I am not a sheep, I have my own mind
I have had enough of being told what and how to think
Whilst we are still allowed the remnants of free speech, I will speak out.
I also reserve the right to discuss less controversial matters should I feel the urge.
A fascinating Intelligence Squared USA discussion from 2008 between proponents Zeba Khan & Maajid Nawaz and opponents Ayaan Hirsi Ali & Douglas Murray.
If you can't find an hour and 45 minutes to watch the whole video, do watch from 1:13:00 - pretty cut and dried? Douglas Murray's summation from 1:38:15 should be a much watch for western politicians who glibly state that 'Islam is a religion of peace' without any real knowledge of the facts.
The audience would seem to agree with me:
Before:
In favour - 41% Against - 25% Undecided - 34%
After:
In favour - 36% Against - 55% Undecided - 9%
George Galloway - "I don't debate with Israelis... I don't recognise Israel and I don't debate with Israelis"
My feelings about George Galloway are quite obvious and this incident really makes little difference to them, however hopefully it will show others the true George Galloway. A man who won't debate with Israelis but was happy to take the money and work for Iran's Press TV, supported Syria's President Assad and of course to assist Hamas.
I disagree with Bolivia's reasons for not signing the Cancun accord but am intrigued by the way the agreement was approved:
'The "Cancún accord" was presented late Friday afternoon, and we were given two hours to read it. Despite pressure to sign something – anything – immediately, Bolivia requested further deliberations. This text, we said, would be a sad conclusion to the negotiations. After we were denied any opportunity to discuss the text, despite a lack of consensus, the president banged her gavel to approve the document.'
'The statistics watchdog has criticised the decision to allow Gordon Brown to get key economic figures before the party leaders’ television debate this Thursday.
The Prime Minister will be the only party leader to know if Britain has fallen back into recession before the debate. The figures will be released on Friday morning. Last night, Sir Michael Scholar, chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, said the situation was unacceptable.
The figures will show whether the recovery has been sustained during the first three months of the year. They are expected to have a significant bearing on the election campaign.
...
A spokesman for Sir Michael said the authority believed access to the statistics should be three hours or less before their release. Conservative sources said they might lodge a complaint.
Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrats’ economics spokesman, said all parties should have the same information at the same time. '
Fairness & equality not words that Gordon Brown has ever run his life by. The man is a fraud and all his protestations about having a 'moral compass' and the like should be dismissed as lies.
Letters From a Tory accuses Gordon Brown of lying about army funding in the first leaders' debate. I am so not shocked, Gordon Brown lies as a matter of course, but he does have two 'tells'; the first is a fake smile, the second is when he says ' to be honest' (or similar).
In the second debate, David Cameron has to be angrier, he tried to be too Prime Ministerial on Thursday and lost ground because of it.
So as I predicted Nick Clegg gained hugely from the first leaders' debate and from the way that Gordon Brown was cosying up to Nick Clegg during the debate and the way that Peter Mandelson was 'bigging up' Nick Clegg in interviews afterwards it would seem that the Lib-Lab pact is up and running already.
It would seem that the Labour leadership have done their calculations and realised that the guff about narrowing polls was just guff and that the larger swing in the marginals would be enough to give the Conservatives a working majority. So 'plan B' it had to be; 'plan B' being boosting the Lib Dems to ensure that Labour and the Lib Dems could form a government, change the voting system and so ensure a perpetual left of centre government in the UK. First readings seem to show that the Lib Dems have indeed been boosted but what if they are boosted too much?
Will the Lib Dems gain as much as the initial polls record? If the Lib Dems do gain will it be at the expense of the Conservatives in the south and west or Labour in the north? The Labour calculation must be that disenchanted Labour voters would rather move to the Lib Dems than the Conservatives, are they right? What if the Lib Dem voters who voted Labour in 1997, 2001 & 2005 so as to keep the Conservatives out as the Lib Dems couldn't win, now decide to vote Lib Dem; what might that do to the number of Labour MPs returned to Parliament? I wonder what Labour MPs in Labour/Lib Dem marginals think of this tactic; do they like being thought of as expendable in the great war against the Tories?
Lots of questions there, but tomorrow an alternative theory from the more paranoid side of NotaSheep's brain...
Political Betting speculate that: 'Reports are buzzing about that the Lib Dems have moved into second place in a poll due out tonight. I assume it is YouGov - no doubt we will find out soon.'
Has David Cameron got an anecdote to illustrate every answer to every question?
Is Gordon Brown going to take the credit for his plans to improve everything from now on, ignoring the last 13 years?
Can Nick Clegg really believe his luck at being included in this debate despite having zero chance of becoming Prime Minister?
Did David Cameron say that he met a 40 year old black man in Plymouth who came to the UK when he was 6 and had been in the Royal Navy for 30 years. How old was he when he took the Queen's shilling?
Gordon Brown with an over-prepared joke there about posters and Lord Ashcroft. And another over-prepared line about airbrushing pictures - the BBC will love that line.
Fuck off Gordon you have 'flippers' in your cabinet, one next door to you. Gordon Brown suddenly in favour of democracy, and what is this crap about the hereditary peers and appointed - what's the proportion of hereditaries? 72 out of 733.
Mrs NotaSheep wants to know why Gordon Brown has a creepy smile on his face the whole time. She's even more annoyed by him than I am!
Gordon THE HOUSE OF LORDS IS NOT HEREDITARY NOW - IT IS ONLY 10% HEREDITARY
Education has not improved over the last few years, exams have got easier.
Mrs NotaSheep says she is in awe of David Cameron and Nick Clegg for not pummelling Gordon Brown.
Mrs NotaSheep (get your own blog) thinks that someone has told Gordon Brown to smile but he's taking it to extremes.
ALARM ALARM ALARM - When Gordon Brown says "I'll be honest with you" there is one thing for certain and that's that he is not being honest with us.
Will Nick Clegg manage to answer any question without mentioning "you two", "those two" or similar?
£1 billion is 1% of UK government spending, could you not save 1% Gordon?
Why did the business leaders say that they were against the 1% rise in NIc? Answer the f**king question Gordon, go on just the once?
Gordon Brown's (in)sincere warm words re our armed forces really piss me off every time he utters them, he so transparently fake.
Finally David Cameron attacks Gordon Brown on his under-funding of the armed forces in Afghanistan. Gordon Brown fails to address the original point and tells what is the situation now.
Does Gordon Brown ever answer a question? Personal guarantees from Gordon Brown are worth what?
Is it possible for Nick Clegg to answer a question without saying "let's be honest"?
Overall: Gordon Brown came out far better than the low expectations that were carefully made for him. But his inane grinning really grates and the endless promises that are uncosted and purely made to trap the Conservatives into opposing very annoying and should have been challenged.
David Cameron didn't get passionate enough and didn't get angry with Gordon Brown's digging and lying. Looks good and sounds good but did himself no favours tonight, he needs to find a way of countering Gordon Brown's tactics in the next two debates.
Nick Clegg was just glad to be there and obviously could not believe his luck. Came over rather well although his obvious cosying up to Gordon was a bit too obvious. He will come out best in the post show polls and as I predicted when the debate line-up was announced the Lib Dems will get a boost in the polls, but from Labour or the Conservatives?
Now the closing remarks: Nick Clegg - There is an alternative, ooh he noted down the questoners first names (maybe next time he will note their surnames and in the third debate their favourite food). "Give real change a chance... choose something different"
Gordon Brown - X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, "secure the recovery". How is not implementing the NIc rise taking money out of the economy, where does Gordon Brown think the money will go? Gordon Brown attacks David Cameron, will David Cameron return the compliment?
David Cameron - "Choose hope over fear... big society... wasting money to secure the recovery is wrong... nice end lines as well... incredible things... change and leadership that I would bring to this great country.
Best ending remarks by David Cameron, the most Prime Ministerial...
Now for the handshakes...
That's cruel having Gordon Brown descend on you to shake hands do people not realise where he puts his fingers?
No seriously, what could possibly happen at tonight's debate that would convince the BBC 'pundits' that Gordon Brown had not 'won' it? If Gordon Brown started to shout "I am right, I am always right, he went to Eton, Lord Ashcroft, Lord Ascroft, Lord Ashcroft..."? If Gordon Brown started to weep quietly into his water and had to be lead away by Ed Balls? If Gordon Brown leapt across the stage and attacked David Cameron declaring "let me at the Tory toff"?
I have been racking my brains but cannot think of a really good reason why Nick Clegg has been included in the coming Prime Ministerial candidates debates. Gordon Brown (depressingly) is likely to remain Prime Minister after the general election, David Cameron might become Prime Minister but Nick Clegg will not become Prime Minister. Nick Clegg might hold the balance of power but will not be Prime Minister.
Including Clegg on an equal footing with Brown and Cameron boosts the Lib Dems credibility and does mean that there will be two left of centre voices on display in each debate.
The way the debates are structured will suit Gordon Brown as he will be able to use his pre-prepared lines, use as many 'Brownies' and spread as many slurs as possible all without audience reactions or in-depth challenging.
These debates as I predicted in my end of year predictions will have the following results: The pre-election leader's debates will produce a surprise win (in the view of opinion polls) for Gordon Brown The pre-election leader's debates will produce an increase in support for the Lib Dems
