EDITORIAL
Yes, its that time of year again. Love it or hate it,
WIMBLEDON TENNIS IS UPON US.
Hang on a minute, shouldn't that be SOUTHFIELDS TENNIS? After all we bare the brunt of the 'Tourist Invasion', suffer the rudeness and arrogance of people who push us off the pavements, with no regard to the fact that we live hear and are not just a backdrop to their entertainment.
The little money that this inconvenience brings in to the local community is soon gone and in no way compensates for being harrassed by the police for being suspected ticket touts ( the real touts are largely ignored ) suffering the loutish baviour at night, the litter left in our otherwise well-maintained park. More must be done for local people to make up for this annual nuisance by the All England Lawn Tennis Association, the BBC etc.
THANK THE LORDS?
12/06/08
Though 36 MPs hardly constitute a backbench revolt it is a clear indication of growing concern of Gordon Browns's controversial measure to increase detention without charge to 42 days.
There is a high degree of probability that it will be rejected in the Lords. The more protracated its attempted passage the better. The more publicity this insidious legislation gets, the better the chance of its rejection.
HERE'S TO EVERY SUCCESS TO THE 'SOUTHFIELDS CRAWLWERS'
08/06/08
While returning from a family holiday in France Steve Meluish was challenged by his son to swim the channel. The Southfields Crawlers, all former parents at St Michaels primary school picked up the challenge. They will attempt the swim on July 11th. They will aim to raise £25,000 for three charities, St. Thomas's, The Royal Marsden and the National Autism Society. We wish them every success
42 days in OUR defence?
03/06/08
It appears that the cabinet has rallied round support for the extension of detention under the prevention of terrorism laws to 42 days. We'll know in a week or so. However there is a political undercurrent in that with an impending by-election it wouldn't do for the 'One Scot Too Many' to get another kicking from his 'colleagues'.
It's worth remembering the last Labour Party conference that phony Tony Blair attended as PM. When an elderly gentleman heckled the 'grinning one' by shouting 'rubbish' the 70 year old was manhandled by two private security guards, escorted from the hall and then arrested by the police under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. None of us are safe from this sort of abuse of
power.
ONE SCOT TOO MANY?
02/06/08
With growing concern among the electorate about the number of Scottish MPs in the English parliament many think that something must be done. After all, Westminster only has a say in Scotland on issues of UK importance while the Welsh too, have some form of devolution.
As many MPs would be glad to get rid of the Prime Minister it comes as no surprise that many from north of the border think that there is one Scot too many in the House.
BROWN BUT NOT OUT
30/05/08
Almost daily were hear statements or the results of polls or surveys outlining Gordon Brown's tumbling popularity and his enevitable demise. Today's YouGov poll in the Daily Telegraph puts Labour on 23 points the lowest since Michael Foot's reign of unpopularity. The Tories come out at 47 points.
Brown's rating fell to 17% while David Cameron's was 39%.
There is a sense in which these polls are meaningless. Brown is still there, in spite of cabinet machinations and back bench protestations. No one wants to pick up the poisened chalice and we are at least a year away from a General Election.
We suggest that the press find more relevent politics to fill their columns with rather than this vacuous nonsense.
BEGGING FOR OIL TO POUR ON TROUBLED WATERS
28/05/08
The government seem incapable of thinking measures through before blurting them out and then being forced into taking self-inflicted u-turns as in the case of the 10p tax debacle and now the fuel and road tax fiasco.
On the one hand they claim to be encouraging us to lower carbon emissions, on the other they are 'Doing a George Bush' and going cap-in-hand to OPEC in the quest for increased output.
Though there have been problems with oil output from Iraq, Iran and Nigeria we source our oil globaly, the oil is there. The real problem is one of lack of refining capacity and this is both a long-term issue and expensive to redress.
TRUCKERS' PROTEST HIGHLIGHTS WIDER ISSUES
27/05/08
Rising diesel prices mean that already-rising prices of all goods will increase even more that they have already. That includes petrol as it too comes by truck.
But some clown in parliament had the stupidity to claim that not lowering the tax on diesel is good for the envrionment. Why? it can only put haulage firms out of business and adversly affect thousands of businesses. Whatever the cost of fuel, road haulage has to continue. Also measures to encourage the use of small cars will adversly affect the motor industry. It's time this nonsense was stopped. The GREEN CON continues. Carbon Dioxide is not a pollutant. It is a greenhouse gas, like water vapour or as we know them - clouds and not even a politician would suggest banning those. This is about increased taxation dressed up as environmental concern.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK ON OUR ENVIRONMENT PAGE
25/05/08
BROWN'S MONEY TIPS
RILED BY RISING PRICES? IRRITATED BY INFLATION? HACKED OFF BY THE HOUSING MARKET?
Wee Gordie says: BECOME AN MP!
Earn over £60k! Get the voters to pay the interest on the mortgage on your second home! Join the 'John Lewis' list and get Free Food! Laundry! Carpets! Furniture! Household Goods! and the suckers sorry! voters will even pay for your Sky TV subscription.
There's even the chance to spend £2k on pies , fill your face and throw them all up and become the largest bulimic in the world!
NEVER PUT YOUR HAND IN YOUR POCKET AGAIN!
But there is a downside. Being one of a bunch of incompetents, every time you screw up (which will be frequent) the wrath of the voters will turn against you and your party. A 7000 Tory majority in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election is seen as the breakdown of Labour. However, there are few instances of by-election victories leading to General Election victory. The Crewe and Nantwich result was the expression of the views of an electorate tired of incompetence and ineptitude. The witch hunt against Brown will soon reach fever pitch but it is prudent to remember that he is backed by his friends in the City for his being seen as a safe pair of hands. A second unelected Prime Minister within a year is not only unaceptable but shows the Labour party to be in disaray and bereft of credibility. The procedural difficulties surrounding his removal are formidable. It took him nearly ten years to get rid of Blair. The ' Boy David' Miliband should re-read his Machiavelli and bide his time and not lower himself by engaging in a behind-the-scenes feeding frenzy.
The Labour Party is not so much divided as shattered. Though they may not see it as such. Most MPs live in a fairy tale world of self-importance, cushioned by privileges such as the John Lewis list, egos inflated by media attention spending most of their lives in that political Disneyland, the'Westminster Village'. They are either totally out of touch with the electorate, or indifferent to our wishes to the point of arrogant complacency.
GLOBAL WARMING HAS STOPPED!
23/05/08
Today we begin our serialised revue of Nigel Lawson's latest book, 'AN APPEAL TO REASON'. One of the few attempts to shed some light on the quasi religious psuedo science that is the bigotted propogandist nonsense about 'global warming', this book deserves our attention. It is important to realise that we are being subjected to one of the greatest cons in recent history. NEARLY EVERYTHING YOU READ IN THE PRESS OR SEE ON TV ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING IS NOT TRUE! this cannot be emphasised enough. The news media are at best guilty of lazy, sloppy journalism. GLOBAL WARMING STOPPED 10 YEARS AGO and may continue next year. (source: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Why weren't we told? One reason may be the fear of speaking out against orthodoxy, another may be taking away 'a nice little earner' from people like Al Gore whose tendentious nonsense of a film 'An inconvenient truth' has guaranteed him a lucrative carreer on the lecture ciruit.
Click on the the link on our Environment Page for more.
AND NOW FOR THE BIGGEST CON IN RECENT HISTORY
Yes, you probably guessed, it's 'Global Warming'. It has become 'The New Religion' and the unbelievers are punished. Incredibly, a renowned US climatologist has publicly suggested that the most prominent of the opposition to climate change orthodoxy be subjected to a kind of 'Neurenburg Trial'. It appears that many of the environmentalists claims are erroneous. In fact, in many cases the opposite is true. Click the link below for more information
SPECI
THE SOUTHFIELDS TIMES BLOG
26/03/08
From today we introduce the Southfields Times Blog. Click the link at the bottom of the page to join in