Completely OT - posting to BBC have your say

Tim Woodall

Guy has managed to get several things posted to have your say. But I
challenge anyone to manage to get something like this past the
"censors":

[About David Blunkett]
Even though he clearly had to go, I do fear it leaves others with less
vision running the government.
Patrick, Kent, UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4099525.stm

Tim.
--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

Jon Senior

Tim Woodall wrote:
> Guy has managed to get several things posted to have your say. But I
> challenge anyone to manage to get something like this past the
> "censors":
>
> [About David Blunkett]
> Even though he clearly had to go, I do fear it leaves others with less
> vision running the government.
> Patrick, Kent, UK
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4099525.stm

Some of those are priceless. The one describing his (alleged) actions as
"a trivial offence" is good. As is "Let's hope his legacy of intelligent
policy-making with integrity continues."

Let's hope someone puts down his rabid guide dog and gets him a new one
with a less radical view on liberty.

Jon (Who's very glad to see him go, and will be celebrating for weeks to
come!)

Jon Senior

Tim Woodall wrote:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4099525.stm

I await with baited breath to see if they publish what I had to say!

Jon

David Hansen

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 23:46:19 +0000 someone who may be Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> wrote this:-

>Jon (Who's very glad to see him go, and will be celebrating for weeks to
>come!)

I went out and bought some bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate.
This morning is a good one, the smile on my face last night remains
this morning.

He claims he has done nothing wrong, but has resigned. That sort of
"intellect" indicates why he got one of the lowest scores ever on
Mastermind.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

David Nutter

Jon Senior <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> said:
> Tim Woodall wrote:
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4099525.stm
>
> I await with baited breath to see if they publish what I had to say!

"Yaaaaaay! *pop* *fizz*" ?

I have stuck the front page of The Independent on my office whiteboard.
Very satisfying.

ObCycling: At least he'll have more time to ride his ill-gotten tandem now,
assuming he can find a pilot...

Regards,

-david

Mark Thompson

> Some of those are priceless. The one describing his (alleged) actions as
> "a trivial offence" is good. As is "Let's hope his legacy of intelligent
> policy-making with integrity continues."

This one got me:

Tony Blair said Mr Blunkett [...] "left government with his integrity
intact".

How is sleeping with another mans wife and having two children with her
keeping his 'integrity intact'!?

Simon Brooke

in message <Xns95C16BEEB69DApleasegivegenerously@130.133.1.4>, Mark
Thompson ('pleasegivegenerously@warmmail.com') wrote:

>> Some of those are priceless. The one describing his (alleged) actions
>> as "a trivial offence" is good. As is "Let's hope his legacy of
>> intelligent policy-making with integrity continues."
>
> This one got me:
>
> Tony Blair said Mr Blunkett [...] "left government with his integrity
> intact".
>
> How is sleeping with another mans wife and having two children with
> her keeping his 'integrity intact'!?

Frankly how does who you sleep with affect your ability to serve your
constituents? I think he was entitled to a _private_ life. What he
wasn't entitled to do was to use his public office to benefit his lover
or her servants.

--
simon@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Human history becomes more and more a race between
;; education and catastrophe.
H.G. Wells, "The Outline of History"

Mark Thompson

> Frankly how does who you sleep with affect your ability to serve your
> constituents?

I was kinda thinking about having sex with another mans wife and fathering
two children not being the actions of someone that has left office with
their "integrity intact".

That Mr. Blair seems to think ****ing another mans wife has no effect on
ones integrity is a bit strange.

For the record, I think a slight lack of integrity is probably essential
for a successful career in a high political office.

JLB

Mark Thompson wrote:
>>Some of those are priceless. The one describing his (alleged) actions as
>>"a trivial offence" is good. As is "Let's hope his legacy of intelligent
>>policy-making with integrity continues."
>
>
> This one got me:
>
> Tony Blair said Mr Blunkett [...] "left government with his integrity
> intact".
>
> How is sleeping with another mans wife and having two children with her
> keeping his 'integrity intact'!?

Yes. There were other ministers this morning making similar remarks
about Blunkett's private life being irreproachable. And if anything you
understate the thing; not only did he sleep with another man's wife for
a long time and deceive the husband in various ways during that time,
but he has also done all he could since the affair ended to undermine
the marriage and if possible destroy it.

The current Private Eye page 5 has an interesting collection of
Blunkett's statements about the importance of family and marriage over
the years. You will not be surprised to find it is not easy to correlate
the words with the actions.

--
Joe * If I cannot be free I'll be cheap

Nick Kew

In article <16b892-a6b.ln1@gododdin.internal.jasmine.org.uk>,
Simon Brooke <simon@jasmine.org.uk> writes:

> Frankly how does who you sleep with affect your ability to serve your
> constituents? I think he was entitled to a _private_ life. What he
> wasn't entitled to do was to use his public office to benefit his lover
> or her servants.

Nevertheless, such a minor transgression as doing someone a favour when
the overall effect on the country is negligible is in sharp contrast to
making special exceptions for formula 1 racing, countrycide alliance
(for all those years Liar kept that manifesto committment on the shelf
and tried hard to get around it even now), or above all lying to take
the country to war.

Compared to his boss, Blunkett's integrity is indeed intact.
Ironic, or what?

Looking at his replacement's track record, I am not celebrating.
Not at all.

--
Nick Kew

Tony Raven

Mark Thompson wrote:
>>Frankly how does who you sleep with affect your ability to serve your
>>constituents?
>
>
> I was kinda thinking about having sex with another mans wife and fathering
> two children not being the actions of someone that has left office with
> their "integrity intact".
>
> That Mr. Blair seems to think ****ing another mans wife has no effect on
> ones integrity is a bit strange.
>
> For the record, I think a slight lack of integrity is probably essential
> for a successful career in a high political office.

I'd much rather have interesting people in office than go the way of the
USA where the only people who get through are those that are so boring
and bland that they have absolutely no skeletons in their closet. From
my observation though if you want to get high political office, steer
clear of maids and nannies. Blunkett and Kerik are just the latest in a
long list of political victims of maids and nannies

Tony

Zog The Undeniable

Tim Woodall wrote:

> Guy has managed to get several things posted to have your say. But I
> challenge anyone to manage to get something like this past the
> "censors":
>
> [About David Blunkett]
> Even though he clearly had to go, I do fear it leaves others with less
> vision running the government.


I remarked to my wife that Blunkett lives in a horrible house. "Well,
he can't see it", she said.

Jon Senior

Tony Raven wrote:
> I'd much rather have interesting people in office than go the way of the
> USA where the only people who get through are those that are so boring
> and bland that they have absolutely no skeletons in their closet. From
> my observation though if you want to get high political office, steer
> clear of maids and nannies. Blunkett and Kerik are just the latest in a
> long list of political victims of maids and nannies

They're currently governed by a war-service dodging, convicted (IIRC)
drug felon, who rise to power was almost certainly enabled by his
family. Even the traditional dictators in sub-saharan Africa don't
manage to be that interesting! :-)

Jon