Dear Mr Cameron – my poetic plea

This is my poetic plea to David Cameron asking him to consider what effect his cuts are having and hoping he may slow down. With your help, lets hope he gets to see it!

Dear Mr Cameron,
I speak with the upmost honesty,
Though not a millionaire or famous man,
I hope you still listen to me.
Take a walk into the real world, let the muck stick on your feet,
Take a look at all the homeless struggling to make a living on the street.
How can you claim to fight for fairness in foreign lands,
Yet you place a heavy burden on the poorest with your other hand?
How can just walk on by,
When the jobless, the hopeless of your creation just break down and cry?
To the youth who want a better life, the ladder you kick away,
With no support, no job, no prospects, no hope of a better day.
 ”We’re all in it together” a line you always say,
Yet you know nothing of worry, no job and bills to pay.
I plead with you slow down with the axe swung highly in the air,
Think of those with rash action you condemn to the pit of despair,
Slow down your onslaught Mr Cameron, show us that you care.
Dear my honourable friend,
I speak with the upmost honesty,
Though not a millionaire or famous man,
I hope you still listen to me.

Libya- MP’s back the UN resolution

Last night, after a long debate in the Commons, Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the UN resolution in Libya. The PM stated that the military action by coalition forces in Libya may have helped to prevent a “bloody massacre” in Benghazi, adding that the intervention was “necessary, legal and right”, telling MPs that inaction would have resulted in the “slaughter of civilians”.

Ed Miliband gave an empassioned speech supporting the measures, stating that “It is a just cause, with a feasible mission and it has international support.” He compared leaving Libyans to their fate with failure to intervene in the Spanish Civil War, saying: “As we saw the defenceless people of Libya attacked by their own government, it would equally revolt the conscience of the world to know we could have done something to help them, yet chose not to.”

But he added that ”We should be clear in this House about the degree of difficulty of what we are attempting: to secure a coalition from beyond western powers to support intervention in another North African state. And we cannot afford mission creep, therefore – including in our public pronouncements.” This is an important indicator that many in Britain and the Arab League are somewhat skeptical about action as it is and that a possible occupation of land forces would risk endangering support for the action.

Yesterday on his facebook page, David Miliband has stated his support for the resolution stating that “It seems to me clear rather than complicated that supporting the UN SCR is the right thing to do.   The Prime Minister spoke in general terms, Ed very clearly about the ‘responsibility to protect’, in advancing the case that it would be a dereliction of duty to turn our backs.”

However he adds that there is a dnager of stalemate, “but it is far less dangerous than slaughter.  Those of us supporting the resolution should not run away from the prospect that Gaddafi may endure in significant parts of his country.  We may not like it…  But it is better that he is hemmed in than given a free rein.”

I agree with this sentiment that we should not just stand by and allow Gaddaffi to massacre the rebels. What Ed, what both Davids have emphasised is the need to act to avoid bloodshed. The case in point was the ceasefires that Gaddaffi has proposed yet to break them shortly after. If we do nothing, we send a message that such behaviour is a) acceptable and b) normal, both of which are not the case. However we must stick to the mandate as the last thing we want is more boots on the ground for the 3rd time in 10 years. This would evaporate the support so carefully gained for this resolution.

I salute you,

You who will not stand by while the blood flows into the sand,

You who will protect the helpless from the tyrants hand.

I salute you,

Whilst cautious to pick up the sword, you will not stand by,

You, with heavy heart , will protect them with sword in the sky.

I salute you, my honourable friends

Whose consciousnce will not leave them on the side of the road,

In the desert left to die.

Hanukkah – let the light shine in the darkness!

An evil ruler oppresses a nation, a few choose to resist… I’m not talking about the student protests, I’m talking about Hanukkah and to my jewish friends, I wish you all a happy hannukah (or whatever the proper greeting is in hebrew!)

Yet the parallels cannot be ignored with contemporary cirumstances. Echoes of Antiochus forcing a new mythology upon the Jewish people were on display today with David Cameron’s flippant remark “I’d rather be a son of Thatcher than a son of Brown” in response to Ed Miliband’s comment that the government were the children of Thatcher. Thus, call me Dave would have us believe that Brown, who saved us from a possible bank crash akin to Wall Street, is worse than a woman whose policies divided a nation and placed many into poverty and dismembered society. This is akin to Antiochus attempting to place a statue of Zeus into the temple of Jerusalem- trying to force their ideology on to us all!

My friend Jo, stated on her blog that Labour must capitlaise on this slip of the slick Tory rebranding http://jo2308.typepad.com/political_frames/2010/12/dont-waste-the-gift-of-thatchers-children-ed.html , and I commented saying that “it just shows how out of touch the Tories are with the normal of people of Britain, and is a sign they may want to repeat her handiwork”. We, like the Maccabees of 161 BC, must resist and oppose this attempted ideological whitewash. We must fight them on the tuition fee rise, like the students in the sit ins, we must oppose them on the public sector cuts. We must resist their myth of the necessity of deficit reduction at all costs and the continual scapegoating of the previous government. We must be the light in this darkness that miraculously keeps burning. Our ideals and beliefs are at stake!

Happy hanukkah comrades!

An evil ruler oppresses a nation,

Con artist, his weapon is mis-information,

He tries to rewrite history,

Forcefeed us with his false ideology,

He seeks to put his idol in our sanctuary.

We must resist,

For the sake of all we hold dear,

For the sake of all that is just, all what we believe,

We must resist,

We must be the Maccabees,

Never ceasing in our fight,

In this darkess, let there be light,

Let the light burn,

Miraculously let our candle keep on burning!

 

First cut is the deepest- Defence cuts!

The axeman cometh and today, the defence review showed the first cuts from the axe. Harrier jump jets, the Navy’s flagship HMS Ark Royal and planned Nimrod spy planes are to be axed and 42,000 MoD and forces jobs cut by 2015, as part of Cameron’s plans to cut defence spending by 8% in the  the strategic defence review . 

The RAF and Navy will lose 5,000 jobs each, the Army 7,000 and the Ministry of Defence 25,000 civilian staff and axing the Harrier and Ark Royal means no planes will be able to fly from British aircraft carriers until 2019 (doesnt this constitute false advertising?).

Here are the details at a glance:

• Harrier jump jet retired
• Nimrod spy plane cancelled
• 5,000 RAF personnel axed over five years
• 5,000 Navy personnel cut
• 7,000 army personnel cut
• 25,000 civilian MoD staff axed
• Trident replaced but £750m savings from fewer warheads
• Two aircraft carriers saved, but one will not enter service

Ed Miliband stated that ”it is a spending review dressed up as a defence review, it has been chaotically conducted, it has been hastily prepared and it is simply not credible as a strategic blueprint for our future defence needs,” and Jim Murphy added that “what’s the purpose of an aircraft carrier if not to carry aircraft? And I think to leave our country without a single fixed-wing aircraft able to fly off our aircraft carriers for a decade is a very worrying decision.”

I agree 100% as it seems like this was a hastily put together review that is ideologically driven as aprts of the cuts regime. Do they not remember what happened last time a tory minister cut defence? The Falklands were invaded by an Argentina who felt that due to these cuts we were not committed to our overseas territories. Would such a cut broadcast to the world the same invitation?

Chaotic,

Your plans seep out over days,

Carelessness costs lives,

Costs jobs, you cut too deep.

You cut without thought of consequence,

Bloodlust blinds you.

You clip our wings,

Absent is the roar of engines on the top deck,

You leave us undefended, unguarded,

A tempting target, fruit ripe for the picking,

We are left to pay the price for your dogma,

For your blindness, we will pay the price!

Lies over the winter fuel allowance!

Reports in the press state that Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory Work and Pensions Secretary, wants to cut winter fuel payments. Before the election, when David Cameron would say anything to get elected, he denied he would ever cut the winter fuel allowance if he became Prime Minister. He even accused Labour of telling “lies” in suggesting that he would cut it. Thus here we go again, the coalition once again lies and backtracks.

On David Miliband’s website there is a campiagn for us to send an email to the PM, asking him to come clean on the winter fuel allowance.

Here was mine:

Dear Prime Minister

I have seen reports in the press today that Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory Work and Pensions Secretary, wants to cut winter fuel payments.

Before the election, when you were saying anything to get elected, you denied you would ever cut the winter fuel allowance if you became Prime Minister. You even accused Labour of telling “lies” for suggesting that a future Tory Government would cut it.

Yet today you look set to break that promise.

Winter Fuel Payments are a universal benefit, pioneered by Labour to help pensioners through the winter and fight fuel poverty. Up and down Britain, pensioners rely on this benefit to get by. The payments Labour introduced mean many pensioners can heat their homes without worrying and fretting over the energy bill to come.

You need to come clean and tell us which vulnerable pensioners will lose out.

Though this is the generic email sent, I added this line to it in order to hopefully get him to take notice:
Prove to us that this is a new politics of honesty and honour!

I urge you all, no matter which candidate you are backing, to join this petition to get the PM to come clean. In order to send an email, follow this link to DM’s website:
http://action.davidmiliband.net/page/speakout/winterfuelpayments

We need to spread the word about this and hopefully instead of scattered raindrops, we can be a flood that he cannot ignore!

PAKISTAN-GATE!

Funny how one careless man can be the centre of a firestorm, but Call-me-dave, thats what you get when you are the PM. Effigies of yourself being burned doesnt occur when your leader of the opposition eh? Cameron’s comments about Pakistan ‘exporting terror’ have once again been defended ahead of President Zardari’s arrival to Britain, a trip that has been much criticised in Pakistan, with many wishing Zardari had boycotted the event.

On Saturday, after the hustings, David Miliband, in his capacity as Shadow Foreign Secretary, stated in a BBC interview that the prime minister needed to “think through carefully what he is going to say” and whilst Britain must speak with “conviction” on important issues, he said Mr Cameron had only told “half the story” and “failed to recognise” Pakistan had lost thousands of its own citizens, including former leader Benazir Bhutto, to terrorist attacks, adding that “there is a fine line between a straight talker and a loud mouth.”

I could agree more. In my opinion, aswell as Cameron’s comments telling only half of the story and omitting the fact that Pakistan has paid a terrible price in fighting the Taliban, I also find his comments remarkably insulting to the many people of pakistani descent who live in this country. Next time PM, think things thorugh before you speak on our behalf. Know the difference between your personal opinions in private and official diplomatic positions. If one can’t control his mouth, how can he control a country. Makes one wonder who makes the better PM?

Woe to the motormouth

Woe to our Prime Minister,

With controversy in his wake,

Belligerence in his voice,

Recklessness in his choice.

Tells them only what they want to hear,

In Turkey, he insults ‘their’ enemy,

In India, he insults ‘their’ enemy,

Making their enemies our enemies?

Woe to you, you put us at risk,

In the firing line with your verbal excrement.

How can you proport to control a nation,

When you can’t control your own mouth?