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CHAVEZ CAN WAIT - BRITISH DEMOCRACY NOW!

The reputation of Westminster politics continues to decline, ably assisted by its practitioners. Voters, predictably, are less and less motivated to dignify polling with their attendance.
This is a decline of democracy about which the electorate can do nothing.

The first step on the road to return: easy in practical terms (but potentially traumatic to the Westminster psyche) is the institution of ‘quantifiable abstention’ at the polling booth; sometimes termed ‘None of the Above’.

The right of abstention in voting is time-honoured – yet at General Election, routinely, politically dishonoured. One can only assume this is ‘constructive’, and reasons are not hard to deduce.

Now that so many of the ‘democratically disempowered’ are chafing to send a message of ‘no confidence’ to Westminster, the institution, it is indisputably time for polling to embrace such opportunity.

The precise way of registering abstention (i.e. motivation + disillusion) needs no defining here. Suffice it to assert that there can be no justifiable hindrance to its instatement, in time for the next General Election.

I look forward to the item on Iran with interest; interesting to see Newsnight's take on this fascinating land compared with the current excellent series running.

#1; excellent idea, barriesingleton; publish all results and maybe under these circumstances, make the vote compulsory, like Australia. Lots of people worked hard and struggled to get us the blessed vote in the first place, after all. It always seems to me such a dreadful form of fatalism not to exercise one's right to vote; it's worth a shot.

Still want to see Claire Short on Newsnight to discuss her campaign for a hung parliament.

So Ethical Man's latest mission is to 'save the world from global warming, eh? Once again, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã casually propagates the increasingly wobbly theory of 'Man made global warming', despite it being only a theory and not supported by an increasing number of real climate scientists (as opposed to pseudo-scientists like David Attenborough and get-rich charlatans like Al Gore). When are we going to get a balanced picture from the BEEB?

#3 kashibeyaz

With regard to #1 I think you may be wrong as this is I think another race "realist". Certainly somebody who approves of Jaded_jean.

I CANNOT CLAIM THE IDEA AS MINE (#3)

I have to admit, the idea has been around for years, and was aired on this blog by others before me.

But poor beleaguered J Gordon could call an election any time panic overcomes him, so I feel it is time to act.

I had not realised, before, that all we are asking for is the right to abstain AND BE COUNTED. It appears that in 1998 a select committee on H of C voting, considered a third lobby for COUNTING abstentions.

However that may be, and whatever has happened since, I have written (as posted above) to all three parties (which they will ignore) to my MP whose first loyalty is to the Con Party, to Norman Baker (Lib Dem) who can be quite independent and to Newsnight (who are busy with 'ethical man does America'!) I shall write to others as they occur to me.

Everything hinges on whether one of the parties sees a disproportionate advantage, accruing to them, if they espouse this bit of enhanced democracy. (How those words should burn any politician with integrity.) They will then take it up. Otherwise, all we can do in our constituencies, is embarrass the candidates who will not support the idea.

The only (pathetic) defence they might come up with, is that it will invite some individuals to 'waste their vote'. That will be the time to look though all manner of voting records (e.g. local government?) for recorded abstentions and hoist them with their own petard. There can be no viable grounds for denying the electorate.

A superb report on Iran by John Simpson.

thegangofone (#5) "Certainly somebody who approves of Jaded_jean."

Gott im himmel! (Ohne bindestrich, bitte!).

NEWSNIGHT - YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS

I watched in disbelief (much shared by Gavin, if I 'read him right') as the Green Man explained the amazing wheeze of sending him to America to - to - er, sort of - er - check out their carbon-cred - as it were. Is it to late to cancel and get the money back? Are you sure this is what Newsnight viewers press buttons for? Any chance of getting Wossy as UK anchor? Is it me?

They used to talk of arranging deckchairs on the Titanic as she sank. Newsnight would appear to be proposing to trump the deckchair men, with an underwater knobbly knees competition.

I sense an award for News Presentation in the offing.

thegangofone (#5) Nicht grundstrich.

THE GLOBAL WARMING 'CONVENIENT TRUTH'

Blurtman's stance is sound. There is much data on the web. As JJ is at pains to point out (repeatedly!) real science hurts - it is not for those who make gods of Einstein, Hubble, Hawking etc, nor is it for those who cannot see that consensus does not banish credulity.

I spent decades testing, observing and deducing (R & D) and made a living by being smarter than some swanky consumer-product companies (for whom I once worked). Belief does not make a product viable nor does having letters after one's name. What works is GETTING IT RIGHT.

Comet Blurtman is coming this way - keep watch the skies!

There are two types of Newsnight, the first kind are the 'I'll give it ten minutes otherwise change channels or you find a doze much more appealing' or the second type, like last night's offering which was brilliant television and only Newsnight can do. Well done, Peter but I would like Jeremy back for the first three days of the week as only he can portray what a deep hole we are all in, Gavin is far too nice.

' The business secretary will warn an audience in New York that recovery will take a long time, and urge opposition politicians not to create a "frenzy". '

So they should stand back and applaud the Iron Chancellor who saved the world while he distances himself from the bankers.

#11 barriesingleton

99% of scientists know that climate change is happening due to human impact. They probably have done a bit of "testing, observing and deducing" themselves".

The figure is probably higher for those scientists who know that there is no scientific basis for race "realism".

Consistently wrong and consistently verbose.

Papers are going to be produced in a scientific journal soon, huh?

Go1 #14

"99% of scientists know that climate change is happening due to human impact."

Care to state your source for that?

Go1 #14

No answer was teh stern reply. Actually you don't surprise me.

Here's one source for you if you will follow

Hello Everyone

Just been away for a while occasionally looking in, but I can write something on economics and no one bothers. I write something on dogs and I get 200 visits a day.

Though the story of a puppy will start dealing with who knew about the problems of climate change from 1991.

I was one of the scientists who was at the initial working group that set up the latest generation of UK climate models.

I think there were better ways of setting them up. But at the last minute the way the UK models were set up were in the main determined by the man from DEFRA, who held the purse strings. That also concerens the underlying philosophy of what they are looking for.

But somebody else pointed out about not exactly asking the question.

Barrie talks about 'spoil party games'. I think this also applies to climate change re natural v man made v is it happening.

This partly the fault of the media and political system trying or not understanding the situation.

If man lives on the Earth, he is part of the whole Earth system, this is the next organisational level up from man/nature duality.

It requires a holistic one Earth system approach. We are so conditioned in the West to some subjective right wrong, Government Opposition, prosecution Defence, we have forgotten we should be looking for truth.

If climate change is a problems then it would be more sensible to look at the historical record and see not what caused it, but what factors regulated it and reversed it in the past.

We're going to raise the resources to find the real answers, if anyone is interested.

Celtic Lion

AN INCONVENIENT BARRIESINGLETON (#13)

Yo Gango! I'll give you 'verbose' I'll even admit it's intentional! And I have already admitted to 'obscure' on this blog. Just don't call me irrational (you wouldn't like me when I'm irrational). (:o)

Regarding scientific journals: are you aware how corrupt the peer review system is?

PEOPLE LIKE PUPPIES

KingCeltiLion (#17) "I can write something on economics and no one bothers. I write something on dogs and I get 200 visits a day."

Ah...our spin doctors know this. They know that people avidly read "Harry Potter and The Third Way". How they loved "Tony Blair - We're All Equal Now"

There's a brood which chirps "write it sweetly, we'll lap it up and beg for more - never mind the truth"...(see Newsnight Review).

Sadly, they are legion...(often attractive too).