The Not So Independent "Office for Budget Responsibility"

First the Bank of England was taken out of democratic control. Now the government's budget has followed.

If it were not bad enough that the "independent" (listen to how many times the Tories say it) OBR is full of ex-treasury staff and political advisors; they are all appointed by the government anyway. That's almost as stupid as if Israel were to carry out the investigation into the boarding of . . . What? They are?

Perhaps the most disturbing element of the creation if this department, no matter how it s staffed, is the removal of governmental control over its own affairs. This office is the ultimate form of monopoly capital having undue influence over democratic institutions. Big business now not only decides what interest rates it wants to pay, it can now force (and lets be honest, the Tories will go along with whatever big business tells them) the democratically elected government of this country, to cut whatever it deems best for business.

Why the EU Flag is Oh So Blue

Forget the English Civil War, the Chartist Movement, the Paris Commune, the French Revolution, the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, the defeat of Nazi Germany by Soviet forces; Europe is the home of right wing, big business capitalism.

As the European debt crisis continues and once-sovereign governments now bend over backwards to appease the increasingly despotic Market, the working people of Europe are again held to ransom and forced to pay for a disastrous project that none of us actually wanted.

Sure, our economies have grown, some of us have had jobs, there has been increased tax revenue and government spending - I'm not about to argue that in the short term the European Capitalist Project hasn't been good for a few. In the short term. For a few.