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Cabinet Government - "It's Life Jim, But Not as We Know It"

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Category: Free Citizen
Hits: 91

2025-12-21

We were introduced in the '80s to the ways and wiles of the Civil Service, with Jim Hacker as the hapless minister corralled into compliance by the genial Sir Humphrey Appleby (GCB KBE MBO) whose "Yes Minister" invariably meant "No Minister".

But of course time and tide wait for no man and things have evidently advanced considerably today, quite beyond the simple subterfuges that oiled (or crunched) the wheels in those heady times. Today, it seems that the bureaucrat would get the uncompliant minister sacked, whereas most reasonable voters would rightly expect the minister to sack the uncompliant bureaucrat.

Still, I'm sure that this story is simply for entertainment purposes (as was the "Yes Minister" sitcom of those innocent days) - after all, could a government really be effective if it actually worked like this in reality?

 

The Second Declaration of Independence

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Category: Free Citizen
Hits: 102

2025-12-20

America is doing it again. And this time the gloves are really off.

If you want to hit them hard, hit them in the pocket.

"The real strategic battle-lines have not been this clear in a century"

(15 minutes)

Like / Dislike this video here.

Another View of the Conflict in Ukraine, from Lt General Jonathon Riley

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Category: Defence
Hits: 527

2025-12-20

One of the very few things that we can actually assert with reasonable confidence is that very few people have a well-informed grasp of what is actually going on in the Ukraine.

We do our best to seek them out, but ... we are not there either.

So here is another view by a former commander of British forces in various theatres of conflict.

It's a bit different in the detail from the views of our other preferred sources, but he strikes me as probably as close as any to the actual reality, whatever that may be.

 

Another Penetrating Glimpse of The Obvious - and What we Forget

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Category: Free Citizen
Hits: 91

2025-12-20

This time from our favoured financial commentator Nick Hubble (this is not financial advice!).

And after 50 years of the same old same old it really should be obvious to all but the young, who haven't lived through enough of it yet to understand where this is all going.

Politicians understand  well enough - hence the continuing efforts to lower the voting age seemingly until toddlers in nappies will qualify. After that they may have to ban abortions in order to get enough voters who will believe their blandishments, so perhaps some good may come of it eventually ...

Which brings me to my next point. If we want to continue to live in a democracy, then we oldies have the moral responsibility to live every bit as long as possible so that the voting public can benefit from our wisdom at the ballot box.

But it won't be enough if we just stop there.

We will also have to stand for and win public office, so that some body of politicians will actually exist to offer the voters practical policies that promote prosperity wisdom and humility for all, rather than BS "hate speech" the NHS and taxes for the many, and self-aggrandisement for the few.

Alternatively we could simply pursue all means necessary to collapse our top-down "democratic" system in favour of a bottom-up political structure where responsibility really is devolved and held to the lowest feasible level, and transparency is the real order of the day so that everyone really is properly informed. 

And that could mean the end to privacy, or at least to the misuse of privacy and confidentiality to hide those habits that defend the few against the many. 

"For now, we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall know even as we are known"

OK all you Christian British that are gearing up to celebrate Christmas ... did you not realise the sheer scale of what we as a Christian country profess to believe in? 

In a family, everybody inevitably knows all about everyone else (even if we sometimes pretend that we don't to keep the peace) and the black sheep are known. 

So (according to the Bible) will it be in the reborn family of Christ.

Choose well ...

Do We English Owe Our Culture to the Predations of the Elite?

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Category: Free Citizen
Hits: 97

2025-12-19

English history is replete with tales of the Ruling Elite turning with ferocity on their lower classes:

The Scots Irish and Welsh have their own tales to tell, but without any disrespect to our neighbours, it seems that the English ruling elite were not particular about whom they turned on.

So the character of the English people has been forged in adversity over the years, but ... who exactly are the English? We are certainly not a homogeneous bunch, as anyone who has tried unsuccessfully to converse with a Geordie can confirm. In more recent times, whilst still in my now distant youth, we had a tea lady at work who was big and black with a big trolley sporting a huge urn of very indifferent canteen tea, and whose conversation I could never figure out ... until one day the realisation hit me - she was speaking in a broad Scottish accent!

My own parents hailed from the North West, but moved down to London before I arrived. I was treated as a lad to multiple trips "up North" to visit aunts uncles and cousins whilst Mum and Aunties had copious natters about matters in their home locality.

Although I now reside even further South than then, whenever I travel back to the North I have a strong if inexplicable feeling of being happily back amongst my own tribe ...

So yes, I do think that there are important bonds that bind us, perhaps more than we know.

If in the coming months we cannot celebrate improving good fortunes, we can certainly still celebrate our Englishness.

 

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