Wasting our money

The FT report that:

"An investment by taxpayers of £74m into regional venture capital funds has been marked down to just £5m according to a report by the Whitehall auditor, which is highly critical of the government’s wider venture capital programme.

Since 2000, the Department for Business has invested £338m in 28 venture capital funds – through seven umbrella schemes – that have provided seed money to more than 800 companies.

...

The regional venture capital funds – one of the seven schemes – has reported an interim rate of return of -15.7 per cent, far worse than the -0.4 per cent delivered by other similar European funds.

Meanwhile, many of the funds have been paying high costs to private sector fund managers. The RVCF, for example, spent £46m in fees against £130m invested up to December 2008.

The taxpayers’ investment of £74m in the RVCF is now worth only £5m – a drop of about 93 per cent.

...

The National Audit Office revealed in December that these venture capital funds had taken a loss on four out of five investments they had sold – 189 write-offs since 2000 against just 45 profitable exits."

And now for the punchline....

"“Whether the investments represent value for money is entirely unclear,” says Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons committee. "

Unclear? Unclear!

Imagine

"Imagine a Tory donor who’d bought a company, run its pension fund into the ground, bought the assets back for pennies in the pound, who became a privy counsellor even though he wasn’t qualified while personally funding the leader’s leadership bid – they (sic) would be a massive story and yet somehow the BBC runs day after day on Lord Ashcroft, who as far as I can see has done nothing wrong, and gives Labour an easy ride. It takes me back to the tales we had of the champagne bottles in 1997 and I’m afraid the BBC remains biased and fails to ask the proper questions of those who are currently in power."

More at Biased BBC, do follow the link...

Ha ha look at David Cameron

How embarrassing; David Cameron quickly checks his hair in a TV camera lens before an interview.

Let's just remind ourselves of Gordon Brown at one of Tony Blair's PMQs...



It is bizarre how few people know about this piece of video; probably because the BBC never showed it. So put it on your blogs, spread the word, let the public see Gordon Brown in all his PUBLIC nose picking, bogey eating and finger wiping glory.

The tactics of Islam in Nigeria, and maybe elsewhere

'In his informative book Who Is This Allah? Nigerian Christian G.J.O. Moshay describes the tactics that Mohammed devised in the 7th Century, which Muslims are applying today to overthrow Christianity, p 25.

"Migrate to Christian areas because they are tolerant. Pretend to be peaceful, friendly and hospitable; begin to clamour for religious political and social rights and privileges that you will not allow to Christians in an Islamic country; breed fast there and settle down; there should be no Christian activities in your community; you may speak or write to discredit their religion, but they must not talk about Islam; begin to expand your community; Christian activities should be restricted in all the places you expand to; the moment you have enough military might against these ‘disbelievers’, these trinitarian kaferis, go ahead and eliminate them or suppress them as much as you can, and be in control."

Moshay concludes "Where immediate invasion is not possible, that has always been the policy."

I think Mr. Moshay's comments would have a resonance with UK residents.'

Thanks to Alan O'Reilly on March 9th, 2010 at 3:14pm on Melanie Phillips blog for that illuminating comment.

Not a huge demand then!

On 25 January Alan Johnson proudly declared that

"Since 20 October, and up to and including 16 January, over 3,700 applicants have been enrolled or have made an enrolment appointment for an identity card."

Yesterday Meg Hillier revealed that:

"as of 3 March 2010 there have been 4,307 applications for identity cards from people living in the north-west of England, including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria."

So in the seven weeks between these two answers a maximum of 606 applications were made, that's 86 a week or under 14.5 a day (assuming a six day week). At that rate the whole UK would be signed up in around 13,500 years, which oddly enough is when Gordon Brown's legacy of debt will be paid off.

And the bad economic news just slips out

Here's the BBC headline"UK trade deficit widens to worst in 17 months" and the start of the article (my emphasis):

"The UK's goods trade deficit with the rest of the world unexpectedly widened to its biggest since August 2008 in January.

And exports saw their sharpest drop in more than three years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The UK's trade gap in physical goods widened to £7.99bn ($12bn), well above the £7bn forecast by economists.

The news was disappointing, especially since the weak pound might have been expected to boost sales abroad.

The UK's currency has fallen by some 24% against a basket of world currencies since early 2007 - before the global economic crisis.

...

Meanwhile, December's trade figure was revised down to £7bn from its original £7.3bn.

The goods trade gap with non-European Union countries was also wider than forecast.

That stood at £4.8bn, from £3.4bn in December, after Meanwhile, December's trade figure was revised down to £7bn from its original £7.3bn.

The goods trade gap with non-European Union countries was also wider than forecast.

That stood at £4.8bn, from £3.4bn in December, after exports to countries outside the EU dropped by 12.5% on the month and imports rose by 1.6%."

Appalling economic news and I remember this sort of news being greeted with cataclysmic headlines and being used to destroy Conservative ministers in the 1980s. But as this is a BBC approved Labour government the story is not even one of the top stories - those being the new dog licence proposals, the Facebook killer and the news that the England football team might have been bugged. In fact this story showing how deeply in the mire the UK economy is has now dropped below a Jon Venables story.

The BBC's news management is so biased that it almost washes over me. When will the Conservatives start to point it out, or do they want a Labour government to be re-elected?


UPDATE 16:30: The article has now completely disappeared from the News front page and UK news front page. It is still the Business page lead story but why hide the appalling figures from those people who don't browse to the business pages?

IF it is good enough for New Zealand?

If New Zealand can do it, why can't the UK?

What's the percentage?

The Telegraph report that:

"In what will inevitably be regarded as a barometer of the general mood in Downing Street – and Gordon Brown's in particular – official figures show that an astonishing 100 computer keyboards have had to be replaced by the Cabinet Office over the past 12 months."

How many staff are employed in the Cabinet Office? 100 keyboards replaced for 100 staff would be a ridiculously high percentage, 100 from 1,00 would be extremely high, 100 from 10,000 would be about right. Is the Cabinet Office that over-staffed or is there another reason so many keyboards are being replaced?

The Sun, the Army and Gordon Brown

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

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

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

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

Read the whole article and decide who you believe.

Three examples of left-wing hypocricy

1. The BBC, the Guardian et al are now letting up on their attacks on Lord Ashcroft, have you haerd any similar attacks on Lakshmi Mittal? Mr Mittal is, I believe, a non-dom but shhh don't tell the British public, they might note vote Labour.

2. The Guardian attacks Rupert Murdoch's newspapers for siding with the Conservatives saying that it is to their financial advantage to do so. As Conservative Home points out via a quotation from The Telegraph:

"A change in Government after next year’s general election is likely to be disastrous for the Guardian’s revenue from public sector job adverts, on which it has long depended, as the Conservatives have strongly hinted they will save money by moving much of the advertising online."

Never a word about this aspect on the BBC of course, who continue to treat The Guardian as their house paper - see Beeb Bias Craig.

3. The BBC are angry at the way that Lord Ashcroft funds the Conservative party's interests in marginal seats but less censorious of the way that the Unite Trade Union, under the steering of Gordon Brown's ex spin-doctor, Charlie Whelan, has funded the Labour party in those same seats (or similar). The question that I would like answered is how much of that money comes from the 'Union modernisation fund'?

True, untrue or 'mischief'

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

Disparity in coverage again

The Times is reporting that

"Dozens of bodies lined the dusty streets of three Christian villages in northern Nigeria yesterday. Other victims of Sunday morning’s Muslim rampage were jammed into a local morgue, the limbs of slaughtered children tangled in a grotesque mess.

One toddler appeared fixed in the protective but hopeless embrace of an older child, possibly his brother. Another had been scalped. Most had severed hands and feet.

Officials estimate that 500 people were massacred in night-time raids by Muslim gangs near Jos, the city that bestrides Nigeria’s Christian-Muslim fault line. "

Horrific news and surely something that a news organisation that routinely headlines the death of one 'child' in Hamas lead Gaza would want to lead with. Don't be silly, the news story is actually on the BBC news website and it's the lead story - on the Africa page:

"'Hundreds dead' in Nigeria attack
Several hundred people are now reported to have been killed in an ethnic clash near the Nigerian city of Jos, officials say"

"Several hundred", "ethnic clash". Take a read of the BBC report and notice the careful way it is worded with a definite attempt to try and apportion blame equally to the Christians and Muslims, even though the atrocities seem to be rather more one-sided.

Why does it seem that the BBC are always so keen to protect marauding Muslims in Africa from bad publicity and just as keen to paint as bad a picture of Israelis as possible? It can't be a coincidence, I've blogged about this inequality of coverage before, try here and here for starters.

Michael Foot remembered

Amidst all the fond reminiscences about Michael Foot; his consistency and steadiness of belief being two of his key traits, I don't remember these quotes being recalled:

"The country has a right to hear from the P.M. whether she and the Government envisage the official figure rising to that total."

That was Michael Foot questioning Margaret Thatcher as to whether unemployment would reach 3 million (Hansard 24/06/1981).

There you go, Michael Foot seeker of truth, fighting for the downtrodden.


But hold on what's this?

"No, I will not amke such a prediction. It would not be sensible. Indeed, I do not think that any Government has made predictions of the character suggested."

That was Michael Foot refusing to predict unemployment levels himself just six years earlier (Hansard 28/10/1975).

There you go, Michael Foot hider of truth, fighting for his government.


Michael Foot; was he right in 1981 and wrong in 1975?

Anti-Semites or Anti-Zionists?

Anti-Semites? Anti-Zionists? Who Us?
By Prof. Steven Plaut

"We have nothing against Jews as such. We just hate Zionism and Zionists. We think Israel does not have a right to exist. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Heavens to Mergatroyd. Marx Forbid. We are humanists. Progressives. Peace lovers.

Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews. Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism and Israeli policies. The two have nothing to do with one another. Venus and Mars. Night and Day. Trust us.

Sure, we think the only country on the earth that must be annihilated is Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

Sure, we think that the only children on earth who are being blown up is ok if it serves a good cause are Jewish children. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

Sure we think that if Palestinians have legitimate grievances this entitles them to mass murder Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

Naturally, we think that the only people on earth who should never be allowed to exercise the right of self-defense are the Jews. Jews should only resolve the aggression against them through capitulation, never through self-defense. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We only denounce racist apartheid in the one country in the Middle East that is NOT a racist apartheid country. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We refuse to acknowledge the Jews as a people, and think they are only a religion. We do not have an answer to how people who do NOT practice the Jewish religion can still be regarded as Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We think that all peoples have the right to self-determination, except Jews, and including even the make-pretend Palestinian “people”. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We hate it when people blame the victims, except of course when people blame the Jews for the jihads and terrorist campaigns against them. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We think the only country in the Middle East that is a fascist anti-democratic one is the one that has free elections. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We demand that the only country in the Middle East with free speech, free press, or free courts be destroyed. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We oppose military aggression, except when it is directed at Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We really understand suicide bombers who murder bus loads of Jewish children and we insist that their demands be met in full. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We think the only conflict on earth that must be solved through dismembering one of the parties to that conflict is the one involving Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We do not think that Jews have any human rights that need to be respected and especially not the right to ride a bus without being murdered. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

There are Jewish leftist anti-Zionists and we consider this proof that anti-Zionists could not possibly be anti-Semitic. Not even the ones who cheer when Jews are mass murdered. These are the only Jews we think need be acknowledged or respected. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We do not think murder proves how righteous and just the cause of the murderer is, except when it comes to murderers of Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We do not think the Jews are entitled to their own state and must submit to being a minority in a Rwanda-style “bi-national state”, although no other state on earth, including the 22 Arab countries, should be similarly expected to be deprived of its sovereignty. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We think that Israel’s having a Jewish majority and a star on its flag makes it a racist apartheid state. We do not think any other country having an ethnic-religious majority or having crosses or crescents or “Allah Akbar” on its flag is racist or needs dismemberment. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We condemn the “mistreatment” of women in the only country of the Middle East in which they are not mistreated. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We condemn the “mistreatment” of minorities in the only country in the Middle East in which minorities are NOT brutally suppressed and mass murdered. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We demand equal citizen rights, which is why the only country in the Middle East in need of extermination is the only one in which they exist. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

We have no trouble with the fact that there is no freedom of religion in any Arab countries. But we are mad at hell at Israel for violating religious freedom, and never mind that we are never quite sure where or when it does so. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.

So how can you possibly say we are anti-Semites? We are simply anti-Zionists. We seek peace and justice, that’s all. And surely that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such."

Thanks to Breasy.com for this article.

Gordon Brown fool or knave?

In 1997 Gordon Brown outlined his plans for the UK economy . "Stability is necessary for our future economic success" he informed the CBI. "The British economy of the future must be built not on the shifting sands of boom and bust, but on the bedrock of prudent and wise economic management."

Unfortunately the other components of Gordon Brown's 'bedrock' included a trillion-pound debt mountain and a decade of unchecked and unparalleled house price inflation.

In 2003 a then less than well-known Lib-Dem MP, Vince Cable, asked Gordon Brown an embarrassing question:

"Is it not true that...the growth of the British economy is sustained by consumer spending pinned against record levels of personal debt, which is secured, if at all, against house prices that the Bank of England describes as well above equilibrium level?"

A fair question, and in retrospect a farseeing one, however Gordon doesn't like criticism and responded thus:

"The Honourable Gentleman has been writing articles in the newspapers, as reflected in his contribution, that spread alarm, without substance, about the state of the economy..."

"Without substance"? Well done Gordon, so nobody saw what was coming?

The seventy-fourth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

This week's winners are the the people of France who in a survey reported that they considered Parisians to be "way too arrogant, aggressive, flirtatious, stressed, chauvinistic, snobbish, and self-regarding than other French people."


Parisians are arrogant - "No shit, Sherlocks" or "Non merde, Sherlocks"

Steve Purcell - Imagine if...

Just imagine that a rising star in the Conservative party, a city council leader no less, had resigned under strange circumstances. Imagine if the story involved claims or speculation about drug taking, rehab clinics. Imagine if high powered lawyers had become involved. Imagine if there were photos of this former high-flyer sitting next to David Cameron last week. Imagine if the young council leader had disappeared and was rumoured to have relocated to warmer climes. Just imagine all of that happening to a Conservative councillor and tell me that it would not be headline news on the BBC.

Oddly when the story concerns a rising star Labour councillor who was pictured sitting next to Gordon Brown last week, not a word on the BBC whose political lead stories still include a Lord Ashcroft story.


For more on the Steve Purcell story I suggest you read Guido Fawkes, for more on the Lord Ashcroft story I suggest the BBC might be a safe bet, although Guido Fawkes might well be covering that story as well.

Fraser Nelson nails Gordon Brown again

Fraser Nelson, always excellent in The Spectator, was one of the first to nail Gordon Brow for his 'Brownies' and has a hard-hitting piece in The News of the World, headlined

"A clunking fist and brass neck" it contains these key lines "WHEN Gordon Brown grins, you know he's up to no good. And he grinned long and hard as he left the Iraq inquiry.

...

Watching him at that inquiry, you could see why he's still so close in the polls - having trashed the UK economy so badly.

No other politician could have given that performance at the Iraq inquiry. No one else would have been so shameless.

...

Brown is a confidence trickster, pure and simple. He acts innocent, and feels innocent. It's as if his guilt glands were bypassed at birth.

He talks about a "global" recession, while his policies inflated a debt bubble which burst and meant the UK was hit hardest.

...

It's this brass neck that keeps him in power. And it might yet deprive David Cameron of outright victory.

For the next few weeks, Brown will continue his brass-neck act: Behaving on the campaign just as he did in the Iraq inquiry.

I hear he is going to BOAST about having "created" 2.5 million new jobs in Britain since Labour took power in 1997. But every single one of these new jobs is accounted for either by immigration or by public sector expansion.

He will BOAST about having "saved the banks". But they aren't saved: They are now zombie banks, eating taxpayer cash.

And he will BOAST about his refusal to cut spending. Yet his policies will land us with £500 billion of debt by the end of the decade.

...

Most politicians would crumble if their economic plans had led to disaster - as have Brown's. But he is shameless. That's his strength. The Gordonator just keeps on going as if nothing had happened. "

So much for Gordon Brown, the man the BBC refuse to hold to account.

Then Fraser Nelson takes the Conservatives to task rather as I have done:

"The Tories listen to him and ask: "How can he get away with this?" The answer: Because you lot are too useless to take him on.

Where are the Tory fighters? Since David Davis resigned we hardly see any left.The Tories have been too busy reeling from their own unforced errors.

Gordo walked into the Iraq inquiry knowing he'd face the second- worst bunch of interrogators in Britain. The worst are the Tories. "

The definition of temptation

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

Another behind the presenter video

Fighting in the newsroom!


Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

"a blind pursuit of political and managerial targets"

Labour's 13 years of misrule summed up nicely in today's Times article about the state of the National Health Service (my emphasis):

Apparently a "DAMNING reports on the state of the National Health Service, suppressed by the government, reveal how patients’ needs have been neglected.

They diagnose a blind pursuit of political and managerial targets as the root cause of a string of hospital scandals that have cost thousands of lives.

The harsh verdict on the state of the NHS, after a spending splurge under Labour between 2000 and 2008, raises worrying questions about the future quality of the health service as budgets are squeezed.

One report, based on the advice of almost 200 top managers and doctors, says hospitals ignored basic hygiene to cram in patients to meet waiting-time targets."

So what have the people who bleated so long and loud about freedom of information done? The Times continues (my emphasis):

"Lord Darzi, the former health minister, commissioned the three reports from international consultancies to assess the progress of the NHS as it approached its 60th anniversary in 2008. They have come to light after a freedom of information request.

The first report, by the Massachusetts-based Institute for Healthcare Improvements (IHI), identified the neglect of patients as a serious obstacle to improving the NHS. “The lack of a prominent focus on patients’ interests and needs ... represents a significant barrier to shifting the trajectory of quality improvement in the NHS.”

One heading in the report says: “The patient doesn’t seem to be in the picture.” It adds: “We were struck by the virtual absence of mention of patients and families ... whether we were discussing aims and ambition for improvement, measurement of progress or any other topic relevant to quality.

“Most targets and standards appear to be defined in professional, organisational and political terms, not in terms of patients’ experience of care.”

This weekend it emerged the recommendations of the reports, intended to help the NHS improve, have not even been circulated. "

The Times report continues (my emphasis):

"The IHI report, whose interviewees included Lord Crisp, chief executive of the NHS between 2000 and 2006, also described a system of self-assessment where only 4% of trusts are externally inspected.

A similar picture emerges in the second report, by the US-based Joint Commission International. It says the “quality and integrity of [NHS]performance data is suspect”. "

The Times report continues (my emphasis):

"The third report, by the US-based Rand Corporation, expresses surprise at the lack of a requirement to identify the specific drug involved when patient accidents are reported."

More Labour mismanagement and hiding of the evidence; now do you see why they must not be allowed five more years to further ruin the UK?

Gordon Brown and his fearless interrogator

So that's Gordon Brown and Piers Morgan enjoying a pint together, now to find that photo of Harriet Harman and David Dimbleby enjoying a glass of Chardonnay together...

Gordon Brown's top 10 financial gaffes

Red Cafe has a list that seems quite a useful addition to the norm and this time from a surprising source, here are the headlines, read the detail at 'The leading Manchester United Forum":

"1. Taxing dividend payments

2. Selling our gold

3. Tripartite financial regulation

4. Tax credits

5. The £10,000 corporation tax threshold

6. Abolition of the 10p tax rate

7. Failing to spot the housing bubble

8. 50 per cent tax rate

9. Cutting VAT

10. Public-sector borrowing"

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

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

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

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


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

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


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


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

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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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

I know it's wrong but when I was 15...

The Telegraph reports that

"A ballet teacher has appeared in court accused of abducting one of her male pupils and having sex with him.

Sarah Pirie, 27, from Dundee, is charged with taking the 15 year-old boy to hotels in Manchester between March and June last year.

Miss Pirie, who is a trained dancer and choreographer, met the boy at the dance school where she worked in Lytham St Annes on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. "

Now when I was 15...

CCTV Britain

More at Big Brother Watch

Every year an irresponsible and corrupt bureaucracy awards itself higher pay and better benefits paid for by an ever-shrinking wealth-generating class

Read Mark Steyn and worry about all of our futures. Well all of us who aren't employed in the public sector anyway.

Adequate punishment?

Going Fast Getting Nowhere has the details of a seemingly inadequate sentence passed on a seemingly unpleasant individual, here's an extract:

"A joyrider has walked free from court after killing a police dog and injuring two officers in a road smash while three times over the drink-drive limit. Sean Lawson, 20, shouted ‘get in’ as his 12-month prison sentence was suspended at Newcastle Crown Court.

Let's just review the offences committed in one 'incident':

* Rammed a car and then stole it when the owner got out
* Tried to evade arrest by driving away
* Lost control and mounted the pavement while being pursued
* Rammed a police car trying to prevent him driving away
* Speeding, driving on wrong side of the road, blind bend, no lights
* Lost control again
* 90mph with no lights on wrong side of dual carriageway
* Handbrake turn
* Hit police car, injuring two officers
* Hit police dog van, breaking back of police dog, which had to be put down
* All of this while THREE TIMES over the drink-drive limit."

A 12 month suspended sentence for that list of offences? Why? How?

As the aforementioned blogger puts it:

"If you, or I, or any other law-abiding person, had been caught after doing just one of these offences, what do you suppose the penalty would be? Certainly a fine and points for the minor stuff like the handbrake turn or driving on the pavement. Big fine, many points, and a possible ban for the speeding, evading arrest stuff. Definite ban for the drink-driving. Imprisonment for injuring two officers, killing a police dog, causing God-knows-how-much damage to the police vehicles (which you and I will have to pay for, one way or another). Definitely imprisonment for ramming an innocent motorist and stealing his car. And if you or I did all of this in one crazy episode of mindlessness?"

The Met Office's new long range forecast

Deniersaurus claims to have had sight of the Met Office's newest long range forecast, here's a snippet:

"Long Range Forecast for the UK - Summer 2010

And it shall come to pass that in the land of the northern tribes the great warming will devastate all mankind and the beasts of the field alike.

Verily, as the satanic dioxide increases so shall increase the viscosity of the very water until it turns deepest blood red and all the fishes in the water shall perish and the creatures of the air and land that eat of them.

There shall follow a great storm the like of which has ne'er been seen upon the face of the earth and the young of the amphibians shall be lifted aloft in great winds and shall fall as a hellish rain upon thy lands.

Truly, as the lands become hotter the dominion of the insects shall increase until they become a great multitude and the torment of the lice shall be visited upon the people of the land and all shall suffer the unscratchable itch."

Do read the whole article; it's probably no less accurate than the real long range forecast.

Labour's coming NHS cuts

The Telegraph reports that:

"Hundreds of NHS wards to be shut in secret plans

Plans that could lead to the closure of hundreds of hospital wards are being drawn up but will not be made public until after the general election, opposition parties have said.

Last year, the Government asked NHS authorities to come up with proposals to reorganise the service to save money as a result of the recession. Details have started to emerge of what is likely to be a rolling programme of cuts that contrasts sharply with assurances from Labour and the Tories that the NHS was “safe”.

So far, only the plans for London have come to light. Campaigners claimed the proposals threatened services such as casualty and maternity units at 13 out of 36 hospitals in the capital.

The failure of health authorities in other areas to disclose their response has prompted allegations that proposed closures, which could be politically damaging to the Government, will not be published until after polling day.

The scale of the cuts has caused a rebellion among Labour ministers who have openly defied the Government by publicly protesting at closures at their local hospitals.

Next week, health ministers will come under pressure from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to disclose the scale of the plans, with the Tories calling an emergency debate on the issue.

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrats’ shadow health spokesman, said the scale of the cuts to hospitals was likely to be “vast”, with potentially “hundreds” of wards closing.

He said: “The Government will be desperate to avoid these cuts ahead of an election. We could end up with the threat of cuts to services being a key issue in the election campaign. The electorate will feel conned if they come out after the campaign. "

NHS cuts planned by Labour and of course not a word on the BBC who prefer to concentrate on speculation about Lord Ashcroft. Labour know big cuts will need to be made post the election, the BBC know that this is the case but there is a general election campaign to be won for Labour so it's shhhh don't scare the Labour voters and let the truth go hang. I would be disgusted if I had not predicted this so long ago.

'Mr Brown had been "disingenuous"'

Even the BBC are forced to report that:

"Two former heads of the armed forces have strongly challenged Gordon Brown's evidence to the Iraq war inquiry.

The prime minister, who was chancellor when the war began, said the military had been given everything it asked for.

But Lord Guthrie, ex-chief of the defence staff, said in the Daily Telegraph that armed forces had been denied a request for more helicopters.

His successor, Lord Boyce, told the Times Mr Brown had been "disingenuous", but No 10 rejected the criticisms.

Downing Street insisted that Mr Brown could not have been clearer in his response to questions about military funding.

It also repeated his statement that no request for equipment had ever been turned down.

Lord Guthrie, who held his post from 1997 to 2001, said the Ministry of Defence "received the bare minimum from the chancellor, who wanted to give the military as little as he could get away with".

He said: "The whole defence budget was extremely difficult to run in his time.

"For Gordon Brown to say he has given the military all they asked for is not true.

"They asked for more helicopters but they were told they could not have any more."

Lord Guthrie added: "He cannot get away with saying 'I gave them everything they asked for'. That is simply disingenuous."

Lord Boyce, who was chief of the Defence Staff up to the beginning of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, said: "He's dissembling, he's being disingenuous. It's just not the case that the Ministry of Defence was given everything it needed".

"There may have been a 1.5 per cent increase in the defence budget but the MoD was starved of funds." "

"disingenuous", "For Gordon Brown to say he has given the military all they asked for is not true.". I can hardly believe that anyone doubts that Gordon 'fearty' Brown has once again been economical with the truth. Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, so Gordon Brown cannot change his disingenuous nature.

What's the story with Steven Purcell?

Most odd. The BBC are saying nothing. Sky news are saying nothing. ITV news are saying nothing. The Telegraph are reporting:

"Concerns over the health of one of Labour’s rising stars has grown after it emerged he had left a rehabilitation clinic specialising in treating drug and alcohol addiction.

...

Officially, the 37-year-old, who had been tipped as a future Scottish First Minister, made his sudden and surprise decision to step down as council leader because of stress and exhaustion.

But eyebrows were raised when he engaged the services of Jack Irvine, executive chairman and founder of PR company Media House, who specialises in “crisis management”.

Mr Purcell has also employed Peter Watson, Scotland’s top libel lawyer, and council officials have been ordered not to discuss the circumstances of his resignation.

The mystery deepened when Gordon Brown, Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, and Iain Gray, Labour’s Holyrood leader, all failed to issue press statements paying tribute to their colleague.

Only last week Mr Purcell sat on the top table, along with the Prime Minister, at a Labour Party fund-raiser at Glasgow’s Hilton hotel.

...

Surprised colleagues said the 37-year-old had seemed “at the top of his game” at a party fund-raiser last Thursday, where he was sat on the top table with Mr Brown and Walter Smith, the Scotland football team manager.

Mr Purcell hosted a scheduled meeting with Labour’s Glasgow MSPs on Friday morning in his office but cancelled an appearance later that day with an entrepreneur.

Party sources said an emergency meeting was held on Saturday, at which colleagues unsuccessfully tried to talk an emotional Mr Purcell out of quitting.

He pulled out of another meeting on Monday, and officially tendered his resignation to Glasgow City Council’s Labour Group the following day.

Mr Purcell’s aides at the council apparently advised that he should fully disclose the circumstances behind his decision.

But Mr Watson, of Levy and McRae solicitors, blamed the pressures of planning for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a scandal over expense claims by the quango that oversees Glasgow’s transport network.

Council sources dismissed this, saying: “His health problems run deeper than that.”

A spokesman for Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister and SNP leader, refused to comment on Mr Purcell leaving rehab, saying that was a “private matter”. "

Something doesn't ring quite true about this story...

Meanwhile Guido report has some interesting speculation in the comments.

Turq dreams about Elliot

It's a "Scrubs" thing

Gordon Brown - a really pleasant chap

Just see that stare from 0:44 to 0:46, what a joy to live and work with he must be.

"In any other decade, a house price bubble would have pushed Britain from boom to bust…."

Those are some of the words that Gordon Brown used in his 2005 speech to the Labour Party Conference. Here's a fuller version:

"Why has it been that at every point since 1997 faced with the Asian crisis, the IT collapse, a stock exchange crash, an American recession, last year a house price bubble, this year rising world oil prices, why has it been that at every point since 1997 Britain uniquely has continued to grow?

In any other decade, a house price bubble would have pushed Britain from boom to bust….

I tell you, it is because with Bank of England independence, cutting debt, fiscal discipline and the New Deal this Labour government has shown the strength to take the tough long-term decisions, that inflation is low, interest rates are low, growth has been sustained in every year, and we are closer than ever to the goal which drives us forward: the goal of full employment for our generation.

Labour, the natural party for economic strength in our country today."

The man was deluded then, he seemed to believe that he had abolished boom and bust and was the new great helmsman. If he showed any remorse, any humility I might be prepared to forgive him; but he doesn't, so I won't.

The Labour party and their willing friends in the BBC are happy to move on from discussing the economic collapse of the UK, to instead discuss Lord Ashcroft over and over again. The blogosphere must keep Gordon Brown's economic record in the spotlight and keep up the pressure.


Here's some video...

Gordon Brown wants a better what?

A better "spanking system", I am sure he does.

The EU finds that important independent source of income

The Telegraph reports that:

"The European Union is drawing up plans for its first direct tax with a "green" levy on petrol, coal and natural gas that could cost British consumers up to £3 billion.

Proposals expected to be announced next month would give the EU its first funding which would not come from national governments.

Algirdas Semeta, the new European commissioner for taxation, is planning a "minimum rate of tax on carbon" across the whole EU as a "priority".

"In my estimation it is possible to start discussions," he told European Voice, a weekly Brussels newspaper. "There is currently the right momentum."

A similar proposal was considered so controversial that it was shelved without discussion five years ago.

The plan to push for more financial independence from national governments comes as the EU attempts to build a more powerful position in the world.

...

Herman Van Rompuy, the new EU president, has already thrown his weight behind the idea of new taxes.

The new tax would lead to direct rises in petrol and energy bills and additional price increases due to higher costs for industry.

Open Europe, the think-tank, has calculated, on the basis of the shelved 2005 proposal that set a £9 levy on a tonne of CO2, that the cost of the new tax to British businesses and consumers would be £3.2 billion. The final cost could be even greater if electricity, generated from natural gas, was included in the levy.

Mats Persson, director of Open Europe, warned that "a single EU levy is an unnecessarily inflexible tool" that takes no account of existing national taxes or measures to cut climate change. "

Now if David Cameron wasn't scared of being portrayed as a Euro-sceptic or climate change denier he might make stand on this issue. However as on so many issues I expect David Cameron to remain mute and let more momentum slip away from his election campaign.

"That's an assumption which you are not entitled to make" - Peter Mandelson does not like being questioned, does he?

Watch the whole interview but the key part starts at around 06:26. I do not know who the BBC interviewer is/was but he showed more balls than most facing Peter Mandelson.

What's so unique about Israel?

From an email 'doing the rounds':

"Pilar Rahola is a Spanish politician, journalist and activist and member of the far left. Her articles are published in Spain and throughout some of the most important newspapers in Latin America.


Why don’t we see demonstrations against Islamic dictatorships in London, Paris, Barcelona?

Or demonstrations against the Burmese dictatorship?

Why aren’t there demonstrations against the enslavement of millions of women who live without any legal protection?

Why aren’t there demonstrations against the use of children as human bombs where there is conflict with Islam?

Why has there been no leadership in support of the victims of Islamic dictatorship in Sudan?

Why is there never any outrage against the acts of terrorism committed against Israel?

Why is there no outcry by the European left against Islamic fanaticism?

Why don’t they defend Israel’s right to exist?

Why confuse support of the Palestinian cause with the defense of Palestinian terrorism?

And finally, the million dollar question:Why is the left in Europe and around the world obsessed with the two most solid democracies, the United States and Israel, and not with the worst dictatorships on the planet? The two most solid democracies, who have suffered the bloodiest attacks of terrorism, and the left doesn’t care.

And then, to the concept of freedom. In every pro Palestinian European forum I hear the left yelling with fervor: “We want freedom for the people!”

Not true. They are never concerned with freedom for the people of Syria or Yemen or Iran or Sudan, or other such nations. And they are never preoccupied when Hammas destroys freedom for the Palestinians. They are only concerned with using the concept of Palestinian freedom as a weapon against Israeli freedom. The resulting consequence of these ideological pathologies is the manipulation of the press.

The international press does major damage when reporting on the question of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. On this topic they don’t inform, they propagandize.

When reporting about Israel the majority of journalists forget the reporter code of ethics. And so, any Israeli act of self-defense becomes a massacre, and any confrontation, genocide. So many stupid things have been written about Israel, that there aren’t any accusations left to level against her.

At the same time, this press never discusses Syrian and Iranian interference in propagating violence against Israel; the indoctrination of children and the corruption of the Palestinians. And when reporting about victims, every Palestinian casualty is reported as tragedy and every Israeli victim is camouflaged, hidden or reported about with disdain.

And let me add on the topic of the Spanish left. Many are the examples that illustrate the anti-Americanism and anti-Israeli sentiments that define the Spanish left. For example, one of the leftist parties in Spain has just expelled one of its members for creating a pro-Israel website. I quote from the expulsion document: “Our friends are the people of Iran, Libya and Venezuela, oppressed by imperialism, and not a Nazi state like Israel.”

In another example, the socialist mayor of Campozuelos changed Shoah Day, commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, with Palestinian Nabka Day, which mourns the establishment of the State of Israel, thus showing contempt for the six million European Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Or in my native city of Barcelona, the city council decided to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, by having a week of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Thus, they invited Leila Khaled, a noted terrorist from the 70’s and current leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist organization so described by the European Union, which promotes the use of bombs against Israel.

This politically correct way of thinking has even polluted the speeches of president Zapatero. His foreign policy falls within the lunatic left, and on issues of the Middle East he is unequivocally pro Arab. I can assure you that in private, Zapatero places on Israel the blame for the conflict in the Middle East, and the policies of foreign minister Moratinos reflect this. The fact that Zapatero chose to wear a kafiah in the midst of the Lebanon conflict is no coincidence; it’s a symbol.

Spain has suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe and it is in the crosshairs of every Islamic terrorist organization. As I wrote before, they kill us with cell phones hooked to satellites connected to the Middle Ages. And yet the Spanish left is the most anti-Israeli in the world.

And then it says it is anti-Israeli because of solidarity. This is the madness I want to denounce in this conference.

Conclusion:

I am not Jewish. Ideologically I am left and by profession a journalist. Why am I not anti-Israeli like my colleagues? Because as a non-Jew I have the historical responsibility to fight against Jewish hatred and currently against the hatred for their historic homeland, Israel. To fight against anti-Semitism is not the duty of the Jews, it is the duty of the non-Jews.

As a journalist it is my duty to search for the truth beyond prejudice, lies and manipulations. The truth about Israel is not told. As a person from the left who loves progress, I am obligated to defend liberty, culture, civic education for children, coexistence and the laws that the Tablets of the Covenant made into universal principles.

Principles that Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. That is to say that as a non-Jew, journalist and lefty I have a triple moral duty with Israel, because if Israel is destroyed, liberty, modernity and culture will be destroyed too.

The struggle of Israel, even if the world doesn’t want to accept it, is the struggle of the world."

Phil Silvers is looking good!

Greg Gutfeld on Fox showing an understandable dislike of MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan, but all the while all I can hear is Phil Silvers' "Platoon ...."




Thanks to Theo Spark for the Greg Gutfeld video spot.

Odd Google searches

why must food be halal - an interesting question but somehow I think that the person who googled this search and found this article on my blog at number 2, behind Wikipedia and just ahead of The Halal Food Guide

half man half sheep pravda - an interesting search term and one that should play right into my hands with my occasional posting of Half Man Half Biscuit postings. However I only appear at number 4 for this article, beaten by some fascinating articles - this one - "Half Sheep, Half Man, All Creepy: Links, Pics, Videos, and News ", this one - "After sex with sheep, don't kill the animal! - Pravda.Ru" and this one - "Sheep Gives Birth to Human-Faced Lamb in Turkey - Pravda.Ru".

I thought the polar ice was melting

If the polar ice is melting because of global warming; don't worry it's not but warmists love to worry us. Then why is the Baltic suffering its worst freeze for 15 years? I only wonder because nearly 1,100 people are trapped on two passenger ferries and two cargo ships that got stuck in ice in the Baltic Sea. You can read more in The Telegraph but not on the BBC.

News interviewing that makes a pleasant change from the BBC and Channel4

Tim Bradby of ITV News writes:

"We corner Mandelson…

04 Mar, 2010

Speaking of asking Labour some difficult questions, we just put Lord Mandelson on the spot. Here’s the transcript:

TB; ‘You talk about transparency, well we have been asking the Labour Party for some days whether your donors, like Ronnie Cohen, are non-doms or not. We haven’t got an answer, so perhaps you’d like to give us one sitting here.’

Lord M; ‘The Labour Party should give the information about its donors in the way that–’

TB; ‘It hasn’t.’

Lord M; ‘In the way that it is required to do and in response to legitimate questions.’

TB; ‘Let me ask you; is that a legitimate question? Be fair. Is it legitimate for us, given all this, to ask whether your donors are paying full tax on their worldwide income?’

Lord M; ‘I think it is perfectly legitimate.’

TB; ‘What’s the answer?’

Lord M; ‘How do I know what the answer is?’

And later:

TB; ‘Are you saying that all labour party donors should be full tax payers; ie, paying tax on their worldwide income in this country? And if they aren’t, should the Labour Party pay the money back?’

Lord M; ‘What I’m saying is that Labour Party donors should be clear and upfront about what they are donating, what their domicile or tax status is, or whatever, just as donors who give money to the Conservative Party should be.’

We have since asked the Labour Party to confirm which of their donors are non-doms and have, once again, received no answer"

Odd how the BBC and Channel 4 prefer to ignore the Labour non-doms issue, preferring to just look at Lord Ashcroft. Anyone might conclude that the BBC and Jon Snow wanted to see Labour returned to power.

Gordon Brown at the Chilcot Inquiry

I trust the Chilcot Inquiry will ask Gordon 'fearty' Brown about two statements made to it in previous weeks:
1. "when I arrived in the Ministry of Defence in October 1999 there was quite a strong feeling that it was not fully funded" - Geoff Hoon

2. Sir Kevin Tebbit, Permanent Secretary at the MoD from 1998 to 2005, who said that Brown imposed a “complete guillotine” on defence resources, so that he was “running essentially a crisis budget”. This in wartime; the invasion of Iraq took place between March and May 2003; it beggars belief that, in September of that year, Brown imposed stringent cuts on defence spending.


Of course as 'evidence' is not taken under oath, I doubt that Gordon Brown will feel obliged to tell the truth, expect many 'Brownies'.

15 minutes on the Radio 4 Today programme

I find that I can only take a few minutes at a time of the Radio 4 Today programme, today was a good example. I turned on to hear the 7am news and there was a piece about the US congressional panel's resolution describing as genocide the killings of Armenians by Turkey during World War I. The report was so biased in its use of loaded language it was almost a master-class in how not to report the news. Congress was apparently subjected to a "well funded" Armenian campaign and the Turkish government was upset and so had removed their US ambassador.

What was not mentioned on the pro-Obama Today programme is that Barack Obama promised to brand the mass killings as genocide during his election campaign and that around 20 countries had accepted that there was genocide in Armenia.

I missed a bit, Mrs NotaSheep needed to discuss something, so the next piece I heard was this (description from the Today running order as I was too open-mouthed to write anything down):

"The evidence that humans are responsible for climate change is stronger now than it was two years ago, according to the UK Met Office. BBC reporter Tom Feilden looks at the Met Office's latest review."

Tom Feilden 'the science correspondent on the Today programme' showing clearly where he stands on Man Made Climate Change.

Question Time 4 March 2010

Just two questions: first how long on Lord Ashcroft and will David Dimbleby allow any comparisons with Lord Paul, Lakshmi Mittal, Sir Ronald Cohen, Sir Christopher Ondaatje, Sir Gulam Noon, William Bollinger or Mahmoud Khayami? Second will Lord Adonis be able to control David Dimbleby as neatly as Harriet Harman did back in last July? Here's a reminder of Harriet and her controlling of David Dimbleby

So do you think David Dimbleby looks like just the impartial person needed to moderate the last of the leaders' election debates?

James Delingpole and George Monbiot disagree about Man Made Climate Change

"Climate Science is not... about science, not about rigour... not about pursuit of truth, it's about politics" - well said James Delingpole.

Barack Obama's 'Yes we can' = 'Thank you Satan' backwards

One of the best pieces of conspiracy theory video I have seen for ages; enjoy. But what if it is true???


Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

Alleviating boredom on aeroplane flights

Alleviating boredom on aeroplane flights is tricky but I think that this passenger took it too far. Apparently:

"Murali Nookella, a 34-year-old computer programmer, was en route to Denver from Philadelphia on a Southwest Airlines flight when a woman noticed him "fumbling underneath a blanket," according to an affidavit sworn by FBI Agent Joel Nishida. The woman, identified only by her initials in the affidavit, said that Nookella's "eyes were closed and his hands moved all around his groin area" underneath a "mustard/gold blanket pulled up to his waist." As the woman packed up her belonging to move seats, she "looked at Nookella and saw him holding his erect penis." The woman said that Nookella remarked, "You caught me." Nookella held a napkin in his left hand, the woman told the FBI. According to Nishida's affidavit, a copy of which you'll find below, the woman "did not look but heard a swishing sound. She thought Nookella wiped something." Nookella's employer told TSG that he was headed to Denver on a work assignment. Nookella was named today in a misdemeanor criminal complaint charging him with indecent exposure. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $5000 fine."

Murali Nookella! Nookella! Well if the name fits...



Thanks to The Smoking Gun for this and other oddities over the years.

What is an innocent civilian?

I have previously commented on the use of the word 'innocent' in the context of statements such as "we condemn the killing of all innocent people wherever they are" or "Those who seek to deliberately kill or maim innocent people are the enemies of us all..." by apologists for Islamic terrorism. Most recently I discussed this subject with reference to Anjem Chaudri's revealing explanation that:

"When we say innocent people we mean Muslims, as far as non-Muslims are concerned they have not accepted Islam and as far as we are concerned that is a crime against God... As far as Muslims are concerned, you are innocent if you are a Muslim, then you are innocent in the eyes of God. If you are a non-Muslim then you are guilty of not believing in God... I must have hatred to anything that is not Islam"

So I was intrigued to read on Harry's Place of this comment by Kamal Al Helbawy, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who had this to say in an interview broadcast on the BBC Arabic service in 1998:

"Dr. Kamal Al-Hilbawi: I condemn the targeting of any civilian, but incidentally, I believe that every Israeli civilian is a future soldier.

Interviewer: He is what?

Dr. Kamal Al-Hilbawi: A future soldier.

Interviewer: Even if he is two years old?

Dr. Kamal Al-Hilbawi: A child born in Israel is raised on the belief that [the Arabs] are like contemptible sheep, and that this is a land without a people, and they are a people without a land. They have very strange concepts. In elementary school, they pose the following math problem: “In your village, there are 100 Arabs. If you killed 40, how many Arabs would be left for you to kill?” This is taught in the Israeli curriculum. What would you say about that? Should a child studying this be considered a civilian? He is a future soldier."

So the next time you hear those, on the surface, reassuring words that "we condemn the killing of all innocent people wherever they are" or "Those who seek to deliberately kill or maim innocent people are the enemies of us all...", remember to ask "Who are innocent people?" and "What is a civilian?"; the honest answers, or lack of, might be rather revealing.

Michael Foot RIP

I was always told not to speak ill of the dead and so I won't speak ill of Michael Foot.

What intrigues me is the BBC coverage, their lead page this morning is 100% positive about memories of Michael Foot, not a single negative thought is allowed to be heard. No centreist Labour figures decrying his 'longest suicide in history' 1983 manifesto, nobody pointing out his adherence to unilateralism and CND during the period that CND was (partially) sponsored by the Soviet Union, etc. etc.

If this is how the BBC treat the death of a middling political figure, how will they treat the death of Lady Thatcher? Somehow I doubt that a selection of 100% positive remarks will be printed. I predict phrases such as "divisive figure", "no such thing as community", "miners strike", "unemployment", "lost generation" and "poll tax" will be trotted out and the usual left-wing 'satirists' will be on hand to re-tell their favourite jokes and to metaphorically dance on her grave.

Sarah Palin on the Jay Leno show

Sarah Palin showing that she is a more intelligent and coherent speaker than the left-wing media like to pretend.

Boob War (update)

I am afraid that I have to report that Boob War is spreading. The Other McCain reveals that Monica Bellucci has tried to make the peace: "This senseless waste of cleavage cannot be allowed to continue... In the name of humanity, I call on the combatants to end their breast belligerence."...
and there is much more...

Meanwhile The Daley Gator thinks that "The only way to end Boob Wars is, Operation Pheobe Cates is out of the Pool commences" He makes a compelling argument...
but I would remind him that whilst the stills are powerful, the the video is even more uplifting.

Show them To Me: Uncensored
by Razorbuzz

There is more Rodney Carrington "Show them to me", including a live performance here

Worryingly The Camp of the Saints has tried the nuclear route with some Janet Lupo... pictures that I just cannot show on this blog, there are limits; maybe I am a closet supporter of unilateral disarmament, after all.


I am concerned by how this Boob/Cleavage War (pronounced - Boob stroke Cleavage War) is proceeding and call upon all concerned to settle down and look once more at Salma Hayek...

Killed by a 'Health and Safety' memo

The Times reports that:

"An injured woman lay for six hours at the foot of a disused mine shaft because safety rules banned firefighters from rescuing her, an inquiry heard yesterday. As Alison Hume was brought to the surface by mountain rescuers she died of a heart attack.

A senior fire officer at the scene admitted that crews could only listen to her cries for help, after she fell down the 60ft shaft, because regulations said their lifting equipment could not be used on the public. A memo had been circulated in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue stations months previously stating that it was for use by firefighters only. "

This sort of story makes me so angry.

PMQs 3 March 2010

With Gordon 'fearty' Brown occupied elsewhere it fell to Harriet Harman to answer at PMQs today and she was woeful, possibly the worst performance by a stand-in that I can remember - yes that does include John Prescott. She had some pre-prepared lines about Lord Ashcroft and she was just too eager to use them. Speaker Bercow told her off twice for raising matters that were not pertinent to PMQs and she called William Hague the Foreign Secretary and couldn't laugh off the error, and that's the trouble with Brown and Harman compared with Tony Blair, he had a sense of humour and could laugh at himself (in public anyway) whilst Brown and Harman are without humour or the skill of self-deprecation.

When William Hague asked about policy Harriet Harman floundered badly, it seems that she doesn't understand the difference between UK Government bonds and the exchange rate, doesn't realise that PMQs are about areas of Government responsibility and seems incapable of answering a straight question.

It was good to hear that William Hague followed, at least in part, my suggested line of questioning.


It strikes me that maybe Gordon Brown misses so many PMQs just so his party get to see how poor the best elected alternative to him is, so as to keep them sticking with the devil they know.

It also strikes me that the BBC must realise how bad Harriet Harman's performance at PMQs was as they have taken down any references to today's PMQs from the politics area of their news website.

A suggested line of questioning for William Hague at today's PMQs

Since Gordon 'fearty' Brown has chickened out of appearing at PMQs today, preferring to hide behind the skirts of Harriet Harman, here is a suggested line of questioning for William Hague to follow.

How does the Right Honourable lady react to the selection of a man to represent Labour in the Birmingham Erdlington seat at the coming general election, rather than a candidate from an all women shortlist as was originally proposed?

Does the Right Honourable Lady think that the selection of Jack Dromey to represent Labour in Birmingham Erdington has anything to do with his role in controlling the purse of a major Labour donor?


Just a couple of ideas...

Who is the sad little man/woman?

OK who is the sad little person who has been rating `all of my articles as "One Star"? Very mature...

I only use the ratings system so I can see what other articles are recommended so if I have to turn that feature off I will, shame though.

Gordon "Courage" Brown

It would seem that Gordon Brown has managed to avoid PMQs again.

PMQs last half an hour on a Wednesday; the preparation time for Gordon Brown must be near nil since he doesn't answer any hostile questions, preferring to use his favourites 'Brownies' and dividing lines and has answers to Labour planted questions at his fingertips.

This is the only opportunity, every week, to try and hold Gordon Brown to account and yet again the great 'fearty' has bottled it. I am in no doubt that had Gordon Brown wished he could have arranged affairs so that he both met Jacob Zuma and been present for PMQs but he didn't.

As a result we will have the pantomime spectacle of Harriet Harman showing her lack of knowledge of economics, foreign affairs etc. whilst William Hague holds back his acid tongue in case he is accused of bullying a woman. It's pathetic and it is all the fault of Gordon yellow streak right down his flabby back' Brown.


I wonder if anyone can find figures that show what percentage of PMQs were missed by Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair compared with those missed by the great big clunking fearty? I would wager that Gordon Brown has missed a higher proportion than any of those recent Prime Ministers but then he is a bigger coward than any of them as well.

Why is Nick Clegg included?

I have been racking my brains but cannot think of a really good reason why Nick Clegg has been included in the coming Prime Ministerial candidates debates. Gordon Brown (depressingly) is likely to remain Prime Minister after the general election, David Cameron might become Prime Minister but Nick Clegg will not become Prime Minister. Nick Clegg might hold the balance of power but will not be Prime Minister.

Including Clegg on an equal footing with Brown and Cameron boosts the Lib Dems credibility and does mean that there will be two left of centre voices on display in each debate.

The way the debates are structured will suit Gordon Brown as he will be able to use his pre-prepared lines, use as many 'Brownies' and spread as many slurs as possible all without audience reactions or in-depth challenging.

These debates as I predicted in my end of year predictions will have the following results:
The pre-election leader's debates will produce a surprise win (in the view of opinion polls) for Gordon Brown
The pre-election leader's debates will produce an increase in support for the Lib Dems

Who is Samuel Coates?

Whenever I get an email alerting me to a comment awaiting publication on this blog and it is from an anonymous or unknown gmail user, their name shows as "SamuelCoates" and their email address as "noreply-comment@blogger.com". Why "SamuelCoates"?

I want to live like Common People

Rory Bremner as David Cameron singing Common People, very poor and certainly not a patch on the Goodness Gracious Me team's "(I want to live with) Hindi People"...



Here's the Pulp original - "I want to live with (Common People)...

Compare and contrast Lord Ashcroft and Peter Mandelson

From JohnT a commenter on today's Telegraph:

"As far as I know, Lord Ashcroft has not yet made, sworn to and signed a misleading statement on a mortgage loan application.
Ashcroft has never borrowed money from a shadow cabinet colleague and then concealed it.
I don’t recall that Ashcroft ever attempted to use public office to obtain UK passports for any wealthy foreign ‘business’ contact charged with corrupt practices in their country of origin.
Ashcroft has never cosied up to any Russian moguls and accepted hospitality from them. Nor has Ashcroft ever hidden his meetings diary from public view.
Ashcroft has not enriched himself from taxpayer-funded public office.
Ashcroft has always been sensibly discreet about his private life.
Ashcroft does not spend half his time having lunch.
Nor does he waste precious moments bad-mouthing his political opponents or dissing anyone who’s been less than nice to or about him, or threatening reporters and journalists that he’ll complain if they don’t do things exactly His Way.
Ashcroft has become rich through his business activities, and by applying his mind to becoming wealthy. The source of his property wealth is not a mystery, as it is with certain others.
Ashcroft did not claim expenses to do up a tax-funded property before selling it at a profit, and then insist aggressively that the decoration work was simply ‘necessary repairs’.
Ashcroft has made himself a millionaire through his business activities, which have brought profit to shareholders, and not by living off the public teat.
Ashcroft has not invented a long and pretentious titles for himself or for his job, nor does he fake plummy patrician tones and an air of self-indulgent languor.
Ashcroft was not made a peer because he had no job and had to be given one by his party friends: he is not one whose past has made him completely unelectable.
Ashcroft does not imagine the world owes him a living.
The list is endless."

And from Ian Bryan in the same section:

"Michael Ashcroft , is the major donor to crime stoppers. Leading to 87,400 arrests, recovery of property to the tune £103 million, has removed £159 million of drugs off our streets. The organisation has also lead to 800 people have been charged with murder or attempted murder

While we are on it, Michael Ashcroft – The Ashcroft Technology Academy (ATA), in south-west London was set up by him to provide a free education for more than 1,000 inner city children of all abilities and backgrounds.

Michael Ashcroft also supports education, health, arts and sports charities in the Caribbean and Central America through the Michael A Ashcroft Foundation. In 1993 he endowed The Ashcroft School in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the British West Indies.

It begs the question what has Mandelson done other than acquire titles?"

Fair comments or not?

Happy Birthday Vulcan XH-558

Reach to the Sky are trying to set a world record, please visit this page and sign XH558's Birthday Card, And Leave Her A Message.

A new number is required

The Telegraph report that:

"Scientists are lobbying for a new word to help them describe numbers larger than 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, amid concerns that the current system of units is insufficient.

A campaign for "hella" to join the likes of "kilo", "mega" and "giga" as an internationally accepted prefix is attracting growing support.

More than 20,000 scientists, students and members of the public have signed an online petition backing the new quantity, which would be used for figures with 27 zeros after the first digit.

Currently the highest prefix allowed by the International System of Units (SI) is the "yotta", for 24 zeroes. "

My suggestion would be the "gorda" as that would recognise Gordon Brown's attempts to build a UK deficit larger than mathematics could cope with.

CrazyDomains.com.au have a viral advertising campaign that is spreading - can you see why?

CrazyDomains.com.au seem to be generating a lot of publicity despite their advertisement being branded as an illegitimate way to advertise an internet domain registration outfit by the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau. It seems that some viewers felt the advert was "all about sex, got nothing to do with domains, unless it's to start a porn site", and "overtly sexist and exploitative". Seems about right to me... But a great way to publicise a domain registration company; now where dod I put that carton of cream?

When satire becomes too close to a believable future reality

"The State of Emergency introduced in May 2010 is to be extended for another five years, Prime Minister-for-Life Gordon Brown announced in London yesterday.

Such was the scale of the crisis facing the country that a General Election could only lead to instability.

Labour would continue in power indefinitely, Brown pledged. He was getting on with the job, taking the difficult decisions, which is what people wanted him to do."

Richard Littlejohn imagines life in the UK in 2015, wh's to say that much might come true?

Two months on...

On 31 December 2009 I made some predictions, I thought I'd see how they were coming along...

Five political predictions for 2010:
1. Gordon Brown will continue to try and create spurious and contrived dividing lines with the Conservatives, the BBC will assist by pushing the dividing lines - YES
2. The election will be held on May 6 (along with the local elections) because Labour cannot afford to run two campaigns and this way they will maximise their vote in the council elections - Unresolved but still looking likely
3. The pre-election leader's debates will produce a surprise win (in the view of opinion polls) for Gordon Brown - Unresolved
4. The pre-election leader's debates will produce an increase in support for the Lib Dems - Unresolved
5. Labour win the general election, postal votes being a key factor, and the protests about vote-rigging are dismissed as "losers' sour grapes" - Unresolved

Five economic predictions for 2010:
1. With a Labour victory at the general election (see above) the UK's credit rating will drop from AAA and the resultant rise in interest rates will produce the second half of the 'W shaped' recession - UK credit rating already diminished?
2. The re-election of a Labour government will mean that the exodus of bankers and other financial institutions to more financially friendly locations - Unresolved
3. The ever larger hole in the Treasury's tax receipts will mean that the higher rate of income tax rises to 60% and VAT to 20% - VAT to 20% is already being trailed, anyone want to bet on tax not moving higher?
4. The Pound will reach parity with the Euro and the price for IMF and EU assistance for the "sick man of Europe" will be joining the Euro. Being at parity will make this an easier sell for Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson - Sterling is on the slide even as I write
5. Having dropped to around USD 1,100 at the end of 2009; gold will rise ever higher, reaching USD 1500 by the end of the 2010 - I still believe this and am surprised gold has stuck around USD 1,100 for so long

Five BBC related predictions for 2010:
1. The BBC will become ever more blatantly biased in favour of the Labour party, the Conservatives won't realise how serious a problem this is - YES
2. The tone of the BBC's leader's debate will be clearly pro-Labour, the Conservatives won't realise how serious a problem this is - Unresolved
3. The BBC will minimise their coverage of the postal voting scandal (see above), the Conservatives will finally realise how serious this BBC bias is but it will be too late - Unresolved
4. The BBC will continue to push for the withdrawal of British armed forces from Afghanistan - YES
5. The BBC will continue to vilify Israel at every opportunity and revel in the coming further military attacks on Israel - YES


Coming along nicely...