Labour's disdain has its antecedents in Victorian, Elizabethan and even medieval strategies for controlling the 'worthless poor'

It is astonishing how much contemporary political debate is rooted in historical precedent. Efforts to control the poor, as well as the movement and rewards of labour, are intertwined, and of considerable antiquity in Britain. Disapproval of "demands" for higher wages and prohibitions upon "economic migrants" long pre-date the industrial era.

Who would have thought that current efforts by a Labour government to get people off invalidity benefit and into work were yet another re-working of the first law enacted in Britain to distinguish between those who chose to "beg in idleness rather than earn their bread in labour"? This was the Statute of Labourers of 1351. Leaving aside the advisability of government taking inspiration from the medieval world, the statute followed severe reductions in population as a result of the black death. It was designed to curb wage-inflation induced by a shortage of labourers, who had deserted the fair fields of the land for the sweeter pastures of the afterlife.

Interesting historical view of attitudes to the poor in England and how the language of then gives us the demagoguery of now.

So Boris' decision to axe a £10,000 grant to "Soho Pride" may garner interesting reaction. Especially given the rather negative response to his rambling speech at London Pride that many suggested barely avoided being homophobic.

Now, to be honest a ten grand grant here or there, seeing as he's cutting grants to communities all over the place may not seem like a big deal. But the gay community are taking this personally and, interestingly, it will be young heteros who notice it most. Y'see Soho Pride, more than London Pride, is a youngsters festival and these youngsters have a lot of straight friends these days (as I complained about of Brighton Pride).

And it's the youngsters who, never knowing the awfulness of Britain under the tories, who will get a wet fish in the face from this about what life will be like under the tories when they realise that, actually, the tories are just a little bit homophobic.

Boris hasn't made an obvious mistake yet, although you know one is coming. But it may be a series of small similar miscalculations about what people value that may begin to take the shine off Cameron's credibility.

keep to the Fen Causeway

As it is, they're right for a change to be skeptical, simply because SUSA, which does brilliant polling in the North and other areas, doesn't know how to poll southern states, tending to always undercount black turnout and the Democrat's share of the black vote (which is why Obama always won by much wider margins in the South than the polling suggested he would from SUSA, while PPP often caught it).  Likewise, PPP sucks at polling northern states, but they're brilliant on southern states.

But still.  Americans should really be forced to take stats in grade school, in my opinion.

Where's your motherf*%&ing flag pin?

Apparently a lot of Georgian government websites are down due to denial of service attacks.  So, uhm, they oppened up Blogger.com accounts!

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

LOL!  There is no appropriate response to this.  War is not funny!  This is no laughing matter!  

"This is nothing compared to how Putin rigged Eurovision."

It could be the transatlantic connection - for the past three days internet has been a tat slow at this side of the globe. Yet other pages are nowhere as slow as loading this site.

More, please.

Where's your motherf*%&ing flag pin?

I have a family of neo-cons.  And I'm on their e-mail list.  So of course, I'm getting the "Russia is invading Georgia!  It's Hitler and Czechoslovakia all over again!" e-mails.  I was going to stay out of it.  Then I decided I am obligated to inform and educate.  So I sent out this gigantic reply e-mail, with a plethora of resources & links, from all corners of the political sphere and was trying to be very earnest and polite and objective and everything.  Those who have responded are CONVINCED of the following, regardless what you tell them: 1) Russians are hell bent on world domination.  2) Putin is just like Hitler.  3) Only NATO can save us.  4) Because the UN has not saved Georgia, it should be dismantled.  5) No really, we ave to have NATO because Russia wants to invade us next.

I really really really want to believe the best of people, and that if they just have the information, they will use it, and make informed decisions.  But what do you do when people simply refuse to see what's right in front of them?  

I saw, Aleksandra yesterday.  What a effing weekend for that movie to open here!  A Russian "anti-war" film.  But I'd say it was the least pedantic "anti-war" film I've ever seen, with no scenes of atrocities, no overt judgements passed on anyone.  Maybe more pro-humanity that anti-war.  Well done.

"This is nothing compared to how Putin rigged Eurovision."