Not a sheep

For tax return day

2012-01-31T18:34:00.000Z

In the UK today is the tax returns are due to be submitted to HMRC, albeit there is a two day extension thanks to the taxman striking. If you're going to be up late working on your figures, here's some appropriate music...

Beatles - 'Taxman'
"Be thankful I don't take it all"
Do I really need to remind you of the rest of the lyrics?

Gentleman's Dub Club - 'Emergency'
"This is an emergency.. Taxman taking"

So get your return in and pay the tax, even if you do so behind gritted teeth!

Anjem Choudary tweets again

2012-01-30T19:32:00.000Z

Anjem Choudary launched a new campaign today - Shariah4hind and apart from a welcome use of the word 'verily' it was rather a sad affair. Apart from claiming that Islam was the 'oldest religion on the earth' a claim that is demonstrably wrong and a claim that I did tweet a couple of replies to but I think Anjem Choudary may have blocked me; Anjem Choudary seems a tad reluctant to listen to the truth. It is odd that he doesn't block those who tweet insults and Islamophobic venom but does block someone who tweets logic and the truth.

So Anjem Choudary care to take back your original tweet?

I also tweeted this...

and it something that I have mentioned before on this blog. India was partitioned and the part that was made into Pakistan is now almost 100% Islamic whilst India is a pluralistic democracy. The parallels between India and Israel just become more obvious by the day.

Our 'friends' in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan

2012-01-30T12:00:00.000Z

Pakistan

Iran -

Afghanistan

Those 'Partners in Peace' again

2012-01-30T09:52:00.000Z

Palwatch report how Palestinian Authority television view the murders of the Fogel family.

Transcript:
PA TV host: "We have a call from the family of prisoner Hakim Awad."
Mother of Hakim Awad: "I thank you for connecting me with my son, because I and all of the family are prevented for security reasons [from visiting him].
Host: "Go ahead, sister, we can convey your voice."
Mother of Hakim Awad: "My greetings to dear Hakim, the apple of my eye, from the village of Awarta, 17 years old, who carried out the operation in Itamar (i.e., killing of 5 Fogel family members), sentenced to 5 life sentences and another 5 years, in prison."
Aunt of Hakim Awad: "I'm the sister of prisoner Hassan Awad and of Salah Awad; [I am] Um Habib, from the village of Awarta. My warm greetings to all the great heroic prisoners, to my brother Hassan Awad, head of the village council; to my brother Salah Awad, the heroic prisoner journalist; to the heroic, resolute prisoner, the lion, Yazid Awad, my nephew; and to my nephew Hakim Awad, the hero, the legend."
Host: "We [PA TV], for our part, also convey our greetings to them."
Aunt of Hakim Awad: "I dedicate this song to Hassan Awad, Yazid Awad, Hakim Awad, and Salah Awad, in prison:
'My brother, in solitary confinement, your voice calls to me
You dare not throw down the rifle
That is what the homeland asked of me
In your eyes, we are all self-sacrificing fighters.
I convey greetings to the sound of the bullets of Ahmad Sa'adat and Hakim Awad.'"
Host: "Thank you for being with us, the family of prisoners Hassan and Salah Awad of Awarta."
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 19 and 21, 2012]

Note: On March 11, 2011, five members of the Fogel family were killed in their home in the Israeli town Itamar by Palestinian terrorists from the Awad family. Hakim Awad led the attack, killing the parents Ehud and Ruth and three of their children, aged 11 years, 4 years, and 2 months.
Ahmad Sa'adat, mentioned in the song recited by Hakim Awad's aunt, is serving a 30-year sentence for heading the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror organization. He is also suspected of having planned the assassination of Israeli Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Ze'evi, in 2001, but was not tried.

This is coverage on the PA television station, the supposedly 'moderate' voice of Palestinians. Glorifying the murderers of an innocent Jewish family as 'heroic'. Partners in Peace? I think not.

Jews in the Netherlands catch-up

2012-01-29T09:00:00.000Z

I found a few tabs that I have had open for some time and they all related to Jews in the Netherlands, especially Amsterdam, and since Amsterdam used to be one of my and Mrs NotaSheep's favourite European cities I thought I'd post them all here...

Anti-Semitism is normal in Amsterdam:

'The NRC daily has published an article on anti-Semitism in Amsterdam which states that it has become the norm rather than incidental. There are six neighborhoods in Amsterdam where Jews cannot wear a skullcap or clothes which identify them as such for fear of attack. A rabbi who lives in one of the better neighborhoods says that he goes out on the streets as little as possible because he almost always is insulted by Moroccans who shout at him: “Hitler apparently forgot one”. The rabbi says that many Jews have similar experiences in Amsterdam. The monitor of discrimination on the internet found that half of the 577 punishable internet statements in 2009 were against Jews. The article also said that if the monitor would have looked carefully at sites for Moroccans in the Netherlands, they could have easily added another 1,000 punishable anti-Semitic internet statements.'

Fake Jews to fight anti-Semitism in Amsterdam:

'Amsterdam’s interim mayor Lodewijk Asscher says he will investigate the possibility of using undercover agents posing as Jews in order to combat anti-semitism.

A spokesman said the mayor is open to unorthodox methods to end to the upsurge of violence against Jews in Amsterdam. Mr Asscher was responding to a suggestion from Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch, himself of Moroccan parentage.

Hitler

A TV programme broadcast on Sunday by the Jewish Broadcasting Organisation showed rabbi Lody van de Kamp confronted by Moroccan youths giving the Hitler salute. The footage was recorded with a hidden camera. The rabbi and two school children went to various neighbourhoods in Amsterdam last week and were confronted not only by Hitler salutes but also by verbal abuse.

An earlier radio broadcast by the Jewish Broadcasting Organisation showed that the situation is equally serious in some other parts of the Netherlands, including the city of Rotterdam.

Skull-caps

Ronny Naftaniel, the head of anti-semitism watchdog the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel, says, “it has become common for Jews to hide their skull-caps on the street.” The CIDI supports Ahmed Marcouch’s initiative.

In a radio interview the Labour MP said: “I say send fake Jews to arrest the attackers. Everything must be done to keep this phenomenon from growing. It seems like small incidents, but this is serious.”'

Prominent Jews leave Amsterdam because of anti-Semitism:

'A son of a prominent rabbi in the Netherlands has announced plans to move to Israel due to anti-Semitism. Benzion Evers, son of well-known Dutch rabbi Raphael Evers, told De Telegraaf that he feels “suffocated and caged” in his home country due to anti-Jewish sentiment.

“I'm fed up with the verbal abuse and the streetfighting,” he told Het Parool, another Dutch paper.

“It's not that you can't leave the house, but you need to constantly hide, to be careful,” he explained. He related his own cautionary measures, which include avoiding certain neighborhoods, and hiding his kippah (yalmulke) when walking through areas with a high number of Muslim immigrants.

While anti-Semitism is not uncommon among Muslim immigrants, particularly those from Morocco and Turkey, there is a second kind of anti-Semitism that is common in the Netherlands as well, Evers said, an educated anti-Semitism that is disguised as anti-Zionism.

Five of the Evers' family children have already left the Netherlands, he added, and his father plans to move as well after retirement. More than half of orthodox Jews end up leaving the country, he stated.

Just days earlier, Dutch politician Frits Bolkestein stated that religious Jews have no future in the Netherlands due to anti-Semitism. They should “emigrate to the U.S. or Israel,” he said. His comments were published in the book “The Decay: Jews in a Rudderless Netherlands” by Manfred Gerstenfeld.

The main cause of increasing hostility to Jews is “anti-Semitism among Dutchmen of Moroccan descent, whose numbers keep growing,” Bolkestein stated. He expressed doubt that the government is capable of fighting anti-Semitism and protecting its Jewish citizens.

His controversial remarks were met with an uproar. The Dutch Parliament held a special session to discuss the issue.

Earlier in the year Dutch Chief Rabbi Benjamin Jacobs spoke to Arutz Sheva and expressed concern over Dutch anti-Semitism, which he said is becoming prevalent. He said that many Dutch citizens are upset by anti-Semitism, but concluded, “As the situation is today, the future for Dutch Jewry is moving to Israel.” '

Some more scary statistics:

'A national police report in September found a 48 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents to 209 in 2009. The same report found that anti-Moroccan incidents rose 17 percent to 103.

After a wave of immigration in the 1990s Muslims make up around 1 million of the country's 16 million population. After being decimated during World War II, the Dutch Jewish population is estimated at 40,000-50,000.

Rising anti-Semitism "can be attributed to the rise of influence of Islam in the Netherlands," said Freedom party member of parliament Joram van Klaveren during the debate. "The more Islam, the more anti-Semitism."'

Is it just me or is there a more fun alternative?

2012-01-29T06:30:00.003Z

"This easy-to-use beauty and skincare product was developed by an ordinary housewife. Chikako Hirama was simply concerned about her own age and wanted an easy way to combat those telltale lines. Just try the yellow or pink Pupeko daily using such techniques as puffing out your cheeks or sucking them in while breathing through the mouthpiece. Then you can try it while keeping your head upright to give your neck and other muscles further exercise training."

Is it just me or is there a more fun alternative to this Pupeko?

Thanks to Boing Boing for the spot.

Compare & Contrast: The Faces 1971 v The Faces 2011, Rod Stewart v Mick Hucknall

2012-01-28T18:00:00.003Z

Rod Stewart and The Faces rocking out in 1971 on Stay With Me.

The Faces with Mick Hucknall at the 2011 reunion also with Stay With Me.

Your preference?

More Jenny Agutter - Definitely NSFW

2012-01-27T20:30:00.006Z

My recent post about Jenny Agutter has been quite popular, and I can quite see why, so when I saw Logan's Run was on TV earlier this week it prompted me to find some more Jenny Agutter stills for your delectation.
First the rather revealing 'on circuit' dress

Then some stills from the ice palace scene, it is odd how Jenny has to undress because it's cold and her clothes are wet, only to put on a very skimpy fleece and anyway then put her damp clothes back on a few minutes later, but who's complaining?

Finally a still from Jenny Agutter's appearance in Equus

Sorry about Peter Firth's buttocks!

Maybe more Jenny Agutter in a month or so...

A voters' guide to Republicans

2012-01-27T14:00:00.000Z

Some facts about the Republicans in the USA that I think more people should know. The BBC especially should watch this this video over and over again until they get it.

Once again a Western establishment just cannot face facts

2012-01-27T11:30:00.003Z

Last year Yonathan Melaku drove through Washington DC shooting at other cars and buildings, thankfully n. obody was killed. The Washington Post reports that:

'It was all part of a solitary campaign of “fear and terror,” federal prosecutors said. But authorities and Melaku’s defense attorney said no one knows for sure what led Melaku — a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ethiopia, local high school graduate and former Marine Corps Reservist — down that path or what message he was trying to send.

...

Gregory English, Melaku’s defense lawyer, said after the hearing that Melaku’s family is of the Coptic Christian faith and that they were stunned to learn of his involvement in the crimes and the references to Islamic jihad. English said the shootings were out of character for Melaku, and he wonders whether his client suffers from a psychological problem, which he has asked the court to evaluate.

English said Melaku thought that by shooting at the buildings he did, late at night, no one would get hurt. English said the video was intended for YouTube.

“As bad as it is, this is someone who essentially broke windows,” English said. “It’s vandalism. He has no link to terrorism. . . . He had a message, but I don’t understand what that message was supposed to be.”'

UYes his motives are utterly inexplicable; unless you watch the self shot video taken the night he went shooting...

As the Washington Post reports 'A video found after Melaku’s arrest showed him wearing a black mask and shooting a 9mm handgun out of his Acura’s passenger window as he drove along Interstate 95, shouting “Allahu Akbar!”'

Shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he shoots out of his car window; no I cannot see a motive there either... Here are some more examples of places where the cry of "Allahu Akbar" has been inexplicably heard: here, here, here and here .

A slip-fielder in the making?

2012-01-27T11:20:00.001Z

One of the ball boys makes an amazing catch during the Federer Nadal Semifinal match at the Australian Open.

Barack Obama's free ride from the US media

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000Z

As I blogged during the last US Presidential elections, the US media (an indeed other countries media) were singularly uninterested in Barack Obama's back history and just didn't ask of him the questions that they demanded answers to of Republican candidates. This year the story is the same so I was intrigued to read this article that lists '15 Questions The Mainstream Media Would Ask Barack Obama If He Were A Republican'. Here's a few, do go and read them all:

'In 2010 you said Solyndra, which gave your campaign a lot of money, was “leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future.” Today, Solyndra is bankrupt and the taxpayers lost $500 million on loans that your administration was well aware might never be paid off when you made them. What do you say to people who say this is evidence of corruption in your administration?

...

Unions invested a lot of time and money in helping to get you elected. In return, they gained majority control of Chrysler, the taxpayers lost 14 billion dollars on General Motors, and General Motors received a special 45 billion dollar tax break. What do you say to people who view this as corruption on a scale never before seen in American history?

...

Occupy Wall Street has been protesting against Wall Street and the richest 1 percent in America. You are in the top 1 percent of income earners in America and you have collected more cash from Wall Street than any other President in history. So, aren’t you exactly the sort of politician that Occupy Wall Street wants to get rid of?'

Barack Obama, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt and Israel

2012-01-27T09:52:00.000Z

Two pieces have caught my eye this week, neither by themselves would have been worth a blogpost but the combination of the two is interesting.

First Reuters reported that:

'U.S. President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule.

Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a U.S. delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide "more immediate benefits" to Egyptians, who earlier this month conducted their first democratic elections in decades.

"During this period, we want to be as supportive as we can. This is an historic moment. Egypt's a country of enormous importance," Hormats said.'

Second I read in The Egypt Independentthat:

'The Muslim Brotherhood will not speak or meet with Israeli officials and its stance on Israel is not up for discussion, group spokesperson Mahmoud Ghezlan told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. '

So the coming to power in Egypt of a group that won't meet or speak with Israeli officials is a cue for Barack Obama's administration to accelerate the pace of American aid; interesting...

Two remarks that speak volumes

2012-01-27T09:12:00.000Z

Two remarks in this Independent article about the Ugandan born Church of England vicar, The Rev Canon Dr John Magumba struck me. The first was that:

'The 58-year-old even told local church-goers that African worshippers did not feel comfortable around so many white parishioners so he set up separate "African services".'

Can you imagine the treatment that a white vicar would get from the Church and the media if he said that "Caucasian worshippers did not feel comfortable around so many black parishioners so he had set up separate 'Caucasian services'"? The double standard is almost beyond comprehension.

The second remark was this:

'Magumba later admitted to police Nigerians "would do anything in their power to come to the UK" and were "crying out" for marriage certificates, the court heard.'

Now why were these Nigerians so desperate to come to the UK? Maybe the next two lines provide an explanation:

'Non-EU citizens who marry EU citizens cannot be deported.

Nigerian men who married Polish, Slovak or Czech women - citizens of the EU - would then have the right to live, work and claim benefits in the UK.'

Can anyone out there defend John Magumba's actions and those of the last Labour government that have helped to get us to this position?

Question Time tonight 26 January 2012 features David '13 points' Lammy

2012-01-26T20:37:00.000Z

Labour MP, and former minister, David Lammy is on BBC's Question Time tonight. I wonder if David Dimbleby would remind us of David Lammy's most famous TV performance, I am sure he would were David Lammy a Conservative politician...

13 points on Mastermind

The incredible general knowledge round starts at 4:22, or 5:16 if you'd rather miss John Humphry's adoring chat.
Q1: So easy - he got it wrong
Q2: Didn't know but would guess Jamaica
Q3: So easy
Q4: So easy - he got it wrong
Q5: Tricky
Q6: So easy - he got it wrong
Q7: So easy - he passed
Q8: Easy
Q9: So easy - he passed
Q10: Easy
Q11: So easy - he got it wrong
Q12: Easy
Q13: So easy - he passed
Q14: Easy
Q15: Henry VII succeeded Henry VIII, that's unlikely!
Q16: Tricky
Q17: So easy - he got it wrong

Best radio trailer at the moment

2012-01-26T20:09:00.001Z

Talksport's trailer for the Alan Brazil Breakfast show; a fine parody of Rod Stewart's Maggie May.

And here's the original...

The first sone about a MILF?

The difference between being an existing customer and a potential new customer

2012-01-26T12:00:00.000Z

So prospective customers get a Freephone number but existing customers have to pay to speak with their bank. Great customer service Britannia.

Because on the BBC Israel is only bad

2012-01-26T11:46:00.002Z

BBC Radio 4 From Our Own Correspondent this morning had a piece from Amman (capital of Jordan) explaining why so many Libyans were there. Apparently it was because 'Jordan is widely regarded as having the best hospitals in the Middle East'.
Jordan not Israel? Really?

The useful idiots of the past and who are the useful idiots of today; Tony Benn?

2012-01-26T08:58:00.001Z

A few weeks ago I heard a very interesting radio programme on BBC Radio 4 about the useful idiots who propagandised on behalf of Communist Russia in order to protect the name of Communism:

'refers to Western journalists, travellers and intellectuals who gave their blessing – often with evangelistic fervour – to tyrannies and tyrants, thereby convincing politicians and public that utopias rather than Belsens thrived.'

It is a story that I know well but one that does deserve repetition because I don't think that many people do know how so many on the left of western politics covered up the evil of communist Russia, and indeed China as well.

What struck me when listening to the programme was how those who criticised Russia were the ones that were disbelieved and whose careers suffered at the time whilst those that supported the evil regimes were rewarded:

'In 1952 Doris Lessing, a British writer who has since won the Nobel Prize for Literature, was part of a delegation visiting the Soviet Union.
Her memories of the trip are clear and unforgiving:
“I was taken around and shown things as a ‘useful idiot’... that’s what my role was. I can’t understand why I was so gullible.”
She was not the only one. The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw and American journalist Walter Duranty were some of those people who also visited the Soviet Union.
They mingled with political leaders, were escorted into the countryside by Joseph Stalin’s secret police, and returned home to speak and write of ‘a land of hope’ with ‘evils retreating before the spread of communism’.
However as stories mounted of mass murder and starvation in parts of Russia and the Ukraine, reporters such as Gareth Jones and Malcolm Muggeridge investigated and reported on ‘the creation of one enormous Belsen’.
Duranty responded with an article in the New York Times headed ‘Story of the famine is bunk’, and got an exclusive interview with Stalin.
Soon after, Jones died and Muggeridge’s career nose-dived. Duranty was awarded a Pulitzer.'

I didn't hear the second part but was struck by the BBC's own summary:

'The journalist and historian Jonathan Mirsky, who has written extensively on China, describes former leader Chairman Mao as:
“He had an enormous impact on China – but he was a monster… and…responsible for the deaths of 40 million people.”
But the veteran British politician Tony Benn argues that Mao played a significant role in building China's global importance and economic power - and that his actions - both good and bad - must be seen in historical context.
From Mao’s China, General Pinochet’s Chile, Apartheid-controlled South Africa, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, to President Ahmadinejad’s Iran, why – and how – have so many supposedly intelligent people been manipulated by dictators into saying good things about bad regimes?'

'Historical context'? 'HISTORICAL CONTEXT'! Mao's regime killed around 50 million people but the BBC's hero Tony Benn thinks Mao's actions must be seen in 'historical context'. Maybe someone could ask Tony Benn what 'historical context' justified the killing of 50 million people in communist China? Does Tony Benn also think that the millions of deaths ordered by Lenin and Stalin and the suffering in the gulags has to be seen in 'historical context'? What about the seven million Jews killed by Hitler's Nazis in Germany; do they have to be seen in historical context'? At this point Tony Benn would no doubt lean back and suck on a metaphorical pipe and tell you that he fought against Nazism during the second world war. Indeed you did Mr Benn, indeed you did but you still say that the deaths of millions more people needs to be seen in 'historical context'!

I wonder who the useful idiots of today are? Those who believed that the 'Arab Spring' would end other than with Islamist regimes perhaps.

The Resolution Foundation

2012-01-25T21:29:00.000Z

I don't normally do this but Craig (ex Beeb Bias Craig) has posted some fascinating points in the comments of a Biased BBC article and I think that they are a fine example of how the BBC/Labour coalition manufacture 'news' and set the agenda from a firm left of centre position.So here is his analysis, with all due thanks to Biased-BBC. and Craig.

'So 'Newsnight' mentions a report from the Resolution Foundation think tank about the plight of 'The Squeezed Middle', the Ed Miliband phrase used by reporter David Grossman.

The guy who appeared from the Resolution Foundation was Gavin Kelly. What Grossman didn't mention is that he was Gordon Brown's Deputy Chief of Staff as prime minister, having previously worked in Tony Blair's Policy Unit.

That Resolution Foundation is the sort of think tank the BBC likes to call "independent". How 'independent' is it?

Digging a bit more into that Resolution Foundation think tank, which 'Newsnight' was touting last night without letting on that their expert 'talking head' was a former advisor to Gordon Brown and that the BBC News website repeatedly presents as 'independent', reveals that they receive a fair amount of coverage from the BBC.

Looking back, when Miliband began his 'squeezed middle' campaign in November 2010, the BBC quoted a report by "the Resolution Foundation think-tank", as if it were co-incidental.

When Miliband made a speech attacking Tory cuts in February 2011 he was reported by the BBC as addressing "the Resolution Foundation, a think tank". By a remarkable co-incidence, Today interviewed someone from "The Resolution Foundation" on that very day on the very subject of Miliband's speech, and so did 5 Live .

Cameron's cuts threaten welfare reform, warned the Resolution Foundation, "a think tank", back in May 2011. Labour's Stephen Timms was on hand to agree with them.

"The Resolution Foundation says wage inequality is getting worse" on 5Live in October 2011.

Cuts in tax credits are under attack from "an organisation" called The Resolution Foundation last November.

In December 2011, Radio 5 Live has on someone from the "research group, the Resolution Foundation" to talk about living standards. 6 days later the same guy was back on 5 Live calling for regulation of letting agents, this time representing a "group, which represents people on low to middle incomes". The same theme was brought up on the same day's You and Yours, where the organisation was just given its name.

They've had lots of coverage this year, first in an article on inequality which calls them "a new independent think tank", then getting publicity for their latest report on personal spending where they are called a "think tank" and "the independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation".

The only programme that comes a little bit clean is The Week in Westminster, back in April 2011, where "Gavin Kelly of the think tank the Resolution Foundation" is described as "formerly an adviser to Gordon Brown".

How 'independent' are they? Who are 'the team' behind the independent Resolution Foundation think tank?

Well, there's chief executive Gavin Kelly, former advisor to prime minister Gordon Brown, for starters.

Then there's Vidhya Alakeson, research and strategy director, who has worked for several left-leaning think tanks (some with links to Labour, such as Policy Network and the Social Market Foundation) and, like Mr Kelly. also worked in the prime minister's policy unit under Labour.

There's also James Plunkett, Secretary to the Commission on Living Standards, who has written for the Guardian attacking Michael Gove's education policies as "tired old Tory ideology" and elsewhere attacking the "malevolence" of "the Nasty Party". He worked in Gordon Brown's strategy unit from 2008-09.

Then there's senior economist Matthew Whittaker, who also serves as a "wise man" on the Labour-aligned IPPR's New Era Economics panel.

Also Felicity Dennistoun, external affair assistant, who was a parliamentary assistant to Labour's Emily Thornberry, andJoe Coward, research and communications assistant, who came from the centre-left Demos think tank.

Guido got the main piece of the jigsaw quite some time back. The man who founded the Resolution Foundation, insurance tycoon Clive Cowdery, is a Labour Party donor.

The Resolution Foundation looks set to join the IPPR and Demos as a favoured think tank of the BBC. Given the links so many of its key figures have to the last Labour government and their ties to other left-of-centre think tanks, would it be too much to ask BBC presenters/reporters to say things like, "A report today from the left-leaning think tank, the Resolution Foundation, found that...." or "Former advisor to Gordon Brown, Gavin Kelly/James Plunkett of the Resolution Foundation, said...."?'

Can you think of any excuse for the above deceit by the BBC; I cannot.

Jimy Carter - again

2012-01-25T08:21:00.000Z

Jimmy Carter, former US President and current disgrace to humanity, appeared on Piers Morgan's CNN Tonight show last week. The whole interview was full of inaccuracies, you can see the whole transcript here, but the one that I want to concentrate on is this:

'When I first went to Israel, about 15 percent of the Palestinians were Christians and they were my friends and they were my soul mates in the worship of the same god in the same way. Now they've almost been removed from Palestine because of some pressures and encouragement from the Israelis.'

So Jimmy Carter blames Israel for the reduction in the percentage of Palestinians that are Christian. Jimmy Carter blames Israel, now that's hardly news, the man persistently attacks Israel for one thing or another, but he blames Israel for the diminishing percentage of Christians amongst the Palestinians. First of all Israel does not run the Palestinian Territories, if it did there would be less rocket attacks launched against Israeli civilians from Gaza. Second the real reason for the diminishing number of Christians in the Palestinian Territories is that Islamists have been seizing land from Christians, demanding jiyza (protection money) from them and assaulting those who choose to stay behind in their Holy Land. It should also be notes that the Christian population of multi-faith Israel is increasing not diminishing.

Jimmy 'Dhimmi' Carter gets away with making statements like the above because he was US President, why does nobody ask Jimmy carter about the money he has received from Islamists and whether that money has any bearing on the opinions he spouts so freely?

'What money, I don't know anything about Jimmy Carter receiving money from Muslim countries and organisations? ' I hear you ask. Well take a read of this article by Alan Dershowitz from 2007, here's a few extracts:

'Recent disclosures of Carter's extensive financial connections to Arab oil money, particularly from Saudi Arabia, had deeply shaken my belief in his integrity. When I was first told that he received a monetary reward in the name of Shiekh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, and kept the money, even after Harvard returned money from the same source because of its anti-Semitic history, I simply did not believe it. How could a man of such apparent integrity enrich himself with dirty money from so dirty a source?

And let there be no mistake about how dirty the Zayed Foundation is. I know because I was involved, in a small way, in helping to persuade Harvard University to return more than $2 million that the financially strapped Divinity School received from this source. Initially, I was reluctant to put pressure on Harvard to turn back money for the Divinity School, but then a student at the Divinity School, Rachael Lea Fish showed me the facts.
They were staggering. I was amazed that in the twenty-first century there were still foundations that espoused these views. The Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-up, a think-tank funded by the Shiekh and run by his son, hosted speakers who called Jews "the enemies of all nations," attributed the assassination of John Kennedy to Israel and the Mossad and the 9/11 attacks to the United States' own military, and stated that the Holocaust was a "fable." (They also hosted a speech by Jimmy Carter.) To its credit, Harvard turned the money back. To his discredit, Carter did not.

Jimmy Carter was, of course, aware of Harvard's decision, since it was highly publicized. Yet he kept the money. Indeed, this is what he said in accepting the funds: "This award has special significance for me because it is named for my personal friend, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan." Carter's personal friend, it turns out, was an unredeemable anti-Semite and all-around bigot.

...

The extent of Carter's financial support from, and even dependence on, dirty money is still not fully known. What we do know is deeply troubling. Carter and his Center have accepted millions of dollars from suspect sources, beginning with the bail-out of the Carter family peanut business in the late 1970s by BCCI, a now-defunct and virulently anti-Israeli bank indirectly controlled by the Saudi Royal family, and among whose principal investors is Carter's friend, Sheikh Zayed. Agha Hasan Abedi, the founder of the bank, gave Carter "$500,000 to help the former president establish his center...[and] more than $10 million to Mr. Carter's different projects."

Carter gladly accepted the money, though Abedi had called his bank, ostensibly the source of his funding, "the best way to fight the evil influence of the Zionists." BCCI isn't the only source: Saudi King Fahd contributed millions to the Carter Center "in 1993 alone...$7.6 million" as have other members of the Saudi Royal Family. Carter also received a million dollar pledge from the Saudi-based bin Laden family, as well as a personal $500,000 environmental award named for Sheikh Zayed, and paid for by the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. It's worth noting that, despite the influx of Saudi money funding the Carter Center, and despite the Saudi Arabian government's myriad human rights abuses, the Carter Center's Human Rights program has no activity whatever in Saudi Arabia.

...

By Carter's own standards, therefore, his views on the Middle East must be discounted. It is certainly possible that he now believes them. Money, particularly large amounts of money, has a way of persuading people to a particular position. It would not surprise me if Carter, having received so much Arab money, is now honestly committed to their cause. But his failure to disclose the extent of his financial dependence on Arab money, and the absence of any self reflection on whether the receipt of this money has unduly influenced his views, is a form of deception bordering on corruption.

I have met cigarette lobbyists, who are supported by the cigarette industry, and who have come to believe honestly that cigarettes are merely a safe form of adult recreation, that cigarettes are not addicting and that the cigarette industry is really trying to persuade children not to smoke. These people are fooling themselves (or fooling us into believing that they are fooling themselves) just as Jimmy Carter is fooling himself (or persuading us to believe that he is fooling himself).

If money determines political and public views as Carter insists "Jewish money" does, Carter's views on the Middle East must be deemed to have been influenced by the vast sums of Arab money he has received. If he who pays the piper calls the tune, then Carter's off-key tunes have been called by his Saudi Arabian paymasters. It pains me to say this, but I now believe that there is no person in American public life today who has a lower ratio of real to apparent integrity than Jimmy Carter. The public perception of his integrity is extraordinarily high. His real integrity, it now turns out, is extraordinarily low. He is no better than so many former American politicians who, after leaving public life, sell themselves to the highest bidder and become lobbyists for despicable causes. That is now Jimmy Carter's sad legacy.'

Remember those facts about Jimmy Carter the next time his 'expert & impartial' views are sought about Israel and the Middle East.

The quick-wittednessof a viola player

2012-01-24T18:00:00.001Z

The quick-wittedness of viola player Lukáš Kmit on display here in a video recorded at the Preslov synagogue in Slovakia When an audience member's Nokia mobile phone starts rinigng , he takes action!

Well played!

Is much of the west's media biased against Israel?

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000Z

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will know that I believe the answer is yes and I have shown the proof time and time again. Today I will just link you to this piece from The Journal of Applied Business Research – November/December 2011 Volume 27, Number 6, entitled Reuters: Principles Of Trust Or Propaganda? It's written by Henry I. Silverman of Roosevelt University, USA and is a must read, if rather long and detailed.

Here are some of the results:

'With respect to research questions 1-3: across the fifty articles in the data sample, ECA reveals 1,104 occurrences of reporting/ethical failures, i.e., propaganda devices, logical fallacies, and violations of the Reuters Handbook of Journalism, with a mean of 22.08 reporting/ethical failures per article. The propaganda device of asymmetrical definition occurs most frequently with a total of 129 instances followed by the propaganda device of card stacking with 94 occurrences. The logical fallacy occurring most frequently is appeal to pity and the Handbook violation occurring with the greatest frequency is that of a failure to uphold social responsibility.

...

In a particularly egregious example of card stacking and historical reconstruction reminiscent of the Lebanese doctored photo scandal discussed in the introduction to this paper, Reuters publishes a large captioned photo on May 31, 2010 depicting an injured Israeli commando being held down by passengers on board the Mavi Marmara during the violent incident discussed above. The original photo was taken by a passenger on the ship and published on the website of the Turkish Islamist group, İnsani Yardım Vakfı (IHH), which sponsored the Gaza flotilla. In a comparison between the original photo and that published by Reuters, one notes the Reuters version has been materially cropped, excising a serrated knife held by one of the passengers, a pool of blood, and another injured Israeli commando prostrate on the floor. A violation of the Reuters Handbook, the cropping removed contextually essential information, i.e., evidence of the weapons held and deployed by passengers against the Israelis, thus effectively censoring the facts revealed by the original photo. Reuters has since acknowledged the photo manipulation but insists that this had been ―normal editorial practice‖.20

...

Over 500 Israeli civilians died in 140 Palestinian suicide bomb attacks from 2000 to 2007. More than 4,500 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the same period.
Even here however, serious reporting failures occur. In an instance of card stacking, Perry includes all Palestinians killed by any means but willfully excludes Israeli security personnel and those Israelis killed by means other than suicide bomb attacks. When these groups are included, the number of Israelis killed rises to more than double Perry's appraisal.29 And note how Perry describes the Israelis as having (passively) "died" while Palestinians were (actively) "killed". The use of the word ―died‖ here reflects another euphemism, and the asymmetric distorting of the casualty figures represents the propaganda device of error of statistical inference as well as being a violation of the Reuters‘ Handbook admonition to its journalists to take no side, tell all sides.30

A particularly rich example of this reporting failure can be seen in a Reuters story published on June 1, 201034 about the Turkish flotilla bound for Gaza discussed earlier in this section. Although more than 85 percent of the story content consists of quotes from passengers promoting their version of the incident and no comments from Israeli officials or military personnel participating in the operation are provided (a violation of the Reuters Handbook35), Reuters headlines its story with the presumptive title ―Factbox‖. Following this, is an overt lie and non sequitur:
Israel has detained some 700 activists incommunicado, ensuring no contradiction of its version of events. [italics mine]
Reuters then proceeds to quote five of the passengers contradicting Israel‘s version of events[!]. The passenger comments are laden with emotional accounts of violations of international law, including alleged atrocities, by Israeli commandos. Passenger Mutlu Tiiryaki for example, asserts:
When we went up to the deck, they emerged from helicopters and military boats and attacked us. They approached our vessel with military ships after issuing a warning. We told them that we were unarmed. Our sole weapon was water.
In this instance of card stacking, Reuters fails to report that Tiryaki was not actually a passenger on the Mavi Marmara, the ship where passengers met and assaulted Israeli commandoes with knives and iron bars.36 Moreover, nowhere in the story does Reuters interview or provide alternative testimony from Israelis, several of whom were severely beaten, knifed and immobilized by passengers as documented by video footage and photographs taken by both Israeli military sources and the passengers themselves as noted earlier.37

On August 3, 2010, an Israeli military maintenance crew was paring tree branches on the Israeli side of the ―Blue Line‖, the official United Nations border demarcation between Israel and Lebanon to its north, when Lebanese troops opened fire on the crew and security positions on the Israeli side of the border killing an Israeli officer and seriously wounding another. Israeli forces immediately retaliated, killing a Lebanese army sergeant. The following day, Reuters published a captioned photo of the daughter of the dead Lebanese soldier, crying at his funeral. In this example of the logical fallacy of appeal to pity, the propaganda technique of card stacking, and the Handbook violation of take no side/tell all sides, Reuters elicits sympathy for the Lebanese soldier and his family while providing no balancing depiction of Israeli familial losses, despite the fact that the Lebanese military initiated the violence resulting in the fatalities.

As demonstrated by 75 occurrences across the data sample, Reuters regularly violates this policy in its Middle East reporting. In a story published on its website on July 7, 201039 ―Palestinians wary of direct peace talks with Israel‖, correspondents Ali Sawafta and Douglas Hamilton refer to the last unallocated portion of the Palestine Mandate as the ―West Bank‖ seven times. The appellation ―West Bank‖ was assigned to the territory in 1949 by the Arabs of Jordan (then ―Transjordan‖) following their invasion, conquest, and illegal occupation of the land and associated ethnic cleansing of Jewish communities from the area.40 The acknowledged Israeli-Judeo name for the disputed territory is Judea and Samaria, any reference to which is notably absent from Sawafta and Hamilton‘s story. This asymmetric handling falsely suggests Jordanian or Arab sovereignty of the land, underscores Reuters‘ Arab ethnocentric vantage point, and thus, the agency‘s support for the Arab side of the conflict.
Similarly, Sawafta and Hamilton cite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas‘ aide Nabil Abu Rdainah:
In talks mediated by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice the Israelis acknowledged that occupied land means the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Arab East Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley, [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ aide] Abu Rdainah said.
In violation of the Reuters Handbook, Sawafta and Hamilton parrot the term ―West Bank‖ and the loaded expression ―Arab East Jerusalem‖, again revealing a distinctly Arab ethnocentric vantage point. Moreover, no Israeli source is cited that might otherwise contravene Abu Rdainah‘s assertion that Israel had acknowledged these areas as ―occupied‖, a violation of the fairness doctrine of Reuters Handbook41. Indeed, as Israel claims all of Jerusalem under its sovereignty, it is highly unlikely any Israeli official would refer to the eastern portion of Jerusalem as ―Arab East Jerusalem‖, the reference to which also reflects a historical reconstruction.'

Do read the whole paper, there are many more examples.

The report also analyses how the anti-Israel bias affects the reader/viewer, here are some examples that show why this sort of bias is practiced by media outlets such as Reuters and why it is so dangerous:

'With respect to research question 4, on average, subjects take a largely neutral view of the belligerents going into the study (untransformed mean 3.18) but substantially shift their view in favor of the Arabs/Palestinians over the course of the readings (untransformed mean 2.17). Similarly, with respect to research question 5, prior to the readings subjects are nearly dead neutral on whether they feel motivated to take supportive action on behalf of one or the other belligerent parties (untransformed mean 3.12) but over the course of the readings, subjects feel significantly more motivated to take supportive action on behalf of the Arabs/Palestinians (untransformed mean 2.35).

There is a highly significant and negative association between propaganda (Falsehoods, Omissions, Distortions) appearing in the sample stories and reader responses to each of the survey questions. Specifically, as the frequency of atrocity propaganda increases, subject responses shift toward the lower end of the scale, i.e., become increasingly favorable/sympathetic toward the Arabs/Palestinians. Similarly, an increase in atrocity propaganda motivates subjects to take supportive action on behalf of the Arabs/Palestinians. These results strongly suggest that when atrocity propaganda is employed by Reuters (32 occurrences across the sample), it is typically arrayed against the Israelis, i.e., the Israelis are portrayed as the offending party committing atrocities against the Arabs/Palestinians.'

Do read the whole paper there are many more examples.

Now Reuters is not alone in its bias against Israel and that is why the next extract from the article needs to be read with the BBC in mind:

'Although Reuters is not a recognized belligerent in the Middle East conflict, the agency‘s use of (one-sided) atrocity propaganda to influence its audience may be viewed as a form of psychological warfare as defined by Lineberger (1954) in that it is successfully driving attitude changes and motivating its readership to take direct action to support one of the belligerents, the Arabs/Palestinians, in response to stories of ―inhuman acts‖ allegedly perpetrated by the Israelis. This is akin to the purpose, content, and success of atrocity propaganda circulated by both the Allies and Germany during the first world war (Jowett and O‘Donnell, 1999).

The final question for study asks what can be inferred about the ideology and purpose of Reuters Middle East reporting from the data. With its much vaunted Trust Principles and Handbook of Journalism, Reuters would have us believe that its reporting on the Arab/Israeli conflict is consistent with the agency‘s commitment to ―integrity, independence, and freedom from bias‖54 and that its correspondents and editors in this area are making all efforts ―to search for and report the truth, fairly, honestly, and unfailingly‖55, i.e., to adhere to the highest ethical standards of professional journalism.
Yet, the findings reveal a radically different journalistic approach and product and suggest a very different set of objectives for the agency. The enormous number of reporting/ethical failures in the form of propaganda devices, logical fallacies, and violations of the Reuters Handbook seen in the story sample, the largely asymmetric nature of these failures, and the demonstrated ability to powerfully shape reader attitudes and motivate direct action via the deployment of atrocity propaganda, appeals to pity and appeals to poverty, provide strong evidence of an ideology which is heavily partisan, i.e., supportive of the Arabs/Palestinians, and an explicit purpose to systematically disseminate that ideology and manipulate audiences to adopt the same. This would be a clear violation of Reuters‘ ethical charter, the Trust Principles, as well as the ethical and professional guidelines set out in the Reuters Handbook.

Conclusion
This paper examines a sample of fifty news-oriented articles related to the Middle East conflict published on the Reuters proprietary websites across a three month study window. A combination of Ethnographic Content Analysis and primary survey data are employed to identify, code and validate reporting/ethical failures in the articles, i.e., propaganda, logical fallacies, and violations of the Reuters Handbook. Tests are run to measure for 1) shifts in audience attitudes and support for the primary belligerent parties in the Middle East conflict following readings of the sample and, 2) associations between the reporting/ethical failures and audience attitudes/support. Over 1,100 occurrences of reporting/ethical failures across forty-one categories are identified and a significant shift in audience attitudes and support following article readings is observed. Significant associations are found between 1) the use of atrocity propaganda and audience favorability/sympathy toward the Arabs/Palestinians; 2) the use of the appeal to pity fallacy and audience favorability/sympathy toward the Arabs/Palestinians; and 3) the use of atrocity propaganda, appeal to pity and appeal to poverty fallacies, and audience motivation to take supportive action on behalf of the Arabs/Palestinians. It is inferred from the evidence that Reuters engages in systematically biased storytelling in favor of the Arabs/Palestinians and is able to influence audience affective behavior and motivate direct action along the same trajectory. This reflects a fundamental failure to uphold the Reuters corporate governance charter and ethical guiding principles.'

I wonder if anyone has the time to carry out a similar study on another non recognised belligerent in the Middle East conflict whose use of (one-sided) atrocity propaganda to influence its audience may be viewed as a form of psychological warfare - the BBC...

That Croatian referendum

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000Z

The BBC enthusiastically tell us that:

'Near complete results from Croatia's referendum on European Union membership suggest that a large majority of people want to join the EU in 2013.

With nearly all the votes counted, 66% of voters backed the membership. About 33% were against.'

The BBC do also add that 'But officials expressed disappointment at the low turnout of about 44%.' but it's not as important as the 'large majority' comment.

For some more information on this story England Expects has something of interest from the 'Only Croatia' party:

Contrary to official claims, the Croatian people did not overwhelmingly support Croatia's membership of the European Union.

In fact, most Croats abstained from the EU referendum resulting in a record low participation level of only 43%, which means that even if all those who turned out, voted in favour of EU membership, they would still constitute a minority not only of voters, but of the Croatian people.

At the first-ever referendum held in Croatia in 1991, the turnout was 83.5%, of which 94% voted in favour of independence.

Fully aware that the Croatian People do not want to give up their hard earned independence, the ruling elites changed the Croatian Constitution prior to the EU referendum to eliminate the rule which invalidated any referendum unless 50 percent participation was achieved.

Prior to the EU referendum, the Croatian people were subjected to a massive North Korea-style pro–EU propaganda campaign, which relentlessly extolled the benefits and virtues of
membership, and denigrated any attempts to say otherwise.

The Government spent huge amounts of public funds to pay for a massive YES campaign, whilst denying any funding to the NO case. In addition, the European Commision ran its own very expensive YES campaign. State enterprises and corporations were also enlisted. State Television aired pro-EU adverts for free or at discounted rates, Croatia Post home delivered more than 2 million government leaflets for free, and the City of Zagreb provided free EU advertising on its trams.

The official referendum campaign was restricted to a four week period at the height of winter and favoured the official YES case which had almost exclusive access to the electronic media. It also exploited seasonal distractions provided by Christmas and New Year celebrations as well as winter school holidays.

The real referendum campaign had actually started much much earlier and involved, not thousands, but tens of thousands, pro-EU advertisements on radio and Television.

The 'Vecernji List' daily reported on 10.8.2011 that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and EU Integrations had in the two preceeding months (June and July 2011) paid the broadcasting of more than 13 thousand radio adverts and more than 2300 TV adverts on 80 radio stations, 6 national and 15 local TV stations. This massive propaganda campaign continued and even increased in scope and intensity over the next six months leading up to the referendum.

The Austrian, German and Government-owned electronic and print media ( ie all the media in Croatia) blatantly supported the YES case and made sure that the YES campaign was the only campaign.   Hundreds of sponsored 'information programs' were aired over many months and even more 'informative' newspaper articles were printed.

The Catholic Church hierarchy, lavishly funded by the State, also openly supported the YES case and seemed unconcerned that there was no democratic public debate and no visible NO case.

In the last few weeks, the population was carpet-bombed by advertisements and appeals on TV, radio and the print media from the President, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader,   Ministers, Actors, Singers and Sportsmen to choose EU prosperity and happiness over isolation and poverty.

Just days before the referendum, Foreign minister Vesna Pusić shamelessly threatened Croatia's 1.2 million pensioners that they would lose their pensions if they voted against EU membership. The Zvijezda voting station in Zagreb, which covers several retirement homes with about 1100 pensioners, reported an 80 percent vote in favour of EU membership.

And the result of this massive propaganda campaign ? -A referendum turnout of only 43% of all voters and a vote of 66% in favour of EU membership and 33% against.

And even this vote is somewhat suspect because Croatia has more voters than citizens. According to the latest 2011 Population Census, Croatia has a total population of only 4.29 million, yet according to the Electoral Commission it has 4,504,765 voters over 18 years of age eligible to vote.

In such blatantly undemocratic circumstances, it was impossible for the Croatian People to make an informed decision and the EU referendum therefore has no democratic legitimacy. It has all the hallmarks of a sham.

It is clear that the EU referendum in Croatia was a swindle which did not meet even the most basic democratic criteria, and whose sole purpose was to elicit an affirmative vote.

We call on the Croatian Government and the political elites to recognise the reality that the Croatian People have not freely and democratically given their consent to the loss of their independence.

We call on the Croatian Government to do the right thing, to annul this sham referendum, to organise a new, fair and democratic referendum, and to give the Croatian People the opportunity to make a free and informed decision about their future.

Should this not happen, we ask all the democratically minded Peoples of existing EU members not to participate in this undemocratic swindle of the Croatian People. We ask them and their National Parliaments to block the ratification of Croatia's membership of the EU, until such time as the Croatian People are given the right to decide freely at a fair, democratic and legitimate referendum.

The latter article does smack of being truthful when you remember how pro-EU forces have managed previous referenda

Saudi education in the West

2012-01-24T08:28:00.000Z

Here's a blog article from 2010 that I have just been made aware of:

'"Public Schools Teach the ABCs of Islam," by Erick Stakelbeck for CBN News, October 9, 2008:

CBNNews.com - Several recent studies have shown that American students are alarmingly ignorant about U.S. history and world events.

Experts have contributed the problem to everything from failing schools to substandard teachers.

But what about content?

For instance, did you know that Muslims discovered America? Or that Jerusalem is an Arab city? That's just some of the "history" that students in America's K-12 classrooms have been taught in recent years--with the help of taxpayer money.

A new report by the non-profit Institute for Jewish and Community Research finds that American high school and elementary textbooks contain countless inaccuracies about Christianity, Judaism, Israel and the Middle East.

The Institute examined 28 of the most widely-used history, geography and social studies textbooks in America. It found at least 500 errors.

One book ignored the Jewish roots of Christianity, saying the faith was founded by a "young Palestinian" named Jesus.

Another stated as fact that the Koran was revealed to Mohammed from God.

Yet another said ancient Jewish civilization contributed "very little" to to the arts and sciences.

Textbooks like these are used by millions of schoolchildren in all 50 states.[...]

Harvard is one of 18 universities that receives government funding under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965. To qualify for that funding, the universities are required to conduct outreach to K-12 teachers, helping them to shape lessons for schoolchildren. Elementary and secondary teachers have taken full advantage of the arrangement: after all, they believe they're getting expert insight on Islam and the Middle East from distinguished university scholars.

"You have a lot of politically naive teachers--well intentioned teachers who do want their students to learn more about Islamic history," says Stotsky. "It has not been well covered in most history courses they've ever taken, so they do genuinely want to learn more for themselves and teach their students more."

In some cases they may be getting more than they bargained for: the Saudi government has donated millions of dollars to Middle East Centers at universities that receive Title VI funding.

The Harvard Middle Eastern Studies Center--whose recommendations to the Massachusetts Board originally drew Stosky's concern--is one of them. As CBN News reported earlier this year, the Harvard Center received a $20 million donation from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in 2005. Georgetown University--another title VI recipient--also received $ 20 million from the Prince that same year.

It's through these Title VI university centers--all of them government-sanctioned and taxpayer supported--that Saudi-funded materials find their way into K-12 classrooms.

"Saudi donations to American universities should be seen in a much larger picture of Saudi promotion of a Saudi point of view," said Daniel Pipes, Director of the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia. "Whether it be Islamic or political, the Saudis have a point of view. And they have been very clever and very generous over the decades to promote that point of view."'

I've covered this sort of story before with reference to the UK but thought it worth pointing out that the Saudis are not restricting this sort of 'education' to the UK.

Why Somalians?

2012-01-24T08:19:00.000Z

One of the noticeable features of immigration under the last labour government was the appearance of Somali men, women and children all over London. It always struck me as odd as Somalia had no real connection with the UK, it was never part of the British Empire for example. Historically Kenyans (especially Kenyan Asians), Ghanaians and others from former countries of the Empire had immigrated into the UK from Africa but now Somalians were coming. This fact might just be an interesting footnote were it not only for for the fact that Somalia is a war zone and has been for many years but also because Somalis living in Britain are being discovered fighting in Somalia. Over the last few days I have read of two British residents, the British government is said to be unsure if they are citizens (a story in itself there), who have been killed in Somalia whilst fighting for Al-Quaeda. One, Bilal al-Berjawi was killed on the outskirts of Mogadishu on Saturday when his car was hit by three missiles. Mr Berjawi was said to be responsible for recruitment, training and tactics for the Islamist group al-Shabab, which is fighting the weak UN-backed government. Al-Shabab claimed that Mr Berjawi, who had Lebanese origins, grew up in Britain and had fought in Afghanistan before going to Somalia.

Is this the new role of Britain, to provide a safe haven for Islamist fighters to recuperate in between foreign wars on behalf of Islam against Western troops, maybe even British ones? What will the UK government do if/when they decide to bring the battle to the streets of the UK?

Eurocrats don't like being questioned

2012-01-23T07:45:00.000Z

Vincent Browne takes on Klaus Masuch over the issue of the Irish people having to foot the bill for unguaranteed bondholders.

Marvellous stuff... I love Herr Masuch's obvious discomfort as he realises that Vincent Browne a) knows his stuff and b) won't be fobbed off with the usual bland assurances.

The voice of Egyptian Islam?

2012-01-22T10:38:00.000Z

"Jews are a cancer. These Jews are a catastrophe. There is not a catastrophe in the world that is not the handiwork of the Jews. These Jews are a cancer in the body of planet Earth, and if permitted, it will spread and infect the entire body. Getting rid of these Jews is a must."

The words of Egyptian cleric Hazem Shuman, as aired on Al-Rahma TV on September 9, 2011.

For more from this delightful chap take a trip to MEMRI TV.
I await the BBC's denouncements of this Islamic cleric, much in the same way as I await the winning of the national Lottery - with no great expectation.

Sometimes 'wanker' wins

2012-01-22T09:00:00.000Z

Wanker wins on Countdown.

Do you think Tyson wants to go for a walk?

2012-01-21T18:49:00.000Z

I love Boxers (the dogs) and this one looks a complete joy...

Demonising the photographer

2012-01-21T12:00:00.002Z

Here's an interesting piece of video that shows how too many 'security' staff view photographers

for the background to the video visit Visit Scunthorpe.

I have blogged before about the rather strange views people have of photographers and the quoting of mythical laws against photography, this piece may be an interesting one to keep on hand should you experience problems in the future. It contains the guidance from the Metropolitan Police:

'Photography advice

The Metropolitan Police Service’s approach towards photography in public places is a subject of regular debate.

We encourage officers and the public to be vigilant against terrorism but recognise the balance between effective policing and protecting Londoners and respecting the rights of the media and the general public to take photographs.

Guidance around the issue has been made clear to officers and PCSOs through briefings and internal communications. The following advice is available to all officers and provides a summary of the Metropolitan Police Service’s guidance around photography in public places.

Freedom to photograph/film

Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.

Photography and Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000

The Terrorism Act 2000 does not prohibit people from taking photographs or digital images in an area where an authority under section 44 is in place.

Officers have the power to view digital images contained in mobile telephones or cameras carried by a person searched under S44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, provided that the viewing is to determine whether the images contained in the camera or mobile telephone are of a kind, which could be used in connection with terrorism. Officers also have the power to seize and retain any article found during the search which the officer reasonably suspects is intended to be used in connection with terrorism.

Photography and Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000

Officers have the power to view digital images contained in mobile telephones or cameras carried by a person searched under S43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to discover whether they have in their possession anything which may constitute evidence that they are involved in terrorism. Officers also have the power to seize and retain any article found during the search which the officer reasonably suspects may constitute evidence that the person is involved in terrorism.

Section 58a of the Terrorism Act 2000

Section 58a of the Terrorism Act 2000 covers the offence of eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of the armed forces, intelligence services or police.

Any officer making an arrest for an offence under Section 58a must be able to demonstrate a reasonable suspicion that the information was of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

It should ordinarily be considered inappropriate to use Section 58a to arrest people photographing police officers in the course of normal policing activities, including protests, as without more, there is no link to terrorism.

There is however nothing preventing officers asking questions of an individual who appears to be taking photographs of someone who is or has been a member of Her Majesty’s Forces (HMF), Intelligence Services or a constable.'

As the press sniff around the Republican candidates...

2012-01-21T10:26:00.000Z

As the press sniff around the Republican candidates, I ask myself when did they ever spend a 10th as much energy examining barack Obama's back-story? I raised the questions about Barack Obama's past back in the Presidential election campaign and this American Thinker article covers much of the same ground:

'However, of greater importance in my view is the silence, save for a few journalists and pundits on the right, regarding exposing a videotape recorded in 2003 of Barack Obama at the farewell dinner for terrorist-supporting Palestinian Rashid Khalidi. News of the videotape's existence came to light while Obama was a candidate, and the free pass given to him by the mainstream media was only just beginning to come to light when the enamored Chris Matthews' shared news of the tingle up his leg.
While the birthers' demands did draw some media attention, it was mostly negative and only made fun of the supposedly crazy loons on the far right who apparently were representative of all petty and irrational conservatives. No one seemed to notice that Obama had not written a single article while serving as editor of The Harvard Law Review, and no one pressed the issue of Obama's suppressed college and law school transcripts since it was a given that his brilliance was perhaps surpassed only by the likes of Albert Einstein.
But there is a videotape sitting in the vaults of the Los Angeles Times, and every American should be screaming from the rooftops for its release. In light of the Arab Spring, Obama's endless attempts to bully Israel into succumbing to all sorts of unprecedented and unsafe demands in the hopes that he would go down in history as the POTUS who made peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, and the administration's ineptness in addressing Iran's nuclear program and military threats, exposing this videotape is of utmost importance.
In April 2010, Roger L. Simon published an article on PajamasMedia entitled, "Why is the L.A. Times Burying the Obama/Khalidi Tape?" Of further consequence is why the media -- and Americans -- are not demanding that the L.A. Times immediately release the tape. Simon wrote:

The Khalidi tape could be of tremendous significance in revealing the provenance of Obama's views on the Middle East and the degree to which the public was misled on those views during the presidential campaign[.] ...
So what are we to think? We have an administration that not only ascribes most of the Middle East blame to Israel, but also has banned "Islamism" and all related words, even "Islam" and "jihad" from our national security documents. They're completely gone. Indeed, even the Fort Hood massacre, so clearly inspired by Islamic extremism, has now been shifted into the comfortable category of the lone, angry killer. Rashid Khalidi should be happy. And, in fact, he is.
Sometimes I want to yell and scream. What is wrong with the Los Angeles Times? Are they a news organization or the propaganda wing of some leftover unit of the IWW? No wonder subscribers are deserting them in droves.'

As I blogged back in October 2008:

'The truth about Barack Obama is emerging slowly but surely. He and his team have done a good job until recently in suppressing negative stories and crying racism when they do emerge but the tide cannot be held back forever. The latest story concerns a 2003 farewell party in Chicago at which Barack Obama lavished praise on the guest of honour, Rashid Khalidi a former mouthpiece for master terrorist Yasser Arafat. The National Review reports that:
"The party featured encomiums by many of Khalidi’s allies, colleagues, and friends, including Barack Obama, then an Illinois state senator, and Bill Ayers, the terrorist turned education professor. It was sponsored by the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), which had been founded by Khalidi and his wife, Mona, formerly a top English translator for Arafat’s press agency."
Do read the whole of that piece and then take a look at Gateway Pundit's piece on this matter which wonders (as does The National Review) why the LA Times might be keeping this video away from public view:
"the newspaper says it will not release the tape of Obama toasting radical Rashid Khalidi at a Jew-bash in Chicago".

As the National Review ask:
"Let’s try a thought experiment. Say John McCain attended a party at which known racists and terror mongers were in attendance. Say testimonials were given, including a glowing one by McCain for the benefit of the guest of honor ... who happened to be a top apologist for terrorists. Say McCain not only gave a speech but stood by, in tacit approval and solidarity, while other racists and terror mongers gave speeches that reeked of hatred for an American ally and rationalizations of terror attacks.

Now let’s say the Los Angeles Times obtained a videotape of the party.

Question: Is there any chance — any chance — the Times would not release the tape and publish front-page story after story about the gory details, with the usual accompanying chorus of sanctimony from the oped commentariat? Is there any chance, if the Times was the least bit reluctant about publishing (remember, we’re pretending here), that the rest of the mainstream media (y’know, the guys who drove Trent Lott out of his leadership position over a birthday-party toast) would not be screaming for the release of the tape?

Do we really have to ask?"

What are the odds on the BBC reporting this story or will they stick to Sarah Palin's wardrobe and reporting "plans" to assassinate Barack Obama. The bias of the US and UK media (especially the BBC) during this Presidential election campaign has been almost unbelievable, I would say criminal.'

Criminal then and criminal now.

'There's not enough womens' sport on television' - Rule 5 on a Friday

2012-01-20T20:30:00.004Z

That there's not enough womens' sport on television was one of the reasons given for there being no female sportsmen in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist. To help rectify that here's a trailer for the 2012 Lingerie Bowl

The humanitarian cruise missile

2012-01-20T09:26:00.000Z

Israel faces more challenges than any other country when it comes to warfare. Unlike the USA or Russia (or indeed almost any other country) it can't just kill civilians by mistake and escape censure, hence the Delilah cruise missile:

'“Honestly, it’s the most amazing weapon in the Air Force today.” – These are the words an IAF officer used to describe the Delilah and it’s easy to understand why he is right.

For many years the Delilah was one of the IDF’s biggest secrets, quietly undergoing improvement after improvement, until it became what it is today. Delilah is a cruise missile but it possesses some very unique capabilities that set it apart from the rest.

A typical cruise missile is launched and finds its pre-programmed target with the help of its navigational system. The navigator can send the missile commands and make small adjustments in its flight path, but once the missile begins its final approach no changes can be made. If the missile attacks a target that moves in the last moment or even a wrong target, the missile simply misses with possibly devastating consequences. This is where the Delilah’s special abilities come into play.

Let’s say Delilah is approaching a target and in the last moment the navigator sees on the images transmitted from the missile’s camera that there are civilians in the target zone. All he needs to do is push a button and Delilah aborts its attack, returns to the air and keeps loitering in the target zone until it receives new instructions. Delilah can also be launched in the direction of a suspected target and be instructed to patrol the area and search for its target, effectively functioning as a surveillance drone. Once the navigator identifies the target, he instructs Delilah to approach it. If the target was correctly identified Delilah will attack. If it was not the correct target, a push of a button is enough and Delilah will abort its approach and continue to search for the real target.'

Delilah the humanitarian cruise missile. for more about this remarkable device take a look here at the IAF's site

No reply from Anjem Choudary yet

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000Z

Anjem Choudary's Twitter feed is a source that keeps on giving...

I have not received a reply to my Tweeted question and somehow I doubt that I will.

Dear Jimmy

2012-01-19T11:30:00.000Z

Following this morning's piece about Jimmy Carter's report on his trip to Egypt, I thought that I would ask the former US President for an explanation, so I emailed him:

'A query regarding your report on your visit to Egypt

Nota Sheep
09:58 (2 minutes ago)

to carterweb
Your report on your recent trip to Egypt (http://www.cartercenter.org/news/trip_reports/egypt-011712.html) included this section:
'Tuesday morning we received detailed analyses by experts on the election process and political affairs, and then had a thorough discussion with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the SCAF and acting as de facto president of Egypt.

I was received with a friendly welcome as I congratulated the military leaders for what seemed to be a successful election, and then asked a number of questions. It seemed that the SCAF had full confidence that there would be accommodation to their demands by the Muslim Brotherhood and their coalition partners as the new government is formed. Instead of the reported 12,000 mostly political prisoners being held for trials in military courts, the Field Marshal stated that there were no more than 3,000, all of whom were guilty of criminal acts and being tried in civilian courts. He stated that the widely promulgated videos showing military attacks on demonstrators and a woman "with the blue brassiere" were all falsified. He said the soldiers were actually helping the woman re-clothe herself with what was provocative attire. '
You don't seem to question that which the Field Marshall said to you. Perhaps you could spare less than a minute to look at this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vf_0p4a_GwI) of the girl in the blue bra and let me know whether you think the video was falsified or shows the woman being repeatedly beaten by Egyptian soldiers.

Your thoughts on this matter would be welcomed.

NotaSheep MaybeaGoat'

I wonder if I will get a reply and if it will be any more informative than a reply to a complaint to the BBC?

What is wrong with Jimmy Carter?

2012-01-19T09:59:00.000Z

Watch the above video, it's fairly obvious what the members of the Egyptian army are doing to that poor girl isn't it? Not if your former US President Jimmy Carter it isn't.

The video's description runs thus:

'Egypt. beating of a veiled woman in Cairo helmeted officers charging toward a woman in Tahrir Square, drag her on the ground, beat her with clubs and kicking her in head stomp on her stomach and breast drag her by hair also kick and clubbed people in the head ripped off the top clothing grabbing by veil... One soldier even pulled her veil over her head stomps on her breasts, the overthrow of former dictator Hosni Mubarak was in February.'

Jimmy Carter, however, knows better:

'Tuesday morning we received detailed analyses by experts on the election process and political affairs, and then had a thorough discussion with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the SCAF and acting as de facto president of Egypt.

I was received with a friendly welcome as I congratulated the military leaders for what seemed to be a successful election, and then asked a number of questions. It seemed that the SCAF had full confidence that there would be accommodation to their demands by the Muslim Brotherhood and their coalition partners as the new government is formed. Instead of the reported 12,000 mostly political prisoners being held for trials in military courts, the Field Marshal stated that there were no more than 3,000, all of whom were guilty of criminal acts and being tried in civilian courts. He stated that the widely promulgated videos showing military attacks on demonstrators and a woman "with the blue brassiere" were all falsified. He said the soldiers were actually helping the woman re-clothe herself with what was provocative attire. '

No questioning of the Field Marshall's claims, no wondering at how his claims fit with the evidence? Just what I would expect from Jimmy Carter.

Thanks to Elder of Ziyon for the heads up.

Free speech?

2012-01-19T09:40:00.000Z

I heard about the incident at Queen Mary's College London a few days ago but forgot to post about it. for those of you who have not heard, and if you rely on the BBC for your news then you won't have done, this is what happened.

'On the 16th of January 2012 at Queen Mary College London, National Secular Society member Ann Marie Waters was going to give a talk on Sharia law. But at the last moment it was cancelled. Why, you ask? You see, just before the talk started, a man (with a beard) walked to the front of the lecture theatre and filmed everybody inside with a camera. He then issued a warning to everybody he had filmed:

"Listen up all of you, I am recording this, I have your faces on film now, and I know where some of you live and if I hear that anything is said against the holy Prophet Muhammad, I will hunt you down."
He then left the room and started filming people outside in the corridor where he issued yet another threat. Threatening to hunt them down if anything was said about Muhammad, he added that he knew where they lived and would murder them and their families. He then left the building and sought safety in a group of thugs who were there to ensure that their religious bigot wasn't taken down by somebody without a fight.

In light of this, security told everybody in the room to remain there, while they debated what to do. A student union representative decided that as lives had been threatened, the talk could no longer go ahead, and the evening was cancelled.

Strike one for religious bigotry. The funny thing is the very same day the bBC and Guardian both posted articles about just how good life under Sharia law is, it seems they forgot to ask anybody who was threatened with murder from Queen Mary's College London.'

That's a talk on Sharia law prevented from happening because a Muslim threatens to murder anybody (and their families) who were present if Muhammad was mentioned. Not a word on the BBC who would be up in arms calling Islamophobia were an Islamic event disrupted by a Christian or Jew.

Oddly UCLU will be holding another couple of events at Queen Mary's College that I doubt will be similarly interrupted. The first is entitled "Did Jesus Die", here's the advert for the event:

'UCLU AMSA Presents
“Did Jesus Die” BBC documentary screening and Q&A with director
Wednesday 18th January 2012 at 6 pm – 8.30 pm

Location: Cruciform Lecture Theatre 2, Cruciform Building, Gower Street, University College London (UCL), London, WC1E 6JF (map)

“Did Jesus Die?” is a documentary produced by Richard Denton, ex-director in the BBC,presenting a theory of crucifixion that originated with Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him), founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The documentary will be asking the question as to whether Jesus(peace be upon him) in fact survived the crucifixion and whether his being seen after the crucifixion was an example of survival rather than resurrection.

The documentary then examines the question as to where Jesus (peace be upon him) disappeared after the crucifixion, by investigating various claims that he travelled to the south of France and even England. Finally, the documentary raises the evidence that Jesus (peace be upon him) travelled to India, Tibet and Nepal before dying at an old age and being buried there in the Khan Yar quarter of Srinagar, Kashmir, India, where his tomb is said to reside.Following the film screening, a Q&A will be held with Richard Denton, director of “Did Jesus Die?” to answer any questions pertaining to his personal views on the theories covered in the screening, as well as his own experience of visiting the purported tomb of Jesus (peace be upon him). An additional guest to the Q&A will be Arif Khan, a representative of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association. Arif Khan runs the largest website about the purported tomb of Jesus (peace be upon him) (http://www.tombofjesus.com/).

It is hoped that this event will demonstrate a different aspect of Jesus’ beauty and success and a life of his, hitherto unknown.

COME AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS! ALL ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!

Peace,
UCLU AMSA President'

I wonder how many Christians would find that talk offensive but how they would have been greeted should they have complained to the University authorities or tried to disrupt the talk last night.

Next week there is another interesting talk:

'Islam and Terrorism
Thursday 26th January 2012 at 6 pm – 8.30 pm

Location: Bancroft 1.01.2 Lecture Theater, Francis Bancroft, Mile End,
Queen Mary University, E1 4NS (map)

Yet another year starts with increased sectarian violence and continued terrorist attacks. It is only natural for the public to assume that within the religion of Islam there must lie some justification for such horror.

QMUL AMSA are thus hosting an event to dispel any such thoughts: ‘Islam & Terrorism – Your Questions Answered’ will take place on Thursday 26th January here at QMUL. It will elucidate the true teachings of Islam on the subject of terrorism and apostasy, before answering common allegations against the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The speaker will then go on to explain the origins of ‘Islamic’ terrorism, before giving what AMSA feels is the cure to the cancer of extremism.

COME AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS! ALL ARE WELCOME!

Peace,

Queen Mary AMSA President
qmulamsa@gmail.com'

Your thoughts people?

The authentic voice of 'moderate' Palestinans

2012-01-18T21:45:00.000Z

The next time that the BBC or The Guardian tell you that the Palestinian Authority are moderate and wish to work for a peaceful accommodation with Israel, remember this video...

PA Mufti calls for the killing of Jews quoting Islamic Hadith from Palestinian Media Watch on Vimeo.
That is the principal Palestinian Authority religious leader, the Mufti Muhammad Hussein, presenting the killing of Jews by Muslims as a religious Islamic goal. The location was an event celebrating the 47th anniversary of the founding of Fatah. Here Mufti Muhammad Hussein cited the Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) saying that the Hour of Resurrection will not come until Muslims fight the Jews and kill them:

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews.
The Jew will hide behind stones or trees
Then the stones or trees will call:
'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'"

You will have seen that Hadith quotation on this blog before but then it is one that anti-Semitic Islamists do love to quote.

Before you dismiss this as just words for a domestic audience, remember that in July 2011 a Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll found that 73% of Palestinians "believe" this Hadith. Maybe the years of the Palestinian Authority promoting the killing of Jews and Palestinian Authority religious leaders' citing this Hadith to justify it, may have contributed to the high acceptance of it in PA society.

In case you think that Mufti Muhammad Hussein is a lone voice, the moderator who introduced the Mufti at the Fatah event quoted another Islamic belief, that Jews are the descendants of apes and pigs:

"Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews)
is a war of religion and faith."

In case you think that religion and politics are separate in the Palestinian Authority remember that the Mufti is appointed by the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The Mufti voiced this incitement to hatred and killing of Jews at an official Fatah celebration. For the avoidance of doubt, Mahmoud Abbas is also the Chairman of Fatah.

I did look to see if the BBC had managed to report the hate speech of Mufti Muhammad Hussein but could find no mention on the news website. I think a follow-up complaint to this one may be called for...

A must have app for your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android device

2012-01-18T16:00:00.007Z

Headz Up - because you have better things to look at than what's in front of your face!

From Saturday Night Live season 37 episode 12.

Thanks to Israelly Cool for the spot.

Let's lighten the mood this Wednesday afternoon

2012-01-18T16:00:00.001Z

Q: What's the difference between Muslim girls and Essex girls?
A: Essex girls get stoned before they commit ts adultery.

What's happened to Wikipedia today?

2012-01-18T08:22:00.000Z

Try and Wikipedia something today and you'll be met with this statement:

'Imagine a World
Without Free Knowledge

For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.'

Here's the full text of their statement:

'What exactly is Wikipedia doing?
Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18, Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout will not be able to read the encyclopedia: instead, they will see messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, and encouraging them to share their views with their elected representatives, and via social media.
Why is this happening?
Nothing like this has ever happened before on the English Wikipedia. Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people's access to online information. This is not a problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will affect everyone around the world.
Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won't be effective in their main goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.
Do you care about infringement?
Yes. Wikipedians spend thousands of hours every week working tirelessly in reviewing and preventing infringing content. Their talk pages show tremendous care about protecting copyright and sophisticated study on the many nuances of what constitutes infringement as opposed to legitimate speech. Wikipedia is based on a model of free licenses. Every Wikipedian is a rights owner, licensing their work under free licenses. Infringement harms our mission; free licenses do not work with infringement. Wikipedia has a mission of sharing knowledge around the world, and that is not possible when the knowledge is tainted with infringement. So, yes, Wikipedians care deeply about protecting the rights of others and ensuring against infringement.
But this does not meean Wikipedians are willing to trample on free expression like SOPA and PIPA. The proposed legislation seeks to take down sites entirely, because courts and others simply don't have time to worry about the nuances of copyright law and free expression. That is what is troubling. When the remedies are bludgeons, when entire sites are taken down, when everyone assumes that all content is infringing because some is, we lose something important. We lose the nuances of copyright about which our community cares, we lose our values based on protecting free speech, we lose what we represent. The Internet cannot turn into a world where free expression is ignored to accomodate overly simple solutions that gratify powerful rightowners who spend lots of money to promote the regulation of expression. There are better ways, like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, to find the right approach to legitimate copyright enforcement without trampling on free expression. SOPA and PIPA don't represent these values, and for that reason we ask you to oppose these bills.
Isn't SOPA dead? Wasn't the bill shelved, and didn't the White House declare that it won't sign anything that resembles the current bill?
No, neither SOPA nor PIPA are dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed in early February. There are signs PIPA may be debated on the Senate floor next week. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. We are already seeing big media calling us names. In many jurisdictions around the world, we're seeing the development of legislation that prioritizes overly-broad copyright enforcement laws, laws promoted by power players, over the preservation of individual civil liberties. We want the Internet to be free and open, everywhere, for everyone.
Aren’t SOPA/PIPA as they stand not even really a threat to Wikipedia? Won't the DNS provisions be removed?
SOPA and PIPA are still alive, and they’re still a threat to the free and open web, which means they are a threat to Wikipedia. For example, in its current form, SOPA would require U.S. sites to take on the heavy burden of actively policing third-party links for infringing content. And even with the DNS provisions removed, the bill would give the U.S. government extraordinary, ambiguous, and loosely-defined powers to take control over content and information on the free web. Taking one bad provision out doesn't make the bills okay, and regardless, Internet experts agree they won't even be effective in their main goal: halting copyright infringement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a really great post about some of the more dangerous SOPA and PIPA provisions.
What can users outside of the U.S. do to support this effort?
Readers who don't live in the United States can contact their local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them that you oppose the draft U.S. SOPA and PIPA legislation, and all similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will have a global effect - websites outside of the U.S. would be impacted by legislation that hurts the free and open web. And, other jurisdictions are grappling with similar issues, and may choose paths similar to SOPA and PIPA.
Is it still possible to access Wikipedia in any way?
The Wikipedia community, as part of their request to the Wikimedia Foundation to carry out this protest, asked us to ensure that we make English Wikipedia accessible in some way during an emergency. The English Wikipedia will be accessible on mobile devices and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by completely disabling JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page.
I keep hearing that this is a fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Is that true?
No. Some people are characterizing it that way, probably in an effort to imply all the participants are motivated by commercial self-interest. But you can know it's not that simple, because Wikipedia has no financial self-interest here: we are not trying to monetize your eyeballs or sell you products. We are protesting to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA solely because we think they will hurt the Internet, and your ability to access information. We are doing this for you.
In carrying out this protest, is Wikipedia abandoning neutrality?
We hope you continue to trust Wikipedia to be a neutral informational resource. We are staging this blackout because, although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence actually is not. For over a decade, Wikipedians have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Wikipedia's existence depends on a free, open and uncensored Internet. We are shutting Wikipedia down for you, our readers. We support your right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We think everyone should have access to educational material on a wide range of subjects, even if they can’t pay for it. We believe people should be able to share information without impediment. We believe that new proposed laws like SOPA and PIPA (and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States) don’t advance the interests of the general public. That's why we're doing this.
What can I read to get more information?

Try these links:
Blog post from Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director, Sue Gardner
Official Wikimedia Foundation press release
Statement from the community affirming blackout
Electronic Frontier Foundation blog post on the problems with SOPA/PIPA
Wikipedia's articles on SOPA and PIPA'

The sheer joy that is Anjem Choudary

2012-01-18T08:07:00.000Z

I have blogged about Anjem Choudary previously but yesterday I was alerted to his Twitter account. What a lovely chap Anjem Choudary is...

Here is one of his Tweets to give you a flavour of the man , in his own words, and to show off his sunny disposition and live & let live attitude:

I am sure you know the tale of Salman Rushdie and the fatwa issued against him. Just in case you do not know who Theo van Gogh was, I will tell you. Theo van Gogh was the Dutch filmmaker who was violently murdered by an Islamist because he made a film that Islamists found offensive. Here's how he died and who killed him:

'At approximately 8:45 a.m. on November 2, 2004, an unknown assailant dressed in a traditional Moroccan “djelleba,” brutally attacked Theo outside of a city council building as he bicycled to work in central Amsterdam. The attacker shot Theo Van Gogh and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest, callously disregarding his victim’s pleas for mercy. Despite his life-threatening injuries, Theo was able to gain enough momentum to stumble to the other side of the street but by the time he made his way across, his attacker shot and stabbed him again. He then slit Theo’s throat with a butcher knife as onlookers gasped in sheer horror.

In a final assault against his victim the attacker lodged his knife, which had a letter attached to it, into Theo’s chest. The assassin then ran off through the neighborhood and into the nearby Oosterpark, where he and police exchanged gunfire. During the shootout, a motorcycle police officer and an eyewitness were seriously wounded.

Just as Theo’s murderer exited the other side of the park, the police caught up with him and shot him in the leg. He was immediately arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his wounds. The attacker was eventually identified as 26-year-old Mohammed Bouyeri, an Islamic extremist with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationalities who was believed to have links with other Islamic militant groups. Investigators revealed that Bouyeri’s motivation to kill was likely sparked by the movie Submission and further aggravated by his hate of the western world and those who refused to accept Islamic values. '

What does Anjem Choudary mean by the comment "Why don't they take a lesson from Theo Van Gogh & Salman Rushdie?" Is he suggesting that people who are not respectful enough of Islam deserve to die or live in fear of death forever?

I knew I'd seen that weird face before...

2012-01-17T21:20:00.000Z

Ed Miliband is Ginger

Thanks to Ms Intervention for the spot.

Ed Miliband under pressure and wilting

2012-01-17T20:43:00.000Z

Channel 4's Jon Snow takes Ed Miliband to pieces over what he is saying now andwhat he said 18 months ago...

Odd reporting by the BBC

2012-01-17T09:51:00.001Z

The BBC have a news page devoted to 'Leveson Inquiry: The editors' views'. What is odd is that the views of Dominic Mohan of The Sun and others are quoted but not a word about the three editors from Trinity Mirrir: Richard Wallace, the editor of the Daily Mirror, Tina Weaver, the editor of the Sunday Mirror or Lloyd Embley, the editor of the People who all gave evidence yesterday. I wonder if the BBC will also be so coy about reporting the testimony of Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger when he has been up before the Inquiry? The BBC normally hang on every word of Mr Rushbridger and his newspaper, so it would be odd if they did not report.

UPDATE:
Some time yesterday the BBC finally updated the article to reflect the Trinity Mirror editors' apearances, maybe I overestimated the BBC's bias but underestimated the BBC's inneficiency.

The 'Growing use of Sharia by UK Muslims'

2012-01-17T09:28:00.000Z

The BBC have another puff piece on the 'Growing use of Sharia by UK Muslims'. The article tells us lots of useful and interesting facts about Sharia Law:

'An estimated 85 Sharia councils could be operating in Britain, according to a 2009 report by the think tank Civitas.

Several bodies like the Islamic Sharia Council have seen a large increase in their cases in the past five years.

''Our cases have easily more than tripled over the past three to five years," says Sheikh al-Haddad.

''On average, every month we can deal with anything from 200 to 300 cases. A few years ago it was just a small fraction of that.

''Muslims are becoming more aligned with their faith and more aware of what we are offering them,'' he explained.

...

Sharia has been operating in the UK, managed by locally-appointed councils, in parallel to the British legal system since 1982.

But the informal councils have no legal powers and they cannot impose any penalties.

They deal with civil cases alone, but many Muslims are choosing to voluntarily accept rulings made by the scholars.'

Of course one of the main problems with allowing Sharia courts to operate in a civilised western democracy is that they are so discriminatory against women. The BBC is normally red-hot on discrimination against women and willing to fight against it but when it comes to Sharia law the protests are sotto voce. The above article does include these sentiments:

'The use of Sharia, or Islamic religious law, is growing in Britain, with thousands of Muslims using it to settle disputes each year, but women's groups and some others are objecting.'
...

Despite the growing demand for Sharia law in Britain, there is also increasing opposition by some groups who argue that the practice discriminates against women.

The Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO) is campaigning to bring an end to the practice.

''We have spoken to many women and all of them tell us the same story; Sharia law is not providing them with the justice they seek. The councils are dominated by men, who are making judgements in favour of men,'' said Diana Nammi.

...

''We think there shouldn't be any religious law practising in Britain - all Sharia bodies should be banned. That is the only way we can ensure equality of justice for all women," argues Diana Nammi.'

Being the BBC there is no detail s to why Sharia law is so discriminatory against women. No mention that Sharia courts base their decisions on the Koran, the hadith (the sayings and actions of the Islamic prophet Mohammad) and upon Islamic jurisprudence. All of these elements agree that a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s, that a woman can’t sign her own marriage contract, that men have a unilateral right to divorce whereas women have limited rights to divorce, that child custody goes to the father at a preset age and that girls get half of the inheritance that boys do.

Discrimination against women is one of the BBC's pet hates and something that they normally publicise and attack when they find it but in the case of Sharia law thye BBC are somewhat more coy. Here is a statement from the Islamic Sharia Council regarding women's testimony that the BBC have not, so far as I can see, ever published on their news website. ‘If one forgets, the other can remind her.’ It’s the difference between a man and a woman’s brains.’ ‘A woman’s character is not so good for a case where testimony requires attention and concentration.’ And this also applies to divorce. ‘Women are governed by emotion; men by their minds so he will think twice before uttering talaq [divorce].’ It goes on to say it is not ‘derogatory’ but ‘the secret of women’s nature.’

The BBC leave the subject of Sharia's discrimination against women after printing some claims but not providing the proof. The article finishes:
' But while a demand for Sharia continues in Britain, Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad says the practice cannot be banned.

"We are not forcing people to walk through our doors. They are voluntarily coming to us,'' he said.

''If you ban us, then British Muslims will find somewhere else to go.

''Many will go to Muslim countries abroad, where there will be no way to protect them.''

This argument goes uncontested and is not one that the BBC would agree with when associated with such matters as hunting with dogs.

The BBC's dhimmitude when it comes to Islam is more than noteworthy, it is worrying. The BBC has a huge impact on people's attitudes and views and to propagandise on behalf of one discriminatory religion is a dangerous game to play.

Dear Mr Cameron - a grumpy person writes

2012-01-16T20:07:00.000Z

As spreading around the Internet...

'Dear Mr. Cameron,

Please find below our suggestion for fixing the UK 's economy.

Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 10 million people over 50 in the work force.

Pay them £1 million each severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire.
Ten million job openings - unemployment fixed

2) They MUST buy a new British car.
Ten million cars ordered - Car Industry fixed

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage -
Housing Crisis fixed

4) They MUST send their kids to school/college/university -
Crime rate fixed

5) They MUST buy £100 WORTH of alcohol/tobacco a week .....
And there's your money back in duty/tax etc

It can't get any easier than that!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members of parliament pay back their falsely claimed expenses and second home allowances

If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.

Also………..
Let's put the pensioners in jail and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the pensioners would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.

They'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc and they'd receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly, if they fell, or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counselling, pool and education.

Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, PJ's and legal aid would be free, on request.

Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens.

Each senior could have a PC a TV radio and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.

The criminals would get cold food, be left all alone and unsupervised. Lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week. Live in a tiny room and pay £600.00 per week and have no hope of ever getting out.

Think about this (more points of contention):

COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Appleby almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the county of Cumbria?

And, they even tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 125,000 illegal immigrants wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also;
Think about this ... If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone -- YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM! It is time for us grumpy old folk of Britain to speak up! '

The one hundred and fifty sixth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

2012-01-16T19:31:00.000Z

This week's award is presented to Moody's for the insightful comment that an increased ‘Haircut’ on Greek debt would hurt banks.

"No shit Sherlock

Nick Clegg on Israel - double standards?

2012-01-16T13:41:00.001Z

"I have to tell you that the absence of progress towards peace, together with the almost weekly announcements of this tender or that planning permission for new building, has a real effect on how the world sees Israel."

But vowing to kill Jews has no effect on how world sees Hamas?

Hamas want peace with Israel; really?

2012-01-16T12:00:00.001Z

As usual don't listen to what the BBC tell you are Hamas's positions, listen to what Hamas themselves say. The following are comments made by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on his visit to Tunisia in early January 2012. The comments were all recorded and broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV:

"I say to you now, in the capital of south Tunisia: We will never ever recognize Israel."

"The land of Palestine, oh brothers and sisters, is an Islamic, as decreed by the second caliph, Omar ibn Al-Khattab. We shall not relinquish the Islamic waqf on the land of Palestine, and Jerusalem shall not be divided into Western and Eastern Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a single united [city], and Palestine stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and from Naqoura [Rosh Ha-Niqra] to Umm Al-Rashrash [Eilat] in the south."

So the next time you hear a Palestinian spokesman saying they want to live in peace with Israel or a BBC Middle East 'expert' explaining how Hamas and the PLO have changed and really do want peace with Israel, remember that it's all lies. Hamas and Fatah/PLO want to destroy Israel, they claim all of the land that Israel stands on and the return to 1967 borders is but the first step on the path to destroying Israel and killing all Jews.

Thanks to MEMRI for the transcript and the original video footage.

Islamic Egypt 451

2012-01-16T07:54:00.000Z

A few weeks back I read about the burning of almost 200,000 books at the Institute of Egypt in Cairo, destroyed by a Muslim mob. A mob full of hatred for anything un-Islamic and something that brought to mind the Nazi book burnings of the 1930s.

I didn't see anything about this on the BBC, they being too caught up in furthering the narrative of the Arab Spring bringing democracy and liberty to the Arab populace. Today however I spotted this article on the BBC. The headline - 'Saving Egypt's precious fire-bombed books' and the article begins thus:

'Thousands of historical documents could be lost following a fire at the Institute of Egypt - which began during clashes in Tahrir Square last month - but an army of restoration workers is working day and night to save the country's written history.'

The BBC proud to rewrite history in order to protect Islamists and hide the truth from the world.

Does Ed Miliband have no shame?

2012-01-15T21:22:00.000Z

Ed Miliband: the leader of the Labour party, a member of the last Labour government wants us to believe that he is against 'crony capitalism'.

It seems that I am not alone in thinking this somewhat brazenly amnesiac.

The Labour party is after all the party of Drayson, Powderject & vaccines, Benneton, Mills/Jowell, Ecclestone & Formula 1 smoking ad ban, Lakshmi Mittal & letters to the Romanian Government, 'Sir' Gulam Noon, Hinduja passports, the Union Modernisation Fund, “we must do something for Branson, Tony”, Paul Myners, Loans for Lordships, etc. etc. etc.

Against crony capitalism? How stupid does Ed Miliband think we are?

How much s**t do the BBC think they can throw at the Conservatives so as to expunge the memory of the Labour years?

Thanks to Alex Masterley and Guido Fawkes for some of the examples.

Diane Abbott at it again?

2012-01-15T10:44:00.000Z

The Mail believe so, with a story that begins thus:

'Ed Miliband faced new calls to rebuke Labour frontbencher Diane Abbott last night after she told a young, Tory-voting black graduate who asked her for work that she wasn’t doing the ‘black thing’ and should ‘go and work for a white Conservative’ instead.'

Is Diane Abbot really a racist? I am not sure.
Does Diane Abbott often seem to have an unfortunate negative attitude to anyone not in her Labour tribe? Yes.
Should Diane Abbott be made to attend a race sensitivity course? Now there's an idea...

Social realism meets popular music Sunday

2012-01-15T10:26:00.000Z

Stooshe - 'Betty Woz Gone'
It's like Lily Allen to the n^th

How the EU bailout fund will 'work'

2012-01-14T06:30:00.000Z

'It is a slow day in a little Greek village. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers’ Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna. The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him “services” on credit. The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

MY REPLY:
XXXX I edited your bailout email a little to help make it more effective to clients, please see below.
It is a slow day in a little Greek village, planet earth. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner thinks about maybe beating the tourist to death, but decides to give him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and shoves it in his pocket. He owes Piraeus Bank down the street €100,000 but has little intention of repaying it as his business has been contracting for several years. That bank also has claims of €10,000 on a butcher’s business, €50,000 on a pig farmer, €75,000 to a supplier of feed and fuel, but in turn owes €100,000 to EFG Bank which itself has fractionally reserved claims on a pub owner and a prostitute who bought two homes on 105% LTV among many others.
At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, and asks for his €100 note back. The Greek innkeeper asks “what €100 note?” The German threatens to call the police. The innkeeper says “go ahead, ask for my brother who’s a Lieutenant down at the precinct, he’ll help you out.” The German storms out back into the night, €100 poorer. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is still buried in debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism at the thought that maybe the Germans really are that gullible.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

Thanks to Zero Hedge via Wasps Nest for the spot.

Let's lighten the mood this Friday afternoon

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000Z

A man goes to see his doctor:
"Doctor please help me I've got this problem...
My secretary just loves to give me blow jobs
Every morning when I get to work, I get a blow
job
She gives me a quick one before I leave for lunch
She even gives me a blow job before I leave work at the end of the day..."

"So what's the problem?" asks the doctor

The man replies:
"Well, you see my wife is sex-mad, I have to make love to her every morning when we wake up. Then at lunch time I have to nip home for a quickie and when I get home from work at the end of the day we have a two hour marathon love-making session before we go to sleep."

The doctor is bewildered "I still don't know what your problem is"

"Well doctor it's just that every time I masturbate - I get these dizzy spells!"

So the problem is Israel is it?

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000Z

The BBC and others on the left of British politics delight in informing us that the problems of the Middle East are largely due to the presence of Israel on Palestinian land and that the Islamist regimes and terrorists that surround Israel have no gripe with Jews, but just with Israel.

Here's some video of part of the crowd at an Egyptian football match that might be of interest...

So at the BBC one person shouting racial abuse at one black footballer at an English football match is headline news but a large section of the crowd at an Egyptian football match calling for the death of all Jews (for that is what they are doing) is not even worth a mention on the Middle East news page?

The BBC's double standards sicken me, they jump on any comments made by the odd (often very odd) Israeli extremist and publicise them but steadfastly refuse to cover the many anti-Semitic comments made by a myriad of Arab politicians, preachers and the general public.

Double standards at the BBC

2012-01-13T08:18:00.000Z

The BBC are happy to report that:

'Cameron embarking on first trip to Saudi Arabia

David Cameron is visiting Saudi Arabia, for the first time as prime minister.

Mr Cameron will meet King Abdullah and Crown Prince Nayif later on Friday in talks which No 10 hopes will "broaden and deepen" the UK-Saudi relationship.

Subjects likely to be raised include the global economy, energy security and counter-terrorism.

Saudi Arabia is the UK's largest trading partner in the Middle East with annual trade worth £15bn a year. It has £62bn invested in the UK economy.

The government sees strong relations with the Saudis as vital to advancing Britain's interests in the region.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says the trip is important for both Mr Cameron and his Saudi hosts.

He says Saudi Arabia has been rattled by both the overthrow of its longstanding ally, President Mubarak of Egypt, and the recent tensions with Iran.

He adds that both the UK and Saudi Arabia are hoping to forge a new strategic partnership in energy, business and security.

A Saudi official says the leaders will discuss sales of the latest technology and weaponry, and making Britain a major part of a massive Saudi military expansion.'

Imagine for a minute that rather than visiting Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister was visiting Israel. What contextual information would the BBC see fit to provide? Jerusalem's status, 'illegal' settlements, etc. etc. etc. But as this is a visit to Saudi Arabia the BBC see fit to mention counter-terrorism without any contextual information about the number of Saudi citizens who have/are engaged in terrorism, the amount of money that flows from Saudi Arabia to support terrorism around the world, the Saudi Arabian funding of educational establishment in the West (including the UK) that spread the tenets of Wahhabiism. Nor do the BBC find space to mention the Saudi repression of women, the apartheid practised by the Saudis at Mecca or indeed the banning of non-Islamic religious objects from Saudi Arabia.

The BBC's hatred of Israel blinds them to the actual evils perpetrated by the regimes that neighbour Israel and the real dangers to us that they represent. If the BBC consider that I am wrong in what I say, then release the Balen report to show if there was anti-Israel bias found in the BBC.

As for David Cameron, I request that he takes a bible in his hand luggage and asks as many of his entourage as possible to do the same. The Saudi Arabian regime's intolerance for religions other than Islam must be confronted not excused, huge oil wealth does not give them a Get Out of Jail Free card.

Suzi Quatro - A Thursday night Rule 5 post

2012-01-12T20:30:00.000Z

One of the nice things about the BBC's re-runs of Top of the Pops, currently on 1977, was seeing some old faces such as Suzi Quatro. I remember her much like the photo above and in 1977 that was enough for me.

However a few minutes on the Internet and I found some photos of Suzi Quatro that might have proved too much for me back in the 1970s...

Ah memories...

And here's Suzi Quatro in action singing 'Devil Gate Drive'

The Jews, always the Jews

2012-01-12T11:30:00.000Z

Two items have struck me as worth reporting this week as an antidote to the lie that the cause of the rise in anti-Semitism is Israel (and its actions). The true cause of the rise in anti-Semitism is Islam's hatred of Jews, here's some examples:

1. Excerpts from a Friday sermon in Al-Bireh, the palestinian West Bank, which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on January 6, 2012.

'Preacher: "Oh servants of Allah, every evil and catastrophe on the land of Palestine – moreover, in the whole world – is caused by the Jews.

"They generate civil strife with their clandestine handiwork, their despicable texts, their bitter hearts, and their abominable intentions.

"Allah said: 'Whenever they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it, but they strive to do mischief on earth. Allah loves not those who do mischief.' This is the history of the Jews. '

2. Excerpts from footage of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya's visit to Tunisia, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV and was posted on the Internet on January 5-10, 2012. Listen to the crowd:

'Crowd: "The people want the liberation of Palestine.

"The people want the liberation of Palestine."

Crowd member: "Killing the Jews…"

Crowd: "…is a duty."

Crowd member: "Killing the Jews…"

Crowd: "…is a duty."

Crowd member: "Driving out the Jews…"

Crowd: "…is a duty."

Crowd member: "Driving out the Jews…"

Crowd: "…is a duty."

Crowd member: "Crushing the Jews…"

Crowd: "…is a duty."

Crowd member: "Crushing the Jews…"

Crowd: "…is a duty." […] '

So do the preacher and the crowd hate Israel or Jews?

For more on this matter hust search my blog, there's plenty more examples of the Islamists hatred of Jews and their genoicidal intentios for all Jews.

Since when was Ken Loach the fount of all knowledge?

2012-01-12T07:44:00.001Z

Yesterday I got fed up with hearing Ken Loach's views on the possible govenrnment plans to try and reduce taxpayers money going to non-popular films. Ken Loach was treated as some sort of expert and his political views were not mentioned once; why? Do the BBC no know Ken Loach's political views? Here's the second line of his Wikipedia entry:

'He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness (Cathy Come Home) and labour rights (Riff-Raff).'

If that's not enough then let's look at the very long section of Ken Loach's Wikipedia entry devoted to 'Political Activities' (my emphasis):

'... In a 2011 interview with the Guardian newspaper he said "It makes you angry, not on your own behalf, but on behalf of the people whose voices weren't allowed to be heard. When you had trade unions, ordinary people, rank and file, never been on television, never been interviewed, and they're not allowed to be heard, that's scandalous. And you see it over and over again. I mean, we heard very little from the kids in the riots. You hear some people being inarticulate in a hood, but very few people were actually allowed to speak".^[10] In the same interview his focus on working people's lives is explained thusly: "I think the underlying factors regarding the riots are plain for anyone with eyes to see … It seems to me any economic structure that could give young people a future has been destroyed. Traditionally young people would be drawn into the world of work, and into groups of adults who would send the boys for a lefthanded screwdriver, or a pot of elbow grease, and so they'd be sent up in that way, but they would also learn about responsibilities, and learn a trade, and be defined by their skills. Well, they destroyed that. Thatcher destroyed that. She consciously destroyed the workforces in places like the railways, for example, and the mines, and the steelworks … so that transition from adolescence to adulthood was destroyed, consciously, and knowingly." He argues that working people's struggles are inherently dramatic: "They live life very vividly, and the stakes are very high if you don't have a lot of money to cushion your life. Also, because they're the front line of what we came to call the class war. Either through being workers without work, or through being exploited where they were working. And I guess for a political reason, because we felt, and I still think, that if there is to be change, it will come from below. It won't come from people who have a lot to lose, it will come from people who will have everything to gain."^[11] This explains how Loach regards politics and drama as intertwined, rather than existing in separate spheres.
A member of the Labour Party from the early 1960s, Loach left in the mid-1990s.^[12] In November 2004, he was elected to the national council of the Respect Coalition^[12] He stood for election to the European Parliament on a Respect mandate. He supports the Socialist Resistance organisation. Also, he supports the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of the State of Israel, backed by many intellectuals in Palestinian civil society, including writers, filmmakers, students, trade unions and human rights groups. PACBI is in turn part of a wider global international movement: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), that opposes actions by the Israeli State.^[13]
...Loach also joined "54 international figures in the literary and cultural fields" in signing a letter that stated, in part, "celebrating 'Israel at 60' is tantamount to dancing on Palestinian graves to the haunting tune of lingering dispossession and multi-faceted injustice". The letter was published in the International Herald Tribune on 8 May 2008."^[16]
Responding to a report, which he described as "a red herring", on the growth of antisemitism since the beginning of the Gaza War, he has said: "If there has been a rise I am not surprised. In fact, it is perfectly understandable because Israel feeds feelings of anti-Semitism." He added "no-one can condone violence".^[17]
... In an open letter to Ms Shalom Ezer, Ken Loach wrote "From the beginning, Israel and its supporters have attacked their critics as anti-semites or racists. It is a tactic to undermine rational debate. To be crystal clear: as a film maker you will receive a warm welcome in Edinburgh. You are not censored or rejected. The opposition was to the Festival’s taking money from the Israeli state".^[21]
^...Loach, Laverty and O'Brien subsequently wrote that: "We feel duty bound to take advice from those living at the sharp end inside the occupied territories. We would also encourage other filmmakers and actors invited to festivals to check for Israeli state backing before attending, and if so, to respect the boycott. Israeli filmmakers are not the target. State involvement is. In the grand scale of things it is a tiny contribution to a growing movement, but the example of South Africa should give us heart".^[25]
Together with John Pilger and Jemima Khan, Ken Loach was among the six people in court willing to offer surety for Julian Assange when he was arrested in London on 7 December 2010.^[29] In a recent interview with ShortList

So we have hatred of Lady Thatcher, belief in social/political revolution coming from below, supporter of cultural and other boycotting of Israel (the only democracy in the Middle East), excuser of a rise in anti-Semitism and supporter of Julian Assange. It's mystifying why the BBC would treat Ken Loach as some sort of guru!

Any person who vehemently expressed deep respect for Lady Thatcher, strong support for Israel & opposition to Palestinian terrorism, opposition to the rise in anti-Semitism & blamed it on the rise of Islamism in the west and called for Julian Assange to face justice, would be labelled as 'right-wing' even if allowed to speak on the BBC.

I don't normally copy sections wholesale from Wikipedia but I wanted to show that any BBC researcher with an interest in checking for, and identify political bias, in guests could have identified Ken Loach's position in minutes.

What's wrong with this country?

2012-01-11T08:33:00.000Z

'One of the problems we have in this country is that too many adults believe in Santa Claus, and too many children don't.'
Lee Lauer

Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

The one hundred and fifty fifth weekly "No shit, sherlock" award

2012-01-10T19:18:00.000Z

This week's award goes to the Migration Advisory Committee, the government's official advisers on migration, for coming to the staggering conclusion that there is a link between immigration from outside the European Union and job losses among UK workers.
The MAC said there were 23 fewer UK jobs for every 100 migrants from outside the EU.

Immigration affects indigenous employment; "No shit, Sherlock"

Now why would they want closer links with Israel?

2012-01-10T07:57:00.000Z

In recent days I have read that the leader of the new government (indeed country) of South Sudan has visited Israel and that the Nigerian government has sought help from Israel in how to tackle Boko Haram. What possible reason could there be for these two African countries to prioritise relations with Israel?

Maybe South Sudan is interested in learning from Israel's long experience in dealing with hostile neighbouring Islamist countries yearning to kill its citizens and take its land. Maybe Nigeria is interested in learning from Israel's long experience in dealing with Islamic terrorists eager to kill its citizens in the name of Islam.

Maybe the folk-memory of the evil Arab slave trader also lingers in the minds of the Africans.

How the BBC must hate news stories like the above. Black Africans (good) linking with Israel (oh so bad) to fight Islamists (good). How the BBC's collective minds must hurt.

Why didn't I follow my own advice?

2012-01-09T07:27:00.000Z

Yesterday morning I blogged about the problem with Twitter and then went right ahead and got involved with a Tweeting debate with a rather unpleasant individual who I eventually had to Twitter block .

It seems that there are still people in this country who believe that any argument can be ended (or started) with an accusation of 'racist'. For the avoidance of doubt I, NotaSheep , am not a racist and it is not racist to criticise a black person.

End of post, end of...

'Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, blame it on the boogie' or 'Twitter killed the blogging star'

2012-01-08T10:06:00.000Z

I have come to a conclusion and that is that Twitter is too much of a distraction for me. I have only a limited amount for my NotaSheep activities and since I started taking Twitter more seriously, my time for blogging has been seriously reduced. Twitter is easy, I can do it on my smartphone, and can do it in short bursts, whereas blogging takes more concentration, more time and more careful thought.

The problem is that I am very busy at work at present and that lends itself to me Tweeting as an when I can rather than blogging BUT as soon as this busy period passes, a week or so at most, it's back to blogging for me.

Tweeting should be an adjunct to my bloggin not the other way around.

Enough politics - Here's Hot Chocolate's version of John Lennon's 'Give Peace a Chance'

2012-01-07T23:34:00.000Z

'Give Peace a Chance' reggae styleeeee - love it!
First time I have understood the lyrics, Errol Brown enunciates far better than John Lennon.

Something on your mind Ed?

2012-01-07T11:01:00.000Z

Bob Holness of Blockbusters fame died yesterday, which was sad for someone of my "Give me a P please Bob" generation. Ed Miliband tried to join the zeitgeist and failed with the above Tweet.

What's the excuse?
A typo? You can't get much further away on a QWERTY keyboard than the letters o and a but maybe Ed's a seriously crap typist.
Or maybe Ed's a little preoccupied with Diane Abbott's racist comment...

Diane Abbott - with friends like Marc Wadsworth...

2012-01-06T10:20:00.000Z

Marc Wadsworth defends Diane Abbott, I am sure she's grateful.

"Can a black person be racist, can a woman be sexist?"
Heaven help us all.

Diane Abbott

2012-01-06T08:18:00.002Z

There has been so much written about Diane Abbott's 'racist' comment on Twitter and I am not going to change anyone's mind by giving my opinion on her Tweet.

However.... Diane Abbott's excuses got to me! First she claimed that "tweet taken out of context". Apart from the fact that the 'taken out of context' excuse is usually the last refuge of the scoundrel, it was not true in this case. Examine the history of the Tweet conversation and you will see that rather rather than concerning the interesting subject of the "nature of 19th century European colonialism", it was about race in the present day. Diane Abbott's final excuse was entirely predictable as it would always be accepted by the lazy "Bit much to get into 140 characters." The only slight problem with this excuse is that Diane Abbott had over 30 characters left in which she could have added some context or even just used the past tense.

Diane Abbott has form in this area, watch this video from June 2010...

Watch the video to end and then judge Diane Abbott.

Also Diane Abbott reportedly said staff at her local east London hospital who were "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" and so were not suitable to be nurses because they had "never met a black person before".

Is Diane Abbott racist? Maybe not.
Was the statement, as made, racist? Yes.
Should Diane Abbott apologise? Yes, but so far the apology has been less than fulsome as she has tried to wriggle out of responsibility for what she Tweeted.
Should Diane Abbott pay for the comment by losing her job? What's sauce for Patrick Mercer and Carol Thatcher is sauce for Diane Abbott.

Thursday morning catchup

2012-01-05T09:00:00.001Z

The usual story, too may tabs, not enough time...

1. CIFWatch report the story that The Guardian and BBC fail to tell:

'What the Guardian won’t report: LGBT thrives in Israel, while Arabs want homosexuality banned'

2. Israelly Cool presents another in the series of posts showing the truth about Gaza, this one is entitled 'A Taste of “Concentration Camp” Gaza: Al-Mathaf Hotel'and begins thus:

'Inspired by the Gaza mall photos, I have featured on this blog various facilities from Gaza, with the aim of providing readers with a glimpse into the real Gaza, which is anything but a concentration camp as some claim.

My point is not that there is no hardship in Gaza, but rather that the situation is a far cry from what is being presented by the palestinians, their supporters and the mainstream media.

Introducing Gaza’s Al-Mathaf Hotel.'

3. This Spectator article tries separate myth form reality with regard to David Cameron's 'veto'.

Accusations of spamming

2012-01-04T19:41:00.000Z

A strange occurrence this afternoon on Twitter. I saw a Tweet that struck me as being a little odd

Now I had not heard of this Tweeter and indeed am not sure how I saw the Tweet from @forwardnotback but regardless of that that seemed a rather odd attitude to take so I Tweeted a query

My question was not welcomed...

Well a tad extreme, but if someone doesn't like being questioned I suppose they can block who they like.

I thought that would be that, but...

Now is that playing nice? Deleting and Blocking is fine but reporting for spam?

It gets worse...

So now I am being called 'nasty', a 'bully' & a racist and am being threatened with the long arm of the law - for asking a civil question.

What a peculiar state of affairs. I saw a Tweet that struck me as odd and so asked a question. Within hours I am being accused of being a bully and a racist, something that anyone who knows me knows is complete rubbish.

What a strange place the Twittersphere is at times.

As an aside, should I take seriously someone who doesn't know the difference between 'there' and 'their'?

Posted without comment

2012-01-04T17:52:00.000Z

From The Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle column:

'While he’s now a stranger to the Commons, former PM Gordon Brown, with wife Sarah in tow, was a guest at the wedding of former Doctor Who star David Tennant to actress Georgia Moffett.

‘Gordon took to the dance floor, eager to strut his stuff to Abba’s Dancing Queen, and he’s a better mover than you might think,’ reports my source improbably.

It hardly bears thinking about.'

Wednesday morning catch-up

2012-01-04T09:00:00.001Z

The usual story; too many open tabs and not enough time.

1. Christopher Booker explains why the BBC steadfastly avoided the facts about the wind farm scam in David Shukman's reports on energy policy for the BBC. Christopher Booker unveils the true lunacy of the Government's plans, plans idiotically pushed by Chris Huhne.

2. The Register report that coal power stations may be responsible for global cooling. When will scientists admit that even the most complex climate models can only approximate the Earth's true climate?

3. The Globe & Mail explain why gold coins are not an investment bubble.

4. The Standard reports the on the FSA report into the collapse of RBS and unlike the BBC actually reports what was said about the partial blame that was layable at the feet of Gordon Brown and Ed Balls.

The Labour Party/Guardian attack the BBC for being pro-Coalition

2012-01-03T08:44:00.000Z

The Guardian reports with a straight face that:

'The Labour party has made a "serious complaint" to the BBC about a lack of political balance in its news coverage as it attempts to reinvigorate Ed Miliband's leadership and counter what it sees as widespread media bias in favour of the David Cameron-led coalition.'

I cannot believe that the Labour party or The Guardian truly believe this claim, surely even they are not that deluded. So my conclusion is that the Labour party, The Guardian and indeed the BBC have recognised that sites such as Biased BBC, and maybe even this one, are attracting more and more attention to their posts that prove the BBC pro-left bias. Their tactic to fight this idea is to attack from the opposite side, thus the BBC can claim, albeit falsely, that if they are being criticised from the right and the left then they must be being unbiased. This claim is both a logical fallacy and a lie but since when has either of those two mattered to the Labour party, The Guardian or indeed to BBC?

Blog announcement

2012-01-02T12:08:00.002Z

Blogging will be on hiatus today; last day of Christmas/New Year holidays and chores can be put off no longer!

Tonight's Sherlock

2012-01-01T23:52:00.000Z

Tonight's Sherlock was brilliant, Mrs NotaSheep and I sat and watched the whole episode with scarcely a word spoken. Riveting entertainment indeed. Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent and the whole episode felt classy and intelligent.

However there was one error that did take the gloss off slightly. Sherlock Holmes deduces that the flight must be a 747 as it has a seat K on it, as no other plane does. This is wrong; I know for a fact that the Boeing 777 has a 3-4-3 configuration and as it misses the seat I, that means a seat K next to the window on the right side of the plane. The Airbus A340-600 as flown by Lufthansa has a 2-4-2 configuration but that far right seat is also a K.

Picky? Maybe but how can I believe in the infallibility of Sherlock Holmes when he makes such an elementary mistake?

Predictions for 2012

2012-01-01T18:00:00.000Z

Three UK political predictions for 2012:

1. Labour's continuing failure to improve in opinion polls will mean Ed Miliband will face increasing pressure on his leadership, however he will cling onto his position.

2. The Coalition will come under more pressure as real cuts are planned but will hold together despite more of Vince Cable's unhelpful comments and the increasing efforts of the BBC.

3. Nick Clegg will come under increasing pressure but will cling onto his leadership as there is no realistic alternative.

Three foreign political predictions for 2012:

1. Barack Obama's popularity will continue to wane but the US media & the BBC will rally around in the run-up to the Presidential elections.

2. Barack Obama will win the Presidential election thanks to media support and the way the Republican candidate is portrayed by that media.

3. The pressure on Israel from 'world opinion' will increase and the Palestinians will pull off further propaganda coups at the United Nations.

Three economic predictions for 2012:

1. In the UK unemployment will continue to rise and growth will continue to stagnate.

2. In the EuroZone the economic situation will worsen whilst Merkozy will continue to claim the solution is near.

3. Gold will increase in price to reach USD 2000 by the end of 2012

Five BBC related predictions for 2012:

1. The BBC will become ever more blatantly biased in favour of the Labour party, the Conservatives will finally realise how serious a problem this is but do nothing to address the problem

2. The BBC will increase its attempts to create splits in the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government.

3. The BBC will continue to vilify Israel at every opportunity and revel in further attacks on Israel

4. The BBC will continue to favour Islam over any other religion

5. The BBC will continue to support Barack Obama and push his successes whilst minimising his setbacks

Seven Miscellaneous predictions for 2012:

1. An Islamic jihadist attack in 'the West' will succeed and hundreds will die but still 'the West' will not acknowledge the reality of the threat from Islamists

2. Iran will continue its move to become a nuclear power and the UN will take no significant action

3. The Man Made Climate Change religion adherents will become more vocal in their claims and will increase their hold on the western world's politics, despite the increasing evidence to the contrary

4. Andy Murray will not win the Wimbledon title

5. There will be an attempted terrorist attack on the 2012 Olympics but it will be thwarted

6. British medal success at the 2012 London Olympics will be less than expected, rowing excepted

7. NotaSheep will continue to blog

Only on the BBC could this story be deemed important news

2012-01-01T13:29:00.000Z

The third lead story on the BBC's Middle East news page is that 'Chilean authorities arrest an Israeli tourist on suspicion of negligently causing a massive forest fire in the country's south.' This 'news' story is actually from the Latin America section of the BBC news website, but the BBC deem it so important a story that it features on the Middle East section as well.

What possible reason could the BBC have for promoting this story, other than wanting to portray Israel and Israelis in a negative light as often as possible?

Do believe the hype!

2012-01-01T12:00:00.001Z

On Christmas DayI blogged about the atmosphere at Casa NotaSheep following our ingestion of the second and third most fart inducing vegetables (according to Sainsbury's). The Jerusalem artichokes were finally consumed last night, along with Savoy cabbage and parsnips - there were other items on the menu - the results have lived up to the hype... The Jerusalem artichoke is now banned from this house and will not be partaken of ever again!

Predicting 2011 - was I even close?

2012-01-01T10:18:00.000Z

Last year I made some predictions for 2011, how did I do?

Eight UK political predictions for 2011:

1. Labour will make huge gains at the local elections in May, mostly at the expense of the Lib Dems.
Correct
2. Labour will use their gains to start to question the legitimacy of the Coalition to govern, the BBC will provide them with a platform
Correct
3. The Coalition will not last the whole year. The local election results will prove too much for many LibDems
Wrong
4. At least one LibDem MP will join Labour
Wrong
5. Following the Coalition split the Conservatives will govern as a minority government and will thus be blamed for all the economic woes of the country
Wrong on part one but correct on part two
6. The Conservative government will fall and at the subsequent general election Labour will be the largest single party. The resultant horse-trading will be very lengthy
Wrong
7. David Cameron will not survive as Conservative leader beyond the general election
Wrong
8. Nick Clegg will not survive as Lib Dem leader beyond the general election, he will be replaced by Simon Hughes
Wrong

Three/Four foreign political predictions for 2011:
1. Barack Obama's popularity will continue to wane but the US media will rally around
Correct
2. The Republicans in the US Congress will gather strength but Sarah Palin's increasing popularity will cause them problems with the media
Debatable
3. The Irish general election will result in a large increase in votes for Sinn Fein
Correct
4. The South of Sudan will vote in the 9 January referendum to secede from Sudan; the result will be bloody
Correct

Five economic predictions for 2011:
1. The UK economy will worsen: unemployment up, inflation up, growth negative, debt up
Correct: correct, may have topped, wrong, correct
2. The EuroZone economy will worsen: unemployment up, inflation up, growth negative, debt up
Correct: correct, variable, wrong, correct
3. The US economy will worsen: unemployment up, inflation up, growth negative, debt up
Mixed
4. The Pound, Euro and US Dollar will all weaken against the Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan
Correct
5. Gold will increase in price to reach USD 2000 by the end of 2011
Wrong, gold did increase but only to $1800 and then fell back. I did not reckon on market manipulation.

Five BBC related predictions for 2011:
1. The BBC will become ever more blatantly biased in favour of the Labour party, the Conservatives will finally realise how serious a problem this is but do nothing to address the problem
Correct
2. The BBC will continue to push for the withdrawal of British armed forces from Afghanistan
Correct
3. The BBC will continue to vilify Israel at every opportunity and revel in further attacks on Israel
Correct
4. The BBC will continue to favour Islam over any other religion
Correct
5. The BBC will continue to support Barack Obama and push his successes whilst minimising his setbacks
Correct

10 Miscellaneous predictions for 2011:
1. An Islamic jihadist attack in 'the West' will succeed and hundreds will die but still 'the West' will not acknowledge the reality of the threat from Islam
Thankfully not correct
2. Iran will continue its move to become a nuclear power and the UN will take no significant action
Correct
3. The Man Made Climate Change religion adherents will become more vocal in their claims and will increase their hold on the western world's politics, despite the increasing evidence to the contrary
Correct
4. The Sun will reach Solar Max and some of the Earth's communication systems will be adversely affected
Thankfully wrong
5. The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is disrupted by malcontents
Wrong
6. Simon Cowell decides that he now has enough money, gives up his dreadful shows and retires; TV immediately gets more watchable (more of a hope than an expectation, this one)
Unfortunately wrong
7.
?
8. England will get to the final of the Rugby World Cup but lose there
Woefully wrong
9. Andy Murray will not win the Wimbledon title
Correct, but was there much doubt?
10. NotaSheep will continue to blog
Correct

Nostradamus I am not!
Predictions for this year later today or tomorrow...

The one hundred and fifty fourth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

2011-12-31T11:47:00.000Z

This week's award is presented to Prof. Chava Muchnik of Tel Aviv University for the amazing discovery that teenagers who listen to too much music at too high a volume on their MP3 players are risking their hearing.

Wow, "no shit, Sherlock"

Tim Minchin - 'Rock 'N' Roll Nerd'

2011-12-30T12:00:00.004Z

Very nice and clever... I like Tim Minchin but Mrs NotaSheep is not so sure...

Or could there be another explanation?

2011-12-30T10:24:00.000Z

Yesterday's Telegraph informed us that 'Service-cutting councils are hoarding £10.8bn' and oddly that:

'The figures show that some of the biggest increases in reserves come from the Labour-led Wakefield council, which is expected to have more than doubled its cash pile from £21million to £51million by March. Labour-run Bolton council is likely to have more than tripled its reserves of £23million to £81million'

Now why might a Labour council prefer to cut services, and blame the cuts on a Conservative government) rather than dip into reserves?

Thought for the day

2011-12-29T14:00:00.002Z

"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."

Or in other versions:
Not to be a Republican at 20 is proof of want of heart;
to be one at 30 is proof of want of head.
- François Guisot (1787-1874)

A man who is not a liberal at 16 has no heart;
a man who is not a conservative at 60 has no head.
- Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

Not to be a socialist at 20 is proof of want of heart;
to be one at 30 is proof of want of head.
- Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929)

Any man who is under 30 and is not a Liberal has no heart; and
any man who is over 30 and not a Conservative has no brains.
- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Any man who is not a socialist at age 20 has no heart.
Any man who is still a socialist at age 40 has no head.

The most likely reason is that Bennet Cerf once reported Clemenceau's
response to a visitor's alarm about his son being a communist:
If he had not become a Communist at 22, I would have disowned him.
If he is still a Communist at 30, I will do it then.

George Seldes later quoted Lloyd George as having said:
A young man who isn't a socialist hasn't got a heart;
an old man who is a socialist hasn't got a head.

The earliest known version of this observation is attributed to
mid-nineteenth century historian and statesman François Guizot:
Not to be a republican at 20 is proof of want of heart;
to be one at 30 is proof of want of head.

Does Nigella use too many innuendos?

2011-12-29T12:00:00.002Z

80GumDrops thinks she might do... Nice job sir.

And Harry Hill agrees...

Daily Mail fail

2011-12-28T21:48:00.000Z

The Mail speculates on Roman Abramovich’s New Year’s Eve party, apparently this will be

'a glittering celebration on which the Russian billionaire is spending more than £5million with plans to eclipse even last year’s sparkling event.

Mr Abramovich, 45, is back on the island of St Barts'

Fine and fair enough but then I spotted this picture and its caption...

The original Daily Mail caption for this photograph was 'Festive: Abramovich and his partner Dasha Zhukova celebrated Christmas on the Caribbean Island' which is a little odd as Roman Abramovich is actually lighting a menorah, to celebrate the Jewish festival of Channukah.

Addendum: The Mail have changed their caption to now read: 'Joining in: Abramovich was mingling with the locals on the island and even stopped to light some large candles' Still no mention of Channukah or Judaism though?

Nice buns!

2011-12-28T20:30:00.000Z

Lorraine Pascale is a TV chef who I am not that impressed by. I find her delivery a touch annoying and her recipes pretty unexciting.

Then I discovered that she used to be a model; now I find her buns more interesting...

Sexist? Probably, but hey I am on holiday!

Just listen to what they say (again)

2011-12-28T12:40:00.003Z

The Western media is full of the news that Hamas and Fatah PLO are seeking to merge and that this indicates a softening of line by Hamas who are now dedicated to seeking peace with Israel based on the pre-1967 war borders. This is of course complete crap.

This is Hamas's leader in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, saying on 14 December that whilst Hamas may work for the "interim objective of liberation of Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem," this in an "interim objective" and "reconciliation" with Fatah will not change Hamas' long-term "strategic" goal of eliminating all of Israel. Ismail Haniyeh also said this:

"The armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel]... We won't relinquish one inch of the land of Palestine."

From the sea to the river, now where have I heard that before? Oh yes, remember that every time someone chants "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" they are calling for the destruction of Israel, the ending of the Jewish state. The river is the Jordan, the sea is the Mediterranean; from the river to the sea is not calling for a two state solution, it is calling for the destruction of Israel.

Two days after Ismail Haniyeh's speech, the Palestinian Authority's Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that Hamas leader abroad Khaled Mashaal had agreed that:

"There will be no military resistance."
"The permanent solution is on the '67 borders."

According to Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas had agreed to a permanent solution based on the 1967 borders. However, Haniyeh said that Hamas agrees to a temporary solution on the 1967 borders as a first stage only.

Who to believe?

Before you say Mahmoud Abbas, remember that for many years, the PLO itself promoted a "stages plan" that would first create a Palestinian state on the 1949 - 1967 armistice lines, and then work from that position to destroy Israel. Indeed senior Fatah official Abbas Zaki recently stated that this remains the goal for Fatah as well, but that "you can't say it to the world. You can say it to yourself."...

The west listens to and believes what Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas say about wanting a two state solution and a return to 1967 borders because that fits in with their world view of an evil Jewish state stealing land from poor Palestinians. The truth is some way from this narrative but the western media, especially the BBC, just don't care; facts will not be allowed to intrude into this narrative.

Cheetah has died

2011-12-28T12:20:00.000Z

Cheetah, Tarzan's chimpanzee sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s, has died at age 80 in his Florida animal sanctuary home. One of the movie greats is no more...

Here he is in action...

Worth a repost as Israel is not an 'apartheid state' but many of its neighbouring countries are

2011-12-28T09:00:00.000Z

From 31 May this year:

Yvonne Ridley needs educating re Israel and 'apartheid'

That was Yvonne Ridley's Tweet that I read this morning.

This accusing of Israel of being an 'apartheid state' has got to stop as it isn't true and also because the Islamic states near Israel are far closer to being apartheid states than is Israel.

Here are some examples as to why Israel is not an 'apartheid state':

1) From May this year the story that:

''Hundreds of people are estimated to flee Eritrea every month, often making risky journeys to reach Europe or Israel in search of better opportunities.' The BBC report

a strange tale of people fleeing Eritrea and wanting to go only to Europe or Israel; the story really does not fit with the BBC's usual portrayal of Israel as vile 'apartheid state'.'

2) From March the story of Rania Fadel, an Israeli Arab who belongs to StandWithUs and takes real exception to Israel being characterized as an Apartheid state. A video well worth watching.

3) From January the story of tennis standout Nadine Fahoum and her mother, Wafa Zoabi Fahoum, a lawyer by trade, who was formerly the head of Beit Hagefen, a non-profit organization in Haifa that works toward improving relations between Arabs and Jews. As I asked in January 'What is wrong with Israel that an Arab girl can do so well and represent her country from 2003 to 2008? Israel the apartheid state; I think not.' Contrast that with the attitude of many Islamic states who refuse to allow Israeli sportsmen to enter tournaments in their countries and sometimes all Israelis.

4) From November 2010: In Jerusalem, Israel's capital stands the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosques, entry to which is forbidden to Jews; this is in the capital of the 'apartheid state'. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia no non Muslim is allowed to enter Mecca.

This situation in Jerusalem contrasts starkly with the state of affairs that existed in Jerusalem between 1948 and its liberation in 1967. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the Old City including the Wailing Wall were captured by Jordan. Article VIII of the 1949 Armistice Agreement provided for Israeli Jewish access to the Wall. However for the following nineteen years, despite numerous requests by Israeli officials and Jewish groups to the United Nations and other international bodies to attempt to enforce the armistice agreement, Jordan refused to abide by this clause as part of a policy of Islamization. Some sources claim Jews could only visit the wall if they travelled through Jordan (which was not an option for Israelis) and did not have an Israeli visa stamped in their passports. Others say Jordan even barred non-Israeli Jews, demanding that tourists present a certificate of baptism before a visa would be granted.

The most sickening thing about this, is that if you presented this information to the sanctimonious hypocrites that call Israel an apartheid state they wouldn't even care. They 'know' the 'truth' and everything else is irrelevant. They know that Israel is an 'apartheid state' and nothing will change their sick, closed, hate-filled minds.

5) In 2007 I explained that Israel was not an 'apartheid state' but that many Islamic ones were:

'Saeb Erekat, one of the PLO/PA's most senior spokesman recently declared that the "Palestinians" will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He was speaking on Palestine Radio Monday when he gave the rationale for the "Palestinian" position. "There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined,". An interesting position to take and of course one that is frequently referred to by the "Israel is an apartheid state" crowd.

The truth is somewhat at odds with the statement as I have mentioned before. Here is a longer list than my last:
1) Saudi Arabia - The Saudi constitution states "Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion." (see * below)
2) Pakistan - "The Islamic Republic of..."
3) Afghanistan - "The Islamic Republic of..."
4) Iran - "The Islamic Republic of..."
5) Jordan - The Jordanian constitution describes that country as an "Arab State" and notes that "Islam is the religion of the State."

Just remind me why Israel is an apartheid state and not Saudi Arabia...

*
"Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy and the Government has declared the Qur'an and the Sunnah (tradition) of Muhammad to be the country’s Constitution. Freedom of religion is severely limited. Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The Government prohibits the private and public practice of other religions. The Government bases its legitimacy on governance according to the precepts of the rigorously conservative and strict interpretation of the Salafi or Wahhabi school of the Sunni branch of Islam and discriminates against other branches of Islam."

"Under Saudi law conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death if the accused does not recant."

"Saudi Arabia prohibits public non-Muslim religious activities. Non-Muslim worshipers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and sometimes torture for engaging in overt religious activity that attracts official attention."

"Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles, is illegal. Muslims or non-Muslims wearing religious symbols of any kind in public risk confrontation with the Mutawwa'in. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, approximately 50 so-called "Call and Guidance" centers employing approximately 500 persons work to convert foreigners to Islam. Some non-Muslim foreigners convert to Islam during their stay in the country. According to official reports, 942 foreign workers converted to Islam in the past year. The press often carries articles about such conversions, including testimonials. The press as well as government officials publicized the conversion of the Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in late 2001."

"The Government requires non citizen residents to carry a Saudi residence permit (Iqama) for identification in place of their passports.[4] Among other information, these contain a religious designation for "Muslim" or "non-Muslim."

"Until March 1, 2004, the official government website stated that Jews were forbidden from entering the country"

"According to Alan Dershowitz, "in Saudi Arabia apartheid is practiced against non-Muslims, with signs indicating that Muslims must go to certain areas and non-Muslims to others.""

"According Saudi policy for tourists, it is not permissible to bring Christian or Jewish religious symbols and books into the kingdom and they are subject to confiscation" '

Yvonne Ridley says that Israel is an 'apartheid state'; is she misinformed or deliberately misleading people?

An historical question

2011-12-27T23:07:00.000Z

Mrs NotaSheep and I have just watched 'The Duchess' which is 'A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire'. My question is this: Wikipedia relates that her much needed son, William George Spencer Cavendish, was 'Born in Paris, France' on 21 May 1790, what was a British aristocrat doing giving birth in Paris less than a year after the start of the French Revolution?

It's not easy being an American 'liberal' - so show them some love

2011-12-27T09:00:00.002Z

Wild Bill feels their pain...

The best mashup?

2011-12-26T16:00:00.000Z

Still my favourite mashup, I think... Stayin' Alive In The Wall (Pink Floyd vs Bee Gees Mashup) by Wax Audio

Although this is also rather good

Bob Marley vs The Beatles - Let It Be, No Cry - Mashup by FAROFF (No Woman, No Cry and Let It Be)

And this has a certain something, not as obvious as many...

ABBA vs Soft Cell - Tainted Waterloo

I have posted mashups before; do you know of any others that are really good?

This might explain the 'atmosphere' at Casa NotaSheep

2011-12-26T12:07:00.000Z

Sainsbury's have marked the festive season by producing a list of the most fart-making vegetables. In first place the Jerusalem artichoke, a delicious tuberous vegeatble that neither comes from Jerusalem nor is an artichoke. I love these roasted but have been banned from eating them for some years now as the effect they have on me is quite incredible. However this year Mrs NotaSheep has relented and they are on the Boxing Day menu! In second place comes my favourite regularly eaten root vegetable, the parsnip, this was on our Christmas Day menu. In third place came the predictable Brussels sprout which we also partook of on Christmas Day. Fourth place was taken by the cabbage which we forgot to serve but there is a dish of red cabbage still waiting for us. In fifth place came the cauliflower which I never eat, except raw.

So yesterday we had the vegeatbles that came second and third in the list and the effects were mild. Today we will be consuming those that came first, second, third and fourth; a scary prospect... I fear the spare bedroom may see some use tonight!

NB: Must make sure all candles are extinguished before dinner!

We wish you a satirical Christmas

2011-12-25T14:00:00.000Z

Genius, sheer genius...

Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

'Baby it's cold outside'

2011-12-25T11:30:00.000Z

Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews with my favourite version of this old classic.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:25:00.000Z

Yellowman - 'We wish you a Reggae Christmas'

And also...

Mariah Carey(?) - 'All I Want for Christmas is Jews'

The gayest music video ever?

2011-12-24T18:00:00.002Z

I saw this video for Dr Hook's 1976 hit "A Little Bit More" on Top of the Pops 1976 this week, I had not seen it before. Mrs NotaSheep and I were left open-mouthed by the on-screen chemistry between the two singers; we had no idea when we listened to the song 35 years ago.