Politician generates numerous weak puns about his nude campaign poster

Albert Rivera's nude body is everywhere to be seen in Catalonia. just what he wants as he runs for president of Catalonia . The 26-year-old lawyer knows his campaign to lead this powerful Spanish region is a long shot but he hopes at least to get voters talking about something else besides their role within Spain and whether they should speak Catalan or Spanish.

Rivera acknowledges using nudity is "pure marketing" designed to buck tradition, grab headlines and lure young voters. "If major brands are so daring in their ad campaigns, why can't a political party be? We wanted to move away from traditional Catalan politics and show people that they can relate to us."

His platform features strong support for bilingual education in a region where it is virtually impossible for public school students to attend classes in Spanish.
The party also wants more low-cost housing for young people and discounts for students on all public transportation. But its main rallying cry is criticism of the overtly nationalist politics that have dominated Catalonia for decades.

Although Rivera doesn't pretend to be a serious contender for president, his party is hoping its mix of unconventional campaigning and a youth-friendly platform will help them win one seat in the 135-member Catalan parliament. The president is chosen by the party or parties that form the government . Capturing a seat requires at least three percent of the vote, about 100,000 ballots. Although the party has the backing of well-known cultural and intellectual figures in Catalonia, garnering so much support in so little time is not easy.

The campaign image has been distributed on flyers to tens of thousands of people, and 10,000 posters are plastered on buses, billboards and buildings in the Barcelona area. The campaign image has drawn little public disapproval, even from conservatives. "It's very well done!" Cristina Gollado, 70, said with a laugh she compared the photo on a flyer to the real Rivera standing next to her. "I'm old, so I was a little taken aback by the picture. But of course I'd vote for him, if only for his good looks."

Nude campaign posters? It is just as well we won’t have naked campaigning for the leadership election. I doubt anyone would welcome Brown or O’Donnell in the raw.Ho hum...

Albert Rivera naked poster

(Size) Zero tolerance

This article appeared in today’s Observer and seems to show that advertisers are out of touch with the sort of image that sells to women…

Having been blamed for devastating women's self-esteem “size zero” models are now accused of being poor at selling things. Research has found that instead of being admired by women, excessively slender models are regarded as less ethical, knowledgeable and truthful than their larger peers. 'The advertising and fashion industries are reluctant to use larger models because they say that thinness sells,' said Dr Helga Dittmar, of the Social Health Psychology Research Group at the University of Sussex. 'But our research has shown that thin models are less effective in selling products than average-size models.'

Dr Dittmar asked 800 women aged from 18 to 30 to rank the effectiveness of adverts featuring slim models with a UK size eight (US Size 4) dress compared with those using size 14 models. (US size 10) She said she expected women to find thin models more convincing and persuasive. 'Instead there was a strong message that models were evaluated more positively when they were average-sized,' she said.

The Dove women - Sale

Dr Dittmar said: 'Only the tiniest percentage of women can ever hope to achieve the bodies shown in most advertising. There are well-grounded fears that images of size-zero models spark a body dissatisfaction in women. Compared with ultra-thin models, those with an average, healthy body size were viewed as more credible, more trustworthy, and more knowledgeable than their skinnier peers by all women, whatever their profession, age or personal weight issues,'

The reaction to the adverts held true for a range of different products, including bodycare items, make-up and food. The only item that the ultra-skinny models were better at selling was diet aids.

Erin O'Connor - No sale?

However, a spokeswoman for the Premier Modelling Agency said: 'Statistics have repeatedly shown that if you stick a beautiful skinny girl on the cover of a magazine you sell more copies. We supply the women the advertisers, our clients, want. The clients would say that they are selling a product and responding to consumer demand. 'At the end of the day, it is a business, and the fact is that these models sell the products.'

size zero

Public Opinion 1, Burgermaster Boris 0

Despite tory heavyweight Boris Johnson’s stout defence of the Rotherham 'burger queen' mothers the idea that children should be allowed to eat junk food at school has almost no public support, according to a MORI poll

Only 11 per cent of the public back their stance, while 86 per cent believe pupils should not be allowed out at break times to buy fast food and sweets from nearby shops. The survey was conducted just after Johnson, the shadow higher education minister, caused controversy when he supported parents who were running a fast-food delivery service, which they passed through railings at Rotherham's Rawmarsh School, by saying: 'Why shouldn't they push pies through the railings? This pressure to bring in healthy food is too much.'

Boris Johnson junk food

Galloway condems Islamophobia, anti semitism still fine though?

Islamophobia is a problem that must be addressed, George Galloway has told his Respect party's annual conference in North London.

Singling out Jack Straw for particular criticism Galloway said "Everybody with a brain knows the reason why Jack Straw got down and dirty and scraped the bottom of this filthy barrel was to join the Dutch auction in New Labour of who can be most beastly to a minority - a minority which is already beleaguered and anxious in this country. And it's a disgusting, ugly sight and sound to see or listen to."

Fine words from gorgeous George! I should not mock: Galloway has shown his steadfast support for Muslims over the years not least through his steadfast support for such champions of justice as Saddam Hussein.


It is a major shame that his devotion to combating islamophobia is not matched by a fanatical opposition to anti Semitism

After being introduced on Al Jazeera television last November as “a former member of the British Houses of Parliament” He responded: “I am still a member of parliament and was re-elected five times. On the last occasion I was re-elected despite all the efforts made by the British government, the Zionist movement and the newspapers and news media which are controlled by Zionism.”

No Zionist Occupation Government, George? Perhaps you should don your leotard and go back to robotic dancing. You and Pete Burns made such a lovely couple!



As far as I am concerned Galloway’s continued presence on the political stage is about as welcome as a turd in a swimming pool

George Galloway islamophobia anti semitism

De valera: partition and hypocrisy

Ryle Dwyer, an American living in County Kerry, writes a weekly column in the Irish Examiner. From time to time his column deals with aspects of Irish history. Against a backdrop of progress towards the resumption of power sharing in Northern Ireland this week’s article looks at the hypocrisy displaeued in the past over the over the issue of Irish partition (to access the full article, go to opinion then select Ryle Dwyer, The article in question is dated today, 14 October)

An intriguing aspect of the talks in St Andrews is that there has been no mention of resolving partition. This distinguishes the current talks from most of those over the last century when the partition question inevitably overshadowed all Anglo-Irish negotiations. It was the great red herring that was used to obscure some of the greatest political failings and thus distort and poison our politics for much of the century.

Eamon de Valera, who led the fight against the 1921 Treaty (note: this treaty led to the creation of the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland but left 6 of the 9 counties of Ulster as part of the UK) that culminated in the civil war, recognised the necessity of partition even before the Treaty negotiations began. He warned members of the Dáil on August 22, 1922 that if they refused to recognise the rights of Unionists, Irish nationalists would lose international support and the British would be given a free hand in Ireland. .

However, he harped so much on partition, he managed to generate a whole series of myths about the issue: that it was the cause of the civil war; that the 32 counties were one, united “nation from the dawn of history”; that Britain was totally responsible for partition; that the issue had nothing to do with religion; that a united, politically-stable Ireland would result if the British withdrew from the Six Counties.

In seeking to highlight the partition issue, de Valera was one of the few politicians anywhere to oppose the 1928 Kellogg-Briande Pact, which sought to outlaw war. He objected to the pact because, he contended, Britain would use it to hold people in subjugation by insisting that signatories of the pact should not support struggles of national liberation within the British Empire.

The two largest counties (of Northern Ireland) — Fermanagh and Tyrone — each had a nationalist majority. If the unionists of the North were entitled to partition, the nationalists there had an even greater right to re-partition. While de Valera was in power, however, he never asked for the transfer of those two counties or the other contiguous areas in which nationalists were in the majority. He was content to abandon those people and those areas in order to perpetuate a legitimate nationalist grievance, and thus keep the partition issue alive.

In diplomatic circles he quietly suggested what is now called ethnic cleansing, by advocating that those Ulster unionists unwilling to accept the 1937 constitution should be transferred to Britain and replaced by Catholics of Irish extraction from Britain. At the start of the second world, de Valera contended that the existence of partition left his government with no choice but to remain neutral. But in 1940 when the British offered to declare Irish unity in return for the use of Irish bases, de Valera showed no interest in the offer. (to be fair it is unlikely that Churchill ever had any real intention of letting Ireland become a united island). When European unity was being discussed after the war, de Valera decried any Irish interest in becoming involved.

“I am sure,” he told the Council of Europe, “you can understand with what a cynical smile an Irish citizen would regard you, if you spoke to him about uniting into a huge state the several states of Europe with their diverse national traditions, so long as he contemplates his own country be kept divided against his will.”

It was one of the great tragedies that he made no real effort to bring about a normalisation of relations but just exploited the issue for his own ends and so left a distinctly unstable situation after him. Although Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch tried to normalise relations, the green wing of Fianna Fáil resorted to de Valera’s old tactics when the Northern troubles erupted in the late 1960s.


It was not until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 that nationalist Ireland recognised unambiguously the right of the people of Northern Ireland to a separate existence, as long as the majority there desired it. This was a major step in establishing decent relations with the majority in Northern Ireland. Hopefully another step can be taken in the coming weeks, in the interests of all.

Giving ground and gable ends

The British and Irish press are carrying stories which seem to indicate that devolved government may be returning to Northern Ireland. A key obstacle (but not the only one) has been the fact power would have to be shared between the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein. Both sides seem to have given considerable ground and power sharing now seems to be a realistic prospect.

Rather than dwell on this subject I would rather highlight a story based on a report on the Northern Ireland submariners Association website.

James Magennis

Last year a Mural dedicated to the Ulster Freedom Fighters (a loyalist terrorist group) and looking for all the world like an Iron Maiden cover was removed to make way for a giant painting of James Magennis, the only person from Northern Ireland to win the Victoria Cross during WWII. The memorial, which dominates a gable wall at Tullycarnet in east Belfast, was painted by artist Kenny Blair as part of celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Allied victories in Europe and the Pacific.

Magennis was awarded the VC for taking part in an attack on Japanese warships in the Straits of Johore in Singapore in exceptionally difficult circumstances. Although feted in England, he was did not receive the anything like the same reception in Belfast: pupils at his old school refused to stand for what they considered a "Brit" hero and it is believed that official recognition was denied to him because of bigotry from both sides of the sectarian divide. In the end he settled in Bradford and lived there until his death in 1986. A memorial to him was finally unveiled at Belfast City Hall. In 1999

Loyalist Commission member Frankie Gallagher said: "The story of James Magennis is a fascinating one and this mural tells it brilliantly. This is part of a five-year strategy for the Tullycarnet estate to address what is the fourth-worst education attainment level in Northern Ireland. Education is a major issue and by putting up this mural we want children to learn about their own history, and the diversity of their own history. It is vital, and the children themselves will be building a memorial garden at the site in the near future."

Quite tellingly the Mural was unveiled by Democratic Unionist Party MP Peter Robinson. Earlier this year members of the DUP attended the Republic’s commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

Northern Ireland James Magennis Victoria Cross

Coda

This post is rather long and is of extremely limited interest to most of my readership. It is aimed at “team members” of the Further Left Forum and is posted here because it would not be accepted as a comment on that blog.

Yesterday while perusing the Further Left Forum. I saw a post which linked to a well respected leftist and anti islamist Maryam Namazie. I noticed that the link was incorrect so I posted the following comment:

jams o donnell has left a new comment on your post "Death Penalty":

This link to Maryam Namazie's blog above does not work. Hopefully this link will work.

Her blog and the links are well worth investigating.


All posts to the Further Left Forum are moderated by Pocho, who is the blog owner (even if he may deny this). He sent the following message to the other team members, including Renegade Eye, Say No to Mullets and Pisces Iscariot, all of whom are FL team members and who are linked to the Poor Mouth.

WHAT TO DO WITH THIS POST IS A PUZZLER. IT CAN BE ACCEPTED, REJECTED, OR PUT ASIDE FOR TEAM INPUT, WHICH IS THE CASE. THE POST ITSELF IS INNOCUOUS. HE IS CORRECT THE LINK MENTIONED DID NOT WORK IT HAS BEEN EDITED SO IT NOW DOES WITHOUT HIS COMMENT. THE REASONS FOR HESITATION ARE DETAILED BELOW ESPECIALLY FOR NEW TEAM MEMBERS. IF YOU HAVE YET TO READ THE FORUM POSTING GUIDE, PLEASE DO FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING.

1. JAMS UNDER OTHER NAMES HAD BEEN A LONG TERM SUPPORTIVE USER OF THE ORIGINAL FURTHER LEFT LIBRARY AND OUR YAHOO CHAT ROOM. HE WAS ATTACKED HEAVILY THERE AND SEVERAL OF US WORKED TO FEND THOSE. OFF. MOST OF US PRESENT IN THOSE DAYS PROBABLY HARBOR GOOD FEELINGS ABOUT HIS PARTICIPATION AND ON THAT BASIS ALONE WOULD ORDINARILY WELCOME HIS RETURN.

2 HIS ACTIVITY IN THE CURRENT CHAT ROOM AND FORUM HAS BEEN SOMETHING ELSE. HE PROFANELY INSULTED THREE CHAT USERS IN THE CHAT ROOM BECAUSE MORAL DISAGREEMENT WITH STANCE ON THE US 9/11 AND UK 7/7 EVENTS. WE REMOVED SEVERAL OF HIS FORUM BACK AND FORTH COMMENTS AND REPLIES DUE TO A SERIES OF SNIDE COMMENTS DEPRECIATING THE STANCE AND MORALITY OF OTHERS. HE INSISTED (TO NO AVAIL) THAT A CONTRIBUTION OF HIS BE REMOVED FROM THE LIBRARY BECAUSE THE LIBRARY IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY WORTHY. ANY FORUM POSTS BY HIM ARE CLEAR CANDIDATES FOR OUT OF HAND REJECTION AS EXPLAINED IN THE POSTING GUIDE.

MY INCLINATION FOR MOSTLY OLD TIME'S SAKE IS TO ACCEPT HIS POST WITH THANKS. THAT HOWEVER WOULD BE WITH INTERNAL UNDERSTANDING THAT ANY OTHERS WILL BE REJECTED FOLLOWING REPETITION IN THE STYLE OF PREVIOUS MORAL HIGH HORSE ACTIVITY DEPRECIATING OUR SITES OR USERS. WITH HOPES THAT IS NOT THE CASE AND THAT WE COME TO KNOW JAMS AS MANY OF US ONCE DID, HIS POST WILL BE ACCEPTED UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS IF THERE IS NO TEAM DISAGREEMENT.

I WOULD FORWARD THESE COMMENTS TO JAMS BUT HAVE NO EMAIL ADDRESS. ANY WHO MIGHT CAN FEEL FREE TO DO SO.


The message was written in upper case and is exactly as it was sent to me. It was clearly his intention that I see this message but as I have no wish to disclose my email I will respond here. I will say that what Pocho said about me is a mixture of distortion and downright lie I would go further to say that it verges on the defamatory.

1, The comment I posted on the Further Left Forum was intended to correct a damaged link to a person I respect deeply. Clearly Pocho seems to think there was an ulterior motive (“Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t” – to quote Lady Macbeth).Firstly, Pocho might wish to consider that two previous posts this year (In may and July, neither of which had any ulterior motive either ) were passed without similar comment Pocho might also wish to consider why he linked the FL forum to this blog for some time. I chose not to return the compliment

2. I was a regular of the original FL Yahoo room and it is true to say that I was attacked heavily. My user id at the time was cloned but for Pocho to say that “several of us” worked to defend me is at the very best an economyof the truth; Pocho did not lift a finger to help. Zatilkia on the other hand did a lot do defend me and for that I am still very grateful. Pocho is also showing some breathtaking hypocrisy. He forgets that he tolerated a number of people who brazenly abused other FL members. Does he remember Attila?. Although he did eventually cut Attila dead, for a very long time he did nothing whatsoever to stop his abuse of regulars.

My activity in the IRC successor was limited. I will freely admit that my last words to Pocho were, if my memory serves me “go to hell you sick bastard”. While these words were harsh they were the result of a heated As for the other two members I am alleged to have abused he has alleged previously that I swore at another regular (an Indian from a very privileged family and a very rich husband who lives in Canada who plays at hard line maoist politics). That is not true. The third person may well have been the Greek/south African or whatever team member who lives in the UK (perhaps) This member was the purveyor of such sensible policies as the ethnic cleansing of protestants from Northern Ireland. If I swore at him it was as a result of his sheer and utter idiocy

3.” Moral disagreement with 9/11 and 7/7”: What this means is that I consider these acts to be acts of terrorism, nothing else. Pocho showed his high moral position on London bombings by describing the event as “London getting a bit of justice”. As for 9/11, his stance is summed up by his oh so witty comment in the old FL room where he described the people who jumped from WTC as a “Hard Rain”. That was not an isolated comment – on several occasions he supported the actions of the 9/11 attackers., Pocho may subscribe to the Ward Churchill view of the dead as “little Eichmanns” I do not.

4. In 2004 I put together a piece on the Rosenstrasse protest for the FL library, Last year when I wished to cut links with the room I did demand that that article be removed from his library. For him to say that it was not worthy of the library is a downright lie. I requested that it be removed on the basis that it did it did not fit with his blanket advocacy of violence.

5 Pocho talks about snide comments on the FL forum: These so called snide comments have been deleted by so it is not now possible to judge whether they were snide or not. I would like to point out that last December 2005 one team member (I will not embarrass them by saying who) posted an article from the Onion as real news. When I left a comment along the lines of “oh dear better to concentrate on America’s real iniquities rather than those that are made up” Pocho vilified me then deleted the whole post.

The Further Left Forum does not accept debate willingly. It is the measure of the man that there would be any hesitation in accepting this polite post: by Roman (see sidebar for a link to Roman's excellent blog)

“Team members were divided on accepting the comment below.

Zatikia, You said: "America thinks they can just fence themselves in and abuse the world and they will be safe."

America is a sovereign nation just like Mexico. As such, it has over the last 200+ years evolved into a nation which is governed by a rule of law and order just like Mexico. It is the wish of the citizens of this country that our borders be secured but for the last 30 years or so our government leaders have allowed the orderly system of legal immigration to devolve into chaos. Why? So that large agricultural, manufacturing and service industries will have a plentiful supply of cheap labor. Both Mexican and US leadership's lack of border enforcement has been, and is now, criminal in nature.

I was an immigrant. I came here legally after submitting papers and waiting for 3 years.
Do you mind it if you are waiting in line and someone steps in front of you? How about if it is a never ending stream of people stepping in front of you? Is this fair?”

This will be my only comment on Pocho’s post. He will never have to worry about dismissing any further comments out of hand, As I cannot subscribe to his virulent anti American, anti Semitic, pro islamist, world view there will be no more comments from me there.

Diet Coke?

“Drink Coca-Cola and lose weight at the same time! “ may sound about as likely as beach-front property in Wolverhampton. but next month, the Coca-Cola Company is launching a tea-based drink called Enviga which, it says, will actually burn more calories than it adds to the body of the average, healthy consumer.

Enviga, a joint venture between Coca-Cola and Nestlé, will contain a cocktail of caffeine, calcium and a green tea extract called epigallocatechin gallate. The drink will essentially be a stimulant, speeding up the metabolism and thus encouraging energy burning. According to research conducted at the University of Lausanne - but yet to be published in full - a healthy person aged between 18 and 35 could lose up to 100 calories by drinking three 12oz cans of Enviga over the course of a day. The drink itself contains about five calories.

When it is rolled out over the course of the next year or so - Enviga will take its place in the emerging market for so-called "negative calorie" drinks. A Florida company has already produced a drink called Celsius, which it claims raises the metabolism rate by as much as 12 per cent and "significantly increases calorie-burning".

Deborah Roberts, the company's senior brand manager for North America, said Enviga would be marketed to people who already lead relatively healthy lives. "This is about the small steps you take every day to have a more balanced lifestyle," she said. The drink will come in three flavours, green tea, berry and peach, and sell for about 80p.

Coca-Cola has made repeated attempts to shake the unhealthy image of its soda products, not always successfully. Its foray into the lucrative bottled water market famously came unstuck in Britain when the company was forced to admit that its brand, Dasani, was just tap water.

If the research is true then drinking 3 cans of Enviga a day – at a cost of £2.40 - will burn all of 100 calories. This is roughly equivalent to half a hamburger or two fingers of Kit Kat.. Despite Coca Cola’s claim that Enviga will be targeted at people who already lead a healthy lifestyle, I would imagine that it will mainly be drunk by people clutching at straws.

Robyn

Friday cat blogging - for the Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats (see sidebar for link)

Turn on, tune in, dry out

According to yesterday’s Independent A single dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD is an effective treatment for alcoholism. Studies on thousands of alcoholics treated with the drug in the early 1960s showed it helped trigger a change in mental attitude leading drinkers to quit.

A historian who unearthed the research, led by British psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond and carried out in Canada, has interviewed the participants four decades on and says the results are dramatic. Erika Dyck, professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Alberta, said: "The LSD somehow gave these people experiences that psychologically took them outside of themselves and allowed them to see their own unhealthy behaviour more objectively, and then determine to change it.

"Even interviewing the patients 40 years after their experience, I was surprised at how loyal they were to the doctors who treated them, and how powerful they said the experience was for them - some even felt the experience saved their lives."

The research was carried out in Saskatchewan where Osmond and colleague John Smythies had gone after they became disillusioned with the state of psychiatric research in Britain. They reasoned that a single large dose of LSD might have the same effect as experiencing delirium tremens which they had noted often marked the turning point in a drinker's career.

In one study, two-thirds of the alcoholics stopped drinking for at least 18 months after receiving one dose of LSD, compared to 25 per cent who stopped after group therapy and 12 per cent after individual therapy. But the 1962 study was received with scepticism by a research group in Toronto. They repeated the study on blindfolded patients in isolation, and concluded that, under these conditions, LSD was not an effective treatment for alcoholism.

Writing in the journal Social History of Medicine, Dr Dyck said: "The LSD experience appeared to allow the patients to go through a spiritual journey that ultimately empowered them to heal themselves, and that's really quite an amazing therapy regimen. We accept all sorts of drugs, but I think LSD's 'street' popularity ultimately led to its demise. That's too bad because I think the researchers in Saskatchewan, among others, showed the drug is unique and has some intriguing properties that need to be explored further."

The ban on the use of LSD in medical experiments appears to be lifting, as researchers in the US have recently been granted permission to conduct experiments. In Britain, some psychiatrists have been calling for research projects involving LSD and similar drugs to be re-started. The Royal College of Psychiatrists discussed the use of the drugs in treatment at its annual meeting in March, for the first time in over 30 years.

LSD
alcoholism