AIRSTRIP ONE

Hi, I'm Jim...

Know me as Gemineye Jim or Jim Gemineye. Anything, as long as it's not Jim Gemineye chéri! On the other hand, Eric is a nice name..

BLAIR'S MILLENNIUM

Eric Blair wrote the book 1984 using the pen name GEORGE ORWELL. Like all good science fiction 1984 dealt not so much with fanciful illusions about the future, but about his own perceptions of his time (1948). Writers sometimes have to use outlandish contexts in order to break the barriers of preconceptions that readers put up. However, in creating this new context, he explored several ideas that we could apply to other eras and also see come to fruition in this new millennium.

• Telescreen - we thought this was his view of the new medium of TV being used to brainwash the masses. That was before digital TV came along. Digital TV will evolve - it will be on all the time, it will be two way - the TV in the bedroom will have to go.
• Newspeak - Didn't quiet get this right. The idea was destroy the ability to express unorthodox ideas by destroying the language required to communicate them. This was done by simplification. Well, if anything, language has become even more complex. But some might argue that corruption of words like cool and wicked accomplish the same thing as Newspeak. On the other hand with the creation of a ‘drug culture' do you need Newspeak? If you're on the right drugs you can drivel on for hours without saying anything meaningful - let alone radical.
• Chocolate rations - Not quite sure why chocolate rations figured so much in Orwell's vision. It was used as a kind of reward or punishment. If news was bad, chocolate rations were reduced - if news was good, chocolate rations were increased. It was as if the people were held to blame for events in Airstrip One, We don't have chocolate rations now - but we do have interest rates.

Airstrip One was the new name for England or Britain under the regime of Big Brother.

Welcome to a different kind of spin... it's less gassy and leaves no bitter after-taste.

You are listening to
Brazil Samba

WILL FRANK FIELD SEND CHERIE BLAIR TO INDIA?

I ask questions like when it's one of those cost cutting months.

FREE TRADE or SLAVE TRADE?

I don't know why - but when I saw Vladimir Putin on British TV - I was reminded of that film Mars Attacks. You know, the one where Martians land and say things like "Wrak Rat Rat", which translators interpret as "we come in peace, we mean you no harm" - but the Martians are really saying things like "Let's kill them all".

Strange that. I mean, the Russian Federation is such a BIG country with enormous power in the hands of a FEW people - a bit like the European Union really - so they couldn't possibly be waging war on another people could they?

It must be that New Humanitarianism thing - Wrak Rat Rat - as they say.

WAR OR JAW? ...DEPENDS!

It was announced at the beginning of the month that Britain is to increase aid to Zimbabwe. Recent events show evidence of ethnic cleansing in Zimbabwe. Families of ethnic minorities and opposition supporters have been murdered and driven out - homes burnt.

The NATO countries used even less evidence than this to justify bombing Kosovo. Not that bombing Zimbabwe would serve any purpose other than to destabilise an already fragile country - the British Government is on record as saying that they have no wish to take ANY ACTION which would destabilise Zimbabwe. That means no action of course. I think most of us would agree that a show of military force wouldn't be the solution... But then many of us also thought that was the case in Serbia.

So why did USA and European leaders require such destabilisation in Serbia and its provinces? Could it be that Serbia posed a threat to the unification of Europe under the EU flag and Zimbabwe poses no threat to this axis at all?

Emmanuel Goldstein has something to say on this.

DIG FOR EUROPE

Why are so many surprised that BMW would want to close down Rover. Britain doesn't have that many Manufacturers of cars competing with each other for trade - But Europe, as a single entity, does have too many car manufacturers. Some will have to go - and it looks like it's been decided that Rover is going to be one of them.

Rover won't disappear though - more like whittled away until nothing is left. And, of course, there will be others - Ford at Dagenham also looks like a likely candidate for a bit of whittling!

But these decisions have nothing to do with becoming part of a single state of course. Like some manic grave digger shovelling the earth for his own body to rest - the British government keeps signing treaties and passing laws that that take us ever deeper into a Single European State. But we won't be taking that step without a referendum we are told. Ha! - and when we do have that referendum, we'll all look up to that tiny point of light from the bottom of our Euro pit and say "we're never going to get out of here, best stay where we are" -

DEAD AND BURIED ALONG WITH DEMOCRACY.

ITS NOT THE GRAND NATIONAL

We seem to have this strange association with elections and races.

Is the Mayoral campaign a two horse race? Are those two racing in the same colours?. And what of those that fall at the first hurdle - shouldn't we put put down Jeffrey Archer and Malcolm McClaren? It's obviously the kindest thing to do.

Perhaps this 'winning complex' we have has something to do with our FIRST PAST THE POST system. You've just got to vote for a winner haven't you - coming second doesn't count. But the voting system used this time is different to what you'll be used to. There is a second choice on the ballot for Mayor. If no candidate polls more than half the vote made with the first choice, then the two candidates with the most votes stand against each other using the additional second choice votes. It's not simple, but it reduces the chance of a 'wasted vote' see the LONDON GOV website for more on this.

In the case of Mayor - there can only be one. But there is also an assembly to elect. There has been little media coverage on that very important aspect of the Mayoral campaign.

We seemed to have forgotten what democracy is about. The keyword here is representation, not winning - Londoners are voting for someone to represent them. When we vote for the London Assembly, we shall be using both PR and the same old Plurality system known to all as first past the post.

First past the post system will be used to elect 14 members on a local basis. The other 11 will be elected London wide using proportional representation - this, of course, involves a mathematical formula! This is described at the LONDON GOV website.

Four score draws. That's a lot of voting you've got to do! There's the Mayor, your second choice for mayor, your local representative in the London Assembly and last, but not least, your London representative in the London Assembly which will be elected by a proportional voting system. Makes the telephone number change over seem easy doesn't it.