An interesting article on the front page of this week's Computer Weekly. It concerns the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT. It appears that in February 2007, NHS Connecting for Health and the Department of Health claimed in a briefing paper to the Prime Minister that "much of the programme is complete, with software delivered to time and budget".
Computer Weekly report that they have seen NPfIT minutes that show that the services supplier SCS has made penalty payments following delays in rolling out software in the North, Midlands and East of England. CSC has refused to comment but briefing papers to a North West NPfIT board, seen by Computer Weekly, say that the penalties relate to "the financial consequences arising from deployment delays".
Computer Weekly further report that Helen Bellairs, the chief executive of Western Cheshire Primary Care Trust told the NPfIT board of the North West Strategic Health Authority that although there had been some successes there were several "major issues" with the National Programme.
NHS Connecting for Health said that the organisation was unable to comment.
Hmmm
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Has Peter Hain been caught out this time?
Guido Fawkes has been all over this story for a few days now, read his latest here.
New Labour, more sleaze.
New Labour, more sleaze.
Monday, 7 January 2008
Maybe the SNP will ride to our rescue
A trifle worrying but I find myself on the same side of a debate as the SNP for another time. This time it is over holding a referendum on the EU Constitution/Treaty. In December it was reported that a debate was held in the Scottish Parliament as the "the SNP believes that the UK Government should hold a referendum on the EU reform treaty". A poorly attended debate by all accounts but IF the Scots could hold a referendum and the DUP could carry the argument in Northern Ireland for a referendum then do you think we English might be allowed a say?
Whilst Gordon Brown and David Miliband witter on about the importance of democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, the Palestinian Territories, Kenya etc. etc., maybe they could explain why they are less keen on allowing democracy in their own country.
Whilst Gordon Brown and David Miliband witter on about the importance of democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, the Palestinian Territories, Kenya etc. etc., maybe they could explain why they are less keen on allowing democracy in their own country.
More on The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali
When I blogged about The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali's comments on the attempts being made to give Britain an increasingly Islamic character, I failed to explain why The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali might be an expert in this field. The Bishop of Rochester lived for many years in Pakistan and so as Archbishop Cranmer says "he is fully aware of the religio-political strategy of marking out territory and then proclaiming it to belong to the Dar al-Islam, and that ‘people of a different race or faith face physical attack if they live or work in communities dominated by a strict Muslim ideology’."
So read the rest of Archbishop Cranmer's article, as perceptive and eloquent as ever.
So read the rest of Archbishop Cranmer's article, as perceptive and eloquent as ever.
Immigration
I know, there do seem to be a lot of posts on immigration today. It's not planned but just the way the news seems to be falling today. Hopefully this will be the last...
It seems that "Immigration officers have been told not to deport foreign students who overstay their visas, unless they have broken other laws, a leaked memo reveals.
The Border and Immigration Agency memo, obtained by the Daily Mail, was written after the agency's head intervened to stop a student's removal last month...Mr Lindley wrote: "I am surprised that any of these cases have come sufficiently high within enforcement teams' priorities to merit such quick removal action." He said the policy on dealing with out-of-time applications was currently under review and asked that officers did not proceed with enforcing any student refusal cases unless "deemed to be a priority"... "John Tincey, of the Immigration Service Union, said the memo was "astonishing" and told 5 Live the main priorities were removing foreign national prisoners, followed by failed asylum seekers. He said: "In an ideal world the Home Office would have enough money and enough immigration officers to actually go after everybody who shouldn't be in the country. "But the Home Office estimates there are some 600,000 people in the country illegally - to look for those people we have less than 1,500 immigration officers, so basically priorities have to be set.""
Let's face facts, the Government have no idea how many people have entered the UK over the last 10 years, legally or illegally. The Government have no idea who they are, where they are or what they are doing - that's the people who have entered the country - I think the Government know who they themselves are, although I am less sure that they know what they are doing. The Government have no idea if these people are here to work or to commit crime. The Government have no idea whether these people are here to plot the death of UK citizens and other here or abroad. This Government are "an absolute shower".
It seems that "Immigration officers have been told not to deport foreign students who overstay their visas, unless they have broken other laws, a leaked memo reveals.
The Border and Immigration Agency memo, obtained by the Daily Mail, was written after the agency's head intervened to stop a student's removal last month...Mr Lindley wrote: "I am surprised that any of these cases have come sufficiently high within enforcement teams' priorities to merit such quick removal action." He said the policy on dealing with out-of-time applications was currently under review and asked that officers did not proceed with enforcing any student refusal cases unless "deemed to be a priority"... "John Tincey, of the Immigration Service Union, said the memo was "astonishing" and told 5 Live the main priorities were removing foreign national prisoners, followed by failed asylum seekers. He said: "In an ideal world the Home Office would have enough money and enough immigration officers to actually go after everybody who shouldn't be in the country. "But the Home Office estimates there are some 600,000 people in the country illegally - to look for those people we have less than 1,500 immigration officers, so basically priorities have to be set.""
Let's face facts, the Government have no idea how many people have entered the UK over the last 10 years, legally or illegally. The Government have no idea who they are, where they are or what they are doing - that's the people who have entered the country - I think the Government know who they themselves are, although I am less sure that they know what they are doing. The Government have no idea if these people are here to work or to commit crime. The Government have no idea whether these people are here to plot the death of UK citizens and other here or abroad. This Government are "an absolute shower".
I am confused - is it a Religion of Peace or not?
Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and any number of Labour ministers have queued up over the past few years to state categorically that the terrorists who killed themselves and 52 innocent commuters, as well as injuring 700 more in 2005 and those who have tried with various degrees of success since that date, have nothing to so with Islam. Islam being, as they state, "a religion of peace". Now I read in The Times that "MUSLIM women are to be sent on leadership and assertiveness courses to help to prevent Islamic extremism."
It would appear that "In an attempt to stop young Muslims being seduced by Al-Qaeda, women will be sent on training courses designed for FTSE 100 managers to give them the skills and confidence to confront fanatics. Amid fears that extremists are becoming more sophisticated in their recruitment, Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, has concluded that a key way to stop extremist ideas further permeating Muslim communities is to give “the silent majority” a stronger voice. She is to publish a good practice guidance document which will say that “resilient communities can only exist where women are playing a full and active part”. Blears will tell local authorities to use part of a £70m government fund set up to combat extremism to pay for the courses in confidence building, communication and mediation skills.
Muslim women will be offered work placements with business leaders and top athletes to imbue assertiveness and leadership and help them to advance their careers. Funding will be available to set up local Muslim women’s groups to provide a “safe space” where they can discuss their concerns. The plan is likely to attract criticism from some Muslim men who will see it as a threat to cultural traditions about the role of women in society. Blears believes that Muslim women have “untapped potential” to become a voice of moderation in communities targeted by fanatics. Half of all Muslim women have never worked and the government believes that improving their educational and job prospects will boost their influence."
So does Islam have anything to do with these terrorist attacks in the UK? If so, what have Labour ministers been wittering on about since 2005? If not, then why is Hazel Blears spending £70m on this project? Maybe we could spend the money on beefing up the police or securing our borders.
I thought my old friend Inayat "taken out of context" Bunglawala would have something to say about this and indeed he did "The Muslim Council of Britain accused the government of trying to turn women into government spies. “The government at first wanted our imams to act as spies on young British Muslims and now they seem to want Muslim women to do the same,” said Inayat Bunglawala, the council’s assistant secretary-general."
The Times article continues, "The Home Office estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 British Muslims support Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups. The document, to be published this month, will express concern that extremists are targeting young people aged between 16 and 35. “Extremists’ operation methods and use of technology are becoming ever more sophisticated. They are exploiting ungoverned spaces such as the internet, bookshops and cafes and using new media to put across slick and seductive messages,” a draft of the paper says."
Lovely, 10,000-15,000 supporters of Islamic terrorism living openly in the UK; that makes me feel so safe. A friend's wife died in the 7/7 bombings, I do not want anyone else to go through what he went through.
It would appear that "In an attempt to stop young Muslims being seduced by Al-Qaeda, women will be sent on training courses designed for FTSE 100 managers to give them the skills and confidence to confront fanatics. Amid fears that extremists are becoming more sophisticated in their recruitment, Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, has concluded that a key way to stop extremist ideas further permeating Muslim communities is to give “the silent majority” a stronger voice. She is to publish a good practice guidance document which will say that “resilient communities can only exist where women are playing a full and active part”. Blears will tell local authorities to use part of a £70m government fund set up to combat extremism to pay for the courses in confidence building, communication and mediation skills.
Muslim women will be offered work placements with business leaders and top athletes to imbue assertiveness and leadership and help them to advance their careers. Funding will be available to set up local Muslim women’s groups to provide a “safe space” where they can discuss their concerns. The plan is likely to attract criticism from some Muslim men who will see it as a threat to cultural traditions about the role of women in society. Blears believes that Muslim women have “untapped potential” to become a voice of moderation in communities targeted by fanatics. Half of all Muslim women have never worked and the government believes that improving their educational and job prospects will boost their influence."
So does Islam have anything to do with these terrorist attacks in the UK? If so, what have Labour ministers been wittering on about since 2005? If not, then why is Hazel Blears spending £70m on this project? Maybe we could spend the money on beefing up the police or securing our borders.
I thought my old friend Inayat "taken out of context" Bunglawala would have something to say about this and indeed he did "The Muslim Council of Britain accused the government of trying to turn women into government spies. “The government at first wanted our imams to act as spies on young British Muslims and now they seem to want Muslim women to do the same,” said Inayat Bunglawala, the council’s assistant secretary-general."
The Times article continues, "The Home Office estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 British Muslims support Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups. The document, to be published this month, will express concern that extremists are targeting young people aged between 16 and 35. “Extremists’ operation methods and use of technology are becoming ever more sophisticated. They are exploiting ungoverned spaces such as the internet, bookshops and cafes and using new media to put across slick and seductive messages,” a draft of the paper says."
Lovely, 10,000-15,000 supporters of Islamic terrorism living openly in the UK; that makes me feel so safe. A friend's wife died in the 7/7 bombings, I do not want anyone else to go through what he went through.
You couldn't make it up
From The News of the World comes an investigation into "a string of unscrupulous lawyers ready to aid terrorists in return for cash." It's a horrific story but not a surprising one to anyone who has been reading around the subject for a while.
"One bent solicitor, a regular at the High Court and a member of prestigious Lincoln's Inn, even supplied a FAKE PASSPORT to an investigator he believed to be a fugitive Islamic terror boss... He approached our man in the street and said: "Brother, I understand your problem. You are completely illegal in this country but I can help you. If you have money to pay I can arrange everything for you. I have helped lots of brothers... He then asked us to meet him next day at the nearby Burger King. There Uddin settled into his seat and declared: "I can give my last drop of blood for Islam. Jihad (holy war) is the sixth pillar of Islam. They (non-muslims) ruled us for 200 years. They made this country by sucking the blood of the Muslims. Now I want to help my people!" Uddin was told our man needed a new identity to help him come and go from Britain because he was on the run from Scotland Yard, having been arrested after 9/11 for funding terrorists. Instead of doing his duty as an officer of the court and calling the police, Uddin embraced our man and said: "Praise be to Allah!" He then bragged about his status: "I am a member of Lincoln's Inn, training for the bar. I want to be a barrister to help my people. I will be representing only Muslim brothers in court." "
Lovely, marvelous; we have a lawyer working in this country who are willing to assist "illegals", arrange a false identity and who is happy to say that he will only represent his "Muslim brothers" in court. If a white Anglo-Saxon protestant (WASP) said that then the prosecution for racial discrimination would surely follow.
This Bangladeshi trained lawyer also revealed how a passport scam works "using old passports from Bangladeshis who came to Britain years ago as children. "They have indefinite stay here," said Uddin. "From a childhood picture nobody can recognise anyone. We will get a replacement issued using your picture. You have to change your name to the name of the child. We will then apply to the Home Office to have their records updated and then you will be legal here. We have done lots of cases like this. It will cost you £6,000 total...but we will do everything for you.""
"He then came up with a plan to rip off banks in order to fund terrorism. He said: "I know some people in Lloyds TSB. I can open you a bank account. It will cost you £600. First you run it nicely then after six months you take out a loan for £30,000 and just go!""
The News of the World article finishes with the usual line "Our dossier, including video evidence, is available to the police." Will the police do any investigating on this case or will they prefer to investigate the NOTW for misrepresenting the views of Muslim lawyers misleading editing?
"One bent solicitor, a regular at the High Court and a member of prestigious Lincoln's Inn, even supplied a FAKE PASSPORT to an investigator he believed to be a fugitive Islamic terror boss... He approached our man in the street and said: "Brother, I understand your problem. You are completely illegal in this country but I can help you. If you have money to pay I can arrange everything for you. I have helped lots of brothers... He then asked us to meet him next day at the nearby Burger King. There Uddin settled into his seat and declared: "I can give my last drop of blood for Islam. Jihad (holy war) is the sixth pillar of Islam. They (non-muslims) ruled us for 200 years. They made this country by sucking the blood of the Muslims. Now I want to help my people!" Uddin was told our man needed a new identity to help him come and go from Britain because he was on the run from Scotland Yard, having been arrested after 9/11 for funding terrorists. Instead of doing his duty as an officer of the court and calling the police, Uddin embraced our man and said: "Praise be to Allah!" He then bragged about his status: "I am a member of Lincoln's Inn, training for the bar. I want to be a barrister to help my people. I will be representing only Muslim brothers in court." "
Lovely, marvelous; we have a lawyer working in this country who are willing to assist "illegals", arrange a false identity and who is happy to say that he will only represent his "Muslim brothers" in court. If a white Anglo-Saxon protestant (WASP) said that then the prosecution for racial discrimination would surely follow.
This Bangladeshi trained lawyer also revealed how a passport scam works "using old passports from Bangladeshis who came to Britain years ago as children. "They have indefinite stay here," said Uddin. "From a childhood picture nobody can recognise anyone. We will get a replacement issued using your picture. You have to change your name to the name of the child. We will then apply to the Home Office to have their records updated and then you will be legal here. We have done lots of cases like this. It will cost you £6,000 total...but we will do everything for you.""
"He then came up with a plan to rip off banks in order to fund terrorism. He said: "I know some people in Lloyds TSB. I can open you a bank account. It will cost you £600. First you run it nicely then after six months you take out a loan for £30,000 and just go!""
The News of the World article finishes with the usual line "Our dossier, including video evidence, is available to the police." Will the police do any investigating on this case or will they prefer to investigate the NOTW for misrepresenting the views of Muslim lawyers misleading editing?
When the elections come
When the local elections come around in May and the general election some time after that, if not on the same day (see this previous post of mine), do keep an eye on electoral fraud. The last general election saw a huge increase in electoral fraud and at forthcoming elections the Labour Party will be even more desperate than at the last election. Here is a reminder of the sort of thing that happened at the last Council elections.
Why the increase in fraud? Well that is due to the huge rise in postal voting. Why the huge rise in postal voting? Well that stems from Labour’s decision in 2000 to allow postal voting on demand. This means that anyone can now apply to vote by post when previously this was open only to voters who could produce a compelling reason why they could not use a polling station.
Voting fraud; a result of the implementation of Labour policy - I wonder why?
Why the increase in fraud? Well that is due to the huge rise in postal voting. Why the huge rise in postal voting? Well that stems from Labour’s decision in 2000 to allow postal voting on demand. This means that anyone can now apply to vote by post when previously this was open only to voters who could produce a compelling reason why they could not use a polling station.
Voting fraud; a result of the implementation of Labour policy - I wonder why?
Inflation rate
What is the inflation rate? According to the Labour government it is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Why the CPI and not the Retail Price Index (RPI) as used to be the case or even the RPIX (RPI excluding mortgage interest payments) as was the case until 2003? The answer is obvious, because the CPI always gives a lower figure than the RPI and is less affected by changes in interest rates as it excludes - mortgage interest payments, Council Tax and some other housing costs. Council Tax has increased on average by 100% in the 10 years since this Labour government came to power but that is not reflected in the CPI. You can see what is included in each of these measures by referring to this pdf from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Take a look at this document and see if you can see what else is missing from the CPI...
The BBC gives an explanatory page on their website entitled "Q&A: UK inflation measures". This, as you would expect, gives us the governments reasons why "CPI was a better measure for the purposes of setting monetary policy" but no reasons why this might not be the case.
The CPI was adopted in 2003 so as to harmonise our inflation measure with that in use across the Euro Zone, partly as a sop to Tony Blair for Gordon Brown's refusal to join the Euro yet.
The BBC gives an explanatory page on their website entitled "Q&A: UK inflation measures". This, as you would expect, gives us the governments reasons why "CPI was a better measure for the purposes of setting monetary policy" but no reasons why this might not be the case.
The CPI was adopted in 2003 so as to harmonise our inflation measure with that in use across the Euro Zone, partly as a sop to Tony Blair for Gordon Brown's refusal to join the Euro yet.
Satire or truth?
I came across this article via House of Dumb. It is an article that humorously explains the hierarchy of victimhood in the USA. Now politically correct it is not, but as I read it I realised that it backed up a lot of what I have been wanting to put into words but have felt unable to do so due to a residual "I must not ne politically incorrect" feeling.
The article finishes with this explanation that I think bears repetition:
"A quick look through the Victimhood Poker deck reveals that muslims outrank plain old vanilla gays by 3 whole points in the leftist mind. The only way the left would have damned an attack by muslims on gays is if the gays possessed an additional valuable victim quality. If the gays were Native American gays, for example, the left would have damned the muslims because each Native American gay is worth 22 points whereas a muslim is only worth 12. Now, for argument's sake, let's say black muslims attacked and butchered Native American gays.
In such an instance, the left must clearly support the black muslims, because they are worth an overwhelming 26 victim points a piece!
On a larger scale, one can see the principles of the VP deck played out on the world stage.
Have you ever wondered why the left never screams bloody murder over the way muslims treat women, yet whines about the way Islamic terrorists are acting in Darfur? Ever wonder why the left never lodges the same complaints about the terrorists who massacre innocents in Iraq?
A quick look at the deck and it all makes sense! A woman is worth 8 points and thus muslims outrank women on the victimhood scale. Clearly, complaints about muslim brutality towards women are unwarranted, since muslims are 4 points more valuable than women.
On the other hand, blacks outrank muslims by two and thus a military intervention to save Africans from muslim attacks in Darfur is not another imperialist Western oil war, but is entirely justified in the leftist mind.
Finally, muslim attacks on innocent muslims in Iraq leaves us with the sum of zero since the muslims cancel out. Thus, the Iraq War has no value in the leftist mind and hence there are no complaints about terrorist atrocities in connection with it."
As I say politically incorrect but with more than a grain of truth.
Now of course this deck is from a US point of view and just like different countries have different Monopoly sets I suppose that a UK deck would have different priorities. Muslim would certainly outrank black in the UK, native American would not figure at all (but then neither would native Briton), Hispanic would not figure either and Oriental might rate just 1 point as Orientals generally do too well at school and in business to be a victim.
The article finishes with this explanation that I think bears repetition:
"A quick look through the Victimhood Poker deck reveals that muslims outrank plain old vanilla gays by 3 whole points in the leftist mind. The only way the left would have damned an attack by muslims on gays is if the gays possessed an additional valuable victim quality. If the gays were Native American gays, for example, the left would have damned the muslims because each Native American gay is worth 22 points whereas a muslim is only worth 12. Now, for argument's sake, let's say black muslims attacked and butchered Native American gays.
In such an instance, the left must clearly support the black muslims, because they are worth an overwhelming 26 victim points a piece!
On a larger scale, one can see the principles of the VP deck played out on the world stage.
Have you ever wondered why the left never screams bloody murder over the way muslims treat women, yet whines about the way Islamic terrorists are acting in Darfur? Ever wonder why the left never lodges the same complaints about the terrorists who massacre innocents in Iraq?
A quick look at the deck and it all makes sense! A woman is worth 8 points and thus muslims outrank women on the victimhood scale. Clearly, complaints about muslim brutality towards women are unwarranted, since muslims are 4 points more valuable than women.
On the other hand, blacks outrank muslims by two and thus a military intervention to save Africans from muslim attacks in Darfur is not another imperialist Western oil war, but is entirely justified in the leftist mind.
Finally, muslim attacks on innocent muslims in Iraq leaves us with the sum of zero since the muslims cancel out. Thus, the Iraq War has no value in the leftist mind and hence there are no complaints about terrorist atrocities in connection with it."
As I say politically incorrect but with more than a grain of truth.
Now of course this deck is from a US point of view and just like different countries have different Monopoly sets I suppose that a UK deck would have different priorities. Muslim would certainly outrank black in the UK, native American would not figure at all (but then neither would native Briton), Hispanic would not figure either and Oriental might rate just 1 point as Orientals generally do too well at school and in business to be a victim.
Gordon Brown - the great pretender
Take a read of Mark Lawson in the Guardian with a piece on Gordon Brown's interview with the ever fawning Andrew Marr. Read the whole article but here is an excerpt:
"But the fascination of the encounter lay in body language. The paradox of Brown's short time in office is that a leader whose champions promised an end to the Blairite obsession with presentation has been forced, by falling approval ratings, to watch himself as assiduously as a man in a hall of mirrors.
There was a sense that hours of thought had gone into every minute of screen time. Brown sat in right profile, keeping from the camera the rugbydamaged eye which can make him look cold and unresponsive . And someone seemed to have addressed the most common criticism about the PM's style - his tendency to twitch when uncomfortable - by deciding that he would It was 'fiscal arithmetic' that led Brown to believe that MPs must accept a pay rise of less than 2% keep as still as possible. The two mannerisms which get the Bremners and the Culshaws instant recognition - the mouth stretching like a competitor in a toff ee-eating contest, and the forehead furrowing as if in sudden fury - were absent during most of the half-hour .
As Brown listened to the questions, his features were so motionless that you wondered if Sarah had given him Botox for Christmas. And, presumably because of the newspaper coverage given to a hand that seemed to shake on the despatch box during one of his parliamentary reversals, Brown's left paw was often employed as a clamp to keep the right in place."
"But the fascination of the encounter lay in body language. The paradox of Brown's short time in office is that a leader whose champions promised an end to the Blairite obsession with presentation has been forced, by falling approval ratings, to watch himself as assiduously as a man in a hall of mirrors.
There was a sense that hours of thought had gone into every minute of screen time. Brown sat in right profile, keeping from the camera the rugbydamaged eye which can make him look cold and unresponsive . And someone seemed to have addressed the most common criticism about the PM's style - his tendency to twitch when uncomfortable - by deciding that he would It was 'fiscal arithmetic' that led Brown to believe that MPs must accept a pay rise of less than 2% keep as still as possible. The two mannerisms which get the Bremners and the Culshaws instant recognition - the mouth stretching like a competitor in a toff ee-eating contest, and the forehead furrowing as if in sudden fury - were absent during most of the half-hour .
As Brown listened to the questions, his features were so motionless that you wondered if Sarah had given him Botox for Christmas. And, presumably because of the newspaper coverage given to a hand that seemed to shake on the despatch box during one of his parliamentary reversals, Brown's left paw was often employed as a clamp to keep the right in place."
Man Made Climate Change - the big post
I promised last week that a major posting debunking Man Made Climate Change was on the way this weekend. Well I did start researching the subject but each article lead to another three or more and pretty soon I was drowning in data and prostrate under the weight of proof. So the article will come but in a few weeks rather than days. In the meantime, why not do some digging yourself; see what you can find.
Global Warming - not last year
The evidence that Global Warming (or rather Man Made Climate Change) is a myth is growing by the day. Take a read of this article from The Reference Frame. I like this bit "As a consequence, RSS MSU data for the lower troposphere show that 2007 was the coldest year in this century so far. In alarmist jargon, it was the ninth hottest year on record:"
Do read the rest and follow the links.
Do read the rest and follow the links.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Gordon Brown on hospital cleanliness
It would seem that Gordon Brown has moved on with his cleaning of hospitals, the same hospitals that he has been in charge of funding for the last 10 years.
"All patients entering NHS hospitals in England will be screened for MRSA and Clostridium difficile, the PM has said. Gordon Brown told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that tackling hospital-acquired infections was an "absolute priority". A programme of deep cleaning hospitals had begun and would continue across the country in the coming months, he said."
The deep cleaning programnme has started has it, what hospitals have been deep cleaned so far?
"Mr Brown said the government was setting aside £50m to pay for the deep-clean programme. It had doubled the number of matrons on NHS wards, and introduced stiffer penalties for hospitals where cleaning is not done properly, he added."
I don't know but I just don't believe either of those statistics, I wonder why? Is this £50m new money or coming from existing budgets? If it is from existing budgets then which ones and what will be unfunded as a result? Could it be that Gordon Brown has fiddled so many figures and double or treble announced so many increases in funding over the last 10 years that his credibility is at approximately zero. The man is a fraud and thankfully the rest of the country is finally catching up with those of us who worked this out years ago.
Someone who has been telling us this for longer than most isGuido Fawkes who writes today that "However much Brown smiles manically in front of the cameras, the public believe he is a grumpy, defensive, brooding control freak - because after ten years we know the truth. You can't fool all of the people for such a long time. Recognition of his mincing, finger-chewing, snot-eating, greasy haired, foul tempered nature and weird dark ways has broken out of the confines of the Westminster Village and is seeping into a wider popular consciousness."
"All patients entering NHS hospitals in England will be screened for MRSA and Clostridium difficile, the PM has said. Gordon Brown told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that tackling hospital-acquired infections was an "absolute priority". A programme of deep cleaning hospitals had begun and would continue across the country in the coming months, he said."
The deep cleaning programnme has started has it, what hospitals have been deep cleaned so far?
"Mr Brown said the government was setting aside £50m to pay for the deep-clean programme. It had doubled the number of matrons on NHS wards, and introduced stiffer penalties for hospitals where cleaning is not done properly, he added."
I don't know but I just don't believe either of those statistics, I wonder why? Is this £50m new money or coming from existing budgets? If it is from existing budgets then which ones and what will be unfunded as a result? Could it be that Gordon Brown has fiddled so many figures and double or treble announced so many increases in funding over the last 10 years that his credibility is at approximately zero. The man is a fraud and thankfully the rest of the country is finally catching up with those of us who worked this out years ago.
Someone who has been telling us this for longer than most isGuido Fawkes who writes today that "However much Brown smiles manically in front of the cameras, the public believe he is a grumpy, defensive, brooding control freak - because after ten years we know the truth. You can't fool all of the people for such a long time. Recognition of his mincing, finger-chewing, snot-eating, greasy haired, foul tempered nature and weird dark ways has broken out of the confines of the Westminster Village and is seeping into a wider popular consciousness."
Totalitarianism is spreading
"An Englishman's home is his castle" is an oft used expression. It is no longer true as I believe there are now 1000 different organisations who can demand access to an English house. From California comes even more of this intrusiveness (my emphasis)
"Every new home and every change to existing homes' central heating and air conditioning systems will required to be fitted with a PCT beginning next year following the issuance of the revision. Each PCT will be fitted with a "non-removable " FM receiver that will allow the power authorities to increase your air conditioning temperature setpoint or decrease your heater temperature setpoint to any value they chose. During "price events" those changes are limited to +/- four degrees F and you would be able to manually override the changes. During "emergency events" the new setpoints can be whatever the power authority desires and you would not be able to alter them."
Thanks to Bishop Hill for the spot.
How long until this is instituted in this country in the name of preventing Global Warming? I give it 5 years unless we radically change the people whogovern rule us.
"Every new home and every change to existing homes' central heating and air conditioning systems will required to be fitted with a PCT beginning next year following the issuance of the revision. Each PCT will be fitted with a "non-removable " FM receiver that will allow the power authorities to increase your air conditioning temperature setpoint or decrease your heater temperature setpoint to any value they chose. During "price events" those changes are limited to +/- four degrees F and you would be able to manually override the changes. During "emergency events" the new setpoints can be whatever the power authority desires and you would not be able to alter them."
Thanks to Bishop Hill for the spot.
How long until this is instituted in this country in the name of preventing Global Warming? I give it 5 years unless we radically change the people who
Democracy - US Democratic party style
Who won the Iowa Democratic Party caucus? Barack Obama, don't be silly.... Read this article from Free Republic and you'll understand why currently "the Democratic delegate count for the top three candidates (2,025 delegates are needed to secure the nomination): (is)
Clinton – 169
Obama – 66
Edwards – 47 "
It's all because of 842 "super-delegates".
Democracy?
Clinton – 169
Obama – 66
Edwards – 47 "
It's all because of 842 "super-delegates".
Democracy?
Another data foul-up
Apparently "Top-secret entry codes to some of Britain's biggest police stations have been stolen in an astonishing Scotland Yard security blunder.
The details - which gave confidential keypad access numbers to 73 police stations across London - were stolen from a car owned by a worker for a vehicle-maintenance contractor. "
The details - which gave confidential keypad access numbers to 73 police stations across London - were stolen from a car owned by a worker for a vehicle-maintenance contractor. "
The Islamic takeover of parts of this country
"The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester and the Church's only Asian bishop, says that people of a different race or faith face physical attack if they live or work in communities dominated by a strict Muslim ideology."
Do read the rest in today's Daily Telegraph, it is a powerful comment on what is happening to this country.
"Bishop Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, gives warning that attempts are being made to give Britain an increasingly Islamic character by introducing the call to prayer and wider use of sharia law, a legal system based on the Koran.
In an attack on the Government's response to immigration and the influx of "people of other faiths to these shores", he blames its "novel philosophy of multiculturalism" for allowing society to become deeply divided, and accuses ministers of lacking a "moral and spiritual vision"."
I link this article with the story that "Oxford has become the latest place in Britain where Muslims have submitted an application to broadcast calls to prayer from a mosque. Residents have urged the council to reject the request for a two-minute call three times a day, warning that it would turn the area into a Muslim ghetto."
To help you decide, the Muslim call to prayer is not just a wake-up call, it means something and here is an explanation, the call and a translation (from Islam Online's own website:
"The adhan is the call given to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual Prayer). Five times a day the adhan is raised from mosques throughout the world. It is a Sunnah (optional duty) that brings its own reward from Allah (God). The person who gives the adhan is called a muadhdhin. (The English word “muezzin” is a mispronunciation of the Arabic term.)
The adhan begins with an affirmation of the supremacy of Allah (God). Then comes the shahadah (profession of faith), which consists of the profession of the Unity of Allah (God), the negation of shirk (polytheism), and the confirmation that Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) is the Messenger of Allah (God). And after that, comes the call to the Prayer and to success — our eternal home in Paradise — which also implies our return to the Creator. Each line is repeated for emphasis.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.
Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah, hayya ‘ala-s-Salah.
Hasten to the Prayer, hasten to the Prayer.
Hayya ‘ala-l-falah, hayya ‘ala-l-falah.
Hasten to real success, hasten to real success
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
La ilaha illa-llah
There is none worthy of worship but Allah.
In the adhan for the Subh (Dawn) Prayer (also commonly called the Fajr Prayer), the following words are added after Hayya ‘ala-l-falah:
As-Salatu khairun min an-naum, As-Salatu khairun min an-naum.
Prayer is better than sleep, Prayer is better than sleep.
The Sunnah (practice of the Prophet) recommends that while the adhan is being called, one should listen attentively and repeat it silently after the muadhdhin, but when he says “Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah” and “Hayya ‘ala-l-falah” one should say:
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.
There is no might or power except with Allah. "
The Muslim call to prayer is not the equivalent of a church ringing bells on a Sunday morning, it is a statement of superiority of Islam over any other religion and of Allah over any other deity.
Do read the rest in today's Daily Telegraph, it is a powerful comment on what is happening to this country.
"Bishop Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, gives warning that attempts are being made to give Britain an increasingly Islamic character by introducing the call to prayer and wider use of sharia law, a legal system based on the Koran.
In an attack on the Government's response to immigration and the influx of "people of other faiths to these shores", he blames its "novel philosophy of multiculturalism" for allowing society to become deeply divided, and accuses ministers of lacking a "moral and spiritual vision"."
I link this article with the story that "Oxford has become the latest place in Britain where Muslims have submitted an application to broadcast calls to prayer from a mosque. Residents have urged the council to reject the request for a two-minute call three times a day, warning that it would turn the area into a Muslim ghetto."
To help you decide, the Muslim call to prayer is not just a wake-up call, it means something and here is an explanation, the call and a translation (from Islam Online's own website:
"The adhan is the call given to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual Prayer). Five times a day the adhan is raised from mosques throughout the world. It is a Sunnah (optional duty) that brings its own reward from Allah (God). The person who gives the adhan is called a muadhdhin. (The English word “muezzin” is a mispronunciation of the Arabic term.)
The adhan begins with an affirmation of the supremacy of Allah (God). Then comes the shahadah (profession of faith), which consists of the profession of the Unity of Allah (God), the negation of shirk (polytheism), and the confirmation that Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) is the Messenger of Allah (God). And after that, comes the call to the Prayer and to success — our eternal home in Paradise — which also implies our return to the Creator. Each line is repeated for emphasis.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.
Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah, hayya ‘ala-s-Salah.
Hasten to the Prayer, hasten to the Prayer.
Hayya ‘ala-l-falah, hayya ‘ala-l-falah.
Hasten to real success, hasten to real success
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
La ilaha illa-llah
There is none worthy of worship but Allah.
In the adhan for the Subh (Dawn) Prayer (also commonly called the Fajr Prayer), the following words are added after Hayya ‘ala-l-falah:
As-Salatu khairun min an-naum, As-Salatu khairun min an-naum.
Prayer is better than sleep, Prayer is better than sleep.
The Sunnah (practice of the Prophet) recommends that while the adhan is being called, one should listen attentively and repeat it silently after the muadhdhin, but when he says “Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah” and “Hayya ‘ala-l-falah” one should say:
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.
There is no might or power except with Allah. "
The Muslim call to prayer is not the equivalent of a church ringing bells on a Sunday morning, it is a statement of superiority of Islam over any other religion and of Allah over any other deity.
This country has lost all sense of perspective when it comes to punishing criminals
This is from yesterday's Daily Telegraph and shows just how far down the road to madness this country has gone.
"A judge has condemned the "barking mad" human rights rules that allowed a drug dealer to stay in his prison cell rather than appear in court.
Amir Ali, who was jailed for almost four years last September, refused to leave the "comfortable" cell because he was afraid of losing it to another inmate.
Judge Richard Hayward said: "I didn't know that prisoners could choose whether or not to come to court. I just assumed they would be scooped up by a burly prison warden and dumped in the back of a van. Now I hear this prisoner is refusing to leave his cell, and no one's doing anything about it. Once again, it's down to barking mad human rights rules."
Ali was due to appear at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex, for a confiscation hearing yesterday to be stripped of the tens of thousands of pounds he earned from dealing in class A drugs.
However, he refused to leave HMP Camp Hill, a category C training prison on the Isle of Wight. Julian Woodbridge, defending Ali, said: "Mr Ali refused to leave his cell this morning because he is comfortable there and doesn't want to lose it. There is a shortage of comfortable prison cells in this country, so he was obviously keen to hold on to his." Judge Hayward, who adjourned the hearing, said: "If he doesn't turn up then, we will simply go on without him."
Police caught Ali and 14 co-conspirators in Crawley, East Sussex, during a sting operation in March 2007. He was convicted of conspiring to supply cocaine, two counts of supplying the same drug and a further two charges of supplying heroin.
After the operation, Det Insp Nick May said: "Compared with the same period last year, burglary, robbery and vehicle crime have all dropped in Crawley, and this is a tribute to the fantastic support we receive from communities, and the efforts we put into tackling drug dealing, as shown by this series of arrests."
A court source said: "Judge Hayward is known for his no-nonsense approach to criminals and he is sick and tired of coming up against barriers which slow down the legal process. It's incredible that this drug dealer finds his cell so comfortable he doesn't want to leave it. If they make prison that easy then it is no surprise the jails are full up."
The source added: "To claim your human rights are being infringed by being brought to court from your prison cell is really the final straw.""
This is a convicted criminal who was apparently able to evade going to court for the confiscation hearing because he said "no". Forget the reason why he said no, he said no so the prison authorities acquiesced. His lawyer's comment that "Mr Ali refused to leave his cell this morning because he is comfortable there and doesn't want to lose it. There is a shortage of comfortable prison cells in this country, so he was obviously keen to hold on to his." sums up so much of what is wrong with this country.
"A judge has condemned the "barking mad" human rights rules that allowed a drug dealer to stay in his prison cell rather than appear in court.
Amir Ali, who was jailed for almost four years last September, refused to leave the "comfortable" cell because he was afraid of losing it to another inmate.
Judge Richard Hayward said: "I didn't know that prisoners could choose whether or not to come to court. I just assumed they would be scooped up by a burly prison warden and dumped in the back of a van. Now I hear this prisoner is refusing to leave his cell, and no one's doing anything about it. Once again, it's down to barking mad human rights rules."
Ali was due to appear at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex, for a confiscation hearing yesterday to be stripped of the tens of thousands of pounds he earned from dealing in class A drugs.
However, he refused to leave HMP Camp Hill, a category C training prison on the Isle of Wight. Julian Woodbridge, defending Ali, said: "Mr Ali refused to leave his cell this morning because he is comfortable there and doesn't want to lose it. There is a shortage of comfortable prison cells in this country, so he was obviously keen to hold on to his." Judge Hayward, who adjourned the hearing, said: "If he doesn't turn up then, we will simply go on without him."
Police caught Ali and 14 co-conspirators in Crawley, East Sussex, during a sting operation in March 2007. He was convicted of conspiring to supply cocaine, two counts of supplying the same drug and a further two charges of supplying heroin.
After the operation, Det Insp Nick May said: "Compared with the same period last year, burglary, robbery and vehicle crime have all dropped in Crawley, and this is a tribute to the fantastic support we receive from communities, and the efforts we put into tackling drug dealing, as shown by this series of arrests."
A court source said: "Judge Hayward is known for his no-nonsense approach to criminals and he is sick and tired of coming up against barriers which slow down the legal process. It's incredible that this drug dealer finds his cell so comfortable he doesn't want to leave it. If they make prison that easy then it is no surprise the jails are full up."
The source added: "To claim your human rights are being infringed by being brought to court from your prison cell is really the final straw.""
This is a convicted criminal who was apparently able to evade going to court for the confiscation hearing because he said "no". Forget the reason why he said no, he said no so the prison authorities acquiesced. His lawyer's comment that "Mr Ali refused to leave his cell this morning because he is comfortable there and doesn't want to lose it. There is a shortage of comfortable prison cells in this country, so he was obviously keen to hold on to his." sums up so much of what is wrong with this country.
Progress?
From yesterday's Daily Telegraph comes this letter comparing the overrunning work on the railway this Christmas and New Year with the work carried out on the Great Western Railway to change gauge along the whole length of the railway in 1892 and the repair work carried out in 1952.
"Sir - Over the weekend of May 20 to 23, 1892 the Great Western Railway converted 177 route miles of broad gauge and 252 miles of mixed gauge (roughly 900 miles of track) to standard gauge between 5pm on Friday and 4am on Monday.
In the 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster, 111 people lost their lives and wreckage was piled up to 30 feet high. The slow lines were running again within 21 hours and all lines within five days.
Today we are unable to relay around 10 points and a mile of track in an uninterrupted week. We will now be locked into months of recriminations and litigation. In times past the GWR or British Rail would have taken the whole blame and sorted it out internally.
Tony Baker, Edinburgh"
Progress?
"Sir - Over the weekend of May 20 to 23, 1892 the Great Western Railway converted 177 route miles of broad gauge and 252 miles of mixed gauge (roughly 900 miles of track) to standard gauge between 5pm on Friday and 4am on Monday.
In the 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster, 111 people lost their lives and wreckage was piled up to 30 feet high. The slow lines were running again within 21 hours and all lines within five days.
Today we are unable to relay around 10 points and a mile of track in an uninterrupted week. We will now be locked into months of recriminations and litigation. In times past the GWR or British Rail would have taken the whole blame and sorted it out internally.
Tony Baker, Edinburgh"
Progress?
Adequate punishment
I read yesterday about two teenagers who filmed themselves drowning a helpless man after having first kicked, burnt and urinated on him. This tormenting and murder lead to them receiving not as the Daily Telegraph headline "Two teenage killers get eight years" made me believe eight years, but 5 years for 16 year old James Quantrill and 3.5 years for 14 year old Thomas Orme.
These two youths tormented and murdered a 25 year old man in cold blood and will both be out before they have reached the age of the young man they killed. Adequate punishment. don't make me laugh.
These two youths tormented and murdered a 25 year old man in cold blood and will both be out before they have reached the age of the young man they killed. Adequate punishment. don't make me laugh.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Ken and the "charities"
I blogged on Thursday about the prominent Muslim organisations and individuals who have pledged to back Ken Livingstone as mayor of London, saying it is in the "best interest" of Muslims to vote for him in this year's elections on May 1.
I have been doing some digging and have found this excellent piece at Harry's Place, under the excellently punny title "Faith, Ken's Hope and the Charities". The gist is that of the 63 signatories, sixteen have signed in the name of registered Charities and at least five of those sixteen are Trustees or Correspondents of the Charities. Now as the Charities Commission makes clear "
"A charity must not support a political party or candidate". It’s fine to identify one aspect of a candidate or party’s platform and endorse that, but endorsing a candidate or party implies support for all their policies and that clearly compromises the independence of the charity and makes it impossible for the Charity Commissioners to be sure that it is acting in the ‘public benefit’."
For your information, the 16 correspondents, Trustees and other representatives who committed their Charities to Livingstone's re-election are (per Harry's Place and with his comments):
Abdulmonem Haresha, Muslim Welfare House
Abdul Shaheed, North London Central Mosque
Dr Abdul Fattah Sa'ad, Al Muntada Al Islami Trust [Trustee]
Dr Abdul Kareem Khaleel, Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre [Correspondent]. Two of the Trustees are Councillors: David Campion and Nicholas Paget-Brown. Campion is a Conservative who represents Pembridge Ward in Kensington and Chelsea; Paget-Brown is also a Conservative who represents Hans Town Ward in the same Borough.
Dr Hashim Charif, Amal Trust [Trustee]
Hassan Muinudeen, Dawatul Islam [Trustee and Correspondent]
Imran Hamid, Muslim Health Network [“No valid trustee details held for this charity”]
Luqman Ali, Khayaal Theatre Company [Correspondent]
Mohammad Habib ur Rahman, President Islamic Forum Europe [Trustee]
Mohamad Mounir Rai, Hounslow Jamia & Islamic Centre [Trustee]
Mohamed Mumtaz, Crescent Relief [?Trustee]
Munier Hagus, The Eritrean Muslim Community Association [?Trustee]
Mustafa al Mansur, MOSAIC Foundation
Professor Tariq Ramadan, Lokahi Foundation
Ruhul Trafader, 1990 Trust
Sheikh Sulaiman Ghani, Tooting Mosque
Conservative Home have picked up on this story which should engender some traffic to Harry's Place and some formal complaints to the Charities Commission.
The Charities Commission have an appalling record when it comes to investigating and taking action on such breaches of Charity Law, maybe under the 2006 legislation they will finally take some action; however I doubt it. It is after all almost a year since the Charities Commission started an investigation into the "Smith Institute's use of No. 11 Downing Street. The fact that the charity seemed to have only one beneficiary - Gordon Brown - meant that it was not only breaking the rules against political activity by a charity, it was actually functioning as a factional powerbase for Brownites. The staff and trustees were all allies of the Chancellor". Do read the rest of that story on Guido Fawkes' site.
The matter gets even more murky if you read Donal Blaney who reports that "One of the signatories of the letter is Abdi Ismail, signing on behalf of the East African Society - supposedly a charity, even though its charity number is not displayed on its website (in breach of charity law)... Muslims also only account for 10% of the Kenyan population, so why is Abdi Ismail professing to speak on behalf of London's Kenyan community when, as a muslim, he is speaking for a minority of that community."
Ken Livingstone; love him or loathe him - well really just loathe him.
PS. Does anyone know how the Lee Jasper story is developing?
I have been doing some digging and have found this excellent piece at Harry's Place, under the excellently punny title "Faith, Ken's Hope and the Charities". The gist is that of the 63 signatories, sixteen have signed in the name of registered Charities and at least five of those sixteen are Trustees or Correspondents of the Charities. Now as the Charities Commission makes clear "
"A charity must not support a political party or candidate". It’s fine to identify one aspect of a candidate or party’s platform and endorse that, but endorsing a candidate or party implies support for all their policies and that clearly compromises the independence of the charity and makes it impossible for the Charity Commissioners to be sure that it is acting in the ‘public benefit’."
For your information, the 16 correspondents, Trustees and other representatives who committed their Charities to Livingstone's re-election are (per Harry's Place and with his comments):
Abdulmonem Haresha, Muslim Welfare House
Abdul Shaheed, North London Central Mosque
Dr Abdul Fattah Sa'ad, Al Muntada Al Islami Trust [Trustee]
Dr Abdul Kareem Khaleel, Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre [Correspondent]. Two of the Trustees are Councillors: David Campion and Nicholas Paget-Brown. Campion is a Conservative who represents Pembridge Ward in Kensington and Chelsea; Paget-Brown is also a Conservative who represents Hans Town Ward in the same Borough.
Dr Hashim Charif, Amal Trust [Trustee]
Hassan Muinudeen, Dawatul Islam [Trustee and Correspondent]
Imran Hamid, Muslim Health Network [“No valid trustee details held for this charity”]
Luqman Ali, Khayaal Theatre Company [Correspondent]
Mohammad Habib ur Rahman, President Islamic Forum Europe [Trustee]
Mohamad Mounir Rai, Hounslow Jamia & Islamic Centre [Trustee]
Mohamed Mumtaz, Crescent Relief [?Trustee]
Munier Hagus, The Eritrean Muslim Community Association [?Trustee]
Mustafa al Mansur, MOSAIC Foundation
Professor Tariq Ramadan, Lokahi Foundation
Ruhul Trafader, 1990 Trust
Sheikh Sulaiman Ghani, Tooting Mosque
Conservative Home have picked up on this story which should engender some traffic to Harry's Place and some formal complaints to the Charities Commission.
The Charities Commission have an appalling record when it comes to investigating and taking action on such breaches of Charity Law, maybe under the 2006 legislation they will finally take some action; however I doubt it. It is after all almost a year since the Charities Commission started an investigation into the "Smith Institute's use of No. 11 Downing Street. The fact that the charity seemed to have only one beneficiary - Gordon Brown - meant that it was not only breaking the rules against political activity by a charity, it was actually functioning as a factional powerbase for Brownites. The staff and trustees were all allies of the Chancellor". Do read the rest of that story on Guido Fawkes' site.
The matter gets even more murky if you read Donal Blaney who reports that "One of the signatories of the letter is Abdi Ismail, signing on behalf of the East African Society - supposedly a charity, even though its charity number is not displayed on its website (in breach of charity law)... Muslims also only account for 10% of the Kenyan population, so why is Abdi Ismail professing to speak on behalf of London's Kenyan community when, as a muslim, he is speaking for a minority of that community."
Ken Livingstone; love him or loathe him - well really just loathe him.
PS. Does anyone know how the Lee Jasper story is developing?
Another article on the paucity of good UK education
It would appear that educational standards are dropping not rising. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has read my earlier posts on this subject. This time we are told that "Fewer than half of teenagers in England are reaching the required standard at school as they struggle to master the three Rs, new league tables will show....Provisional figures show that 61.5 per cent of all teenagers gained five A* to C grades last summer - a rise of more than two points on 2006. However, the Government's favoured measure, which only counts pupils with at least a C in English and maths, shows much slower progress. Under that measure, added to league tables in 2006, the proportion of pupils gaining five good grades in 2007 fell to 46.5 per cent - a rise of just 0.7 points on the previous year. Many schools that had been lauded for their achievements in the past saw their league table positions plummet. In one school in 2006, 82 per cent gained five or more good GCSEs. But taking English and maths into account, that figure fell to just 16 per cent. Another school dropped from 77 per cent to 13 per cent."
So what is the response of our beloved Labour government? Obviously it is to move the goalposts, so "GCSEs and A-levels may eventually be scrapped altogether as 14- to 19-year-olds opt for new diplomas, which will combine vocational and academic studies. They will be taken for the first time next September in five subjects - engineering, construction, information technology, media and health. The Government believes the diplomas will eventually become the qualification of choice as more academic subjects, such as languages, humanities and science, are introduced." You can read my thoughts on this proposal here.
This Labour government, "inept or actively destructive"? I used to think advocates of the latter theory were just going too far, I am becoming less sure.
So what is the response of our beloved Labour government? Obviously it is to move the goalposts, so "GCSEs and A-levels may eventually be scrapped altogether as 14- to 19-year-olds opt for new diplomas, which will combine vocational and academic studies. They will be taken for the first time next September in five subjects - engineering, construction, information technology, media and health. The Government believes the diplomas will eventually become the qualification of choice as more academic subjects, such as languages, humanities and science, are introduced." You can read my thoughts on this proposal here.
This Labour government, "inept or actively destructive"? I used to think advocates of the latter theory were just going too far, I am becoming less sure.
Mike Huckabee talks to God
Mike Huckabee interests me, he is a man who really does have a way with people and, right or wrong, that is what seems to count more than policies these days.
On Friday I posted video of Mike Huckabee playing a fair bass guitar.
Now I can post video of Mike Huckabee at a Republican Governors Association Dinner in 2004, a) doing a fair Bob Newhart style sketch and/or b) rather oddly talking to God
Make up your own minds...
On Friday I posted video of Mike Huckabee playing a fair bass guitar.
Now I can post video of Mike Huckabee at a Republican Governors Association Dinner in 2004, a) doing a fair Bob Newhart style sketch and/or b) rather oddly talking to God
Make up your own minds...
You can't argue with his mum
I am not a fan of ex US President Jimmy Carter as some of my previous posts should have made clear. Hence my joy at seeing this quotation from Jimmy Carter's mother, Lillian, on Last of the Few -
"Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself ~~"Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.""
You said it Mrs Carter...
"Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself ~~"Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.""
You said it Mrs Carter...
Kevin Greening
I am confused.
Kevin Greening was a BBC Radio DJ, albeit not one that I was aware of until the announcement of his death. The BBC announced and still proclaims that "Greening's agent Chris North said he died "peacefully" in his sleep on Saturday. A post mortem is expected to be held in the next few days."
Other sources including this report that "FORMER Radio 1 DJ Kevin Greening died during a marathon kinky sex and drugs session, it emerged yesterday. Gay Greening took large amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and date rape drug GHB on the eve of his 45th birthday, said a police source. He is believed to have suffered a massive heart attack after a bondage game at the home of his new lover in Wandsworth, South London."
Which story is correct, did he die "peacefully in his sleep" or of "a massive heart attack after a bondage game"? If the former then The Sun should be ashamed of blackening the reputation of this man, if the latter then why is the BBC being so coy? I don't remember such coyness being exhibited by the BBC when reporting the death of Stephen Milligan.
Kevin Greening was a BBC Radio DJ, albeit not one that I was aware of until the announcement of his death. The BBC announced and still proclaims that "Greening's agent Chris North said he died "peacefully" in his sleep on Saturday. A post mortem is expected to be held in the next few days."
Other sources including this report that "FORMER Radio 1 DJ Kevin Greening died during a marathon kinky sex and drugs session, it emerged yesterday. Gay Greening took large amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and date rape drug GHB on the eve of his 45th birthday, said a police source. He is believed to have suffered a massive heart attack after a bondage game at the home of his new lover in Wandsworth, South London."
Which story is correct, did he die "peacefully in his sleep" or of "a massive heart attack after a bondage game"? If the former then The Sun should be ashamed of blackening the reputation of this man, if the latter then why is the BBC being so coy? I don't remember such coyness being exhibited by the BBC when reporting the death of Stephen Milligan.
Friday, 4 January 2008
Gordon Brown by Richard Littlejohn
From Richard Littlejohn's Daily Mail column today comes a piece entitled "Democracy - ring any bells, Gordon?" including these extracts
"Look at how the Americans go about electing their President alongside the grubby stitch-up which put Gordon Brown into Downing Street.
Here, there was no "campaign", just a few stage-managed boasting sessions to an audience of handpicked sycophants.
He faced no opposition because he put the frighteners on anyone daft enough to stand against him.
Our Prime Minister has never been elected by his own party, by parliament or by the British people.
He represents a Scottish seat in an overwhelmingly English parliament and passes laws affecting the English which do not affect his own constituents north of the Border.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own versions of self-government, something which Brown stubbornly denies the English.
He signed away Britain's sovereignty to Europe, blatantly breaking a promise to hold a referendum he knew he'd lose, and lied through his newly-capped teeth about the consequences of his actions. He didn't even have the guts to attend the formal signing ceremony.
Even when he had the opportunity to secure a democratic mandate, he chickened out because he didn't trust the people to give the right answer. He was frightened he might lose the job he has always considered to be his birthright.
If Brown could find a way of abolishing elections altogether, believe me he would.
Lord Hailsham once described Britain as an elective dictatorship. Under Brown it's not even elective.
Britain is now governed by a series of placemen, quangos, bureaucracies and unaccountable officials who pay little heed to the will of the people. Most of our laws are made in Brussels by people we didn't elect and can't eject.
We don't have plebiscites, we have spurious 'consultations' which are then ignored....
In Britain we are subjected to the obscenity of a full-time politician masquerading as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police taunting the elected members of the London Assembly to sack him if they think they've got the power - secure in the knowledge that they damn well haven't....
The House of Commons is routinely by-passed. The Lords is packed with pliant cronies and party donors, while Tory peers are booted out.
They've tinkered with our tried and tested first-past-the-post system through scams such as corrupt party lists to ensure their hegemony.
They'll hold a referendum on something relatively meaningless, such as should a man in a monkey suit become the mayor of Hartlepool, but ruthlessly refuse a vote on our future as a self-governing nation....
Someone like Gordon Brown would never get to be President of the United States. By the time the Iowa caucus had been convened they'd have spotted him as a shifty sociopath with festering contempt for democracy and decency and consigned him to the garbage can - which unlike Britain, gets emptied twice a week, not once a fortnight."
I can add nothing to this, so I won't.
"Look at how the Americans go about electing their President alongside the grubby stitch-up which put Gordon Brown into Downing Street.
Here, there was no "campaign", just a few stage-managed boasting sessions to an audience of handpicked sycophants.
He faced no opposition because he put the frighteners on anyone daft enough to stand against him.
Our Prime Minister has never been elected by his own party, by parliament or by the British people.
He represents a Scottish seat in an overwhelmingly English parliament and passes laws affecting the English which do not affect his own constituents north of the Border.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own versions of self-government, something which Brown stubbornly denies the English.
He signed away Britain's sovereignty to Europe, blatantly breaking a promise to hold a referendum he knew he'd lose, and lied through his newly-capped teeth about the consequences of his actions. He didn't even have the guts to attend the formal signing ceremony.
Even when he had the opportunity to secure a democratic mandate, he chickened out because he didn't trust the people to give the right answer. He was frightened he might lose the job he has always considered to be his birthright.
If Brown could find a way of abolishing elections altogether, believe me he would.
Lord Hailsham once described Britain as an elective dictatorship. Under Brown it's not even elective.
Britain is now governed by a series of placemen, quangos, bureaucracies and unaccountable officials who pay little heed to the will of the people. Most of our laws are made in Brussels by people we didn't elect and can't eject.
We don't have plebiscites, we have spurious 'consultations' which are then ignored....
In Britain we are subjected to the obscenity of a full-time politician masquerading as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police taunting the elected members of the London Assembly to sack him if they think they've got the power - secure in the knowledge that they damn well haven't....
The House of Commons is routinely by-passed. The Lords is packed with pliant cronies and party donors, while Tory peers are booted out.
They've tinkered with our tried and tested first-past-the-post system through scams such as corrupt party lists to ensure their hegemony.
They'll hold a referendum on something relatively meaningless, such as should a man in a monkey suit become the mayor of Hartlepool, but ruthlessly refuse a vote on our future as a self-governing nation....
Someone like Gordon Brown would never get to be President of the United States. By the time the Iowa caucus had been convened they'd have spotted him as a shifty sociopath with festering contempt for democracy and decency and consigned him to the garbage can - which unlike Britain, gets emptied twice a week, not once a fortnight."
I can add nothing to this, so I won't.
Male or female - you decide
This story is so odd that you may assume that I am making it up. I am afraid not, this story is weird but true.
Take a look here and here and at the actual text of the bill here.
In brief, the California Senate have passed a bill that ends "sex" being defined as "the biological condition or quality of being a male or female human being." and refines the term "gender" for all schoolchildren by adding this "'Gender' means sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth." In other words gender has been redefined to be that which you choose to be regardless of your anatomical make-up.
This bill also uses this redefinition of gender to forbid educators from discriminating against any individual employee, student or other person based upon that individual's unspoken claim of being male or female, regardless of his or her actual sex.
As a result of this bill the Los Angeles Unified School District has already adopted policies allowing boys to use girls' restrooms and locker rooms and of course vice versa. Also it even tells teachers they need to refer to students using the student's preferred pronoun, and of course, it prohibits the teachers from disclosing a student's chosen gender to the student's parents.
Now part of me, and I won't say which part, thinks that if I was a 14 year old NotaSheep again, then I might very well prefer to shower in the girls' locker room rather than the boys. Is this what the legislators envisaged? If not, what were they thinking about?
Take a look here and here and at the actual text of the bill here.
In brief, the California Senate have passed a bill that ends "sex" being defined as "the biological condition or quality of being a male or female human being." and refines the term "gender" for all schoolchildren by adding this "'Gender' means sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth." In other words gender has been redefined to be that which you choose to be regardless of your anatomical make-up.
This bill also uses this redefinition of gender to forbid educators from discriminating against any individual employee, student or other person based upon that individual's unspoken claim of being male or female, regardless of his or her actual sex.
As a result of this bill the Los Angeles Unified School District has already adopted policies allowing boys to use girls' restrooms and locker rooms and of course vice versa. Also it even tells teachers they need to refer to students using the student's preferred pronoun, and of course, it prohibits the teachers from disclosing a student's chosen gender to the student's parents.
Now part of me, and I won't say which part, thinks that if I was a 14 year old NotaSheep again, then I might very well prefer to shower in the girls' locker room rather than the boys. Is this what the legislators envisaged? If not, what were they thinking about?
Global Warming is the cause of...
A wonderful article by John Brignell the author of Numberwatch, listing the over 300 problems allegedly caused by global warming. Here's an extract from the article...
"When I began to compile the complete list of things caused by global warming...I only included things for which I could provide a link. That list of over three hundred items is still growing daily..., and contains some remarkable and delightfully contradictory examples. A new raft of entries has now come in from the Stern Report. These include notably an increase in gender inequalities with men migrating and women subject to impoverishment, forced marriage, labour exploitation, trafficking and natural disasters. You could not make that up – it is beyond satire.
What is not a cause for jocularity is the evidence that all this provides for putrefaction in the groves of academe: for most of these excesses emanate from university departments, and are by people rejoicing in the debased title of professor. Not only does it illustrate the pathetic race to grovel before the priesthood of political correctness, who have seized control of research funding all over the world, it also reveals a loss of that sense of proportion that was once the backbone of experimental science."
Do take read of the article and look at some of the links John Brignell has found.
Later this weekend I will be posting more on the man Made Climate Change myth.
"When I began to compile the complete list of things caused by global warming...I only included things for which I could provide a link. That list of over three hundred items is still growing daily..., and contains some remarkable and delightfully contradictory examples. A new raft of entries has now come in from the Stern Report. These include notably an increase in gender inequalities with men migrating and women subject to impoverishment, forced marriage, labour exploitation, trafficking and natural disasters. You could not make that up – it is beyond satire.
What is not a cause for jocularity is the evidence that all this provides for putrefaction in the groves of academe: for most of these excesses emanate from university departments, and are by people rejoicing in the debased title of professor. Not only does it illustrate the pathetic race to grovel before the priesthood of political correctness, who have seized control of research funding all over the world, it also reveals a loss of that sense of proportion that was once the backbone of experimental science."
Do take read of the article and look at some of the links John Brignell has found.
Later this weekend I will be posting more on the man Made Climate Change myth.
Ken or Boris
This thread from the Guardian's Comment is Free section may be of interest.
By the way what is the latest on the Lee Jasper story, does anyone know?
By the way what is the latest on the Lee Jasper story, does anyone know?
Stagflation?
Following my posts here and here in November as well as here, here and here in December regarding stagflation, I now read in the Guardian's "Comment is Free" that Joseph Stiglitz is of the same opinion.
"The world economy has had several good years...the good times may be ending...Until now, three critical factors helped the world weather soaring oil prices. First, China, with its enormous productivity increases - based on resting on high levels of investment, including investments in education and technology - exported its deflation. Second, the US took advantage of this by lowering interest rates to unprecedented levels, inducing a housing bubble, with mortgages available to anyone not on a life-support system. Finally, workers all over the world took it on the chin, accepting lower real wages and a smaller share of GDP....That game is up. China is now facing inflationary pressures. What's more, if the US convinces China to let its currency appreciate, the cost of living in the US and elsewhere will rise. And, with the rise of biofuels, the food and energy markets have become integrated. Combined with increasing demand from those with higher incomes and lower supplies due to weather-related problems associated with climate change, this means high food prices - a lethal threat to developing countries. Prospects for America's consumption binge continuing are also bleak... slower growth - or possibly a recession - in the world's largest economy inevitably has global consequences. There will be a global slowdown. If monetary authorities respond appropriately to growing inflationary pressure - recognising that much of it is imported, and not a result of excess domestic demand - we may be able to manage our way through it. But if they raise interest rates relentlessly to meet inflation targets, we should prepare for the worst: another episode of stagflation."
I am but a humble NotaSheep, In 2001 Mr Stiglitz was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics.
"The world economy has had several good years...the good times may be ending...Until now, three critical factors helped the world weather soaring oil prices. First, China, with its enormous productivity increases - based on resting on high levels of investment, including investments in education and technology - exported its deflation. Second, the US took advantage of this by lowering interest rates to unprecedented levels, inducing a housing bubble, with mortgages available to anyone not on a life-support system. Finally, workers all over the world took it on the chin, accepting lower real wages and a smaller share of GDP....That game is up. China is now facing inflationary pressures. What's more, if the US convinces China to let its currency appreciate, the cost of living in the US and elsewhere will rise. And, with the rise of biofuels, the food and energy markets have become integrated. Combined with increasing demand from those with higher incomes and lower supplies due to weather-related problems associated with climate change, this means high food prices - a lethal threat to developing countries. Prospects for America's consumption binge continuing are also bleak... slower growth - or possibly a recession - in the world's largest economy inevitably has global consequences. There will be a global slowdown. If monetary authorities respond appropriately to growing inflationary pressure - recognising that much of it is imported, and not a result of excess domestic demand - we may be able to manage our way through it. But if they raise interest rates relentlessly to meet inflation targets, we should prepare for the worst: another episode of stagflation."
I am but a humble NotaSheep, In 2001 Mr Stiglitz was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics.
Justin Webb
Justin Webb is the BBC's North America editor and according to Iain Dale managed to ignore the Republican primary on last night's 10 o'clock news. His blog has a piece asking "My question on Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee is how, when America is at war on several fronts, when Pakistan is on the brink, when Kenya is teetering, when the Middle East is, well, the Middle East; how in this case can America seriously contemplate electing one of two men who have zero foreign policy experience?"
Of course what he is really questioning is how the American Democrats can not be voting for Hilary Clinton after all the effort the BBC have been putting into supporting her campaign.
I do like one of the comments on the above link, in reply to his posting:
"10. At 07:37 AM on 04 Jan 2008, John Backhouse wrote:
Steady on Mr Webb. You are ALWAYS telling Americans what they should be doing and sneering at everything they do. I really don't remember you complaining about Tony Blair or Bill Clinton's lack of foreign policy experience. Did you? I don't think you did. The fact is that you wanted them to select Hilary and now you've got the grumps. This democracy thing, eh? Why can't the BBC just rule the world instead?
Hilary gained no more experience of foreign policy faffing around as Bill's wife than I have of playing first oboe by watching my wife do it. She has no experience but then that wouldn't bother you as she's he candidate the Beeb is backing.
Bah! Come home and send a lad with a laptop to report some basic facts and get on with summat useful. Please."
Of course what he is really questioning is how the American Democrats can not be voting for Hilary Clinton after all the effort the BBC have been putting into supporting her campaign.
I do like one of the comments on the above link, in reply to his posting:
"10. At 07:37 AM on 04 Jan 2008, John Backhouse wrote:
Steady on Mr Webb. You are ALWAYS telling Americans what they should be doing and sneering at everything they do. I really don't remember you complaining about Tony Blair or Bill Clinton's lack of foreign policy experience. Did you? I don't think you did. The fact is that you wanted them to select Hilary and now you've got the grumps. This democracy thing, eh? Why can't the BBC just rule the world instead?
Hilary gained no more experience of foreign policy faffing around as Bill's wife than I have of playing first oboe by watching my wife do it. She has no experience but then that wouldn't bother you as she's he candidate the Beeb is backing.
Bah! Come home and send a lad with a laptop to report some basic facts and get on with summat useful. Please."
News from Kenya
Iain Dale has reproduced a very moving email sent yesterday by someone living in Kenya, you should read it as it tells the story better than any TV or radio news report. Please read the whole email here.
Here are two extracts that have left me feeling profoundly depressed as one of the few "success story countries" in Africa looks like failing and failing violently:
"My maid lives in Kageme and 2 days ago one of her neighbours fell seriously ill - they persuaded the other neighbour to use his car to rush her to hospital - the local clinic is overwhelmed with folks dying of gun shot wounds and can't cope with someone complaining about a sore stomach (the lady actually had acute septicemia from an infected uterus). The neighbour asked his nephews to clear a couple of large rocks off the road from the previous night's road blocks - as they were doing this, and with not so much as a warning, they were shot by the para-military police (presumable because they we perceived to be placing rocks on the road). One died and the other will no doubt lose his leg - pretty heavy punishment for their suspected crime - blocking a road. Typical heavy handed treatment from the powers that be."
"You should see the stuff considered too offensive for public broadcast - the Kikuyu lady gang raped by 60 youth who bleed to death where they left her - 35 kids cooked in a church - they look strangely like roasted piglets covered in crackling. 11 severed heads impaled on stick as revenge killings by Mungiki (the new version of the old Mau Mau secret Kikuyu sect - they drink blood and semen from a raped and killed female victim as part of their initiation) - How come African women get such a bad deal? A bit of gender equality - Luo men who have been dragged off buses and had their foreskins cut off with a Panga. Ain't AFRICA just the greatest place in the world to be - even a country as sophisticated as Kenya has all this seething hatred just a few inches below the surface."
Here are two extracts that have left me feeling profoundly depressed as one of the few "success story countries" in Africa looks like failing and failing violently:
"My maid lives in Kageme and 2 days ago one of her neighbours fell seriously ill - they persuaded the other neighbour to use his car to rush her to hospital - the local clinic is overwhelmed with folks dying of gun shot wounds and can't cope with someone complaining about a sore stomach (the lady actually had acute septicemia from an infected uterus). The neighbour asked his nephews to clear a couple of large rocks off the road from the previous night's road blocks - as they were doing this, and with not so much as a warning, they were shot by the para-military police (presumable because they we perceived to be placing rocks on the road). One died and the other will no doubt lose his leg - pretty heavy punishment for their suspected crime - blocking a road. Typical heavy handed treatment from the powers that be."
"You should see the stuff considered too offensive for public broadcast - the Kikuyu lady gang raped by 60 youth who bleed to death where they left her - 35 kids cooked in a church - they look strangely like roasted piglets covered in crackling. 11 severed heads impaled on stick as revenge killings by Mungiki (the new version of the old Mau Mau secret Kikuyu sect - they drink blood and semen from a raped and killed female victim as part of their initiation) - How come African women get such a bad deal? A bit of gender equality - Luo men who have been dragged off buses and had their foreskins cut off with a Panga. Ain't AFRICA just the greatest place in the world to be - even a country as sophisticated as Kenya has all this seething hatred just a few inches below the surface."
Some light relief
Do you ever get bothered by telesales calls? Not sure how to get rid of them? Have you thought of using this approach?...
Thanks to Grouchy Old Cripple via Lady Jane.
Thanks to Grouchy Old Cripple via Lady Jane.
At least David Milliband is a better Foreign Secretary than Margaret Beckett?
An odd piece in yesterday's Ephraim Hardcastle column in the Daily Mail. Apparently in a radio interview on Wednesday, David Milliband informed listeners that Benazir Bhutto was the prime minister of Pakistan when she was assassinated. If true this is either a monumental slip-up or a sign of the Peter Principle in action.
The Peter Principle states that "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Is this Labour government the living proof of the Peter Principle?
The Peter Principle states that "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Is this Labour government the living proof of the Peter Principle?
Time to set loose the attack dogs, Gordon?
I have previously predicted here that Labour's attacks on David Cameron's "privileged background", as I said the keywords will be Eton, privilege, wealthy parents, silver spoon and toff. In an attempt by Gordon Brown to turn the tide of opinion polls I think that another wave of attacks on the suitability of David Cameron for the role of Prime Minister is on its way.
Will the tactic work? It has less chance than it did last Autumn - there is a mood for change in the country and I don't know if the Labour party and the BBC can reverse it.
The second strand of the attempted Labour party recovery will be to try and improve the Liberal Democrats standing so as to diminish the gains the Conservative party has made from them. Will this tactic work? That depends upon how well Nick Clegg performs over the next few months and whether David Cameron can up his game again.
Will the tactic work? It has less chance than it did last Autumn - there is a mood for change in the country and I don't know if the Labour party and the BBC can reverse it.
The second strand of the attempted Labour party recovery will be to try and improve the Liberal Democrats standing so as to diminish the gains the Conservative party has made from them. Will this tactic work? That depends upon how well Nick Clegg performs over the next few months and whether David Cameron can up his game again.
US Presidential election quotations
Mr Eugenides is back from his long festive season break and has a nice set of quotations from many of the US Presidential candidates, here's three but do go and see the rest.
Rudy Giuliani: "Freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it."
Hillary Clinton, asked whether she'd support if her hometown Chicago Cubs or her adopted team, the New York Yankees, played each other in the World Series: "Well, I would probably have to alternate sides."
Barack Obama, a few days after a tornado hit a town in Kansas: "In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed." In fact just 12 people died.
Rudy Giuliani: "Freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it."
Hillary Clinton, asked whether she'd support if her hometown Chicago Cubs or her adopted team, the New York Yankees, played each other in the World Series: "Well, I would probably have to alternate sides."
Barack Obama, a few days after a tornado hit a town in Kansas: "In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed." In fact just 12 people died.
United Nations Security Council news
Libya today becomes "Chair" of the UN Security Council for the month of January 2008, having been elected to the Security Council last October. The Presidency is held in strict rotation, one month per country - sorted alphabetically.
Discuss...
Discuss...
House Market woes
LSL / Your Move have announced the closure of 13 branches of their Estate Agents business making several hundred employees redundant. I predict that there will be more redundancies at other Estate Agencies soon.
The BBC sound amazed at the Iowa Caucus results
Hilary Clinton comes in third in the Iowa Democrat caucus voting and the BBC just don't get it. How can this happen to their chosen candidate? Radio 5 live at around 07:10 started with the headline that Huckabee won for the Republicans and Obama for the Democrats and then went into a five minute discussion of the Democratic party result and what it meant for Hilary Clinton and John Edwards. Hardly any more mention of the Republican result or what it meant for Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney and no mention at all of the John McCain campaign or indeed Fred Thomson. But then why should the BBC give publicity to the Republican party, when the Democrats are going to win this time, aren't they? They must this time surely, the BBC will do their best to ensure that the British population think that is a done deal.
The BBC Radio 4 news headlines at 08:30 tell us that Mike Huckabee won the Republican party nomination and Barack Obama the Democartic party nomination and then tells us that Barack Obama beat Hilary Clinton and John Edwards. The BBC keeping tabs on "their candidates"; after all why should they, or us, be interested in the Republican candidates when the BBC narrative is that Mike Huckerbee is a "creationist", Mitt Romney a "right winger", John McCain and Fred Thomson "too old"
For what it is worth, I predict that Barack Obama will win the Democrat party nomination nomination and John McCain will surprise many to win the Republican party nomination.
The BBC Radio 4 news headlines at 08:30 tell us that Mike Huckabee won the Republican party nomination and Barack Obama the Democartic party nomination and then tells us that Barack Obama beat Hilary Clinton and John Edwards. The BBC keeping tabs on "their candidates"; after all why should they, or us, be interested in the Republican candidates when the BBC narrative is that Mike Huckerbee is a "creationist", Mitt Romney a "right winger", John McCain and Fred Thomson "too old"
For what it is worth, I predict that Barack Obama will win the Democrat party nomination nomination and John McCain will surprise many to win the Republican party nomination.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Quelle surprise
From the FT "The core eurozone countries – Germany, France and Italy – find it difficult to reform when times are bad. Invariably, governments intervene to protect voters from the downturn. Worse, these countries also find it hard to reform in good times. Governments often confuse a cyclical upturn with a secular improvement, and ease up on necessary but uncomfortable reforms."
That explains a lot about the lack of European reform, doesn't it?
The article continues "Thankfully, 2008 promises to be neither particularly bad nor good for the eurozone. It is therefore a propitious moment in both econ?omic and electoral cycles to deliver on reform. It is true the fallout from the credit crisis, the strong euro and high energy prices will make life trickier for exporters and governments. But the eurozone economy is still growing around trend. Many economists expect this to continue into 2008 – albeit with some softening in mid-year."
A touch optimistic I feel, both in terms of the chances of reform and the prospects for the Euro Zone economies. Mind you the FT's pro-EU bias means that I rarely read it, except for on holiday when I run out of proper newspapers and have to move onto Mrs NotaSheep's papers.
That explains a lot about the lack of European reform, doesn't it?
The article continues "Thankfully, 2008 promises to be neither particularly bad nor good for the eurozone. It is therefore a propitious moment in both econ?omic and electoral cycles to deliver on reform. It is true the fallout from the credit crisis, the strong euro and high energy prices will make life trickier for exporters and governments. But the eurozone economy is still growing around trend. Many economists expect this to continue into 2008 – albeit with some softening in mid-year."
A touch optimistic I feel, both in terms of the chances of reform and the prospects for the Euro Zone economies. Mind you the FT's pro-EU bias means that I rarely read it, except for on holiday when I run out of proper newspapers and have to move onto Mrs NotaSheep's papers.
Who'd have guessed?
Apparently "Prominent Muslim organisations and individuals have pledged to back Ken Livingstone as mayor of London, saying it is in the "best interest" of Muslims to vote for him in this year's elections on May 1."
How incredible, it is not as though Ken Livingstone has been courting the Muslim vote for the last x years.
This passage spoke volumes to me, bearing in mind my recent post (my emphasis)
"His courting of Muslim groups and leaders sparked controversy in 2004, when he invited Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi to a conference about female students wearing hijab. Among his fiercest critics was gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who condemned the invitation because of al-Qaradawi's support for "female genital mutilation, wife-beating, the execution of homosexuals in Islamic states, the destruction of the Jewish people, the use of suicide bombs against innocent civilians and the blaming of rape victims who do not dress with sufficient modesty".
Do read the rest of the article, the quotations from "Islamic leaders" are well worth the reading time.
How incredible, it is not as though Ken Livingstone has been courting the Muslim vote for the last x years.
This passage spoke volumes to me, bearing in mind my recent post (my emphasis)
"His courting of Muslim groups and leaders sparked controversy in 2004, when he invited Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi to a conference about female students wearing hijab. Among his fiercest critics was gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who condemned the invitation because of al-Qaradawi's support for "female genital mutilation, wife-beating, the execution of homosexuals in Islamic states, the destruction of the Jewish people, the use of suicide bombs against innocent civilians and the blaming of rape victims who do not dress with sufficient modesty".
Do read the rest of the article, the quotations from "Islamic leaders" are well worth the reading time.
How many? FGM - do not read if squeamish
I am genuinely amazed and shocked by this story; I knew that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was happening in the UK but had no idea of the scale or the relative openness.
"By conservative estimates, 66,000 women and girls living in Britain have been mutilated. This figure, accepted by the Metropolitan Police, came in a report by a volunteer organisation funded by the Department of Health and carried out with academics from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and the City University.
And thousands more girls are at imminent risk as families club together to fly professional “cutters” from Africa to Britain.
These women “elders” perform the crude operation for up to £40 a time, often on kitchen tables or floors, without anaesthetic, using filthy, blunt knives, razor blades or scalpels."
Of course, the government legislated against FGM, but also of course "Under the 2003 Female Genital Mutilation Act, those involved could be jailed for 14 years. Yet the fact that no one has been prosecuted says much about the problems the police are facing."
If you are unsure as to what FGM is, then this should make it clear - WARNING do not read on if you are squeamish -
FGM "involves removing part or all of the clitoris, the surrounding labia (the outer part of the vagina) and sometimes the sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood."
Do read the rest of the article and wonder at the state of the UK in 2008.
Draw your own conclusions, I am all but speechless...
"By conservative estimates, 66,000 women and girls living in Britain have been mutilated. This figure, accepted by the Metropolitan Police, came in a report by a volunteer organisation funded by the Department of Health and carried out with academics from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and the City University.
And thousands more girls are at imminent risk as families club together to fly professional “cutters” from Africa to Britain.
These women “elders” perform the crude operation for up to £40 a time, often on kitchen tables or floors, without anaesthetic, using filthy, blunt knives, razor blades or scalpels."
Of course, the government legislated against FGM, but also of course "Under the 2003 Female Genital Mutilation Act, those involved could be jailed for 14 years. Yet the fact that no one has been prosecuted says much about the problems the police are facing."
If you are unsure as to what FGM is, then this should make it clear - WARNING do not read on if you are squeamish -
FGM "involves removing part or all of the clitoris, the surrounding labia (the outer part of the vagina) and sometimes the sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood."
Do read the rest of the article and wonder at the state of the UK in 2008.
Draw your own conclusions, I am all but speechless...
How's "deep cleaning the NHS" going?
A lovely heartwarming story in the Daily Mail today, it would appear that "Joan Horne ... a tape recorder in her hand, she marched off to Barnsley Hospital in Yorkshire and forced managers to admit that not only had Edwin (her husband) contracted a lethal infection called Clostridium difficile (C. diff) as a patient, but that doctors failed to declare the truth on his death certificate." The whole story is shocking and disgusting but no more than anyone who has visited an NHS hospital recently would expect.
It looks as though this is yet another example of a dishonest, incompetent government fiddling the figures to try and hide their incompetence. Can anyone think of any other examples?
It looks as though this is yet another example of a dishonest, incompetent government fiddling the figures to try and hide their incompetence. Can anyone think of any other examples?
Did Gordon wash his hands first?
It is reported that our glorious leader, Gordon "picks his nose in public" Brown has visited patients at the Royal Marsden hospital following the terrible fire they experienced there yesterday.
Apart from the thought that if I was in a cancer hospital would I really want to have to be polite when being introduced to the man who has presided over the most incompetent funding increase of the NHS ever. I also wonder if Gordon Brown washed his hands (or more precisely his fingers) before being photographed shaking hands with at least one patient. Cancer sufferers often have compromised immune systems both as a symptom of the cancer and also as a result of the chemotherapy drugs (should they be undergoing chemotherapy treatment); they really should not have to shake hands with someone whose fingers were only minutes ago likely to have been digging away inside one or other of his nostrils and moving any detritus to his mouth or tie.
Apart from the thought that if I was in a cancer hospital would I really want to have to be polite when being introduced to the man who has presided over the most incompetent funding increase of the NHS ever. I also wonder if Gordon Brown washed his hands (or more precisely his fingers) before being photographed shaking hands with at least one patient. Cancer sufferers often have compromised immune systems both as a symptom of the cancer and also as a result of the chemotherapy drugs (should they be undergoing chemotherapy treatment); they really should not have to shake hands with someone whose fingers were only minutes ago likely to have been digging away inside one or other of his nostrils and moving any detritus to his mouth or tie.
Supporting the Pound
Does anyone know how much money the Bank of England has spent over the last two weeks in supporting the pound Sterling on the foreign exchange markets? I would be very interested to know...
The credit crunch hits harder
Apparently "Banks reduced lending to UK households in the last three months of 2007 as a result of the continuing credit crunch, according to a Bank of England survey.
The central bank expects the situation to continue, with banks less willing to lend because of the higher cost and reduced availability of credit. Lending to business customers has also fallen sharply, the Bank's quarterly Credit Conditions Survey showed."
It is only going to get worse, Gordon and Alistair should be worried - the people will get angry when the scale of the economic collapse becomes clear.
The central bank expects the situation to continue, with banks less willing to lend because of the higher cost and reduced availability of credit. Lending to business customers has also fallen sharply, the Bank's quarterly Credit Conditions Survey showed."
It is only going to get worse, Gordon and Alistair should be worried - the people will get angry when the scale of the economic collapse becomes clear.
Is this the future for "dissident" UK bloggers
From THe Washington Post comes news that "Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, has been detained for questioning, an Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed Monday... Farhan, 32, who used his blog to criticize corruption and call for political reform, was detained "for violating rules not related to state security,"
Maybe Guido Fawkes, Devils Kitchen etc. etc. should be concerned, I am sure Gordon Brown would love to be able to do this to us.
Maybe Guido Fawkes, Devils Kitchen etc. etc. should be concerned, I am sure Gordon Brown would love to be able to do this to us.
New Years Eve
There was some agonising in the British press over the last few days about the number of people killed in "incidents" around Britain on New Years Eve, I think it was half a dozen. What I had heard nothing about was this, it appears that France had a night that was described by French police as "relatively calm". Relatively calm equated to 372 cars being torched compared to the previous New Years Eve's 397. The report also informs us that "At the height of the 2005 riots as many as 1,400 cars were attacked in overnight violence. In protests over President Nicolas Sarkozy election last May, demonstrators set fire to 730 vehicles."
Not a word in the British press about what is happening in our nearest neighbour in continental Europe, I wonder why?
Not a word in the British press about what is happening in our nearest neighbour in continental Europe, I wonder why?
Venezuela Violent Deaths Double Iraq's Numbers
Many thanks to Gateway Pundit for this spot. It appears that the Hugo Chavez regime much loved by the western media and especially the BBC presided over a country that in the "last three months" of 2007 experienced around 3,000 murders whilst there were "1,498 civilian fatalities in Iraq". "For the last three months of 2007, a Venezuelan was twice as likely to lose his life to violence as an Iraqi".
I wonder if the BBC will report this...
I wonder if the BBC will report this...
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
The BBC allow some criticism of Gordon Brown but then revert to type
BBC Three, "The Most Annoying People of the Year" tonight, places Gordon Brown at number 39 and slates him for "dithering", "being scared" and for having "bottled it". We are also told that in 2007 Gordon Brown got really good at getting on our nerves.
Of course the BBC still managed to be nasty about Lady Thatcher though with talk of how even Gordon Brown must have been nasty to Lady Thatcher behind the closed doors of Number 10, I believe throwing food and having her wiped down before sending her out of the front door. In fact I doubt if Gordon Brown was as nasty to Lady Thatcher's face as his previous record would suggest. Gordon Brown invited Lady Thatcher to tea so he could wind up the Conservative party and its supporters. He was probably nice and polite to her face because that is the sort of hypocrite he is.
Of course the BBC still managed to be nasty about Lady Thatcher though with talk of how even Gordon Brown must have been nasty to Lady Thatcher behind the closed doors of Number 10, I believe throwing food and having her wiped down before sending her out of the front door. In fact I doubt if Gordon Brown was as nasty to Lady Thatcher's face as his previous record would suggest. Gordon Brown invited Lady Thatcher to tea so he could wind up the Conservative party and its supporters. He was probably nice and polite to her face because that is the sort of hypocrite he is.
I would like to say that I am one of the 50...
Take a read of this from the Daily Mash, a site that I should visit more often...
"DRIVERS who can position their car in the middle of a parking space at a supermarket are sliding closer to extinction, conservationists have warned...
"There are now less than 50 people in the UK who are able to do this," said Dr Logan. "That's not just a tragedy for our planet, it's doing my fucking head in every time I go to Homebase.""
Funny but also very near the truth.
"DRIVERS who can position their car in the middle of a parking space at a supermarket are sliding closer to extinction, conservationists have warned...
"There are now less than 50 people in the UK who are able to do this," said Dr Logan. "That's not just a tragedy for our planet, it's doing my fucking head in every time I go to Homebase.""
Funny but also very near the truth.
Surveillance society
I have blogged often about the way the UK is being turned into a surveillance society (sorry about the cliche, I normally avoid them like the plague) and Devils Kitchen has a nice article on this today, reporting on the 2007 Privacy International Report.
It is true that it is shameful that the UK comes into the worst category, that of "Endemic surveillance societies". However what is also interesting, and not commented upon, is that only 70 countries are reported upon. Take a look at what countries are not included in the survey and can you imagine what their status would be?
No countries in Africa other than South Africa and no countries in the Middle East other than Israel are reported upon - both of these countries fall into the "Systematic failure to uphold safeguards" category (two better than the UK). I wonder how Zimbabwe or Sudan or Nigeria would fare in Africa and how Syria or Saudi Arabia or Egypt would fare in the Middle East. Only India appears in the Indian sub-continent, I wonder how Pakistan or Bangladesh would fare. Much of the countries in the far east are included but I wonder how Indonesia would fare. Only Argentina and Brazil are included in South America. No countries in Central America and the Caribbean are included, I wonder how Cuba would fare...
So by all means berate the UL for its appalling record, in a category along with the US, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China and Malaysia but do also wonder who would be in our group as well if more countries were graded.
Interestingly Greece comes out as the best ranked country, the only one to make the category "Adequate safeguards against abuse".
The UK is criticised for:
World leading surveillance schemes
Lack of accountability and data breach disclosure law
Commissioner has few powers
Interception of communications is authorised by politician, evidence not used in court, and oversight is by commissioner who reports only once a year upon reviewing a subset of applications
Hundreds of thousands of requests from government agencies to telecommunications providers for traffic data
Data retention scheme took a significant step forward with the quiet changes based on EU law
Plans are emerging regarding surveillance of communications networks for the protection of copyrighted content
Despite data breaches, 'joined-up government' initiatives continue
Identity scheme still planned to be the most invasive in the world, highly centralised and biometrics-driven; plan to issue all foreigners with cards in 2008 are continuing
E-borders plans include increased data collection on travellers
England & Wales alone for:
Inherited constitutional and statutory protections from UK Government and many of the policies
National policies are not judged, e.g. Communications surveillance, border and trans-border issues
Councils continue to spread surveillance policies, including RFID, CCTV, ID and data sharing, road user tracking
Few democratic safeguards at local government level, even though local government may be more accountable to electorate because of smaller numbers, decisions do not appear to be informed by research, prototyping
Scotland alone for:
Inherited constitutional and statutory protections from UK Government and only some of the policies
National policies are not judged, e.g. Communications surveillance, border and trans-border issues
Stronger protections on civil liberties
DNA database is not as open to abuse as policy in England and Wales
Identity policy is showing possibility of avoiding mistakes of UK Government
Scottish government appears more responsive and open to informed debate than local governments in England
I see that the EU is included this year, I wonder when all the EU countries appear under the heading of EU with just their small remaining variances from the EU norm listed?
Here are some extracts from the "Summary of key findings"
The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance of privacy safeguards.
Countries have moved swiftly to implement database, identity and fingerprinting systems, often without regard to the privacy implications for their own citizens
The 2007 rankings show an increasing trend amongst governments to archive data on the geographic, communications and financial records of all their citizens and residents. This trend leads to the conclusion that all citizens, regardless of legal status, are under suspicion.
The privacy trends have been fueled by the emergence of a profitable surveillance industry dominated by global IT companies and the creation of numerous international treaties that frequently operate outside judicial or democratic processes.
Surveillance initiatives initiated by Brussels have caused a substantial decline in privacy across Europe, eroding protections even in those countries that have shown a traditionally high regard for privacy.
The privacy performance of older democracies in Europe is generally failing, while the performance of newer democracies is becoming generally stronger.
In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US is the worst ranking country in the democratic world. In terms of overall privacy protection the United States has performed very poorly, being out-ranked by both India and the Philippines and falling into the "black" category, denoting endemic surveillance.
The worst ranking EU country is the United Kingdom, which again fell into the "black" category along with Russia and Singapore. However for the first time Scotland has been given its own ranking score and performed significantly better than England & Wales.
All very interesting but as I say the absence of the countries not ranked is almost as intriguing.
Thanks to Devils Kitchen for reporting on the article on Samizdata that referred to the article on Andrew Sullivan that looked to the article on wired.com etc. etc. etc.
It is true that it is shameful that the UK comes into the worst category, that of "Endemic surveillance societies". However what is also interesting, and not commented upon, is that only 70 countries are reported upon. Take a look at what countries are not included in the survey and can you imagine what their status would be?
No countries in Africa other than South Africa and no countries in the Middle East other than Israel are reported upon - both of these countries fall into the "Systematic failure to uphold safeguards" category (two better than the UK). I wonder how Zimbabwe or Sudan or Nigeria would fare in Africa and how Syria or Saudi Arabia or Egypt would fare in the Middle East. Only India appears in the Indian sub-continent, I wonder how Pakistan or Bangladesh would fare. Much of the countries in the far east are included but I wonder how Indonesia would fare. Only Argentina and Brazil are included in South America. No countries in Central America and the Caribbean are included, I wonder how Cuba would fare...
So by all means berate the UL for its appalling record, in a category along with the US, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China and Malaysia but do also wonder who would be in our group as well if more countries were graded.
Interestingly Greece comes out as the best ranked country, the only one to make the category "Adequate safeguards against abuse".
The UK is criticised for:
World leading surveillance schemes
Lack of accountability and data breach disclosure law
Commissioner has few powers
Interception of communications is authorised by politician, evidence not used in court, and oversight is by commissioner who reports only once a year upon reviewing a subset of applications
Hundreds of thousands of requests from government agencies to telecommunications providers for traffic data
Data retention scheme took a significant step forward with the quiet changes based on EU law
Plans are emerging regarding surveillance of communications networks for the protection of copyrighted content
Despite data breaches, 'joined-up government' initiatives continue
Identity scheme still planned to be the most invasive in the world, highly centralised and biometrics-driven; plan to issue all foreigners with cards in 2008 are continuing
E-borders plans include increased data collection on travellers
England & Wales alone for:
Inherited constitutional and statutory protections from UK Government and many of the policies
National policies are not judged, e.g. Communications surveillance, border and trans-border issues
Councils continue to spread surveillance policies, including RFID, CCTV, ID and data sharing, road user tracking
Few democratic safeguards at local government level, even though local government may be more accountable to electorate because of smaller numbers, decisions do not appear to be informed by research, prototyping
Scotland alone for:
Inherited constitutional and statutory protections from UK Government and only some of the policies
National policies are not judged, e.g. Communications surveillance, border and trans-border issues
Stronger protections on civil liberties
DNA database is not as open to abuse as policy in England and Wales
Identity policy is showing possibility of avoiding mistakes of UK Government
Scottish government appears more responsive and open to informed debate than local governments in England
I see that the EU is included this year, I wonder when all the EU countries appear under the heading of EU with just their small remaining variances from the EU norm listed?
Here are some extracts from the "Summary of key findings"
The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance of privacy safeguards.
Countries have moved swiftly to implement database, identity and fingerprinting systems, often without regard to the privacy implications for their own citizens
The 2007 rankings show an increasing trend amongst governments to archive data on the geographic, communications and financial records of all their citizens and residents. This trend leads to the conclusion that all citizens, regardless of legal status, are under suspicion.
The privacy trends have been fueled by the emergence of a profitable surveillance industry dominated by global IT companies and the creation of numerous international treaties that frequently operate outside judicial or democratic processes.
Surveillance initiatives initiated by Brussels have caused a substantial decline in privacy across Europe, eroding protections even in those countries that have shown a traditionally high regard for privacy.
The privacy performance of older democracies in Europe is generally failing, while the performance of newer democracies is becoming generally stronger.
In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US is the worst ranking country in the democratic world. In terms of overall privacy protection the United States has performed very poorly, being out-ranked by both India and the Philippines and falling into the "black" category, denoting endemic surveillance.
The worst ranking EU country is the United Kingdom, which again fell into the "black" category along with Russia and Singapore. However for the first time Scotland has been given its own ranking score and performed significantly better than England & Wales.
All very interesting but as I say the absence of the countries not ranked is almost as intriguing.
Thanks to Devils Kitchen for reporting on the article on Samizdata that referred to the article on Andrew Sullivan that looked to the article on wired.com etc. etc. etc.
2008 = 1929?
I predicted this here and here and gave you a couple of nice quotations here:
1."Speculation begins when a price is going up and the presumptively wise expect a further increase. They buy and thus produced the increase. More buy, and more and yet more are attracted. Each price increase affirms the good sense of those who have bought before. Those who doubt are reviled as creatures of defective imagination. The buying and the supporting mood continue until the available supply of mentally vulnerable, economically viable buyers is exhausted. Then come the changed views of the prospect, the rush to get out, the pressure now of creditors demanding repayment of the loans that financed purchase, thus forcing sale. In short, the crash."
So wrote John Kenneth Galbraith in his book "In a Journey Through Economic Time" in which he described the warning signs that led up to the crash of 1929.
2. A shorter more pithy quotation from 1929 that is, so far as I know, unattributed was "When the lift boy says buy, it’s time to sell".
Today, I see that the word is spreading. The Telegraph report that "As central banks continue to splash their cash over the system, so far to little effect, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard argues that things risk spiralling out of their control
Twenty billion dollars here, $20bn there, and a lush half-trillion from the European Central Bank at give-away rates for Christmas. Buckets of liquidity are being splashed over the North Atlantic banking system, so far with meagre or fleeting effects.
As the credit paralysis stretches through its fifth month, a chorus of economists has begun to warn that the world's central banks are fighting the wrong war, and perhaps risk a policy error of epochal proportions.
York professor Peter Spencer, chief economist for the ITEM Club, says the global authorities have just weeks to get this right, or trigger disaster.
"The central banks are rapidly losing control. By not cutting interest rates nearly far enough or fast enough, they are allowing the money markets to dictate policy. We are long past worrying about moral hazard," he says.
"They still have another couple of months before this starts imploding. Things are very unstable and can move incredibly fast. I don't think the central banks are going to make a major policy error, but if they do, this could make 1929 look like a walk in the park," he adds."
Do read the rest but I warn you it is a depressing read.
1."Speculation begins when a price is going up and the presumptively wise expect a further increase. They buy and thus produced the increase. More buy, and more and yet more are attracted. Each price increase affirms the good sense of those who have bought before. Those who doubt are reviled as creatures of defective imagination. The buying and the supporting mood continue until the available supply of mentally vulnerable, economically viable buyers is exhausted. Then come the changed views of the prospect, the rush to get out, the pressure now of creditors demanding repayment of the loans that financed purchase, thus forcing sale. In short, the crash."
So wrote John Kenneth Galbraith in his book "In a Journey Through Economic Time" in which he described the warning signs that led up to the crash of 1929.
2. A shorter more pithy quotation from 1929 that is, so far as I know, unattributed was "When the lift boy says buy, it’s time to sell".
Today, I see that the word is spreading. The Telegraph report that "As central banks continue to splash their cash over the system, so far to little effect, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard argues that things risk spiralling out of their control
Twenty billion dollars here, $20bn there, and a lush half-trillion from the European Central Bank at give-away rates for Christmas. Buckets of liquidity are being splashed over the North Atlantic banking system, so far with meagre or fleeting effects.
As the credit paralysis stretches through its fifth month, a chorus of economists has begun to warn that the world's central banks are fighting the wrong war, and perhaps risk a policy error of epochal proportions.
York professor Peter Spencer, chief economist for the ITEM Club, says the global authorities have just weeks to get this right, or trigger disaster.
"The central banks are rapidly losing control. By not cutting interest rates nearly far enough or fast enough, they are allowing the money markets to dictate policy. We are long past worrying about moral hazard," he says.
"They still have another couple of months before this starts imploding. Things are very unstable and can move incredibly fast. I don't think the central banks are going to make a major policy error, but if they do, this could make 1929 look like a walk in the park," he adds."
Do read the rest but I warn you it is a depressing read.
The economic outlook is grim
I have been predicting a bad recession for quite a while now and it amuses me when I read predictions that house prices may be only static this year or may only drop by 3%-5%, they are going to drop by a whole lot more than that. It amuses me even more when Gordon Brown states that “Our strong economy is the foundation...and with unbending determination, in 2008, we will steer a course of stability through global financial turbulence. “The global credit problem that started in America is now the most immediate challenge for every economy and addressing it the most immediate priority...But just as we withstood the Asia crisis, the American recession, the end of the IT bubble and the trebling of oil prices and continued to grow, Britain will meet and master this new challenge by our determination to maintain stability and low inflation.”. The fact that Gordon Brown also vowed keep inflation and interest rates low is just the icing on the cake.
The FT report that "Britain this year faces the most difficult economic conditions since the dotcom bubble burst, according to the Financial Times’ annual survey of leading economists, which shows deepening pessimism about the impact of the global credit squeeze. The annual survey of 55 top economists shows confidence has tumbled from a year ago. The experts also fear that compared with 2001-02, the scope for financial authorities to mitigate any downturn is far more limited. Nearly nine in 10 think public finances are not in good order so there is no leeway for discretionary tax cuts or increases in public expenditure, and the third most-mentioned risk to the economy is inflation, limiting the ability of the Bank of England to cut interest rates."
Do read the rest of the article but beware it will leave you feeling profoundly depressed.
As Martin Weale, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said: “The public finances are in very poor shape . . . HM Treasury has managed several years of self-delusion. No doubt it will explain that it did not foresee the credit crisis and use this as an excuse.”
"Delusion" now where have I heard that before recently? Oh yes, here...
The FT report that "Britain this year faces the most difficult economic conditions since the dotcom bubble burst, according to the Financial Times’ annual survey of leading economists, which shows deepening pessimism about the impact of the global credit squeeze. The annual survey of 55 top economists shows confidence has tumbled from a year ago. The experts also fear that compared with 2001-02, the scope for financial authorities to mitigate any downturn is far more limited. Nearly nine in 10 think public finances are not in good order so there is no leeway for discretionary tax cuts or increases in public expenditure, and the third most-mentioned risk to the economy is inflation, limiting the ability of the Bank of England to cut interest rates."
Do read the rest of the article but beware it will leave you feeling profoundly depressed.
As Martin Weale, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said: “The public finances are in very poor shape . . . HM Treasury has managed several years of self-delusion. No doubt it will explain that it did not foresee the credit crisis and use this as an excuse.”
"Delusion" now where have I heard that before recently? Oh yes, here...
Welcome to my visitors from "Conservative Home"
Last night Conservative Home made my article BBC - A new year but the same old bias their latest "Latest news and blogs item" under the heading "Not a sheep" finds the BBC news page full of positive slants towards Labour". Since then I have been receiving a steady stream of visitors from Conservative Home so it seems only polite to say "welcome" to you all, to wish you a "happy new year" and to hope that you return often to my blog.
2008 will see many more posts pointing out BBC bias, the incompetence of Gordon Brown's Labour government, the dangers of this country's lurch towards totalitarianism, the collapse of the UK economy and many other topics that I feel are important to the country as a whole.
New visitors may be interested to learn that this blog appeared at number 90 in Iain Dale's poll of the top 100 right of centre blogs.
2008 will see many more posts pointing out BBC bias, the incompetence of Gordon Brown's Labour government, the dangers of this country's lurch towards totalitarianism, the collapse of the UK economy and many other topics that I feel are important to the country as a whole.
New visitors may be interested to learn that this blog appeared at number 90 in Iain Dale's poll of the top 100 right of centre blogs.
Council Tax
This graphic from Conservative Home speaks volumes...
Put it on your blog and keep it there until the local elections on 1 May.
2008 the year that Gordon's gang pay for their misdeeds of the last 15 years - lying and smearing when in opposition and sticking to those tactics when in government.
Put it on your blog and keep it there until the local elections on 1 May.
2008 the year that Gordon's gang pay for their misdeeds of the last 15 years - lying and smearing when in opposition and sticking to those tactics when in government.
They just can't help themselves
A little discussion on why we are so unhappy in the UK. Apparently it is all the fault of "Thatcherite selfish capitalism" and that we have experienced "30 years of being ripped off by Thatcher, Blair...".
The BBC Today programme, never afraid of pushing their world view down our throats.
The BBC Today programme, never afraid of pushing their world view down our throats.
Why is it always Coldplay?
Why the love-in between the BBC Today programme and Coldplay? This morning there was another 10 minute long advertising feature on Coldplay. Maybe part of their Wikipedia entry might explain it, "Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group has also performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, and the Teenage Cancer Trust". Maybe part of Chris Martin's Wikipedia entry might help you to reach the truth "Martin has been particularly outspoken on issues of fair trade and has done a great deal of campaigning for the charity Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. He personally traveled to Ghana and Haiti to study the effects of unfair trade practices. When performing, he usually has variations of "Make Trade Fair", "MTF" or an equal sign written on the back of his left hand and the letters "MTF" can be seen emblazoned on his piano.
Martin has been somewhat active in politics. He was a vocal critic of President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Martin was a strong supporter of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, most notably during his acceptance speech for the 2004 Grammy Awards Record of the Year, accepting for "Clocks"."
The BBC, happy to support anyone who supports their political agenda.
Martin has been somewhat active in politics. He was a vocal critic of President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Martin was a strong supporter of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, most notably during his acceptance speech for the 2004 Grammy Awards Record of the Year, accepting for "Clocks"."
The BBC, happy to support anyone who supports their political agenda.
24 hours to save the NHS?
Do you remember Tony Blair's claim that election day would mean the country had just "24 hours to save the NHS"? Did the voters who fell for the spin of Tony, Alistair, Peter and Gordon really believe that 10 years on people would be avoiding hospital visits in case they caught a fatal infection, that they would have to pay to park in hospital car parks, that Gordon "Prudence" Brown would have "paid" for his billions of pounds of NHS "investment" into new NHS buildings by way of a PFI off-balance sheet scam, that there would be four different NHS systems operating in the UK since devolution, according to health chiefs, that patients could be required to stop smoking, take exercise or lose weight before they can be treated on the National Health Service, that plans to eliminate excessive waiting times in the National Health Service stand no chance of succeeding and now that "Millions of people with arthritis, asthma and even heart failure will be urged to treat themselves as part of a Government plan to save billions of pounds from the NHS budget"?
In this latest case, "instead of going to hospital or consulting a doctor, patients will be encouraged to carry out "self care" as the Department of Health (DoH) tries to meet Treasury targets to curb spending."?
Apparently, these new guidelines for people with chronic conditions may include:
"• Monitoring their own heart activity, blood pressure and lung capacity using equipment installed in the home
• Reporting medical information to doctors remotely by telephone or computer
• Administering their own drugs and other treatment to "manage pain" and assessing the significance of changes in their condition
• Using relaxation techniques to relieve stress and avoid "panic" visits to emergency wards."
As the Labour party and its champagne swilling friends at the BBC lead the country in endless choruses of "things can only get better", did anyone think that after 10 years of a New Labour government if they or their family felt that they were having a heart-attack they would be taught to use relaxation techniques rather than call an ambulance?
24 hours to save the NHS or 10 years to all but ruin the NHS and the country?
In this latest case, "instead of going to hospital or consulting a doctor, patients will be encouraged to carry out "self care" as the Department of Health (DoH) tries to meet Treasury targets to curb spending."?
Apparently, these new guidelines for people with chronic conditions may include:
"• Monitoring their own heart activity, blood pressure and lung capacity using equipment installed in the home
• Reporting medical information to doctors remotely by telephone or computer
• Administering their own drugs and other treatment to "manage pain" and assessing the significance of changes in their condition
• Using relaxation techniques to relieve stress and avoid "panic" visits to emergency wards."
As the Labour party and its champagne swilling friends at the BBC lead the country in endless choruses of "things can only get better", did anyone think that after 10 years of a New Labour government if they or their family felt that they were having a heart-attack they would be taught to use relaxation techniques rather than call an ambulance?
24 hours to save the NHS or 10 years to all but ruin the NHS and the country?
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Not Kenya as well
Kenya looked as though it might continue to escape the worst ravages of the African troubles. However the recent elections and the fallout from them leave me less hopeful - "Thirty Kenyans including many children have been burned to death in a church, after seeking refuge from the mounting violence over last week's elections.
A mob attacked and set fire to the church in the western town of Eldoret where hundreds of people were hiding, say police and eyewitness reports."
Despite Gordon Brown and the EU's rhetoric don't expect any action from those quarters, instead I expect the Chinese march into Africa to now include Kenya. What march into Africa? I don't remember anything about this on the BBC? Well you wouldn't as the Chinese "assistance" is not the same as American imperialism.
A mob attacked and set fire to the church in the western town of Eldoret where hundreds of people were hiding, say police and eyewitness reports."
Despite Gordon Brown and the EU's rhetoric don't expect any action from those quarters, instead I expect the Chinese march into Africa to now include Kenya. What march into Africa? I don't remember anything about this on the BBC? Well you wouldn't as the Chinese "assistance" is not the same as American imperialism.
A General Election in 2008?
I have been pondering this possibility for a while and Jan 1 seems a good time to publish. At the moment the political landscape looks poor for Gordon Brown but not yet terminally so. If the economy is about to nose-dive including house prices then the position will only get worse for Gordon Brown. An economic collapse would finish Gordon Brown's reputation off completely.
A possible tactic for Gordon Brown would be to go for a snap election to be held alongside the local elections on May 1, this would help get the Labour voters out and so reduce their losses in the local elections and maybe he could squeeze back albeit with a much reduced majority. Of course if the Conservatives did win the election it would be with a small majority at best and then Gordon Brown, New Labour and the BBC could try to pin the economic collapse on the Conservatives.
Ah but didn't Gordon Brown promise no election before 2009 in his interview with Andrew "poodle" Marr? Well no, he did leave some wriggle room - take a look at the transcript from the Andrew Marr show (my emphasis)
"ANDREW MARR: Before we leave the subject of election timing... For the benefit of clarity, since you are rejecting the idea of a mandate general election right at the beginning of your premiership, are you also rejecting the idea of a general election in next spring or next autumn? Can we at least have some clarity about the fact there's not going to be an election for a while?
GORDON BROWN: I think that's not likely that we'll have an election, because I want to get on with the business of governing.
ANDREW MARR: Not likely when, what's the period?
GORDON BROWN: Not likely this year, not likely whatever dates you were suggesting.
ANDREW MARR: Like next year?
...
ANDREW MARR: And can you, thinking about the next period, then at least reassure those people watching that unless there's some extraordinary cataclysm there will not be a general election called in 2008, even if a few opinion polls show you well ahead?
GORDON BROWN: Well that's unlikely, I've just said it's unlikely."
Unlikely...
I still think that it is unlikely that Gordon Brown will call an election, after all his decisiveness is hardly legendary BUT I think it more likely than it was in December.
A possible tactic for Gordon Brown would be to go for a snap election to be held alongside the local elections on May 1, this would help get the Labour voters out and so reduce their losses in the local elections and maybe he could squeeze back albeit with a much reduced majority. Of course if the Conservatives did win the election it would be with a small majority at best and then Gordon Brown, New Labour and the BBC could try to pin the economic collapse on the Conservatives.
Ah but didn't Gordon Brown promise no election before 2009 in his interview with Andrew "poodle" Marr? Well no, he did leave some wriggle room - take a look at the transcript from the Andrew Marr show (my emphasis)
"ANDREW MARR: Before we leave the subject of election timing... For the benefit of clarity, since you are rejecting the idea of a mandate general election right at the beginning of your premiership, are you also rejecting the idea of a general election in next spring or next autumn? Can we at least have some clarity about the fact there's not going to be an election for a while?
GORDON BROWN: I think that's not likely that we'll have an election, because I want to get on with the business of governing.
ANDREW MARR: Not likely when, what's the period?
GORDON BROWN: Not likely this year, not likely whatever dates you were suggesting.
ANDREW MARR: Like next year?
...
ANDREW MARR: And can you, thinking about the next period, then at least reassure those people watching that unless there's some extraordinary cataclysm there will not be a general election called in 2008, even if a few opinion polls show you well ahead?
GORDON BROWN: Well that's unlikely, I've just said it's unlikely."
Unlikely...
I still think that it is unlikely that Gordon Brown will call an election, after all his decisiveness is hardly legendary BUT I think it more likely than it was in December.
More Labour government control-freakery
"Patients could be required to stop smoking, take exercise or lose weight before they can be treated on the National Health Service, Gordon Brown has suggested". Do read the rest of the article in today's Daily Telegraph.
"In a New Year message to NHS staff, the Prime Minister indicates people may have to fulfil new "responsibilities" in order to establish their entitlement to care. The new conditions could be set out in a formal NHS "constitution", Mr Brown says"
This Labour government is back on its control-freakery agenda; they are our betters, they know how we should live and they will make sure we live that way. This sort of policy allied with the The National Identity database will help us citizens to be lead into the promised land of state surveillance and control.
Dn't forget "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever."
"In a New Year message to NHS staff, the Prime Minister indicates people may have to fulfil new "responsibilities" in order to establish their entitlement to care. The new conditions could be set out in a formal NHS "constitution", Mr Brown says"
This Labour government is back on its control-freakery agenda; they are our betters, they know how we should live and they will make sure we live that way. This sort of policy allied with the The National Identity database will help us citizens to be lead into the promised land of state surveillance and control.
Dn't forget "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever."
BBC - A new year but the same old bias
I see that the BBC have not turned over a new leaf with their coverage of UK politics. Their UK politics home page is showing as top story this: "Kenyan violence must end - Brown - Gordon Brown renews his plea for Kenya's political leaders to enter talks aimed at ending the violence." Positive view of Gordon Brown.
The second story is "PM signals first NHS constitution - Prime Minister Gordon Brown says NHS reforms could be enshrined in a new constitution." Positive view of Gordon Brown.
The third story is "Post Office closures review call - An MP calls for a full review of planned Post Office closures in Scotland, expected to be outlined in January." Positive view of a SNP MP.
The selected "other top stories" are:
"Clegg pledging to fight ID cards" Positive view of Lib Dem leader
"Tories 'resonating', admits Straw" A warning from Jack Straw that the Conservative party might be popular which is a bad thing. Right at the end of the article is scant coverage of David Cameron's New Year's message.
"Police offer Smith 'olive branch'" Coverage of Jacqui Smith's issues with a positive slant towards the Labour government.
"Parents urged to read to children" Positive coverage of Ed Balls most recent statement of the bleedin' obvious.
"First NHS e-records uploaded" Generally positive coverage of the NHS online database.
As usual the BBC are shilling for their masters in the Labour party. After the Labour debacle at the end of 2007, the plan is to boost Gordon Brown's image and to denigrate David Cameron and the Conservatives image wherever possible; and if that is not possible then to simply ignore any positive stories about the Conservative party.
The second story is "PM signals first NHS constitution - Prime Minister Gordon Brown says NHS reforms could be enshrined in a new constitution." Positive view of Gordon Brown.
The third story is "Post Office closures review call - An MP calls for a full review of planned Post Office closures in Scotland, expected to be outlined in January." Positive view of a SNP MP.
The selected "other top stories" are:
"Clegg pledging to fight ID cards" Positive view of Lib Dem leader
"Tories 'resonating', admits Straw" A warning from Jack Straw that the Conservative party might be popular which is a bad thing. Right at the end of the article is scant coverage of David Cameron's New Year's message.
"Police offer Smith 'olive branch'" Coverage of Jacqui Smith's issues with a positive slant towards the Labour government.
"Parents urged to read to children" Positive coverage of Ed Balls most recent statement of the bleedin' obvious.
"First NHS e-records uploaded" Generally positive coverage of the NHS online database.
As usual the BBC are shilling for their masters in the Labour party. After the Labour debacle at the end of 2007, the plan is to boost Gordon Brown's image and to denigrate David Cameron and the Conservatives image wherever possible; and if that is not possible then to simply ignore any positive stories about the Conservative party.
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