Rumsfeld in the frame

I always had a feeling that Donald Rumsfeld was a dodgy character. To men like Rumsfeld, the political skullduggery comes easily. Ken Livingstone, the defeated Labour candidate for London mayor, said that he preferred political intrigue and committee "work" to the actual managerial activity his post required. Rumsfeld's certainly no Livingstone, but in this they have a certain kinship.

Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. Forces in Iraq in 2003-2004, has written a new memoir, Wiser in Battle - A Soldier's Story, an account of his life and his service in Iraq. Sanchez basically blows the lid off Rumsfeld's rotten barrel of political poison. Remember, Rumsfeld was the man who gladhanded it with Saddam Hussein. That was before Saddam fell out with the Americans and started selling Iraqi oil in euros.

Sanchez had a run-in with the devious Rumsfeld. Interestingly, in this excerpt from Time Magazine, it is Sanchez's wife who gets the point, commenting on the "offer" Sanchez was given by Rumsfeld. "Ricardo, they are just trying to buy you off and keep you silent," said Maria Elena. "I don't think we should mess with them anymore."

But for me the telling piece is this. From that, my belief was that Rumsfeld's intent appeared to be to minimize and control further exposure within the Pentagon and to specifically keep this information from the American public. The very things I detest most in political hierarchies - spin and deception. Rumsfeld had both in bucketloads.

The Time extract ends with this -

That decision set up the United States for a failed first year in Iraq. There is no question about it. And I was supposed to believe that neither the Secretary of Defense nor anybody above him knew anything about it? Impossible! Rumsfeld knew about it. Everybody on the NSC knew about it, including Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, and Colin Powell. Vice President Cheney knew about it. And President Bush knew about it.

There's not a doubt in my mind that they all embraced this decision to some degree. And if it had not been for the moral courage of Gen. John Abizaid to stand up to them all and reverse Franks's troop drawdown order, there's no telling how much more damage would have been done.

In the meantime, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent, and worse yet, too many of our most precious military resource, our American soldiers, were unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result. In my mind, this action by the Bush administration amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.

Those that blindly follow the Bush administration and praise "our boys out there" should sit back and think that it is American soldiers being unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result of lies and deception. Such action as described by Sanchez that the Bush administration was involved in does amount to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty. It borders on the unforgiveable!

BNP's Barnbrook shunned as a pariah

The wonders of democracy work well with some people. In a free vote it's up to the people to choose whom they want to represent them. If you don't like the result, well, you've probably lost the argument. Labour lost much of the argument in London and elsewhere due to the 10p tax fiasco. Now we are getting crodocile tears mixed up with cupboard love. I've seen Harriet Harman dishing out this mawkish monotone today and it is unconvincing.

In London, Richard Barnes, the Conservative leader on the 25-member assembly, has said, "The BNP will have problems finding secretaries and getting support from the staff here, and I will totally support people's right to say they don't want to serve them. They may have a foot in the door but they won't get anywhere near the levers of power." Mr.Barnes may think he's being clever, but I think it just shows a lack of judgement and a denial of the democratic process. The lack of judgement is that this poncy behaviour, much beloved of New Labour, just plays into the hands of the BNP. In fact, they are now threatening legal action if Barnes and others prevent Barnbrook from getting the support he is entitled to. It shows also a lack of imagination in dealing with the BNP. If Barnes and the Conservative group have no real policies to counter those of the BNP, then that's a loss to the democratic process. We've had all sorts of mixed messages on immigration, policing, and multi-cultural funding from the Conservatives, so it is little wonder that Barnbrook was able to capitalise on this.

But it is also a denial of the democratic process. Richard Barnes is basically saying the same as Brigadier Terence Clarke did 40-odd years ago in Portsmouth. Clarke lost to Labour and he promptly denounced the voters (including his own, it seemed) as "You're all bloody fools!". I'm sure Barnes thinks similar things about BNP voters. However, denouncing the electorate and getting into high dudgeon does little good.

I don't want to see the BNP given anything other their legal rights. If it is the considered opinion of the "main parties" that certain political parties are banned, let them do so. Otherwise it is what the electorate chooses and not the self-serving paragons of virtue. I will never vote BNP, but I will also never behave with such schoolboy antics as Richard Barnes is now embarking on.

Like it or not, over 1 million people in Britain are prepared to vote BNP. The London poll showed that over a quarter do not want the three main parties and are prepared to say so in the ballot box. Richard Barnes should grow up politically and realise that support for the BNP is based quite a bit on the fact that sleaze continues in Parliament, lies have been told about Iraq, and generally politicians are held in low esteem. The way forward is for the Conservative Party to address the concerns of the people, clean up their personal expenses act, and deliver meaningful policies. That way lies a successful Conservative Party.

BNP take seat on London Assembly

For the first time the BNP is represented on a "top tier" level of government. The regional assembly for London is the only one that is elected, all the others being quangos not wanted by the rest of England. So this Assembly allows for a proportional representation element and the BNP got above the 5% threshold. Richard Barnbrook, the mayoral candidate, will be the first BNP AM. He will be hoping this is no false dawn! One thing is for certain. I won't be around long enough to see a BNP PM if ever that eventful day should occur.

London Elects is the body that oversees this marathon adventure. The BBC was getting excited about turnout. Up to 45% - that's why the count took so long. "They were expecting a much lower figure!", they squeaked. Oh, really? So if it went to 60 or 70% would we be in the Zimbabwe realms of electoral counting? "A decision will be made at the end of next week. Will everyone stay calm, please!" Doesn't bear thinking about.

In the Top-up Vote, which is London-wide, the three main parties only got 72.39% of the vote between them. This means 27.61% voted for other parties. This is staggeringly high and shows that a proportional system will deplete the support for the supposed main players. On many occasions, we are told by politicians about opinion polls that the real poll is on the day. This day shows that the Conservatives are on 34.0%, Labour on 27.12%, and the Liberal Democrats on 11.22%. That poses the question - How can the Westminster system of election continue in a multi-party situation?

We have a failing Prime Minister in government on the "successful win" of his predecessor, who himself managed only to secure the support of 20% of the total electorate. The Labour Party has a large majority in the House of Commons, but little support in the country. The London Assembly has only a part elected by PR, but this London election shows that over a quarter of Londoners, in their hearts and minds, do not want the "three main parties".

Food for electoral thought!

Boris is the next Mayor of London

Boris Johnson is the new Mayor of London, his rivals conceded tonight. The Evening Standard in London is predicting that the Tory MP scored a stunning election victory to end Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign and round off a disastrous 24 hours for the Labour Party. Gordon Brown is sitting in the Downing street flat with his cocoa wondering where it all went wrong. Probably on the day a certain Tony Blair waltzed into his office in the House of Commons for the first time and almost immediately began a cheesy relationship. Gordon's antennae were on the blink that day!

So now it is Boris. The liberally-minded libertine-leaning fellow travellers of New Labour think Boris is a buffoon. Far from it. He is a very clear-headed thinker who will be a great asset for London. A character who can play the international stage. Gone will be the nasal drone of Ken Livingstone, a man who has been barely tolerated by the New Labour hierarchy. In his place will come a man who will be fair-minded but not favourful when it comes to distributing the largesse of London. You won't see many brown paper bags in Boris' office.

A new dawn begins.

Polling day for some of us

Those living in London get to choose a new Mayor today, plus electing those who ostensibly look after the devolved powers of the "London Region". Whatever else happens, I hope that Ken Livingstone has more time to spend with his newts!

As for the rest of us in England, some have elections others don't. I have a vote (actually two because I've got a proxy for my wife as Continental Airlines don't provide ballot boxes!) and I will be wandering off later today in the direction of the polling station. Being that this is Solihull, nothing that the hapless Prime Minister does will affect the outcome much as we are a Conservative/Libdem battleground. However, I do hope that he gets a proverbial bloody nose today.

Welsh councils are voting also and they should provide the best territory for giving Mr. Brown a big political raspberry!

Lesbians come out fighting - nominally speaking!

What's in a name? Sometimes not a lot, other times it is your very identity. If I was a Lesbian I would not be too pleased if everytime I told people I was one it provoked amusement, silly laughter and innuendo. That is apparently the sort of thing that happens to Lesbians every day. They have the good fortune to live on the Greek island of Lesbos. Now, as we know, female homosexuals have appropriated the name. In fact, for most people around the world, it is the latter they think of before considering the people of Lesbos (if they ever do).

A similar fate beheld the people of the French region of Alsace. Alsatians are a people of distinct background with a language and culture. Canine it is not. For some reason, they managed to get dog owners and breeders in England to call the animal a German Shepherd rather than Alsatian, although some do lapse on occasions. Some name identities are confused by association of ideas. Mongolians or Mongols had to endure being likened to Down's Sydrome simply on account of their facial features. Siam (now called Thailand) disliked the term siamese twins preferring to get the world to speak of conjoined twins.

Can the people of Lesbos succeed in protecting their name? Judges in Greece will have to decide whether to grant an injunction against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece and to order it to change its name. Apparently history is on the side of the campaigners. Sapphos, the Greek goddess whose name is linked with female homosexuality and was a native of Lesbos, was no lover of other women, but a heterosexual female who had a family, and committed suicide for the love of a man. So that puts the record straight, then!

Boston cell phone party - no danger at all!

In the "I can't be bothered" department of politics, I think Massachussetts Senate President Therese Murray takes the prize for this month's Clutz Award! She says of a bill to ban people from holding cell phones or sending text messages whilst driving (which may die in the state Senate this year), "I haven't given it any thought. No one has asked me for it, so it's not something that is at the top of my radar." Such a casual approach to potential death and injury on the roads. What does she care? Not a lot, because she hasn't given it any thought. Well, she has actually because she's talking about it, but this is arrogant politician speak for "I don't care!".

I know that using a mobile phone whilst driving is a potential hazard. When it was still lawful, or at least not illegal, in England to do so, I found it distracting to say the least. Now with the ban, now four years old, it is quite apparent that it causes accidents leading in some cases to death. In England in August 2006, a lorry driver who caused a woman's death because he was distracted by his mobile phone was jailed for four years. John Payne, 31, had been punching the keypad of his new phone and failed to spot a traffic queue ahead. His lorry crashed into a Peugeot 106 driven by Trinity Taylor, 23, rolling over the top of the car crushing it, and killing her. Outside Winchester crown court, after Payne was sentenced, Ms Taylor's family said motorists caught using mobiles should face as much stigma as drink-drivers.

I wonder what the politically astute Senate President thinks of drunk drivers? At one time they were socially accepted. And that is the trouble. Casual behaviour leading to a superior arrogance behind the wheel is still socially acceptable for mobile phone use. Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, a key architect of the House bill, said there's been a proliferation of drivers holding and talking on their cell phones whilst driving in Massachussetts (and presumably the whole country!). Wagner said it's a distraction for drivers to use cell phones, and he's backed up by statistics from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Wagner said the bill is needed to improve safety on the roads and save lives. All this is lost on the Senate President, as she hasn't "given it any thought".

I'm all for freedom and liberty, but there comes a time when freedom to be stupid, reckless, or just be downright anti-social is to deny others the right to a freedom to enjoy security and safety.

Therese Murray is simply a silly woman!