Saturday morning catchup

An apology: I have been very busy at work over the last few weeks and so posting has been reduced from normal levels. As a by-product of this work my Firefox has way too many open tabs and thus keeps crashing. In an effore to clear some tabs, here is a catchup...

1) Con Coughlin in The Telegraph explains why 'The Arab Spring is becoming an Islamist takeover' with special reference to Tunisia.


2) The Express report that 'A SOLDIER killed in Afghanistan had £433 deducted from his final pay because he had failed to complete “a full month’s” work.
Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft, 25, was shot dead in Helmand province in August 2010. More than year later, as the Ministry of Defence finally settled his outstanding wages, £433.13 was deducted because he had died 10 days before pay day. '


3) The excellent UN Watch reports that '45 NGOs urge UN Human Rights Council’s Jean Ziegler to resign for founding “Gaddafi Human Rights Prize”' The story of the UN's dalliance with vile states is an outrage that should get more publicity.


4) The Mail reports that 'NHS writes off more than £40m in unpaid bills owed by foreign nationals'


5) Richard Littlejohn points out an inconvenient truth about those arrested at Dale Farm - 'None of those arrested lived on the site. They were full-time agitators who went to Basildon to confront the police. It was a battle of their choosing and they can have no complaints. They fought the law and the law won.

The police acted with commendable patience and restraint. Casualties were kept to a minimum. Even the demonstrator who was Tasered managed to pick himself up and melted back into the crowd, so he couldn’t have been that badly hurt.'


6) Jihad Watch
report that Underwaer bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has declared that "Participation in jihad against the United States is considered among the most virtuous of deeds in Islam and is highly encouraged in the Quran."


7) The Moose finds that his most popular post is not politics related but nipple related (Sabrina "Boys, Boys, Boys")The excellent . I feel your pain sir, just google Felicity Kendal's nipples and see whose site is at the top of the list!

One of the legacies of Gordon Brown's underfunding of the British Armed Forces

'British forces would struggle to mount even a small scale military intervention as the cupboard for resources was “threadbare”, senior officers have said. '

The Telegraph have more but it is a very depressing story of betrayal of our armed forces and how the very existence of the UK is potentially in peril; could we even defend ourselves against attack any more?

Friday morning catch-up

More Firefox tabs that need closing.

1) The Mail reports on the tolerance of Islam.

'Four men launched a horrific attack on a teacher in which they slashed his face and left him with a fractured skull because they did not approve of him teaching religion to Muslim girls.

Akmol Hussein, 26, Sheikh Rashid, 27, Azad Hussain, 25, and Simon Alam, 19, attacked Gary Smith with a Stanley knife, an iron rod and a block of cement.

Mr Smith, who is head of religious education at Central Foundation Girls' School in Bow, east London, also suffered a fractured skull.

The four now face a jail sentence.

Detectives made secret recordings of the gang's plot to attack Mr Smith prior to the brutal assault.

The covert audio probe captured the gang condemning Mr Smith for 'teaching other religions to our sisters', the court heard.'

Thank you Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw etc.


2) The Telegraph reported that:

'More than three million foreign migrants joined the UK population under Labour’s open door on immigration, figures will confirm for the first time this week.

Britain experienced the largest influx since the Saxons during the 13 years of the last Government with migrants arriving in the UK at a rate of almost one a minute.

Enough foreign nationals to fill Birmingham three times over moved to the UK in a policy that critics have dubbed “Labour’s great betrayal”.

Up to another million are feared to be here illegally, while a million Britons left the country during the years of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

The true legacy of the last Government is exposed today in a comprehensive review by the think-tank Migrationwatch.

It has meant pressure on public services, roads, housing, schools and hospitals. '

Thank you Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw etc. for your deliberate open door policy, your desire to 'rub the right's nose in diversity' and the seeming ambition to build a client state of immigrants, drive down wages, increase the profits of your big business donors and build a client state of benefit taking Britons; or does it just seem that way? Really?


3) Steve Herrmann the Editor, BBC News website, doesn't Tweet very often and doesn't reply to questions about his organisation's bias.


4) Autonomous Mid recorded the circulation of UK newspapers and then wondered why the BBC seemed to quote the tenth most read newspaper (fourth most read broadsheet) more than any other. Beeb Bias Craig - You wouldn't have some statistics that we could match with this would you?

5) Israel is a leading light in making drinking water - story here.


6) Span Ows found and blogged the secret formula for Coca Cola, the link where he found it is now down!


7) Fraser Nelson in The Spectator explains why the Antartic ice is not shrinking and why warmists say it is.


8) The Army Times reports on a fearsome new weapon - 'the Punisher' that I doubt any underfunded UK soldiers will ever get to use.


9) The Pew Forum reported that:

'The number of Muslims in Europe has grown from 29.6 million in 1990 to 44.1 million in 2010.34 Europe’s Muslim population is projected to exceed 58 million by 2030. Muslims today account for about 6% of Europe’s total population, up from 4.1% in 1990. By 2030, Muslims are expected to make up 8% of Europe’s population.

...

Western Europe, which includes France, Germany and the Netherlands, is expected to have the biggest numerical increase in the size of its Muslim population. The number of Muslims living in this part of Europe is projected to increase by 5.1 million, from 11.3 million in 2010 to 16.4 million in 2030. The Muslim share of Western Europe’s total population is expected to increase from 6.0% in 2010 to 8.6% in 2030.

The number of Muslims living in Northern Europe, which includes the United Kingdom, is expected to increase from 3.8 million in 2010 to 7.5 million in 2030. Muslims are expected to make up 7.0% of Northern Europe’s population, up from 3.8% in 2010.'

10) Not unconnected with 9), The Spectator reported that:

'Developments in the Middle East are beginning to affect Europe

...

The gale of change that is tearing-up Arab Street is beginning to affect internal European politics. Solidarity protests have been held in Paris and elsewhere in France, a consequence of its historical ties with Algeria. More worrying for European governments, there are reports of swathes of refugees from Tunisia arriving in Lampedusa, a small island off Sicily. Italian authorities have been overwhelmed by what they are terming an ‘invasion’, according to al-Jazeera. Further strain on migration services and border controls is likely to be an upshot of political unrest. There are other problems too. It appears that Hosni Mubarak has secreted vast assets in Britain and other European countries. The fate of our recent friend Mubarak and his estate, not to mention the many football-mad autocrats still in office, poses an awkward dilemma for the West, as it seeks a close relationship with whatever government emerges in Egypt. '

Scrapping the Harriers

I am a huge fan of the Harrier jumpjet and just could not understand the decision to scrap the UK's force of Harrier jumpjets and preserve the RAF Tornado bomber fleet instead.

So I was intrigued to read a letter in today's Times by the leader of Britain's heroic commandos and paras during the Falklands War (former Royal Marine major-general Julian Thompson), along with some retired admirals, which argues that the Coalition's recent decision to scrap the UK's force of Harrier jumpjets and preserve the RAF Tornado bomber fleet was a huge mistake and should be reversed.

The letter to the Times runs thus:

'Harrier could still use Kandahar runway if half of it were blocked by Taleban action; can use any make-shift landing site; has a response time of less than 10 minutes, as against 30 [for the Tornado]; performs better in hot weather; requires fewer ground crew; and has better availability.

Harrier can deliver close air support of ground forces anywhere from the existing carriers ... [it] has nearly twice as many airframes provided with precision-guided ground attack capability [as Tornado]; will not require a further £1.4 billion to re-engine in 2014; and can remain in service until 2023 without significant investment.

The existing Tornado force will cost, over 10 years, seven times as much to keep in service as Harrier ...

The decision to axe the entire Harrier force is strategically and financially perverse.'

Signing the letter alongside Thompson is another Falklands veteran, Lord Alan West who later became head of the navy. Also signatories are former First Sea Lord, Julian Oswald, and two retired vice-admirals, Jeremy Blackham and John Mcanally.

Remember the Falklands, a war that happened (at least partly) because the Argentinians decided that the UK wasn't serious about defending the Falklands. Land-based RAF aircraft couldn't reach the theatre of battle effectively (remember the incredible feats required to get one Vulcan to bomb Port Stanley airfield) and so it carrier-borne Harriers that had to to fight the Argentine air force for control of the skies. Without the Harrier carriers the war of 1982 would have been a bloody, disastrous defeat for the UK.

I remember a TV piece about the Harrier operating in Central Europe that impressed me then and has stuck in my mind. It compared the length of time required to build a runway for conventional jets as opposed to clearing the space needed by a Harrier; the versatility was incredible.

I doubt that the Tornado is suited to flying out of Kandahar, the runway is too short for safe takeoffs and too easy to damage thus making in unusable by Tornados.

Flexibility is the most important factor in modern warfare and I know which of the Harrier and the Tornado is more flexible; the Harrier. It also being the only plane that could give the UK a carrier borne plane until (and if) the new carriers and planes come into service.


The experts have spoken, so has common-sense; is it too much to hope that David Cameron, Liam Fox and the Chiefs of Staff reconsider their decision?

Bring me the head of...

Two bloggers cover a story that deserves wide dissemination.

1) Sultan Knish writes that 'British is the new un-British, Islam is the new British' and illustrates this with several stories including one about the

'Gurkha soldier from the 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, is facing charges for cutting off the head of a Taliban commander, took the head so it could be identified and left the body behind. From Kipling's Grave of the Hundred Head, as retaliation for the killing of a single British soldier, we've gone over to the British government being horribly embarrassed because a Gurkha soldier beheaded the corpse of a Muslim terrorist, from a group that routinely beheads people while alive.'

2) Anna Raccoon covers the same story thus:

'A young soldier is confined to barracks today, awaiting possible court martial.

His crime was apparently to think on his feet, and comply with his instructions by the most efficacious method available to him.

On patrol in Helmand province, he was instructed to search and destroy a ‘high value target’ – a local Taliban commander. His unit, the 1st Battalion Royal Guards successfully killed the Taliban fighter as requested, and set about lugging his body back through the battle ground so that the death could be properly verified and the usual propaganda made of it.

Coming under heavy fire from other Taliban fighters, he made what to me seemed the entirely sensible decision to only risk his life carrying the most portable and identifiable part of the Taliban fighter. Since they don’t wear convenient dog tags, this meant removing his entire head.

Naturally we are now considering prosecuting him for failing to abide by the Geneva conventions regarding not ‘demeaning’ an enemy combatant, on the grounds that desecrating a dead man’s body is considered offensive in Afghanistan where custom dictates that the body is buried intact.'

Anna Raccoon reminds us that:

'Not only do the Taliban not wear dog tags, they don’t observe the Geneva conventions either. They are also inordinately fond of the IED device which is specifically designed not to leave the body in one piece for burial, as 321 fine young Britons have discovered to their cost.'

It's called a war and either we are fighting one or we are not. If we are, then let us fight to win and fight fire with fire. If we are not, then bring our soldiers home; they deserve better than to be killed in part because of a lack of the proper equipment and in part because of a lack of political will.

Israel's armed forces restricted operating conditions

I wonder if Hamas operate under similar operating restrictions?

Obama's army is on its way

I have blogged previously about Barack Obama's stated plans for a civilian army to match the US armed forces in size. So was interested to see the above video; what Obama wants, Obama gets - for the moment anyway. A 6,000 uniformed and armed 'army' - the Ready Reserve - at the disposal of The President. Now are you scared?

A man of real courage on the man who wrote a book on courage despite having none himself

The Telegraph report that:

'Johnson Beharry, Victoria Cross hero, refuses to shake Gordon Brown's hand.

Johnson Beharry, Britain's highest decorated serving soldier, refused to shake Gordon Brown's hand in a protest during a state ceremony.

The winner of the Victoria Cross said Mr Brown had repeatedly disrespected him, his uniform and the Armed Forces.

The Prime Minister has since written a letter to Lance Corporal Beharry in an attempt to make amends.

But L/Cpl Beharry said it was a personal, rather than political gesture, according to The Sun.

He said that Mr Brown had not looked him or any other servicemen in the eye at a reception in Downing Street in November 2008.

Then in Westminster Abbey during the Remembrance Day service last November he said the Prime Minister was “fidgeting and moving” during the two minute silence.

“I've got head and back injuries that put me back in hospital in a lot of pain quite regularly, so if I could do it there's no reason he couldn't," he said. "It was very rude.

“I was absolutely furious with him. All that was going through my head was to knock him out.

“So on the official line-up that time, I decided I'd get his attention and let him know how I felt.

“When he offered his hand to me I just turned around and walked away. I wanted him to think about his actions and it worked.”

The NCO from the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment said Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister’s wife spotted his snub and wanted to invite him to No 10 to apologise, but no invitation materialised.

L/Cpl Beharry added: "This is nothing to do with the election, or who I want to be PM. My problem is with him personally, Gordon Brown the man." '

Anyone who has seen Gordon Brown at the Cenotaph or anywhere near real soldiers can see how uncomfortable he is. Gordon Brown has starved the frontline armed forces of resources, action that many believe has resulted in the unnecessary deaths of many and serious life-changing injuries to many more.

Thankfully the majority of the British people realise what the truth of the situation is and rate Gordon Brown accordingly. The BBC, who also detest the British military for their generally right of centre views, will no doubt not report this story but maybe someone could raise it with Gordon 'fearty' Brown the next time he is within earshot.

'It was like Zulu'

The Telegraph have a report of a battle in Afghanistan where

'For two gruelling weeks in the area of Luy Mandah, 30 soldiers fought a 360-degree battle with the Taliban in the most arduous conditions. The combat was often at close quarters where bayonets were fixed and hand grenades became the weapons of choice for the beleaguered British troops. By the battle’s end, every man in the platoon was credited with at least one Taliban kill. '

Read the whole article and prepare to marvel at the bravery of the UK army and wonder how Gordon Brown could so under-resource them.

Channel 4 - Fact-checking Gordon Brown's claims at Wednesday's PMQs

I think "playing fast and loose with the figures" just about sums up Gordon Brown's performance on Wednesday and indeed much of his career since 1997.

And that summary again: "Gordon Brown's central claim... is fiction".

I wonder if the BBC have the resources, the honesty or the willingness to check Gordon Brown's figure work? I think I know the answer to that question.




Thanks to Daily Referendum for the spot.

Is Gordon Brown 'fiscally illiterate' or was he misleading Parliament?

When Gordon Brown claimed at yesterday's PMQs that "The defence budget has been rising every year…. The only time the defence budget has been cut was in the 10 years before 1997″ was he telling the truth? Cathy Newman at Al Jahom thinks not and has the interesting proof. The whole article is rather instructive as it shows the many tricks that Gordon Brown habitually uses to mislead and obfuscate the truth. Here are a few of the article's findings:

"In real terms – i.e. taking account of inflation – Gordon Brown is wrong.

...

The MoD says Gordon Brown wasn’t talking about real terms growth, but was instead referring to “near cash” rises in the defence budget. “Near cash” is the simplest form of the military budget, the most basic cash figure – without inflation or depreciation taken into account.

According to the Institute For Fiscal Studies, inflation has to be factored in to make spending comparisons meaningful. So Brown was at the very least playing fast and loose with the figures by ignoring inflation.

...

“If you look at Nato’s figures Gordon Brown’s statement is incorrect,” says Stoker. “Either way, both sets of data indicate that the budget has not risen every year.”

...

Defence spending has gone up in “near cash” terms, but it’s fiscally illiterate to use this measure, and the former chancellor knows it."

Please read the whole of Cathy Newman's article and send it to as many people as possible. But also ask yourself this question: if Cathy Newman can uncover the truth so easily, why are the BBC not interested in fact-checking Gordon Brown?

Cpl Sarah Bryant and the three SAS reservists, a difference in reporting

The BBC report the inquest into the sad and probably unnecessary death of four soldiers in Afghanistan by concentrating on Cpl Sarah Bryant's death, she is the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan. They do mention that

"The coroner at an inquest into the death of four British soldiers in a blast in Afghanistan has pointed to "inadequacies" in training.

In his summing-up, Wiltshire and Swindon coroner David Masters said there were issues with how soldiers were trained to deal with bombs. "

and that the four were travelling in a 'Snatch Land Rover' and he went on to comment on this vehicle. The BBC reports part of what he said in this passage:

"Mr Masters repeated what witnesses had told the court, that shortages in other vehicles meant soldiers had to used the lightly protected Land Rover, which was not adequate for the purpose.

The soldiers died after the back wheel of their Land Rover hit a 50kg to 100kg (110lb-220lb) pressure-plated roadside bomb as they crossed a ditch.

...

Concerns about the Snatch Land Rover were raised as long ago as 2003.

The lightly armoured vehicle's vulnerability to roadside bombs and other explosives has led some soldiers to call it the "mobile coffin".

The Ministry of Defence is upgrading the Snatch with improvements to its armour and better electronic counter-measures to detect roadside bombs. But that work has yet to be completed. "

That extract is damning enough, soldiers dying in a vehicle that was known to off inadequate protection to its users and one that has still not been upgraded by the Government.


The Telegraph's report gives us more of what the coroner said, including his criticism of the Labour government that the BBC decided to kept from its readers (my emphasis):

"Wiltshire Coroner David Masters said he would write to the Ministry of Defence to raise concerns about "theatre-wide" equipment shortages and gaps in training which led to the deaths.

"I intend to submit a report to the Ministry of Defence which will take up a number of these issues which this inquest has quite properly canvassed," Mr Masters said at the conclusion of a six-day inquest into the deaths at Trowbridge Town Hall.

...

The use of the Snatch Land Rover has long been controversial due to the numbers that have died in them and the inquest heard that it had been nicknamed the "mobile coffin" because of the lack of protection it afforded troops.

The vehicles could not cover soft ground and became stuck in a little water, which restricted the unit to driving along dangerous tracks, witnesses said.

The commanding officer of 23 SAS regiment, the Territorial Army battalion, told the hearing that he had raised concerns about the lack of safer vehicles and was told that he would have to make do as no others were available.

Mr Masters said the commanding officer, named only as Colonel A at the inquest, had wanted the better-armoured WMIK vehicle to replace the Snatch - even though it too might been badly damaged by the "massive" bomb concerned.

"There was a limited pool of vehicles available, a general shortage of vehicles available during that period," said Mr Masters.

"He wanted WMIKs because of the nature of the territory. He put in a request and justified it but he didn't get them. That shortage meant that they were unavailable to him. There was only a finite supply of vehicles to be allocated across the whole brigade."

Major Sebastian Morley, Cpl Bryant's SAS squadron commander in Helmand, later resigned, accusing the Government of being "cavalier at best, criminal at worst" for ill-equipping troops.

Mr Masters heard that shortages of metal detectors meant soldiers had not been shown how to use them before deploying to Afghanistan and were forced to ask an expert on base in Afghanistan how to do so.

An Ebex metal detector became available only four months into the deployment, until which point the soldiers had to scan the ground for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

One witness told the coroner of his training on the Ebex: "We worked it out ourselves with the use of the manual."

"There was a theatre-wide shortage of that piece of vital equipment," Mr Masters said.

He said that the lack of Ebex meant convoys took longer to move along a route and their slow pace opened them up to increased risk of attack.

"In my judgment there was an inadequacy in training for this unit and its members," he said. "

The BBC do not report the parts of the evidence and report that are most detrimental to the way Gordon Brown underfunded the armed forces. Some of the evidence contradicts some of Gordon Brown's evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry and that should not be hidden from the British voter just because the BBC want to ensure a Labour victory at the general election.

I presume that David Cameron will bring up this coroners verdict at PMQs today and that Gordon Brown will dissemble as his way.

The Sun, the Army and Gordon Brown

The Sun is on the attack as it repeats the claim that:

"THE MoD's top mandarin told the Iraq Inquiry yesterday Gordon Brown DID cut war spending.

Sir Bill Jeffrey said there wasn't enough money to buy necessary equipment, contradicting the PM who claimed: "No request was turned down."

He claimed a "serious dispute" over funding with the Premier resulted in cuts - as RAF fast jets were sold to pay for more protective equipment urgently needed on the Afghan frontline."

Read the whole article and decide who you believe.

True, untrue or 'mischief'

There was an odd item on the BBC Radio news last night about the army and Conservative claims that the number of new patrol vehicles for British troops in Afghanistan was cut from 400 to 200. It ended with Bob Ainsworth being asked if the story was true and replying that the Conservatives were just causing 'mischief'. I thought it an odd choice of word at the time, not denying the story just attacking the Conservatives, of course the BBC just left the quote hanging.

The definition of temptation

Man with gun - "Must resist temptation"
Man behind Gordon Brown - "Come on, quickly, I am leaning away from him"
Gordon Brown - "How long until I can leave these nasty Tory voters and get back to Peter and Ed?"

First the lies and then the electioneering, has Gordon Brown no shame?

Gordon Brown's performance at the Chilcot Inquiry left me feeling sick to the core as he used his usual array of spin and liberal 'Brownies' to obfuscate the truth. As with Gordon Brown's budgets the truth emerges in dribs and drabs over the following few days but by then it is too late and the cheerleaders in the BBC and other tame media have determined 'the narrative' and Gordon Brown lives to lie another day.

Gordon Brown claimed on Friday that, as Chancellor, he had provided the military with everything they asked for. However since then this claim has come under fire from several former chiefs of the defence staff, who have accused him of being "disingenuous". Admiral Lord Boyce and General Lord Guthrie said that, while individual urgent requests for equipment had been financed, the military suffered from a wider shortage of funding to fight two wars.

Meanwhile Sir John Major accused Gordon Brown of "profoundly unbecoming conduct for a Prime Minister". The man who won a surprise victory in the 1992 general election claimed that Gordon Brown used British troops as a "party political prop" and that British troops could be forgiven for regarding the surprise visit as a "political stunt". Sir John Major continued "Of course, ministers should visit our troops. But to use them as a cynically-timed pre-election backdrop is profoundly unbecoming conduct for a Prime Minister"


So do the troops side with Gordon Brown or Sir John Major? Let's take a look at The Army Rumour SErvice:

"FFS The cyclopic cnut is now kissing arrse in Afghanistan to make up for yesterdays lieing f**k up. The Spindoctors must be on triple time payment. And I wonder how long ago the aircraft was tasked"


"Did he take any new kit out with him?"


"He's left it a bit late to show he cares, when it really mattered in the past he delayed or cut funds & left MOD officials angered & frustrated, all these other individuals can't 'all' be lying

Would this apparent suprise visit have anything to do with two former senior officers contesting his performance yesterday??

GB is two faced & only attempting to make up for all the past f**k ups."


"£500 to any squaddie that has an accidental discharge and zaps tosspot brown."


"He doesn't deserve to "Win", he's an incompetent disgrace, a self-admitted liar, a foul-tempered oaf and quite possibly a f**king nutter as well.He cares nothing for the future well-being of this country, only for his own reputation and that of his utterly discredited, demonstrably toxic political party. If he and they continue in office they will take this county over the edge of ruin. I wouldn't trust the man to tell me the time of day or run the proverbial whelk-stall. He's the Peter Principle writ large, only he's been promoted not one, but probably half-a dozen levels beyond his competence, the sooner we're shot of this crazed, delusional weirdo the better for the UK and us all.

There, I feels better now. (sucks thumb and gazes our of window, rocking slowly )"


"I do loathe him. Would like to see him have the balls to attend a 360 Degree Feedback group or a "Town Hall" meeting with the families of those taken from us or injured in Iraq / Afghanistan and face some real questions. This is a cheap photoshoot engineered by 10 Downing Street to get him out of the UK & to try be Army friendly in my humble opinion."


"If I was a cynic I'd say there was an election on the horizon... lets hope someone puts a round into the demented twat."

And that's just from page 1; it seems that the troops areb not fooled, even if the BBC and The Mirror might be.

Is this history repeating itself

We may be on the cusp of a Conservative government as we witness the dying twitches of a failed Labour government, just as we did in 1979 and so should we surprised that once again Argentina are laying claim to The Falklands? This time the complication is the possibility of oil off of The Falklands, maybe 60 billion barrels of it. The Argentinians want that oil and are blocked a ship carrying drilling equipment from leaving an Argentine port last week.

Keep an eye on this story and after 13 years of Labour's mismanagement of our armed forces could the UK retake the Falklands if we had to again?

Is this the smoking gun

The Times reports an interesting piece of news that really does deserve wide attention as it shows Gordon Brown for what he is, but no doubt the BBC will see fit to completely ignore. The Times reports that:

"Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary behind last week’s attempted leadership coup, is set to inflict further damage on Gordon Brown with the disclosure that the prime minister vetoed the purchase of vital military helicopters.

Leaked ministerial letters reveal how, as chancellor, Brown repeatedly prevented Hoon from ordering life-saving battlefield equipment for Afghanistan and Iraq.

...

The leaked letters show Brown personally overturned earlier Treasury assurances that the Ministry of Defence would be free to spend extra cash on troop-carrying helicopters for Iraq and Afghanistan."

Now I have my doubts that Geoff Hoon is doing this for totally altruistic reasons, he does after all have to appear before the Chilcot whitewash inquiry very soon and could do with a good story to deflect attention.

Read the whole of The Times piece and wonder at quite how big a sh*t Gordon Brown was and his, how little he cared/cares for our armed forces, how pathetic his Labour colleagues were when they caved in to his bullying AND how the BBC manage to keep these stories away from their readers, viewers and listeners. The BBC's interest in Geoff Hoon seems to be limited to Geoff Hoon facing a no-confidence motion.

Are the Royal Navy's hands tied off Somalia?

Subrosa thinks they are:

"Suspected Somali pirates captured by the Royal Navy are being given fuel, food and water and sent on their way. In three cases they were released even though hostages had been found on board their vessels.

This information was revealed on Tuesday by Defence Minister Baroness Taylor who said there had been four instances in the last year when heavily armed gangs, operating off Somalia, had been given supplies on humanitarian grounds. None of the 66 suspects captured by the Navy in the last year has been taken into custody.

The publisher of Warship World magazine, Mike Critchley, said: "I feel pretty sorry for Navy officers these days who have to phone a lawyer in London before they are allowed to do anything.

"In the old days the captain would have been told to just go and sort it out.

"I am sure that word will soon get around the pirate community that even if you run out of fuel 200 miles off shore a large grey vessel will come and help you on your way."

Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit, who has tabled a series of Parliamentary questions on the issue, said ministers had indicated privately that suspected pirates were not being arrested because of fears they might claim asylum in the UK. He also stated the Navy appeared to be hamstrung by the 'morass of human rights laws and political correctness'."

Is there any more that this Labour government can do to emasculate our armed forces? Why are this Labour government so scared of our armed forces acting like an armed force rather than armed social workers?

Islam4UK - delightful people

I see that:

"Islam4UK – which calls itself a "platform" for extremist movement al-Muhajiroun – plans to parade through the Wiltshire town in the coming weeks.

The group's website says the event is being held "not in memory of the occupying and merciless British military" but of the Muslims its says have been "murdered in the name of democracy and freedom".

Leader Anjem Choudary said the protest, involving 500 people, would be peaceful one, with "symbolic coffins" being carried to honour Muslim victims of the conflict. He said he also planned to write to the parents of dead UK soldiers with his version of "the reality of what they died for". "

Delightful, absolutely delightful.

Ex-mayor and councillor Chris Wannell is reported as saying that:

"If this man has any decency about him he will not hold a march through Wootton Bassett."

Can you see the problem with that comment?