This magazine is for the journalist and recognised voice who wants pure free speech and is not bound by political considerations or career moves. It’s somewhere to go if you have something to say that’s against the establishment will or want. Something the few are criticised by those who really can’t handle the truth or consequence of their failures and inactivity to say what needs saying.
Old hacks like John Pilger roost here to tell the guts of the story to the small audience that really want to listen. Buts it not all doom and gloom as there’s plenty of arts and farts for the champagne socialist that also like to boost their cred like Charlie Whelan.
It’s essentially a collection of articles and opinions by recognised ‘lefty’ types who get just as much satisfaction from getting their sermon out here as they do the accompanying photo. First up is the leader, which before the bomb in Madrid is an article on
Haiti, which is essentially a sweat shop for Disney run by a US appointed pacifist that gave the people one too many human rights. The final straw for the US administration is when President Aristede gave the workers a 200% pay rise and workers rights, not exactly in keeping with slave labour mantra. Needless to say he was booted out by Bush for daring to damage Disney’s already decaying profit margin.
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‘Alaine De Bolton`, who really does sound like a bottle of that middle class Champers, writes up his tiresome
TVChannel Four documentary about “Status Anxiety”. I taped this last Saturday, all two hours of it; and it was just the usual class warfare stuff, devised to wing up the great unwashed, who of course never watch C4!.Smug and self congratulatory back slapping programming come to mind. His article is even less enlightening. OK I never read it!.
Darcus Howe, the Blackman’s voice and anti establishment elder statesman also puts the blame of Haiti’s collapse on the Whiteman!. Its all down to 200 years of slaves and stuff apparently and the fact that the neighbouring Dominican Republic, also run by black folks is a prosperous; stable and doing well is because they heroin is popular there. But you got to love him!.
Paul Routledge wades into Clair Short who is increasingly making herself look ridiculous with obvious statements about bugging and stuff. The moustachioed ‘fresh water pike’ is losing her cred by the second and letting Blair dodge the real debate: so shut your ‘Brummie’ gob gal!.
There’s the first interesting debate about
Iraq and the terrorist State America is forming out there. The bombs that ripped apart Madrid were similar to the delivery and make in Iraq during the Shiite massacre and that can only reinforce the war on terror debate, a sly caveat Bush can’t ignore to further his controversial policy.
Iraq is now a mixture of Belfast and
Vietnam and the article, written by Stephen Grey, looks at how US troops are slowly adapting to winning hearts and minds. That could change soon though as the big troop rotation coming up will see hard ass US marines on the ground who are even more likely to break heads over simple resolvable scenarios through common sense and diplomacy.
”If your only tool is a hammer then every problem becomes a nail” could never be truer when describing US military force..
The magazine is not without spin though and the short article by Cristina Odone-on how the British Intelligence was held in such esteem by governments tat they pretty much believed anything the were told. When in reality the arrogance of Blair and the bullying of Campbell pretty much was the opposite case.
All we know now is that the British public can o longer trust or respect either to do the right thing as New Labour erode public confidence in almost every facet of public service.
Gerry Hassan makes some very strong points about the aimless nature of the
Scottish parliament. They ever increasing bill for the Hollyrood building is nearing Wembley proportions as are the travel and expenses of the greedy SMP`s.
It’s ridiculous that the heavyweight Jock parliamentarians are all down in Westminster deciding English issues and critical votes that don’t affect Scottish ones.
Hassan points out the feeble showing of the Scottish Labour party and their general unwillingness of all MP`s to attend conferences.
The whole system of Devolution is one massive waste of English tax payers money and if it wasn’t for the North Sea oil we would have penned this place off to dump the mad cows!.lol.
The front cover is promoting the magazines core article by John Pilger, who won’t let his middle class teenage angst and hairstyle go, looking at the coming US election. His acute observation is that there isn’t a lot of difference between Kerry and Bush, with both men taking lots of corporate money to fund their enigmas.
Country to popular belief, Kerry changed his stance on the war as the square jawed Vietnam Vet realised that the Democratic nomination was wide open after Howard Diens rant.
Over here the MP`s get paid by the State and their salary is boosted by various spurrruious expenses, discouraging them from taking bribes and too many directorships after hours. In America they have to raise ten grand a day!, to stay in office and most of that cash comes from concerns who’s actions around the world like tobacco and oil are not the most savoury.
Kerry laps up donations like a pig in a trough and his only policies and loyalty seem to be the issue of the day to gain favour with that particular ‘special interest’. The fact that ‘Dubya’ is a war mongering lunatic though should deliver the Democrats the lection they stole in 2000 that has bought us to near Armageddon.
Political editor’ John Kampfner’ brings us the low down on the solicitor generals advice on the legitimacy of the Iraq war. Clearly Blair and Bush leant on Lord Goldsmith to change the advice as the war became more real, and the fact he was Jewish and this would help Israel’s Middle East southern flank if the war got the legal nod, I can see why he is worried about this evidence being known to you and me.
Resolution 1441 was supposed to have been breeched by Saddam but no one seems to be bothered about the 52 Israel have ignored over the years.
For all the guys in good jobs out there who are fed up with the apparent female equals been given special treatment at work over babies and school kids, they will be pleased to read about the conflict on Radio Fours prime news show’ Today’.
It’s widely believed to be the premier job
in the UK for female journalists to aspire to and when ‘Sue Macgregor’ handed the gig over to Sarah Montague you would have thought she would be happy.
Well with in a year she made the tactical error that can halt any woman’s career by getting ‘preggers’. This bizarre belief in womankind that they can have both career and babies was severely tested as did her 3am start for the show.
Now a succession of qualified female hacks are gathering like hawks to fill in the maternity leave, highlighting the fact that girls just cant get it into their minds that guy do better in jobs, purely because they don’t have babies.
To rub it in, Montague gave birth on the day Hutton reported, which was all too much for her male employers. Catherine Quinn who is unlikely to have babies in the near future now features on the ‘Today’ webpage as her ‘temporary’ stand in. Chicks huh!.
There’s a very intelligent article by Stephen Grey on how lawyer’s can actually do some good with their seemingly greedy compensation culture. Its clear governments don’t hold corporations and business to account, morally or financially, as injustices pile up and people increasingly turn to the legal system to get recompense.
So rabid is the need to sue now for the slightest trip or pull, the lustful lawyers and agitators, like these ambulance chasing facilitators only fuel the move to make a claim.
And as lawyers are the legislators of the planet the companies are tightening up their act to avoid the massive claims, and hence delivering a safer world in the work place and accountable public and private concerns.
Before insurance companies they would have just upped premiums with the rise of claims to cover the growing compensation culture.
Tagging, the cheap trick by Blair to let out criminals to hide the embarrassment of packed prisons, when they really shouldn’t be during times of apparent wealth, also is neatly exposed by some excellent reportage.
But we all know that criminals are resourceful little buggers and the tags come of quite easily if you know what you are doing and provide the perfect alibi if you’re out thieving whilst the tag is at home.
The company given the contract to ‘tag’ are for ever cutting costs as the profit margin balloons for each prisoner. But the government love it as its way cheaper than prison and you can release petty criminals on mass, especially at busy winter months when criminals commit the smaller crimes .just to get a bed and meal in January.
Ex Labour spinner,’ Amanda Platell and Patrick Hosting comment on the weeks papers to lead us into the magazines letters to the editor page and the inevitable arts and
entertainment section.
Charlie Whelan gets to talk about
football to look cool and feel working class whilst Amy Jenkings tells the likes of him and me top give girls a break.
She believes the emancipation of middle class women through the sixties and seventies has made them even more of a wage slave through exploitation and the drudgery of the
keyboard. Guys well know that the female species are forever having their cake and eating it.
Bill Hicks once told a joke that goes: Adam says to Eve,” You are in the Garden of Eden, a home in paradise, eternal life, a loving partner and infinite wisdom”. Eve looks at Adam and says,” Yes but its never enough is it”!.
Of course white collar woman’s biggest fear about married life is not having the right to work but the 71% chance her husband will bang the secretary. And if she’s at work and he’s at home; the nanny!.
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Im not one for design and lifestyle stuff but this exhibition of light in the ‘lotteryed up’ Camden Arts Centre looks pretty feasible as far as modern art goes. After the ludicrous ‘Turner Prize’ winner in 2001,where some guy hired an electrician to make a light go on and off in an empty room, this looks far more artistic and worthy of public money.
They have these giant silver balls that reflect light on to each other and a room full of a positively exploding room of iridescent sparkle.
Roy Lichtenstein’s simplistic but iconic work also gets a re-launch with plenty of critics sniggering at his seemingly simple comic book style. We all know that for art to be important these days it has to be aloof and ridiculous and seen by less than 1% of the population but absorbing 10% of public money.
Rosie Millard writes a spunky article of indifference over the extremely controversial Mel Gibson film’ The Passion of Christ, which seems to have been interpreted as ‘Yid bashing’ by the predominately Jewish media.
‘Gibbos’ old man has come out with plenty of anti-Semitic comment to get the Catholics into the cinemas and the grumbling Israelis around the globe. Now that is cool marketing!. Rosie even has time to diss the Lord of the Rings trilogy in her biting rant.
The reformed Michael Portillo is this week’s theatre reviewer, centering on Alistair Campbell’s
one-man-show. Tell us something we didn’t know. The tricky PR man who spun the country into the Iraq war and soon to be carnage in London, takes questions from the eclectic audience and then gets very ratty as it goes of script.
The fact that this guy is being so smug after Hutton and Iraq must suggest the man upstairs has a bigger plan for this prick.
The excellent Mark Kermode is the magazines official film reviewer and if you get the chance to listen to day time radio-I would recommend his film hour on Simon Mayo’s ‘Radio Five’ show, Friday 3-4pm. He has a real authority/arrogance on the topic and is not afraid to slag hyped movies.
’21 Grams’, the follow up to the excellent ‘Amores Perros’ and two mediocre Brit flicks get the once over.
The
TV review, ‘Andrew Billen’, reviews a held back
BBC2 program about asylum seekers dwelling, waiting and dosing in Calias.
It also mixes in the lives of the people who live in Calais and how the Sangette Centres opening and eventual closing has affected this small port town.
People from all over the world have flocked to this bottle neck where they can almost smell the benefits wafting over the Channel. Few are prepared to claim asylum
in France, how ever desperate their plight and abuse. You don’t cross 15 borders to be abused by the French quips a Latvian girl.
Immigration programs are set to increase in the UK as the expected ‘swamping’ tidal wave sweeps across Eastern Europe to these small coastal French resorts. And with the spectre of Muslim terror and benefit fraud filling the Daily Mail pages we can expect
The BNP to pick up more councils in the summer of football and riots.
If only the refugees and benefit tourists around the world new what was waiting for them in the UK.
Book review section is a mixed bag and not really my thing.If its not a biography or one or two selected best selling authors its not for me. My motto is if it has a fluorescent cover is ‘chick lit’. And if its classic literature then there will be lots of ye`s and ne`s, which I also don’t do. Although I just picked up Orange Prize nominee in 2000,’ The Restraint of the Beast’ for 50p.If anyone has read that then let me know if im up to the challenge!.
Wine and Food snobs are a complete waste of time and any food hack that writes about the merits of expensive wine.Theres nowt more ridiculous than posh people trying to earn social status by the plonk they drink. If I blindfolded you clowns you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Tescos house special and a £70 bottle of something very good.
Hunter Davis lends us a short but snappy article on football to finish off as we crawl into the classifieds. Lots of ads for political discussion groups and Michael (6 house) Meacher ‘MP’ wants a research assistant if you are interested.(Must have house buying experience no doubt). The obligatory personals column wrap up the
mag with some classy older birds looking for rich young champagne socialist, all very appropriate to finish!.
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At £2-50 it’s a touch over priced although it isn’t binged up with adverts for once. Big naughty tip for you,(no not that one girls!),if your in W H Smiths and they have a quicky pay tin for
newspapers and magazines, just drop in lots of coppers or what you ‘think’ its worth!.lol.
Nice glossy pages and cover give it a feel of quality and care and for once the ink doesn’t come off on your fingers.
It is apolitically biased magazine so if you read the Mail or the broadsheets it may go against your mantra.
Murdoch free! 
