An ASBO at ninety

‘Mad’ Frankie ‘ASBO’ Fraser

That’s pretty good going. Or not. Depends on your point of view. He is ninety years old. Just being ninety is bit of an achievement. Forty-two of the ninety years have been spent behind bars. I don’t know how that would affect life-expectancy, but I can’t imagine it having a positive effect. Statistically-speaking.

Reaching ninety and still being feisty enough to cop an ASBO, well, that’s probably a good thing. When your nickname’s ‘Mad’ and your CV says job: enforcer, employer: the Richardsons, only copping an ASBO rather than a custodial sentence is very likely to be a bit disappointing. A bit tame. A sign of mellowing with age.

The last time his name came up in the newspapers it was when he was called as a character witness. The bloke in the dock must truly move in some spectacularly dodgy circles if he calls ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser as his character witness.

An offensive dish…

…at an Australian opposition fund-raising dinner. Named after their prime minister, they were serving Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail – small breasts, huge thighs, and a big red box.

A huge furore has resulted. Something politicians are guaranteed to get worked up about. Themselves.

Mick Jagger has joined other hip celebs…

…in expressing his admiration for Maggie Thatcher. Those cool cats include: Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Lulu, Jimmy Savile…oh.

Some doublethink from the ministry of truth

On bankers:

‘If we cap their salaries and bonus, or if we tax them too much, they’ll clear off abroad, and we don’t want that do we? They create wealth and jobs.’

What they have created, actually, is misery on an unparalleled scale, while trousering, and continuing to trouser, insane amounts of cash.

On Google:

‘The cheek of it. They’ve cleared off abroad where they pay less tax. Shocking.’

Bankers = mates, Internet = newfangled, dodgy, bright clothes, not mates.

Margaret Hodge described Google’s behaviour as “devious, calculated, and, in my view, unethical.”

This is from the Telegraph, 2^nd June 2009:

“Margaret Hodge, the MP for Barking, claimed more than £2,200 for "PR support" from Chilli and Spice, a firm based in Chelmsford, Essex, between May and August 2007.

The company is run by Janet Coull, who worked as a press officer for Mrs Hodge when she was a junior employment minister between 1998 and 2001.

Under House of Commons rules, MPs are barred from claiming expenses for "self-promotion or PR" for individuals or political parties. Mrs Hodge insisted on Monday that she had paid Ms Coull for "articles, reports and speech writing", not PR.

However, receipts from Chilli and Spice submitted to the Commons fees office by Mrs Hodge specify that they provided "PR support".”

Devious?         Check.

Calculated?     Check.

Unethical?       Check.