Labour and the banking crisis

Prior to the banking crisis, there was a capitalist neoliberal conspiracy to de-regulate the financial and banking sector, thus rendering almost inevitable the total crash of the house of cards, based as it was upon fictitious capital underwritten by ludicrous ...loans that ran to billions. Gordon Brown was deeply implicated in this process, which began with Thatcher and the "Big Bang Day" of 1986 and which continued unabated through 10 years of "new Labour" government.

Banks were allowed and encouraged - nay, rewarded - to be irresponsible idiots by 20 years of state-sponsored casino capitalism. Exactly half of that period was under a Labour government.

Plenty of people foresaw the bursting of the bubble, but very few knew when it would happen. Instead of repairing the damage and doing something useful, like...er, how about, NATIONALISING THE BANKS...? ...instead, Brown took the option of giving them shitloads of billions without exerting any control over them WHATSOEVER. Good work, Gordon.

Not.

libertarians myths about "left-wing fascism"

You'll find that a lot of so-called "libertarians" (especially in the US) find it comforting to their ideology to believe that socialism and fascism are much the same because they are both.... *authoritarian*... gasp... in ...the Fibbertarian mind this is the worst thing imaginable; the state is demonised; they emerge as heroic rebels against the "authoritarian" demons on the left (including, conveniently, environmentalists - this labelling of greens conveniently enables them to ignore the actual facts about global warming and carbon dioxide, for instance, because it's really a cover for fascism/statism/socialism).

This ideological belief is of course entirely self-serving - libertarians are generally wealthy, occupying positions in the class structure which means they are reliant on capitalism for their propsperity. Therefore the demonising of the state suits them as it means, ideally, that companies can function unfettered by pesky "regulations" (such as workers' rights, child labour laws, and - worst of all - the minimum wage).

By seeing the enemy as "authoritarianism", without differentiating between different ideologies that seek to do entirely different things with state authority (race war on the far right, sustainability on the green left, for instance), libertarians convince themselves that they're the only ones who are good people, the ones who have worked out how evil everyone else is....

They are Fibbertarians. Interestingly, those on the racist far right also like to describe socialists as Nazis, which really helps to muddy the waters and enables them to deny the nature of their esoteric beliefs. This is especially popular in the US. I remember in the 1990s (when I was studying US nationalism on the internet for a phD, Clinton was routinely denigrated as both a socialist and a Nazi).

Go here to be shocked by what right-wing Americans are saying about Obama today...
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/obama/index?tab=articles

(And this describes itself as a "conservative" forum.)

Magazine @ Manchester Academy 17th Feb 2009

In response to
http://thevinylvillain.blogspot.com/2009/02/gig-reviews-magazine-manchester.html

I was at the 2nd Manchester gig. It was an honour and a great thrill. I too missed out on them first time round, being quite young and only really getting into them too late in the 1980s. I put on any of the albums any time I want to cheer myself up, and it was just fantastic to hear them live. And they certainly didn't fuck about with the arrangements, so it was like listening to a great DJ selecting only Magazine tracks, and the DJ was singing along, and the DJ was Howard Devoto.

The gig I was at was being filmed quite seriously, with one of those sweeping airborne cameras on a long boom, so look forward to a DVD release of a great gig.

Only quibble, the 2nd encore was an obscure and untuneful track when I was yearning for Philidelphia. But perhaps that was to dampen the enthusisasm a bit. The crowd were ecstatic by the end. One of the best gigs I've ever been to. PLEASE PLAY GLASTONBURY!

Is Richard Barnbrook racist?

I don't think this is an adequate response (below) to a dreadful comment. How many mainstream politicians would get away with such a turn of phrase regarding someone who is mixed race?

BBC Complaints [T20090209029ES010Z5259068]
-----Original Message-----

>On yesterday's studio phone-in programme Richard Barnbrook, when discussing the issue of being 'mixed race' described someone as being "half Chinese, half human". This is outrageous and yet it has not been reported or condemned. Please check the tape, you'll see that I am correct. Perhaps it was a Freudian slip or perhaps it was deliberate. Either way, it is not acceptable and should not go unchallenged.

complaintresponse@bbc.co.uk [19 February 2009 19:39]

Thanks for your e-mail regarding 'The Big Questions' broadcast on 8 February.

I appreciate you were left very concerned by Richard Barnbrook's comments on the issue of being mixed race which I note you felt were grossly offensive and discriminatory.

As you're aware the programme seeks to provide forums for debate and give full opportunity for all viewpoints to be heard across a huge range of subject matter.

We make no editorial comment or judgement on the views expressed by contributors to our programmes, and our aim is simply to provide enough information for viewers to make up their own minds.

In this instance Richard Barnbrook was robustly challenged by Nicky Campbell and the panel throughout the programme's discussion.

I recognise you found Richard Barnbrook's remarks wholly unacceptable and please be assured that your comments have been included in our audience log. This is circulated widely within the BBC and made available to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, channel controllers and other senior managers.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us with the strength of your views.

Regards

Alec Mackenzie
BBC Complaints