Sunday, September 21, 2008

This week's news round-up

By Johnny Taronja

A massive state bailout in the Mecca of the free-market. "Huge measures", in the words of George W Bush: 800 billion dollars to sweep up the toxic debt that kick-started the "credit crisis". Is that the invisible hand free-marketeers regularly wash their mouths with? "The facts are plain", writes Johann Hari in Friday's Independent, "John McCain enthusiastically backed every one of George Bush's moves to deregulate the banks and the mortgage industry that caused this collapse, while Barack Obama opposed them. This isn't just a credit crunch; it's a conservatism crunch. The right got their dream of a totally unregulated 'shadow' banking sector – and it swiftly imploded, bringing the world economy down with it".

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Harry Potter author JK Rowling is right to frown upon David Cameron's "tax perks for the married" and the Tories' offensive against lone parents. But a £1m donation to the Labour party as a conference gift? Please!

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Slating the energy companies' abuse of power earns Fiona Phillips a few marks. As well as making a point about the nonsense of "energy-saving tips" as a measure against skyrocketing bills. It's like an obese boasting they take artificial sweetener with their coffee to lose weight while they're stuffing their face with chocolate fudge cake and BigMacs. "If anyone patronises me once more by offering energy-saving tips" writes Fiona in The Mirror, "I might have to expend an enormous amount in punching them where it hurts".

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Jeremy Clarkson, what a naughty man: "My tip if you wish to keep the thieving scumbags out of your house, is to buy a gun". Him, calling someone "a scumbag".

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Even cheekier is Heather Mills as she's now taking someone else to court. This time she's after £250,000 from her ex-publicist for allegedly accusing her of being "money and fame hungry".

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The Independent's Deborah Orr wrote the best article of the week. If anything, courtesy of this gem: "You've got to hand it to the hard-core laissez-faire guys. They are, at least, consistent. The economically illiterate masses have been reviling hedge-fund managers, derivatives traders, buy-to-let landlords, five-times-your-salary-100-per-cent mortgage brokers, credit companies that just won't stop inviting you to rack up a new card debt, bonkers City bonuses, and so on, for years now. But the purists are still insisting, with tremendous passion, that deregulation works, and government is the enemy".

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

keep believing your own drivel, it's too much regulation that caused the current financial turmoil in the first place.