Pot calls kettle black: sod orf and mind your own business Mr O!!!

I read an article today whilst perusing Yahoo! News called Obama: Cameron has no substance and I found myself somewhat irritated.

It wasn't so much because he was criticising David Cameron for being without 'substance' or Obama put it, just 'sizzle'. David Cameron in my view is without 'substance' but he is better than the current man who Obama seems to consider is full of 'substance' but no 'sizzle'. I would certainly agree that Brown is lacking in 'sizzle' but I am not seeing the 'substance' either.

The man he seems to admire the most however is Tony Blair who according to Obama has 'substance' and 'sizzle'. Forgetting for the moment that Tony Blair started two wars with the man (George Bush) who Obama slated all the way through his election campaign for that reason amongst others, it is difficult to see where the 'substance' is.

Under Tony Blair's government, the education, prison, social services, transport, health, political and financial systems have either failed or are in serious disrepair. We are currently in the middle of an economic depression and two illegal wars in which allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses are rife against us. Unemployment is high, crime has risen, cocaine is as common as water and we have the highest teenage pregnancy, knife crime and alcohol rates in the civilised world. Where is the 'substance' again please Mr Obama?

I'm not even convinced about the 'sizzle' which in my opinion is more like 'slither' in Mr Blair's case if you ask me. Mr Obama appears to be heading in the same direction as Mr Blair though in the 'substance' leagues. From what I can gather he hasn't done much either and a good example is his promised closure of Guantanamo Bay. Wasn't this supposed to be done by now? Oh yes, I seem to recall that it was. If 'substance' is defined as inactivity and a huge advertising budget to win an election then Obama and Blair are definitely peas in a pod and should be left to play with each other's 'sizzle' and 'substance' until their hearts are content.

What made me mad though and I mean jump up and down, red faced, 'Yosemite Sam' crazy was that this chap, who is yet to do anything much other than perfect shaking the hands and slapping the backs of other world leaders is arrogant enough to think that he can influence the UK political landscape. Does he think that he is that popular or important over here that he can swing an election? I think he does. That's a bit worrying. Maybe he's been taking some of this 'substance' he seems to be obsessed with himself. Where can I get my hands on some?

I think that when old 'sizzle chops' Cameron himself wins the election by default we will be presented with a perfect opportunity to step back politically from the US and its overconfident leadership. Hasn't it always been America's arrogance, and overconfidence leading to its complacency that has gotten it into trouble time and time again in the past. Yes, but maybe it'll learn one day.

Until then...sod orf Mr Obama and kindly mind your own business in future! Oh and by the way...anyone who uses words like 'sizzle' or 'substance' to criticise other human beings is probably a little lacking in both himself. Find a thesaurus while your at it and try to find some better adjectives (describing words to you Mr O) to use in future .

Barack Obama called for Turkey to be granted entry into the European Union.

"Barack Obama should remember that while he's been elected President he's been elected President of the United States only." said Nigel Farage, UKIP leader.

"This doesn't mean he has the power to decide which country enters, or does not enter, the European Union. So his remarks yesterday that Turkey should be allowed in were the grossest cheek.

"It would of course be a disaster. Just as when it was decided that any Eastern European who wanted to could come to the UK we were swamped by a million or more of them, allowing another 80 million poor people the same access would lead to another wave, one that might well sink us.

"Incredibly, the other three main parties, everyone apart from UKIP, supports this near insane idea of Turkish entry.

"My advice to President Obama is that he concentrates on the problems of the country he was elected to lead and leave us to decide our own futures."

Cameron hails "productive" meeting with Obama

David Cameron stressed the Conservatives have much “common ground” with Barack Obama’s administration after meeting the US President ahead of the G20 Summit.

The two men discussed economic and foreign policy at a private meeting described by David as “productive” and “excellent”.

Afterwards, David praised Obama’s personal qualities, saying, “He is a very easy person to talk with and exchange views with.”

And he stressed, "(Barack Obama) is an incredibly impressive politician and leader but he is also an extremely personable human being and someone it is easy to get on with and strike up a relationship with."

Gordon Brown is looking a bit lonely at the moment

Every now and again, everyone comes to a point in their lives where they realise that they are wrong about something really important. It is time overdue for Gordon Brown to accept not just that he has made some mistakes with the countries economy but that he is in fact pretty damned crap with money and that his management of the UK's finances over the last three New Labour terms in office have exposed this country to huge systemic risk and failure both socially and economically.

The problem is that he just can't see it himself. He's still running all over the world trying to sell his plans to keep printing money and stimulate consumer spending. Merv the Gov went public today and openly disagreed with the "Brown Solution" going so far as to say that the UK could not afford another fiscal expansion. He's sided with Alistair Darling and the CBI against Brown who will be taking his ideas to the G20 next week. The problem he will have going into the London summit is that not only do his party, cabinet colleagues and man in the Bank of England disagree with him, but so do his contemporaries in Europe. Merkel and Sarkozy have both already sided together proposing alternative approaches to the problem. He is in danger not only of isolating himself but the UK along with him.

The only friend he seems to have is Obama, however it has to be remembered that Brown is also blaming this mess on the US and that the US is not siding with Brown rather than they have their own agenda that just happens to be the same at the moment. If things get hot, Obama will do what is going to make him sound like he is doing the best thing for America. The US has much bigger interests in much more powerful countries than the UK and if those interests are jeopardised then Obama will drop his old mate from the global war on terror quicker than you can say "WMD? What WMD?"

If Brown continues down the route he is going down, he will fail spectacularly...in fact he already has. The problem is that he is dragging the UK down with him and at the moment we're letting him do it. Time to call it a day I think and cut this loon free. Then perhaps we can contribute sensibly to the global solution that everyone seems to think we need in order that we can begin to grow again.

Brown the Saviour Takes Message to God from The EU

Well....not only is Gordon Brown a financial genius but he is now to be regarded as a political svengali as well having united the EU on the issue of the "global recession and is taking its message to Obama in the US. What a load of old tosh!!!

EU member states by the sound of it are far in fact from being united with a rift opening up between Western and Eastern Europe and the French doing what the French always do in a crisis (or at any other time for that matter) and looking after the French interest, in particular its car industry. However states reputedly agreed that they do want better regulation, action on the shadow banking system and hedge funds, no protectionism, fiscal and monetary stimulus and no maintainence of the old status quo on the role of our financial institutions.

Our man Brown says that he will be taking a clear message to Obama when he visits him that "Bold global action, a global grand bargain, is not now just necessary but it is vitally urgent to deal with the challenges of the world economy".

Now...call me crazy but the only clear message I am getting from what has been reportedly discussed in Europe last weekend is that Europe wants lots of altruistic things but doesn't have a clue how to go about getting them by themselves. Not only this but we are about to send the architect of our own domestic crisis to the US with his cap in his hand to ask for a solution on behalf of Europe to the "global problem".

Call me crazy, but I'm not too sure that the best way to solve the current financial situation is to go and ask the new kid on the block in global politics for advice. On the up side, at least Bush has gone otherwise we would probably end up invading another Muslim state in the name of salvation for democracy and capitalism (I wonder by the way if Sadam Hussein is jumping up and down in Hell, saying smugly to everyone, "See! I told you all my system was better").

It will be interesting to see what the political outcome of this meeting of minds in terms of a solution to the problem. It would be nice if it were a bit more that somple reassurances and gratuitous solidarity for the sake of the cameras. It would be nice to think that we could maybe come up with a real global solution and not one where everyone signs up except the US and the UK. In reality however, the US like China and India are not bound by the conventions and restrictions of the EU and they are naturally likely to want to protect their own interests far above all others. That is after all what made these countries economic giants in the first place and will maintain their status for generations to come.

If Europe wants to survive and retain any status as an economic power, it will have to start looking out for its own interests as well and it may even need to be done on a country basis opposed to a union basis. What might be needed to stimulate growth is a reduction or even suspension of EU regulation which has hampered local, regional and national economies since the EU came into being.

What will be just as interesting about this meeting is of course what kind of relationship Brown and Obama will actually have. Will it be one of master and subordinate like Bush & Blair? Will Brown manage to alienate himself from the US president by going in on the first meeting with his hand out asking for help? Will the two become the next "odd couple" and save the world? What is clear to me though is that nothing possitive comes from this meeting then it should be time for a change at the top.

Barack & Gordon Finally Set a Play Date...Great!

I would like to be happy for Gordon Brown for pulling off a meeting with the US president Barack Obama but I'm not and in fact fail to understand why I should be. The press is jumping up and down with glee because our PM will be the first European leader to see the new US prima donna and that somehow we've beaten the French (again), the Germans (again) and all the others (again or for the very first time).

The problem I have with this unnecessary clamour is that it should be our god given right to be the first to get access to the US head honcho after the amount of lying, killing, robbing, conniving and manipulating we have done together in the name of democracy and capitalism. To get any less preferential treatment would be an absolute insult but not I think unexpected because the UK unfortunately it seems is to the US, what Millhouse is to Bart Simpson. A sidekick at best but not part of the family and totally dispensable to the main plot. I think it's time we changed that relationship and started to say no a bit more like the French or the Germans. Then we might also regain a bit more confidence as a power to reckon with.

It would be nice to think that Blair was the last poodle of the US but Gordon unfortunately it seems in just as keen to bound across the Atlantic with his tongue out and his tail wagging because Obama has whistled for him and that makes me mad!