The last thing I did before bed was check the result of the London Mayoral election.  I watched Boris Johnson's acceptance speech and Ken Livingston resign himself to defeat.

Today I can only describe myself is disheartened.  Don't get me wrong I haven't judged Boris on his image of "Buffoonery".  I actually listened to the debates to see what he had to offer by way of policy.  No seriously, I did...

What concerns me is his distinct lack of real policy and direction.  What does someone without policies do when they take office?  I suspect he'll surround himself with advisors and think tank policies.  What worries me isn't how will Boris run London, but how will his unelected advisors.

You can say what you like about Ken, you knew where you stood with him policy wise.  Ken will do pretty much what he says he's going to do.  With the odd consultation so that *ahem* it doesn't look like he's being a dictator.  But you knew where you stood and I don't know anybody who doesn't believe his heart was in the right place; whether they agreed with his policies or not.

So it's with a feeling of nervous anticipation I go into the next four years.  I hope Boris proves me wrong.

Picture by lewishamdreamer, from flickr

vgl. ua. www.spiegel.de/video/video-29984.html

I am so furious right now. All the people who abstained should be ashamed of themselves. This loser is now the mayor of London. The gloomy time has begun...

It probably is time Ken Livingstone quit being Mayor of London, splendid though his record's been: eight years is long enough.

Brian Paddick would have been a better choice, though. Anyone would have been a better choice than Boris Johnson. There's a PDF here - a report from Compass - that shows the real Boris Johnson, not the clown who is quite funny on Have I Got News For You, not the floppy-haired buffoon, but the hard right-winger.

There's a thumbnail sketch of his politics after the LJ-cut, but more to the point: Boris Johnson won the election as a George W. Bush clone - as a good bloke who means well and is a bit thick, does it matter? A lot of people also probably voted for him because they would have voted for any Tory: some may have voted for him because they're homophobic (Brian Paddick is gay: Ken Livingstone is strongly supportive of equality for LGBT people).

Boris Johnson's qualifications for being Mayor of London are his past experience being an MP and running a weekly magazine. Oh, and he does well on talk shows.

Ken Livingstone was a great Mayor. The best anyone can hope for Boris Johnson is that no disaster happens while he's in office, and that he is not able to put his political goals into practice while running London.

International and overall politics
* Fanatical support for the Iraq war
* Supporting both the election of George W Bush in 2000 and his re-election in 2004
* Opposed the Kyoto treaty on climate change
* Is an evangelist for nuclear power – and opposes wind farms
* Is a fanatical Thatcherite
* Considers Liberal Democrats have ‘a characteristic human psychological deformity’

Economic Policies
* Opposed the introduction of the national minimum wage
* Opposition to full pension rights for part-time workers
* Believes trouble comes from ‘too zealous’ attempts to tackle inequality
* Calls for large scale sacking of public sector workers as good ‘for themselves’
* Defends privatisation of the railways

Social and Environmental Policies
* Attacks the welfare state as ‘excessive disbursements that warp honest people’
* Wants to introduce the private sector into the NHS and believes patients should pay more
* Is opposed to the Social Chapter of the EU and also against its provision on paternity leave
* Supports grammar schools and public schools
* Does not support affordable housing
* Opposition to the congestion charge
* Is in favour of not only fox but stag hunting
* Opposes the ban on smoking in restaurants and public places

Attitude to black people, women, gay rights, the Chinese and others
* Refers to black people as ‘picaninnies’ and ‘with watermelon smiles’
* Attitudes to the black community and calls the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry ‘Orwellian’
* Believes in South Africa there is the ‘majority tyranny of black rule.’
* On Africans and ‘instant carbohydrate gratification’
* Believes Chinese culture is merely imitative
* Sexism
* Labour’s ‘appalling agenda’ of ‘the teaching of homosexuality in schools’

Political morality
* Considers Edward Kennedy faced a dilemma on whether to ‘come clean’ on Chappaquiddick
* Supports Silvio Berlusconi

Other positions
* Opposes devolution for Scotland and Wales
* Insults New Guinea
* Insults Liverpool
* Insults Portsmouth
* Insults the Dutch
* Believes ‘former crypto communists’ run the BBC
* Is prepared to discuss how seriously a journalist should be beaten up and whether to supply his address

10 Kandidaten standen zur Wahl. In den Umfragen der letzten Wochen zeichnete sich ein Kopf an Kopf Rennen ab zwischen Ken Livingston und einer Vogelscheuche namens Boris Johnson. Andere Kandidaten, wie Brian Paddick, der frühere stellvertretende Chef von Scotland Yard, folgten mit großem Abstand.

Kaum zu glauben, aber dieser Boris Johnson von den Tories erfreute sich bei den Medien großer Beliebtheit. Dabei ist sein Wahlprogramm ausgesprochen lächerlich.  Aber nicht anders als in Deutschland sind auch im Königreich Witzfiguren bei den Medien besonders beliebt. Insbesondere wenn sie nur gequirlte Hühnerkacke und nichts Inhaltliches von sich geben. Warum Boris Bürgermeister von London werden wollte, beschreibt er so:

I put myself forward for this job because I have the energy and fresh thinking to turn the tide on our problems with crime, transport, housing and the local environment.

Er hat vielleicht ein paar energy drinks zu viel getrunken, mehr aber auch nicht.

Blicken wir kurz zurück: Ken Livingston war der erste Bürgermeister von London (nicht zu verwechseln mit dem Lord Mayor der City of London), den die Geschichtsschreibung kennt. Bis Mitte der 80iger Jahre gab es ein Verwaltungsgremium, das für einen großen Teil des heutigen Stadtgebiets zuständig war. Livingston saß diesem Gremium vor, war aber nicht Bürgermeister im heutigen Sinne. Die konservative Thatcher-Regierung löste diese Verwaltungsbehörde auf und übernahm selbst die wichtigsten Verwaltungsangelegenheiten der Stadt. Von da an ging es mit London abwärts, und zwar im Sturzflug! London wurde eine der unsichersten Großstädte, der öffentliche Personennahverkehr an den Rand des Zusammenbruchs gebracht. London wurde zum Schreckgespenst für seine Einwohner. Konservativen Daseinsvorstellungen entsprechend wurden einige wenige Nobelviertel gehegt und gepflegt; hier stiegen die Miet- und Grundstückpreise deutlich an. In weiten Teilen der Stadt jedoch verkam die Infrastruktur. Allein der ungenügend ausgebaute ÖPNV zwang viele Menschen, in der Stadt, und damit in der Nähe ihrer Arbeitsplätze, wohnen zu bleiben und Mieten zu bezahlen, die nicht ansatzweise gerechtfertigt waren.

All diese von den Konservativen herbeigezwungenen Probleme will der konservative Boris also lösen. Jedoch: Er kommt damit 8 Jahr zu spät.

Im Jahr 2000 wurde eine gesamtstädtische Verwaltung (wieder) hergestellt und Ken Livingston zum Bürgermeister gewählt. Seitdem erlebt die Stadt einen unglaublichen Aufschwung. Die Kriminalitätsrate ist drastisch gesunken, es gibt wieder bezahlbaren Wohnung in guten Lagen und der ÖPNV hat, allen Unkenrufen zum trotz, mittlerweile einen guten Standard erreicht. Selbstverständlich sind noch längst nicht alle Probleme gelöst und Ken Livingston ist gewiss nicht der einzige, der diese Probleme lösen könnte. Und Livingston hat sich nicht nur mit Ruhm bekleckert. Seinem konservativen Nachfolger Boris Johnson ist er jedoch haushoch überlegen. Der Politikclown Johnson wird mit London und den Londonern ein Kasperletheater veranstaltet.

Schade, liebe Londoner, dass Ihr Euch und uns das nicht erspart.

Einzelheiten zur Wahl gibt es hier und hier.

With final votes in for the 159 local councils in which seats were being contested, Labor lost 331 seats overall, and the Conservative opposition gained 256. The Labor Party took an estimated 24 percent of the overall vote, placing it a woeful third behind the Conservatives, with 44 percent, and the Liberal Democrats, with 25 percent.

But it was the mayoral race, in which Mr. Johnson, 43, defeated the experienced Labor incumbent, Ken Livingstone, 62, by 1,168,738 votes to 1,028,966 votes, that was the biggest shock — a sure sign of a deep national weariness with the Labor government. London has been resolutely Labor in recent years, and its loss is a bitter blow to the national party.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/world/europe/03britain.html?em&ex=1209873600&en=fcff5b5a3e8d9482&ei=5087%0A

And for the avoidance of doubt we'd be delighted to see our Bank Account go increasingly green - so whoever gets in.... http://www.objectiveassociates.co.uk - we'd love to eat some green oysters while driving a hydrogen powered rollerskate.

Voting matters.

It is the one thing that really frightens politicians.  For that reason alone, it matters.  But it matters for other reasons too.

People don't believe there's any point.  The anarchists used to say that if voting changed anything, it would be abolished.  The truth of that was brought home in London in the mid 1980s when Thatcher abolished the GLC and knocked out the only effective opposition, "Red" Ken in the glory days of County Hall.   The only act in recent western history that was worse than the abolition of the GLC was Bush's theft of the Florida votes in 2000, and for the same reason.  It was politicians pissing on the electoral process.  It was politicians pissing on us.

Voting matters.

If it didn't, Thatcher would never have abolished the GLC.  If it didn't, Bush wouldn't have needed to frig the results in Florida in 2000.

Voting matters.

This year, of all years, all over the world.  Most of the time, I will freely admit, it makes bugger-all difference to anything, but even so it matters because it's the only way we have of reminding the bastards that it's us they work for.

Surely this is the most interesting year for elections in decades, with the Obama / Clinton stand-off in the USA, Mugabe rigging the election in Zimbabwe and still failing to win, and our two most bizzarely characterful politicians arm-wrestling for London.

So today I voted, in an empty village hall with the spring sun shining benignly down on an idyllic view.

I voted because women died so that I can vote.

I voted because so many Kenyans were killed because they voted.

I voted because Mugabe so clearly lost, even though he's claimed a victory.

I voted because that's how we got rid of Portillo and Kinnock.

I voted because politicians hate elections.

I voted because I can.

• Continue investing to transform London's transport system - continue improving bus services, modernise the Tube, build Crossrail and improve London rail services through London Overground to raise service and safety standards, while holding down fares
• Continue the six per cent reduction in crime each year - add a further 1,000 police over the next year to London's existing record police numbers and maintain a dedicated police team in every neighbourhood
• Safeguard the policy that 50 per cent of new homes should be cheaper homes to buy and homes at affordable rents; build a minimum fifty thousand new affordable homes in the next three years
• Introduce 24 hour operation of the Freedom Pass - giving older and disabled Londoners free travel before 9am and throughout the day
• Extend the student travel discount to Oyster One Day Travelcards; maintain free travel for under-18s on the buses
• A £25 a day charge for high carbon-emitting gas guzzlers to enter the central London congestion zone and no charge for the greenest cars, with a London-wide Low Emission Zone to keep the worst polluting lorries out of London
• Maintain good community relations - continue to reduce racist attacks, down more than fifty per cent over eight years
• Youth centres for our young people - a £78m programme to set up youth centres and improve youth services throughout London to provide safe facilities outside school hours

More detail on Ken's site, and more about Len here.

Lets look at Labour's recent track record and how it affects us mentals.

• The Mental Health Act. Farcically draconian powers have been introduced to compel people to have treatment in their own home and to detain people even if they are a) untreatable and b) haven't committed any crime. The debate, such as it was, has increased the idea that there are dangerous mental patients living in the community and so increased the stigma for us unfortunate souls who are diagnosed with serious mental illness. In seeking to forcibly treat more people resources are being taken anyway from the vast majority of people who seek treatment voluntarily - and are often denied it.
• The NHS. As reported in yesterday's post, Labour are seeking to find ways of undermining the NHS in order to open it up as a market for private companies - the polyclinics wheeze is just the latest example. Consequently - and absurdly - the Tories are ahead of Labour in the opinion polls for who people trust to run the NHS. How can this be happening?
• Welfare reform. For years first Conservative and then Labour governments encouraged the signing off of the long-term unemployed onto incapacity benefit. They did this to keep the unemployment figures down. They could also avoid having to invest money into unemployment black-spots to stimulate the local economy in order to create jobs. "Welfare reform" has become another opportunity to create a market for private companies to exploit. It has nothing to do with the needs of disabled people and reducing the numbers on incapacity benefit will be just a byproduct of profiteering. While it's true there may be some people who shouldn't be on a sickness benefit, is it worth terrorizing legitimate claimants with an ongoing media campaign screaming "scrounging benefits scum" in the tabloids on a daily basis?

I don't see how I could be more alienated from the Labour Party. They have abandoned their traditional supporters in order to win over middle-class voters in marginal seats. And as the opinion polls show, this strategy is increasingly not working.

The only reason to vote Labour is to keep the Tories out (of course in some places voting Lib Dem will do the job more effectively).

In London Ken is marginally better than Boris, whose likable buffoon routine shouldn't fool anyone.

So vote Labour - they are not quite as bad as the Tories, probably.

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Also noted

Albert Hofmann, the inventor/discoverer of LSD, has died at the age of 102 (also see Wikipedia).

Objective reality, the world view produced by the spirit of scientific inquiry, is the myth of our time. It has replaced the ecclesiastical-Christian and mythical-Apollonian world view.

But this ever broadening factual knowledge, which constitutes objective reality, need not be a desecration. On the contrary, if it only advances deep enough, it inevitably leads to the inexplicable, primal ground of the universe: the wonder, the mystery of the divine—in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula; in the seeds of plants, in the body and soul of people.

The quote is from "LSD — My Problem Child"

—————————

Not mental health related

Timelaspe video of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's famed Cherry Walk

I have no idea about how the London Assembley elections work (or even the Assembly itself!!), and after reading their guide, I am still pretty much non-the-wiser! I don't know if I should just vote Labour as I usually agree with all their principals, or else not vote in the Assemblies so as not to risk diluting the vote with ignorance... hmm! I think I will research my Labour candidate further and probably vote for her unless she's said anything too objectionable.

Back on the subject of the more exciting London Mayoral Elections, I must confess that the pamphlet and the idea of the supplimentary voting system were mucho confusing at 8:30am…especially for a northerner where we all vote Labour anyways. Two votes?! Argh, my eyes are bleeding!

Still, at least the postie got the right door for once! Plus I like the way that London brands it's election process as "London Elects" - I think that puts a good spin on it and makes it more accessible to those who perhaps would not vote otherwise.

I have just read said booklet properly, and wasn’t particularly impressed with the bulk of my options, though I do understand the SV voting methodology much better now.

Having said that, my first impressions are that it may have changed who’s getting my first and second votes, which I wasn't expecting it to do!

The BNP’s pitch made me laugh out loud… “I will make sure that people like you – the real Londoners are put first"… (he bolded the Londoners bit) technically I’m Mancunian but I'm still eligable to vote… the buffoon! 

Their supporting quotes are laughable too.. one ‘student’ is blatantly referencing Irish elections; “I’m voting BNP because I’m Irish and the BNP are the only party that cares about the indigenous people of these islands”

According to ‘Housewife’ “only the BNP have policies which keep our children safe”... incredibly short-sighted!

The Christian Voice proposal was pure bumf, no substance to it at all, and Brian Paddick’s pitch was rather self-obsessed I thought. I’m sick of his people constantly spamming me telling me how wonderful Brian is and how he once saved the world with his little pinkie whilst having a cup of tea, practicing yoga and reading GT – the Lib Dems always seem to go OTT with the party info crap, wherever I’ve voted in the past! Ken’s pitch came across as arrogant and self-assured I thought… one page is a big picture of him, (btw, the cost of inclusion in the booklet was 10K for 2 pages) and the formatting on the other page setting out his proposals hardly make for stimulating/eye-catching or interesting reading - it was pretty much just "tube", "tube", "oyster", "travel".

Bo-Jo isn't even getting a mention on my blog. Lets just say I take a very dim view to him and cannot believe that he is being taken seriously by nearly a third of the voting public!

Actually, I want to mock him, so I will concede to post the below;

The Green Party put in a good proposal, and I’d never really considered them before.

Current thoughts are Sián Berry (of The Green Party) for first preference vote, and then Ken Livingston for the more realistic second preference vote

The sting in the tail is that this charge will include vehicles, like my own, registered before March 2001, which have engines larger than 3,000cc. I have an old car but it is well maintained and is actually very low on emissions. My solution to motoring, in maintaining an old car, is actually far greener than newer cars since the carbon imprint of disposing of old cars and building new ones is far higher. So, Ken's tax is neither green, fair or effective. I suspect I am not alone.

The other thing Ken has omitted to tell us is that TFL commissioned a report from King's College to look at the implications of this tax which will actually raise CO2, not lower it. Ken didn't like the truth, so this report got sat on. Ken's plans are based purely on greed and envy - they do not stand up to scrutiny and neither does he. The sooner he goes, the better.

Have you noticed all the new notices, which cost a fortune to put up, that have sprung up not just in London, but in Greater London, advertising the Congestion Charge, pre-warning of the Congestion Charge (from many miles out) and also declaring the low emission zone. In addition, even in the Midlands, there are posters about TFL, Ken, the low emission Zone etc. This borough will come within the Low Emission Zone and Ken has already built the empire he wants to tax. My clean old vehicle which does have low emissions will then be subject to this £25 charge, which is needed to pay for all Ken's advertising. No wonder he isn't bothered that the Labour Party isn't receiving much in the way of donations for his campaign. It's us who are the mugs - we're all paying for it - and if he gets in, we will be taxed out of existence.

Vote for Boris!

As we left the National street for the Highway, I saw a huge, rusted metallic sculpture of St George spearing the dragon. It was quite stylised, but beautifully so; St. George in crusader helmet and crossed shield, and the dragon's tail whipping in a high arc, disappearing into the cutting that ran along side the road. He is, of course, England's patron saint, sadly ignored due to an ingrained fear of being "nationalistic" whatever that means. There's more celebrating on St.Patrick's day, and that REALLY pisses me off. I got to thinking; a) why is this monument here? and b) there should be monuments like this all over England. We have an unoccupied pedestal in Trafalgar square. It's used, basically for crap art. Once, on the pedestal they mounted....an inverted plexiglass copy of the pedestal. Bloody mental. Another time, a sculpture of a pregnant thalidomide victim. I'm not kidding.

That avoider of good taste, the barking mad Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, reckons the statues of our old heroes are "irrelevant" to todays go-ahead multi-cultural society. What crap. What we need is a hands-across-the-ocean thing with the Spanish, where they get the sculptor to come over and put St.George up there where he belongs. At least the Spanish know how to honour our Saints.

Where was I? Oh yeah, happily driving along. It was nearly time for a refuelling stop, and we espied the charming skyline of a little town called Sarrion just off the highway. Fuelled up, we drove to the outskirts for a coffee break, and to allow Miki to work her magic in her sketchbook.

Suddenly, a beautifully tuneful voice drifted in through the open windows on the warm afternoon breeze. It carried with it freedom from inhibition, and innate musicality, like the chirruping of cicadas.

We looked to the window to see an old man, perched atop a donkey, ambling past. This tanned and weathered shell, bursting with song, his fountain of youth within. Perfectly in harmony with his day, his surroundings. Utterly, utterly charming. He took his faithful friend to the water.

This scene rendered the village timeless to me. I began to wonder how the inhabitants viewed the coming of the highway, an ugly scar, or a conduit of new wonder? I suspected the former. Sketches completed, Coffees drained, back to the highway we headed, like a time machine re-setting for the future.

Now, I'm a big fan of highways. They get you from A to B in short order, and they are generally straight as an arrow. For both of these reasons, and a host of others, Miki likes to steer clear. So it came as no surprise when a few kilometers down the road Miki decided we should abruptly detour onto the CV-25. Except it was called something else. And there were no signposts. Within five minutes, guess what? Switchback city again, though admittedly through stunning vineyards and lush green hillsides. Steep hillsides, with winding, ever ascending roads. Yes, that's right, through sheer endeavour we had managed to attain a height of 800 meters once again! We were in fact, driving through the beautiful Parc Natural de la Serra Calderona, boasting two peaks of 844 and 798 meters respectively. We were virtually the only vehicle on the road, save for a few kamikaze cyclists. A good job too, as passing another might have resulted in a Death Race 2000 moment. About halfway through this serpentine route through the park, we discovered the town of Gatova, with its incongruously extensive municipal facilities (communal outdoor pool, sports centre) in the middle of nowhere. The town, on first glance, wasn't pretty, but there were several strange, individual houses that stood out, covered in brightly coloured tiled mosaics, almost a homage to Gaudi. On the far side, we discovered a great sleep-over lay-by and parked up for the night. We were rewarded with a view back to the town that was quite lovely. Miki immediately set up outside to paint and sketch and was soon at the mercy of the locals. Tractor drivers returning from the fields waving to her, and a woman from the town whom I heard going "ooo! " and "aahh" in animated fashion as Miki explained our presence there. Elsewhere, Miki tells of how the woman explained that there are 365 curves in the road that bisects Gatova. Convenient! But by my reckoning, I think its nearer 500!

The inland Spanish are a welcoming, friendly and curious sort. It is a sad fact that the tourist industry, and moreover the tourists themselves have caused many of those in the coastal resorts to become surly, resentful and uncommunicative. It's such a pleasure to see the opposite.

We spent our last night on the road immersed in the pleasures of the excellent Jeremy Brett in the definitive portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and my own elementary Spaghetti Bolognese.

The following day saw us resolutely avoid the highway until Gandia, whereupon we put quicksilver on our heels and were home for tea-time Thursday. So all that remains is for us to put the kettle on, and thank you for your company on our journey, and I'll let Miki raise a mug and say : "Cheers, Cafe Cremers!"

You can see some watercolour travel sketches from Miki in her blog

Travelogue by Kev Moore

Photos by Miki and Kev

Other candidates are available, but (as you'd expect) this is the one I'll be voting for come May.

Details of the FMB campaign can be found at Building a Greener Britain

Jayne Curtis at the FMB has provided the following  commentary:

 As you will see from the press release the FMB says: "Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party mayoral candidate for London, hits the nail on the head when he says that fresh thinking is needed to get more homes built, and that the quality of what we build is as important as the quantity, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) commenting on
his housing manifesto, 'Building a Better London'."

The press release goes on to say: "The question still remains about what to do with London's existing housing stock? Boris Johnson needs to consider how to make London's existing housing stock greener and more energy efficient."

The FMB would also like to point out that it does not favour any mayoral candidate and is keen to work with whoever is elected. The FMB works with all political parties; as you will see from the Building a Greener Britain campaign, which is endorsed by David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party, and Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.

The Building a Greener Britain campaign is focusing on refurbishment and how to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment. The FMB has commissioned research which is being conducted by the Low Carbon Futures team at the Oxford University Environmental Change Institute and is being lead by Gavin Killip, one of the authors of the 40% House report, and Dr Nick Eyre, former Director of Strategy at the Energy Saving Trust.

The vast majority of buildings that are with us now will be around in 2050, the date when the Government hopes to have lowered carbon emissions by 80%, with buildings contributing 47% of the UK's total carbon emissions it is therefore vital that something is done to look at how we can reduce carbon emissions from the existing building stock.

With three quarters of FMB members carrying out RMI work on existing buildings, the FMB has a key role to play in helping the Government achieve its target to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. The ground breaking research will present a series of practical policy recommendations aimed at government which will help encourage
householders to make their homes greener. In order to help the government the FMB strongly believes that builders should play a full and constructive role in building the new greener Britain.

How could we cost-effectively solve these problems for every child?

I highly recommend you see the documentary yourself. Ken is a socialist, a man who drinks whiskey at 10am at London Assembly meetings, a man who spends 600 pounds of tax payer's money on hotel room service in one night, a man who has squandered millions of pounds of taxpayer's money on failed or ludicrous projects, a man who told a Jewish reporter "You are just like a Nazi prison guard", a man who tells members of the London Assembly "you are a midget".  Oh yes, he is also chairman of the UAF

How desperately the London Assembly need someone like Richard Barnbrook.

Back to the "racist" smear. This is a very common tactic from the left. This is an excerpt of a conversation I had on line:

The word "racist" includes the definition "Discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion". However the cognition of the term "racist" by most British people are very different. BNP and any opponents of Red Ken Livingston's support for Islamic extremists are labelled "racist", the term is used to inflict guilt and shame on these people. However, taxpayer's money is frequently and eagerly pored into associations that support housing or other assets for ethnic minorities. We hold festivals and celebrations for racial minorities in an elaborate toast to "multiculturalism".

IMHO it beggars belief and symbolises just how blinded by leftist propaganda British society has become that we don't recognise these things are institutionally racist. Some might argue "It's to help them feel equal" or "It's a celebration of a minority culture". That is irrelevant. The behaviour is "racist" using the very definition of this term that those same supporters of multiculturalism love to throw at us. There is no genuine definition of racism that I am aware of that states or implies racism is "discriminatory on the basis of MINORITY race or religion".

I repeat - because it is such a telling point - in many other countries I have lived in, people would find it bizarre to suggest that standing up for the indigenous race was "racist" and that complaining about high immigration or religious extremists was "racist". Yet our psyche has been so conditioned by PC nonsense, we are made to feel ostracised if we follow suit.

Lee Jasper

Police have launched an inquiry into a sixth City Hall-funded project closely linked to the Mayor's race adviser, Lee Jasper.

Fraud officers are to investigate Brixton Base, an arts training hub, which received more than £500,000 from Mr Livingstone's London Development Agency but ran only three short training courses in two years.

Scotland Yard was called in on Brixton Base after LDA auditors found at least £70,000 of the money they paid the project could not be accounted for.

Mr Jasper is patron of Brixton Base and the organisation's director, Errol Walters, is a close friend. Emails obtained by the Evening Standard show that Mr Jasper repeatedly intervened to protect Brixton Base from LDA officials who had severe doubts about the project and wanted to evict it. Continue reading....

Director of Brixton Base Errol Walters (Looking like a huge battered deer caught in headlights)

I feel for Ken Livingstone and Lee Jasper because they have been let down severly by people who they thought could be trusted. Thanks to a bunch of dishonest and foolish individuals, their names are now being dragged through the mud!

Mark my words, they will soon stamp the words "guilty by association" across Jasper's forehead, and he will have no choice but to hand in his resignation.

Oh come on. How ridiculous is this? £1m is enough to pay for 44 more bus drivers, along with a score of other far more important changes the capital could benefit from. How about hastening the constant works on the tube? Or upgrading our buses? Anti-social behaviour is certainly out of control on public buses - anyone who dares step aboard during the school rush-hour is likely to be happy-slapped or, the lesser of two evils, pissed upon -  but how can a film make any difference?

This is 2008. Kids are savvier, more independent and far more entrenched in their own views than they ever were during the Pathe News era. Yet another total waste of money from Ken.

July 21,2009 (LNN - Libertarian News Network) Financial pundits today were almost unanimous in their verdict that the first 6 months of President Paul's administration have been an unqualified success. In contrast to the economic chaos now raging in Europe, the Middle East, and China, America has emerged as an island of fiscal sanity in a cesspool sea of socialist cozenage. Secretary of the Treasury, James Grant, announced today that the national sales tax and the voluntary 3% income tax brought in a record $530 billion dollars to the treasury in the past week, almost 40 times what they initially brought in when President Paul was first elected. This is in large part due to the 323% increase in GDP America has experienced under a revivified capitalist system; the first time any nation in the world has been under a truly free-market economy in the modern technological age.  Added to this is the fact that capital and trade have been fleeing the socialist "economies" as financial chaos grips most of the world, save for the US and Switzerland.  China has been especially hard hit, since it converted all its dollar holdings into Euro's and Canadian Dollars only one week before the election, when political pundits were saying that Senator Clinton, who had a large lead in the conventional polls, was a "sure thing". George Stephanopolis and Sean Hannity were  even seen ostentatiously betting large sums (in Steph's case it was rumoured it was all his  money down to the very last nickel) on a Clinton victory.  As fear over a Clinton win, and its guarantee of even more massive inflation, descended on the world, the Euro spiked from $1.5396 to 1.6023 overnight, while the Cannuck buck sucked up to $1.23 to the dollar. Gold topped $2000 briefly as the Aden sisters predicted $3600 immediately after the inauguration of Senator Clinton as President.  The reversal that occurred overnight, when massive numbers of Americans went to the polls and voted for the patriot from Pittsburgh, was one of the most cataclysmic financial events of all time. Some said they were driven by their support for Dr. Paul's persona; other said they were driven by fear, as gas topped $10 a gallon and milk crossed $8 a quart. Upon hearing that Dr. Paul had achieved a landslide victory, the Euro and Cannuck bulls bailed out of their massive long positions (at least those that weren't asleep at the time) and the Euro crashed from its $1.60 level to $1.18 in seventeen minutes, wiping out tens of thousands of Dollar Bears, while the Canadian loony suffered a similar fate.  In the morning, the BBC reported that 2,873 currency traders had lept to their deaths in London alone (another 594 bodies were recovered from the Thames), while figures from the EU were kept secret to avoid unnecessary panic. "The Zionist entity is responsible for this", brayed Vanessa Redgrave, while Ken Livingston and Tony Benn blamed it on "the Americans and their Zionist minions". It was announced in Brussels that the number of EU executions for black market activity would no longer be published in the press under the Official EU Secrets Act, and Spain, Germany, and France announced they would now televise executions by garroting (Spain) and the guillotine (Germany and France). However, black market activity has accelerated in spite of these draconian measures, EU observers say, and demand for the gold-backed US dollar has increased exponentially. Juries in the Netherlands and Scandinavia continued though to override death penalty sentences for possession of U.S. dollars through jury nullification, in a rare display of independence.

The effects of the Paul landslide have been well illustrated by the new dichotomies in state governance. With the Federal Government now excluded from those areas that were meant by the Founding Fathers to be administered by the States, the political flavor of each State has taken on pronounced significance.

One perceptive commentator, evidentally an 89-year old blogger living in a cabin in the Montana wilderness, noted the connection between the forcible asportation of children into the public school system and the collectivist leanings of those State governments that required it, in contrast to those where Homeschooling was widespread, popular, and with little State government interference. The latter tended to have far more Libertarian leanings in their economic and civil liberty legislations (or lack of it, in most cases, since the Libertarian mode is more that of the 'Via Negativa', or removal of oppressive and unconstitutional legislation, rather than implementing  the 'new bold programs' of La Strada Fascistica). More freedom, more willingness to ride the rollercoaster of insecurity that we all rode into this world on, and less of the secure dullness of security, a complete illusion. The world wants to be safe and secure, except for the Libertarians. The Remnant.

Nowhere was this state dichotomy more clearly articulated than in the "great social experiment" that went on between the two contiguous states of Oregon and Nevada, in the old American West.

Following Dr. Paul's ascenscion to the Oval Office, there was the recognition, amongst the financial and tax-planning communities, that state income tax levels would almost certainly rise now that the Federal Income Tax was sure to be abolished by the Libertarian - Republican Congress (The Dems had retained 3 senate seats). In those few days before abolition, the financially savvy moved their assets out of the states that were perceived as "socialist" and into the states that were perceived as "capitalist". And nowhere was this difference more pronounced that in the "Oregon-Nevada dichotomy" (a phrase which the PBS pontificators (Moyers was the first to use it) quickly jumped on as a money-making blabber topic on all  the "erudite" shows). For overnight, capital outflows from the state of Oregon totalled $243 Billion, while inflow into Nevada totalled $213 Billion. It was obvious what was happening. Not only was good money driving out bad, perhaps for the first time in history, but American States Rights was making clear that free-market economies attract capital like magnets while collectivist economies repel it.

Panicked, with State of Oregon Bond Ratings being demoted every few hours by Moody's, Governor Ted Kulongoski, on the second day of capital flight, and after an additional $313 Billion dollars had fled from Oregon banks, declared a "Bank Holiday", though he vaguely defined it in his speech. His rambling, mumbled discourse, interrupted by suddenly tirades with flaying arms a la Fidel, struck observers as bizarre; obviously the effect of the financial stress the Governor was under.  His pronunciamento declared that there would now be a 10% "State Bond Stabilization Tax", which the Governor said was "absolutely essential to the state's fiscal health", charged on all bank withdrawals in Oregon. "This is an emergency" the Governor told critics who accused him of unspeakable crimes against the Rule of Law inherent in the Constitution. "Times have changed" Kulongonski lectured his critics. "We need to take a 'plastic' approach to economic problems and dare to implement bold new progressive mechanisms in the market". His Libertarian critics called the Stabilization Tax "Communism".

Unfortunately, the Governor, in his hastily compiled fiat, only mentioned cash withdrawals, while he had meant to include all withdrawals, including wire transfers. Whether due to lack of sleep, or one too many beers at the bar, which he has always been know to be fond of frequenting, the previous evening, both the Governor and his top advisors failed to note this discrepency. The effects were cataclysmic as another $637.7 Billion flowed out of Oregon in the following 24-hours, almost all of it in wire transfers. New York stock brokers celebrated that night, as tens of billions flowed into accounts. Nevada saw another $493 Billion come into "the Silver State" that day. Lines at Oregon banks grew long, as depositors hoped to clear what cash they could from the banking system, before the bank holiday became "semi-permanent". Fistfights grew common in queues that stretched around the block. Traffic was noted to be heavy in the direction of the Nevada border, as currency smugglers and runners of legitimate cash withdrawn from bank accounts drove the currency into "The Silver State".  This prompted the Governor to order all Oregon State Troopers to man checkpoints at the border where all travelers were to be strip-searched for cash that might be hidden in interior body cavities, and all autos to be searched and demolished if the Officers deemed, due to any nervous behaviour on the part of those they detained, that there might be contraband cash hidden in the vehicles. The Governor waived the State's legal liability for any damages during searches under the Emergency Powers act he passed just prior to Dr. Paul's election. "It's just the cost of a just Democracy" he mumbled to reporters, apparently forgetting that the US is a Constitutional Republic.

Of course, the dramatic and heartwarming story of how Senator Lobo Silverwolf, the newly elected  Libertarian Senator from Nevada, made his dramatic escape from Oregon, withdrawing what funds he held at the Wolfmen's Bank, and, led instinctively by his two feline companions, Sooty and Glam, wended his way via backcountry paths and washes through the hillocks of northwestern Nevada, to enter the free-market freedom of the Silver State, has been told over and over in the press. The moving tale of his escape to freedom brought tears to the eyes of many Congressman (though they insisted the C-span footage of them leaking had to be wiped by the network, for they feared the images might get back to the folks back home and ruin them a la Muskie). The Senator's maiden speech, highlighted by lightening jabs of his left paw, as he drove home point after point, was delivered from the famous lectern paid for by the local humane society from the fund left by Mr. Homer Tupps, the regional muleskinner in the county in which Silverwolf had resided prior to his flight to Nevada. It was his admiration for the work the Tupps Foundation has done for American Wolves in addressing the disabilities they confront in trying to adapt to American society, that drove Silverwolf to carry this lecturn into the promised land of the Silver State, strapped to his back. And now, with Congress' permission, it has been installed in the Capitol building to be used in future whenever a Wolf addresses Congress. A fitting tribute to the doughty muleskinner who surely must be smiling down on Washington.

Yes, under the Ron Paul Presidency, all that counts is what you do as an individual under the Rule of the Constitution. You can even be a Wolf.

Silverwolf will howl to that.

Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. --- Silverwolf