Nigel Farage: Ukip Will Get Rid Of Me If We Fail In The European Elections

by NED SIMONS

"I would suggest that these elections matter to Cameron because they will highlight the strategy laid out with his speech last January [where he pledged an in/out referendum] isn't working." Farage added: "But it really matters to Cameron because if those people think their leader does not look like a potential winner then the prospect of 46 signatures being gathered on the backbenches over the course of the summer months are perhaps rather higher than most commentators are currently giving credit for." For a leadership challenge to be launched against the prime minister 46 Tory MPs have to send a letter calling for a vote of no confidence in him to the chairman of the party's backbench 1922 committee. Farage said: "If you really think you've got no chance of winning your seat then you're looking that a change of leader perhaps is necessary." Clegg was seen to have exerted total control over his party at the last conference in September and despite the Lib Dem's dismal poll ratings his position is seen as pretty secure. However Farage said this would change the deputy prime minister led his colleagues to a disastrous result in May. "Let's say the Lib Dems poll 8% of the vote. That will probably return then one MEP. They are currently on ten. They really are on a knife edge here," Farage said. "There is a distinct possibility that the Lib Dems will get wiped out. And I think if that happens the Lib Dems will be looking for a new leader before the party conference season comes along." However Farage did praise Clegg for making it clear that the Lib Dems were pro-EU. "Full credit to Clegg, he intends to fight the election on an open clear manifesto, and I do at least respect that." Farage told the audience at the LSE that while he thought the elections were not as crucial for Ed Miliband, one effect of a Ukip victory would be to force Labour to commit to an in/out referendum were they to win the general election in 2015 The Ukip leader also predicted that Cameron, if he survived as party leader and managed to win a majority in 2015, would be able to scrap his pledge to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership. He said: "If he was to win a majority it would be quite difficult for him to weasel out of it this time. I think the Conservative Party in the House of Commons is now in such a rebellious state that he would not be able to backtrack."

Nigel Farage has admitted if Ukip fails to perform well in the upcoming European elections then he would be ousted as leader of the party. He also predicted that their parties could oust both David Cameron and Nick Clegg this summer if they led them to bad defeats in the polls. In a characteristically colourful speech to the London School of Economics on Thursday evening, Farage said he had staked everything on this May's ballot, which Ukip are widely tipped to win. "My future as leader of Ukip is pretty dependent on the results of these elections in the sense that I have now, for nearly three years, been very optimistically and bullishly talking up Ukip's prospects, saying that there was a chance we would win the European elections," he said. "Which was greeted with laughter as most things I say usually are." He added: "Some see me as a bit of a gambler and they are right, in the sense I have taken the assets of the party and placed them on red. So red needs to come up. "And if Ukip was to do poorly and Ukip was to trail back into third place then I think that would be curtains for me as leader," he said. The party came second in the last European parliamentary elections in 2009. Farage is hoping to capitalise on anti-EU, anti-immigrant and antiestablishment sentiment to propel the party into the top spot this year. But as Tom Mludzinski, from the market research company Ipsos MORI, notes aUkip victory is far from certain. "Much will depend on the mood of voters at the time," he said. "And with the economy improving and public optimism increasing, the frustration of voters and unpopularity of the government that Ukip has so effectively harnessed may not be such a big factor." Farage also boldly claimed that both Cameron and Clegg could face leadership challenges this year if the Conservatives and Lib Dems do badly in the polls. "I've spoken to Tory MPs in the North of England who know unless something big changes they are gonners," he said.

'If only we were less easily offended'

by: LAWRENCE YONG

If Malaysians just stop being so easily offended, then politicians can't exploit a slew of contentious issues to divide and rule the country, activists and NGO leaders asserted at a forum yesterday. Sisters in Islam founder Zainah Anwar pointed to this as the source of hatred that justified the government's often slippery defence of issues such as the ban on 'Allah' for non-Muslims, linking protests to racial riots, and more. "We face a problem with right-wing voices," Zainah said to a crowd of 300 in a packed hall at the Royal Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur. "There is political value to publicly claim that you are offended, and there is reward - you get a meeting with the home minister, the government adopts your decision." She was speaking at a forum held in conjunction with the launch of retired Navy commander S Thayaparan's book 'No Country for Righteous Men and Other Essays on Culture of Offendedness'. Such "offendedness" undermined even the prime minister's own 1Malaysia agenda as it serves to demonise others who are different from you, Zainah said, adding that the solution is then for the people to push for more decisive leaders who are not afraid to take a stand. "Our politicians have to take leadership but they don't - they are pandering to the gallery. They feel that they can gain by using race and religion," she lamented. Alternative views needed Other speakers were associate professor at University Malaya Law Faculty Azmi Sharom, news portal The Malaysian Insider editor Jahabar Sadiq, and former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan. Being fans of the Thayaparan book, which is a collection of his essays for Malaysiakini from 2011 to 2013, the speakers also agreed that more alternative views and open discourses can help Malaysians resolve the many issues confronting the country. Pointing out those institutions which upheld a "Malaysian" society were broken after the rule of the first three prime ministers, Azmi ( left ) laid the blame on the silent majority.

"We let it happen and now we are bearing the bitter fruit. The first three prime ministers had some semblance of an understanding of democracy because they were all lawyers by training. Then came the fourth... and we let him run wild all in the name of economic progress,"Azmi said, to laughter from the audience. "I don't think this country is a basket case. Not yet. But an institutional revolution must happen, so that there will be alternative voices in the discourse." Meanwhile, Jahabar ( left ) described Malaysia as "a country of many bubbles." "We drink from the same kool-aid, affirm each other's opinions, and it dies there," he said. "We are already one country, we are Malaysians only we don't realise it because we just keep within our own bubbles. We have got to start thinking as Malaysians," he pleaded. Double standards Another speaker, former Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga noted that racism and attacks against the Chinese and Christian minorities have increased in an unprecedented way since the 13th general election last year. She pointed out that Malaysia kept double standards - one for its international standing and another for domestic politics - by using the "exceptionalism" argument, referring to the article written by Malaysiakini columnist and former civil servant KJ John, who was the moderator of the forum. "We cannot have have racism anywhere else in the world - we are the first to fight apartheid in Africa - but here it is allowed," she said. She slammed the government for championing human rights elsewhere through its position in the United Nations' Human Rights Council but easily let it slip in Malaysia. "There are classes of people who can walk the street and do what they want and nobody can touch them,"Ambiga decried. "They try to shut people up. That's the one thing we can never give in to." In answering the question posed by the moderator, "Can Malaysia be 1Bangsa Malaysia?", Ambiga answered tersely, "Yes, I saw it at Bersih (rallies)."

Roddy Piper May Fight Hulk Hogan in WrestleMania

by: DARYL NELSON

If you were a wrestling fan in the 1980s, then some of your favorite wrestlers were probably Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Andre the Giant, Randy Macho Man Savage, Rocky Johnson and the Iron Sheik, just to name a few. Also, theres a good chance that Mr. Kilt himself, Rowdy Roddy Piper was one of your favorites too, and if thats the case, then youll be thrilled to hear about the strong possibility of him and Hulk Hogan fighting in April. Yesterday on his Twitter account, Piper put the word out that he wants to fight Hogan in this yearsWrestleMania XXX event, and he said if given the chance hed work harder than ever. Dare you to put Hogan vs Piper, he wrote. Separate the men from the boys. If I did WMXXX with Hogan, Id train my a off, and from bell to bell Id fight with everything I got. Id win.

Bills for the Hall of Shame

by EFREN L. DANAO

Typhoons have been wreaking so much havoc in the country but dont worry. One lawmaker had reportedly thought of a novel way to eliminate it once and for all. How? Simple, dear Watson file a bill outlawing typhoon. Then there was the anecdote about a lawmaker who was incensed by the steady increase in the prices of basic commodities. When he was told that prices were governed by the law of supply and demand, the lawmaker retorted: Then we should repeal that law! These stories may be apocryphal but I do know that some lawmakers believe that their election to the legislature has given them the license to file any kind of bill under the sun. Since I started covering the legislature in 1983, I had noted several legislators who had filed measures that border on the absurd. Why borrow? Just print money! There was this self-proclaimed economist in the House who filed a bill to establish what he called managed currency in the country. He expressed confidence that his bill would minimize foreign borrowings while making full use of our natural resources. Hey, if his bill is as good as he described it, then this lawmaker should be a candidate for Nobel Peace Prize in Economics. Lets hear from him again. He pointed out that the country has a lot of cement, gravel and sand. If the government wants to build roads, bridges and school buildings, it need not borrow from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, Japan, or Korea since raw materials for such construction projects abound in the Philippines. If the government needed money, all it had to do is ask the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to print more money! he concluded. He was so proud of his novel idea that he brought up the topic with his colleagues and House reporters whenever he had the opportunity. Unfortunately for him, none among his colleagues were convinced. In fact, the committee to which his bill was referred never bothered to hold a public hearing and it was eventually archived. A true economist in the House said that should the bill become a law, Philippine peso would be a Mickey Mouse money.

Therell come a time when a kilo of rice would cost a sack of pesos, the economist told me when I asked why no hearing on the bill was ever called. Deuterium delirium Then there was this congressman from Mindanao who revealed that a divine inspiration had impelled him to file a bill that would end the countrys reliance on imported and expensive fossil-based fuel. His divine inspiration urged him to mine the deuterium that he said is aplenty in the Surigao Deep, the second deepest in the world. He maintained that deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen used as a moderator in nuclear reactors, is formed whenever strong waves lash at the Surigao island. He argued that all that scientists have to do is collect the deuterium and the Philippines would have endless source of fuel for its nuclear power energy. The country would no longer spend precious dollars to buy oil from the Middle East. In fact, the Philippines could even export this deuterium which is an inexhaustible resource in Surigao, he added. Wow! This lawmaker should have been in the Cabinet of President Benigno Simeon Aquino 3rd! He wants the Philippines to be not only self-sufficient in energy but also an exporter of deuterium. Im sure he would have been in good company in BS Aquinos official family. The public hearing on the deuterium bill was attended by several persons who said they had invested in a firm that was supposed to collect deuterium in Surigao. Well, that lawmaker is also forward-looking. Should his bill become a law, then theres a firm already in existence waiting for a government contract for the collection of deuterium. If those persons were the only attendees, then the public hearing would have resulted in a favorable endorsement of the measure. However, also in attendance were scientists from the National Science Development Board and the University of the Philippines who called the bill Deuterium Delirium. These scientists said that sea waves could produce a very small percentage of deuterium no matter how strong they are in battering land. They twitted the belief that all that had to be done was collect deuterium, saying its very costly, if not virtually impossible to mine deuterium in the ocean. Nothing more was heard of the Deuterium Delirium after that single hearing, much to the chagrin of its supporters who lashed at the scientists for not getting any divine inspiration.

Pacquiao-Bradley 2 not a done deal yet

By: JOSEF T. RAMOS

Top Rank Promotion head Bob Arum has denied reports that the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rematch is a go for April, saying there are many more details that need ironing out. Arum did admit that negotiation between the camp of Bradley (31-0 win-loss card with 12 knockouts) and Siberian Rocky Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2 card with 16 knockouts) is still going on. Thats the one that were working on now, and it may not be the one that takes place. But I believe that the issues are being narrowed down, and Im optimistic, Arum told Lem Satterfield of RingTV.com boxing website on Wednesday. But this process takes time and you cant just make it happen. Obviously, if I didnt think that it had a possibility of happening, then I wouldnt bother negotiating. Pacquiaos business and promotional partner Gerry Penalosa said the Saranggani congressman would definitely have a rematch with Bradley most likely on April 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas City. Yup its Bradley already, said Penalosa in a n interview. Easy and revenge fight for Manny. Pacquiao lost to Bradley via controversial split decision in June 2012 and then absorbed another beating, when he lost to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012 in Las Vegas. Pacquiao took almost a year of rest and returned with a majority decision win over Brandon Rios last November. Arum, however, said everything is still up in the air. Ive been involved in this business for so long that I know that until everything is agreed to, then theres no fight. If it ends up blowing up in our face, and he ends up fighting Provodnikov, then you look like a horses ass, he said. So the process is ongoingIts not done yet, and it will never get done if we dont reach an agreement with those fighters. There are all of these points and all of these side issues. Theres no guarantee, he added.

When the politics become unavoidable

by BEN D. KRITZ

Politics as an intellectual or practical discipline is a lot like writing: it only means something if it has a context. Skill or ineptitude in politics is usually only evident in applicationstrategic, financial, or social managementwhich means that most of the time we can safely ignore the politics and focus on the outcomes; in other words, pass judgments on the message rather than the messenger. There are times, however, when the credibility of the messenger becomes an issue that cannot be ignored. President Benigno Aquino 3rd crossed that line last Wednesday evening, when he expropriated 12 minutes of the countrys dinner hour to deliver a defiant, desperate defense of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). In doing so, President Aquino made the current crisis, which only began with the revelations of widespread plunder of the so-called Priority Development Assistance Program, or pork barrel, about him by declaring, Hindi kami magnanakaw (literally, we are not thieves, which most commentators have interpreted as I am not a thief). The line struck a sour chord with the public, because as has been pointed out numerous times since the President said it, no one has actually accused him of being a thief. That is an oversight that should be corrected right now: He, or rather they, meaning his administration, since it was in the collective sense he offered the protestation of innocence (which, coincidentally, marked the first time in more than three years that President Aquino has publicly acknowledged command responsibility for anything) are thieves, by a very basic definition. And we can say are instead of were or have been because, after all, the whole point of President Aquinos speech was to stress that he had no intention of stopping the practice. He and his regime might not have stolen the peoples money for their o wn personal gain although the remarkable increase in personal worth indicated by the very few disclosures he and his top political companions have deigned to make public may make that a legitimate questionbut they did steal money from the purposes intended for it by the people of the Philippines. The precise legal term, so I am told, is malversation. The example of the Tacloban Airport project has been highlighted in many articles already, and its a good example because its easy to understand: From a P1-billion budget, included in the General Appropriations Act approved by the peoples legislative representatives, P718 million was impounded by the Office of the President and directed to other purposes, without the approval of the people who earmarked it for something else. That is theft, therefore, the declaration we are not thieves is a lie.

And the lies just keep piling up. If DAP is not pork barrel as the President claimed, then what are we to make of his explanation that only 9 percent went to projects designated by legislators, i.e., was used in exactly the same manner as the now universally reviled PDAF? For that matter, if the DAP was concocted in 2011 as the President claimed, why did the public only become aware of it after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada revealed it in his if Im going down, Im going to take as many as I can with me privilege speech, and why did several Senators supposedly beneficiaries of the 9 percentalso claim not to hear of it before then? This is, after all, a President who goes to great lengths to detail every niggling accomplishment of his administration in his annual State of the Nation Address, which he has delivered at least twice since the supposed creation of the DAPare we seriously expected to believe that he would have simply forgotten to mention it then, if it was so important to preempt primetime TV to discuss it now? Why, if his critics are only focusing on DAP to distract attention from the equally if not more egregious plunder involving the PDAF, did the President not enjoin his justice secretarywho we already know doesnt so much as put her shoes on in the morning without a specific directive from Malacaangto prevent the departure to the United States of one of the most high-profile figures indicted in the case? A few days ago, I read a manifesto of sorts, which comprised eight concrete calls to address the pork barrel crisis, from the group called the #ScrapPork Network. Here is an example of politics in the proper context; while the personal perspectives of some of the self-appointed leaders of the anti-pork barrel movement are perhaps a little dubious, the people themselves have actually done a fairly good job of depersonalizing their advocacy when it comes to a specific plan of action: Their message is made far more important than the messengers, and while there are probably little points worth debating in the eight concrete calls, they are on the whole well thought-out, sensible and substantive. But none of that matters, nor do the efforts of others to address other systemic issues such as government finance, human capital management, or trade, because the President by declaring Hindi kami magnanakaw has declared to everyone that he does not see himself and his close knot of political enablers as managers of a system, but leading according to some extraordinary personal authority that has more in common with the divine right of kings than the sovereign right of the people in a democracy. It would be one thing if he who rules by caprice has demonstrated competence, and a record of objective, positive results. It is quite another when that ruler demonstrates only that he is ignorant, unintentionally or otherwise, of the concepts of honesty and not stealing. That makes him the problem, and woe to the people of the Philippines that it is so, because that is not the problem they or anyone else in the world wants them to have to solve.

Disclosures: Difficult questions are better than easy answers

by REYLITO A.H. ELBO

TO be more precise, asking dumb questions are better than correcting dumb mistakes. This is what prompts me to raise many boat-rocking questions that could go beyond testing the objectivity and trustworthiness of people. To a supplier, I would ask a point blank question likehow are you related to any of our corporate executives? To a job applicant, why do you want to leave your current job? To a fellow-volunteer in a nonprofit organization, who are your consultancy clients or prospective clients among the candidates in our annual awards? My nosy neighbor in Paraaque tells me: If youve asked these difficult questions and no one could give a convincing answer, then youve created a religious cult. My ex pen-pal, now my huggable roommate Bonnie, opines differently: One big reason why men lie is because women ask so many questions. On my side, I believe you can only judge a man by his questions rather than the quality of his answers. After the introductions and brief overview of the candidates qualifications, the face-to-face interview must begin. The purpose was to ask specific questions designed to elicit honest answers and to test the validity of selfserving written statements. For example, what is the weakness of your proposal, personality or program, if theres any? But more than this basic question, Id like to raise one basic question to the candidates: How are you related to anyone of us? This is disclosures. Its a major part of the selection process that you can find everywhere to test whether the decision-makers are not influenced by anything other than by their cold neutrality. Besides the selection process, disclosed on the topic is part of Apples iconic culture. Adam Lashinsky in Inside Apple (2012) quotes a former Steve Job employeeyou cant talk about any secret until youre sure everyone is disclosed on it. Trustworthiness is not assumed, Lashinsky emphasizes. I guess this is one reason why Apple has remained to be a competitive and profitable company.

Full trust among members of an organization may take some time. Some might take a year or two. But what happens along the way is very important to any team or organization. If not your mistakes are your tuition, said Eiji Toyoda (1913-2013), the proponent of the Toyota Production System. One of the most common complaints I hear when I talk about new issues, dynamic suggestions, or difficult questions, I would normally encounter wide-eyed people as if theyre like street dogs in the headlight keeping silent at the first instance, then run away. As Ive written some time ago, the sound of silence is dreadful, and if one bothers to say something, you can hear something like this: I just started this year, and I really dont know. But please give us room for error as this is a pilot project. I suppose that this should not be a problem at all because theres another person working right beside him. And Id like to assume that this person is the one responsible for mentoring. But when I asked that person, he too complains that hes also new. And I wonder how something as crucial to the success of an organization as the transfer of knowledge or the advocacy of total quality management, for instance, can be treated so lightly. Why cant some people be accountabl e and responsible enough to accept this? When I confront some alleged leaders about problems in their work area, were often told that it takes time to learn and be trusted on their own. Now I know. Age and knowledge dont always come together. At times, some people just get the age. Worse, if they stop learning, they become old, even if theyre only 25 physically. When I started working with people and different organizations through and through in these past three decades back, I find that they are similar and have basic needs. Managing people must go beyond just giving better pay and perks. You can throw all kinds of incentives, give them extraordinary facilities and work environment for them to blossom. If youre a manager or a leader, the key is knowing the peoples career aspirations (or personal agenda). But how can you do it if theyre not willing to disclose anything? Well, OK, then my suspicion must remain.

Easy and simple ways to save the earth

by Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM

I wake up each morning at 3 a.m. because it gets really cold and I have to turn off the electric fan. This is unusually cold weather we are having for the past three weeks now. Is this caused by global warming? And is global warming caused by our reckless and wanton misuse of things? Now lets have some answers to the questions we have been asking for the past two columns. Here are ways and means to go green culled from the book 50 Ways to Save the Earth by Anne Jankeliowitch with some local examples. Use reusables. E.g., cloth diapers, not throwaway diapers; washable hankies, not tissue paper; washcloth, not wipes; dish towels, not paper towels; washable plates, tumblers and cups, not disposables; reusable razors, not disposables. These disposables take a long time to decompose because they contain materials like plastic and nylon. Sort your trash. Recycle or sell to recycling organizations or donate to your favorite charity. The television show Eat Bulaga collects plastic bottles to make school desks. Save paper, recycle, reuse. Use both sides of writing papers. Use last years half-full notebooks. Sell old newspapers and magazines, used cardboard, office papers for recycling. Add cardboard, newspapers and office papers to your compost that will eventually become fertilizer to your plants. Collect old batteries. They are extremely toxic (cadmium, mercury, lead, nickel, zinc or manganese) and should never be thrown together with other trash. Put them in special bins provided in supermarkets like the one in Rockwell Mall. Best is to use rechargeable batteries. Avoid plastic bags like a plague. Always bring a reusable bag with you. I notice in the bakery near my house that they put their products in two plastic bags all the timeclear plastic first, then sando plastic bageven if you buy only one or two pieces of pan de sal. No wonder that our street, though not the main one, is littered with all kinds of plastic wrappers. People peel their candy, throw the wrapper just like that. Or keep those plastic wrappers and put them in the proper waste can or reuse them.

Remember that styrofoam never decomposes. And they kill fish and plug sewage among other destructive effects of using them and throwing them away recklessly. Compost your waste. Vegetable and fruit peels and scraps, fallen leaves, twigs and branches of trees, eggshells when composted can be used as fertilizer. What should not go to your compost bin are cooked food, cat and dog pooh, table scraps like meat and fish. Take back unused medicines. Always take notice of the expiry dates of your medicine. If they are still okay, take them back to your pharmacist or donate them to a nearby public clinic or hospital to treat other sick people. Expired medicine could be toxic and should be destroyed under the best condition. Eco-wrap gifts. I am happy to receive gifts last Christmas wrapped in magazine pages or ordinary bond paper. I do not wrap my gifts ever since (they are usually books). Think of millions of wrapping paper and ribbons ripped and thrown in the trashlets not add to that. Or do not rip the wrapper and ribbons, reuse them. Buy local and native fruits, vegetables and meats. Make sure they are organically or naturally farmed. When we buy organic food, we encourage organic or natural agriculture, which is good for our health and for the environment. Theres plenty of choices! Caution: Freerange is not necessarily organic; it simply means that the animals were not caged. But if they are not caged but there are thousand or millions of them in one small area and they are unable to move naturally, then they are also not good. Many so-called free-ranged chicken, for example, are still given with chemical feeds, hormones and antibiotics. Give toys not anymore being used by your children to organizations that can redistribute them. Not just for Christmas. Dont just let them gather dust in boxes or clutter your shelves. There are many other needy children who could be entertained by them. Rent, borrow or ask before you buy. Read books in the public library. Borrow a blender if you will not use them regularly. Rent a car or a long gown, a suit, and others if you use them only occasionally. I am proud to wear the castoffs of my best friend Gigie Pealosa, because she has very good taste in clothes.