Bishops – Morally Corrupt?

So five senior Church of England Bishops pronounce that the Labour government is morally corrupt, I don’t know if this latest bombshell from clerics in the Church of England is worthy of comment since Church clerics lead such a sheltered and remote life and indulge in rather narrow concerns aloof from the troubles of ordinary people. They condemn the Labour government for finding a way through the mess that the banks have created do they the Church clerics have an alternative policy – NO!

The five senior Bishops merely confirm their own irrelevance; their own fixation of maintaing their huge fortune in Church financial assets; perhaps if they had been more concerned with judgements on the behaviour of the banks before this credit crunch arose we might think they have something to say: instead they just join anti Labour forces in their squeals of protests.

Cars, Cars and yet more Cars!

The current crisis hitting the car industry is indeed serious. There is some debate as to whether the government should or should not make money available for rescue after all the government has given the banks considerable sums of money despite the fact that bankers bear the responsibility for causing the economic crisis we are in and have wrecked the economy.

Our TV screens recently showed huge car parks of unsold cars and we all know our local garages equally cannot sell cars except for the few.

Jaguar and Land Rover serve a particular community mostly wealthy people home and abroad. These vehicles are wasteful, gas guzzling vehicles. Should a Labour government be investing in vehicles meant for the rich and are wasteful on fuel?

We should also consider that the Indian company, Tata, bought Jaguar and Land Rover this year when it was already known the market for selling cars was going to plummet, now they present us with a begging bowl.

There are thousands of jobs at stake people with useful skills face unemployment and communities no doubt will be hit if the factory closes.

We need a strategy; if a Labour government is to rescue this company it must obtain a majority stake in the company and the company must redesign its vehicles so that future production will be based on fuel efficient vehicles. We should be producing cars that are green and move away from oil based fuel.

If a Labour government can do this I would be all in favour of rescuing Jaguar and Land Rover and any other British based car manufacturer based on the same formula.

We cannot go on producing cars that are the same old, same old, we need new vehicles that are energy efficient and run on non oil based fuels.

Urgent Need to End Reliance on Oil.

The decision by the oil cartel OPEC and its allies to cut oil production in order to force up the price for consumers and businesses is a stark reminder that we are still far too reliant on oil. We have an urgent need to close oil fired power stations; Thatcher’s project to close coal fired power stations with oil fired stations was a step backward; we need to enable the expansion of clean coal fired power stations using British coal. There needs to be also a commitment by British car manufacturers to increase the supply of cars that are fuel efficient or electrically driven. Before taxpayers money is given to Jaguar or Land Rover we need to see a plan to develop fuel efficient vehicles. Government should fix a a yearly target by which we can measure the decline of imported oil.

The Post Office

I had thought originally we were meant to be impressed with the genius of individuals appointed to top boss positions in the Post Office: Allan Leighton (Chairman of Royal Mail) who seems to be in numerous managerial positions elsewhere and Adam Crozier (Chief Executive of Royal Mail) so what’s happened? Why is Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary, going for privatization when these highly paid individuals were supposed to have renewed and made the Post Office a modern business? These super big bosses in the Royal Mail have done more to run the service down than anyone else. What makes Lord Mandelson think that privatization will do that Leighton and Crozier didn’t?

We have seen Post Offices close; the collection and delivery of mail reduced and a very stressed and unhappy workforce. It would be better if firstly, Lord Mandelson sacked Leighton and Crozier and appoint people from within the Royal Mail who know something about the business; secondly he should halt and reverse the Post Office closure programme.

The Post Office has become an important social institution not just a business it should remain a wholly owned public company and service. What Leighton and Crozier should have been doing is exploring and developing new business. For example, the bosses at the Post Office have made little attempt at trying to adopt and join the internet age.

We note that a Labour MP, Jim McGovern has resigned from the government over Lord Mandelson’s plan. We hope that Labour MPs will oppose any privatization and see to it that a new management is in place that is really committed to the Post Office.

Right now when the public is getting tired of the mess British bankers have got us into people are looking to see if the Post Office can get more involved with banking as it did when it ran the Girobank.

The Great $50 billion “Ponzi” Scheme Fraud Part 2.

If you google Madoff you are offered the Hoovers.com site whih reports on  Bernard L. Madoff Invesment Securities LLC which is described as a “market maker”    yeah digg that “market maker” don’t you just love it. Even worse Hoovers.com has this to say: 

“Madoff Securities Company Description

Madoff makes markets. Founded in 1960, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (aka Madoff Securities) is a market maker in US stocks, including all of the S&P 500 and more than 350 Nasdaq stocks, as well as bonds and other financial instruments. It is also a member of the London Stock Exchange. The firm moves large blocks of stock for institutional clients by splitting up orders or arranging off-exchange transactions between parties. It also performs clearing and settlement services. Clients include brokerages, banks, and other financial institutions.In addition, Madoff Securities manages assets for high-net-worth individuals, hedge funds, and other institutional investors.”  Have they no shame at Hoovers.com!  

You can pay for – yes you can pay for a report though you can get one for free:

“The Company Description provides a historical perspective of Madoff Securities’s organization from inception to current status.

Produced by Hoover’s in-house editorial team, the Company Description tracks ownership transitions, company progress via mergers and acquisitions, major growth milestones, and strategic initiatives, to provide a holistic view of Madoff Securities’s evolution in the marketplace.”

So can we observe that Hoovers.com produce analysis (a holistic review – what!)  not worth the paper they are printed on!   Surely, there must be some very red faces at Hoovers.com

Are there any more surprises like this (major fraud)  ahead?