tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537211694317439897.post6906461533930199294..comments2023-11-22T21:38:00.453+00:00Comments on Ken Bell: Thoughts as Thatcher is plantedKen Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042984331818416863noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537211694317439897.post-35932501680727722372013-04-17T21:11:58.437+01:002013-04-17T21:11:58.437+01:00Several questions arise out of the character of Ma...Several questions arise out of the character of Margaret Thatcher's funeral, out of the taxpayer's bearing of its cost, out of the cancellation of Prime Minister's Questions in order to accommodate it, and out of the silencing of Big Ben.<br /><br />First, where, when, how, why, and by whom was it decided that neoliberal capitalism and its neoconservative foreign policy were now the official ideology of this State, and beyond question even on the floor of the House of Commons, the business of which has been suspended in order to glorify that ideology? Extremely prominent seats were allocated to Dick Cheney and Binyamin Netanyahu, as he calls himself. They were closer to the bier than the Queen was, or even than Lady Thatcher's children were. Departing mourners were air-kissed at the back of the Cathedral by Tony and Cherie Blair. Obeisance was made not only by Parliament, but also by the monarchy, by the churches, by the print and broadcast media, by the Corporation of the City of London, and most especially by the Police and by the Armed Forces.<br /><br />Secondly, where, when, how, why, and by whom was it decided that political office and military rank were now interchangeable, even identical? No other reasonable inference can be drawn from the burial with full military honours of a politician who was never a member of any of the Armed Forces.<br /><br />Thirdly, where, when, how, why, and by whom was it decided to draw a line from the Bristol Channel to the Wash, beyond which, in relation to London, all territory has literally been alienated, and declared occupied rather than integral? In view of the first two questions, we in the Occupied Territories are well and truly bracing ourselves.<br /><br />Fourthly, what would the 800 and more military personnel have been doing if this funeral had not been taking place, how could those duties have been cancelled or postponed at such short notice if at all, and how many of those personnel are expected still to be in their jobs this time next year?<br /><br />Fifthly, on what would the £10 million that this funeral has cost the taxpayer otherwise have been spent, how can that spending be foregone, and what plans are in place to deal with the consequences of that foregoing?<br /><br />And sixthly, when is legislation going to be brought before the House of Commons to recover those costs by levying a charge of £770 on each of the 13,000 beneficiaries of the reduction in the top rate of tax on incomes above £100,000 by Blubbing George Osborne, who is himself one of those beneficiaries?David Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839882674758833524noreply@blogger.com