"The knower of the mystery of sound knows the mystery of the whole universe."
— Hazrat Inayat Khan
This week's music is from Bob Dylan. There is not much to say that has not already been said but I would like to comment on two popular 'myths' about the man.
The first is that he is a 'born again' evangelical Christian, based on three biblically inspired albums in the late seventies and early eighties. Not quite; it is true that he spent three months at the Vineyard Church in California studying the New Testament-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Vineyard_Churches
But he remained and still is Jewish and is one of a growing number who recognise that Jesus was indeed the Jewish Messiah fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies. This link will help to explain-
https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/issues-v21-n03/thinking-twice-about-bob-dylan/
The second 'myth' is that Dylan sold his soul to the Devil which stems from an interview he did with the journalist Ed Bradley in 2005. The relevent passage is transcribed in the above link.
But watch the clip on YouTube and Dylan is trying hard not to be misunderstood or misrepresented knowing, from experience, that journalists are not the most intelligent creatures on this earth.
"Making a bargain with the Chief Commander..." is not the same as selling your soul to the Devil. After all, if you sell your soul what do you get in return? Nothing is the answer. The devil or satan or evil is not a creative entity and so a creative talent has nothing to gain from doing deals with the devil. As pointed out in the link it is a story which probably began when Robert Johnson "went down to the crossroads" as one of his songs puts it.
In a 1984 interview, Dylan remarked, “I think politics is an instrument of the Devil. Just that clear. I think politics is what kills; it doesn’t bring anything alive.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/25/bob-dylan-and-christian-zionism/
Aside from all that, it is the music which is important and his perpetual re-interpretation of his own songs which mark him out as one of America's finest poet/musician. His back catalogue is huge so this below is but a snall selection. And just a note about the last video here which is an impromptu duet with one of his best, if not the best backing singers Clydie King who died earlier this year. A fitting epitaph to her memory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clydie_King
*** FUTURE POSTS WILL ALSO APPEAR AT 'NOW AND NEXT' : https://rolfnorfolk.substack.com
Keyboard worrier
Friday, April 26, 2019
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Selling their souls. For money. - By JD
This is a story that you will not find in the mainstream UK news media. I have made reference to the weekly public executions in Saudi in a previous post. https://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2016/03/jd-human-rights-or-human-rites.html
The UK Government says arms sales to Saudi Arabia are vital for the British economy. The USA sells arms to their 'vital' ally in the region, Saudi Arabia. But they are silent when the Saudis executed 37 people on tuesday this week. (Their weekly executions are usually held on a friday, their holy day.)
The only place you will find the story is here - https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/04/saudi-arabia-37-put-to-death-in-shocking-execution-spree/
You will notice that all of those executed were Shias. Saudi is governed by Sunnis who are 'at war' with that particular sect. The number of sects is 73 only one of which is destined for paradise. The others are detined for hell. There seems to be a great seal of misunderstanding and confusion on the subject. -
“The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:
The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice
Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute.”
― Omar Khayyam
The only reason I knew about the Amnesty report is because it was mentioned in the Spanish sports daily Marca. The English version of the story does not mention Amnesty International.
https://www.marca.com/futbol/supercopa-espana/2019/04/25/5cc049d1ca4741c26b8b45a8.html
Juventus and AC Milan contested the Italian Supercopa recently in Saudi Arabia and the Spanish FA wish to stage their own Supercopa in saudi Arabia in Janury of 2020.
The corrupting power of money!
The UK Government says arms sales to Saudi Arabia are vital for the British economy. The USA sells arms to their 'vital' ally in the region, Saudi Arabia. But they are silent when the Saudis executed 37 people on tuesday this week. (Their weekly executions are usually held on a friday, their holy day.)
The only place you will find the story is here - https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/04/saudi-arabia-37-put-to-death-in-shocking-execution-spree/
You will notice that all of those executed were Shias. Saudi is governed by Sunnis who are 'at war' with that particular sect. The number of sects is 73 only one of which is destined for paradise. The others are detined for hell. There seems to be a great seal of misunderstanding and confusion on the subject. -
“The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:
The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice
Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute.”
― Omar Khayyam
The only reason I knew about the Amnesty report is because it was mentioned in the Spanish sports daily Marca. The English version of the story does not mention Amnesty International.
https://www.marca.com/futbol/supercopa-espana/2019/04/25/5cc049d1ca4741c26b8b45a8.html
Juventus and AC Milan contested the Italian Supercopa recently in Saudi Arabia and the Spanish FA wish to stage their own Supercopa in saudi Arabia in Janury of 2020.
The corrupting power of money!
Friday, April 19, 2019
How the elite are preparing us for social breakdown
"Over the last thirty years, the UK has been taken over by an amoral financial oligarchy, and the British dream of opportunity, education, and upward mobility is now largely confined to the top few percent of the population. Government policy is increasingly dictated by the wealthy, by the financial sector, and by powerful (though sometimes badly mismanaged) industries. [...]
"These policies are implemented and praised by these groups’ willing servants, namely the increasingly bought-and-paid-for leadership of the UK’s political parties, academia, and lobbying industry.
"If allowed to continue, this process will turn Britain into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the control of a small, ultrawealthy elite. Such a society would be not only immoral but also eventually unstable, dangerously ripe for religious and political extremism."
Oops! In copying this quote of Charles Ferguson across from Jesse there have been a few slips (i.e. I have substituted UK for US), but I think the gist still stands.
"These policies are implemented and praised by these groups’ willing servants, namely the increasingly bought-and-paid-for leadership of the UK’s political parties, academia, and lobbying industry.
"If allowed to continue, this process will turn Britain into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the control of a small, ultrawealthy elite. Such a society would be not only immoral but also eventually unstable, dangerously ripe for religious and political extremism."
Oops! In copying this quote of Charles Ferguson across from Jesse there have been a few slips (i.e. I have substituted UK for US), but I think the gist still stands.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Automobiles That Changed The World, by Wiggiaatlarge
Normally when presented with a heading like that we are taken on a journey of delight in Delahayes, Bugattis, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Duesenberg and many more of that ilk, yet however desirable they may be they represent a very small percentage of the automobile industry output. It is difficult outside of lusting after these creations to put them in any semblance of order as to their importance in car evolution.
It is in the lower echelons in the pecking order that the really great cars come from, the cars that made the man in the street mobile, the cars that jumped a generation in the design and engineering stakes, and the cars whose longevity proved their worth as transport for the masses.
It is not as easy as it appears to single out automobiles that had a profound effect on the industry and the people who purchased them as those mentioned often had aims that were fulfilled in quite a different way from that intended .
Some vehicles select themselves. The Model T Ford could not be left out of any selection: not only did it provide the first mass produced car of any substance for the man in the street, but it also heralded the use of production lines that would survive to this day, a method of construction that made the price of cars within reach for so many, no longer the preserve of the wealthy.
Henry Ford himself said of the car….
“I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. “
Little did he realise how prophetic those words would turn out to be, or maybe he knew all along.
The Model T Ford was always going to be a hard act to follow in the great cars stakes and it could be argued that there were no revolutionary cars in the years after the Model Ts demise in 1920, only a natural evolution of the automobile. Certainly in the upper strata of society the automobile took on a very different mantle with increasing wealth, that of the status symbol.
"People's cars" dominate this this argument on greatness. The Model T gave birth to a whole string of vehicles that through their longevity alone proved they had something more to offer than performance and soft leather. All of the below offered a chance for the man in the street to be mobile; some like the 2CV and the Fiat Topolino became almost fashion items, the Fiat more than any, a much coveted little car to this day.
Morris Bullnose (1913) - The Bullnose's official name was Oxford, after its manufacturing home...
• Austin Seven (1922) ...
• Ford Model Y (1932) ...
• Fiat Topolino (1936) ...
• Volkswagen Beetle (1945) ...
• Renault 4CV (1946) ...
• Citroen 2CV (1948)
All had shortcomings, built to a spec and a price they were never going to be all things to all men, but by the Thirties vehicles in more expensive sectors were beginning to be sold in numbers and several there had the credentials to claim greatness of sorts.
Citroen, never a marque to blanch at something different and inventive, produced the Citroen Traction Avant. First produced in 1934 it was in production until 1957. It had a number of firsts for a car of its type: apart from the front wheel drive the body was of unitary construction, a monocoque; it also had four wheel independent suspension, rack and pinion steering plus hydraulic brakes - new to Europe. It came in various forms from 2 door saloon to a hatchback and a convertible and engines ranged from 1.3 four cylinders up to 2.9 six cylinders. Affectionately remembered here as a “Maigret” car versions of it became the presidential vehicles of the period, this was a game changer for the European car industry.
The photo shows a six cylinder car from 1951, ahead of its time even that late into its production.
Not long after that the ‘peoples car’ the Volkswagen started to evolve. Like the Model T Ford it was designed to be a car for the masses, robust simple to run and at a price most could afford. Undoubtedly this car had a profound effect on the auto industry and is still revered by some and a version has only just stopped production all these years later.
I was never convinced by the VW. I did briefly own one which sadly was a dog, but despite its quality build and interior finish, especially for that period I hated the road holding and the awful driving position that meant you could not use the pedals with your heels on the ground, and despite being simple it was difficult to work on engine-wise unless you took it out, so I never quite got the awe with which is held in by many; nonetheless a very important car.
Citroen did it again in 1955 with the launch of the DS: it ushered in a new world in looks and comfort and engineering ingenuity. Quite simply, there had not been anything this advanced offered to the public as an everyday vehicle, it was and is in a class of its own. I am not going to go over all the attributes of this car, and a few downsides, instead just a link to a piece I did on it seven years ago.
I never owned one but did travel in a friend's Safari estate version quite a bit when we shared going to dog shows around the country, there has never been a better mile-eater. I did though own two other Citroens with the hydropneumatic suspension so I have been a beneficiary of that.
http://www.nourishingobscurity.com/2012/03/citroen-ds/
Another car always destined for the greatest badge is the original Mini. This was really a design coup by Alec Issigonis on packaging as much as anything else, a small footprint with maximum space and simple engineering that worked, giving it outstanding roadholding. As much as anything else it became one of the symbols of the Sixties, a time when this country shone in so many spheres.
I never owned one but I drove several variants. I am six foot one and had no trouble fitting in the Mini. The down side was a sitting position with no real variation available; that was not exactly fun on a longer drive, but the reality it was a city car and as such attracted all the glitterati of the period here and abroad to purchase the car, often special coach-finished versions.
It also had an awesome rally and race record, despite being handicapped with an ageing design in the engine department, it was remarkable what power they managed to screw out of it in the race versions of the Cooper S race and rally models, but eventually it was that department that saw them overhauled in both race and rallying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini
The original Range Rover was a game changer for off-roading and gentleman farmers: at last you had a comfortable vehicle with all modern accessories in a go anywhere car, though the very early models were sparse and practical in the cabin area, and its off-road capabilities were only matched or surpassed by the Land Rover and a few other utilitarian vehicles such as Jeep. The original used a petrol V8 that was not economical even in its class so it was hit badly by the fuel crisis and it was not until ‘88 that a turbo diesel engine was fitted to the Range Rover as an economical choice.
If Range Rover has had a problem it has been reliability and in many markets for 4 wheel drive vehicles it has lost sales to Toyota.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_Rover
There is a whole raft of vehicles that have given something to the motor car in engineering, as the Volvo 140 did with the first proper crumple zones in a car body, beginning the drive to safer cars. The Toyota Prius heralded modern day electric vehicles in the form of the hybrid Prius from ‘97, long before anyone else, and it is still going. And there are many others.
I have not included sports or luxury cars: they may well have provided individual items that later trickled down to mass produced vehicles and many have become icons in their own right - Ford Mustang, Porche 911, E type and so on and in the luxury market RR Packhard Bugatti - and many more have provided style unsurpassed and quality that only money can buy, yet it is the cars above that remain the great innovators of the automobile.
Are there any more coming on stream? Not so easy today, as almost every car has the discoveries of the 100 years or so of progress incorporated into their build. Electronics move so fast these days that any innovation that is new is almost immediately superseded by something better. It is not so easy to make giant strides in engineering and design as in the past.
For me there is one little car that deserves a mention. Whether it will become a classic like the mini, I have no idea, yet the number of the original Nissan Micras that are still doing sterling service is amazing. They don't seem to rot and they have a fantastic if not overly powerful bomb-proof engine. Those seen on drives and in garages for sale are snapped up even at twenty years old - a modern Mini?
Others made their mark in different ways. The first Ford Cortina was simple, had a great engine line-up, the E series proved to be the bed rock for the majority of race engines of the period culminating in the Twin Cam version and had a gearbox along with the Corsair that was as good as anything in production, not a great car but a significant one.
Naturally everyone would want to include the likes of Porsche 911, E type, Ford Mustang, Ferrari, RR, Packard and many others, but the reality it is those that made a long term contribution and advancement in everyday motoring that deserve the accolades.
The future, who knows? In fifty years' time, with the internal combustion engine consigned to a footnote in history if they have their way, amps and voltages will be the discussion of the day among the self-drives of the period. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it though, does it?
It is in the lower echelons in the pecking order that the really great cars come from, the cars that made the man in the street mobile, the cars that jumped a generation in the design and engineering stakes, and the cars whose longevity proved their worth as transport for the masses.
It is not as easy as it appears to single out automobiles that had a profound effect on the industry and the people who purchased them as those mentioned often had aims that were fulfilled in quite a different way from that intended .
Some vehicles select themselves. The Model T Ford could not be left out of any selection: not only did it provide the first mass produced car of any substance for the man in the street, but it also heralded the use of production lines that would survive to this day, a method of construction that made the price of cars within reach for so many, no longer the preserve of the wealthy.
Henry Ford himself said of the car….
“I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. “
Little did he realise how prophetic those words would turn out to be, or maybe he knew all along.
The Model T Ford was always going to be a hard act to follow in the great cars stakes and it could be argued that there were no revolutionary cars in the years after the Model Ts demise in 1920, only a natural evolution of the automobile. Certainly in the upper strata of society the automobile took on a very different mantle with increasing wealth, that of the status symbol.
"People's cars" dominate this this argument on greatness. The Model T gave birth to a whole string of vehicles that through their longevity alone proved they had something more to offer than performance and soft leather. All of the below offered a chance for the man in the street to be mobile; some like the 2CV and the Fiat Topolino became almost fashion items, the Fiat more than any, a much coveted little car to this day.
Morris Bullnose (1913) - The Bullnose's official name was Oxford, after its manufacturing home...
• Austin Seven (1922) ...
• Ford Model Y (1932) ...
• Fiat Topolino (1936) ...
• Volkswagen Beetle (1945) ...
• Renault 4CV (1946) ...
• Citroen 2CV (1948)
All had shortcomings, built to a spec and a price they were never going to be all things to all men, but by the Thirties vehicles in more expensive sectors were beginning to be sold in numbers and several there had the credentials to claim greatness of sorts.
Citroen, never a marque to blanch at something different and inventive, produced the Citroen Traction Avant. First produced in 1934 it was in production until 1957. It had a number of firsts for a car of its type: apart from the front wheel drive the body was of unitary construction, a monocoque; it also had four wheel independent suspension, rack and pinion steering plus hydraulic brakes - new to Europe. It came in various forms from 2 door saloon to a hatchback and a convertible and engines ranged from 1.3 four cylinders up to 2.9 six cylinders. Affectionately remembered here as a “Maigret” car versions of it became the presidential vehicles of the period, this was a game changer for the European car industry.
The photo shows a six cylinder car from 1951, ahead of its time even that late into its production.
Not long after that the ‘peoples car’ the Volkswagen started to evolve. Like the Model T Ford it was designed to be a car for the masses, robust simple to run and at a price most could afford. Undoubtedly this car had a profound effect on the auto industry and is still revered by some and a version has only just stopped production all these years later.
I was never convinced by the VW. I did briefly own one which sadly was a dog, but despite its quality build and interior finish, especially for that period I hated the road holding and the awful driving position that meant you could not use the pedals with your heels on the ground, and despite being simple it was difficult to work on engine-wise unless you took it out, so I never quite got the awe with which is held in by many; nonetheless a very important car.
Citroen did it again in 1955 with the launch of the DS: it ushered in a new world in looks and comfort and engineering ingenuity. Quite simply, there had not been anything this advanced offered to the public as an everyday vehicle, it was and is in a class of its own. I am not going to go over all the attributes of this car, and a few downsides, instead just a link to a piece I did on it seven years ago.
I never owned one but did travel in a friend's Safari estate version quite a bit when we shared going to dog shows around the country, there has never been a better mile-eater. I did though own two other Citroens with the hydropneumatic suspension so I have been a beneficiary of that.
http://www.nourishingobscurity.com/2012/03/citroen-ds/
Another car always destined for the greatest badge is the original Mini. This was really a design coup by Alec Issigonis on packaging as much as anything else, a small footprint with maximum space and simple engineering that worked, giving it outstanding roadholding. As much as anything else it became one of the symbols of the Sixties, a time when this country shone in so many spheres.
I never owned one but I drove several variants. I am six foot one and had no trouble fitting in the Mini. The down side was a sitting position with no real variation available; that was not exactly fun on a longer drive, but the reality it was a city car and as such attracted all the glitterati of the period here and abroad to purchase the car, often special coach-finished versions.
It also had an awesome rally and race record, despite being handicapped with an ageing design in the engine department, it was remarkable what power they managed to screw out of it in the race versions of the Cooper S race and rally models, but eventually it was that department that saw them overhauled in both race and rallying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini
The original Range Rover was a game changer for off-roading and gentleman farmers: at last you had a comfortable vehicle with all modern accessories in a go anywhere car, though the very early models were sparse and practical in the cabin area, and its off-road capabilities were only matched or surpassed by the Land Rover and a few other utilitarian vehicles such as Jeep. The original used a petrol V8 that was not economical even in its class so it was hit badly by the fuel crisis and it was not until ‘88 that a turbo diesel engine was fitted to the Range Rover as an economical choice.
If Range Rover has had a problem it has been reliability and in many markets for 4 wheel drive vehicles it has lost sales to Toyota.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_Rover
There is a whole raft of vehicles that have given something to the motor car in engineering, as the Volvo 140 did with the first proper crumple zones in a car body, beginning the drive to safer cars. The Toyota Prius heralded modern day electric vehicles in the form of the hybrid Prius from ‘97, long before anyone else, and it is still going. And there are many others.
I have not included sports or luxury cars: they may well have provided individual items that later trickled down to mass produced vehicles and many have become icons in their own right - Ford Mustang, Porche 911, E type and so on and in the luxury market RR Packhard Bugatti - and many more have provided style unsurpassed and quality that only money can buy, yet it is the cars above that remain the great innovators of the automobile.
Are there any more coming on stream? Not so easy today, as almost every car has the discoveries of the 100 years or so of progress incorporated into their build. Electronics move so fast these days that any innovation that is new is almost immediately superseded by something better. It is not so easy to make giant strides in engineering and design as in the past.
For me there is one little car that deserves a mention. Whether it will become a classic like the mini, I have no idea, yet the number of the original Nissan Micras that are still doing sterling service is amazing. They don't seem to rot and they have a fantastic if not overly powerful bomb-proof engine. Those seen on drives and in garages for sale are snapped up even at twenty years old - a modern Mini?
Others made their mark in different ways. The first Ford Cortina was simple, had a great engine line-up, the E series proved to be the bed rock for the majority of race engines of the period culminating in the Twin Cam version and had a gearbox along with the Corsair that was as good as anything in production, not a great car but a significant one.
Naturally everyone would want to include the likes of Porsche 911, E type, Ford Mustang, Ferrari, RR, Packard and many others, but the reality it is those that made a long term contribution and advancement in everyday motoring that deserve the accolades.
The future, who knows? In fifty years' time, with the internal combustion engine consigned to a footnote in history if they have their way, amps and voltages will be the discussion of the day among the self-drives of the period. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it though, does it?
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Friday, April 12, 2019
FRIDAY MUSIC: Mediaeval Hit Parade, by JD
It's time for 'Pick of the (Mediaeval) Pops!' Some of these sound surprisingly modern and you will notice a certain amount of singing and dancing in taverns: there are some traditions which will never die!
Tuesday, April 09, 2019
State Power, Home Education and Mission Creep
I suppose two April Fool jokes was felt to be over-egging
the pudding. On the first working day after March 29th we found
ourselves still in the EU and Ministers are still laughing about that one; the
announcement of a home-schooled children register was held over till April 2nd.
My friends educated their three children at home. Two went
on to do second degrees and the third has such personality that he has gone to
the other side of the world and found jobs for which he wasn’t technically
qualified – but which he soon learned to do, well.
‘Please, I've only got so many ribs, Noel Coward,’ as RikMayall’s Richie said. (Not that your ribs belong to you, either, from April (1st?) nextyear;
not unless you have found that opt-out page buried in the NHS Organ Donation Register – and provided the doctors remember
to check it.)
This is the big theme of our age: the Power versus the
People.
At present, the Education Act 1996 says the same as its 1944 predecessor,
except for the addition of the special needs aspect:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to
receive efficient full-time education suitable —
(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular
attendance at school or otherwise.
There are various reasons why the State may feel the need to
intervene, but please note the order in which they appear in the announcement:
A register of children not in school will transform a local council’s
capacity to identify and intervene where the standard
of a child’s education isn’t good enough or, in the rare instances,
where they are at risk of harm. It will also help the authorities spot young
people who may be receiving a solely religious education, attending an
unregistered school or not receiving an education at all.
The word ‘efficient’ has remained undefined for the last 75
years, but it is a hinge on which the great door of officialdom can – and will
- turn open.
Yet what if you turn the question round: why would you send
your child to school?
One answer is socialisation. But this is exactly why some
people have withdrawn their offspring: bullying. Anybody here watch Noel
Fitzpatrick, aka TV’s The Supervet ?
A rural farmboy with a gift of empathy with animals, here is his treatment at
secondary school (p.75):
I remember one time going back into class after a particularly bad and
mucky bruising when five boys set on me again, one on each arm, one on each
leg, giving me the bumps, throwing me up in the air, while the fifth came down
hard with his fists on my stomach as I bounced.
It's left its mental marks, even though he struggled on
heroically to become a world-class animal surgeon who has much to teach human
medicine too. Would we have heard of Isaac Newton or Michael Faraday if they’d
been regularly beaten as swots?
Early on, a man from the LEA came round, but soon withdrew
when father adopted the strategy of asking eagerly for materials and financial
contributions. It’s funny how Ofsted and Education Ministers issue librariesful
of advice and instruction to teachers, yet they never fund for a range of
approved coursebooks that deliver the curriculum they are so sure is right for
children. Why don’t they put ‘their’ money where their mouth is?
And I must have missed it: which Ministry philosopher has
managed to answer the millennia-long question, ‘what exactly is education for?’
Friday, April 05, 2019
FRIDAY MUSIC: Pentangle, by JD
Serendipity brought together five exceptional talents for an all too brief period between 1967 and 1973. After six albums they went their separate ways. Pentangle were a 'supergroup' before that term became fashionable; two of this country's finest guitarists plus, from the world of jazz, a first class drummer with a maestro on double bass and all backing the purest female voice in folk music.
And yet, they are largely and unjustifiably forgotten. They are rarely if ever heard on the radio so you can hear them now and relax into a reverie of musical magic with Jacqui McShee, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentangle_(band)
The band have continued in various incarnations and currently perform as Jacqui McShee's Pentangle - http://www.pentangle.info/JMPentangle/HOME.html
And yet, they are largely and unjustifiably forgotten. They are rarely if ever heard on the radio so you can hear them now and relax into a reverie of musical magic with Jacqui McShee, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentangle_(band)
The band have continued in various incarnations and currently perform as Jacqui McShee's Pentangle - http://www.pentangle.info/JMPentangle/HOME.html
Thursday, April 04, 2019
FINAL EXAMINATION PAPER
In order to exclude the ignorant and stupid people who vote the wrong way, your eligibility to take part in the next local elections and the possible snap General Election depends on your answer to the following question:
"Is Jeremy Corbyn worse than Tony Blair?"
Answer with reference to (a) terrorists and (b) making war on a Middle Eastern country that had nothing to do with 9/11.
You may write on both sides of the paper and, in deference to New Labour "triangulation", on the edges as well.
Length: 500 - 1,500 words. NO CARTOONS.
"Is Jeremy Corbyn worse than Tony Blair?"
Answer with reference to (a) terrorists and (b) making war on a Middle Eastern country that had nothing to do with 9/11.
You may write on both sides of the paper and, in deference to New Labour "triangulation", on the edges as well.
Length: 500 - 1,500 words. NO CARTOONS.
Noises From The Echo Chamber
Last night's vote on the Cooper-Letwin Bill, evaluated according to Remainer logic:
1. It's not valid, because the majority won
2. Oh all right, majorities can win but this was by only one person's vote so it's too close and is void for that reason
3. OK it's not void because of the margin, but because somebody probably told a LIE at some point so the vote would have been different if only everybody knew all the details of everything and only told the truth
4. Okay, okay, (3) above happens all the time but those who voted for the Bill are probably nasty people who support things good people don't like so their votes shouldn't count
5 Look, here are cartoons to prove I'm right - ships falling off the edge of the Earth, lemmings jumping off cliffs, effigies of populist politicians shooting themselves in the head
6 Oliver Letwin is posh, need I say more?
7 You're blocked, you troll.
BREXIT: Power To The People
Right then: things keep moving on, and in a bad direction.
Only a couple of weeks ago, Angela Eagle was complaining of the Government’s
bullying towards the Opposition;
now Mrs May says goodbye to collective Cabinet responsibility (a majority havecome round to No-Deal)
and reaches out to Mr Corbyn, prompting Welsh Minister Nigel Adams’ resignation
(good man: his letter is worth reading.)
On and on goes the Prime Minister, despite one smashing
defeat in the Commons after another. She clings to power like a limpet; or
perhaps, more like a limpet mine, primed to sink the ship of State.
This is autocracy.
Perhaps, if all else fails, her last card, the one that
loses the stately pile and rolling acres, will be the use somehow of an Order
in Council (such a favoured tool of Blair, ACL.)
Fanciful? Is there anybody who predicted what we have seen
so far?
When all this Brexit business is done one way or another,
the work of reassessing the British Constitution must begin. Perhaps we could
start with a motion similar to John Dunning’s in 1780,
altered to say: ‘The power of the Prime Minister has increased, is increasing,
and ought to be diminished.’
What is the point of the 2002 High Court ruling that ‘The British Parliament .. being
sovereign… cannot abandon its sovereignty’ if it simply delegates away most of
its power, either to the EU under the 1972 ECA, or to Ministers via ‘Henry
VIII’ clauses that allow them to issue secondary legislation, or to the Privy
Council so that the occupant of No. 10 can govern by fiat?
What is the point of having extended
the franchise to 47 million voters, under a First Past The Post system that
regularly sees some two-thirds of MPs elected on a minority of votes cast? Of
‘safe seats’ that turn some MPs into complacent, negligent absentee landlords?
Or of a Fourth Estate that suppresses
and twists the information the voter needs? – even (this is the one that for me
exploded Jon Snow’s credibility, I can cope with his infantile remarks about
white people) allowing Blair’s right-hand man to take over one’s currentaffairs TV show without warning, to spin the ‘Iraq WMD’ controversy and then shaking his hand in fraternal thanks at the end (oddly, not shown here, but I cannot forget.)
What is at stake here – what greater
theme of history is there? - is overweening Power. We thought we’d settled that
in the 1640s and 1680s and the political reforms in the 150 years after 1789. But
the barrack-room grumblings of the people today could eventually become
something worse, if democratic checks and balances fail to stop Power becoming
once again arbitrary and absolute.
Is the EU prepared to reform? Oh yes
– in exactly the wrong way. Only last November, the enthusiast Mr Verhofstadt
was calling for the abolition of member nations’ individual veto:
‘You cannot manage a continent of that magnitude with such a system.’
Even as it is, AfD leader Alice
Weidel’s much-circulated 21 March speech to the Bundestag worried that the UK’s departure threatens Germans’
ability to muster a blocking minority EU veto (min. 35% of EU population.)
Already, she says, Merkel and Macron’s Aachen Treaty stands to jam open Germany’s wallet for the depredations
of French profligacy and the free movement of eastern Europeans per Schengen
rights have led to growing strains on the German economy under Hartz IV socialsecurity arrangements.
It’s not about us ‘crashing out’ of
the EU; it’s about the EU crashing around like a bull in a china shop. If
no-one will put a ring through its nose, we have to leave the premises. If we
mess about, the Germans may get out ahead of us!
And if we do finally manage it, we then
have to face the other systemic wreckers closer to home: the ones at the top of
our country.
Monday, April 01, 2019
BREXIT: French Leave
Our schools are now required to teach British values. But
what are they? Certainly not Empire, the White Man’s Burden and so on. My
researches indicate that there are only two:
After chiding Ms Merkel for her many expensive policy errors, German AfD leader Alice Weidel’s speech to the Bundestag on 21 March went on to accuse her of “blind loyalty” (3:01) to the French, who want to deny Britain access to the single market. January’s Aachen Treaty on Franco-Germancooperation “had France’s fingerprints all over it” (3:40), benefitting the latter’s inefficient economy but sending much of the bill to the German taxpayer who, once Britain has left, will not be able to command a blocking minority in the Council to prevent fresh fiscal assaults on the biggest remaining economy.
- Animism – not just pagan ritual leftovers like the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance but our deep empathy with pets and farm animals
- A deep distrust of the French (remember Hartlepool’s monkey-hangers)
And now we discover – by a leaked secret memo,
of course, G-d forbid we be told anything openly – that there are three EU
preconditions for even beginning to discuss alterations to the draft Withdrawal
Agreement; conditions that are for us a surrender in advance of the battle.
But though we are divided at home, the EU itself is not
united:
After chiding Ms Merkel for her many expensive policy errors, German AfD leader Alice Weidel’s speech to the Bundestag on 21 March went on to accuse her of “blind loyalty” (3:01) to the French, who want to deny Britain access to the single market. January’s Aachen Treaty on Franco-Germancooperation “had France’s fingerprints all over it” (3:40), benefitting the latter’s inefficient economy but sending much of the bill to the German taxpayer who, once Britain has left, will not be able to command a blocking minority in the Council to prevent fresh fiscal assaults on the biggest remaining economy.
Weidel quoted M. Barnier (5:26) as confiding to a colleague,
“My mission will have been a success when the terms are so brutal for the
British that they prefer to stay in the Union.”
We are not the only ones with national traits. The Germans
love tribal unity and have a lethal penchant for abstract theorising (from
Luther to Karl Marx to the Frankfurt School), but the French combine
theatricality with sharp dealing and calculating selfishness. Think of William
the Conqueror, turning his pratfall on the shore into symbolic seizure of the
land,
then ordering the Domesday Book to count exactly how much he’d grabbed; the 1789
windy Tennis Court Oath that blew off so many of the Revolutionaries’ heads in
the factious struggles that ensued; and Clemenceau’s vindictive 1919 Versailles
Treaty that ruined Germany and so set Europe ablaze a generation later.
Don’t expect anything but gaseous difficulties from a French
lawyer. Frankly, anything that our hapless Government tries to agree now can be
negotiated separately afterwards, when the costs of M. Barnier’s failure begin
to bite the Continent. Let’s go now, without permission – let’s take “French
leave.”
For all we wanted – what we were sold in the 1970s – was
honest dealing and fair trading. What we have had ever since has been
money-twisting and empire-building.
"Un Po Apres Le Temps
d'Autonne"
From “Le Jugement du roy de Navarre” by Guillaume de Machaut (1349)
Translation by "Sackerson"
A
little after autumn time
When
those who cultivate the vine
Pick
their grapes and fill the tun
And
with work that’s lightly done
Each
man offers to his fellow
Pears
and grapes and peaches mellow
When
in the soil the corn-seeds grow
And
the leaf falls from the bough
By
Nature’s or the wind’s design
In
thirteen hundred forty-nine
On
the ninth day of November
I
was closed up in my chamber.
Had
the sky been bright and clear
I
should have gone to take the air
But
the mountains and the meadows
Were
hid in fog and deepest shadows
So
I was taken by the gloom
Thinking
in my lonely room
How
all men everywhere are governed
By
cronies meeting in the tavern
How
truth and justice in the land
Are
dead, slain by the hand
Of
greed, who over them holds reign
As
if she were a sovereign queen
How
the rulers rob the ruled
Sack,
plunder and assault the world
Crushing
them in their distress
Merciless
and pitiless
Great
mischief seems it to my mind
When
vice and power are combined
Friday, March 29, 2019
BREXIT: The Machine Stops
344 to 286: for the third time, and for many differing
reasons, Parliament has rejected the velvet-clad handcuffs of the Prime
Minister’s draft Withdrawal Agreement. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/29/mps-reject-theresa-mays-brexit-deal-third-time
‘But Kuno, is it true? Are there still men on the surface of the earth?
Is this — this tunnel, this poisoned darkness — really not the end?’
He replied: ‘I have seen them, spoken to them, loved them. They are
hiding in the mist and the ferns until our civilization stops. To-day they are
the Homeless — to-morrow—’
‘Oh, to-morrow — some fool will start the Machine again, to-morrow.’
‘Never,’ said Kuno, ‘never. Humanity has learnt its lesson.’
-
E. M Forster, ‘The Machine Stops’ (1928) https://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-Machine-Stops.pdf
The EU Parliament’s Mr Verhofstadt is willing to show
flexibility now - unlike with the Irish Backstop, yet just as the Community did
with its supposedly unalterable rule on Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio at the time
of her entry into the EU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JPj4Vjm90)
‘The only way to avoid a no deal
now is for MPs to finally act next week & define a cross-party way forward.
If they do, we are ready to change the Political Declaration.’ https://www.teletrader.com/verhofstadt-cross-party-deal-only-way-to-avoid-no-deal-brexit/news/details/47332332?ts=1553886451707
Mrs May threatens a General Election. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2019/mar/29/brexit-debate-latest-developments-live-news-may-at-risk-of-fresh-defeat-as-mps-debate-withdrawal-agreement-for-third-time-live-news
Bring it on, say not just Labour but disaffected Tory members across the
country. If she wishes to bring the Party down with her, like blind Samson, so
be it. What would be in its manifesto this time?
And what has the modern Conservative Party conserved?
As we began our Common Market membership in January 1973,
the then PM Edward Heath told the nation on TV:
‘There are some in this country who fear that in going into Europe we
shall in some way sacrifice independence and sovereignty. These fears, I need
hardly say, are completely unjustified.’ https://campaignforanindependentbritain.org.uk/britain-europe-bruges-group/
17 years later, he said the opposite on BBC TV’s Question
Time: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Heath
Peter Sissons: The single currency, a United States of Europe, was
all that in your mind when you took Britain in?
Edward Heath: Of course, yes.
For by then, with Mrs Thatcher about to fall from officehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Conservative_Party_(UK)_leadership_election,
Heath must have felt the double satisfaction of seeing ‘that woman’ defeated
and his dream of a Britain permanently locked into the EU coming true at last.
He was not to know that Lord Justice Laws would rule, in
2002, that Parliament had retained her sovereignty throughout and in fact did
not have the power to give it away (see para 58 here.) https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff76f60d03e7f57eac6d5
How was it possible for Conservative Prime Ministers
Macmillan and subsequently Heath, to plan and carry out their Constitutional
Gunpowder Plot? For it was clear that they knew exactly what they were about,
since the Lord Privy Seal had told them (December 1960): https://campaignforanindependentbritain.org.uk/research-paper-1079-letter-edward-heath-lord-kilmuir-december-1960/
‘It would in theory be possible for Parliament to enact at the outset
legislation which would give automatic force of law to any existing or future
regulations made by the appropriate organs of the Community. For Parliament to
do this would go far beyond the most extensive delegation of powers, even in
wartime, that we have experienced and I do not think there is any likelihood of
this being acceptable to the House of Commons.’
Yet that is exactly and precisely what happened. And a later
Conservative PM, David Cameron, spent millions of public money in a pamphlet,
to convince us in 2016 that we should stay in; and even got the leader of a
foreign country, President Obama, to fly in and say the same.
All Conservatives!
And today, whatever its motives, Labour has saved us, for
now – only 5 voted with the Government.
There is still grinding and crashing going on, but the
Machine. Must. Stop.
FRIDAY MUSIC: Golden Hour Of Brexit, by JD
In the Film "The Wild One" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047677/ Marlon Brando plays Johnny, the leader of a motor cycle gang. One of the most telling scenes in the film is this exchange between a girl and Johnny -
"Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
"What've you got?"
It felt a bit like that in the House of Commons on wednesday night when every single amendment was voted down. They were rebelling against everything because, like Johnny, they do not know what they want, only what they don't want.
Naturally, the cartoonists and gag writers have been having fun. Take your pick from this selection -
https://www.bing.com/search?q=brexit+jokes+images&qs=HS&pq=brexit&sc=8-6&cvid=EC91324BF3354765B4EFEC64183485A0&FORM=QBLH&sp=1
- but I think we should have a bit of music in these difficult times to provide some tranquility(?)
Or maybe not!
Purcell's Cold Genius (fifth clip from the top) seemed appropriate given that they are all frozen with fear they might lose their seats at the next election.
You might prefer this 'fairest isle' which is from a French production of the opera and is very good:
Yes, this fairest isle or as Shakespeare described it -
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
In that book I referenced the other day, All Done With Mirrors, part of it includes the speculation/theory that these islands and especially the Orkneys is the centre of the world and the origin of European civilisation. The standing stones all over these islands and as far south as carnac in France are all distributed in geometric proportion with the Ring of Brodgar being the centre. The Greeks referred to Hyperboria in the far north which could have been these islands.
Blake wrote " All things Begin and End in Albion's Ancient Druid Rocky Shore":
https://viewfromthebighills.blogspot.com/2010/01/albion-excerpts-from-william-blakes.html
He illustrates why we are apart from and above the EU!
Europe will eventually come together just as Wessex, Mercia, Hibernia etc gradually merged into England then the UK, and Europe will be governed by Albion.
"Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
"What've you got?"
It felt a bit like that in the House of Commons on wednesday night when every single amendment was voted down. They were rebelling against everything because, like Johnny, they do not know what they want, only what they don't want.
Naturally, the cartoonists and gag writers have been having fun. Take your pick from this selection -
https://www.bing.com/search?q=brexit+jokes+images&qs=HS&pq=brexit&sc=8-6&cvid=EC91324BF3354765B4EFEC64183485A0&FORM=QBLH&sp=1
- but I think we should have a bit of music in these difficult times to provide some tranquility(?)
Or maybe not!
Purcell's Cold Genius (fifth clip from the top) seemed appropriate given that they are all frozen with fear they might lose their seats at the next election.
You might prefer this 'fairest isle' which is from a French production of the opera and is very good:
Yes, this fairest isle or as Shakespeare described it -
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
In that book I referenced the other day, All Done With Mirrors, part of it includes the speculation/theory that these islands and especially the Orkneys is the centre of the world and the origin of European civilisation. The standing stones all over these islands and as far south as carnac in France are all distributed in geometric proportion with the Ring of Brodgar being the centre. The Greeks referred to Hyperboria in the far north which could have been these islands.
Blake wrote " All things Begin and End in Albion's Ancient Druid Rocky Shore":
https://viewfromthebighills.blogspot.com/2010/01/albion-excerpts-from-william-blakes.html
He illustrates why we are apart from and above the EU!
Europe will eventually come together just as Wessex, Mercia, Hibernia etc gradually merged into England then the UK, and Europe will be governed by Albion.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
An Email To Quentin Letts
Dear Mr Letts
I am sorry you have left the Daily Mail, but quite understand why. Under the egregious Greig it has become a crossword with garbage attached. You are one of the few people that made it worth reading (I wonder how much longer Littlejohn will stick it out?)
But judging by today's column in the Sun (re Letwin), you seem to have swapped your epee for a bludgeon. Are Sun readers really not up to appreciating your usual - natural - wit and subtlety? I think not. In fact if you were to continue writing as you did in the Mail I would consider making the Sun my regular, despite its being owned by a saltwater crocodile. But perhaps the house style is necessary - I guess I have to leave it to your professional discretion.
Btw I think we have discovered a new political principle: no-one called Oliver should be allowed anywhere near the levers of power; whether Letwin, Robbins or Cromwell.
I am sorry you have left the Daily Mail, but quite understand why. Under the egregious Greig it has become a crossword with garbage attached. You are one of the few people that made it worth reading (I wonder how much longer Littlejohn will stick it out?)
But judging by today's column in the Sun (re Letwin), you seem to have swapped your epee for a bludgeon. Are Sun readers really not up to appreciating your usual - natural - wit and subtlety? I think not. In fact if you were to continue writing as you did in the Mail I would consider making the Sun my regular, despite its being owned by a saltwater crocodile. But perhaps the house style is necessary - I guess I have to leave it to your professional discretion.
Btw I think we have discovered a new political principle: no-one called Oliver should be allowed anywhere near the levers of power; whether Letwin, Robbins or Cromwell.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Brexit: There, And Back Again
After the usual argy-bargy, we had agreed that the trip would be to the seaside. Not that the decision stopped the sulking and door-slamming, of course.
But the real trouble started when Fi insisted that the children had to decide beforehand what flavour ice-cream we were going to have – it had to be the same for all. Yurt, ever the reborn Labrador, insisted on a double scoop of chocolate; Pashmina, despite her teenage body dysmorphia, dug her heels in for strawberry.
Of course we hadn’t told them that the beach kiosk didn’t offer either and when we broke the news there were tears and shouting.
So this morning Fi kept phoning the vendor who now only stocked a mint and quinoa mix – we suspect that’s because the first was all that grew in his garden and the second was leftovers from his cereal cupboard, but he claimed that all his customers wanted it and in any case that’s all they were going to get.
Then the children started to call her a bad mother and Fi said, fine, you work it out between you. The train was due to leave at ten and if they hadn’t sorted out their differences by then there’d be no ice cream at all, so there.
Well naturally, the inevitable happened and there’s an ongoing thumping and hair pulling situation in the lounge. Fi has been online and tried to change the tickets, but the only option is a later departure and much pricier fares, so now we’re over budget before we’ve even started.
I’m the shed and I suspect Fi is eyeing the organic Molina a Vento Grillo Siciliano in the fridge.
************
Aaaaand that’s democracy, folks.
At least, the Parliamentary version.
Like John Major and David Cameron, Mrs May has spent a long time trying to ride two horses; as in Ben-Hur, except in this Circus Maximus the steeds are galloping away from the finishing post and heading for a fork in the road, determined to take both tracks at the same time.
There is a difference, though: Major, who reportedly prided himself on “knowing how to talk to the man in the four-ale bar” must have been surprised that the latter agreed with the “bastards” in his party; Cameron’s misunderstanding about oddballs who could be sectioned with a visit from Doctor Democracy, turned out a right Eton mess.
At least May knows the score. Now it’s the Commons that is full of “fruitcakes and loonies.”
It’s no use her telling them that the Referendum was on a binding official promise to respect the result; that there was a nationwide majority for Leave that was larger than in many Commons divisions; that most MPs were re-elected on the promise of implementing Leave. For they are the People Who Think They Know Better – the ones that have being making a rowlocks of the country for decades.
And now they’ve thrown out the coach driver and taken charge of the Magical Mystery Tour. They’re all going to sit in the driver’s seat and agree the destination.
What could possibly go wrong?
It’s going to be an interesting few days.
But the real trouble started when Fi insisted that the children had to decide beforehand what flavour ice-cream we were going to have – it had to be the same for all. Yurt, ever the reborn Labrador, insisted on a double scoop of chocolate; Pashmina, despite her teenage body dysmorphia, dug her heels in for strawberry.
Of course we hadn’t told them that the beach kiosk didn’t offer either and when we broke the news there were tears and shouting.
So this morning Fi kept phoning the vendor who now only stocked a mint and quinoa mix – we suspect that’s because the first was all that grew in his garden and the second was leftovers from his cereal cupboard, but he claimed that all his customers wanted it and in any case that’s all they were going to get.
Then the children started to call her a bad mother and Fi said, fine, you work it out between you. The train was due to leave at ten and if they hadn’t sorted out their differences by then there’d be no ice cream at all, so there.
Well naturally, the inevitable happened and there’s an ongoing thumping and hair pulling situation in the lounge. Fi has been online and tried to change the tickets, but the only option is a later departure and much pricier fares, so now we’re over budget before we’ve even started.
I’m the shed and I suspect Fi is eyeing the organic Molina a Vento Grillo Siciliano in the fridge.
************
Aaaaand that’s democracy, folks.
At least, the Parliamentary version.
Like John Major and David Cameron, Mrs May has spent a long time trying to ride two horses; as in Ben-Hur, except in this Circus Maximus the steeds are galloping away from the finishing post and heading for a fork in the road, determined to take both tracks at the same time.
There is a difference, though: Major, who reportedly prided himself on “knowing how to talk to the man in the four-ale bar” must have been surprised that the latter agreed with the “bastards” in his party; Cameron’s misunderstanding about oddballs who could be sectioned with a visit from Doctor Democracy, turned out a right Eton mess.
At least May knows the score. Now it’s the Commons that is full of “fruitcakes and loonies.”
It’s no use her telling them that the Referendum was on a binding official promise to respect the result; that there was a nationwide majority for Leave that was larger than in many Commons divisions; that most MPs were re-elected on the promise of implementing Leave. For they are the People Who Think They Know Better – the ones that have being making a rowlocks of the country for decades.
And now they’ve thrown out the coach driver and taken charge of the Magical Mystery Tour. They’re all going to sit in the driver’s seat and agree the destination.
What could possibly go wrong?
It’s going to be an interesting few days.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Cashless, by JD
Following the post about the prospect of a cashless society http://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2019/03/i-promise-to-pay-bearer-nothing-by-jd.html
and the observation that cash in bank notes is not real money, our blog host sent me this link which highlights 'the risks of a cashless society' -
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/the-risks-of-a-cashless-society/
An interesting post and there were two things he wrote in there which are worth further comment:
(1) "They [the Government] firmly believe if everyone paid their taxes, they would have no problem. Of course, that is a fantasy. Whatever they collect will NEVER be enough to sustain their power."
I remember two years ago Narendra Modi decided to outlaw large denomination notes because 'they were used by tax dodgers' and later I read somewhere that his 'experiment' had been a disaster because it turned out that there was very little in the way of 'black money' circulating but more importantly many businesses collapsed and unemployment went up. Plus it cost the Government in that it resulted in lower tax revenues. Can't recall where I read that but I have found this Wiki page with a summary of events -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Indian_banknote_demonetisation
Further down the Wiki page it has these reactions from a few real experts -
"Steve Forbes described the move as 'Sickening And Immoral'. He stated that "What India has done is commit a massive theft of people's property without even the pretense of due process--a shocking move for a democratically elected government." Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said that it is difficult to see gains from demonetisation, while there may be significant costs to it. Economic analyst Vivek Kaul stated in a BBC article that "demonetisation had been a failure of epic proportions.""
(2): "In Europe, there is already the tradition of canceling their currency. This is done to prevent people from hoarding cash and not paying taxes."
Long time ago it occurred to me that changing the design of banknotes was a subtle way of preventing people from keeping cash under the mattress. The last time the twenties were changed I had to go to the bank because my mother had rather a lot of notes neatly stuffed into envelopes. She had spent her whole life budgeting for the household and being thrifty. Saving up for what she and the family needed. Everyone did the same in the old days. The only outside savings she accumulated were the 'divi' on her Co-op shopping in an account there, all recorded in her 'Pass Book'. When I went to the bank with the envelopes full of cash I just said "Don't ask!" but they understood because they had mothers like that too and knowing the people who worked there helped also. How things have changed and not for the better. I still keep a wary eye on the papers for the first hint of any redesign of the currency.
Over the years I have learned the hard way that financial institutions are, like governments, not your friend! I know now that my small private pension was pointless with the returns being a lot less than promised and we all know what successive Governments have done to our pension funds.
I also know that the insurance and surety companies will do anything to avoid paying out money. Do you know the difference between a bookmaker and an insurance company? The bookie will pay you without any argument over the sum he owes you!
In the eighties virtually all mortgages were linked in some way to endowments or other 'investment for growth' vehicle. I was looking to buy a property in 1987 but could not find a normal straightforward repayment mortgage. They were very rare beasts indeed so I abandoned the idea of buying at that time. It was quite obvious to even my limited understanding of finance that the projected growth of these funds was highly unlikely to happen and so it proved.
So where to place any savings to keep it safe from all the 'sticky fingers' of government agencies and other financial wizards with their promises of unlimited milk and honey flowing from their 'safe' investments?
Not a new problem as I see from this randomly generated blog post which appeared in the right hand sidebar of this blog today.
http://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2010/01/money-fund-or-mattress.html
P.S.
Yesterday I saw the end of one of those RT documentaries and it was Noam Chomsky saying 'money is a form of speech' quoting a legal judgment, Buckley v Valeo 1976. That pricked up my ears so I looked for it and found this -
https://democracyisforpeople.org/page.cfm?id=19
Truly, "the Law is a ass" as Dickens observed. Legal opinion is based on the extreme logical definition of the words in the legal text with judgments handed down which defy common sense. Remember Bill Clinton defending himself during the Lewinsky affair "... it depends on what the definition of 'is' is."
Humpty Dumpty is the patron saint of Lawyers everywhere -
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
I think we have inhabited a looking glass world for a long long time!
and the observation that cash in bank notes is not real money, our blog host sent me this link which highlights 'the risks of a cashless society' -
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/the-risks-of-a-cashless-society/
An interesting post and there were two things he wrote in there which are worth further comment:
(1) "They [the Government] firmly believe if everyone paid their taxes, they would have no problem. Of course, that is a fantasy. Whatever they collect will NEVER be enough to sustain their power."
I remember two years ago Narendra Modi decided to outlaw large denomination notes because 'they were used by tax dodgers' and later I read somewhere that his 'experiment' had been a disaster because it turned out that there was very little in the way of 'black money' circulating but more importantly many businesses collapsed and unemployment went up. Plus it cost the Government in that it resulted in lower tax revenues. Can't recall where I read that but I have found this Wiki page with a summary of events -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Indian_banknote_demonetisation
Further down the Wiki page it has these reactions from a few real experts -
"Steve Forbes described the move as 'Sickening And Immoral'. He stated that "What India has done is commit a massive theft of people's property without even the pretense of due process--a shocking move for a democratically elected government." Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said that it is difficult to see gains from demonetisation, while there may be significant costs to it. Economic analyst Vivek Kaul stated in a BBC article that "demonetisation had been a failure of epic proportions.""
(2): "In Europe, there is already the tradition of canceling their currency. This is done to prevent people from hoarding cash and not paying taxes."
Long time ago it occurred to me that changing the design of banknotes was a subtle way of preventing people from keeping cash under the mattress. The last time the twenties were changed I had to go to the bank because my mother had rather a lot of notes neatly stuffed into envelopes. She had spent her whole life budgeting for the household and being thrifty. Saving up for what she and the family needed. Everyone did the same in the old days. The only outside savings she accumulated were the 'divi' on her Co-op shopping in an account there, all recorded in her 'Pass Book'. When I went to the bank with the envelopes full of cash I just said "Don't ask!" but they understood because they had mothers like that too and knowing the people who worked there helped also. How things have changed and not for the better. I still keep a wary eye on the papers for the first hint of any redesign of the currency.
Over the years I have learned the hard way that financial institutions are, like governments, not your friend! I know now that my small private pension was pointless with the returns being a lot less than promised and we all know what successive Governments have done to our pension funds.
I also know that the insurance and surety companies will do anything to avoid paying out money. Do you know the difference between a bookmaker and an insurance company? The bookie will pay you without any argument over the sum he owes you!
In the eighties virtually all mortgages were linked in some way to endowments or other 'investment for growth' vehicle. I was looking to buy a property in 1987 but could not find a normal straightforward repayment mortgage. They were very rare beasts indeed so I abandoned the idea of buying at that time. It was quite obvious to even my limited understanding of finance that the projected growth of these funds was highly unlikely to happen and so it proved.
So where to place any savings to keep it safe from all the 'sticky fingers' of government agencies and other financial wizards with their promises of unlimited milk and honey flowing from their 'safe' investments?
Not a new problem as I see from this randomly generated blog post which appeared in the right hand sidebar of this blog today.
http://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2010/01/money-fund-or-mattress.html
P.S.
Yesterday I saw the end of one of those RT documentaries and it was Noam Chomsky saying 'money is a form of speech' quoting a legal judgment, Buckley v Valeo 1976. That pricked up my ears so I looked for it and found this -
https://democracyisforpeople.org/page.cfm?id=19
Truly, "the Law is a ass" as Dickens observed. Legal opinion is based on the extreme logical definition of the words in the legal text with judgments handed down which defy common sense. Remember Bill Clinton defending himself during the Lewinsky affair "... it depends on what the definition of 'is' is."
Humpty Dumpty is the patron saint of Lawyers everywhere -
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
I think we have inhabited a looking glass world for a long long time!
Brexit: We Never Lost Our Sovereignty
… but we could.
Until recently I thought as so many still do, that the EU had taken over. At the Third Reading of the 1993 Maastricht Bill, that great if sometimes a little crazy Parliamentarian Tony Benn said it was “my last speech in a free Parliament.”
Not, it turns out, quite, thanks to our judiciary.
It began with a pound of bananas. Or rather, 454 grammes.
In February 2000, trading standards officers visited the Sunderland market stall of greengrocer Steve Thorburn and warned him against using pounds and ounces. After another visit in which they erased the authorisation stamps on his weighing machines, they finally raided him on 4 July 2000, seized his scales and successfully prosecuted him in the Magistrate’s Court in March 2001.
For what?
The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 had entitled traders to continue using Imperial as well as metric units; but the Act was amended in 1994 in accordance with various EU directives, outlawing the use of Imperial measures after the end of 1999.
Now, the EU only had the power to issue such orders because we had joined the EEC under the 1972 European Communities Act. A key point is that ECA 1972 included provisions of the type known here as ‘Henry VIII clauses’ that allow Ministers to pass secondary legislation on matters arising – ‘statutory instruments.’ Hence the basket of Weights and Measures Act 1985 amendments laid before Parliament on 19 July 1994 by the then Minister for Trade and Industry, Lord Strathclyde – see Column 182 in Hansard here.
Statutory instruments represent a partial devolution of power from the Legislature to the Executive, obviating the need to pass new primary legislation and so escaping bothersome Parliamentary scrutiny. This is an issue that goes far beyond the meddlesome nuisances of the EU.
Thorburn’s defence was that of ‘implied repeal’: since the 1985 W&M Act came later, surely it overrode ECA 1972? The magistrate correctly observed that EU law had primacy so long as we were still in the Community, and found against him.
Thorburn and other victims of Germaniacally zealous officialdom appealed to the High Court in 2002. Giving judgment against the ‘Metric Martyrs’, constitutional expert Lord Justice Laws explained that it was not a case of EU law versus British law, since ECA 1972 had imported the former into the latter.
So why could the 1985 law not ‘implicitly repeal’ the one from 1972?
The answer was that ECA 1972 is a ‘constitutional statute’ – a special kind that stands above the common run of laws. But – and here is the key to our prison – it arises from and remains in British law, and can be repealed by us.
Laws LJ went on to say (para 58 here):
‘There is nothing in the ECA which allows the Court of Justice, or any other institutions of the EU, to touch or qualify the conditions of Parliament’s legislative supremacy in the United Kingdom. Not because the legislature chose not to allow it; because by our law it could not allow it. That being so, the legislative and judicial institutions of the EU cannot intrude upon those conditions. The British Parliament has not the authority to authorise any such thing. Being sovereign, it cannot abandon its sovereignty.’
And so, on 25 June 2018, the EU Withdrawal Act was passed.
I am sure that His Lordship is too modest to wish it, but surely he is a strong candidate for a permanent statue on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. As is a humble, freedom-loving greengrocer who died tragically young, mistakenly believing he had been defeated.
This is only the beginning. ‘We need to talk about Parliament’ – the use of statutory instruments, of Orders in Council (such a useful tool for the Constitutional vandal Blair), the general ‘bullying’ as Angela Eagle called it last week, of Parliament by the Executive.
Worse, Bruce Newsome's TCW article today shows the outrages that the latter, or at least the Prime Minister personally, is now prepared to attempt.
How tragic, that she seems willing to assist the relentless drive of the EU to make itself master of all Europe, and to snuff out our near-thousand-year-old flame of liberty before its captive nations try to light their own candles from it.
She has gone from laughing-stock to weeping-stock. She, and they, will, must, fail.
Until recently I thought as so many still do, that the EU had taken over. At the Third Reading of the 1993 Maastricht Bill, that great if sometimes a little crazy Parliamentarian Tony Benn said it was “my last speech in a free Parliament.”
Not, it turns out, quite, thanks to our judiciary.
It began with a pound of bananas. Or rather, 454 grammes.
In February 2000, trading standards officers visited the Sunderland market stall of greengrocer Steve Thorburn and warned him against using pounds and ounces. After another visit in which they erased the authorisation stamps on his weighing machines, they finally raided him on 4 July 2000, seized his scales and successfully prosecuted him in the Magistrate’s Court in March 2001.
For what?
The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 had entitled traders to continue using Imperial as well as metric units; but the Act was amended in 1994 in accordance with various EU directives, outlawing the use of Imperial measures after the end of 1999.
Now, the EU only had the power to issue such orders because we had joined the EEC under the 1972 European Communities Act. A key point is that ECA 1972 included provisions of the type known here as ‘Henry VIII clauses’ that allow Ministers to pass secondary legislation on matters arising – ‘statutory instruments.’ Hence the basket of Weights and Measures Act 1985 amendments laid before Parliament on 19 July 1994 by the then Minister for Trade and Industry, Lord Strathclyde – see Column 182 in Hansard here.
Statutory instruments represent a partial devolution of power from the Legislature to the Executive, obviating the need to pass new primary legislation and so escaping bothersome Parliamentary scrutiny. This is an issue that goes far beyond the meddlesome nuisances of the EU.
Thorburn’s defence was that of ‘implied repeal’: since the 1985 W&M Act came later, surely it overrode ECA 1972? The magistrate correctly observed that EU law had primacy so long as we were still in the Community, and found against him.
Thorburn and other victims of Germaniacally zealous officialdom appealed to the High Court in 2002. Giving judgment against the ‘Metric Martyrs’, constitutional expert Lord Justice Laws explained that it was not a case of EU law versus British law, since ECA 1972 had imported the former into the latter.
So why could the 1985 law not ‘implicitly repeal’ the one from 1972?
The answer was that ECA 1972 is a ‘constitutional statute’ – a special kind that stands above the common run of laws. But – and here is the key to our prison – it arises from and remains in British law, and can be repealed by us.
Laws LJ went on to say (para 58 here):
‘There is nothing in the ECA which allows the Court of Justice, or any other institutions of the EU, to touch or qualify the conditions of Parliament’s legislative supremacy in the United Kingdom. Not because the legislature chose not to allow it; because by our law it could not allow it. That being so, the legislative and judicial institutions of the EU cannot intrude upon those conditions. The British Parliament has not the authority to authorise any such thing. Being sovereign, it cannot abandon its sovereignty.’
And so, on 25 June 2018, the EU Withdrawal Act was passed.
I am sure that His Lordship is too modest to wish it, but surely he is a strong candidate for a permanent statue on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. As is a humble, freedom-loving greengrocer who died tragically young, mistakenly believing he had been defeated.
This is only the beginning. ‘We need to talk about Parliament’ – the use of statutory instruments, of Orders in Council (such a useful tool for the Constitutional vandal Blair), the general ‘bullying’ as Angela Eagle called it last week, of Parliament by the Executive.
Worse, Bruce Newsome's TCW article today shows the outrages that the latter, or at least the Prime Minister personally, is now prepared to attempt.
How tragic, that she seems willing to assist the relentless drive of the EU to make itself master of all Europe, and to snuff out our near-thousand-year-old flame of liberty before its captive nations try to light their own candles from it.
She has gone from laughing-stock to weeping-stock. She, and they, will, must, fail.
Friday, March 22, 2019
New post on "The Conservative Woman"
... in which I discuss Bercow's Monday statement and the points of order arising.
Here:
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/point-of-disorder-mr-speaker/
Here:
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/point-of-disorder-mr-speaker/
FRIDAY MUSIC: Fandango, by JD
The Fandango is a lively couples dance from Spain, usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping ("palmas" in Spanish). Fandango can both be sung and danced.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandango
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandango
Thursday, March 21, 2019
I Promise To Pay The Bearer - Nothing, by JD
Reading this in the Daily Mail the other day reminded me that I had seen people waving their cards at the tills and then walking away without collecting any receipt or verification. How do they know at the end of the day what they have spent and where? Do they all have such wonderful photographic memories? Very often the purchase is for a minimal amount which baffles me even more.
But the use of credit cards and debit cards is annoyingly widespread. I say annoying because the users of cards are the ones who hold up the queue while they fumble in purse or wallet trying to find the card. Then they take an age to put their pin number into the reader and then take their time replacing said card in purse or wallet.
(It doesn't really annoy me, it just amuses me and I have all the time in the world.)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6814055/One-three-card-payments-Britain-day-contactless.html
But in among the comments was this: "A misleading article. Whilst payment volume is higher by card, transaction volume is still note and coin ahead of card, including contactless."
So what exactly is the percentage of cashless transactions in the 'market place' and what is the percentage of cash purchases?
An illustrative tale:
I was watching the racing from Cheltenham last Friday (Gold Cup day) and enjoying it as usual of course. The coverage includes news from the 'betting ring' at regular intervals. There is one reporter standing watching the bookmakers and telling us about the changing odds. Before one of the races he was standing with £10,000 in cash in his hand and saying it was from a punter who was waging it on a particular horse, he then threw the money into the bookmaker's satchel while shouting at the camera. He did the same again before the Gold Cup. He counted out five bundles of £1000 each and said 'this is for a friend of mine' and he handed the money to the bookie and received a betting slip in return. (Both horses lost, by the way!)
So I thought to myself: how is that going to work in our new exciting and wonderful cashless society? And if 'cashless' betting ever arrives, what happens if you have a winner and you go to collect your winnings? "Give me your bank details please and we will transfer your winnings electronically." Yes.....er, no I don't think so.
I can't imagine that the bookies will welcome such a thing. More to the point, owners and professional gamblers are all happier to deal in cash and some owners are very rich men indeed and are not without influence in this country.
And then I thought of other instances where cash is the best choice; car boot sales or craft fairs or 'flea' markets and other second hand markets.
My father always had a pocket full of cash and so did I in the days we were building houses. Most traders did prefer cash because it was and is quicker and easier than anything else if you need to buy materials and other odds and ends during the working day. In fact up to the early seventies there were still things like wage packets and people were paid with real cash money! (Pound notes are not 'real' money; they are promissory notes. It is written on every bank note - 'I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of £xyz')
I still pay for everything with cash as far as possible. In fact I have forgotten the pin number for my credit card; if I use it at all it is for buying on line. Last time I used it outside was to buy a second hand car - half cash and half card! I suppose I would get arrested if I tried to do that now :)
Will we all be forced into this plastic world or will enough people resist? And is it as widespread as the papers are telling us because I have seen contradictory articles saying that there is still £x billion in notes in circulation.
As my grandfather used to say when he looked at the state of the world "I'm glad I'm on the way out!" and then start laughing at the absurdity of life. I am pleased to say I have inherited his sense of humour!
_____________________________________________
Sackerson says:
The Bank of England responded to a Freedom Of Information request several years ago, saying:
"The link with gold was finally broken in 1931 and since that time there has been no other asset into which holders have the right to convert Bank of England notes. They can only be exchanged for other Bank of England notes. Nowadays public faith in the pound is maintained in a different way - through the Bank's operation of monetary policy, the object of which, by statute, is price stability."
Faith and trust are in short supply these days; and "price stability" doesn't mean what it used to. The BoE says:
"Monetary policy affects how much prices are rising – called the rate of inflation. We set monetary policy to achieve the Government’s target of keeping inflation at 2%.
"Low and stable inflation is good for the UK’s economy and it is our main monetary policy aim."
To keep pace with target inflation (and how is that measured? RPI? CPI? Something else?) you need your bank account to give you 2.5% per annum pre-basic rate tax - on all your savings, not up to some wretchedly low limit.
Money used to be a store of value. For centuries, a loaf of bread was a penny. And as I said a few years ago:
"The Bank of England's website has a page that lets you calculate cumulative inflation for any period from 1750 onwards. According to them, a basket of goods and services costing £1 in 1750 would have cost (the equivalent of) £1.80 in 1900 - an average annual inflation rate of 0.3%. That period covers the tremendous increase in productivity introduced by the Industrial Revolution and further late-nineteenth-century scientific and technological developments, so inflation is not needed for business and prosperity."
Then there's the danger of strangers electronically hacking into one's bank account; and the wholesale spying by retailers and potentially the Government, on all our transactions.
But if you want something worse to worry about, there's the EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD). Under this, if a bank is in crisis, it can cut its debt to creditors and/or exchange the debt for a share in the ownership of the bank ("Congratulations! You are now part owner of a dodgy business!")
So what, silly creditors, who'd lend money to a bank, you might think. What many people still don't realise is that their bank deposits are no such thing - money left with a bank is, legally, an investment. And, dear "depositor", you are not first in the queue to be paid when a bank defaults.
If more people understood the implications, they would be a little less likely to leave their life savings in those reassuringly solid marble-and-plate-glass fortresses. This is causing concern in high finance circles, too.
Except holding cash - paper receipts for Nothing At All - is hardly an attractive alternative.
Can you imagine that at a time like this, Canada's comical boy PM sold off the rest of the country's gold? Keynes called gold a "barbarous relic", but it has an intrinsic value - they used to say that "an ounce of gold buys a handmade suit" and that's still pretty much true. Compare that with a rotting paper relic.
Clap hands for Tinkerbell, everyone. Only the power of faith keeps us aloft.
But the use of credit cards and debit cards is annoyingly widespread. I say annoying because the users of cards are the ones who hold up the queue while they fumble in purse or wallet trying to find the card. Then they take an age to put their pin number into the reader and then take their time replacing said card in purse or wallet.
(It doesn't really annoy me, it just amuses me and I have all the time in the world.)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6814055/One-three-card-payments-Britain-day-contactless.html
But in among the comments was this: "A misleading article. Whilst payment volume is higher by card, transaction volume is still note and coin ahead of card, including contactless."
So what exactly is the percentage of cashless transactions in the 'market place' and what is the percentage of cash purchases?
An illustrative tale:
I was watching the racing from Cheltenham last Friday (Gold Cup day) and enjoying it as usual of course. The coverage includes news from the 'betting ring' at regular intervals. There is one reporter standing watching the bookmakers and telling us about the changing odds. Before one of the races he was standing with £10,000 in cash in his hand and saying it was from a punter who was waging it on a particular horse, he then threw the money into the bookmaker's satchel while shouting at the camera. He did the same again before the Gold Cup. He counted out five bundles of £1000 each and said 'this is for a friend of mine' and he handed the money to the bookie and received a betting slip in return. (Both horses lost, by the way!)
So I thought to myself: how is that going to work in our new exciting and wonderful cashless society? And if 'cashless' betting ever arrives, what happens if you have a winner and you go to collect your winnings? "Give me your bank details please and we will transfer your winnings electronically." Yes.....er, no I don't think so.
I can't imagine that the bookies will welcome such a thing. More to the point, owners and professional gamblers are all happier to deal in cash and some owners are very rich men indeed and are not without influence in this country.
And then I thought of other instances where cash is the best choice; car boot sales or craft fairs or 'flea' markets and other second hand markets.
My father always had a pocket full of cash and so did I in the days we were building houses. Most traders did prefer cash because it was and is quicker and easier than anything else if you need to buy materials and other odds and ends during the working day. In fact up to the early seventies there were still things like wage packets and people were paid with real cash money! (Pound notes are not 'real' money; they are promissory notes. It is written on every bank note - 'I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of £xyz')
I still pay for everything with cash as far as possible. In fact I have forgotten the pin number for my credit card; if I use it at all it is for buying on line. Last time I used it outside was to buy a second hand car - half cash and half card! I suppose I would get arrested if I tried to do that now :)
Will we all be forced into this plastic world or will enough people resist? And is it as widespread as the papers are telling us because I have seen contradictory articles saying that there is still £x billion in notes in circulation.
As my grandfather used to say when he looked at the state of the world "I'm glad I'm on the way out!" and then start laughing at the absurdity of life. I am pleased to say I have inherited his sense of humour!
_____________________________________________
Sackerson says:
The Bank of England responded to a Freedom Of Information request several years ago, saying:
"The link with gold was finally broken in 1931 and since that time there has been no other asset into which holders have the right to convert Bank of England notes. They can only be exchanged for other Bank of England notes. Nowadays public faith in the pound is maintained in a different way - through the Bank's operation of monetary policy, the object of which, by statute, is price stability."
Faith and trust are in short supply these days; and "price stability" doesn't mean what it used to. The BoE says:
"Monetary policy affects how much prices are rising – called the rate of inflation. We set monetary policy to achieve the Government’s target of keeping inflation at 2%.
"Low and stable inflation is good for the UK’s economy and it is our main monetary policy aim."
To keep pace with target inflation (and how is that measured? RPI? CPI? Something else?) you need your bank account to give you 2.5% per annum pre-basic rate tax - on all your savings, not up to some wretchedly low limit.
Money used to be a store of value. For centuries, a loaf of bread was a penny. And as I said a few years ago:
"The Bank of England's website has a page that lets you calculate cumulative inflation for any period from 1750 onwards. According to them, a basket of goods and services costing £1 in 1750 would have cost (the equivalent of) £1.80 in 1900 - an average annual inflation rate of 0.3%. That period covers the tremendous increase in productivity introduced by the Industrial Revolution and further late-nineteenth-century scientific and technological developments, so inflation is not needed for business and prosperity."
Then there's the danger of strangers electronically hacking into one's bank account; and the wholesale spying by retailers and potentially the Government, on all our transactions.
But if you want something worse to worry about, there's the EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD). Under this, if a bank is in crisis, it can cut its debt to creditors and/or exchange the debt for a share in the ownership of the bank ("Congratulations! You are now part owner of a dodgy business!")
So what, silly creditors, who'd lend money to a bank, you might think. What many people still don't realise is that their bank deposits are no such thing - money left with a bank is, legally, an investment. And, dear "depositor", you are not first in the queue to be paid when a bank defaults.
If more people understood the implications, they would be a little less likely to leave their life savings in those reassuringly solid marble-and-plate-glass fortresses. This is causing concern in high finance circles, too.
Except holding cash - paper receipts for Nothing At All - is hardly an attractive alternative.
Can you imagine that at a time like this, Canada's comical boy PM sold off the rest of the country's gold? Keynes called gold a "barbarous relic", but it has an intrinsic value - they used to say that "an ounce of gold buys a handmade suit" and that's still pretty much true. Compare that with a rotting paper relic.
Clap hands for Tinkerbell, everyone. Only the power of faith keeps us aloft.
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