Palin-drone

We all suspected that the lopsided smile and insincere wink were possibly affectations of someone about as warm as an autumnal walk in Preston and so it seems, according to The Times' Christine Toomey.

Click on the title to read the full article but it seems that Alaskans are queueing up to tell the world what a hard-nosed social climber she is.

Of course, this article could have been written with the intention to show her as such, but she does appear to have left plenty of ammunition lying around for our intrepid reporter.

(Palin next to another of her victims - I mean the Caribou)
Talking of ammunition, twas most illuminating to see the pictures found in the original article about her in the Times magazine.

One shows a younger Palin kneeling proudly next to a Caribou, freshly mown down with her semi-automatic, while her toddler daughter there bemused and possibly permanently traumatised. (Not sure if this is the daughter who forgot to follow Mom's advice to abstain from a bit of pre-nuptual coitus or not)

Anyhoo, if she can do this to her own children, then what do you think she'll do to ours? There's one to ponder America.

Let's hope nobody gets raped on her watch and then gets pregnant, as this one-woman baby boom will make the victim keep the resultant progeny.

Suddenly the wink and the smile don't seem quite so warm.

Explains, refrains and underhand deals?

I always think, if you don't get to dish out the juice on a story first, it sometimes pays to hang fire and see what develops.

This is something that Newsvine have done with this story. Just click on the blog title and you'll see that they have looked a bit deeper into Lord Mandelson's role in all this he said, she said kerfuffle.

You know, the one regarding what George Osborne did or didn't say on Oleg Deripaska's junk off the coast of Corfu.
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I'm sure it's all very serious and worthy but surely there's more pressing things to be going on with one would have thought, with the world due to end because banks aren't as rich as they would hope and Sarah Palin dangerously close to the White House.

It seems it's a happy coincidence that Lord Mandelson (or Valdemort as Ian Hislop calls him) is back in situ and Tories start getting a kicking. Perhaps Mr Brown is a shrewder political animal than people give him credit for.

If Mandelson is stirring things up behind the scenes, what an irony after his own, previous double demise due to questionable personal finances (at least according to Whitehall rules).

Yet this could still blow up in the new business minister's face, as he was responsible for legislating on matters directly affecting Deripaska's businesses in his former role at the EU - whilst apparently enjoying a relaxing G&T on chez Deripaska sur la mer.

For the man who is closing in on Sinatra's record for comebacks, it may yet be another false dawn in an already colourful political career.

Palin Looks A Bit Pythonesque

It seems that Sarah Palin, the gun-toting, Alaskan Governor, tasked with backing up Republican presidential nominee John McCain really is just like the rest of us.
She has been outspoken about the Federal Courts in America.
She has cited Roe vs Wade, a bill that allowed abortion up to 12 weeks in the States but came a cropper on a US TV show when the 'Pro-Lifer' and committed Christian was asked to cite other decisions she disagreed with.
Some Pythonesque prevarication was followed by a touch of bemusement from the questioner, Katie Couric.
Check out the links for some more comment on this but you'll be hard-pressed to find a lot of support for Mrs Palin, whose 17-year-old daughter was recently exposed as being pregnant prior to marriage, much to the embarrassed teeth-gnashing of the Christian Right of her party.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/01/palin-has-difficulty-naming-court-case-she-disagrees-with/

This latest incident shows up the US political system at its best - exposing every statement made in infinite detail, before the hyperbole is put aside and the real debate is conducted at the ballot box next month.
Talking of the ballot box, and the historic problems that it seems to have caused our transatlantic cousins over the years, check out the hilarious Simpson's video due to be aired two days before election night. Ed. Now been blocked by 20th Century Fox. Looks like we'll have to wait until the election to see it now.


Also, check out the comments on it on one of the US's many anti-Liberal blogs. Decide for yourself what you think.
Overall, Miss Palin's lack of preparation, and vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden's performance may turn out to be more critical than the debates of Obama and McCain.
We watch with interest.

An Ear On Brummigem & Other Yarns

As the Tories descend on Birmingham to dispense the wisdom of all things capitalist, it's quite interesting to note one of the first edicts to be run past the waiting hacks - for this is who the new policy statements are surely aimed at.
The latest is a freeze on the Tory-inspired council tax. The crux is a two-year freeze, as long as councils keep spending rises to 2.5% or less.
With inflation running at about 4.7% that represents a cut in budgets for our councils who, in the main, have never covered themselves in glory when it comes to managing our cash.
Wyn Grant's blog goes into more detail about this and I would suggest a look at it at: http://britpolanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/09/council-tax-offer-less-good-than-it.html
He makes the valid point that it has to be paid for from somewhere and, as the Tories are the party of tax cutting it might put a bit of a dent in their plans to reduce the burden.
As usual the suspicion that Mr & Mrs Public will foot the bill, as opposed to Mr/Ms Businessperson, creeps into view.
The problem is that Mr Cameron is a bit polished, or Blair-Light as BBC political hatchet-man Nick Robinson deftly refers to him.
He's no Margaret Thatcher. Some may say thank God but she did at least have some conviction. Like her or loathe her she had a strong conviction about what she wanted to do with Britain.
To that end have a look at this profile of Mrs T, The Iron Lady, especially if like many of my colleagues at university, you never really got to know her in her prime.
It's at: http://defencedebates.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/margaret-thatcher-distingush-and-excellency-for-a-lifetime/Anyway, that's all for now as I'm all blogged out on my maiden attempt and I have a small Staffordshire Bull Terrier looking at me with pleading eyes.
We'll do the dangerous dogs debate another time - or should that be dangerous owners...?