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Tuesday 31 August 2010

The judgement of Ed Miliband

‘I loaded the bullets in, aimed, fired and shot down that Zionist’
The words of Ed Miliband's staff member Joseph 'Seph' Brown. The story is that in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, 'Seph' uttered the words ‘I loaded the bullets in, aimed, fired and shot down that Zionist’ while pretending to wield a machine gun during a protest. Apparently Jewish students were somewhat baffled at the sight of the LSE’s Anti-Racism Officer going all Rambo, felt intimidated and complained. Ed 'less Jewish than David'* Miliband's team are reported to have decided this was merely ‘silly behaviour’ and are keeping ‘Seph’ on the campaign in a ‘Web Ed’ capacity.

One of Ed Miliband's other advisers recently described Ed (off the record, of course) as being ‘less Jewish’ than his big brother.

I have never liked Ed Miliband, he always struck me as arrogant and smug, this makes me like him even less.

Don't forget that it was Ed Miliband who was reported in Hansard to have said "The hon. Gentleman knows that we have published our own home energy efficiency plan for 700 million households to be insulated by 2020" - 700 million households by 2020, what were Labour's real plans for immigration!

It was Ed Miliband who the BBC reported pre the 2009 Labour conference said Mr Brown was "the right leader".

It was Ed Miliband who in September 2009 told Andrew Marr that "There's no danger of power cuts in the next decade."

It was Ed Miliband who pushed the Climate Change Act through Parliament this landing the UK with a £1 trillion bill to no useful purpose.

And here is Ed Miliband in all his smug glory in 2008 managing to be even more shifty than David Miliband... and who quite clearly had not read the Lisbon Treaty

A report that I have not noticed covered on the BBC

Last month the BBC gave extensive coverage to the shooting of Israeli soldiers who had apparently strayed into Lebanon whilst cutting a tree, despite the fact that UNIFIL knew they were going to do the work and were in fact always in Israel. I cannot see any BBC coverage of the UNIFIL report (Wednesday, August 25) (my emphasis)
'that it had completed its investigation of the August 3rd incident that occurred between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces, and verified its preliminary conclusions that Israel had operated within its own borders when Lebanese sniper fire targeted Israeli soldiers. The IDF had been pruning a tree that each side claimed to be within its own territory, when the Lebanese army used live fire towards the IDF force operating in the area, killing a senior officer, and provoking an exchange of fire. UNIFIL announced that while “both the LAF and IDF cooperated fully with the UNIFIL team during the investigation”, their completed report “confirms the preliminary conclusions” in which UNIFIL had determined that the tree in question was located inside Israel’s border.

The preliminary conclusions had emphasized that the “trees being cut by the Israeli army were located south of the Blue Line on the Israeli side”, as stated by UNIFIL military spokesperson Lt. Col. Naresh Bhatt following the event. Moreover, as explained to Israeli Army Radio the day following the event, Hungarian diplomat and UNIFIL spokesman Milos Strungar noted that, “the IDF had coordinated the pruning work along the border with the Lebanese Army through UNIFIL. The IDF had informed UNIFIL that it would be pruning a tree on the northern side of the border fence, but south of the international border line.”

Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas said in today’s statement that, “UNIFIL’s investigation report is a result of a professional and impartial work. It is based on the facts and all the evidence available to UNIFIL at this stage. We hope this report will assist the parties to prevent the reoccurrence of such a serious and tragic incident. I emphasized to both sides that the incident of August 3rd, 2010 must remain an isolated event.”

IDF senior officer Lt. Col. (res.) Dov Harari was shot and killed when Lebanese forces began to open fire, and IDF Officer Capt. Ezra Lakia was severely injured during the incident. Two LAF soldiers and one Lebanese journalist were also killed in the ensuing exchangeof fire. '
Oddlythe BBC seem not to have reported UNIFIL's findings, I wonder why?


You can read my earlier postings about theis incident/setup here.

Who should I vote for in the Leabour leadership contest

According to Vote Match I match the candidates as follows:
David Miliband: 66%
Ed Miliband: 64%
Ed Balls: 61%
Diane Abbott: 35%
No score has been included for Andy Burnham because he did not send us his responses within the deadline.

I am interested that the difference in matching between David 'New Labour' Miliband amd Ed 'Lefty break with the past' Miliband is just 2 percentage points and that Ed 'Brownite loyalist' Balls is just another 3 percentage points. That seems rather odd to me. I am pleased to see that I have so little in common with Diane Abbott and Any Burnham is as disorganised a campaigner as he was a minister.

What I am sickened by is the websites invitation: 'David Miliband - Go Deeper'


Of course I don't have a vote for labour leader but if I managed to get one then I would vote for Diane Abbott as all of the others could do a less than disastrous job as party leader but she really couldn't!

Phrase of the day

In a Telegraph article that reports that 'One in four lap dancers has a degree', I was struck by one of the explanations: 'most citing flexibility as the main attraction of the job.' Yes I can see how flexibility would be useful...

The IAC report on the IPCC - just one point and some links

I used to get very pissed off with eco-mentalist friends who kept assuring me that Man Made Climate Change was an undisputed fact and that all of the IPCC 'research' was peer-reviewed. So I was most interested to read this in the IAC's report:
'The IPCC should strengthen and enforce its procedure for the use of unpublished and non-peer-reviewed literature, including providing more specific guidance on how to evaluate such information, adding guidelines on what types of literature are unacceptable, and ensuring that unpublished and non-peer-reviewed literature is appropriately flagged in the report.'

You can read some proper analysis at Watts Up With That or some pro-'warmist' slanted coverage at The BBC. You pays your money, you takes your choice... Except you don't because if you live in the UK and have a television then you have to pay for a TV licence to fund the BBC.


Actually there are some other points that need flagging up:
'Quantitative probabilities (as in the likelihood scale) should be used to describe the probability of well-defined outcomes only when there is sufficient evidence. Authors should indicate the basis for assigning a probability to an outcome or event (e.g., based on measurement, expert judgment, and/or model runs).

The confidence scale should not be used to assign subjective probabilities to ill-defined outcomes.'
This would help stop broadcasters saying that sea levels 'could' rise by some ridiculous figure when the chances of this happening are minuscule.

'to make sure that all scientific criticism is addressed and different point of view are reflected in the final report.'
This sounds like an admission that up until now different points of view have been excluded from the IPCC's reports, thus allowing the 'narrative' that it is settled science.

More animal cruelty on video


If this video is not a hoax then I am truly disgusted that anyone could so callously throw live puppies into a river to drown. I hear that some think the video was taken in Bugojno in Central Bosnia, through which the river Vrbas flows.

What should you do with your body when you die?

And Vinyl think they have the answer for record lovers. For £2,000 they will press your ashes into 30 records, you choose the songs. For extra they will produce art work cover sleeves and/or sell the records around the world in record shops.

I can't decide if this is cool or nuts...

Good entertainment industry news

A second series of the BBC's 'Sherlock' will hit our screens as three new episodes in autumn 2011.
The 2011 Doctor Who series will be split into two separate runs with the first block of episodes airing in the spring ending on a cliffhanger which will be resolved in the second block to be broadcast in the autumn.
It seems that Jennifer Aniston is hoping to try and improve her box office figures by appearing topless in her new film Wanderlust. In fact the role calls for her to strip off for the first time in her acting career. Apparently Jennifer Aniston's character also indulges in a threesome with two other women and sleeps around with numerous men.

All good news I think you will agree.

Another step on the road to the Zimbabweisation of South Africa - 'expropriation with compensation determined by the state'

I read that the delightful Julius Malema has been warning white South African farmers again.
"It's a simple policy. We're going to take the land, but we'll compensate and we'll determine the price. We go to [Eugene] Terre'Blanche's farm and say: for these many hectares we will give you R2m, thank you very much.

"If you say that's too little and you don't want it, then we take the land and give you nothing. It's called expropriation with compensation determined by the state."
Is President Jacob Zuma willing or able to reign in Julius Malema? I doubt it for long and within 10 years I predict that white South African farmers will be facing the 'problems' that Zimbabwean farmers have for some years now. I further predict that just as the land-grab policies in Zimbabwe destroyed Zimbabwe's agricultural sector, so Julius Malema's policy will destroy South Africa's.

Monday 30 August 2010

Complaints lodged re BBC radio and web coverage of one Israeli rabbi's comments

Further to this piece from yesterday I decided to complain to 5Live and the BBC web site about their vile and obvious anti-Israel bias.

Here are my complaints:
To 5Live:
'Your news bulletins featured a piece about an Israeli rabbi who had called for a 'plague' on Mahmoud Abbas. A despicable comment I agree but maybe you could point me to the 5Live news bulletins that reported the genocidal statements of senior Hamas and Fatah politicians and/or religious leaders. For example did 5Live report Hamas cleric Ziyad Abu al-Haj's Friday sermon of 3 April 2009 in which he said "The time will come, by Allah’s will, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."? Did 5Live report the words of Dr. Ahmed Yousuf Abu Halabiah, a member of the Palestinian Sharia (Islamic religious law) Rulings Council, and Rector of Advanced Studies at the Islamic University on 13 October 2000 when he said "The Jews are the Jews. There never was among them a supporter of peace. They are all liars… They are terrorists. Therefore it is necessary to slaughter them and murder them, according to the words of Allah… It is forbidden to have mercy in your hearts for the Jews in any place and in any land. Make war on them any place that you find yourself. Any place that you meet them – kill them. Kill the Jews and those among the Americans who are like them… The Jews only understand might. Have no mercy on the Jews, murder them everywhere."

If you did not report such Palestinian calls, why not? Why are the words of one Israeli cleric, however vile, newsworthy whereas those of Palestinian clerics and politicians are not?'



To Web News:
'Your Middle East news features a piece about an Israeli rabbi who had called for a 'plague' on Mahmoud Abbas and other reprehensible comments. Despicable I agree but maybe you could point me to the BBC web site news articles that reported the genocidal statements of senior Hamas and Fatah politicians and/or religious leaders. For example did the BBC web news report Hamas cleric Ziyad Abu al-Haj's Friday sermon of 3 April 2009 in which he said "The time will come, by Allah’s will, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."?

Maybe you could also show me where BBC web news reported the words of Dr. Ahmed Yousuf Abu Halabiah, a member of the Palestinian Sharia (Islamic religious law) Rulings Council, and Rector of Advanced Studies at the Islamic University on 13 October 2000 when he said "The Jews are the Jews. There never was among them a supporter of peace. They are all liars… They are terrorists. Therefore it is necessary to slaughter them and murder them, according to the words of Allah… It is forbidden to have mercy in your hearts for the Jews in any place and in any land. Make war on them any place that you find yourself. Any place that you meet them – kill them. Kill the Jews and those among the Americans who are like them… The Jews only understand might. Have no mercy on the Jews, murder them everywhere."

If you did not report such Palestinian calls, why not? Why are the words of one Israeli cleric, however vile, newsworthy whereas those of Palestinian clerics and politicians are not?'


Do you think I will get:
a) links to the articles they broadcast/published reporting the genocidal statements of the Palestinians I mentioned
b) a reasoned explanation of the difference between Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's comments and those of the Palestinian clerics I listed
c) the brush-off?

I know where my money is and I don't think I'll need a bent Pakistani bookie to help me win...

The BBC and blackening Israel's name again

I note that the BBC are headlining on the 5Live news that a RABBI and member of an Israeli government party has called for a plague on Palestinians. Oddly I cannot recall the BBC ever reporting the regular Hamas and Fatah expressions of hate and threats of destruction aimed at Israel and Jews. I wonder why...

Here is a link to a search of this site that will give you plenty of Palestinian hate speech aimed at Israel and/or Jews that the BBC chose not to report and certainly not use as a headline news article... Here's a few examples to give you a flavour:
"The time will come, by Allah’s will, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."
Ziyad Abu al-Haj, Hamas cleric in Friday sermon 3 April 2009

"The Jews are the Jews. There never was among them a supporter of peace. They are all liars… They are terrorists. Therefore it is necessary to slaughter them and murder them, according to the words of Allah… It is forbidden to have mercy in your hearts for the Jews in any place and in any land. Make war on them any place that you find yourself. Any place that you meet them – kill them. Kill the Jews and those among the Americans who are like them… The Jews only understand might. Have no mercy on the Jews, murder them everywhere."
Dr. Ahmed Yousuf Abu Halabiah, a member of the Palestinian Sharia (Islamic religious law) Rulings Council, and Rector of Advanced Studies at the Islamic University: 13 October 2000

“The struggle between Palestinians and Israelis has taken on a new dimension. After the spread of the Israeli cancer in the body of the city (i.e. Jews living in Jerusalem) the [Arab] inhabitants of Jerusalem see their enemy in front of their eyes.”
Source: Palestinian TV (Fatah), Apr. 18, 2010

Note: This statement was broadcast three times on PA TV in one week, on April 12, 14 and 18, 2010.'


"The time will come, by Allah's will, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."
[Hamas (Al-Aqsa) TV, April 3, 2009]

". . . You must believe that we will fight, defeat, and annihilate them, until not a single Jew remains on the face of the Earth."
[Al-Rahma TV (Egypt), Jan. 17, 2009]

The BBC and another event blamed on Climate Change despite the facts pointing elsewhere

The BBC report that:
'Global climate change is partly to blame for the abnormally hot and dry weather in Moscow, cloaked in a haze of smoke from wildfires, say researchers.

The UK Met Office has said there are likely to be more extreme high temperatures in the future.

Experts from the environmental group WWF Russia have also linked climate change and hot weather to raging wildfires around the Russian capital.'
Oddly the BBC do not quote the NOAA, one of their usual sources of climate change crap.

Maybe Street Wise Professor has the explanation:
'The extreme surface warmth over western Russia during July and early August is mostly a product of the strong and persistent blocking high. Surface temperatures have soared as a result of the combination of clear skies, sinking motion within the environment of the high pressure causing compressional heating of air, the lack of any temporary relief owing to the blocking of the typical cold fronts that cool the region intermittently in summer. Add to this scenario the cumulative effect of drought that began in early summer which has caused soils to dry and plants to desiccate to wilting point , thereby causing additional surface warming via land feedbacks as the blocking condition persisted. These are all well-known and studied physical processes that have accompanied summertime blocking and heat waves in the past.

...

Despite this strong evidence for a warming planet, greenhouse gas forcing fails to explain the 2010 heat wave over western Russia. The natural process of atmospheric blocking, and the climate impacts induced by such blocking, are the principal cause for this heat wave. It is not known whether, or to what exent, greenhouse gas emissions may affect the frequency or intensity of blocking during summer. It is important to note that observations reveal no trend in a daily frequency of July blocking over the period since 1948, nor is there an appreciable trend in the absolute values of upper tropospheric summertime heights over western Russia for the period since 1900.

The indications are that the current blocking event is intrinsic to the natural variability of summer climate in this region, a region which has a climatological vulnerability to blocking and associated heat waves (e.g., 1960, 1972, 1988). A high index value for blocking days is not a necessary condition for high July surface temperature over western Russia—the warm summers of 1981, 1999, 2001, and 2002 did not experience an unusual number of blocking days.'

The BBC always willing to drop a favourite source if they stray from the 'narrative'.

I've had worse first dates!




Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

Sunday 29 August 2010

Flooding, aid and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The Telegraph report that:
'Pakistan relief organisations 'discriminating against Christian flood victims'

Relief organisations in Pakistan are discriminating against Christians when they distribute flood aid, the Vatican said on Friday, as one million more people were displaced by fresh floods.

Christians and members of other minority religions are being treated as second-class citizens, said Father Mario Rodrigues, the Lahore-based director of Catholic Mission.

"They often receive little assistance or are excluded altogether," he told Fides, the Vatican's news agency.

Aid is being delivered by "government officials sympathetic to Islamic fundamentalism or by Muslim relief organisations", Fides claimed in its report, citing other unnamed aid workers.

About 200,000 Christians in Punjab province and about 600,000 Christians and Hindus in Sindh province have been affected by weeks of monsoon rain.'
An Islamic country (or its representatives) discriminating against Kuffars; how surprising. Of course the BBC have not reported this story presumably fearing that it might further reduce the propensity for British Christians to send aid to one of their favourite Islamic states.

Do note that Pakistan is formally known as the Islamic State of Pakistan but it is Israel that the BBC love to attack for being an 'apartheid state'.

An odd expression or two

The Telegraph reported yesterday that the British police were 'close to bringing Fletcher murderer to justice'. The paper names two Libyan men who the police think they have enough evidence to bring charges of 'conspiracy to cause death' against.

Two expressions in the article caught my eye. The first was about the two men and ran
'They have remnainded close to Colonel Gadaffi... unlikely Libya will allow them to stand trial'
So much for Libya re-joining the family of nations. Libya was a terrorist state and, oil or no oil, until they allow the perpetrators of the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher to stand trial in London then they will remain a terrorist state in my eyes.

The second part that caught my eye was this:
'ask the Government to renegotiate a deal agreed by Labour which specified that any future trial would be held in Libya. "You can't get British justice in a Libyan court", said Mr Kawczynski.'
How cowardly and grasping were the last Labour government? Were they really so concerned with securing oil contracts for British companies and ensuring the future wealth of some of their senior members that they were willing to sell out the family of WPC Fletcher over and over again?

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

Jonah Goldberg at TownHall.com writes:
'You've got to wonder when White House political guru David Axelrod will look at the churning pools of poll data and, like Chief Brody in "Jaws," say: "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

...

The analogy isn't quite right, because in the movie, the shark ultimately loses. It's hard to imagine a scenario where Barack Obama and Axelrod victoriously paddle away on the flotsam of their own political wreckage. But in one sense, the analogy works just fine: This White House is rudderlessly lost at sea and inadequate to the challenges it faces.

At the beginning of the year, retiring seven-term Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., recounted a conversation he had with the president. Obama's unrelenting push for health-care reform in the face of public opposition reminded Berry of the Clinton-era missteps that led to the Republican rout of the Democrats in 1994. "I began to preach last January that we had already seen this movie and we didn't want to see it again because we know how it comes out," Berry told a newspaper.

Or, to quote Brody in "Jaws 2": "But I'm telling you, and I'm telling everybody at this table that that's a shark! And I know what a shark looks like, because I've seen one up close. And you'd better do something about this one, because I don't intend to go through that hell again!"

Convinced that his popularity was eternal, Obama responded by saying, yes, but there's a "big difference" between 1994 and 2010, and that big difference is "you've got me."

The funny thing is, Obama might have been right. Because things might be much worse for Democrats in 2010 than they were in 1994 -- and the big difference might well be Barack Obama. '
DO read the rest of the article and wonder why in the UK we would never see/read/hear an article from such a position on the BBC that is still in full Obamamessiah mode.

Are the Muslims building the Ground Zero Mosque insensitive or do they 'suck'?


An interesting piece but I was staggered to learn the title of Iman Rauf's book 'A Call to Prayer from the World Trade Centre Rubble: Islamic Dawa in the Heart of the America Post 9/11'... In case you don't know, dawa is the means by which the Islamic Prophet Muhammad spread the message of Quran to mankind and modern Muslims do the same now..

Unbelievable comment of the day - 'Tories believe that Ed Miliband is an intellectual heavyweight'

Yesterday's Guardian contained a hysterical piece by Nicholas Watt, their chief political correspondent. It has many unbelievable lines, here's a few:
'David Cameron believes David Miliband has a better chance than his brother Ed of reaching out to middle Britain Photograph: David Miliband poses the greatest threat to the Conservative party of all the candidates in the Labour leadership contest, David Cameron has said in private remarks that could change the dynamic of the campaign just days before millions of ballot papers are posted.

...

A well-placed source told the Guardian: "David Cameron said the candidate he hoped for was Ed Miliband, and the candidate he most feared was David Miliband."

Ed Miliband, who is thought to be slightly behind his brother in first preference votes, but who hopes second choice votes will propel him to victory, is likely to be irritated by Cameron's remarks, which echo those of supporters of Tony Blair: his backers believe that his elder brother is being supported by what they describe as the "Blair machinery".

Tory high command believes David Miliband is flawed and lacks the easy manner of Tony Blair, who was regarded by Cameron and George Osborne as unbeatable. But Downing Street believes that the senior Miliband, who this week told the Labour party to abandon its "comfort zone", stands the best chance of reaching the sort of voters wooed by Blair.

Tories believe that Ed Miliband is an intellectual heavyweight, but showed the influence of his mentor, Gordon Brown, this week when he in effect attacked his brother with a warning about remaining in the "New Labour comfort zone".'

Hmmm might it be possible that this leak is designed to confuse the Labour leadership election.


Meanwhile in Ed Miliband related news, I read that:
'One of the country’s biggest unions last night threatend to withdraw funding from the Labour party unless Ed Miliband is elected as leader next month.

Paul Kenny, the General Secretary of the GMB union, said other unions will follow suit if David Miliband or Ed Balls were chosen to succeed Gordon Brown.

The warning, which senior Shadow Cabinet members will view as blackmail, came a week after Lord Prescott revealed that Labour were 'on the verge of bankruptcy'.

He said that the party was bring kept alive by 'trade union contributions, high-value donations and the goodwill of the Co-op bank'.

Asked by The Times if his union would withdraw funding from Labour if Ed Miliband did not win, Mr Kenny said: 'If the new leader offers us more of the same, many unions — including our own — would have to consider where we are at.

'Ed Balls and David Miliband represent where we’ve been. They are not without talent. I would not rubbish them. But if the direction of the party went off chasing some right-of-centre ground . . .'

He added: 'Ed Miliband is not ashamed of Labour’s core values. It’s not about a big society. It’s about a fair society.''

Hmmm, 'Ed Balls and David Miliband represent where we’ve been'. That's odd I could have sworn that Ed Miliband served in the last Labour cabinet and wrote a large part of the 2010 Labour manifesto that lead to a Labour defeat. Am I wrong?

In even more important news, I read in The Mirror that: Lily Allen has tweeted
'Why did David Miliband cross the road? To get to the middle. Vote Ed.'
So Lily Allen is on Ed Miliband, hmmm.

2012 is not looking like a good year

Yahoo News report something that could be the biggest story of the coming few years. Read the article below but the headline effects could be massive interference or even destruction of electronic communications systems, the internet and power transmission.

Melbourne, Aug 26 (ANI): Astronomers are predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, is to strike our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs.

Several US media outlets have reported that NASA was warning the massive flare this month was just a precursor to a massive solar storm building that had the potential to wipe out the entire planet's power grid.

Despite its rebuttal, NASA's been watching out for this storm since 2006 and reports from the US this week claim the storms could hit on that most Hollywood of disaster dates - 2012.

Similar storms back in 1859 and 1921 caused worldwide chaos, wiping out telegraph wires on a massive scale. The 2012 storm has the potential to be even more disruptive.

"The general consensus among general astronomers (and certainly solar astronomers) is that this coming Solar maximum (2012 but possibly later into 2013) will be the most violent in 100 years," News.com.au quoted astronomy lecturer and columnist Dave Reneke as saying.

"A bold statement and one taken seriously by those it will affect most, namely airline companies, communications companies and anyone working with modern GPS systems.

"They can even trip circuit breakers and knock out orbiting satellites, as has already been done this year," added Reneke.

No one really knows what effect the 2012-2013 Solar Max will have on today's digital-reliant society.

Dr Richard Fisher, director of NASA's Heliophysics division, told Reneke the super storm would hit like "a bolt of lightning", causing catastrophic consequences for the world's health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.

NASA said that a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause "1 to 2 trillion dollars in damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to 10 years for complete recovery".

The reason for the concern comes as the sun enters a phase known as Solar Cycle 24.

Most experts agree, although those who put the date of Solar Max in 2012 are getting the most press.

They claim satellites will be aged by 50 years, rendering GPS even more useless than ever, and the blast will have the equivalent energy of 100 million hydrogen bombs.

"We know it is coming but we don't know how bad it is going to be," Fisher told Reneke.

"Systems will just not work. The flares change the magnetic field on the Earth and it's rapid, just like a lightning bolt. That's the solar effect," he added.

The findings are published in the most recent issue of Australasian Science. (ANI)'

Saturday 28 August 2010

A birthday that needs commemorating; not that the BBC have...

Imagine if:
Can you imagine what would have been on the BBC news website today if a team of Israeli commandos had infiltrated Gaza four years ago, killed two terrorists, and taken a third terrorist prisoner? Can you imagine what would have been on the BBC website today if Israel had then held that prisoner in total isolation for four years and refused all access by any third parties including the International Red Cross. Do you think that this story would be on the front page of the BBC's news coverage as well as the lead story on the Middle East news page?

Unfortunately, the story is slightly different for today is Gilad Shalit’s 24th birthday. He was kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists in a cross border raid from the Gaza Strip in June 2006. He has been held hostage by Hamas ever since with almost no contact with the outside world. He is also denied visits from the International Red Cross, which would ensure his good health. I can see no mention of Gilad Shalit's birthday on the BBC news site let alone on the news front page.

BBC - You disgust me!



Thanks to Henry Wood at Biased-BBC for the concept.

Apparently the only country it is OK to hate without sanction...

'A friend of mine who works in Israel, was visiting while piling wood in the shed, we got into his favourite topic. Several years of residence in the holy country, he has come to the conclusion that "Israel is a scum state". On the basis of my own visit, which occurred during the 1970s and 1990s for the final time, I agree.'
The words of Finland's Amnesty International chairman Frank Johansson, you can read more here and here. You can read Mr Johansson's claims of mistranslation, quelle surprise, here.

It is incredible how many 'civilized' westerners feel comfortable insulting Israel and how it is always democratic, multi-cultural Israel and not countries that ban the practice of religions, such as Saudi Arabia or hang homosexuals & stone adulterers, such as Iran. This really, really pisses me off - Good Night.

It's a 'Girls On Film' freak-out


Duran Duran - 'Girls on Film' and Chic - 'Le Freak'
I think Nile Rogers would approve...

Scott Pilgrim vs The Matrix


I think I am too old to 'get' Scott Pilgrim despite my deep respect for Simon Pegg, but I do like this filmic mash-up...

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

This week's winner is Ex-Home Office criminologist Professor Ken Pease who has said that community sentences have no evident effect on re-conviction rates in their current form. Apparently using community sentences to replace short prison sentences simply
"freed the group most likely to re-offend to do so sooner, with no evidence of a current treatment benefit from community sanctions to offset that."


"No shit, Sherlock"


And Ken Clarke please take note.

Friday 27 August 2010

'Blaming the Jews' - Muslim anti-Semitism - A video in four parts

This is David Aaronovitch's Channel 4 film from 2003 and you must watch it to have an idea as to the extent of hatred of the Jews that exists in Muslims in Arab countries and elsewhere.

Part 1... In which we are reminded of Sheikh Faisal and listen to his wife (Zubaida) impart her deluded views...


Part 2... In which we learn that 'apes and pigs' is not really an insult to Jews, hear about the British Christian 'blood libel' & the 'Protocols of the learned Elders of Zion' as well as Palestinian music videos and the Palestinian view of the holocaust and Jews and a trip to a private school in Gaza...


Part 3... In which we hear from the pupils of the school why there will never be peace with 'the Jew' (this was a particularly shocking part for me - do I hear the word brainwashing), the Hamas charter, a visit to Ramallah to hear the 'moderate' view (or not), a visit to Egypt to see an extract from the 41 part series 'Horseman without a horse' which heavily references 'The protocols of the elders of Zion...


Part 4... In which we hear from a moderate Egyptian, a look at Arab cartoons that are less moderate, we hear about the pseudo-history of 'Hirari's List' and we are reminded of the 3½ year old Basmallah and her brainwashed views of Jews as 'Apes & Pigs'...



Listen to what they say, just listen.

The key word is 'Socialism'


Whateve the prefix, the key word is Socialism.


Thanks to Theo Spark/Rico for the spot.

Two ways to deal with 9/11 'troofers'

Bill Maher...



Science explained by Mark Roberts...

In the Western world, Britain has the "greatest to fear" from home grown terrorists

Read this Telegraph article and a) worry about what is to come but also ask yourself why 'In the Western world, Britain has the "greatest to fear" from home grown terrorists'? Could it be because successive UK governments failed to realise the threat from Islamic terrorism in the UK, you might care to read Melanie Phillips book Londonistan for some background and understand the decision that the last Labour government took to increase immigration so as to 'rub the Right's nose in diversity' as Andrew Teather claimed and to increase their client vote as many others have claimed?

'Canadian', yes that's the key factor!

The BBC 'report' that:
'Canadian police charge three in suspected terror plot

Three Canadians arrested in an alleged terrorist conspiracy had bomb parts and plans and posed a "real and serious threat", Canadian police have said.

The trio, arrested this week, were charged with supporting terrorism.

Hiva Alizadeh and Misbahuddin Ahmed were jailed following a court appearance on Thursday.

Also arrested was Khurram Sher, who according to the Toronto Star newspaper sang and danced in an audition for the Canadian Idol television programme.

Police said Mr Alizadeh, 30, Mr Ahmed, 26, and Mr Sher, 28, face charges of conspiracy to facilitate terrorism, with Mr Alizadeh also charged with providing or making property available for a terrorist organisation and possession of explosives.

Mr Alizadeh and Mr Ahmed are residents of Ottawa, and Mr Sher is a resident of London, Ontario.'
Do go and read the whole BBC piece and then ask yourself if the BBC really think that the key common factor to link Hiva Alizadeh, Misbahuddin Ahmed and Khurram Sher is that they are 'Canadian'? Maybe their religious/political affiliations might be more relevant or do the BBC refuse to acknowledge Islam as a factor in terrorism any more?

Thursday 26 August 2010

Taqqiya in action?


Interesting video...

Tell your loved ones that you love them

Life is short
Our time on this planet is fleeting
When the end comes for a loved one
It may come too quickly to tell them how you feel
So every day
As often as you can
Tell your loved ones that you love them
Give them a cuddle and hold their hand

Life is short
Far far too short
And the end will come to one that you love
Whether the end be sudden or drawn out
So every day
As often as you can
Tell your loved ones that you love them
Give them a cuddle and hold their hand


Life is brief
We pay too much heed to work and money
Life, love and relationships
Should concern us more
So every day
As often as you can
Tell your loved ones that you love them
Give them a cuddle and hold their hand

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Brainwashing the children


A junior school class in Diane Abbott's constituency who have been taught to love the heroic Dianne Abbot and to have good right-on political views.

This is how the left try and ensure their hold on power, get the children early and teach them the 'correct views' to hold. A sickening piece of video?

When watching this I was reminded of the we love Barack Obama video I posted a while back...


And there's also this Barack Obama related brainwashing video that I think I have posted before but cannot find right now...



What is it with lthe left and the brainwashing of children in politics and loving the 'leader of the nation'?

No mosque at Ground Zero



'The Center for Security Policy today unveiled a powerful 1-minute video opposing the construction of a 13-story, $100 million mega-mosque near the hallowed ground of the World Trade Center. The Twin Towers were destroyed on 9/11 by adherents to the barbaric, supremacist and totalitarian program authoritative Islam calls "Shariah." And the imam who is promoting this mosque has publicly declared that he seeks to "bring Shariah to America."

As the ad makes clear, Shariah's followers have long built mosques on the most sacred sites of those they have conquered -- for example, on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, at Constantinople/Istanbul's St. Sophia Basilica and in Cordoba, Spain, the capital of the occupying Moors' Muslim kingdom.

A growing chorus of New Yorkers and other Americans -- including, notably, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin -- have expressed outrage at the prospect of a similar, permanent beachhead for Shariah being use to defile Ground Zero, and symbolize America's defeat at the hands of her enemies. We say, "No Mosque at Ground Zero."'

The BBC/Labour agenda

I listened to just under an hour of this morning's BBC Radio 4 Today programme and the contrast in the way 'believers' & 'non-believers' were treated and the way the Labour/BBC narrative was promoted was almost unbelievable. Listen for yourself and note the way that Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban was aggressively interviewed and contrast that with the way that the IEA's Mark Littlewood was pushed to say the right things. Nobody raised the possibility that Harriet Harman's Equality Act 2010 was passed so as to give the Labour/BBC alliance a line of attack on any future Conservative government's cuts programme.

If you can't stomach listening to the whole programme, here's excerpts to show how the BBC set a narrative to keep the country on the true path...


From the Today running order:
07:09 - Fresh analysis of the June budget suggests the poorest families will be among those who are left worst off, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The institute's James Browne explains why the tax changes might hit the poorest households more than those in the upper-middle class. Set the agenda

07:55 - Was the emergency coalition budget published in June fair? Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban responds to a report from the IFS claiming that the budget's impact will hit the poorest hardest. Attack the Conservative/Lib Dem government and try and catch the spokesman out.

08:43 - Is there a rift within the coalition government over welfare reform? Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs analyses the possible futures for middle-class benefits. Use a left-leaning expert to 'impartially' analyse the story.

08:47 - How effective are new economic theories? Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains why he believes we are in need of a new paradigm to help overcome the current economic crisis. Explain how the old economic system does not work and what should replace it.


You have to admire the BBC's tenacity but why do the Conservatives not challenge the bias?

'Demand always equals supply'; the existence of unemployment proves that is not true

So said Nobel prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz on BBC's Today programme just after 8:30. Really? I thought economic theory stated that demand equals supply when the economy is in equilibrium. So for 'labour' wages and other factors need to be taken into account. But what do I know, I only have an economics A-level.

The elephant in the room re sexually transmitted 'infections'

The BBC Today programme in the big 8:10 spot were concerned about the rise of sexually transmitted infections amongst the young. Might the rise in people taking risks with their sexual health and then looking for treatment be linked to changing the description of the various conditions from 'sexually transmitted diseases' to 'sexually transmitted infections'?

Tuesday 24 August 2010

The Claudy story and the BBC

What a load of cobblers the BBC have been talking today. Blaming the Conservative government, blaming Willie Whitelaw, blaming the police, blaming the Roman Catholic church but definitely not blaming the IRA who actually carried out the killing of the nine people at Claudy.

The BBC having sided with the IRA throughout 'the Troubles' and then cheering the coming to power of ex-terrorists & sympathisers during the great sell-out are hardly likely to encourage investigation of the IRA now. I wonder which Sinn Fein politicians might have knowledge or closer involvement in the Claudy bombing?

Well she often is...


Sparks - "Brenda's Always In The Way"

Jokes that make you go 'ooooh'


Simon Amstell, Frankie Boyle, John Sergeant, Frankie Boyle (again), Jimmy Carr, Tim Minchin, Frankie Boyle (again, again).

Who is the Stig?

Apparently the white Stig is Ben Collins; the old black Stig was Perry McCarthy.

A difference between Israel and Iran - the tone of its politicians

Israel:
(Communicated by the Deputy Foreign Minister's Bureau)

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon has joined the struggle against closing down Kol Yisrael (Israel radio) in Persian: "This is an extremely important public diplomacy tool that directly links Israel to the Iranian people, out of the regime’s reach. Today, the Kol Yisrael program in Persian is Israel's only means of transmitting direct messages to the Iranian people. In the program's 55 years of existence, it has built up a reputation among the Iranians for having objective and trustworthy broadcasts. Kol Yisrael in Persian must not be shut down; in fact its scope should be increased," said Ayalon.

The deputy minister sent the following message to the Iranian people, as part of an interview he granted to the station:

"Israel bears no animosity towards the Iranian people. We have deep respect for them, and aspire to cooperate with them to bring about a better reality in the region. The problem is intrinsic to the Iranian regime and its conduct, particularly regarding the nuclear issue. This is a regime that threatens to annihilate western countries such as the United States, Great Britain and Israel. The Iranian regime spreads instability, supports terror, and oppresses its own people. It is impossible to accept atomic weapons in the hands of such a regime.

The Iranian reactor constitutes a tremendous danger to the stability of the entire region and to world peace in general because, besides nuclear armaments, Iran is also developing a missile system that threatens countries beyond the Middle East, such as Europe. Nuclear weapons in Iran’s hands will enable it to threaten all the Arab governments with its present means (subversive elements in various countries, agents, and so forth). Even now it controls bodies that function as a state within a state, in Lebanon, Palestinian areas, Yemen and other places.

Another point that does not always come up in the Iranian context, due to the nuclear threat, is the glaring violation of civil rights inside Iran. This is an aggressive dictatorial regime, and all progressive elements throughout the world should take action against it, if only for that reason. Israel congratulates the Iranian people for their efforts to liberate themselves from the burden of the oppressive regime. At every international forum, Israel has raised the issue of the suffering of the Iranian people and the cruelty of the regime ruling them. That is the main thing we can do for such an illustrious nation suffering from oppression. But in the end, it is the Iranian people themselves who must take their fate in their own hands and act to achieve their rights. The more the citizens of Iran increase their protest activities, the higher the international support will be, including Israel’s support.

In response to a question regarding the likelihood of regional war, the deputy minister replied that there is always the possibility of sudden, unplanned deterioration due to one action or another. Israel is committed to defending its citizens and if attacked will act accordingly. A fear exists that Iran - as it becomes more pressured by sanctions - will goad those under its patronage in Hizbullah and Hamas to initiate military action against Israel. There's also a possibility that Iran will make a military move against the Arab Gulf states and harm the flow of oil to the world, in which case the entire situation will degrade into widespread confrontations. Remember that the sanctions are aimed against Iran’s efforts to arm itself with nuclear weapons, and if they don’t elicit results, the United States and other nations might consider more forceful measures."


Iran:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in various speeches:
'Our dear Imam (referring to Ayatollah Khomeini) said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map for great justice and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine. Is it possible to create a new front in the heart of an old front. This would be a defeat and whoever accepts the legitimacy of this regime has in fact, signed the defeat of the Islamic world. Our dear Imam targeted the heart of the world oppressor in his struggle, meaning the occupying regime. I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world.'

"People like my comments, because people will save themselves from the imposition of the Zionists. European peoples have suffered the greatest damage from Zionists and today the costs of this false regime, be they political or economic costs, are on Europe's shoulders."

'I would like to declare that the idea of "smaller Israel" is also dead. The very notion of Israel is dead, but they are lagging behind the times. Just like the idea of Greater Israel died 30 years ago, and they did not realize this, and have continued to perpetrate crimes for 30 years... Today, I say to them: The idea of smaller Israel is dead.'

'The Zionist regime has lost its raison d'être. Today, the Palestinians identify with your name [Khomeini], your memory, and in your path. They are walking in your illuminated path and the Zionist regime has reached a total dead end. Thanks to God, your wish will soon be realized, and this germ of corruption will be wiped off.'

'The Zionists are crooks. A small handful of Zionists, with a very intricate organization, have taken over the power centers of the world. According to our estimates, the main cadre of the Zionists consists of 2,000 individuals at most, and they have another 8,000 activists. In addition, they have several informants, who spy and provide them with intelligence information. But because of their control of power centers in the U.S. and Europe, and their control of the financial centers and the news and propaganda agencies, they spread propaganda as if they were the entire world, as if all the peoples supported them, and as if they were the majority ruling the world'

"Today the Zionists dominate many of the world's centers of power, wealth, and media. Unfortunately, they have ensnared many politicians and parties, and they are plundering the wealth and assets of nations in this way, depriving peoples of their freedoms and destroying their cultures and human values by spreading their nexus of corruption."

"[The raid] has actually rung the final countdown for its existence. It shows that it has no room in the region and no one is ready to live alongside it. Actually, no country in the world recognizes it, and you know that the Zionist regime is the backbone of the dictatorial world order...The Zionist regime, with what it has done, it actually stopped its possibility to exist in the region anymore."


So peace or war, love or hatred? The choices are clear but such as the BBC have chosen the wrong side, why?

What has happened to this country?

Please read the always excellent Anna Raccoon's piece about Sheila Martin and despair at what England has become. Here's an extract:
'Today, Sheila is once more fragile; she is 70 years old and was widowed 30 years ago. She tells me she has survived five heart attacks; she suffers from asthma, angina and high blood pressure. She only smokes the occasional cigarette these days, partly for health reasons, partly because her minimal state pension doesn’t stretch to any more.

...

In common with other ‘Smokers’ who may not like the new laws prohibiting them from smoking where others may be offended by the practice, she respected the law of the land, and complied. She is no campaigner against such laws.

Thus it was that she found herself standing at a bus stop, waiting for the bus which would take her home, and taking the opportunity to smoke a cigarette in the open air – there was no bus shelter.

...


She only smoked half the cigarette; as the time drew close for the bus to arrive, she ‘nibbed’ the cigarette, letting the lit end fall to the ground, and thriftily stowing the other half of the cigarette in her handbag for a later occasion. It was her last cigarette until pension day.

Two of Sandwell’s famed ‘enforcement wardens’ approached her – a man and a woman. They told her that they were issuing a ‘Fixed Penalty Fine’ of £75 under Section 87 (1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as amended by Section 18 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. This mouthful of gobblygook was lost on Sheila; she had no idea what she had done wrong and put the piece of paper in her pocket.

...

On Friday, the threatening ‘Final Demand’ from Sandwell Council, warning her that she now faces a £2,500 fine plus costs (and possible imprisonment if she does not pay that) expired. The next opportunity for Mrs Martin to contest this matter will come in ‘some months time’ – the council cannot tell me when her case will arrive at the top of their back log of cases to appear in the Magistrates court.'

Do read the whole of Anna Raccoon's piece and get angry and then be reassured by the news that Sheila Martin's legal defence is being taken care of. But then take a read of The Metropolitan Borough council of Sandwell's Wardens Enforcement Policy document. 15 pages of 'Good Enforcement Practice', reference to The Human Rights Act, Equal Opportunities,
Service Standards' and the rest of the usual language of the town hall apparatchik. Here's a few excerpts from this document, so you can get a flavour of the bollocks that local government officers promulgate and speak with such ease as they persecute the easy prey whilst letting real criminals get away with much worse:
'The Council has adopted the Cabinet Office’s “Enforcement Concordat” which offers best practice guidance and promotes good standards of enforcement.'

'The policy is a generic policy intended to apply to all service areas, but it must be recognised that there will be service specific requirements which apply to specific enforcement activity relevant only to that service area, e.g. health and safety, trading standards. This policy deals with the Sandwell Warden scheme.'

'Enforcement action, by the use of fixed penalty notices, penalty notices for disorder, but including prosecution where appropriate, will be taken against those who deliberately or recklessly flout the law.' - Was Sheila Martin reckless or deliberately flouting the law?

'2.5.4
This policy should be read in conjunction with the Wardens Standard Operating Procedures, which provides details of the way in which the Warden Service will operate.
2.5.5
Due regard will also be taken of the following advice and guidance:
o The Code for Crown Prosecutors
o Home Office Police Operational Guidance for issuing Penalty Notices for Disorder to persons 18yrs and over
o The use of Penalty Notices for Disorder for offences committed by Young People aged 16 and 17yrs.
o The use of Penalty Notices for Disorder for offences committed by Young People aged 10 – 15 yrs.
o Home Office guidance on the issue of Fixed Penalty notices
o Supplementary Operational Guidance for Accredited Persons
o DEFRA Guidance on Issuing Fixed Penalty Notices
o DEFRA Guidance on Issuing Fixed Penalty Notices to Juveniles'

'2.5.9
Prosecution is the last resort, but the Authority is committed to making a difference and will be robust in targeting those areas, and those people who continually flout the law, adversely affecting the lives of people and businesses in our community.' Was Sheila Martin adversely affecting the lives of anyone?


But it is the section on Enforcement that has really irked me, read the policy and see if you can see why on earth poor Sheila Martin was issued a penalty notice, if not to raise money or maybe bully an old woman who would not fight back. How much easier to issue a penalty notice to a frail old woman than a 'youf'!

'3 Enforcement
3.1.1
Enforcement is not simply focused on prosecution, and officers are trained to assess and decide on which course of action is the most appropriate for any given set of circumstances. Consistency and fairness are critical to ensure that public support and confidence in the scheme are maintained.
3.1.2
In making their decisions, enforcement officers will consider:
o The nature and seriousness of the offence
o Any explanation offered by the defendant
o The age of the defendant
o The known history of the defendant
o The likely impact of enforcement action being taken there and then
o The likelihood of a statutory defence
o Witnesses and their willingness to make a statement
o The advice contained in the CPS Guidance
o The advice contained in the Guidance for Young People

3.1.3
Having considered the relevant issues and applied them to the circumstances of the incident being dealt with, the following options are available for consideration:
No action
Informal action
Formal Action'



I wonder if the staff of the Metropolitan Borough council of Sandwell are happy with the way their council operates against the old and frail? I wonder if the people responsible for prosecuting Sheila Martin and for framing the policies that lead to her prosecution are proud of their contributions to the well-being of Sandwell? I wonder if the two ‘enforcement wardens’ are happy with their actions?

I despair of this country, I really do.

If you want to make your feelings known to Sandwell Council then you will find relevant contact information here including their telephone number of 0845 358 2200 and complaints email address of contact@sandwell.gov.uk

Taxing the motorist

Yesterday The Telegraph reported that
'Motoring organisations and business leaders have expressed concern at plans to charge people hundreds of pounds a year to park their cars at work after councils were ordered by the Government to find new ways of raising money. '
Yes it's the return of the parking at work charge that we all hoped had been buried.

What is most annoying is that whilst people will complain they will pay it and yet another tax on the hardworking British worker will be in place. One day maybe 100% of our income will be taken by the State and we will be allowed tax credits based on perceived need - for taxpayers will soon be slaves to the state. So long as the non-taxed have equal voting rights as taxpayers, what incentive is there for spending to be controlled? The cry must be 'No representation without taxation'

Monday 23 August 2010

Ground Zero Mosque Update

Sean Linnane/Stormbringer has an interesting update, here's an extract:
'The construction of this 13-story building is, in fact, a statement of Islamic triumphalism rather than a message of religious tolerance. Consider:

The project's offensive name: the Cordoba Initiative is a reference to Cordoba, Spain, a Spanish city that was captured by a Muslim army and became the capital of Spain during its 500-year occupation by the Moors. The name Cordoba is still seen today by radical Islamists as a symbol of Islamic superiority.'


New English Review has some video that you want to watch.

American Power reports on Imam Rauf's Middle East tour and the funding of the Ground Zero Mosque:
'Foreign financing for this mosque on this site has implications far beyond building a place where Muslims can go pray. There is reason to believe that this site was chosen with some other purpose in mind. Of all the places to build such a mosque, why Ground Zero? It’s not a residential area. There are no large numbers of Muslim residents in the neighborhood. If foreign powers are behind its financing, then the implications immediately become much more profound and sinister. Nevertheless, Imam Rauf remains tight-lipped on the subject of financing sources, media such as The Economist exhibit no intellectual curiosity on the subject and apologists such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg refuse to even consider that it might be a bad idea if the Muslim Brotherhood or a foreign Salafi power is behind the project.'

Another piece of EU bollocks

Read this, get angry, realise that there's nothing you or I do can do about this and despair.

'Thousands of foreign nurses are now allowed to start work in Britain without safety checks because the tests could be deemed discriminatory under European Union law. '

That is no way to treat a young cat



Apparently:
'ASTONISHING footage has been revealed showing a woman dumping a cat in a Coventry wheelie bin.

The cruel act was caught on camera in Bray’s Lane, Stoke, where the kitten’s owners Stephanie and Darryl Mann have CCTV outside their home for security.

After hearing cries from Lola the cat, who is not yet a year old, they found her trapped in the bin and replayed the video footage expecting to see teenagers or drunken louts committing the act in the middle of the night.

But to their horror, they watched a middle-aged woman stop and pet Lola in broad daylight before dropping her in the bin and shutting the lid, leaving the moggy trapped for 16 hours.'



Thanks to Coventry Telegraph via Dizzy Thinks for the spot.

All that and no use of the word 'pussy', well done me!

The pros and cons of 'threesomes' from 'Argumental' - Jimmy Carr vs Rufus Hound


Hmmm...

is Barack Obama a Muslim?





Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

Tim Vine is a winner

Despite having a brother (Jeremy) who works at the BBC, I am pleased to report that Tim Vine has won the prestigious 'Dave' channel's Best Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe. The winning joke was this
"I've just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I'll tell you what, never again."
Quite good but the funniest?

The rest of the top 10 best jokes were (my comments in italics):

2. David Gibson (as Ray Green): ''I'm currently dating a couple of anorexics. Two birds, one stone.'' - Clever, I think better than Tim Vine's, probably a bit anti-PC though

3. Emo Philips: ''I picked up a hitchhiker. You gotta when you hit them.'' - Typical Emo Philips, a good one

4. Jack Whitehall: ''I bought one of those anti-bullying wristbands when they first came out. I say 'bought' - I actually stole it off a short, fat ginger kid.'' - Very old gag

5. Gary Delaney: ''As a kid I was made to walk the plank. We couldn't afford a dog.'' - Like it

6. John Bishop: ''Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day.'' - Topical but not that funny

7. Bo Burnham: ''What do you call a kid with no arms and an eyepatch? Names.'' - Sick but amusing

8. Gary Delaney: ''Dave drowned. So at the funeral we got him a wreath in the shape of a lifebelt. Well, it's what he would have wanted.'' - Very good, my favourite of the top 10

9. Robert White: ''For Vanessa Feltz, life is like a box of chocolates - empty.'' - Not any more she has had a gastric band fitted - Sorry for that display of Vanessa Feltz knowledge

10. Gareth Richards: ''Wooden spoons are great. You can either use them to prepare food, or if you can't be bothered with that, just write a number on one and walk into a pub.'' - I am sure I heard a variant of this a while back on TV


Meanwhile the judges also nominated the worst Jokes at the Fringe and included:

Sara Pascoe: ''Why did the chicken commit suicide? To get to the other side.'' - Dreadful

Sean Hughes: ''You know city-centre beat officers... Well are they police who rap?'' - Even worse

Gyles Brandreth: ''I've got nothing against lesbians. I mean, that's the point isn't it?'' - I quite like this one, but then I like Gyles Brandreth

Doc Brown: ''I was born into the music industry. My dad worked in Our Price.'' - Not terrible

John Luke Roberts: ''I made a Battenberg where the two colours ran alongside each other. I called it apartheid sponge.'' - Poor

Sarah Millican: ''I bought a cross-trainer to keep fit. I suppose that it's not enough to just buy it.'' - Hmmm

Bec Hill: ''Some of my best friends are vegan. They were going to come today but they didn't have the energy to climb up the stairs.'' - Quite good, albeit a bit whiskery

Dan Antopolski: ''How many Spaniards does it take to change a lightbulb? Juan.'' - As old as me

Andi Osho: ''Floella Benjamin is in the House of Lords. How did she get in, through the round window?'' - This is funny, come on isn't it?

Gareth Richards: ''My mother is always taking photographs of me - she said if you disappear tomorrow I want you to look good on the news.'' - Very old

Emo Phillips: ''I like to play chess with bald men in the park although it's hard to find 32 of them.'' - This should be in top 10, although logically shouldn't some of the bald me be riding horses etc. etc. etc.

Hamas and Fatah in their own words

"The time will come, by Allah’s will, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."
Ziyad Abu al-Haj, Hamas cleric in Friday sermon 3 April 2009


"Regarding the Jews, our business with them is only through bombs and guns... the prophet [Muhammad] promised that we will fight you, with Allah's help, until the tree and stone say: "Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."
Nizar Rayan, Hamas religious and military leader, 1 Jan 2009


"We find occasional condemnation and denunciation of the resistance operations and bombings [suicide attacks], carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian resistance branches... [Eventually] everyone will know that we did this [suicide attacks] only because our Lord commanded so - 'I did it not of my own accord' [Quran] - and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the world."
Source: Al-Rissala (Hamas weekly), 23 Apr 2007


"The Jews are the Jews. There never was among them a supporter of peace. They are all liars… They are terrorists. Therefore it is necessary to slaughter them and murder them, according to the words of Allah… It is forbidden to have mercy in your hearts for the Jews in any place and in any land. Make war on them any place that you find yourself. Any place that you meet them – kill them. Kill the Jews and those among the Americans who are like them… The Jews only understand might. Have no mercy on the Jews, murder them everywhere."
Dr. Ahmed Yousuf Abu Halabiah, a member of the Palestinian Sharia (Islamic religious law) Rulings Council, and Rector of Advanced Studies at the Islamic University: 13 October 2000


"Fatah is not responding [to the Goldstone Report], is not apologizing, is not sorry, and does not recognize Israel. It is the PLO that negotiates on behalf of the Palestinian people."
Ahmad Assaf, Fatah spokesman: 8 Feb 2010


Hamas and Fatah make no secret of their hatred of Israel and their support for the destruction of Israel and in many cases the death of all Jews; so why don't people listen to what they say? People like the NUJ's Larry Herman who seems to view the world through the prism of 'imperialism'. How do you respond to the above quotes Mr Herman?

Tony Blair is a what?

A banker you say? Well just one letter wrong!

Parts of the NUJ (National Union of 'Journalists') displaying the even handed approach for which they are rightly famous

The usually right on the money Harry's Place has yet another piece on the hatred of Israel displayed by some parts of the 'left' of British politics. Do read the whole piece and pay particular attention to the wording of Larry Herman's email. I particularly enjoyed the way that Larry Herman could write the following with no hint of irony:
'There are many explanations why Zionism was organised in the 19th Century and why it was able to establish its state after the Second World War, why this State was violently inserted into Palestine and why Israel has carried on a sixty-year war to defend its interests. Israel is the form that imperialism takes in the Middle East. The Apartheid governments in South Africa were another, and equally unique, form of imperialism. The support of all American big capitalists, their governments and military, since the mid 1950’s (and before) for the Zionist state is because it defends Imperialism and Israel is its imperialist beachhead in that part of the world.

American imperialisms has always fought wars to extend its interests, whether in The philippines in 1898, in the First and Second World Wars and now throughout Western Asia and North Africa ( of course, on other continents, too. The biggest military base outside of the United States is in Honduras!). It’s not the very active and well funded lobbyists in the United States that cause the American Government’s defence of the Zionist State; to argue this is playing into the hands of anti-semitism.'
So it's all the fault of imperialism and by imperialism he means Western imperialism, because the imperialism of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe 1945-1968 and China in Tibet and elsewhere is presumably not really Imperialism. But having attacked American imperialism Larry Herman shows his real issues:
'The nefarious activity of pro Zionist organisations and individuals throughout the world exists because of the historic weakness of imperialism. That’s why they are compelled to do what they do.'
'nefarious', 'organisations', are we straying close to 'The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion' here? Maybe, maybe not but the role of the journalist as reporter of truth seems to be not the prime role that Larry Herman thinks the journalist should undertake:
'I enthusiastically acknowledge that anti – Zionism occupies our political activity today because of several decades of Palestinian resistance... As activists, we are in harmony with the Palestinian people in their struggle for self – determination. We are transformed into anti imperialist fighters through building this solidarity. We, as NUJ activists, have struggled to be heard in the past and will continue to organise against bigotry.'
So that's NO to the reporting of facts without fear and favour and YES to being 'activists and 'fighters'.

I always like to see the left show themselves for what they are and I think that Larry Herman has done so.


Now before the NUJ push the BBC to 'fund a ‘Panorama Two” putting the different view', perhaps the NUJ could explain where the original Panorama programme was wrong. What alternative facts disprove what happened? Where is the Al-Jazeera film that disputes what happened? Where is the report from Turkey into what happened? Have they seen the film of the interview with the captain that confirmed what happened? Maybe the NUJ could also comment on the role of the IHH and the footage of the activists singing "Khaybar Khaybar Al Yahud"* before the departure of the ship.



* 'when modern-day jihadists invoke Khaybar, they are recalling an aggressive, surprise raid by Muhammad which resulted in the final eradication of the once considerable Jewish presence in Arabia. To the jihadists, Khaybar means the destruction of the Jews and the seizure of their property by the Muslims.
...
Khaibar is the name of last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad's army and it marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia in 628'

Below is video of some of the flotilla chanting the above lines, now you know what the lines mean do you have more of a feeling for the mindsets of, at least some, of the flotilla? Would Larry Herman like to comment?


Might Larry Herman also like to comment on that female activist's statement that "Right now we face one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or reaching Gaza".

Sunday 22 August 2010

Do the BBC seem slightly too keen to push this version of Dr David Kelly's 'suicide'

Take a read of this BBC article about the 'suicide' of Dr David Kelly:
'The death of Iraq weapons expert David Kelly was a "textbook case" of suicide, according to the pathologist who performed the post-mortem examination.'
The keener the BBC are to push the Dr David Kelly committed suicide line and downplay the possibility of murder, the more suspicious I become...

Here comes high interest rates

For some time now I have been predicting, and being ridiculed for so doing, rising inflation. So I was intrigued to read the predictions of Andrew Lilico, chief economist at Policy Exchange, that interest rates may rise to 8% within two years so as to try and choke rising inflation. If you want a bad night's sleep then I recommend reading Andrew Lilico's predictions, they are in today's Telegraph (front page of Business). In fact the scariest of Andrew Lilico's predictions is that if the economy cannot stand such high interest rates then the solution may be inflation peaking at 20%.

Sleep well!

'Pakistan and India as a Socio-Religious Experiment'

India and Pakistan have evolved very differently since partition in 1947. Dr. Moorthy Muthuswamy has some theories as to why this might be the case...
'Why have Pakistan and India, created from the landmass called British India, evolved so differently, despite sharing so much - including language, culture, food habits, and more?
Could some of the prominent features of Islam be responsible for Pakistan becoming a fountainhead of terror and a nation subsisting on foreign assistance?'


From 4:42 in the first video is most interesting; as it concerns something I have said before, that Pakistan has become an Islamic state where religious minorities are not well treated, whilst India has become a multi-ethic state.

The second video (which will auto-start when the first part finishes) includes a comparison of ethnic Indians and ethnic Pakistanis in the UK.

I know Dr. Moorthy Muthuswamy has a slow delivery but do try and persevere, he brings an interesting perspective to the puzzle of how Pakistan and India have evolved so differently; he blames Sharia.

The BBC and how they report on the hated Israel as oppossed to an Islamic state

The BBC headline a story on Israel thus 'UN urges Israel to loosen Gaza restrictions' and start the article
'A UN report says the Israeli military has increasingly restricted Palestinian access to farmland in the Gaza Strip and fishing zones along its shore.

The Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Gazans were never informed of the exact nature of such restrictions, and the Israeli army used live ammunition to enforce them.

The policy has led to tens of thousand of people losing their livelihoods.'
In total 530 words, the vast majority being anti-Israel.

A much smaller story is this one headlined 'Saudi man 'faces spine-op punishment', it's a telling of the story that I broke during the last week. The BBC end the story with the incredible line
'Correspondents say the case highlights attempts by Saudi Arabia to balance religious traditions with a push to modernise the country.'
The BBC always ready to make an excuse for an Islamic country but never happier than when attacking the only non-Islamic country in the area. Oh and tat article about Saudi Arabian judicially approved cruelty appears lower down the news agenda and comprises just 259 words.

History repeating itself but the BBC just don't seem to see the parallels

The BBC manage to report with a straight face that
'Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has held initial talks with independent candidates to try to form a government after an inconclusive election.

Ms Gillard said she would continue to provide "stable" government as final votes are counted.

She acknowledged that neither her Labor Party nor the opposition conservative coalition was likely to win the 76 seats needed for an outright majority.

ABC Australia is forecasting 72 seats for Labor and 73 for the conservatives.'
Hmm a short-time serving Prime Minister losing an election but not by enough to give the opposition a pure majority, where have I heard that story before?

The BBC continue:
'"It is clear that neither party has earned the right to government in its own right," Ms Gillard said. She added that Labor had won the most votes overall nationally, if minor parties are discounted.

But opposition leader Tony Abbott, said it was clear Labor had lost its parliamentary majority and its legitimacy.

"There was a savage swing against this government," he said. Mr Abbott said he had also made contact with the independents candidates.

...

"It's my intention to negotiate in good faith an effective agreement to form government," Ms Gillard told journalists on Sunday.

She added that she would "continue to provide stable and effective government in accordance with our democratic process while the final votes are counted in this election".'
A Labour leader who seems reluctant to admit defeat and let go of the reigns of power, I am sure I have experienced this before.


Biased-BBC have a similar story, do take a read.

Who are the dispossessed in Israel and surrounding countries?

Lawrence Auster in Front Page has a history lesson for us and its one that the BBC should pay particular attention to. Here's a few extracts:
'any Arab claim to sovereignty based on inherited historical control will not stand up. Arabs are not native to Palestine, but are native to Arabia, which is called Arab-ia for the breathtakingly simple reason that it is the historic home of the Arabs. The terroritories comprising all other "Arab" states outside the Arabian peninsula—including Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, as well as the entity now formally under the Palestinian Authority—were originally non-Arab nations that were conquered by the Muslim Arabs when they spread out from the Arabian peninsula in the first great wave of jihad in the 7th century, defeating, mass-murdering, enslaving, dispossessing, converting, or reducing to the lowly status of dhimmitude millions of Christians and Jews and destroying their ancient and flourishing civilizations. Prior to being Christian, of course, these lands had even more ancient histories. Pharaonic Egypt, for example, was not an Arab country through its 3,000 year history.

...

today's "Palestine," meaning the West Bank and Gaza, is, like most of the world, inhabited by people who are not descendants of the first human society to inhabit that territory. This is true not only of recently settled countries like the United States and Argentina, where European settlers took the land from the indigenous inhabitants several hundred years ago, but also of ancient nations like Japan, whose current Mongoloid inhabitants displaced a primitive people, the Ainu, aeons ago. Major "native" tribes of South Africa, like the Zulu, are actually invaders from the north who arrived in the 17th century. India's caste system reflects waves of fair-skinned Aryan invaders who arrived in that country in the second millennium B.C. One could go on and on.

...

Prior to 1947, as we've discussed, Palestine was administered by the British under the Palestine Mandate, the ultimate purpose of which, according to the Balfour Declaration, was the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. In 1924 the British divided the Palestine Mandate into an Arabs-only territory east of the Jordan, which became the Kingdom of Trans-Jordan, and a greatly reduced Palestine Mandate territory west of the Jordan, which was inhabited by both Arabs and Jews.'

There's a lot more history and facts in the piece and you must read it all but the concluding paragraph is something that deserves repeating time after time after time whenever a Palestinian supporter at the BBC or elsewhere makes a claim on the land of Israel:
'The Arabs have roiled the world for decades with their furious protest that their land has been "stolen" from them. One might take seriously such a statement if it came from a pacifist people such as the Tibetans, who had quietly inhabited their land for ages before it was seized by the Communist Chinese in 1950. The claim is laughable coming from the Arabs, who in the early Middle Ages conquered and reduced to slavery and penury ancient peoples and civilizations stretching from the borders of Persia to the Atlantic; who in 1947 rejected an Arab state in Palestine alongside a Jewish state and sought to obliterate the nascent Jewish state; who never called for a distinct Palestinian Arab state until the creation of the terrorist PLO in 1964—sixteen years after the founding of the state of Israel; and who to this moment continue to seek Israel's destruction, an object that would be enormously advanced by the creation of the Arab state they demand. The Arab claim to sovereign rights west of the Jordan is only humored today because of a fatal combination of world need for Arab oil, leftist Political Correctness that has cast the Israelis as "oppressors," and, of course, good old Jew-hatred.'

More on Go Topless Day - NSFW



More details here. Not too sure about the Raelians link though.