For the Sake of a Shower: The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher
- Thread starter Lord Roem
- Start date
maverick
Banned
Another excellent update, especially this part:
Oh, those crazy right-wing rags...except that this right-wing rag is supporting Roy Jenkins
Interesting magazine, apparently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye
Oh, those crazy right-wing rags...except that this right-wing rag is supporting Roy Jenkins
Interesting magazine, apparently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye
Private Eye is not quite so easily slotted into right/left - it is a political humour/parody/satire magazine.
The extract that LR has created is very much in keeping with their style as well, and it does not really mean they are for or against the people pilloried.
The extract that LR has created is very much in keeping with their style as well, and it does not really mean they are for or against the people pilloried.
JV is quite right maverick, Private Eye bully and pillory everyone, they are very liberal in that respect. It's one of only two current affairs magazines that I subscribe to, the other being The Economist.
I realise in retrospect that Meadow did a similar (but far more amusing take off in his "Healy Beats Foot" timeline, apologies to the great man, I only realised after finishing this update.
Anyway, any more comments/suggestions?
Update! You must update!
Hehe! I'm moving back to university at the moment! I'll update as soon as I can though.
Your support is greatly appreciated though.
Winston Smith
Banned
! His Lordship continues to grace us with his presence! The little tibbet about Bulgaria's Tsar is interesting...Excellent update as ever, Roem. You've talked about Frank Field at the "Treasure" though, rather than the Treasury, so might want to take a look at this.
We really must have a meetup now we're both Eis Tin Polin.
We really must have a meetup now we're both Eis Tin Polin.
“As Super Tuesday passed, it was clear that the Democratic nominee was going to be Cuomo. This presented a problem for our campaign, it was our hope that the Democrats were going to nominate another Mondale, someone we could use the national security card against. That was clearly no longer the case and with the fall of the Soviet Union, people were beginning to turn away from nuclear weapons and national security in favour of the economy, which had slipped into a brief but unwelcome recession. We were unsure as to what effect that would take, the President had been very clear in reaching a real consensus on budget issues so the Democrats would be unable to avoid all the negative headlines, but we were still fearful that monetary issues would be the deciding factor in the November election. We chose to fight an aggressive campaign against Cuomo’s liberal record as governor, hoping that that would be enough to distract the news headlines for the worst of the recession, it was a forlorn hope.
Happily, the President’s choice of running mate was far smoother, Dole was good natured enough to announce that he would not run for a second term as Veep (or, far more importantly, challenge the for the nomination) which gave the White House a real chance to try and attract wavering independents. However, it was tricky as to who to choose given that the President was now firmly in the center of the Republican Party. If we chose a moderate, we’d alienate our base, a conservative and bang would go any hope of grabbing back the middle-ground. For those reasons, we soon rejected Rumsfeld, Haig and Senator Sunuru almost as soon as Dole announced that he was going to run for Kansas governorship.
Fortunately, the right candidate came around almost as soon as Goldwater endorsed the President. Colin Powell was the right person to everyone, a moderate to the moderates, a patriot to the patriots and generally suitable to everyone bar the Klan.”
-From “Rotunda Dreams: The Autobiography of a Pragmatic Chief of Staff” Tom Ridge: Little, Brown and Company 1997
“The growing voices within the Poliburo calling for widespread political as well as economic reform received a major boost following Hu Yaobang’s “Billion New Harmonies” speech in February 1988. The diversification of the command economy started a decade prior to Yaobang’s speech had led to real improvements in the standard of living for many ordinary Chinese people. The abolition of the vast worker’s collectives ensured that starvation was no longer the norm for the peasantry and the free-market zones established along the east coast clearly showed their superiority over the stagnant economic order so beloved by Mao. However, as the Soviet coup of 1987 demonstrated to the reformist faction of the Politburo, with prosperity came the risk of instability from a nation unwilling to embrace the benefits of the democratic system. Qin Hui, the noted academic and political theorist who now serves as Zhu Xueqin’s Foreign Minister, was instrumental in leading to a major shift in the economic philosophy of the Communist Party towards an acceptance of liberalism of the mind.
The outcome of Yaobang’s speech was real and immediate, the Conservative faction of the Poliburo made instant demands that he be sacked and retired. Deng Xiaoping was unsure as to what to do. On one hand, Deng was a major opponent of bringing about real democracy to the People’s Republic, fearful that it would lead to his own position being threatened by the left of the party who were still unsure as to the merits of his free market reforms. On the other, the young Turks within the hierarchy needed to be won over to the merits of maintaining the pace of the Socialist Market system, as did the wider public.
In mid-April, with debate at the highest level of the CCP regularly spilling over into open arguments, Deng made a decision. In his “Views on the Popular Spirit of the People”, the General-Secretary laid out in clear terms the “ideological need for further participation by non-party comrades”. For the first time since the foundation of the People’s Republic, every seat to the National Peoples Congress would be open to voting. Candidates would still have to be nominated by the Popular Front and receive official backing, but each candidate for election could now be debated with by the electorate. While a tepid reform and one that seems ludicrous to term “democratic” as Beijing continues to do, the physiological impact of the order upon normal Chinese people cannot be understated."
-From: “Seek Truth From Facts: A History of Ideological Debate in the Chinese Communist Party” Odd Arne Westard: Columbia University Press 2005
“Despite the hilarity that Deng Xiaoping’s statement on democracy was treated with in the media, I could not help but feel that for the first time in history, China had a more open electoral system than Japan’s. While it was indeed true that opposition parties were permitted, Beijing did seem to be supportive of genuine meritocracy within the legislature, something that contrasted favourably with the legion of Diet seats that had become de facto hereditary. As a member of the JSP, my power was limited to the occasional newspaper letter or brief question in the House of Representatives. I had gained some kudos from the national press for my breaking of the Recruit Scandal which had forced the resignation of Fujinami as Prime Minister, but as always, his replacement was from the same party, just from a different faction. As it happened, Miyazawa was actually able to increase the LDP’s majority at the 1988 election, riding on a reformist platform. To me, this was heartbreaking and seemed to mark my irrelevance on the political arena, my depression came back and once again threatened to overwhelm me.
However, the Recruit Scandal did show me that the corruption of the ruling party was far deeper than first appeared. As the leading figure in the fight against nepotism, I soon found myself at the centre of a growing power within the opposition parties calling for the breakup of the cartel politics of the current order. As we were fighting for the soul of Japanese society, I chose our faction’s name of SEELE with great satisfaction.”
-Excerpt from “My Story Volume Two: A Cruel Idiot’s Thesis” Hideaki Anno (English Translation) Random House 2010
“There is going to be an election soon, the entire PLP knows that the current coalition cannot last much longer, Neil has made far too many concessions to the SDP to keep them on board, we need a mandate of our own. I wouldn’t be to opposed to the idea of an electoral pact between Labour and the Democrats, but it seems unlikely that my views will be shared by most of my parliamentary colleagues, to say nothing of the various PPC’s who’ll have to be asked to step down in order to ensure that we don’t compete against each other in the three-and-four-way marginals. It seems fairly obvious that the Scots are going to vote in favour of an elected assembly in May, having a dissolution prior to that would be highly destabilising, but I don’t see why we can’t have one called for the summer. Jon Cruddas, a bright young thing in the national policy forum has informed me that it would make sense to call an election for the middle of the Sydney Olympics. I’m not too sure personally, but it is an idea.
Mo Mowlem was once again on top form in the House today, she does a better chance of holding Shirley to account than the Tories do! The latter was filling in for Neil who is off in Belgium at the moment for the Bruges Treaty being signed four months behind schedule. It hardly bodes well for the organisational capabilities of the European Community.”
-From: “Left, Right and Centre: The Complete Diaries 1987-2004” Chris Mullin: HarperCollins 2006
Happily, the President’s choice of running mate was far smoother, Dole was good natured enough to announce that he would not run for a second term as Veep (or, far more importantly, challenge the for the nomination) which gave the White House a real chance to try and attract wavering independents. However, it was tricky as to who to choose given that the President was now firmly in the center of the Republican Party. If we chose a moderate, we’d alienate our base, a conservative and bang would go any hope of grabbing back the middle-ground. For those reasons, we soon rejected Rumsfeld, Haig and Senator Sunuru almost as soon as Dole announced that he was going to run for Kansas governorship.
Fortunately, the right candidate came around almost as soon as Goldwater endorsed the President. Colin Powell was the right person to everyone, a moderate to the moderates, a patriot to the patriots and generally suitable to everyone bar the Klan.”
-From “Rotunda Dreams: The Autobiography of a Pragmatic Chief of Staff” Tom Ridge: Little, Brown and Company 1997
“The growing voices within the Poliburo calling for widespread political as well as economic reform received a major boost following Hu Yaobang’s “Billion New Harmonies” speech in February 1988. The diversification of the command economy started a decade prior to Yaobang’s speech had led to real improvements in the standard of living for many ordinary Chinese people. The abolition of the vast worker’s collectives ensured that starvation was no longer the norm for the peasantry and the free-market zones established along the east coast clearly showed their superiority over the stagnant economic order so beloved by Mao. However, as the Soviet coup of 1987 demonstrated to the reformist faction of the Politburo, with prosperity came the risk of instability from a nation unwilling to embrace the benefits of the democratic system. Qin Hui, the noted academic and political theorist who now serves as Zhu Xueqin’s Foreign Minister, was instrumental in leading to a major shift in the economic philosophy of the Communist Party towards an acceptance of liberalism of the mind.
The outcome of Yaobang’s speech was real and immediate, the Conservative faction of the Poliburo made instant demands that he be sacked and retired. Deng Xiaoping was unsure as to what to do. On one hand, Deng was a major opponent of bringing about real democracy to the People’s Republic, fearful that it would lead to his own position being threatened by the left of the party who were still unsure as to the merits of his free market reforms. On the other, the young Turks within the hierarchy needed to be won over to the merits of maintaining the pace of the Socialist Market system, as did the wider public.
In mid-April, with debate at the highest level of the CCP regularly spilling over into open arguments, Deng made a decision. In his “Views on the Popular Spirit of the People”, the General-Secretary laid out in clear terms the “ideological need for further participation by non-party comrades”. For the first time since the foundation of the People’s Republic, every seat to the National Peoples Congress would be open to voting. Candidates would still have to be nominated by the Popular Front and receive official backing, but each candidate for election could now be debated with by the electorate. While a tepid reform and one that seems ludicrous to term “democratic” as Beijing continues to do, the physiological impact of the order upon normal Chinese people cannot be understated."
-From: “Seek Truth From Facts: A History of Ideological Debate in the Chinese Communist Party” Odd Arne Westard: Columbia University Press 2005
“Despite the hilarity that Deng Xiaoping’s statement on democracy was treated with in the media, I could not help but feel that for the first time in history, China had a more open electoral system than Japan’s. While it was indeed true that opposition parties were permitted, Beijing did seem to be supportive of genuine meritocracy within the legislature, something that contrasted favourably with the legion of Diet seats that had become de facto hereditary. As a member of the JSP, my power was limited to the occasional newspaper letter or brief question in the House of Representatives. I had gained some kudos from the national press for my breaking of the Recruit Scandal which had forced the resignation of Fujinami as Prime Minister, but as always, his replacement was from the same party, just from a different faction. As it happened, Miyazawa was actually able to increase the LDP’s majority at the 1988 election, riding on a reformist platform. To me, this was heartbreaking and seemed to mark my irrelevance on the political arena, my depression came back and once again threatened to overwhelm me.
However, the Recruit Scandal did show me that the corruption of the ruling party was far deeper than first appeared. As the leading figure in the fight against nepotism, I soon found myself at the centre of a growing power within the opposition parties calling for the breakup of the cartel politics of the current order. As we were fighting for the soul of Japanese society, I chose our faction’s name of SEELE with great satisfaction.”
-Excerpt from “My Story Volume Two: A Cruel Idiot’s Thesis” Hideaki Anno (English Translation) Random House 2010
“There is going to be an election soon, the entire PLP knows that the current coalition cannot last much longer, Neil has made far too many concessions to the SDP to keep them on board, we need a mandate of our own. I wouldn’t be to opposed to the idea of an electoral pact between Labour and the Democrats, but it seems unlikely that my views will be shared by most of my parliamentary colleagues, to say nothing of the various PPC’s who’ll have to be asked to step down in order to ensure that we don’t compete against each other in the three-and-four-way marginals. It seems fairly obvious that the Scots are going to vote in favour of an elected assembly in May, having a dissolution prior to that would be highly destabilising, but I don’t see why we can’t have one called for the summer. Jon Cruddas, a bright young thing in the national policy forum has informed me that it would make sense to call an election for the middle of the Sydney Olympics. I’m not too sure personally, but it is an idea.
Mo Mowlem was once again on top form in the House today, she does a better chance of holding Shirley to account than the Tories do! The latter was filling in for Neil who is off in Belgium at the moment for the Bruges Treaty being signed four months behind schedule. It hardly bodes well for the organisational capabilities of the European Community.”
-From: “Left, Right and Centre: The Complete Diaries 1987-2004” Chris Mullin: HarperCollins 2006
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While presumably harkening after the "Hundred Flowers," when I see this phrase I can't help but be reminded of George Bush's "A Thousand Points of Light" as well.
Nice little butterfly there.
Good update, as always, and interesting developments all around. And I agree with Maverick -- what's going on in Russia?
...
Is SEELE an ingenious acronym or did he really chose the German term for soul as name of his faction? I can hardly believe the latter.
Go Anno! The Rebuild of political Japan shall finally begin.
...
Is SEELE an ingenious acronym or did he really chose the German term for soul as name of his faction? I can hardly believe the latter.
Go Anno! The Rebuild of political Japan shall finally begin.
A-ha! My ingenious plan begins to confuse already! Is it an Evangelion shout out or something far more subtle?
Many thanks to you all for commenting, seriously chaps, it means a lot. Sorry I've been so absent lately, pressure of moving back into university life. I'm standing for President of History Society tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Good luck m'lord!
Looking forward to seeing where the British and U.S elections might go. What's the breakdown of seats in the House of Commons ITTL's 1988, again?
Looking forward to seeing where the British and U.S elections might go. What's the breakdown of seats in the House of Commons ITTL's 1988, again?