But Autonomous Mind didn't. That's the beauty of the blogosphere (the intelligent bit of it). Anyhow, it's about that Ofgem investigation into energy company "profiteering". One is deeply suspicious of Ofgem, and rightly so when we see that, on Friday, Energy UK, the industry group representing the big suppliers, hit back at suggestions the utilities are profiteering. It blamed the numerous green taxes imposed by the Government for increasing consumer bills at a faster rate than wholesale prices are rising.

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......Adam Smith.
A truth probably more evident today than at any time in our History...and is also, not too obliquely at that, applicable to the dross currently & expensively assembling at the Mexican watering-hole.
Little do these people understand that their arrogance in ignoring the folk who pay their inflated salaries, expenses & luxury jollies, will make them rue the day when the inevitable reckoning comes.
There cannot be a reader of this blog who does not recognize that the last sentence is sheer daydreaming
….unless we are able to change our attitudes to these bottom-feeders & treat them like the fraudsters they surely are, they will get away with it all, scot & tax free….& who will be the poorer?
We could so easily prevent that, but my two cents say we won’t.
They haven’t lost it, Richard…..we have!

Jeez, PE, you're a real depressive. Perk up, man!

It'll be all right. There's plenty of very rough justice to be meted out and the Sun will shine again.

Greetings Dr North. Thank you for your kind words in the link to my humble missive.

Too few in the media bother to look beyond the press release and dig into a story to make the connections. I am an amateur so there may be much more to the story I have not cottoned on to, but these highly trained journos with vast resources have no excuse.

In the absence of a robust democratic process that allows us to hold the parasite class to account we need a robust media to reveal the vested self interests and contempt with which the people are treated. But we don't have one. The media is the tame lapdog of the elite, which is mesmerised by the promise of an exclusive story and access to the rich and powerful. We are running out of options to correct this state of affairs before things go too far and the men of violence are moved to act. The tragedy will be the whole thing is avoidable.

....thanks, John...perkiness isn't my problem (I have the original T-shirt) but personal experience & pragmatism replaced the rose-coloured specs these many years ago.
We have come so far down the 'laissez-faire' road that, while we are still, curiously, able to recognise the whole gamut of obvious criminality, we are simply no longer interested in applying the remedies. While an analogy is not necessary, we are content to invite burglars into our house, provide them with tea & biscuits while they strip us of everything...and then recommend that they receive a sinecure & a fat pension for their outstanding services to the community.
If you live in the midden, John, it becomes your familiar surroundings & thus normal...that is the problem.
A few minor players in the fraud game have had their collars felt...unimportant, expendable scapegoats & 'fall guys' caught petty-thieving without the insurance of having friends in high places....they will spend a few months on holiday at Butlins & will then be quietly forgotten.
For the reamainder, it's (lucrative & safe) business as usual...the few squarks & threats of reprisal come from paper tigers.

They do have no excuse but you are wrong in thinking journalists are highly trained. The news writing exam for the NCTJ certificate tests your ability to re-write a press release. You are literally given a made up press release and told to rewrite it in "news style" and correct English words within the allotted time. If you pass that, and the satellite courses like shorthand, media law, presentation etc, you're a "highly trained" journalist. Journalists are not tested on their ability to investigate or join the dots, and are not trained to do this.

In that case I stand corrected. Goes some way to explaining Monbiot...

It is fairly obvious that they were supposed to delete as appropriate there, depending on when this press release was to be published. It would appear to prove therefore that the Guardians environmental editor is posting press releases from rent seeking green activists without bothering to read or even spell check their documents.

I guess that isn't really news to anyone though...

I should imagine there exists somewhere the all-purpose, timeless press release, which can be trotted out at any time. This looks very much like it!