Posted by tigertom on Feb 23, 2006 in
General I’ve read in ‘The Business’ that the Treasury believes Britons would put up with 80% tax. It’s currently about 60% for most people, when you factor in indirect taxes as well.
Given that manufacturing is in terminal decline, and The Square Mile is Britain’s only source of real income, one wonders where they get these ideas from.
The fact there isn’t a depression at them moment is due to people borrowing against their future with secured loans and credit cards, etc. I understand even the Government is doing this with the Private Finance Initiative; our decendants will foot the bill for today’s public services.
And they accused Ronald Reagan of ‘voodoo economics’? He had nothing on Gordon Brown. The political culture is so corrupt here it’s seen as natural that a dour crypto tax-and-spend socialist should be seriously considered as the next Prime Minister.
He knows he’ll only get it if his boss hands it to him; he’s not charismatic enough to win it himself. Mr. Brown is a poor public speaker with no ability to connect directly to the proletariat in a friendly way.
What has he got to offer: higher taxes, recession, a crumbling infrastructure? Public transport is poor, there’s more street crime, schools are turning out egomaniacs who can’t spell, hospitals are likely to make you worse, not better,
Britain is crap at sports, even football; most teams buy as many foreign players as they can afford.
That’s what you get when you fixate on an unholy mixture of political correctness and pseudo-monetarism. Nationalism and religion are out, cultural relativism is ‘in’. Sell off the playing fields, and snub the symbols of empire.
Funny now how lately Mr. Brown is trying to promote ‘Britishness’. His party have made it so flying the Union Jack on public buildings is considered ‘fascist’ by the socialist types who gravitate to local goverment.
People have other, more serious problems to contend with; they’re working 60 hour weeks just to stand still; most of their money goes in taxes and bills.
The real rot began when banks allowed joint spousal mortgages. In the beginning I’m sure it was a great way to buy a better house. Unfortunately, it soon pushed prices way up. Now it means both husband and wife will have to work until they drop to own their home, and single people won’t be able to afford them at all.
Which means their kids get less attention. The parents try to make up for that by organising more ‘activities’ for them, and buying them more junk. So the kids become more disaffected, like spoiled Caesars. They resort to hooliganism, because they can, and there’s no one to say them ‘nay’.
God forbid you might slap a naughty child, or biff an obvious crook. The current generation still think they’re carrying the torch for the civil rights movement: "Better one thousand crimes go unsolved and unpunished, than one innocent be tried" seems to be the message.
I think political correctness started in Californian universities in the 1980’s. Society had become very civil indeed. There were no more major battles to fight, so good manners became politicised.
Public servants, university lecturers, students, minority groups, and the perpetually-worried middle classes started chattering against all sorts of perceived oppression. And now it’s so _easy_ to take a pop at the powers that be. You’re not likely to be thrown in jail and tortured, in the West. It’s a bit like a chimp throwing his faeces at his keeper.
The result: a society of people afraid to speak their mind, and constantly self-censoring.
The last frontier is the human mind. Fear those who want to enclose it.
Posted by tigertom on Feb 10, 2006 in
General Just seen in the news that the Brits are going to allow the Child
Support Agency access to the credit reports of absent fathers
they’re chasing. Which may seem moral, but does not bode well for
everyone’s financial privacy in the future.
The Government owns
your ass here, and is very good at screwing the bobs out of the
serfs. Small wonder they can’t wait to retire abroad. Can you
imagine anyone wanting to retire to Britain! “Come for the rain
and the grumpy natives, stay for the stodge and decaying
services”.
Some friends invited us to a Chinese New Year do here, which
involved us paying £15 p.h. each to sing in a karaoke room,
excluding food. We politely declined. Too expensive, and we’re too jetlagged. You can do that in Ireland, anyway,
for free, after a few drinks, even if the people nearby don’t want
you to e.g:
“Allllooonnnee, aaaallll alllloooonne, by de wave, washed shtrand
…. (burp, ah jaze), aaaannnnd alllooone in da croooowwwwded
halllll …”.
Posted by tigertom on Feb 7, 2006 in
General Got back around 7pm UK time. Singapore Airlines have a very high level of service and a very professional cabin crew, so the thirteen hour trip passed quickly. Nice on-board entertainment system lets you select which movies you want to watch, and you have full control over them.
As I’ve been my usual critical self about Malaysia, so let me now point out some good points:
1. £1 = 6.5 rinngit
A rinngit buys the same as a pound does, for everyday items, so you can have a very nice time on the cheap.
2. Constant heat
It rained occasionally, and when it did, it was very nice. Cleared the air. Imagine an Irish summer downpower X 3.
Otherwise, sunshine all day, every day. Days are 12 hours long. A good time to be active is around dawn, when it’s cooler.
3. Good food, easily accessed.
It’s from ‘hawker’ stalls and outdoor cafes. These have a reputation to maintain. If they’re full, it’s a good sign. Had some tasty grub that would have a gourmand wetting himself, and very cheap.
The only indoor restaurants I went to were franchises like McDonalds
and KFC. Even KFC is good here. They have their own local cuisine
variant.
4. Almost everyone speaks English.
This is a relic of the British empire. Business is/can be conducted in English. Just speak slowly and clearly, avoiding _your_ local slang, and you’ll be fine. Learn a few words of Malay, smile, and you’re golden.
BEWARE: Do not bring drugs into Malaysia or Singapore. They have the death penalty for this. Be discreet about your boozing in Malaysia; it’s a Muslim country. If you’re a sex tourist, forget it.
More Arabs are coming to Malaysia as they’re getting a hard time trying to go America and other countries. It’s now easier for me, an Irish Catholic, to get into Malaysia, than the US, from what I’ve heard. Crazy, eh?
Posted by tigertom on Feb 5, 2006 in
General Right. I’ve been to Kuala Lumpur, and Penang. Kuala Lumpur has some mad motorists, dengue fever, heat and humidity, the Twin Towers, and Chinatown.
Malaysia has a Western veneer overlaying an uneasy truce between the dominant Malays and the rest. It is not a good place to get arrested in. As I write there is a controversy over some overly-keen police chief shaving the heads of a group of middle-aged Chinese men who were celebrating their New Year with a game of Mah-Jonng. Their crime: they seemed to be gambling. They said they were not playing for money. Regardless, they were punished before being tried.
Bribing police to get out of minor traffic offences is common, I understand. It is not a place to have legal problems. Things can get personal. Political influence and money counts for a lot. They have the remains of the British legal system, but not the spirit that informs it. This is an Islamic country that realises that if it harasses non-Muslims (the Chinese, especially) the economy will suffer.
If you get sick, I understand the island of Penang has some good private hospitals. White men (Orang Putay, or Mat Salay [my spellings]) are conspicuous by their rarity here. I was dressed in white, with long trousers, and wore a Panama hat. My strategy is, if you’re gong to be visible, be _very_ visible. Let them think you’re a bit of a character, and life becomes easier. Not hard for me, as I am(!)
Food is exotic, tasty, cheap and diverse. My paranoia is about hygiene. If it’s served hot I suppose it’s OK. A good place for foreigners is Batu Feringghi on Penang island. It has the highest concentration of foreigners, nice hotels, and a good night market for bootleg DVDs, clothesÂ? and knick-knacks. The island is small, and can be toured in a day or two with a good guide.