{"id":3391,"date":"2012-07-08T07:05:10","date_gmt":"2012-07-08T06:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/?p=3391"},"modified":"2026-05-09T14:36:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:36:58","slug":"8-july-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/2012\/07\/08\/8-july-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"8 July 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a television programme a few years back called \u201cThe Fast Show\u201d which our English readership will remember. One of the recurring sketches<\/a> each week was the appearance of Jesse who pronounced on various topics. This unkempt, dishevelled tramp would emerge from a dilapidated shed and announce that this week he had been mostly eating . . .  boiled cabbage or Brussels sprouts, etc.<\/p>\n

So, in fond memory of (and with apologies to) a pleasant enough comedy programme:<\/p>\n

This week we have mostly been having . . . RAIN!<\/p>\n

On Friday we had the latest batch of flood warnings<\/a> and the long-term forecast for our area shows rain, rain and then some more rain<\/a> \u2013 every day for the coming week or as long into the future as they think they can reliably predict. And this after having had rain more or less every day (bar the odd one or two) for the past three or four weeks. It really is getting tedious now.<\/p>\n

You will be as surprised as we were to hear that Bob Diamond, the head of Barclays Bank, has finally resigned, a day or two after he declared that he had no intention of doing so. Of course, he is still insisting that he knew nothing about the efforts to \u201cfix\u201d the London and European interest rates at the height of the banking crisis, in spite of being in charge of the department concerned. It\u2019s unclear at this point how many kajillions of pounds he will receive for finally, having been dragged kicking and screaming to be sure, falling on his sword.<\/p>\n

The Government\u2019s response has been quite interesting and it seems clear that party politics seem to be more important than getting to the truth (so, what else is new?). The current government blames the last government for its lax approach to banking regulation. However, now that the banker\u2019s friends are running the show they\u2019ve shown no inclination to do much of anything about strengthening those same lax regulations. Indeed, Osborne (the tit, Chancellor of the Exchequer) has even claimed that ministers in the previous government knew about and approved of Barclays (and other banks, it seems) flouting the rules. Labour, of course, denies the claims (they knew nothing!) and have called for a judicial enquiry, i.e., one held with a judge presiding where testimony is given under oath and witnesses are questioned by lawyers. Surprisingly, the current government is resisting that idea and has instead set up a Parliamentary enquiry where there are no lawyers and one is not questioned under oath. Hmm, it makes you think, doesn\u2019t it \u2013 who has more to hide?<\/p>\n

Interesting article (to me, anyway) in the Guardian on Friday about the education minister, Michael Gove, burying a report<\/a> which seemed to suggest that the Building Schools for the Future project, which he axed within a few weeks of the Coalition coming to power, actually achieved better results in terms of raising achievement than his pet project of establishing \u201cFree\u201d schools and academies. It seems that, once again, party politics gets in the way of doing the right thing.<\/p>\n

Adrian Raeside has come up with another cartoon which certainly captures our Molly\u2019s attitude to life these days:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Brutal<\/p>\n

\n

And finally, a time-lapse video from Nick of our favourite girl shopping \u2018til she drops.<\/p>\n

\n

httpv:\/\/youtu.be\/q89u5Atj08Q<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Love to you all,<\/p>\n

Greg<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was a television programme a few years back called \u201cThe Fast Show\u201d which our English readership will remember. One of the recurring sketches each week was the appearance of Jesse who pronounced on various topics. This unkempt, dishevelled tramp would emerge from a dilapidated shed and announce that this week he had been mostly … <\/p>\n

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