Tories and the police

The Tory government of the 1980s was aware enough to ensure that the police were on its side.  Job security, career progression, early and relatively generous pensions and readily available overtime with increased pay were standard for the men and women in blue in that decade.  Further, the police were exempt from true scrutiny: From the brutality of Orgreave to the indifference and incompetence at Hillsborough via systematic racism throughout the country, the police operated without fear of repercussions.

The present Tory government does not favour the police at all.  For Cameron, May and friends, the police are civil servants funded via taxation who, like teachers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, social workers, etc., can be treated with contempt, a lack of respect and, ultimately, discarded.  As for all civil servants, the Tories abhor the previous job security, career prospects and pensions that the police would have enjoyed.  The motivation for the Tories’ contempt is informed partly by the normal ideological Tory opposition to all public services and partly by a contractual necessity to re-direct tax payers’ money into the grasping hands of private security businesses.  

The government has concocted countless deals with generous Tory Party donors like G4S and Serco.  G4S’s exponential rise to dominate all aspects of public security is extraordinary.  Border and immigration staff, public building security (including hospitals), police roles and prison warders have all been replaced, in greater and greater quantity, by G4S staff.  The company just wanders in and hoovers up all the available (and necessary) work that would have previously been done by trained, experienced public sector employees, replacing said employees with untrained, inexperienced, un-vetted casual staff who have no job security or work benefits.  It is a simple re-direction of taxes away from public sector staff, who are specifically qualified to do vital work, and given away to offshore tax-dodging unaccountable international “security” businesses who have no inclination to ensure that their underpaid employees are up to the job.  A sample selection of the results of this reckless contracting out include:

• Death of Jimmy Mubenga, one of many people viciously assaulted when being “deported”
• Shambolic security provision at London Olympics
• Fraudulent claims for use of tagging services for people not being tagged including some who were deceased
• Complicity in illegal activities of occupying Israel forces in Palestine

That is a small sample of the failures and crimes of G4S.  But, despite its continuous unrelenting incompetence and unlawful activities, the company keeps getting the work.  The tax payers’ money keeps rolling in and heading off to the offshore bank.  Of course, it is coincidental that G4S sends a steady stream of donations to the Tory party and it is coincidental that many ex-ministers find themselves with lucrative consultancy posts as lobbyists during and after their political life.  Indeed, the world of security contracts, donations and lobbying mirrors the world of the arms industry money-go-round, described here: Arms Industry Welfare.

Consequences of reduction of police capability
Reduction in police numbers affects public safety and the success of criminal prosecutions.  A further consequence, yet to be seen extensively, is the inability of the police to manage protests, pickets and similar activities.  Militia-style riot police are, currently, sufficient in number to control small groups taking direct action, if isolated or if part of a larger (and behaved) crowd, but the policing of larger organised groups who are unwilling to follow police instructions has not been tested.

The Thatcher government never made the mistake of underestimating the necessity of sufficient crowd-control capacity within the police forces.  The government today does not seem to care if the tipping point for police to lose control of political direct action is much lower than is required.

So, we should all seek to behave well. 🙂

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Welfare State For The Arms Industry

War costs money, of course, and the cost is met by the tax payers of the participating states.  But, it seems such a waste of money.  Those missiles and bombs cost so much money to develop and to build and then BANG! they are gone.

The point is that the arms are supposed to be used up.  The arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin are not able to make continuous huge profits if they sold the weapons once; the sales must continue, repetitively.  Governments must constantly imagine, create and invent reasons to facilitate the flow of taxes from the public to the grubby, grabby hands of the arms industry.  New war opportunities are always sought, as is the deliberate prolonging of any existing conflicts.  The demand for the supply of arms must always exist.

The structure within governments to ensure a willingness to participate in this welfare system for the arms industry is highly developed: The industry targets members of governments, such as MPs, or prospective MPs before elections, and even seeks to persuade individuals already on board to stand for election.  The usefulness of these elected representatives is maintained by regular generous “donations” and, crucially, promises of lucrative consultancy posts when the political career has reached its end.  Those who have already completed their political work and work as consultants are used to lobby government directly, or via a compliant media.  A former politician can present her or his lobbying of government as independent, when, in fact, it is the opposite.  Senior arms forces officers are targeted similarly.  Many so-called “independent” analysts of armed conflict are ex-armed forces officers whose lobbying work started before they retired from the forces and continues rigorously afterward.  Indeed, a promotion within the highest ranks of the armed forces is more important to the lobbying pay-grade of the officer promoted than it is to her or his greater authority and responsibility as a soldier.  This flow chart provides a summary.

It is a welfare system for the arms industry, funded by tax-payers, and with a by-product of death and destruction.

5 Reasons Why Seb Coe Is Mr Wonderful

“Lord” Seb Coe, former successful athlete and former failed politician, is an amazing guy.  Here are five reasons why he is so wonderful.

1)  Generosity

Alongside his Tory mate Boris I’m-Bonkers-Me Johnson,  Seb Coe has kindly allowed plucky East End tearaways David Gold and David Sullivan to move their football club to the tax-payer funded Olympic stadium.  There, these two stalwarts of back alley pornography will be able to rake it while paying just a nominal amount of rent, and so much of the running costs at the stadium will be paid by the tax payer.  West Ham’s chief exec has gone and got a peerage too!  I doubt if Sullivan, when partying with the Krays in the 60s, ever thought he’d meet someone so generous.

2) He’s a lord

Seb Coe is a lord.  Yes he is.  This is not just a title to impress the world of business.  Seb Coe actually goes to work, to the House of Lords, and does some actual work there.  Yes he does.  Indeed, only last week he popped in to vote on the tax credits bill and good old Seb made sure that the underpaid working people of Britain didn’t get any more free money.  If underpaid hard-working people are getting desperately needed money to make up for offensively low wages then what’s next?  Communism!  What about all those offshore tax dodging millionaires?  They must be protected, and Coe made sure they were.

3) He loves the English language

The English language is glorious.  A long illustrious history and a massive expressive vocabulary.  Seb Coe is here to protect it.  Ask Linford Christie.  Mr. Christie, an outstanding sprinter with the Olympic medals to prove it, had the audacity to speak to Coe beyond the normal beauty of the queen’s English: “I sat in one team meeting when he made himself deliberately unintelligible to all but those who had a passing knowledge of jive,” exclaimed an alarmed Coe.  (Coe versus Christie) Oh poor Seb’s ears.  And, there was nothing racist in Coe’s comment.  No, no, nothing racist at all.  Not racist.  Definitely not.

4) Multi-tasker extraordinaire

Out of a sense of duty our lord Seb Coe has never been shy of doing promotional and PR work for various companies associated with his sport.  Indeed, he has his fingers in so many pies that he had to call Jason Biggs for advice.  Among his many “jobs” are “global advisor” for footwear manufacturer Nike.  The athletics world championship in 2021 has been awarded to Eugene, USA, the home of Nike and its presence there is sure to be a huge benefit for this upcoming little company.  Nike has already started to prepare: (Nike Running Eugene).

Another “job” shows how committed Coe is to maintaining business relationships over many years.  Prior to the Olympics in London in 2012, he created, out of thin air, a “management consultancy” firm called Complete Leisure Group Limited.  By chance, Complete Leisure Group Limited were given a shed full of cash-filled contracts for the tax payer funded Olympic games and then, after the games, it was “sold” to Chime Communications, a global “sport marketing” something or other, founded by Coe’s first crush Margaret Thatcher.  (Daily Mail story).  Did Coe abandon the work after collecting millions from this “sale”?  No, of course not.  Our Seb now works as a (very highly paid) consultant for Chime Communications and it is certain that this “company” will be at the front of the grabby hands queue when public money is being thrown about for marketing of major world sporting events.  Be sure, there is not, and never has been, any conflict of interest between Coe’s hoovering up of millions of tax payers’ money via marketing companies and his status as a leading administrator in sport. He is just a hard-working loyal guy.

5) Begone those drug cheats!

Be clear: Seb Coe is more committed than anyone on this planet, or any planet, or any planet in any other dimension, or on any planets in any dimensions that existed before the big bang, or any worlds of the imagination to tackling the scourge of drug cheating in track and field athletics.  He is a colossus of integrity.  Throughout his seven years as vice-president of the IAAF, working with then president Lamine Diack – who has just been arrested by French police under suspicion of corruption and money laundering related to alleged payments to help with the cover-up of drug test failures, Seb Coe fought assiduously and consistently to ensure there were no drug cheats and that any who were caught were exposed; when a German TV programme revealed details of drug cheating and associated corruption, (the same facts that were later part of the result of an investigation by WADA), Coe’s utterly dismissive response at that time – (Give me a break) – in no way indicated complacency or a lessening of his absolute commitment to fighting drug cheating, and his PR visit to Russia after the revelations did not diminish Coe’s focused targetting of drug cheating and consequential corruption.  It is his number one priority……

Mr. Wonderful!

The Bow

On Sunday 8th November this year the whole world was privileged to observe the current prime minister of the UK bending so far forward at the cenotaph that he looked like he was preparing to attempt to fellate himself.  Perhaps, he had temporarily lost balance, or maybe he’d dropped his pen.  He quickly regained his composure and returned to the ranks of politicians preparing to lay their wreaths.  How Mr. Cameron must have admired the polished performance by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn whose respectful bow and general demeanor were perfect.  Cameron would surely have reflected on the sharp difference in the maturity of his and Corbyn’s respective bows of reverence when he guzzled and scoffed at a VIP reception soon afterward while Corbyn stayed out in the rain to applaud the veterans’ parade and chat to the old soldiers.

Showing  that it has learnt nothing from the ongoing Hillsborough inquiry, Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun “newspaper” scoffed unashamedly at a concept of honest reporting and instead delivered another infamous front page wherein “reporter” Lynn Davidson claims that Jeremy Corbyn did not bow at the cenotaph.  Every time the newspapers of the elite attack the new Labour leader it is a clear revelation of their fear.  As I said elsewhere, (Don’t Mind The Gap), Corbyn is not a socialist messiah or warrior, but he is tending away from the current prevailing belief in ineluctable exploitation by capitalist financial gangsters, and that scares the exploiters enough for them to crap themselves daily, so they hit out at him like a toddler demanding attention.

Remembrance Sunday continues each year to honour those who lost lives or were seriously injured in a multitude of wars in which Britain played a role over the last hundred years.  Its recent politicisation and use as a judgement tool are not welcome.  A consequence of the smothering infusion of politics and the mob-mentality regarding strict observance of all associated protocols, however arbitrary, has been a growth of cynicism.  Many now glance at the ever-expanding remembrance activities, both in length and quantity, disdainfully.  This is a shame, but the growing cynicism is understandable.  However, Jeremy Corbyn is no cynic; he is, as ever, consistent.

A lot has been said and written about the Remembrance Day.  The following are some of the most intelligent pieces.

• Veteran Joe Glenton understands the cynicism but knows why the remembrance exists and how it has been infiltrated: Joe Glenton.

• Max Freeman gives an account of willingness to be subservient to authority and a pacifist’s view of remembrance: Max Freeman

• The British Republican Blog highlights the hypocrisy of members of the royal family with respect to war: British Republican Blog

Remembrance Day should be whatever you want it to be.  No protocol demands and no cynicism.  Now, I’m off to continue preparations for the Easter Rising centenary.  Occupying a post office near you, soon.