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There is a certain breed of Lefty, who no matter what, finds plenty to moan about.

Mark Thomas is one such example, but not as bad as Jeremy Hardy it has to be said.

And in common with Hardy, Thomas is a bit too desperate to prove how working class his upbringing was. Funny that, because a perusal of his biog on the Guardian website informs us that Mark attended a top Sussex boarding school, so his stories about his foul mouthed “builder” father ring a bit hollow. Is that “builder” in the way Lord McAlpine can be considered to be one?

Why are these people full of such self-loathing? It’s the lazy option for most of us to be Socialists whereas I admired Tony Blair all the more for his stinking opulence and privilege as its much more of a leap for a guy like him.

No matter. Thomas is a very funny man and is a tireless campaigner against things that really do matter such as the arms trade and the onslaught on Civil Liberties by the worst excesses of the Stalinist control freaks at the top of New Labour.

The show comprised of two sections. An hour of stand up followed by Mark reading through and commenting on audience suggestions for the way forward in our Society.

Mark Thomas is passionate about what he does, and fair play to him for grinding the Met down by applying for 2,500 demonstration orders regarding Parliament Square in order to expose the ridiculous attack on democracy that means someone sitting down in front of the Houses of Parliament to have a flask of tea can be arrested if the accompanying cake says “PEACE” in icing. This is a political statement, which constitutes a demo, which is against the law in front of the home of Democracy.

No. Really. It happened. A lady was arrested for this very thing so Mark inundated the Met with daft, but necessary until they begged Jack Straw to change the law back just to save the sanity of the desk Sergeant.

But Mark is grimly depressing, and it irritated me no end when he ran around the stage declaring, “we are all fucked”, regarding the Banking crisis.

Fucked, in my opinion is living on less than a dollar a day, and not having a flush toilet or paper to wipe with, so in this spirit my suggestion was, “Everyone to be more positive and count their blessings”.

He read it out. Unfortunately it came after a suggestion that all Bankers be hunted with dogs, which got a big laugh. My contribution was met by a resounding “aahh”, as in when they show a kitten playing with a ball of wool on telly. I was mortified but luckily no one noticed.

It’s an interesting thing to me that the Left can invent all sorts of tortures for Jeremy Clarkson and Bankers, whilst being liberally indignant about the death penalty. I’m not having a sense of humour by pass here, as jokes are often a reflection of true underlying feelings.

So this is not the point to accuse Mark of being too earnest then….

 Overall it was a good show but most of the audience were Middle Class, middle aged, right on Guardian readers. A bit like looking in the mirror

Underbelly is a total gem of a TV drama series, and having just watched the season finale on FX I can’t wait for the re run, or indeed for the prequel which is due to have it’s premiere in Australia next Monday.

The producers have resisted the temptation to veer down the analytical, existential, character motivation type approach and just tell us what happened with next to no back-story. An absolute winning gambit as the actual events are so shocking and powerful that no commentary is necessary.

Between 1995 and 2004 Melbourne was rocked by a vicious drug related turf war between the Carlton Crew led by Lewis Moran (disconcertingly played by Kevin Harrington of Neighbours fame) and his erstwhile protégé Carl Williams who broke away from his mentor resulting in a catastrophic series of murders.

As in Limerick where gang warfare has claimed the lives of 11 people in the last few years, the rest of the State of Victoria’s population was un moved until the violence impinged on general society when de facto Carlton Crew leader Jason Moran was gunned down at a children’s Aussie Rules game in 2003 on the order of Williams.

The police investigation came under the microscope, the pressures were immense and it was little surprise when the Chief of Operation Purana Garry Butterworth expired at his desk from heart failure.

We are party to the brutal daily interactions between the underworld characters where money is seemingly the only guarantee of loyalty, and the grind involved in the police operation to trap those involved.

The integrity and bravery of the officers involved is quite something to behold in these days of cynicism it is refreshing to see coppers doing above and beyond the call of duty because it is the right thing to do. Period.

The limitations of the cast, Gyton Grantly as Williams and Rodger Corser as the go getting young cop turned senior investigator aside, are overcome with a pumping soundtrack over scenes which are imaginatively shot using slo mo and other pop video style devices, giving a captivating pace to the show meaning that dialogue is kept to the minimum to direct the narrative.

Once again I left bemoaning the state of UK made drama. The only decent shows available are on FX, and this tradition has been maintained with Generation Kill (Sunday 10pm), which shows us the reality for the troops involved in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The first show is a bit disconcerting as the writers make no allowance for the viewer’s ignorance of army speak. Rightly so. We need to see it as it was, so the techno speak is part and parcel of the experience, shown in episode two when contact with the enemy is established and the dynamic is crucially different.

Ross Kemp has deservedly forged a new identity as an investigative journalist of some repute; his recent foray in Liverpool gang culture was in marked contrast to the “integrity” of the BBC who paid young people to show off on camera. Kemp’s approach was far more measured and all the more shocking for what was revealed inadvertently by those caught up in the spiral of violence.

Sky 1 are showing his return to Afghanistan (Sunday 10pm), and what comes over is astonishing; the daily fire fights with a wily adversary in the Taliban who are well equipped and organised against our boys who, despite being racked with fear, do the most incredible job to try and defend the citizens of Helmand from these terrible extremists.

The body count is a testament to the dangers, and there is a chilling 20 minute segment where Kemp’s platoon is pinned down by the Taliban, bullets whistling inches from the reporter’s head.

But the really depressing bit came when Kemp asked them why they are there. “For each other”, came the reply. Not to defend freedom or other such lofty ideals which makes it all the more remarkable that these individuals have such courage and faith in each other.

 Why are we in Afghanistan? 

There has been a constant drip, drip of philosophical debate going on my head for some time regarding the place that we in the UK find ourselves at the moment, but then that very statement in itself is part of the self indulgent malaise of which I am about to complain about. Amongst other things.

I read something, see a news report or have an opinion or fact related to me that I know to be true, but rather it wasn’t, and just bat it away placing my faith in the Labour Party to carry on and come good, like it generally has in over the course of the past decade.

But the global economic meltdown has the potential to unlock a myriad of underlying social problems, and could end up producing a spasm of epic proportions, changing this country forever.

The prospects for the economy are dire. Although Brown has managed to secure some wriggle room for us regarding borrowing (our debt stood at 39% of GDP compared to a G7 average of 60%) the truth is that the Banking Crisis stands to have a far greater impact here because our economy is far too reliant on the housing market and the resultant personal debt accrued than any other developed economy except Ireland.

In addition the absolute reliance that the UK has on foreign investment in the financial sector means that if there is another collective loss of confidence on the scale of that which occurred in October when, if you believe the Trade Minister Lord Davies who let it slip that we were hours from going bust, then a total meltdown is not off the agenda.

The Government, initially emboldened now seems paralysed and does not know what to do next, and even worse than this Her Majesty’s Official Opposition have even less idea what to do as it is the inherent flaws in the Market and unfettered Capitalism in general that has taken us to the brink of a Depression.

Depression. That word would have seemed unbelievable a year ago, but it is well and truly on the agenda now as, if you take the economists definition we are on the fast track to that state.

The characteristics of a Depression include a collapse in credit, shrinkage of private investment, numerous bankruptcies, a sharp rise in unemployment, very low rates of interest and deflation caused by a fall in demand.

That’s radically different to the recessions of 1979-81 and 1991-92 during which rampant inflation and crippling interest rates caused economic recession.

Measures can be taken in such circumstances, but when the ingredients for Depression are there, Government seems powerless to do anything about it.

And therein lies the danger. The political vacuum. The ‘Thirties. A lesson from history.

It is not the actual debate about the idiotic dog whistle statement by Brown in 2007, which he never had a hope of fulfilling, that of “British jobs for British workers”, but the tone in which it is being conducted that worries me.

Foaming at the mouth responses from the Red Tops, this from today’s Star;

“Britons are sick to the back teeth of losing their jobs to foreign workers. Two years ago Gordon Brown promised British jobs for British workers.
But he has finally been exposed as the liar he is. Hordes of foreigners are being given plum roles while thousands of home-grown workers queue at the dole office.”

reprise arguments we’ve heard before from the Far Right, but these aren’t the rantings of boggle-eyed racists, and we ignore them at our peril.

They are mainstream feelings abroad in our Society, whether we like it or not and are reflected in the series of wildcat strikes currently in progress.

But then you have this type of statement from former Europe Minister Denis McShane in today’s Guardian that displays nothing but contempt for those raising genuine concerns over Total’s decision to employ non-UK labour;

“So instead of following the Daily Mail/Tory/Ukip line that Britain needs less Europe, we should be saying out loud that a vote for Labour in June can help deliver policies that will defend worker's interests.Now it over the Unite and other unions; Let them put their weight behind a campaign to deliver core Labour votes.”

The implication is clear. To hell with the Trade Unions sticling up for their members, they should be providing lobby fodder for the Labour Party, shut up and be grateful the Tories aren’t in Government.

What all this does is to leave the way open for a new force in politics, and if we aren’t careful this force will galvanise an electorate which isn’t even sick of politics, because if they were it would imply they were interested in the first place.

The disengagement with electoral politics amonst the under 30’s is truly stunning as less than 35% bothered to vote in 2005, meaning there is a vast resource of un tapped votes on offer and if there is a major economic meltdown, these voters have no historical, or it would seem familial loyalty to bind them to a mainstrean party, and if some of the mass media were to be seduced then the possibilities are there for a lurch towards short term, solution based politics based on an appeal to self interest and xenophobia.

Then there is the looming problem of what to do about the Monarchy when the Queen dies. The rush to be wrapped in the flag by politicians will be a gift for the rising tide of nationalist protectionism.

We have ready made scapegoats in the guise of “foreign” workers, which could easily be extrapolated to Muslims. I have caught myself thinking about 42 days for example, and the sentiments and antipathy to Islam have scratched the surface I’m ashamed to admit.

In addition the latest report of behalf of the Children’s Society confirms that the Judge in the Shannon Matthews case was referring to more than just her Mum when he described Karen as, “being incapable of putting the needs of her children first”.

It seems that we are reaping the whirlwind of the “No Such Thing as Society” mentality whereby a significant minority of parents think that their own happiness comes first.

Karen Matthews is but an extreme example, but when parents give up relationships at the drop of a hat because hey! I deserve to be happy, what are kids meant to take from that? It leads to a lack of respect for self, and others which turns into hedonism, binge drinking, drugs and a cycle of dysfunctionalist behaviour in a minority which has a disproportionate impact on Society.

Again it’s extreme but worth bearing in mind as there is a hard core of people out there for whom casual disrespect, often leading to violence is just a way of life.

There is no regret, witness the laughter in court from the families of those responsible for the murder of Rhys Jones when the risible sentences were handed down. Never mind that the Jones’ had lost their son, in the eyes of some on the Croxteth Estate the perpretators had been “grassed” on, and that, it seems was the real “crime”.

If a political movement with a smidgeon of credibility from the media could reach these people it would not be a vast leap to the Gas Chambers.

 The “solution” to the last Depression was war. The cost of repairing economic demand and refloating the Capitalist ship was 56 million lives. A warning from history indeed