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01/14/2006:

"Brown: Remembrance Sunday should become 'British Day'"

Gordon Brown will propose today that Remembrance Sunday should be developed into a national day of patriotism to celebrate British history, achievements and culture. The chancellor envisages a "British Day", equivalent to the Fourth of July independence celebrations in the United States.
Mr Brown's remarks at a Fabian Society conference sponsored by the Guardian represent his clearest attempt yet to flesh out his personal political programme.

In his speech Mr Brown will embrace the patriotism of the US, saying: "In any survey our most popular institutions range from the monarchy to the army to the NHS. But think: what is our Fourth of July? What is our Independence Day? Where is our declaration of rights? What is our equivalent of a flag in every garden? Perhaps Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday are the nearest we have come to a British day - unifying, commemorative, dignified and an expression of British ideas of standing firm for the world in the name of liberty."
guardian.co.uk

From firebrand to pussycat: Galloway's TV transformation
He purred and mewed, his greying whiskers giving his face the appearance of a Cheshire cat. Next, George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, and scourge of Capitol Hill, got on all fours and pretended to lick milk from the cupped hands of the once-famous television actor Rula Lenska. She rubbed the "cream" from his "whiskers" and stroked his head and behind his ears.
When he steps out into the real world, Mr Galloway may regret his decision to accept the producer's challenge to mimic a pet on live television last night. He may feel his flirtation with a reality TV youth audience was not worth the loss of credibility that many of his critics claimed yesterday was an inevitable consequence.

The firebrand parliamentarian earned the grudging respect of even his political enemies through his performance before the US Congress last year. But yesterday viewers only saw rolling footage of the cat performance. Commentators called it excruciating and his own supporters said it was an indignity.

As the cat scenes continued to play out, the Labour party moved into the absent MP's constituency, in the form of Westminster chief whip Hilary Armstrong armed with a petition - as well as her own television cameras - demanding that the missing MP return to work. She urged Mr Galloway to "respect his constituents, not his ego".

And as supporters argued that Channel 4 was censoring Mr Galloway's political message, the Big Brother website was laden with innuendo after the cat incident, saying: "The task may be over, but George, it seems, just can't keep his inner beast caged. George seemed to be feline frisky. First he starts a restless circling of the kitchen, looking every bit like a caged tiger marking his territory. Next he purrs something quietly in fellow feline Rula's ear that makes her bottom jump and tighten excitedly. Sadly we don't know what George said, but whatever it was got this reaction from our Polish thoroughbred: 'Well I'm glad it can still do that for you.' "

Those working for the MP said he had been prepared to suffer such indignities in the belief that his political message was getting across to millions of viewers. But, they claim, when he discovers his political message has been muted, he will be furious.