Strike Action

[Anubis]

Clarkson is a cunt. The hypocrisy of a man taking his huge Top Gear salary and fringe benefits from the public BBC purse is astounding. Then there's the fact he's one of Cammy's Chipping Norton set, and dines with Cammy. I suspect Clarkson is just echoing Cammy's thoughts that have been shared with him over dinner.

[BatChainPuller]

Mark Steel: Unions just want the mums to pay

Michael Gove believes the strikers want 'mothers to give up a day's work or pay for childcare'

 

Mark Steel: Unions just want the mums to pay - Mark Steel - Commentators - The Independent

 

Sometimes when there's a strike, it's tricky to work out the real issues causing the conflict. So the Government is lucky to have Michael Gove, who's decoded what the unions are really after. The strikers, he said, are "itching for a fight", and "want mothers to give up a day's work or pay for expensive childcare".

 

Presumably, he's heard secret tapes of union leaders making speeches that go: "Brothers and sisters, we the working men and women of this country must stand united against the people ruining our livelihoods – mothers, the parasites. How much longer will they push buggies and dance to Davina McCall fitness programmes with no regard for the impact on our members?" Then they get the crowd to chant: "Two, four, six, eight, Make it expensive to procreate."

 

Seventeen unions have held a ballot for the strike, and, in each case, they voted at least two to one to support it. Midwives voted for it, so for years they must have been telling women to push a bit more while thinking: "Hee hee, in a few years we'll make you pay a fortune to look after this little bastard. That'll teach you to let your waters break while I'm watching Cash in the Attic."

 

Eighty-two per cent of head teachers voted for the strike, the anarchists. Because they spend every day bawling at kids in their office: "WHAT is the meaning of THIS? You do NOT walk down MY corridor without KICKING random people. I'm ITCHING for a fight now. PUNCH someone AT ONCE."

 

A poll suggests that 61 per cent of the country supports the strike, so Britain must be on the edge of a bizarre revolution, itching for a fight with authority, in order to transform society by making mothers pay for expensive childcare.

 

The Government also argues that the strike to defend pensions is unjustified, because people who don't work in the public sector have even worse ones. This might be a reasonable argument, if we assume that the money saved by the Government in pension payments will be shared out among everyone else with an even worse pension. The plan must be to take it round in a box for the homeless, and then look after their children for free.

 

The argument that people should put up with being battered because other people are battered more makes as much sense as the Syrian government saying: "How dare these people complain about being shot at? People caught by the Gestapo for escaping Colditz were shot even more. These protesters are simply trying to make mothers pay for expensive childcare."

 

But at least Michael Gove is imaginatively surreal. Maybe next week he'll do even better and say the strike was simply an attempt to murder polar bears by getting hypnotists hired by the General and Municipal Boilermakers' Union to bankrupt us by making us want to buy them the most expensive fish.

[Strontium]

Still, these Union leaders need to justify their £110k plus salaries don't they?

 

 

Someone suggested today that unions should be for vulnerable (ie low paid) workers only, and that anyone earning £50,000+ shouldn't be allowed near a union membership card.

 

I had to point out that implementing such a rule would mean excluding just about every union leader from their own union.

 

No response yet; I imagine he's too busy laughing or crying.

[Section_31]

Ah, the 'Champagne Socialist' defence, you own an AUDI and therefore are not allowed to give a shit about social justice. Not far removed from that Tory bint's 'the occupy St Paul's protesters were drinking Starbucks' bollocks. What a load of horseshit.

 

Anyone who's happy with the status quo is just sealing their own doom longterm anyway. Anybody with an eyeball who walks down the street or is employed (or not, as the case may be) can see what kind of doomsday scenario we're headed for, and can see we're embracing the values that led us down this path tighter and tighter, because the people at the top are psychopathic and care nothing for tomorrow.

 

When it all falls off a cliff we will have deserved our fate, because we let it happen.

[The Bugged Out]

Someone suggested today that unions should be for vulnerable (ie low paid) workers only, and that anyone earning £50,000+ shouldn't be allowed near a union membership card.

 

I had to point out that implementing such a rule would mean excluding just about every union leader from their own union.

 

No response yet; I imagine he's too busy laughing or crying.

 

And who exactly agreed the wages structure for union leaders? Oh that's right the national executive committees of the respective unions, the highest elected body of lay members decide the renumeration package of its leaders. Democracy in action.

[Strontium]

And who exactly agreed the wages structure for union leaders? Oh that's right the national executive committees of the respective unions, the highest elected body of lay members decide the renumeration package of its leaders. Democracy in action.

 

 

That doesn't make it right or proper. I don't want my union subs to go towards mega remuneration packages. It's as much of a racket as CEO salaries, except at least CEOs don't make any pretence to the moral high ground.

[Gym Beglin]

I was going to leave this to others better than me but....Nice enough? What are you on about?

 

They're not black or anything, Christ.

[The Bugged Out]

That doesn't make it right or proper. I don't want my union subs to go towards mega remuneration packages. It's as much of a racket as CEO salaries, except at least CEOs don't make any pretence to the moral high ground.

 

Put a motion via your branch AGS then to be carried for to your national conference. You could have a ceiling built into your instruction. Then the full membership can have its say. I wouldn't fancy its chances but worth a go.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

In one quip Clarkson has overshadowed the strike.

... and stopped anyone from talking about the reasons behind the strike. Job done, Fathead.

 

It reminds me of March when a massive, peaceful Trade Union protest (plus a highly-effective sit-in at Fortnum's) was completely overshadowed by a handful of dickheads smashing windows.

[Guest davelfc]

All that s*n readers will remember is that Clarkson shot and ate a damp squib.

[cochcaer]

... and stopped anyone from talking about the reasons behind the strike. Job done, Fathead.

 

It reminds me of March when a massive, peaceful Trade Union protest (plus a highly-effective sit-in at Fortnum's) was completely overshadowed by a handful of dickheads smashing windows.

 

Indeed, the government spin merchants will try and whip this up for a couple of days and job done.

[ChrisM]

This whole Clarkson thing is surely the most ridiculous 'news' story of the year. It never fails to amaze me just how many complete and utter fucking idiots live in this country.

 

Did anyone see Karl Turner, MP for one of the Hull constituencies, on C4 News last night? Apparenty Clarkson needs to apologise to 'the children', because kids whose parents were on strike on wednesday would have gone to bed that evening traumatised and terrified at the prospect of snatch squads breaking down their front doors through the night, dragging their parents into the street and shooting them.

[ChrisM]

[YOUTUBE]OaK3Ney6i-I[/YOUTUBE]

[ChrisM]

Karl Turner has just made his debut entry onto my mong list.

 

As has James Delingpole.

[melons]

^ i'd agree with the addition to the mong list.

 

Now i've seen that, he's still a cunt. However in context it was just over the line, hardly traumatising and worth the media coverage it's getting.

[ChrisM]

^ i'd agree with the addition to the mong list.

 

Now i've seen that, he's still a cunt. However in context it was just over the line, hardly traumatising and worth the media coverage it's getting.

 

I took it as more of a dig at the BBC - he said the strikes were good because everywhere was deserted and ran more efficiently, and then said 'oh, this is the BBC isn't it, so we have to balance it out......I'd have them all shot'.

[melons]

I took it as more of a dig at the BBC - he said the strikes were good because everywhere was deserted and ran more efficiently, and then said 'oh, this is the BBC isn't it, so we have to balance it out......I'd have them all shot'.

 

That's what it was, well how i took it too. Just showed he's a bit dim, he couldn't come up with something whitty enough quickly enough.

[cochcaer]

This fucking country astounds me, maybe because the Bernard Manning's are gone we now have to look at Clarkson and Cameron for comments to get irate about. But I do wonder if the likes of Brass Eye would get commissioned today.

[Section_31]

^ i'd agree with the addition to the mong list.

 

Now i've seen that, he's still a cunt. However in context it was just over the line, hardly traumatising and worth the media coverage it's getting.

 

Having seen the whole thing, I think the way the news channels - especially Sky - have been showing only the second part of what he said is a disgrace, North Korean state television esque.

[VladimirIlyich]

As somebody said much earlier,its exactly the bone the right wing press can chew to distract from the effect and purpose of the strike.

 

Im living the 80s again but at least im 20 years younger.

[dennis tooth]

The media dont need much excuse to divert a serious discussion. They are all hoping if they say jeremy clarkson enough if will make it go away. Will have to try that one next time im in court.

[md1892]

Just found an interesting article on the Clarkson debarcle which conveys my opinion on the matter far better than I ever could.

 

 

 

Jeremy Clarkson and the New British Outrage | Talking Politics - Yahoo!

[cochcaer]

As somebody said much earlier,its exactly the bone the right wing press can chew to distract from the effect and purpose of the strike.

 

Sorry but the Guardian seemed to drop the strike to a sub story yesterday and has been pushing Clarkson as the big story. A bit of shooting oneself in the foot from overreacting unions and press. Done Downing Street's 'bury a story' job for them.

[brucespanner]

Sorry but the Guardian seemed to drop the strike to a sub story yesterday and has been pushing Clarkson as the big story. A bit of shooting oneself in the foot from overreacting unions and press. Done Downing Street's 'bury a story' job for them.

 

True.

 

The only National to give a proper view was the Mirror, understandable really.

 

The Times, Torygraph and Hail all ran with the 'Damp squid' angle and 'Shopping bonanza day', which it was not in the slightest!

 

Anyone would think that newspapers were biased looking at yesterdays reaction!

[aws]

Sorry but the Guardian seemed to drop the strike to a sub story yesterday and has been pushing Clarkson as the big story. A bit of shooting oneself in the foot from overreacting unions and press. Done Downing Street's 'bury a story' job for them.

 

Exactly. Clarkson's was clearly joking and calling for a celebrity to be sacked in these circumstances is plain stupid. Of course the papers are going to run with it. "Sack Jeremy Clarkson" sells more papers than "Unionists march. Nobody injured"