Do I need a link?
Is it?
Do I need a link?
Is it?
There are times I wish they’d just ban everything- baccy and beer, burgers and bangers, and all the rest- once and for all. Instead, they creep forward one apparently tiny step at a time. It’s like being executed with a bacon slicer.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.
"The purpose of a university education for Left / Liberals is to attain all the politically correct attitudes towards minorties, and the financial means to live as far away from them as possible."
Better question- is there anybody ruling who isn't corrupt in someway? Anywhere?
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Xv...om=PL&index=15
You'll love this from 25 years ago.
There are times I wish they’d just ban everything- baccy and beer, burgers and bangers, and all the rest- once and for all. Instead, they creep forward one apparently tiny step at a time. It’s like being executed with a bacon slicer.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.
"The purpose of a university education for Left / Liberals is to attain all the politically correct attitudes towards minorties, and the financial means to live as far away from them as possible."
More than any other legi body?Is the UK Parliament corrupt?
And if they are, whatchagunnado? A couple hundred years ago over here, it was pichforks and torches, and declarations and gunpowder. Nowadays, it's "vote them out", or "whatchagunnado; it comes with the side salad, like breadsticks. Grin 'n bear it. There's nuttin you can do".
"Vote 'em out" I can live with, and actually prefer. The peaceful transfer of power via the voice of the citizenry is how it oughtta be, IMO. The "whatchagunnado" attitude bugs me to no end; it turns every citizen into a victim, desperately flinging about trying to master 'the system', so to be less a victim, more a guy in the know.
Does "corrupt" = propose and pass laws that result in personal gain to the law proposer/passer?
Be well. Do good. Keep in touch.
Find me a legislative body that is not corrupt, and I'll find you a legislature full of good liars.
HOW ABOUT 'DEM VIKINGS
-Martok
In my honest opinion, I find the dictates of 1688 to be out-moded, Parliament has been living off 1688 for far too long. It has brought us to 2009, a time when the government can barely rally a regiment of people whom believe in its justness, no matter the party in power.
The destruction of the Lords, rather than the restructuring of it, has given the Commons far too much power, and it is towards the lower house which I point my finger at.
Either the Monarchy must be brought to have a more active role in the protection of the "constitution", or a proper entrenched, written constitution must be created. In which case I would be glad to see the Republic re-established.
Just and fancying wonder, but would that then mean that the time since the Restoration and the re-establishment of the Republic could be called the Inter(insert whatever Latin word is appropriate for Republic, Respublica?).
Last edited by Incongruous; 04-05-2009 at 06:16.
Sig by Durango
-Oscar WildeNow that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.
I like to see the bigger picture. Nowadays most 'democratic' countries are actually elected 'oligarchies' (since electing a parliament closely matches the Spartan oligarchic regime than the Athenian democracy).
This system has a great defect. The defect is that for political party in such a regime to be successful it has to act like a shoal of fish. That is, all MPs have to act as one and voice one opinion (or at least similar opinions). Years of climbing up the party ladder to becoming an MP makes sure that the vast majority of people who are prone to voicing their own opinion are weeded out. The end result is a parliament where 95% of the MP's will follow and vote according to the will of the party leader. Consequently their intended role (as wise(lol) people skilled in politics who are there to improve the state) is replaced by them being just 'votes'.
Consequently, since we (in theory) vote them to speak their minds, but they will not in order to reap the huge financial and social benefits of staying an MP, they are in essence corrupt by definition. The few 'backbenchers' who will vote by conscience and not by party guidelines are never enough to make a difference. They are just there to give the illusion of parliamentary free will.
I am not sure whether what I said makes sense but I did my best![]()
Αξιζει φιλε να πεθανεις για ενα ονειρο, κι ας ειναι η φωτια του να σε καψει.
http://grumpygreekguy.tumblr.com/
Sure they are, but no where near to the same extent as a lot of countries. There's a big index somewhere and I think the UK comes about 12th, not bad considering.
If I remember correctly the least corrupt country is Sweden, in fact most of the Scandinavian regions have low corruption.
You are talking about the corruption perception index or CPI
I used the CPI for a model I made for my MSc thesis years ago. I think Krugman has done some nice research on corruption too.
Last edited by rasoforos; 04-05-2009 at 11:05.
Αξιζει φιλε να πεθανεις για ενα ονειρο, κι ας ειναι η φωτια του να σε καψει.
http://grumpygreekguy.tumblr.com/
Furunculus Maneuver: Adopt a highly logical position on a controversial subject where you cannot disagree with the merits of the proposal, only disagree with an opinion based on fundamental values. - Beskar
Bring back Cromwell.
I think Rasoforos more or less hit the nail on the head. People are starting to realise that Parliament will not reflect their views, there's been no significant ideological difference between the main parties for decades. This is why the likes of the BNP get votes - they actually believe in something. Same goes for the (totally ideologically different) SNP, they didn't get into power because we all like tartan and shortbread. People are getting sick of the Thatcherite parties.
At the end of the day politics is just trash compared to the Gospel.
I break the rules - massive penalty
MPs break the rules - unusual, since the rules are so weak. But if a "mistake" was made they'll be "sorry" and that's the end of it.
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An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings.
"If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?" Lemur
If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter. Winston Churchill
And yet the overwhelming success of the Thatcherite society means no-one in their right minds will go against it. People who complain about selfish and corrupt politicians should understand that the society they love so much will naturally produce such people. Principled politicians who represent an ideology will be shunned because they are anathema to our commercialised society. We don't trust them to leave us alone. Politicians who are nothing more than managers will, however, be understandable in our worldview, and with some adjustments here and there, will manage to do some good while minimising the damage they can do. Is this bland and unexciting? Yes, but it's also what we can live with.
A proper Constitution, is all that is needed, if Parliament keeps on denying the people this basic right of modern society then it should be got rid of.
Sig by Durango
-Oscar WildeNow that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.
An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings.
"If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?" Lemur
If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter. Winston Churchill
it has worked very well for america.
Furunculus Maneuver: Adopt a highly logical position on a controversial subject where you cannot disagree with the merits of the proposal, only disagree with an opinion based on fundamental values. - Beskar
That is the usual retort from my friends in Law school, it is not a very good one, I do not understand the lawyer's fixation with the current contitutional structure, oh wait, is because it then means normal people have to hire a lawyer just to get a glimpse at the full corpus? Yeah, probably, good grief, a constitutional structure only comprehendable (even in the most basic way) by lawyers. That is the only reason I need to scrap the whole farce.
I don't really see why you would be against it, care to explain? Why is it not even fractionally better to have a proper constitution? Why is that not something worth having?
Last edited by Incongruous; 04-06-2009 at 11:30.
Sig by Durango
-Oscar WildeNow that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.
There was nothing wrong with our 'unwritten' constitution until Labour started arsing around with it. Fiddling about with tried and trusted institutions that have stood the test of time. It wasn't broken in the first place. There was nothing to fix. Then again, they do have an agenda.
A written constitution is fine and dandy but can you imagine the likes of Brown, Cameron and Clegg coming up with anything as eloquent as the US Declartion of Independence? No, we'd be more likely to get something along the lines of theEU ContitutionLisbon Treaty. Impenetrable legalese that is open to mis-interpratation, obfuscation and abuse.
I must be getting old.![]()
There are times I wish they’d just ban everything- baccy and beer, burgers and bangers, and all the rest- once and for all. Instead, they creep forward one apparently tiny step at a time. It’s like being executed with a bacon slicer.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.
"The purpose of a university education for Left / Liberals is to attain all the politically correct attitudes towards minorties, and the financial means to live as far away from them as possible."
you are absolutely correct.
however the reality is that our finely balanced unwritten constitution has been buggered about with by Labour to the point where it is becoming unworkable, because all those 'harmless' little tinkering ammendments necessary to 'modernise' our constitutional structure were done with no thought to how they impacted other areas of governance which have accumulated from 1000 years of Common Law.
Furunculus Maneuver: Adopt a highly logical position on a controversial subject where you cannot disagree with the merits of the proposal, only disagree with an opinion based on fundamental values. - Beskar
There is something very wrong with our constitution and there has been for a very long time, Labour has simply painted it red. Therefore the time has come where a proper constitution is the only way out of this mess, or drastic steps must be taken to curtail the powers of Parliament, but then what steps into the space left by that?
In any case, I would like to be able to read up my basic rights in a nice concise form which could be found on the BBC's website...
We could simply get Stephen Fry to write it for us.
Sig by Durango
-Oscar WildeNow that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.
Yes, this is true. But getting even the most bloody minded, independent legal minds to come up with a written constitution will only last a decade at the most before it too is amended or reinterpreted to death. And even if there is one drafted unless the monarch takes it into his / her own hands to force it through do you really think Parliment is going to pass something that would take away their power?
I am pro monarch in principle, but currently the monarch is too much a figurehead. It used to be that the opposition would, well, oppose the government. Sadly there are too many issues that suit all sides too well. The Monarch should be able to provide as independant base to review Parlimentary powers - just as Parliment was supposed to review the Monarch's powers, but are now unopposed.
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An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings.
"If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?" Lemur
If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter. Winston Churchill
I never thought I ever say this but Jackie Ashleys column in the Gruniad today is spot on. (More or less) The publication of the receipts will be a political Hiroshima.
I've said before on these boards but I think it's worth repeating.
Forget political allegiances. Forget tribalism. The only way that we are going to sort these bastards out is to vote them out. All of them. Whoever you vote for, make sure it's not the emcumbent. Vote for anyone but the sitting MP. It'd take them a year to sort themselves out, therefore leaving us alone as a bonus.
You know it makes sense.![]()
There are times I wish they’d just ban everything- baccy and beer, burgers and bangers, and all the rest- once and for all. Instead, they creep forward one apparently tiny step at a time. It’s like being executed with a bacon slicer.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.
"The purpose of a university education for Left / Liberals is to attain all the politically correct attitudes towards minorties, and the financial means to live as far away from them as possible."
Too few seem to care. Too few will even bother to look. It only confirms what most suspect anyway. And I thought that MPs have unilaterally decided that they can edit the receipts in any case...
![]()
An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings.
"If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?" Lemur
If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter. Winston Churchill
"the mob is assembling", while alot of that article was rather good, this last part was far too dramtic and little too dismissive of the greater issues when talking of the constitution. In fact the article did not dare mention the constitution. I expect that if papers like the Guardian printed more words about the vast breaches made in the constitution by Parliament/ the Government we would see far more anger and real clamour for reform.
"vote 'em out" is a poor answer to the shouted question, what do we do? More likely is, toss 'em out and lock the bloody door.
Sig by Durango
-Oscar WildeNow that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.
I hope Martin Bell stands on an anti-corruption platform again. He's got it spot on with his article...
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ses-geoff-hoon
Professional politicians are to blame in my book. Never had a job outside the student uni, poltical researcher, SPAD. Never had to run a business/department on a budget. No experience, no clue, no morals or principles, just lobby fodder.
Say what you will about Wedgie, Powell, Thatcher and the rest of the old timers but they did have experiences outside of politics. Oh, they had integrity too.
There are times I wish they’d just ban everything- baccy and beer, burgers and bangers, and all the rest- once and for all. Instead, they creep forward one apparently tiny step at a time. It’s like being executed with a bacon slicer.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.
"The purpose of a university education for Left / Liberals is to attain all the politically correct attitudes towards minorties, and the financial means to live as far away from them as possible."
LinkyOriginally Posted by Times
Me, I think the UK parliament is less corrupt than ever. There is just less tolerance for it. Society has changed faster than parliament has in this respect.
One hundred years ago, there wasn't even much of a difference in the first place between parliamentary work, and taking care of your own. Powerful lobby groups didn't have to bribe MPs, they were the MPs. And as such, they didn't have to exploit the system for personal gain, instead, the caretaking of their own interests was the system.
Talk of constitution, of equality before the law for everybody, anger over self-interested ruling classes, angry mobs gathering - will we see Britain belatedly join the party, two centuries late?![]()
I think we started about five hundred years before that.Talk of constitution, of equality before the law for everybody, anger over self-interested ruling classes, angry mobs gathering - will we see Britain belatedly join the party, two centuries late?
Didn't know that the Yanks wanted Hilda, now I understand why Blair signed that disgraceful extradition treaty with them.![]()
There are times I wish they’d just ban everything- baccy and beer, burgers and bangers, and all the rest- once and for all. Instead, they creep forward one apparently tiny step at a time. It’s like being executed with a bacon slicer.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.
"The purpose of a university education for Left / Liberals is to attain all the politically correct attitudes towards minorties, and the financial means to live as far away from them as possible."
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