"Everybody is sick in their world.... everyone is unhappy, unwed, single mother, whose feet are exploding"
"Justice Secretary Jack Straw has said Labour is best placed to see Britain through the current economic downturn.As usual Jack Straw says nothing concrete here, but he does say it with great confidence, tinged with slight menace.
He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that economic management under Labour would help the UK to "weather these storms".
He said Chancellor Alistair Darling did not speak out of turn saying economic conditions were the worst for 60 years."
"Mr Straw likened Britain's current economic situation to an airliner passing through turbulence.Maybe we would be better off with a pilot and co-pilot who wouldn't have steered a course straight to the heart of a storm in the first place. Maybe we would be better off with a pilot and co-pilot who aren't currently arguing over how bad the storm is and whether we should steer under or over the storm. Maybe we would be better off with a pilot and co-pilot who give some indication of competence rather than total ineptitude.
"The question for the country is who is better to take us through this turbulent period?" he said.
"Is it an experienced pilot and co-pilot in Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, who have had the experience… or is it two people in David Cameron and George Osborne, who have had no experience of flying a large plane whatsoever.""
""We talk to each other all the time, each of us talks for the other. I'm sorry about this, but we're not clones of each other, and we sometimes use different adverbs and adjectives.Jack Straw then went on to say that black was white, light was dark etc.
"The message from Gordon, from Alistair, from colleagues like myself, has been the same: we've had a very good period of economic management and economic success which has, for sure, provided us with a really serious platform to weather these storms.""
"(August 29, 2008) - Action Items: 1) Donate to McCain to affirm Palin pick; 2) Stay vigilant for all sexism against Palin"Paul F. Villarreal, a big poster on the Hillary Clinton Forum goes on to say:
"Donate to John McCain and Sarah Palin, and let them know you love this pick and are thrilled that McCain showed Palin the respect that Democrats, and Barack "You're likable enough" Obama in particular, NEVER showed Hillary Clinton:
https://secure.johnmccain.com/Contri...ntributeE.aspx
Show McCain, Palin and America that you support women in the executive branch!
*
There are already stunning, sexist attacks against Palin all over the kook blogosphere. Daily Kos is comparing her with Dan Quayle, implying that she is mere eye candy, likely kind of dim-witted, and totally disrespecting her and all women.
Palin was both a mayor and a governor of the largest state in America. And these pigs are just dismissing her as though she were some joke in glasses.
The only party that's dissed a high-profile woman recently is the Democratic Party. What they did both in rigging the system so Hillary could not win the nomination and what Obama did in utterly disrespecting Hillary by not even vetting her for the VP was unconscionable. A disgrace.
*
Today, we have a ticket that respects women as equals and recognizing their full worth.
Please, donate to that ticket today and show America that you appreciate this historical McCain/Palin combination, and that you want to help bring America its first-ever female Vice President.
The glass ceiling is cracking. Let's shatter it!"
"the programme aims to engage and excite children and show them how they can be heroes in tackling the causes of climate change, both in their homes and in their schools.
The children’s section of this site introduces them to the important concept of saving energy through three exciting, interactive games that are designed to teach: 1. What is energy waste? 2. How can you prevent energy waste? 3. Why are we saving energy?
In addition, there are lots of fun downloads that the children can access to engage them further in the Climate Cop programme and which can also be used as part of homework exercises."
"9. You're almost the coolest guy around!"C'est vrai...
"Ahmadinejad's visit produced little in terms of substantive policy; the signing of a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline deal was put off. But Ahmadinejad got something just as valuable: a chance to spin his own image, court popularity and bash the United States and Israel.... Departing from established practice of having visiting Muslim heads of state pray in a smaller mosque in Istanbul, the government allowed Ahmadinejad to pray in the Blue Mosque, Turkey's symbol of tolerant Ottoman Islam. With permission from Turkish authorities, he also allowed Iranian television to videotape him during the entire prayer, in violation of Islamic tradition, which requires quiet and intimate communion between God and the faithful. There was so much commotion around Ahmadinejad that the imam had to chide the congregants. Then, as he left the mosque, Ahmadinejad got out of his car to encourage a crowd of about 300 to chant, "Death to Israel! Death to America!""He really is a little charmer, isn't he?
"Thousands of Cambridgeshire residents have had their nationality changed to Guyanese, after a computer glitch at their local council.And yet this most discredited Government still think they can implement a National Identity Register, the words piss-up in a brewery come to mind. Most governments, whether national or local, are incompetent - it's just the degree of incompetence that needs deciding.
Around 3,000 people were sent documents to say they had been listed as originally from Guyana, in South America, on the electoral roll.
The mistake, which happened as the files were being updated, affected people whose nationality had previously been listed as "unknown" on the records.
When new computer software was brought in to help modernise the system, it refused to acknowledge the word "unknown" and automatically changed it to "Guyanese"."
"With new polls showing Barack Obama's once-commanding lead over John McCain all but evaporated, the Obama campaign announced today it has begun deploying its vast volunteer army of downtown hipster douchebags to help reconnect the presumptive Democratic candidate with middle-American voters."The force -
"Highly motivated, and with skills ranging from post-modern gender theory to espresso cafe blackboard chalk art, the volunteers were eager to get to work on the campaign trail. But before deployment Obama officials insisted that all recruits undergo an intensive training regimen to prepare them for the rigors of life in Red Country... "We tell them straight up: we aren't your mommy or daddy or your au pair. There aren't any independent lesbian film festivals in Youngstown, and just because Iowa has a lot of farmers it doesn't mean they are going to see a lot of Sunday chill-out farmers' markets," says Voorhees. "After that shock wears off, we tell them about how the natives drink Pabst unironically.""Some of the tactics -
"According to Lorenz, winning back fence sitters to the Obama column takes a disciplined three-pronged attack of sarcasm, irony and condescension, which he demonstrates on a diner at a Fond du Lac IHOP.Will it work? -
"Excuse me, who are you voting for?" Lorenz asks the elderly man.
"Oh, I don't know, McCain I suppose," the man answers.
"Yeah, I guess you senile old fucks need to stick together," says Lorenz. "That way you can stay safe from those scary Muslim nee-groos."
"See?" observes Lorenz. "Now that he's been properly shamed out of his racism, he'll think twice before pulling any lever for McBush.""
...
"Occasionally I will run into a McBush supporter, and I will pull out two campaign posters and let them compare," she explains. "Obama: Shepard Fairey. McCain: Copperplate Gothic. Then I ask them - are you really going to vote for someone that out of touch with graphic design trends?""
"Whether Obama's douchebag heartland surge will ultimately succeed remains to be determined, but longtime political analyst and What's the Matter With Kansas? author Thomas Frank thinks the basic strategy is sound.
"Unfortunately this election comes down to winning the hearts and minds of whitebread, middlebrow, middle-class, middle-Americans," says Frank."This effort shows that Obama troops are willing to reach out and condescend to them, one-on-one, no matter how pathetic and stupid they are." "
"A man who stole cash and belongings from train passengers has been banned from entering London for two years.
Peter Abbott, 46, repeatedly boarded trains to take items from overhead racks, Southwark Crown Court was told.
When he was arrested in April, police discovered £280 in cash hidden between his buttocks.
...
He was stopped by police... when he was found with a wallet and credit cards taken from a man at Euston station, as well as the cash secreted in his pants."
"The chancellor, who says that Labour faces its toughest challenge in a generation, admits that Brown and the cabinet are partly to blame for Labour's woes because they have "patently" failed to explain the party's central mission to the country, leaving voters "pissed off"."And equally interested to rad that he
"says some people want his job and have been trying to undermine him. Many in the Treasury believe that Ed Balls, the schools secretary, has been less than supportive. "There's lots of people who'd like to do my job. And no doubt," he adds, half under his breath, "actively trying to do it."
"These are the same difficult economic circumstances that every other country in the world is having to deal with... But with employment levels near record highs, interest rates that are historically low and the past decade of rising incomes and job creation, the UK is well placed to deal with this."The level of delusion within the Treasury is truly mind-bending.
"Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign, I will bring a lifetime of experience, and Seanator Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002."
"The Illinois senator says he can "break partisan logjams" and unite the country."A couple of nice positive campaign slogans for Barack Obama.
"Arizona senator and Vietnam war hero would be oldest man to become president."No nice slogans and a dig at his age.
"McCain picks female running mate - US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain picks Alaska's governor Sarah Palin, 44, as his surprise running mate.
Profile: Sarah Palin
Obama's convention success
US Election issues guide"
It would seem that the maximum youth allowed is whatever age Barack Obama is, any younger is too young. I am also interested by the "relatively unknown" tag, relative to what? To Barack Obama, probably but then that could be because the US and UK media have been promoting him ever since he became a Senator. To those of us with an interest in politics, her role as Governor of Alaska with her comments on expanding the drilling for oil and exploiting the oil-shale reserves are well known.
"At 44, she is younger than Barack Obama and is credited with reforms during her first term, but she is relatively unknown in US politics."
"Mr McCain is due to present her on stage at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, as he celebrates his 72nd birthday."He's old, so old; don't forget how old he is...
"Analysts say the Republican is keen to wrest back headlines from Mr Obama.""No shit, Sherlock" really, do ya think? Which analysts think this? Mind you the BBC will do their best to make sure that either John McCain doesn't wrest back the headlines from the Messiah and that any headlines he gets are negative.
Ah it's Kim Ghattas reporting. Now I wonder from what angle she will report upon Republican politics? That would be Kim Ghattas the Lebanese born BBC reporter who was allowed to broadcast her "unbiased" thoughts on the Israeli - Hezbollah conflict without having to declare her interest in the subject. That would be Kim Ghattas about you can read more here . That would be the Kim Ghattas who wrote for Asia Times that
"Ms Palin is perhaps the most daring vice-presidential choice for Mr McCain, the BBC's Kim Ghattas reports from Dayton."
"And the Al Jazeera attitude continues to be that if it's getting so many complaints from all sides, it must be getting it right."Showing the same BBC assumption of moral equivalence that we so admire. That would be the Kim Ghattas who's blinkered anti-Bushism lead her to reportedly describe the sentencing of Osama bin Laden's chauffeur thus:
"The BBC's Kim Ghattas at the trial says the sentence is a dramatic snub to the Bush administration and came after just one-and-a-half hours of deliberation."Not sure how that was a snub to the administration, maybe Kim Ghattas could explain when she has finished attacking Republicans this week and next.
"Analysts say she may have been chosen by the McCain campaign as a tactic to win over Democratic women voters, disappointed by the defeat of Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama."How evil of John McCain to pick as Vice President someone who might help him garner votes. How underhand of him to pick a woman. Why couldn't he do the BBC's analysts a favour and pick a member of the KKK as they just know he really wants to.
Don't worry he's not as appealing as Barack Obama - black still outranks female - and anyway John McCain doesn't really want her as his VP, it's just a campaigning tool.
"Her relative youth and reforms as governor may also go some way to match Mr Obama's appeal, and boost Mr McCain's chances."
I have never seen that phrase before, why not just report this as "She will be his partner in reforming Washington," an unnamed senior McCain official told Reuters news agency"? Because this way sound underhand and secretive, how unlike the way that barack Obama operates...
""She will be his partner in reforming Washington," a senior McCain official told Reuters news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity."
As always with the BBC what is good for Obama does not have to be good for McCain; the rules are different because the BBC want, need, Obama to win - he must win to HEAL the wounds of 2000 and 2004.
"But Ms Palin lacks foreign policy experience and while being a Washington outsider can be an asset for the McCain ticket, it also means she has not been tested on the national stage, our correspondent says."
"She sacked a public safety commissioner and the allegation is that she sacked him because he had not fired a state trooper who is Ms Palin’s former brother-in-law, and who is in a custody battle with her sister.Presumably it took that long for the BBC's top American politics team to call the Obama camp for "the dirt".
She says she has "nothing to hide" and is "cool" about the investigation."
"20:12: He strides out very purposefully, dressed very formally - presidentially, wearing a white shirt and a restrained red tie. The look is sober and that's important."
Line 1 and Justin Webb has associated Barack Obama with the word presidential.
"20:29 By the way - it's a stunning evening here in Denver. I mention this because some fundamentalist Christians of a right-wing persuasion prayed for rain - proof that God is a Democrat?"
Well done, Justin, managed to associate right-wingers (and so Republicans) as being fundamentalists and to get God onto the side of the Democrats.
"20:35: Quite a brave line there on oil drilling. John McCain is proposing to open up America's coast for drilling, which has proved popular. Obama is sticking to his line that it's not a solution."
Even Barack Obama has to suffer for the BBC's environmentalist agenda.
"20.38: A good line on health. About how he watched his mother arguing on the phone with insurance companies as she lay in bed dying of cancer - an experience familiar to many Americans."
I presume Justin Webb still believes that there is no free health care in the USA, or maybe it's just a line he chooses to push.
"20:41: A very interesting choice of word there - on who would make the better Commander-in-Chief, he asked who had the better temperament. What could he mean?"
Ooh, a little slur throwing at John McCain - nicely done.
"20:43: Great Bin Laden line - "John McCain says he'd follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.""
I have read that line a few times and it doesn't really make sense.
"Conclusion: This needed to be a serious speech and it was. I'm still not sure about the Doric columns, but he's managed to be convincing despite the overbearing backdrop. One of the features of the speech was the frequent reference to the future. He's not saying McCain's too old for the job - at least not in so many words. But the Obama camp know that Americans are worried about McCain's age and ever so subtly they are making an allusion to it."
Barack Obama's not saying John McCain's too old, but why should he when unbiased reporters like you will?
"It is requested that Members do not partake of any refreshments until after the Iftar refreshments are served."That is the last line of an email sent by the Council to to all members of London's Tower Hamlets Council. The whole email according to Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats reads thus:
"Iftar refreshments (a balance of the chicken, lamb and vegetarian-based Iftar packs, together with fruit, water and orange juice) will be provided in cases where it is not reasonable to expect Members observing Ramadan, and who are required to attend a formal committee or other meeting, to travel home in time for sundown in order to break fast and undertake prayers. Where other refreshments would normally be provided at these meetings, the level of these will be reduced accordingly. Water will be provided in the meeting room as normal.It would seem as though the Tower Hamlets Council were trying to enforce a Muslim Festival on non-Muslims. I rarely agree with the Liberal Democrats but this this line on the same page had me nodding in agreement:
It is requested that Members do not partake of any refreshments until after the Iftar refreshments are served."
"...we fervently believe that the rules of any one religion should not be imposed upon others. This sends out the wrong message to our community. Our community consists of a number of different religions, all of which should be valued, and no one religion should be accorded more status or influence than others. Freedom of belief is an important human right, and we Liberal Democrat Councillors, Muslim and non-Muslim, agree that this request is inappropriate."I heard a Councillor being interviewed last night and was disappointed to hear her refer to the "holy month of Ramadan". Ramadan may be holy to Muslims but it is not to Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, etc. etc. etc. The denoting of Muslim festivals and tenets in this manner is one that the BBC follow, often referring to "the prophet Muhammed" rather than "the Muslim prophet Muhammed".
"the town hall's business agenda will be reduced throughout Ramadan to accommodate Muslims, with only seven committee meetings scheduled and special prayer breaks included in the evening events."Of course it was Tower Hamlets council that were reported to have renamed their Christmas lunch to "festive lunch". As is often the case, the respecting of religious groups seems to be a one-way street, in favour of Islam.
"Obama launches historic campaign - Barack Obama promises to keep the American dream alive as he accepts his historic Democratic nomination for the White House.
Obama: US can be better
Justin Webb: Clever stuff
In pictures: Democrats in Denver
Obama speech - full text
Denver diary: Primetime policies
US election at-a-glance: 28 Aug"
"It’s open season on Islam — Muslims are the new Jews."the MP Shaid Malik was quoted as saying that
"In the way that it was and still is in some parts, almost legitimate to target Jews, many Muslims would say we feel the exact same way - that somehow there is a message out there that it is OK to target people as long as they are Muslims."
"Former London mayor Ken Livingstone is to work as a consultant for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Mr Livingstone, who has long been a supporter of Mr Chavez, will advise pro-government mayors in the capital Caracas on urban planning."
"Bill Clinton vows to back Obama -The following stories are:
Bill Clinton resoundingly endorses Barack Obama who is formally nominated by US Democrats as their presidential candidate."
"Obama makes appearanceThe adulation, nay LOVE, of the BBC towards to Barack Obama comes shining through.
Clinton: Obama is man for job
Running mate shows his mettle
Key excerpts: Joe Biden
Diary: Laughs aplenty
In pictures: Democrats in Denver"
"on CNN Sunday evening: Lou Dobbs told his guests, "My colleagues in the national media are absolutely biased, in the tank supporting the Obama candidacy while claiming the mantle of objectivity," and they agreed."News Busters have the audio and the transcript but here are some extracts:
"LOU DOBBS, HOST: You know, it's really not working because the fact is we have a tied race here. You know, with all the national media, as I've been saying here for months, in the tanks. My colleagues in the national media are absolutely biased, in the tank supporting the Obama candidacy while claiming the mantle of objectivity. Whether they're in the front page of "The Washington Post," "The New York Times," whether it's any one of the news casts, I mean, it's ridiculous....I wonder if any UK news broadcaster would have the guts to point out this bias?
...
PEREZ: Look, what the media has failed at here is putting pressure on Obama, especially, because McCain wanted to do those meetings together with Obama, those public forums.
DOBBS: The town hall meetings.
PEREZ: Yes, and Obama has really evaded the issue and the media has not been after him for it. And I think that's disgraceful.
...
DOBBS: Well, I think the way the national media in this country right is performing, is disgraceful. And I mean, when we - "The Washington Post" had the courage to admit that it - Deborah Howell, the public editor, the ombudsman for the "Washington Post" ran a piece this past Sunday acknowledging that "The Washington Post" has put Barack Obama on the front pages of the Washington Post three times as many times as Senator McCain. "Time" magazine has run seven covers with Obama. McCain two. I mean, this is not close, folks. And it is ugly. It is nasty. And I guarantee you, we are watching a shift in the way in which the media in this country, which is already reviled by the public, I believe it's going to be even worse....
...
HANK SHEINKOPF, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good for democrats, not so good for the nation in the long term. Barack Obama is interesting, he's new, therefore he is news. OK. The fact that a black man can reach that pinnacle of success, raise the amount of money, run this kind of organization, beat Hillary Clinton is big news. At some point there has to be some fairness in the discussion. The problem here from the beginning is from day Obama showed up, I was wondering when the reporters will start chiseling his face on to Mt. Rushmore and the guy hadn't even won the nomination yet. That's the danger here, Lou. And people know it and they're not stupid. Average guy says wait a second, I want news and he isn't getting it.
...
DIANA WEST, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: ...I think it will eventually ricochet on Obama. I think that people are getting very distressed and irritated about it. But the bias continues and, you know, it even came out with the coverage of these back and forth on gas this week in terms of the Ayers connection, because most of the papers was reading, "USA Today," "The Associated Press," they were not covering the challenge that the..."
"Rush for oil reaches Britain's fields"has to include a warning that
"Environmental groups have been angered by West Sussex County Council's decision to give permission to Northern Petroleum to drill an exploration well near Chichester.
The site in Markwells Wood is part of the South Downs and a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.
Jacquetta Fewster, director of the South Downs Society, says the drilling would lead to the destruction of trees and hedgerows and the visual impact of the drilling tower and its lighting would be "inappropriate".
"It's very quiet, full of wildlife when you walk along the footpaths, you'll often come a across a deer," she says.
"Drilling for oil isn't compatible with a place that should be for quiet contemplation and getting away from urban life.""
"UK population 'will be top in EU'""top"? The reality is in the next line
"The UK population is set to become the largest in the European Union, according to a report.""Largest" makes sense, "top" does not; I wasn't aware that this was a competition and if it is, is it one the UK wants to be "top" of?
"How is the UK set to outdo every other nation in the EU?""Outdo", maybe the BBC still think it is the Olympics and biggest is best, or maybe this is just another part of their pattern of pushing the multicultural agenda whatever the cost.
"Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a bosom."A sentiment that I can agree with but was that always the lyric?
"Exclusive: Scientists warn that there may be no ice at North Pole this summer"Apparently
"It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year."I wonder if Steve Connor, Science Editor of The Independent will retract his wild story following the news that
"The summer meltback in the Arctic has ended and the ice is on the march, confounding the alarmists who were predicting in June that the Pole would be ice-free this year. Currently, the ice area is some 600,000 square kilometres greater than it was at its minimum extent last year."Read the rest at EU Referendum.
"Exclusive: Gordon Brown to take charge of Labour's fight for Glenrothes
Aug 27 2008 By Kevin Schofield
GORDON Brown has stepped in to help mastermind Labour's bid to beat the odds and win the Glenrothes by-election.
The Prime Minister is spending the week in his Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, which borders the vacant seat.
A Downing Street spokesman would only say Brown was "working in his constituency".
But the Record has learned that he will hold meetings with local Labour officials to discuss the party's election campaign. He will also have a major say on the choice of candidate to take on the SNP, who have been installed as odds-on favourites to snatch the seat."
"PRIME Ministers don’t visit by-elections, and the David Camerons of this world are being dishonest by constantly referring to GB’s absence from the Glasgow East campaign."
I think the BBC are nervous about the reports that many Hillary Clinton supporting Democrats are going to vote McCain in 2008 so as to give Hillary another chance in 2012.
"Clinton urges party to back Obama - Hillary Clinton calls on the Democrats to back her former rival Barack Obama for president, at the party's convention in Denver."
"Clinton on 'fight for the future'
Key excerpts: Hillary Clinton
'Hero' Clinton plays killer scene
Diary: Time for red meat
In pictures: Denver convention
'No evidence' of threat to Obam"
""Britishness" should be celebrated with a special day, according to the government. What does being British mean and should it be commemorated on an annual basis?
The August Bank Holiday has been suggested as a possible "Britishness" day by the Home Office minister Liam Byrne.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown - who revealed this month that he is preparing to write a book on what it means to be British - says it is all about shared values.
Panorama explored Britishness in a programme that was shown at 8.30pm on BBC1, speaking to a range of people including fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and BNP leader Nick Griffin.
What does being British really mean? Have you recently become a British citizen? What are the best aspects of being British? What is the worst thing about being British?"
""BRITAIN" a dumping ground for every sponger, lowlife and foreign terrorist avoiding deportation because their rights might be violated.
A once great nation decimated by political correctness, controlled by misguided and treasonous politicians more interested in their own financial wellbeing.
A once mighty empire is now a joke on the world stage and controlled by a bunch of eurocrats who cannot wait to rip this county apart further.
Yes, Britishness is great!!!
Mark Roberts, United Kingdom
Being British means getting ripped of by an incompetent government, who tax you to the hilt in order to try and cover the colossal amount of money they waste on a daily basis.
Being British means being the dumping ground for people who are cannot live in their own country, and having to pay to support these people whether we want to or not.
Being British means being told we have the right to free speech, so long as the words are government approved.
Being British sucks.
Bigotry is also a diversity, Multicultural Hellhole, United Kingdom
Celebrate "Britishness"?
You can bet that NuLabour will not be celebrating our history, our culture and our traditions! They have been doing their best to destroy all that.
Instead they will want to turn it into some politically correct / multi-cultural celebration of "diversity", "inclusiveness", and "gayness"...
The worst aspect of being British is having to put up with NuLabour, NuLabour politicians, and everything they stand for. They are the ruin of this country and our heritage.
[BROWNED_OFF], London, United Kingdom
The last people I want telling me to celebrate my "Britishness" is this Labour government.
The worse thing about Britishness is that we are being had for mugs by our own government, the EU, immigrants and our own underclass.
Tommy Ruffe
...
Once more the supporters of diversity and multi culturalism are trying to push the agenda of Britain ( and often the EU) when most people are determined to remain English, Irish, Scotish or Welsh. Being British is meaningless its only a convenient political designation used to describe four individual nations sharing the same land. We find these same people who encourage migrant groups to remain proud to be African or Asian, while condemning us for wanting to be English, Irish, Scots or Welsh.
Steve Day"
"............the question should be who are the British? They are the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish races who have gradually built a Christian based democracy which thrives on tolerance and freedom of the individual .. A model for many other nation The British people have accepted refugees from other countries who have happily absorbed life here. Britain is blighted by mass immigration of people who have no affinity with the British way of life & loyal to their own customs & religion.
R. Stubbings, Le Beny Bocage "
"President Dmitry Medvedev has declared that Russia formally recognises the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Mr Medvedev told the BBC Russia had tried to preserve Georgian unity for 17 years, but that the situation had changed after this month's violence.
He said Moscow now felt obliged to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia as other countries had done with Kosovo.
The decree, in defiance of a plea from the US, has provoked a wave of protest.
Georgia accused Russia of an unconcealed annexation of its territory, and said the decrees had no legal force."
"the US state department had warned that recognition of the two provinces' independence would be "a violation of Georgian territorial integrity" and "inconsistent with international law"."does not inspire me with much confidence.
"Gordon Brown has privately predicted that it (the economy) could soon turn a corner and start to recover.""Could"? If he changes his thinking from "could" to "will" then we should really start worrying.
"Democrats praise 'new hope' Obama"with the amazing news that
"The wife of Barack Obama joins Democratic leaders in praising his values, ahead of his nomination as presidential candidate."
"Obama values praised by wife"
"Excerpts: Michelle Obama"
"Justin Webb's blog"
"Kennedy: 'The dream lives on'"
"In pictures: Democrats in Denver"
"Convention diary: Day One"
"But let us get back to all the sex going down in the village. One possible explanation centres on the fact that Olympic athletes have to display an unnatural (and, it has to be said, wholly unhealthy) level of self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism? It is a common sight to see recently knocked-out athletes gorging on Magnums and McDonald's, swilling alcohol and, of course, shagging like crazy. Sometimes all three at the same time. Yet this can be only a part of the explanation because most of the athletes I know are as up for it before and during competition as they are in the immediate aftermath. It is as if sportsmen and women have a higher base level of sexual energy. But why? Can it be that one of the underlying drivers of sporting greatness is also the very thing that produces an overactive sex drive?"
"UK economic growth ground to a halt between April and June, according to the latest official figures.I don't understand, the BBC have always lead me to believe that Labour were elected in 1997 to replace an incompetent Tory government that had presided over economic disaster. Now I learn that the economy was growing before the coming to power of the blessed Tony & Gordon - I need a lie down...
The Office for National Statistics said the economy stalled, showing no growth from the first quarter of 2008.
It ends a run of more than 15 years of consecutive growth in the UK..."
"Boxing officials were battling to contain major scandal as serious claims of bribery and the manipulation of Olympic judging panels emerged after a series of disputed bouts.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) suspended Romanian technical delegate Rudel Obreja after he held an impromptu and rowdy press conference and made lurid allegations against senior officials.
AIBA also revealed that it had been tracking "possible attempts of manipulation" for more than two months and had brought in an International Olympic Committee (IOC) observer "when the situation became more serious".
At a testy media conference late on Friday, AIBA technical delegate Terry Smith was grilled by journalists who questioned a series of Olympic results.
Smith insisted none of the fights was fixed although he said the scoring system, where three out of five judges need to press a button simultaneously for a point to be awarded, was under review."
"Successful results from two more face transplants will speed progress towards similar operations in other countries, say experts."Hold on, do you mean that this......
"A determined U.S. computer expert has delved into cached pages on the Internet to unearth Chinese official documents showing a gymnast who took gold in the uneven bars competition, edging the U.S.'s Nastia Liukin, may indeed be underage."Read the whole article and ask yourself if you really believe that the Chinese authorities would have produced a fake passport just so gold medals could be won...Hmmm, that was an easy one wasn't it? Now ask yourself if the IOC will take action or roll over and have its collective tummy tickled.... Hmmm, that was also pretty easy wasn't it?
"A SECRET dossier on how to cheat your way through Britain has been published for Poles heading to the UK.How despicable, producing a guide as to how to cheat the system. What sort of person would do that? Gordon Brown for one, as I blogged last year
The spongers’ guide shows how to dodge electricity bills, rent flats for free, pay no tax and swindle insurance companies because British laws are “too soft”.
The cheats’ charter – published in the Polish media this week – was compiled after researching the most successful scams with Poles already living in Britain.
The scams include:
- Not paying rent once they move in as tenancy laws mean it will be months before they’re evicted. In the meantime the property is sublet to more Poles.
- Opening electricity and gas accounts with bogus personal details.
- Claiming your mobile phone has been stolen. Once the insurers pay out, the cheats pocket the cash and sell the phone back home in Poland for a £100 profit."
"Gordon Brown published a scrounger’s charter while at university, offering students tips on how to freeload and claim benefits. His 200-page survival guide, Alternative Edinburgh, openly encouraged students to “use and abuse” the Welfare State.
“If you’re British and can give an address, free money is available from social security, basic £5.80 per week,” he wrote.
Social and medical benefits are your right, not charity hand-outs, so never be reticent about claiming them.” Mr Brown, who wrote the guide when he was 22 and a student leader at Edinburgh University, also tells students how to obtain a free meal at a hotel: “Con your way to asking for a glass of water or sit beside drinkers and they will feed you for nothing.”"
"As Brown dodged yet another question about Miliband with his stock response - "I'm getting on with the job." - Mr Karzai clearly decided the PM needed a little help.
"Cabinet ministers plotting is nothing new," he declared airily. "We have it in Afghanistan."
There was a squawk from an appalled-looking Afghan politician sitting beside the platform, and the president hastily added to laughter: "Not my foreign minister, though."
Brown turned a shade greener than he had when we finally got off that lurching Herc an hour earlier."
"The British taxpayer will be absolutely outraged if they are made to pick up the bill for compensation to serious criminals."Why is there any chance of having to pay compensation to any of these prisoners? Were the parents whose details were compromised last year ever thought to be due compensation?
"Hamas has managed to reduce the number of attacks dramatically, but some rockets are still being fired."Apparently the BBC still believe that Hamas want to be a "partner for peace" with Israel. That's the same Hamas one of whose senior leaders, Ismail Haneya said on Thursday that:
"The Liberation of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque can be achieved only through Jihad, blood, resistance and martyrdom and not through absurd peace talks,". That would be the same Hamas whose Charter contains the following:
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."
"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
"After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.""
