When we was in the USAF, we swore like sailors around the barracks. Then we went across town and dated rich girls from Alamo Heights whose fathers had been colonels, and we behaved like we was gentlemen. Those were the days, we thought they'd never end. Forty-six years later, my 24 year old Mexican-American grandson lives in the Heights, with my daughter's family. A long, strange trip it's been.

Another example of the truth being killed in the name of PC (and another example of crap "journalism").

The headline reads:

Navy commander Tom Phillips suggests sailors wearing bikinis might help boost recruitment.

While the question actually asked was:

Asked by the magazine "if female sailors all had to be hot and had to wear bikinis, would that help recruitment?", Commander Phillips is quoted as responding: "It would certainly get the right demographic of young men in. I'm not sure how feasible it is, however."

Truth or not ? Obviously, having hot women dressed in bikinis would help recruitment. It's pretty much a no-brainer. But it was the "journalist" who made the suggestion, not the commander, and it was the journalist (or his editor) that made the headline read as though it was the commander's suggestion.

Of course, there has to be "PC" reaction to such a statement, despite the fact the commander answered truthfully.

The Federal Opposition and feminists have called for action over the article and Minister for Defence Warren Snowden has described the comments as "utterly unacceptable".

Despite bipartisan attempts to improve the recruitment and retention of women in the defence forces, Liberal MP Bob Baldwin said Cdr Phillips' remarks were "totally inappropriate and absolutely offensive."

Eva Cox, chair of the Womens Lobby Australia, said the article reflected "the Navy's limited view of women as bodies rather than brains".

Of course, not a SINGLE criticism of the magazine that publish the article, it's editor(s) or the person that asked the questions and wrote the article.

(not that they'd be likely to print anything like that in their own magazine of course).

The "News.com.au" headline: Navy commander Tom Phillips suggests sailors wearing bikinis might help boost recruitment

While the original headline from "The Daily Telegraph" read: Sub-standard sex gaffe from top Navy brass

(both articles attributed to the same (female) "reporter").

(original interview was apparently in "Ralph" magazine)

 I wonder how he should have answered that?  "No, we don't want young men who would appreciate a woman in a bikini to join the Navy.  That is not the type of recruit we need to build an effective fighting force. We only want men who have no interest in the opposite sex."

Funnily enough, if you re-read the man's quote, it had nothing to do with whether or not they wanted men who were interested in women wearing bikinis and everything to do with the suggestion made by a newspaper obviously trying to make the news rather than report it, that hot female sailors wear bikinis in order to up recruitment.

Its a pity that his answer was taken out of context but to be totally honest, the idea is ridiculous and the fact that some here choose to ignore the fact of the newspaper's suggestion and instead make it seem as tho the PC people are suggesting men shouldn't be interested in women in bikinis is interesting, to say the least.

Another slant on PC is coming up through the ranks of the UK governing Labour party.

Harriet Harman: If you're middle class, you can't work here

Simon Heffer wonders if Miss Harman is modelling herself on Stalin with her latest attempts to remove Britain's class divide.

With all the zeal of one born into upper-middle-class comfort – she is, after all, the niece of an earl – Harriet Harman is setting out to remove Britain's class divide . She has done her bit by marrying a prominent trade unionist; though the gilt went off that particular piece of gingerbread when she contrived to send one of her children to a school miles from her home to get a decent education.

However comical it may seem, Miss Harman thinks she has a chance of being the next leader of the Labour Party. Those who want to accept this increasingly poisoned chalice know they must grease up to Labour's somewhat neglected core vote of disadvantaged working-class people and the hard Left. Miss Harman does it by saying she will ensure that working-class people have the same advantages as middle-class ones.

She is going to outline this doctrine in a speech to the Fabians on Saturday. However, she has intimated that public bodies will have a duty placed on them to ensure favourable treatment for working-class people. How that will be implemented and policed beggars comprehension. No doubt some minion is drawing up a prole index that will have to be consulted by all public sector employers to ensure that they have their quota of people from council houses, people without GCSEs, clients of social workers, ex-convicts and people with Asbos. It can only be a matter of time before employment according to social class (or social disadvantage) rather than merit is forced on the private sector: and under Miss Harman's Single Inequalities Bill we can expect it will soon be illegal to call anyone a prole too.

Full article : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columni...-work-here.html

I think it is time to ressurect the Tooting Popular Front. Come the revolution brothers (and sisters)...............

Makes me laugh when people talk about "The Working Class". Define "Working Class"?

Makes me laugh when people talk about "The Working Class". Define "Working Class"?

A stab in the dark and not scientific but as a starter for ten i would say Working Class are probably on salaries upto the 40% Income Tax bracket. So this year i think it is approx £37,000.

That's open to debate though.

Makes me laugh when people talk about "The Working Class". Define "Working Class"?

A stab in the dark and not scientific but as a starter for ten i would say Working Class are probably on salaries upto the 40% Income Tax bracket. So this year i think it is approx £37,000.

That's open to debate though.

Interesting question and reply. It's so open to debate that there's never going to be a definitive answer. A friend of mine from a very wealthy background called himself and his family working class because they worked! Sorry mate, that just will not do! You might be able to flip it on it's head and say if you didn't have to work maybe you could be 'middle class'.

I would still call myself working class as that's my background, however, if you look at the life I lead there's no way you'd say I was working class. So does lifestyle decide on your class?

I would still call myself working class as that's my background, however, if you look at the life I lead there's no way you'd say I was working class. So does lifestyle decide on your class?

Yip. I come from a working class parentage. However after gaining a decent portfolio of properties, a very good salary and an MSC, i think i would pigeon hole myself as Middle Class. Hopefully my daughter will end up Upper Class

And what is 'upper class'?

A very nice seat on Virgin......Which anyone from any background can " buy " there way into, so meaningless like the term.

Remember when Notting Hill was a riot torn run down area of London ? People who this idiot politico would call working class sat on very nice terraced houses and watched as Rome burned. Ten years later, probably in the same job, they became millionaires as the Hugh Grant set moved in....Same people, no doubt new PC label as they now have " money " ( or did ).

Howard Jacobsen

Interesting..........

Moss

Howard Jacobsen

Interesting..........

Moss

Yes, interesting...

Howard Jacobsen

Interesting..........

Moss

Yes, interesting...

Don't you go getting too deeply involved Tigs

Moss

Oh I won't get too deeply involved, I'm in relaxed mode being just back from Thailand. Tomorrow is 'nose to the grindstone'!

Hmmm, looks like Muslim clerics don't feel the need to be PC:

"Islamic cleric Abu Hamza says Australians are boozers hooked on gambling and prostitution"

Well, it looks like he hit the nail on the head with that one !

But then again, this is the same nutter that announced that it was OK to hit your wife and force her to have sex with you. You're just not allowed to "bruise or bloody" her when beating her for refusing to have sex with you.

The boozing, gambling, whoring Aussies story can be found here: Islamic cleric Abu Hamza says Australians are boozers hooked on gambling and prostitution

He's entitled to his opinion!

In what way are you personally affected by PC?

Not being able to call an unorthodox left arm wrist spin ball a 'Chinaman'.

unorthodox left-arm spinner in their team, delivering what in a less politically correct era was dubbed the Chinaman.

A good story mind and it involves Thailand.

Moss

Link