So, after months of dithering, Chancellor Alistair Darling, against the advice of many commentators, decides to nationalise (or bring into public ownership) the troubled Northern Rock bank. What a p***k.

Not since the war in Iraq has such a decision turned virtually everybody, from shareholders to commentators, and from savers to the bank’s suffering staff and even some rebel memebers of the Labour party against the government.

The nationalisation means that all those who savings in the bank will lose all their money immediately, with very little hope of getting it back in the future. The government will continue bailing out the bank for as long as necessary, despite the fact that there were still two bidders wanting to take it on as a going concern.

There’s going to be several storms ahead. Many of the bank’s shareholders are threatening to take the government to court in order to recover their lost investments. The European Union may also block the bank’s nationalisation. Bank staff are increasingly worried about any potential job cuts. These and many others are turning this crisis into a political nightmare….. and one which could cost Darling his job, and Labour could lose the next general election.

More analysis:

Darling Under fire as Northern Rock is nationalised: The Guardian

State will be running Northern Rock for years: The Times

Northern Rock, owned by UK Ltd: The Independent

One of the few dissenters in this growing scandal came from Martin Kettle in the Guardian, defending the hapless chancellor. I agree, to an extent. As I have mentioned before on this blog, here, and here, the government shouldn’t be paying out billions in taxpayers’ money….. money needed for public services…. to bail out a private business. The decision to nationalise Northern Rock will turn out to be a complete disaster.

A controversial report by a military think-tank has claimed that government policy is creating an atmosphere of Britain being a “soft touch” when it comes to tackling terrorism.

The report, published by the Royal United Services institute, claimed that ministers since 9/11, had given a misplaced deference to multiculturalism, and says:

“The United Kingdom presents itself as a target, as a fragmenting, post-Christian society, increasingly divided about interpreting of its history, about its national aims, its values and its political identity….

“This is a problem worsened by the lack of leadership from the majority which in misplaced deference to multiculturalism failed to lay down the line to immigrant communities, thus undercutting those within them trying to fight extremism…..

“This country’s lack of self-confidence is in stark contrast to the implacability of its Islamist terrorist enemy….

“We look like a soft touch. We are indeed a soft touch, from within and without.”

This report was given a lot of publicity in the media, given the whole heap of (mainly self-inflicted) problems the government is having to deal with at present.

British society has been fragmenting for many decades, and that has meant the country’s role in today’s world has and will continue to diminish, despite what ministers say. The government’s xenophobic treatment of immigrants as second class citizens, denying them basic rights to live and work without fear, is causing the current crisis. Muslims, particularly since 9/11, have been targeted relentlessly for punitive treatment. Many have been sent to prison just for being suspected terrorists and refused basic legal representation.

Britain as a country throughout history, has never extended any warm welcome to immigrant communities… and that is why today many repressed youths become tomorrow’s terrorists. Britain may indeed be soft on terrorists, but it’s even harsher on the general population… particularly when it wants everybody to carry an ID card.

The Day Politics Stopped Working

From The Guardian:

It’s been exactly five years since at least a million people took to the streets of London in protest at Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq. Britain had never seen a public outcry like it. So why haven’t we seen one since?

First of all, the march, despite winning huge public support, didn’t prevent the mass killing of Iraqis. It also didn’t lead to people rising up against the Labour government, indeed most decided it wasn’t worth voting for anyone, because the perception was if another party was elected to govern the country, they would’ve done exactly the same thing. That’s why Britain is in the state it’s in today.

Last word on the march: Andrew Murray of the Stop The War Coalition argues here that despite the people failing to stop the war in Iraq, the horrific aftermath meant many others could have been prevented. I first agreed with this, but now though I’m not so sure….

In spite of more important issues that most people are concerned about, This appeared on the Daily Mail’s front page this morning.

Return of the blackout: New crimewave fear as councils turn off streetlights at midnight to save cash.

The story looked at how many councils are beginning to switch off streetlights at around midnight every night. The switch offs the councils claim are being imposed to save energy and meet tough climate change targets. At present, these changes affect mainly some suburban and rural areas, but the Mail fears that the government may eventually impose the policy throughout the country.

Not surprisingly, the switchoffs, the largest ever seen since the imposed blackouts during the energy crisis in the early 1970s, have caused anger among residents affected, the police and motoring organisations.

While I can sympathise with those living with the switchoffs, I don’t believe there is a government drive to force all lights to be turned off. Of course there are the usual fears over crime, and the fact that technology can be enhanced to make lamps that use less energy. To me, this is another one of these ridiculous scare stories that the Mail is famous for. Indeed, on Mailwatch today, I read this witty comment(scroll down):

YES!!!! Amateur astronomers (in Buckinghamshire) rejoice!

Will there be a return of the blackout? Not very likely…