folks, the welfare states will have to contract for a few years, the welfare state is fantastic but its costs folks, the NHS is great but it has one problem, you can finish work at 65 if your a man and if you healthy you can live to be over a hundred, that is a lot of benefits folks. In the years to come Doctors will create drugs that in many respects could allow people to live to be over a 150, that a lot of benefits if you finish work at 65 for a man or 60 for a woman. Thus one can postulate that the age of men finishing work will go up to 70 or 75 and 65 or 66 for women, lets note women tend to live longer, thus folks the old welfare system will have to change, it will hurt folks but the other choice is for the UK to go bankrupt, the Labour Party under Gordon Brown has left an economic disaster folks.

Hot WIND out of the Oval

As expected folks the Obama White House is doing nothing about the fact that North Korea sunk a Naval vessel of South Korea, a close American Ally. The White House states the following, "... The Republic of Korea can continue to count on the full support of the United States, as President Obama has made clear....Specifically, we endorse President Lee’s demand that North Korea immediately apologize and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behavior. This shows that President Obama can not be trusted by an ally, the above is rubbish on so many levels. The weakness part comes next folks, the Obama White follows with the following, " U.S. support for South Korea’s defense is unequivocal, and the President has directed his military commanders to coordinate closely with their Republic of Korea counterparts to ensure readiness and to deter future aggression. We will build on an already strong foundation of excellent cooperation between our militaries and explore further enhancements to our joint posture on the Peninsula as part of our ongoing dialogue. " Does the Oval not get the fact that North Korea has just sunk a South Korean Naval vessel, and what does Obama do, the usual hot air with no substance, this is why Iran is going nuclear folks. The Obama White House shows it has no backbone with the following part of the statement, " As President Lee stated in his address earlier today, the Republic of Korea intends to bring this issue to the United Nations Security Council. We support this move. Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rice are each consulting very closely with their Korean counterparts, as well as with Japan, China, and other UN Security Council member states in order to reach agreement on the steps in the Council. " The UN can pass as many resolutions as it wants, the North will use paper resolutions as toilet roll, as long as China backs North Korea it has a free hand to commit these illegal act on the high seas. The appeasement policy of the Oval is the reason we could see a regional war in the Middle East, at the end of the day Israel will have to take military action when it comes to Iran.

The Cuts in Public Spending

Telegraph: Reports on a BBC Sunday Interview by the Deputy PM Nick Clegg, Mr Clegg stated that there was a need for public spending cuts that would hurt and was critical of the Labour Government under Gordon Brown, Mr Clegg stated that the former Government had spent knowing it would lose the election. In pure political terms PM Cameron has played this Coalition well, the Lib Dems will share in the blood of public spending cuts, thus Labour will have to attack both the Lib Dems and the Conservative Party. But Labour also has a problems in attack, the infamous note by a Labour Minister that the money had gone will be used against Labour, also the Coalition will blame the need for the cuts on the previous Government, also there is the fact that the Labour Party is looking for a new leader, thus some breathing space for the Coalition.

UK Policy in Afghanistan

Telegraph: Reports on a apparent split within the Coalition Government when it comes to Afghan Policy, the split it seems is in Conservative side of the Coalition, the Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox is following the VP Biden line in many respects of wanting to get troops out of Afghanistan, while other Ministers are for nation building. Lets be clear the Labour Government under Gordon Brown failed in Afghanistan, the death rate has gone up month after month and year after year, what is the exit rout out of Afghanistan, the civic structure of Afghanistan is feudal in many respects, that is not something you can change is years or decades, it will take longer, the question the new Coalition Government should be asking is how to get out of Afghanistan, we cant win in Afghanistan, all the UK can do is create more problems down the line for UK security, lets be clear the UK can keep an eye on Afghanistan from Pakistan through the ISI the intelligence network of Pakistan, also the UK can use the SAS and the SBS to take out any threat to UK interests. It is time to get out of Afghanistan.

Another Tet Offensive ? - Afghanistan

BBC News: Reports that the Taliban/Al Qaeda have attacked the main NATO base in Kandahar Southern Afghanistan. It can be postulated that President Obama should start to really worry about Afghanistan, a major military offensive by NATO is developing around Kandahar and what do we see, the Taliban/Al Qaeda are on the attack, one's gut gets the feeling that we are seeing another Tet Offensive ( Viet Cong attack on in US Forces in Southern Vietnam in 1968 ), as with Tet its not that attack that counts, its the PR, in 1968 the US Forces won the Battle of Tet but lost the War at home, the Obama Administration plans start the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, either President will follow through and lose Afghanistan and Pakistan or he will reverse course, lets recall it was Vietnam that bought down LBJ. The Taliban / Al Qaeda are not fools, they do read history, they also see that Obama is down in the polls, thus expect more close attacks on US Forces in Afghanistan and around the Capitol of Kabul. A 2011 time table plays in to the hands of the Taliban, thus Obama has a problem, if he does start to take troops out he is stating that the Taliban have won, if he reverse course the American left will not support him in 2012, Obama can not afford to lose Afghanistan, thus my prediction that Obama will either not run in 2012 or will lose by 49 states.

Afghanistan Front News

MOD: Has released the name of the British Soldier killed on Friday in Afghanistan, the Soldier was " Cpl Stephen Walker from 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Forces Sangin ". Our thoughts are with the family of Cpl Walker.

Labour and The Iraq War

Guardian: Reports on the views of the Labour Leadership Candidate Ed Miliband that the Iraq War caused massive damage to the Labour Party. Thus it seems that Labour is opposition is going to blame Tony Blair for their defeat, the left of the Party will be happy to see front runners for the leadership throw scorn on Tony Blair and the Iraq War. It can be argued this is a good political move by the younger Miliband, the burial of New Labour started after the election defeat, it seems now that Blair and Brown are being thrown under the bus as to allow Labour to show a fresh and different face, Mr Blair should ask Lady Thatcher how that feels, it hurts folks.

Ashes to Ashes ( Spoiler Alert )

Thus folks Friday nights will not be the same, no more Gene Hunt, no more Alex, Ray, Chris, Shaz. Without giving the ending away cant they take Gene back to the start of the 20th Century, Gene and Ray would look like Guardian readers to those coppers. Come on BBC take the creators out and buy them a drink and get them to write a new series. Spoiler Alert, if you click link it will take you to a Guardian Article on the final show, you have been warned, the Guv would not like it if you jumped to the end if you didn't watch Life on Mars and the Ashes to Ashes from the Start, Respect to the Guv.

Obama vs Liberals and Terror Rights

The New York Times: Reports that a US Federal Court has withheld US rights to suspect non Afghan terrorists being held in Afghanistan. For a change the Obama Administration wanted this verdict, more important its the right verdict, you cant have suspect terrorists caught outside the US and placed in other Sovereign nations coming under US law, that would be a form of paternal racism, if the Afghan Government don't have a problem with the US system of dealing with terrorists then the US Courts should keep their nose out of the process, lawyers don't win wars but they can lose a War.

Command and Control - The UK in Afghanistan

Telegraph: Reports that the eight thousand UK Forces in Helmand Province, Afghanistan are to be placed under US Command. Lets hope the US have better tactics than the UK commanders have shown so far, the UK level of attrition of Forces is to high for the UK Army to take, lets see what new bright ideas come out of the US Defence Department, they cant be worse than the MOD, correction after Iraq and Vietnam taking that under advisement.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that another British Soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, the Soldier was a " Royal Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Forces Sangin ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 286 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 252 in combat operations and 34 due to illness, accidents and other incidents. It was reported on Friday that UK Forces would be under US command, is that a good idea, don't fancy our brave soldiers being cannon fodder for the US military.

The Korean Problem - North Korea

The Guardian: Reports on a international report that confirms that a South Korean Naval Vessel was sunk by the Communist North Korea. The response from South Korea will be ZERO, one simple fact folks, North Korea has the nuclear bomb and the missiles to target South Korea and Japan. Thus the South will just have to accept this criminal act by its neighbour, the UN has passed how many resolutions on North Korea and the result ZERO. The North is part of the nuclear club, it’s a nuclear armed power, thus there is no action that can be taken by the South or its close ally the US. This is why Iran wants the bomb folks, think of Iran with the bomb and if it acted like North Korea, should give you nightmare folks, gives this blog nightmares at 3am.

The Money Markets

Telegraph: Reports on the sharp fall of Shares on Wall Street due to bad economic news, the raise of the jobless rate and the action of Germany to restrict the money markets. The US is heading to having a sovereign debts of thirteen trillion folks, that’s 94% of the Gross National Product, the US recession is real on main street, the raise of the jobless rate shows that any recovery is a jobless recovery, lot of people out of work seeking jobs and those that have given up, the Obama economic plan has failed folks, all those bailouts and the US jobless rate is going up, not down, the US voter has to decide does it have the guts to swing the axe when it comes to public spending, the politicians will only promise you more handouts, they don’t have the nerve to tell the voter that the good days are over, the Government cant look after from the birth to death, the people have to look after themselves because the Government is broke folks, in money and spirit. Thus the voter will have a chance to show they are grown up by voting for the Party that will tell them the truth in the Mid Term Congressional Elections, deep cuts and tax raises, also the repeal of Obama’s health care plan, this is the time for the US voter to show that they deserve the vote.

EU, Euro and the Titanic

Guardian: Reports on the Euro crisis for the EU, the article states the following, " European leaders rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic while lecturing the rest of the world on ocean navigation. " At the end of the day folks its down to the fault line of Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and the UK. The national debts of these countries is a economic and political nightmare for EU and local governments. As noted a recent note by an outgoing Labour Minister to successor that stated that the money had gone, thus the UK has to have massive budget cuts over the next five years to get the economic books out of the red and in to the black, thus cutting middle class benefits and raise in taxes to keep the government going in the UK, the political pain is shared by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. As to Greece its a economic cancer on the EU, the cure has lead to riots on the streets and deaths, thus on real option is for Greece to get out of the Euro over night, its will be brutal but it will allow Greece to get back on its feet, that could be the same result for Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland, the German voter will call a halt to bailing out bad government outside of Germany. One can be brutal in political terms Germany might be tired of the War guilt as a reason to bailout Greece, its Greece's fault that it is in the present mess not Berlin. Thus the political concept of the Euro might not stand up to the pressure of the markets. As to the markets one can postulate that this is the time to sell the Euro as it will go below the Dollar that is my prediction, the floor for the Euro might be half the worth of the Green Dollar. Time will tell folks.

The Coalition Deal in Full - UK

Here it is folks the full UK Coalition deal between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. As far as this blog in concerned the main point is that the UK will keep its nuclear deterrence and will vote for any new powers for the EU. Those red lines should never be given away by PM Cameron. The file is in PDF format, Click HERE to Read.

UN Sanctions and Iran

The Boston Herlad. com: Reports on the latest US produced UN sanction on Iran, the Boston Herald states the following on the US progress with the resolution, “…a process that has already been months in the making - is still moving at a glacial pace ”. As the Herald notes a slow progress helps Iran, also the extreme liberal NYT notes that both Turkey and Brazil have been conned by Iran, thus folks something has to give, either the US accepts a nuclear armed Iran or takes military action or worse allows Israel to take action. If as expected Tehran does not care about the new sanctions the UN will start to look like the League of Nations of the 1930s, as with the Cold War the UN was a talking shop, but its getting the reputation of a talking shop of no importance, just full of hot air, thus to protect the International Order the US or Israel will have to take action, that nuclear clock is reaching midnight folks, who will fire the shooting gun to attack Iran, Israel or the US.

NYT and Iran

The New York Times: Has a tough Editorial on Iran, the extreme Liberal NYT writes the following on Iran, "...And every time the big powers let up on the pressure, Tehran’s compromises turn to smoke. ". Thus it seems that the deal between Iran and Turkey/Brazil has not impressed the NYT, one can be surprised, but one has to wonder if there is another Agenda by the Liberal NYT, does the NYT want tough sanctions but toothless by the UN as to prevent Israel attacking Iran. Of course there is also the political aspect, the extreme liberal NYT does not want to see Obama fail, the Obama policy for over a year is to try to talk to Iran, but Iran has shut its door in the face of President Obama, this has shown that Obama is weak, thus the liberal NYT wants to protect its President. At the end of the day no UN sanction will really effect Iran, Tehran wants the bomb, in other words it comes down to Israel. When the balloon goes up who will Obama support, Iran or Israel, if you have to pause with the answer it shows how much political trouble Obama could be in during the Mid Term Congressional Elections and 2012.

Signs for the Mid Term Congressional Elections

RCP: Reports on the defeat in the Democratic Primary of Senator Specter and the Democrats holding House Seat in the Pennsylvania. The Specter defeat was seen on the horizon, thus the strategic decision by the Oval to keep out of the internal fight at the end, the keeping of the House Seat should be wake up call for the Republicans, all through the the Seat was a Democratic safe seat the Republicans should have been closer than the 53-45 result. The Republicans cant expect for the House and the Senate just to fall at their feet, they have to think outside the box, the Republicans should offer the voter another Contract with America as they did in the 1994 elections. The US voter is angry with both Parties, thus the Republicans have to up their game or they might be very disappointed in November, although this blog is still predicting that the Republicans will take the House its not set in stone. Thus Republicans get off the dime think outside the box and win.

Balls Standing for Labour Leader

BBC News: Reports that the ex Education Secretary Ed Balls will stand for the Labour leadership against David and Ed Miliband. Thus we have history repeating itself folks, the political sons of Blair and Brown fighting for the leadership of the Labour Party. In David Miliband the ex Foreign Secretary we have an ally of Tony Blair, in Ed Balls we have an ally of Gordon Brown, lets see if the future belongs to the new Blair or Brown.

Any ONE for TEA ?

CNN: Reports on the growing power of the tea party movements and its opposition to Washington based politicians. It can be postulated that the growing anti Washington mood is based on the view that the Obama Administration spending money like a drunken sailor, the bailout, Obama economic plan, the health care reform Bill, this is pushing the US down the road of Greece, thus the growth of the tea party movement. One would not be surprised to see Hillary Clinton resigning as Secretary of State and doing a Edward Kennedy and running against Obama in 2012. This blog still states that Obama will either not run in 2012 or will be defeated by 49 states, aka Walter Mondale running against Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Playing Games - Iran

Telegraph: Reports on the deal between Iran and Brazil/Turkey for Iran to send its nuclear material to Turkey in exchange for non defensive nuclear material. This is a game folks, Iran is playing the UN veto powers, it is playing for time, it comes down to one simple fact, Iran will not give up its nuclear ambitions, it wants to match Israel as a nuclear armed power. This latest ploy is to get Russia and China not to support the sanction moves of President Obama, it can be stated that Obama sold out Poland and the Czech Republic for nothing, Russia and China will be even harder to move on sanction after the latest gambit by Tehran, thus as stated how many times on this blog, it comes down to Israel, Obama is to weak to take action, he is no JFK or Reagan, Israel will have to strike, the question is when, it can be postulated that the US Armed Forces should be on alert over the next six months in Iraq, once Israel hits Iran it can be expected that Iran will hit US bases in the Middle East, what Turkey and Brazil have done is to do another Munich ( 1938), this can only lead to trouble folks.

The Road to the Mid Term Congressional Elections

The Blog is back to its fav subject folks, US politics.

The Fox News: Report on State Primaries ( in which Parties chose their candidate for the General Election ) and a By - Election in UK terms for a House Seat. This blog tonight will be looking at the Primary race in Pennsylvania for the Democratic nomination and the By - Election in the State for the House. The Senate race is interesting has you have the ex Republican now a Democrat, Arlen Specter running as a Obama Democrat, can Obama get his vote out to support his new friend, does Oval still have that Star quality, or has the magic faded for the Obama Presidency. In the House seat you have a safe Democratic Seat, if the Republicans can come close to taking this seat or actually win then the House will go Republican in November. The Democrats cant spend the money they have on this seat on all their seats, thus if the Republicans are close or take the Seat a lot of Democrats will think its all over, coming close is a win for Republicans as this will show the liberal leadership of the House that their time in power in coming to and end. Thus all eyes on Pennsylvania folks, could be the the direction the country will take in November 2010.

Labour - No Money

I was watching the New Chief Secretary of the Treasury David Laws on the BBC's Daily Politics show and he stated that Labour Chief Secretary had left him a note, Mr Laws thought it was advice on how to deal with the Treasury or other Departments, no it was a lot simpler, it stated that there was no more money. The new Chief Secretary stated he would use this note against the Labour opposition in the House of Commons. This was the final mistake of New Labour, a Conservative Minister would have taken it as a private note of dark humour, the Libe Dems don't have a sense of humour that one can see, they tend to believe their own spin, thus in one way its was quite an insulting note, its like getting your dream job and finding that the company is broke and your the one to cut costs. I think one can say that the idea of a Progressive Left Alliance between Labour and the Libs Dems has been buried with New Labour.

Its the FAULT of Labour!

Telegraph: Reports that the new Coalition Government is going to throw the kitchen sink of UK debt at the direction of the Labour Party. Its a great political tool, throw all the bad stuff at the last government and avoid the blame, two years in Obama is still faulting Bush 43. But by next year the Coalition Government will be hated, if the cuts are worse than in the Thatcher Era it can be expected that there will be strikes in the public sector, but that is why the Conservatives have demanded that should the Lib Dems go YELLOW and walk out of the Coalition that any dissolution of the Commons would take a 55% of MP's of the House voting for that dissolution. The Conservative Party has been here before the Lib Dems have not, lets see how much heat they can really take, can the Lib Dems tolerate becoming the new nasty party in the UK.

New Labour Dead and Buried

BBC News: Reports that David Miliband the ex Foreign Secretary has stated that New Labour is over with, its the future of Labour that is important, what comes after New Labour. Well folks New Labour is getting buried by the New Labour candidate in the shape of David Miliband, it seems that hollow brand of New Labour is a vote loser thus buried, one has to wonder what will Tony Blair and Gordon Brown make of this statement, in some respects we are all the heirs of the Thatcher Era, no one wants to be the heir to New Labour. The Labour Party in pure political terms has to ask it self does it want another Tony Blair in the shape of either David or Ed Miliband but without the charisma of Blair. I was watching Ed Miliband on the BBC 1 on Sunday and it took me few seconds to get the fact that it was Ed not David Miliband. They have some of the same physical mannerisms, well they are brothers, still don't think it looks good for Labour to have two brothers as the two main candidates, Ed Balls might not be as smooth as Ed or David but there is a passion, when your in opposition you need a leader that will get the troops out in a By - Election etc to push the Labour message on the doorstep. Lets see who else enters the race for leader.

Emergency Budget in the UK

HM Treasury: Has the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne that there will be an Emergency Budget in the UK in six weeks time, that budget will look to cut six billion in public spending. also to place economic forecasts outside the Treasury, the new Office for Budget Responsibility will develop Independent Forecasts for the Government. In pure political terms this will get the political blood on the hands of the Lib Dems, for the first time since the 1920s they are the power, they have to justify public spending cuts, they face as Labour and the Conservatives have faced the wrath of those on the wrong side of the cuts, it will be interesting to see if those on the left of the Lib Dems can support these drastic cuts, will they still support the coalition government, better the economic pain now that before the election in 2015. As to the OBR this could be spin, it depends who is doing the sums, all is political in Government, lets see how honest they are with their political masters. Expect deep public sector cuts folks, increase in VAT, Tax, just TAX in other words, when the red ink of Labour is over one hundred and sixty three Billion you need the ax man to cut that debt, the Thatcher cuts of the 80s will look like happy hour folks.

The SECRET debt of LABOUR

BBC News: Reports the secret debt left by the Labour Party to the new Coalition Government. This view is shard by Conservatives and Lib Dems, no wonder that the Labour Party wanted out of power, they have left political IED’s all over the place, one has to wonder what else Labour did in its last years that could come back and hurt the Government and the UK. On the other hand it gives the Coalition a good spin attack on Labour, the guilty men of Labour have wrecked the economy, this is not new, that is the typical experience of the UK after Labour has been in power, let us recall the Winter of Discontent of the late 1970s. Thus expect real hard cuts in public spending, also VAT could go up to 20%, the tax on alcohol and cigarettes will have to raise to high levels, also VAT could be added to goods that it does cover at present, the debt has to go down folks. Thus it’s better to have the nasty medicine now than later, its takes a Conservative Government to be a grown up in Government.

NYT and National Security

The New York Times: Reports on the use of private contractors as spies in Afghanistan and Pakistan to give the US Army the latest threat matrix on the threats form the Taliban to Al Qaeda. What is it with the liberal New York Times, it seems that they want US Soldiers to get killed by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the operation from the article has been effective in attacking the threat form Afghanistan and Pakistan, and what does the extreme liberal New York Times do but have a flashback to the 1960s, what if Obama under pressure from the left was to close down this operation and US soldiers and US civilizations that would not have been killed are killed due to the fact that the US does not have the information form this region, it is time for the extreme liberal NYT to grow up, does the NYT support the US or Al Qaeda. And that folks is a serious question.

The Left and Nick Clegg

Guardian: Reports on the decision by former Liberal Democrats leader Charles Kennedy not to support the coalition between the Lib Dems and the Conservative Party, at the end of the day Mr Kennedy wanted a deal with the Labour Party. It seems that that the left wing Guardian is out to get the Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg, the blame for the failure of the talks between the Lib Dems and the Labour Party is placed at his door, the Guardian states the following, “ Cameron had formed the opinion on the afternoon following the election that Clegg wanted to make a deal with the Tories and not Labour. ". In other words the Guardian is taking the blame away from Ed Balls and the Labour Party and placing it on the hands of Nick Clegg. When the Guardian supported the Lib Dems in the election it seems it was based on the idea that the Lib Dems should just support the Labour Party no matter what, even if the sums didn’t add up in the House of Commons. At the end of the day Mr Clegg has to make this work, so does Mr Cameron, if they fail their political heads will be sought by their opponents in the Commons, lets hope these two gentlemen are very lucky, so far they found each other, that might be the greatest luck they will have in five years.

Germany and the Euro

The Times: Reports how the bailouts of Greece and the Euro is having a negative effect on the German Government. The Sovereign Debt of Greece and the weakness of the Euro has shows that the political structure of Europe is under threat, at the end of the day German can not bailout, Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland, these countries have to look at their own spending, the idea that the Government can be the major employer shows how much the politicians of Europe have allowed themselves to buy in to the welfare system concept at the cost of business being the major force in the employment market, the idea that the Government will look after everyone form birth to death has gone beyond his original to look after those in most need to look after all classes, the middle classes and the rich don’t need the same tax credits as the poor, in fact these tax credits are tax cuts in many respects, thus its time to scale back the welfare system, yes to look after the poor but those in the Middle Class or rich should pay more in either through tax or other areas to pay off the national debt. Also the poor or those on welfare have a role, welfare should not be a way of life, it has become that for many, its time to force people back to work, or make it clear that one parent families is not a good idea, its should not be a comfort zone. Thus time for harsh cuts in public sector, cutting tax benefits to the middle class and the rich, also making the welfare state small and a cushion for the poor, not a way of life. It will be hard folks but the UK has to cut its debt or we will go the way of Greece.

The Last HOURS of Labour

Telegraph: Reports on the last hours of the New Labour Government in power. Those days after the May election will be discussed for years, did the Lib Dems really have any choice but to support or go in to coalition with the Conservative Party, was the first Gordon Brown resignation as Labour Leader but not as PM really give Labour and Lib Dems a chance to form a pact, was Gordon Brown thrown under the bus by Lord Mandelson as to allow for a Blair successor to take over the Party in Opposition. It will be interesting how Gordon Brown reacts to the question if he had known that it would be a Lib Dem / Conservative Coalition would he have resigned as Labour Leader so quick, so many questions, the answers will come out over the years but it was a historic period for the UK. It was the end of the New Labour era, the Labour Party is now in opposition this will give it a chance to discuss its future, does it want a Blair type candidate as its new leader or should it go for a guy of passion and a Brown supporter in the shape of Ed Balls. One thing folks UK politics just got fun.

Kennedy vs Clegg

BBC News: Reports on the statement by the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy that he didn't vote for the coalition deal with the Conservative Party. It must be hard for the former leaders of the Lib Dems to see their successor in power, Nick Clegg is now Deputy Prime Minister and overall there are twenty Lib Dems MP’s in the Government. This is the first time since the 1920s that the Lib Dems have been in coalition power, then it was a Liberal PM but with a Conservative Majority of MP’s. This is the chance for Liberals to get some of their Agenda in to law, if they fail then the Party is a busted flush. The former leaders would not be human if they didn’t feel at some level a sense of envy at the raise of Nick Clegg, but they had their chance for power and didn’t work, thus Clegg has to make it work or the Lib Dems will split over the five years. That is not say that the coalition government will work, but its new, it’s the new politics, the past is the past it’s the future that concerns the UK voter.

Coalition Government and the Voter

Telegraph: Reports that the new coalition government has a 64% approval rating from the UK voter. The result of the Hung Parliament was that it forced the political parties to work together, the chance of Labour/Lib Dem pact was narrow due to the fact that sums did not march up in the House of Commons, any such coalition would survive day by day, with the a Conservative / Lib Dems Pact the Government has a healthy majority and can try to solve the economic mess that was left by the last Labour Government. One can postulate that by this time next year the Coalition Government will be hated due to the public spending cuts and the raise in taxes, but so far the UK voter is happy with the May result.

Miliband vs Miliband

BBC News: Reports on the declaration by Ed Miliband that he would contest the Labour leadership. Thus we have two brothers running for the Labour leadership, the question is what does this say about David and Ed Miliband, if two brothers cant agree that one or the other should run what does that say about their character, it is like JFK and RFK both running to be President in 1960, Ambassador Kennedy would have gone through the roof. In pure political terms does not look good, can you see RFK even thinking about running against his brother, also it opens the Labour Party up to ridicule that it is creating family dynasty for a working class party. Lets hope others enter the race and that the brothers have a real good long talk about family loyalty, also from watching Ed Miliband he had the mannerisms of Tony Blair but not the charisma, Ed Balls is from the Brown Camp of the Labour Party but least he has passion, at the end of the day a Leader has to give a Political Party passion to win.

The Clinton Tapes by Taylor Branch

16/10/09

Have just started to read, The Clinton Tapes, Wrestling History in the White House by Taylor Branch. Thus far its a page turner, thank goodness President Clinton thought ahead, as Presidents cant tape any more as their predecessors did, this book is almost like a confessional in some respects. Thus far worth the read, full review later...

15/5/2010

Have justed finished the Clinton Tapes by Taylor Branch, they are striking as they take you in to the heart of the Clinton Administration, you hear the voice of Bill Clinton, very much a confessional to a friend, that has a up and down, the author is a friend of Bill Clinton, as to if he trusts President Clinton that is much harder to say from the book. Sometimes one wishes that the author had pressed the President on different subjects but then that might have made the President more cautious with the author. If you want to understand Bill Clinton and his political philosophy this is a good book to start with, but while reading recall that the author is a friend of Clinton and his wife worked for Hillary Clinton, with those warnings this is must read book if you have an interest in the Clinton Era in the United States.

Could France leave the Euro ?

Guardian: Reports on the threat by France to leave the Euro if the Euro countries did not back Greece, the threat was seen as pressure on Germany to back the bailout of Greece. At the end of the day folks the Euro can’t survive because of political faith, the banking bailout could be the warning to bell to more serious problems of Sovereign Debt, in this case countries like Greece who cant pay back debt to the money markets. This issue goes back to the creation of a welfare state structure in Europe and the UK, the costs are getting out of hand, the point of the welfare state was to create a cushion for those that didn’t make it in the wider Western system, but that cushion has become the norm, Greece is an over top example of that, public sector works paid a bonus for turning up on time, that is mad folks. Thus we see that Spain could be the next country to fall folks, at the end of the day folks the peoples of Europe have to wake up to the fact that the era that the government would look after you from birth to death is over, its going to get cold out there folks, people have to develop the fact that they have to look after themselves not expect the State to look after them, the State is broke folks. Lets see if Spain goes like Greece, 60/40 that Spain will need a bailout folks.

Unbreakable Alliance - UK Foreign Secretary

BBC News: Reports on the first visit by the new Foreign Secretary William Hague to the United States. This first visit by the Foreign Secretary was not to Europe but to our closes ally the United States, a Conservative Government will not allow the Anti - American views of the Lib Dems its coalition partner to have much sway over UK Foreign Policy. Thus don't expect UK Foreign Policy to change much when it comes to Afghanistan and Iran, at the end of the day as Gordon Brown stated to Nick Clegg during the PM Debate that he should " Get Real " over Iran, the Lib Dems are not going to cross swords with Obama should he take independent action over Iran. It should be noted that France has been more critical of Iran than Obama, thus the Lib Dems will just have to swallow what the US wants as France will support Obama. As to the Obama policy over Iran expect military action sooner or late, Israel will not wait forever, at the end of the day its their security that is at stake, they don't trust President Obama thus either the US takes action or Israel will start a regional War in the Middle East by attacking Iran.

US, UK = Greece

Telegraph: Reports on the comments by the Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King that the US and the UK are in the same debt boat as Greece. In other words folks the new Lib Dem / Conservative Government will have to make deep cuts in public spending, Wales and Scotland that had a good time in the economic boom years will have to make drastic cuts to spending, the problems in these countries is that the public sector has gone fat on Labour spending, thus the effects will really hurt in Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland. But in less the UK wants to return to the IMF years of the 1970s these cuts in public spending will really have to hurt, the Conservative in their manifesto promised a reform of welfare, people have to take jobs that they don't want, the system can not afford the gravy years of Labour with the UK in the red, that red debts stands at around 160 Billion. The UK can not become Greece, thus the new government will be hated by next year, that is why a fixed term Parliament is a good idea, also the idea that for the Government to lose power it would need 55% of the House of Commons to vote for its removal, these public spending cuts will hurt folks, it needs time, thus lets hope the Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg have the backbone to do whats in the national interest.

Obama's New PR Strategy for Afghanistan

Politics Daily: Reports on the Obama's Administration charm offensive with President Karzai of Afghanistan. After the early cold relationship with President Karzai of Afghanistan the Obama Administration has gotten the fact that Karzai is the only game in town in Kabul, in other words President Obama has his own Diem of South Vietnam, he cant get rid of Karzai as the Kennedy Administration got rid of Diem of South of Vietnam, no infamous August nod for a coup when it comes to Karzai. The question is can Karzai be trusted or more to the point can US policy win in Afghanistan, the Obama Surge will take years to work, thus deadline for next year will become more symbolic, Obama can not afford to lose Iraq and Afghanistan with the Mid Term Congressional election in the US on the horizon, thus one can postulate that the hot war in Afghanistan will go on for years and the the US presence in Iraq will last well beyond the 2011 cut off date. The Liberal left in the US will not be happy, thus still keeping my prediction that Obama will either not run or will lose by 49 states aka Walter Mondale.

NYT on President Karzai of Afghanistan

The New York Times: Has the following to say on President Karzai of Afghanistan, " He has refused to root out corruption. He prefers cronies to competent managers. He has wasted far too much time railing at his American protectors. ". As stated in this blog the Liberal NYT is following its Iraq playbook, it is down on Afghanistan from its news to its editorial front, the extreme liberal NYT wants out of Afghanistan, Bush 43 faced constant attacks from the NYT over Iraq, now the President Obama has to face constant attacks for his Afghan Policy. In the eyes of NYT, Afghanistan = Vietnam, lets not forget that the US did not lose in Vietnam as much as it lost public support at home, the elite media then and now sees the US as the threat not the enemies of the US, in the case of South Vietnam the Viet Cong, in the case of Afghanistan the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Lets be clear Afghanistan is a mess, will the Obama surges help in the long term? that is a open question, but the US will lose in Afghanistan if the elite US media from print to press are on the attack, this blog has been critical of US and UK policy in Afghanistan but at least this blog wants the West to win in Afghanistan, that can not be said of the liberal NYT.

Who is the New Blair ?

The Times: Reports that the ex Foreign Secretary David Miliband has thrown his hat in to the race to be the successor to Gordon Brown. The question for Labour is who is the next Tony Blair, the PM TV debates has show that a leader has to be good on the box, thus the next Labour Leader has have the charisma of Tony Blair but the political substance of Gordon Brown. As of this time there is only one candidate, thus we will have to see who thinks he or she is the next Blair. One can postulate two outcome for that leader, either there is an early election and Labour gets back in or the Lib Dems / Conservative coalition Government works for five or even ten years, thus the next Labour PM might not be someone who is even in Parliament as of this time, at the end of the day time will tell.

The Lib Dem / Conservative Deal

Telegraph: Has the full deal between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. The most important aspect for this blog is that any new EU Treaty would need to be approved by the voter and that the UK will keep its nuclear deterrence.

The Truth about Afghanistan

The New York Times: An excellent article by Ms Dowd on the failures of the Kabul regime under President Karzai, from the failure to deal with corruption, with the Karzai stating that he would talk to the Taliban. The Liberal NYT wants out of Afghanistan, as with Iraq they have started with negative reporting and comment, this time they are right, the cost from the death of UK Soldiers to the cost on the financial front is not worth it when it comes to Afghanistan, when NATO leaves and it will leave Afghanistan will return to its natural customs, you cant change a Feudal state in to a 21st Century over night or in a few yeas, it takes many years and the simple fact is the voters want out of Afghanistan. Lets get out NOW and not lose any more of the UK's Armed Forces Personnel.

The New UK Cabinet

The new UK Cabinet is taking place, nice to see that PM David Cameron is taking up an old Conservative tradition of placing former Conservative leaders in the Cabinet, thus at the Foreign Office you have William Hague, then you have Iain Duncan Smith at Work and Pensions. But also the new Lib Dem / Conservative Government has something that the UK has not seen since 1945, a coalition Government. Thus you have Nick Clegg as Deputy PM, and overall the Liberal Democrats have twenty members in the new Government. The first Press Conference of Cameron and Clegg went well, my one advice is that leaders drop the first name use and use their titles, it still the Government after all of the UK. Thus so far a good start, but this is the honeymoon lets see how this political marriage works in the long term.

War Funding - Afghanistan

The Hill: Reports on the comments by Speaker Pelosi when it comes to US funding of the War in Afghanistan, the Speaker stated that President Karzai has to show effective government by less corruption, security for the people of Afghanistan and a role for women in Afghanistan. The Obama Administration is asking for 33 billion dollars to fund the War in Afghanistan, in an election year the House Democrats have to worry with the military deaths in Afghanistan and the cost of the War. The left in the Democratic Party want out of Iraq and Afghanistan, thus they argue that this money could be better spent on domestic spending, as the left funds House and the Senate the Congress has to take notice, thus the Obama Administration has to show that that Karzai is not another Diem of South of Vietnam and that the US will win this War.

The Special Relationship - The US and the UK

The White House reports that President Obama phoned the new UK PM David Cameron to add his congratulation to his becoming UK PM. The President stated the following to Mr Cameron, “… As I told the Prime Minister, the United States has no closer friend and ally than the United Kingdom, and I reiterated my deep and personal commitment to the special relationship between our two countries – a bond that has endured for generations and across party lines, and that is essential to the security and prosperity of our two countries, and the world. ” . It has been reported that President Obama did not find ex PM Brown the warmest of people he had meet, thus let’s hope that the chemistry is better between Cameron and Obama, it has also been reported that when Obama first meet Cameron he stated that he found that Cameron has charisma if Brown has political substance. The Oval might be worried that the UK might want to get out of Afghanistan, lets hope that is a real worry, the War in Afghanistan is now an American War, a War in many respects that has shades of Vietnam. It can be argued that with the world wide recession, the War in Afghanistan, the threat form Iran and the constant threat from Al Qaeda that the Oval wants to make sure that the US still has a Special Relationship with the UK.

Afghanistan Front News

MOD: Has released the name of the British Soldier killed on Sunday in Afghanistan, the soldier was " Corporal Christopher Lewis Harrison of Bravo Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, Helmand ". Our thoughts are with the family of Corporal Harrison.

Cameron at No10

The new Conservative Party Prime Minister David Cameron has come to No 10 Downing Street. Thus new Government folks, it will be different, the first coalition Government in the UK since 1945. The first time the old Liberals now the Liberal Democrats will have been in power since the 1920s.

The End of Brown

BBC News: Looks at the political career of Gordon Brown. At the end of the day Mr Brown confirms the old saying that all political careers end in failure. But lets be fair, Mr Brown was Chancellor of Exchequer and PM, the result was that the UK is deep in the red, and still at War in Afghanistan. It not that Mr Brown failed but that the UK suffered, that is the cost of New Labour.

Brown OUT as PM

Well folks my prediction was wrong, at the end of the day PM Gordon Brown did the decent thing and resigned as UK PM. Thus the end of New Labour Era. When you think of New Labour what is the one thing that comes to mind, its simple folks that is Iraq. The issue of Iraq shows all that was bad about New Labour, spin, hubris, arrogance, and a hollow centre. This blog JUST states the following, good riddance to rubbish. The New Labour project under Tony Blair lead this country in to an War that was not needed, also that Gordon Brown has lead this nation in to bankruptcy. Thus now we have a new Government of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, lets see how they do with power, one thing this blog can promise there will not be another Iraq.

Prediction of Next UK Government

With the resignation of PM Gordon Brown as Labour Leader and the stalled talks between the Conservative Party and the Lib Dems we can now see a future Lib Dems / Labour Pact. The problem with the Lib Dems as was shown in Wales after the recent Assembly Elections is the fact that it is full of people who prefer opposition and don’t want real power. Thus this my prediction, the left wing of the Lib Dems will force the leadership to go with Labour, thus even with the MP’s from the Labour and Lib Dems you don’t have a Commons Majority, this will force the new Government to seek the support of the National Parties from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, these Parties will not want public spending cuts in their backyard, thus the cuts will be in England. Lets look at the political consequences for the Labour Party, they could lose many more English Seats and after the next election, and folks there will be a next election as the Conservative Party in opposition will make every vote count in the Commons for the Lib Dems/ Labour Government. The Lib Dems had a chance for stability but they have become a one issue Party, they want PR and the Labour will support this move, thus England will have real cuts while the rest of the UK will get away with no cuts. This if the above happens could see the end of Labour in England.

Gordon Brown Resigns ?

BBC News: Reports on the resignation of PM Gordon Brown as Labour Leader. This is a neat trick by Labour, they get Brown out and then replace him with a new leader. The one problem with this move is that a new Labour Leader in a Labour/Lib Dem Pact would become PM without the consent of the voters. If the Lib Dems go down this road they will go in to political oblivion. This does recall the Lib/Lab Pact of the 1970s, that was a disaster for Labour and Lib Dems, lets hope this is not history repeating itself, David Cameron might be of the mind to let the Lib Dems go use his 306 seats in the new House of Commons to make every vote a vote of confidence for the Government. It would be ironic if New Labour helped destroy the Labour Party at the end.

The Tory - Lib Dems Meeting - Endless

The Times Election Blog: Reports on the different stages of the meeting between the Conservative Party and the Lib Dems. As the day went on it did seem to be an endless meeting, what could take six hours, either the Lib Dems want real power or they just want to be a Party of contstant opposition in England and Wales. This is there first chance since the 1920s to have real power and they are acting like Lib Dems, slow, confusing, taking their time while the economy of the UK burns. What are they going to be like in Government, will the be able to take the real tough decisions or will they want endless meetings, this blog is starting to go off the idea of a Pact, at the end of the days its about power. One is almost tempted to tell the Lib Dems to take the Labour Pact and then watch as the Pact falls apart as the Lib Dems and Labour argue about cutting public spending, then after they fail the Conservative Party would win the next election with a majority.

Welsh Guards in Moscow

BBC News: Reports on the march of the Welsh Guards in Red Square to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two. It was nice to see the Welsh Guards marching in Red Square, they had a tough time in Afghanistan, nice to see them have such an honour, brave lads all.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that another British Soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, the soldier was a " Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines serving as part of Combined Forces Sangin, Helmand ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 285 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 251 in combat operations and 34 due to illness, accidents or other incidents. Let hope the the new UK Government has a look at the UK strategy in Afghanistan, the new Government should ask the MOD to produce new strategy that decrees the level of UK attrition of forces, the UK Army can not take this level of loss through the year.

The EU and the Tories

Guardian: Has a leaked memo that shows that the David Cameron and the Conservative Party would take a tough line with the EU, the Guardian states the following on this leak and the chances of a political pact between the Conservative Party and the Lib Dems, " dramatically undermined last night by the leaking of a top-secret letter ". The Guardian like the Lib Dems is pro EU, it wants the Lib Dems to keep Gordon Brown in power, it would be interesting to find out who leaked this memo, one can postulate that it either came from right wingers in the Conservative Party who do not want a deal with the Lib Dems or much more serious it came from the Government sources who want to keep Labour in power. This could be the last roll of the dice by the New Labour spin machine, they play to win and they play dirty.

Respect for President Medvedev of Russia

The Sunday Times: Reports on the critical attack by President Medvedev of Russia on Stalin and his role in World War Two. I have to admit this blogger thought at first that President Medvedev was a puppet of PM Putin, but these strong words of attack on Stalin shows that President Medvedev is his own man, Putin in the past has stated his regret that the USSR fell, Medvedev has no love for the USSR. At the end of the day Stalin and Hitler killed millions, evil is evil, the UK had to work with Stalin to defeat Hitler, a threat to Europe, but the mistake that the West did was to look the other way at the crimes of Stalin pre and after World War Two, there just might be some hope for Russia if they can look at the past see the good and the bad, the era of Stalin was evil, if there is a hell Stalin and Hitler should be in its flames for all time.

Lines in the Sand - Conservative No Go Areas

Telegraph: Reports that David Cameron and the Conservative Party have stated that there are some areas that the Party will not move on to please the Lib Dems, this would be their plan to cap immigration, to be wary of more powers for the EU, and to keep the nuclear defence for the UK. The Lib Dems if they think should be glad, when it comes to these issues the Party is on the extreme left, this would explain in some respects why the Clegg mania after the First PM Debate did not help on election day. The Lib Dems have had a free ride since the 1920s, the have developed policies based on the fact that they never have to form a government, in other words quite flaky policies. If they have a political brain cell they can move from these policies and blame the Conservatives, otherwise they will be seen as a Party that has no place in real politics of the UK. The left of the Lib Dems have to grow up, or they could face political oblivion at the next election.

Cameron and Clegg MEETING

BBC News: Reports on a late night meeting between the Conservative Leader David Cameron and the Lib Dems Leader Nick Clegg. If and its a big IF folks the the Tories and the Lib Dems can form a political pact this would be a revolution in UK politics, if it worked and yes that is a big IF it could place Labour out of power for a generation. But lets not walk in to unmarked minefield folks, the deal could still fall apart, but for the Lib Dems to form an alliance with the Labour Party the present PM, Gordon Brown would have to fall on his sword, the question is does the Labour Cabinet have the backbone to kick Brown out and then get a new leader in and get a deal with Lib Dems. If one was a betting blogger one wold bet on a Conservative and Lib Dem pact, the UK is at War in Afghanistan, the economic mess of Greece could infect the rest of EU and more important the UK. Thus the political leaders don't have the time for long discussions, the money markets by mid week will start to sell UK bonds if there is no government in the UK. Thus time is not a friend for the Conservatives or the Lib Dems, don't mess this up Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg.

The DEAL ? Conservatives - Lib Dems

Guardian Election Blog: Reports that the David Cameron the leader of the Conservative Party has offered the Lib Dems three seats in his Cabinet, Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of the Treasury and Transport Secretary. Mr Cameron has gone out of his way to offer the Lib Dems real power and political reform, the question is can Nick Clegg take on the left wing of his Party. This side want to support Labour but seem to have forgotten the lessons of history, the Labour Party in the end always shafts the Libs or Lib Dems. Lets hope the Lib Dems support this generous offer by the Conservative Party.

Brown vs Clegg

Telegraph: Has an article on a BBC report on a heated argument between PM Brown and Lib Dem leader Nick Brown, it seems Brown is not keen on making way for a new Labour Leader to work with the Lib Dems. Thus as stated Nick Clegg is King maker after the May 6th election, the Lib Dems and Conservatives are in talks about forming a political pact, it is still on going at this moment in time, as has been reported the Labour Party and Lib Dems are having shadow talks should the talks fail between Clegg and Cameron. As to if its a good idea for the Conservatives to do a Pact with the Lib Dems this blog is reserving its judgement on that issue, lets see how the hours and days go by first, lets see who has the personal chemistry to work together for their own sake and the UK.

UK General Election Result and My Prediction

Overall folks I am happy with my prediction, on the % result of the election I was right on the Conservative vote, they got 36%, this was blog was wrong on the % result for Labour and Lib Dems, Labour got 29% not 28% and Lib Dems got 23% not 26%. As stated Nick Clegg and the Democrats would be the King makers, this process is still on going at this time. As BBC reports that the Conservative Party has 306 seats, Labour Party 258, Lib Dems 57.

Prediction for UK General Election

Its that time folks, this is my prediction for the Share of the vote that the UK Parties will get on May 6th and their Seats in the new House of Commons. Lets be clear here folks, there will not be a uniformed swing due to different seats have different fights, thus you have Conservative vs LibDems, Conservative vs Labour, Lib Dems vs Labour, also the national parties in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thus based on the above this is my best guess, it could be dead on or totally wrong, here it is folks, Conservative Party with 36% ( 287 seats ), Labour Party 28% ( 259 seats ), Lib Dems 26% ( 78 seats ), as to who will be PM on Friday, that will be in the hands of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, my guess that Mr Clegg would not want to work with PM Brown, thus a chance of pact between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, but its only a guess folks, Mr Clegg might get over his aversion to Mr Brown or the Labour Party might ditch Mr Brown, get a new leader and form a pact with the Liberal Democrats. One thing folks it will be a long night in the UK.

Vote Conservative May 6th 2010

This is the TIME folks, VOTE for CHANGE

VOTE CONSERVATIVE ON MAY 6TH 2010

VOTE for David Cameron and CHANGE

VOTE CONSERVATIVE

A DEAL between the Conservative Party and the Ulster Parties ?

Telegraph: Reports that UK union supporters in Northern Ireland could support the Conservative Party if they miss winning a majority in the House of Commons. Have to admit this would not be by first port of call, it is what these parties will ask for in return of their support, economic protection is a natural good deal, but what if they ask for policies that could threaten the peace of Northern Ireland. Thus folks lets hope the Conservative Party gets an overall majority, otherwise a lot of closed door deals over the weekend, between Labour and the LibDems or the LibDems and the Conservative Party, lets also recall the other smaller parties, could be a nightmare folks.