It's tax return deadline day

In the UK today is the day that personal tax returns are due to be submitted to HMRC. If you're going to be up late working on your figures, here's some appropriate music...


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



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

Aide to Egypt's President Morsi: Holocaust a 'myth' | The Times of Israel

'A top Egyptian official close to President Mohammed Morsi in recent days called the Holocaust a "myth" and "an industry that America invented."

Eddim is reportedly responsible for appointing the editors of all state-run Egyptian newspapers.
"US intelligence agencies in cooperation with their counterparts in allied nations during World War II created it [the Holocaust] to destroy the image of their opponents in Germany, and to justify war and massive destruction against military and civilian facilities of the Axis powers, and especially to hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the atomic bomb," Eddim reportedly said.

He claimed that the 6 million Jews moved to the United States during World War II. '

This is just an example of the anti Semitism that permeates so much of Arab politics. Anti Semitism that the BBC either don't report or minimise coverage of.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/aide-to-egyptian-president-morsi-claims-holocaust-a-us-hoax/

Israel and the Middle East, a little history lesson

Please watch it BEFORE telling me it's all lies!

Here comes the next batch of Democratic party voters

CNN report:

'President Barack Obama on Tuesday threw his support behind a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration laws, saying "now's the time" to replace a "badly broken" system.

Obama said the overhaul must provide a "pathway to citizenship" for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., and that if Congress does not act "in a timely fashion" he will propose a bill "and insist that they vote on it right away."'

Who are the extremists? - Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4327421,00.html

'I feel like a stranger where I live’ - Telegraph

Is it true that ' mass immigration is making reluctant racists of us all.'?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9831912/I-feel-like-a-stranger-where-I-live.html

NYT: Sitting Down With Amos Oz

'The right of return is a euphemism for the liquidation of Israel. Even for a dove like myself this is out of the question. Refugees must be resettled in the future state of Palestine, not Israel.'

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/opinion/global/roger-cohen-sitting-down-with-amos-oz.xml

A 'true Muslim girl'

Of all the pieces of video I have posted here over the past few years this one is maybe the scariest. It's not a one off, example of Muslim children being brainwashed to hate Jews but it is of the youngest child, just three and a half.

What are the chances for peace between Jews & Muslims in the Middle East when schools and television in Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Egypt and beyond are pumping hatred for Jews into their children?
Note this is nothing to do with Israel, this is the result of the historical hatred of Jews by Islamic teaching.

More worryingly is the fact that every so often we hear of instances of similar teaching in schools in the UK, Canada, America and elsewhere in the, presently, non-Muslim west.

And people wonder why incidents of anti-Semitism in the Western world is on the rise...

Switzerland knew of Holocaust in 1942: report - Israel National News

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/wap/Item.aspx?type=0&item=164656

United Nations hypocrisy

Conflict

Thanks to the ever wonderful Dry Bones for the cartoon.

The greatest rugby try ever scored?

Gareth Edwards scoring a wonder try for the Barbarians against the All Blacks on 27 January 1973, 40 years ago today.

Have you ever seen a better try?

What's the biggest shock of the FA Cup fourth round?

Norwich 0 - 1 Luton
QPR 2 - 4 MK Dons
Brentford 2 - 2 Chelsea
Leeds United 2 - 1 Tottenham
Oldham 3 - 2 Liverpool

I would say non-League Luton beating Premiership Norwich was a shock but Norwich are hardly in form.

Division/League 1's MK Dons beating bottom of the Premiership QPR at Loftus Road may indeed have been a bigger shock and I know plenty of denizens of Shepherds Bush who will take quite a while to get over the shock. However QPR are hardly in form and Harry Rednapp may have bitten off more than he can chew in taking on the job of QPR manager.

Brentford (the form team in Division/League 1) drawing with European Champions Chelsea at Griffin Park was a massive result in West London. I can all but hear the celebrating in The Griffin pub from NotaSheep towers. Brentford are going places under Uwe Rosler.

Leeds United's victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road was a huge shock. Leeds being very in and out of form this season and Spurs being a form team in the Premiership at least recently. However Leeds have become a bit of an FA Cup team over the past few seasons, although their fans would prefer a return to the Premiership to victories over Manchester United and Spurs.

Division/League 1's Oldham beating Liverpool seemed the least likely result of the weekend for although Liverpool are variable in form, Oldham are hardly playing well at all.

So I'd say in order of shock:
Oldham beating Liverpool
Leeds beating Tottenham
Brentford drawing with Chelsea
MK Dons beating QPR
Luton beating Norwich


What do you think?


The Fifth Round draw has rewarded Oldham with a home tie against Everton, could Oldham put out both Liverpool teams? I would say that was not beyond the realms of possibility.

Leeds have to travel to play Manchester City, I feel that Leeds away from home will not cope with the silky skills of Manchester City's expensively put together squad.

Brentford's reward is of course an income earning match at Stamford Brook Bridge, I doubt they'll win that one. If they do then it would be a trip to Middlesborough.

MK Dons have an eminently winnable home match against Barnsley.

Luton have a home match against Millwall, also winnable.

Are you thinking of taking your toddler out to lunch today?

Please don't...

Now imagine the time spent by others in the restaurant glaring at your scraming brat...

Alan Pardew hypocrite?

People vs Snow

I defy you not to wince at some of these...

Paedophile who groomed victim on Facebook claimed his Muslim upbringing meant 'he didn't know it was illegal to have sex with 13-year-old girl' | Mail Online

Hmm where did he get those ideas?

'He was educated in a madrassa and 'had little experience of women'
   Said he had been taught 'women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground' 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268395/Paedophile-groomed-victim-Facebook-claimed-Muslim-upbringing-meant-didnt-know-illegal-sex-13-year-old-girl.html '

Kate Upton again - a Rule 5 Friday post

Kate Upton at a swimwear show - Egotastic has more...

What is it with some LibDem MPs?

Today David Ward, here giving a car crash interview on Sky following his comments from earlier today




David Ward's political career should be toast, but will Nick Clegg have the cajones to take action?


Yesterday a previous LibDem Baroness Jenny Tonge, attacking Zionism



"It will not go on forever, it will not go on forever and Israel will lose its support, then they will reap what they have sown,"

The Liberal Democrats, the true nasty party.

The invisible border

I have had the unfortunate experience of debating Middle East matters on Twitter with someone today. His twitter handle is @kjfella1.

Here's how the conversation went:
 

Unfortunately at this point I think my Palestinian supporting genius blocked me as my reply doesn't appear on his timeline. Here is is though:

Somehow I don't think @kjfella1 is interested in facts.


Here's kjfella1's Twitter bio:

Palestinian American,I write, direct, and am a stand up comic =0 part owner of street wear brand Wealthy Division it varies · wealthydivision.com

Well the 'comic' part seems to fit. I certainly can't take him seriously.

Oh and here's a map for @kjfella1 to peruse...

Do you see the border between Gaza and Egypt or is that just a Zionist plot?

The interesting thing is that even if kjfella1 does see this map, if he's anything like the pro-Palestinians that I have debated with before, he'll still be spouting the same crap tomorrow because facts just aren't relevant.

Happy Australia Day

Something for my Australian visitors - Do you like Dick? This advert was banned in Australia for it's content and innuendo - really? Australia Day is 26 January.

What passes for intelligent, polite debate in Egypt

Oh no... This is going to be fun!

The delightful Transport for London have just informed me that my life is going to be he'll for a month from January 28.

'From Monday 28 January, Shepherd's Bush Green will be closed westbound between Holland Park Roundabout and Rockley Road for about a month. This is due to gas main replacement works being carried out by North London Gas Alliance.

Westbound traffic will be diverted via the A3220, A40, Savoy Circus, Old Oak Road, Askew Road and Goldhawk Road. Serious congestion is likely in the area, particularly during the evening peak hours. Some local buses will be diverted or use alternative bus stops. Diversion routes will be clearly signposted and Variable Message Signs will be in place providing updates'

Oh marvellous!

A good argument for arming householders

Of course in the UK, the householder would be arrested for possession of a weapon and the criminal would sue the householder for concussion caused by hitting his head on the floor.

Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

Ultra nationalists in Israel

This Guardian Comment Is Free article pissed me off.The whole tone is nasty but there is one part that really got my goat (pun intended):

'For now the focus is on the Israeli elections of 22 January. The polls suggest that a government ranked as one of the most rightwing in Israel's history is set to be replaced by one even further to the right. Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud – now merged with the party headed by his ultra-nationalist former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman – is losing ground to the ultra-ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party. Even the more modest projections suggest Jewish Home will emerge as the third-largest party, one that Netanyahu will find very hard to exclude from his next coalition.'

This crude attempt to blacken the name of nationalists in Israel intrigues me. When have you ever heard Jonathan Freedland, or any other Guardian or BBC journalist ascribe negative nationalist motives to Hamas or Fatah? These are organisations that openly call for the destruction of the State of Israel and the death of Jews. Organisations that freely state that no Jew will be allowed to live in the future Palestinian state but they are not described as nationalists let-alone ultra-nationalists or ultra-ultra-nationalists.

I don't agree with the Jewish Journal

This Jewish Journal article I find to be plain wrong in several areas. Here's two:
1. The article uses Koranic verses that preach peace and love to counter those that preach war. The trouble is nowhere in the article does the Jewish Journal mention the Koranic principle of abrogation, the rule that later verses supersede earlier ones. The earlier verses were generally peaceful, the later ones generally warlike.

2. The article includes this claim:

'Killing children, killing innocent people or killing women is not acceptable. A Muslim can protect himself only in legitimate self-defense. Otherwise, killing the innocent is a sin.'

The trouble is that Islamists see only the Muslim as innocent, thus non-Muslims can be killed.

The Jewish Journal article troubles me deeply.

Not Right: why did the BBC get the Israeli elections so wrong? | BBC Watch

A seriously good article by BBCWatch,  do read it all.
http://bbcwatch.org/2013/01/24/not-right-why-did-the-bbc-get-the-israeli-elections-so-wrong/
Here's an extract:

' Broadly speaking – and we see this reflected time and time again in its reporting; not only in relation to the elections – the BBC absolves the Palestinian side of the equation of any responsibility for the progress of the peace process (or lack of it) and turns Palestinians into child-like creatures lacking all agency. That approach was reflected in a strange report  which asked Palestinians in Gaza and Ramallah "what the results [of elections in Israel] could mean for them".

Twenty years of waiting for the Oslo Accords to produce positive results means that for many Israelis, the subject of 'the peace process' with the Palestinians is not the most burning issue on the agenda. According to the BBC's accepted wisdom, however, that is the only subject of importance – and one which it frequently mistakenly describes as 'Middle East peace'; as though the rest of the region were a bastion of tolerance and harmony.'

The BBC's hatred of Israel permeates so much of their coverage and one day I will post why I think the BBC hate Israel.

It's just two minutes

Bored or stressed? Then take a trip to Do Nothing for 2 minutes

Norway goat cheese fire closes tunnel

Bizarre headline of the day, week & maybe year...
I liked:

'About 27 tonnes of caramelised brown goat cheese - a delicacy known as Brunost - caught light as it was being driven through the Brattli Tunnel at Tysfjord, northern Norway, last week.
 

The fire raged for five days and smouldering toxic gases were slowing the recovery operation, officials said.'

And:

' Kjell Bjoern Vinje, of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, said it was the first time he could remember cheese catching fire on Norwegian roads.

"I didn't know that brown cheese burns so well," he said.'

But was intrigued by this:

' Police officer Viggo Berg said the high concentration of fat and sugar in the cheese made it burn "almost like petrol if it gets hot enough".'

Could this sort of cheese be an alternative fuels?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21141244

Who says that the BBC has an agenda?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21162621

'Labour's Dennis Skinner teased the prime minister about leaving "austerity-riddled Britain to wine and dine at Davos" with "bankers" and "tax-avoiding millionaires."

He called David Cameron a "posh boy", but the prime minister reckoned the veteran MP might agree with his speech to the World Economic Forum, which would cover tax avoidance and evasion.

The pair have a history of frosty exchanges in the House of Commons.'

 The BBC happy to push the Labour agenda at all times.

How long will this position last?

"My position is no, we don't want an in/out referendum"

That was Labour leader, so long as the Trade Unions approve, Ed Miliband stating Labour's position on an EU referendum.

Let's see how long that lasts. Also does he speak for every single Labour MP?

Josh Butler - a cricketing answer

England's previous ODI wicketkeepers to Josh Butler since Alec Stewart retired a decade ago were:
Chris Read
Geraint Jones
Matt Prior
Paul Nixon
Phil Mustard
Tim Ambrose
Steven Davies
Eoin Morgan - who kept in two Champions Trophy games in 2009
Craig Kieswetter.


As a matter of interest Vikram Solanki, James Foster, Jonny Bairstow and Josh Buttler have all kept in T20 internationals in that time but not ODIs.

Some thoughts on David Cameron's speech

Interesting, very interesting. It could be that David Cameron has managed to change the 2015 general election landscape. If Labour don't promise a similar in/out referendum then why would any non-Europhile vote Labour? Likewise why vote Lib Dem?

However the above presumes that people trust David 'cast iron guarantee' Cameron, this is not necessarily the case.

Of course the get out clause in the speech was this one:

'The next Conservative Manifesto in 2015 will ask for a mandate from the British people for a Conservative Government to negotiate a new settlement with our European partners in the next Parliament. And when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice to stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether. It will be an in-out referendum.'

What happens if Britain is unable to negotiate a new settlement? Do we get a referendum if the status quo does not change? Somehow I think the answer will be NO. The reason, the British electorate would vote to leave the EU in a referendum and that is why we will never be given the opportunity to so vote.

Josh Butler - A cricketing question

Josh Butler today became England's 10th ODI wicketkeeper since Alec Stewart retired a decade ago. Can you name all 10?

Answer posted here at noon.

A story that links Barack Obama and Beyonce but the BBC aren't interested.... Why not?

The BBC seem oddly uninterested in the news that Beyonce did not sing live at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony yesterday. I wonder why?

The last mention of Beyonce on the BBC news website comes on this page :

'...while singer Beyonce performed the Star Spangled Banner.'

'Performed' - an interesting choice of words by the pro-Obama BBC.

BBC misleading headline / text

Google revenues hit by tablets

1 hour ago

The world's biggest search engine is expected to report record profits for the last three months of the year.

The penalty for drug smuggling in Indonesia

The media is full of shock at the death sentence for Briton Lindsay Sandiford for bringing drugs into Bali, Indonesia. There may well be mitigating factors but as I remember from travelling in that part of the world many years ago, the penalties are not exactly kept secret when you reach the airport or other port...

Liam Byrne inconsistent

'Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said the figures underlined the need for a benefits cap. But he said the fact that the highest claimants were in London showed the need for different caps in different parts of the country.'

But no to regional pay for public sector workers?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9107504/Benefits-families-could-pay-off-1m-mortgage.html

Benefits families could pay off £1m mortgage - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9107504/Benefits-families-could-pay-off-1m-mortgage.html

Fracking - the truth (update)

Further to this recent article, I have receivd these two comments that may be of interest to anyone interested in the truth rather than eco-lies.

Anonymous said...
I can't see any way of getting an early viewing outside of N America. The DVD is US$22 inc shipping, but is limited to US addresses, ships on/after 7th Feb and is probably Zone 1; so all in all pretty useless for European customers.

The only fast-track way I can see is for someone in the US to record the broadcast and then upload to, say, Vimeo (better quality than YouTube), but that's piracy and I do not condone such.

ChrisM said...

As one of the investors and thereby Executive producers, I am happy to tell you you can order the CD from the website www.fracknation.com for $19.95 deliveries will start from the 7th February.

Don't try it on with me re ethnic cleansing in the Middle East and North Africa

This morning I posted a comment to my piece on ethnic cleansing in the Middle East and North Africa. The original article ran thus:

'The brainwashed and the haters of Israel are often heard to scream that Israel is ethnically cleansing  Palestine. That is of course a lie, the Arab Muslim population of Israel has increased five fold over the last 60 years, the Jewish by less than half that rate,. The population of the Palestinian territories has also expanded at a faster rate than the world average. However there is one population in the Middle East and North Africa that has almost disappeared over the last 60 or so years...

...The Jewish population.

So where's the ethnic cleansing happening and who's carrying it out?'

The comment I received and posted ran thus:

mikhail Oumarov said...

il y a beaucoup de juifs qui vivent en Algérie (plus que 28 peut etre 10 000 au minimun ) tandis qu'au maroc ils sont au moins 500 000 il faut arrêter les mensonges habituelles , toutes personnes qui connait l'Afrique du nord ne pourra tomber dans une propagande aussi grotesque

20 January 2013 19:33

In case your French is not as good as mine, here's a rough translation (please correct me if I am wrong):

'There are many Jews living in Algeria (more than 28 may be at minimum 10 000), while in Morocco they are at least 500,000 must stop the lies usual, all persons who knows North Africa will fall in a grotesque propaganda'

Was I lying? Let's look at Wikipedia:

Algeria - Following Algerian independence in 1962, almost all of Algeria's Jews, having been granted French citizenship in 1870, left with the pied-noirs. The vast majority moved to France, and the rest moved to Israel. Those who remained resided mostly in Algiers, while some settled in Blida, Constantine, and Oran.

In the 1990s, the trials of Algerian Civil War led to the emigration of most of the remaining Jews. Two decisive events were the rebel Armed Islamic Group's 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country, and the abandonment of the Algiers synagogue that year.

Here's Point Of No Return - the Jewish refugees blog:There are almost no Jews left in Algeria: the last Jewess assisted by the Joint Distribution Committee, Mrs Esther Azoulay, passed away in July 2011, bringing to a close the JDC's programme in that troubled country, its CEO Steve Schwager writes. Before 1962, Algeria had 160,000 Jews. There may still be a handful left surviving without assistance 

The story of the final desecration/destruction of the last remaining synagogue in Algiers in 1988 makes stomach-churning reading even today. The damage done was so extensive that the synagogue, now in ruins, had to be permanently closed. By the end of the eighties, only 94 Jews remained in the country.

In the mid-1990’s the assassination of two Jews in Algiers marked the end of an era.

JDC remained a pillar of strength, providing assistance to those who needed help even as the community continued to shrink.

Since 1985, Line Meller, then living in Algiers, served as JDC’s liaison with the remaining Jews of Algeria.On our behalf she helped to assure the welfare of a small number of aged and impoverished Jews, who continued to receive cash assistance from JDC until they passed away.

Although JDC could not redeem these unfortunate Jews from their suffering since they did not want to emigrate, the work that JDC did kept them alive. JDC enabled Line Meller to light a candle in a black hole of darkness.

In 2010, Mr. Messaoud Chetrit, 82-years-old and the last Jewish man still living in Oran, passed away. A delegation of Jews came from France to ensure that he was buried according to the traditional Jewish ritual in the very cemetery of Oran where he had been the final caretaker.

And that brings us to the last Jew in Algeria assisted by JDC, Mrs. Azoulay, who had a very difficult life. In 1992, her case came to the attention of JDC, which from that point on provided her with regular cash assistance. Over a period of two decades, this JDC aid enabled Mrs. Azoulay to pay for all the medical care she needed for her multiple ailments. But perhaps what she treasured most about this JDC connection was the reassurance it gave her that she had not been forgotten by her people.

How about Morocco?

Wikipedia : 
In 1948, approximately 265,000 Jews lived in Morocco. Around 2,500 live there now, mostly in Casablanca, but also in Fes and other main cities.

...

As of 2004, Marrakech had an aging population of about 260 Jews, most over the age of 60, while Casablanca has between 3,000 to 4,000 Jews. Meanwhile the State of Israel is home to nearly 1,000,000 Jews of Moroccan descent, around 15% of the nation's total population.

Here's Point Of No return: 'Until Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912, the Jews had limited legal rights. They were confined to the mellah; they could not own property. They were periodically massacred (According to Wikipedia, 400 were killed in Tetuan in 1859)and subject to forced conversion.

...

lmost as soon as Morocco became independent Mohammed V played off political parties against each other and kow-towed to the Arab League. When the leftwing of the Istiqlal party rose to power the Jews were thrown into a panic. The Jews became the scapegoats of choice. Adopting anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist measures to please the Arab league, postal links between Morocco and Israel were cut. The ephemeral Jewish postal minister ceased to exist. Certain senior Jewish civil servants found themselves in disgrace and a numerus clausus (quota) was introduced for Jews in public service. Jews were refused passports, forcing them to emigrate illegally.

Things got worse after the Arab League meeting in Casablanca in 1959. The police set out in hot pursuit of those Jews who wished to leave Morocco. All escape routes were blocked. Those Jews who were caught trying to escape were thrown into jail and tried for 'jeopardising state security'. And so Zionism became a crime. A Jewish notable in Meknes was brought to court for owning a Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) calendar. Another was arrested and beaten for wearing a blue and white kippa while praying in synagogue. All charitable and social institutions were suspected of Zionism.

...

The exodus of Moroccan and Tunisian Jews extended over a long period, beginning in 1947 -8 following the creation of Israel, dipping in 1953 when Israel was in the grip of a serious economic crisis, peaking in 1956 - 7 when Tunisia and Morocco became independent. Emigration was officially banned between 1958 and 1960 but took place illegally and at great risk. In 1961 and 1962, 70 percent of Jews left when the ban was lifted. The remaining Jews left after the Six Day War. Only some 3,000 remain.' 

 So mikhail Oumarov it looks as though you were correct, I did make a mistake with that graphic. There are in fact not 6,500 Jews left in Morocco but around 3,000. As for Algeria, figures I have seen vary between none and maybe a hundred, so that figure of 28 seems plausible. 

So who's lying?

BBC News - Police to re-open Denis MacShane expenses investigation

Oh dear, poor Denis MacShane...
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21119031

"Don't you know this is a Muslim area... You're walking through a Muslim area dressed as a fag... you're a gay mate... you bloody fag... "

On Friday I posted this disturbing video of Islamist vigilantees trying to enforce Sharia Law regarding alcohol and women's dress in the East end of London. Today I see that homosexuals have also been targeted by followers of the religion of tolerance:
Yes it's only a minority of  Muslims who act like this but I am still awaiting some BBC coverage of the hatred being openly expressed on the streets of London. You just know that if it was the BNP or EDL insulting a gay man, it would be headline news on the BBC.BBC bia

Fracking - the truth?

The way that fracking has been turned into a hated process by the illiberal left made me suspicious, it's almost as though they don't want a new cheap energy source to be found in the West that would reduce our dependence on supporters of Islamist terrorism and a Russian autocracy. So this story interests me...

Hot Air reports this:
'Full disclosure: I’m a friend of filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, producers of the new documentary Fracknation.  I’ve been looking forward to this effort for some time, interviewing Phelim and Ann during the last couple of years as they prepared for and produced the film. Outside of friendship — and Ann and Phelim are a truly lovely and delightful couple — I wanted to get the other side of the fracking dispute represented in the cinematic arena, especially after Gasland and now Promised Land.

And make no mistake — this documentary succeeds in rebutting Josh Fox, the producer/director/writer of the documentary Gasland that touched off much of the anti-fracking activism. Phelim steps through a number of Fox’s claims inside and outside of the documentary, systematically undermining each of them. He includes a clip of his in-person challenge to Fox, which Fox tried to suppress, and another with a state official that cozied up to Fox — whose lawyer hilariously demands the film of the interview immediately afterward. (It’s amazing how little some lawyers know about the First Amendment.)  Instead of speaking with Hollywood actors and the UAE (which provided some funding for Promised Land), Phelim speaks with the farmers in the supposedly-blighted areas of Pennsylvania, New York, and the Delaware Rivery Valley, as well as experts on fracking, water science, and environmental agencies.

The best part, however, comes near the end.  One couple in the area have been particularly effective activists, giving interviews, appearing in Gasland, and protesting about their contaminated water supply.  The EPA even came to Dimock based on their complaints to test the water supply specifically in their wells, which they claimed were contaminated by the fracking that had taken place in the region.  When Phelim asks to interview them for Fracknation and to get the results of the test, they get belligerent enough to call a policeman (who turns out to be one of the most reasonable of all the people in the film) as well as threaten to pull a gun on Phelim. Only through a FOIA request does Phelim find out why — the EPA didn’t find anything wrong with the water, and they were smart enough to tape the meeting in which they told the couple the results.

Fracknation delivers a powerful debunking of the scare campaign against fracking and domestic natural-gas production.  But don’t take my word for it — here’s Variety on the impact of Fracknation:

Those nursing the suspicion that Hollywood politics are awash in knee-jerk liberalism may well have their cynicism validated by “FrackNation,” a counterargument to the outcry over the natural-gas retrieval process known as “fracking” recently explored in Gus Van Sant’s feature “Promised Land.” But the more thoughtful and politics-oriented auds targeted by this well-reasoned film from helmers Phelim McAleer, Ann McElhinney and Magdalena Segieda will find plenty to chew over, including the possibility that perhaps all is not as simple as it seems in the world of nonrenewable energy.

Irish journalist McAleer narrates and serves as host to this briskly paced, low-budget and mischievous pic, presented as a rebuttal to Josh Fox’s Oscar-nominated “Gasland,” a docu that has been instrumental in building political resistance to a process seen by different factions as a godsend and an antidote to Big Oil. Fox is clearly depicted as the villain in “FrackNation,” from a “Gasland” post-screening Q&A where Fox refuses to answer McAleer’s simple questions, to a scene at Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum where Fox literally flees the camera.

McAleer makes a good case against Fox’s movie. From the farmers of the Delaware River Basin, for whom fracking hysteria has meant a loss of crucial income, to experts like James Delingpole, who somehow makes a fairly reasoned case that the anti-fracking people are the tools of Russian President Vladimir Putin (for whom the natural-gas market provides political leverage), most of the voices entertained here make a good deal of sense. But the filmmakers might have done well to address the animosity so many Americans feel toward the energy business in general.

And what did the New York Times think?  You’d probably guess … and you’d be wrong:

Narrated by Mr. McAleer, whose previous documentaries have also argued against environmental concerns, “FrackNation” is no tossed-off, pro-business pamphlet. Methodically researched and assembled (and financed by thousands of small donations from an online campaign), the film picks at Mr. Fox’s assertions and omissions with dogged persistence. Much of what it reveals is provocative, like a confrontation with Mr. Fox about the presence of methane in the water supply decades before fracking began.
What’s clear is that Mr. McAleer knows his way around the Freedom of Information Act and has done his legwork. Besides talking to carefully selected scientists and water experts, he visits pro-fracking residents of Dimock Township, Pa., who are annoyed that their community is being characterized as a toxic wasteland. And he’s not above taking a sentimental detour to Poland to commiserate with a pensioner who can’t pay her energy bills, or reveling in the odd gotcha moment, like accusing a public official of “inappropriate ties” to Mr. Fox.

More than anything, “FrackNation” underscores the sheer complexity of a process that offers a financial lifeline to struggling farmers. Whether it also brings death to their water supply is something we won’t find out by listening to only half of the debate.

Fracknation will air on Tuesday evening on Mark Cuban’s AXs cable television channel at 9 pm ET. It’s a brilliant effort by Phelim and Ann, and it’s appropriate for all ages. The only violence in the film comes, unsurprisingly, from people who don’t want to have Phelim asking inconvenient questions.'

Anyone know how I can watch this in the UK sooner rather than later, after it airs on Tuesday?

BBC tastelessness (update) - thanks to Alex

Regular commenter Alex found an odd Jimmy Savile reference in an old Have I Got News For You programme that was repeated last week. The BBC mislead us on iPlayer that this programme was new:

But 10 seconds on Wikipedia shows that this episode was actually first broadcast in April 2012

Regardless of the BBC misleading the public as to which programmes are repeats and which are not, what do you think of the reaction from some of the panel to Jo Brand's joke about children not having to be worried as Jimmy Savile wasn't coming back from the dead?

BBC tastelessness

You would have thought that the BBC would by now have managed to ask all their producers to advise them of what footage of, or references to, Jimmy Savile they had in their programmes and to have instructed them not broadcast said programmes. That's what a responsible, efficient organisation with income in the £billions would do, hell it's what I would have organised in companies with turnover in the low £millions.

However the BBC seems not to have been able to manage even that simple task.

The BBC report that:

'CBeebies has apologised after a character from the children's TV programme The Tweenies appeared dressed as disgraced TV presenter Jimmy Savile.

The episode, which was filmed in 2001, was shown on the BBC before 0900 GMT.

In the scene, the character Max appeared in a blonde wig, wearing Savile's trademark tracksuits and using his accent and catchphrases.

Police say DJ and presenter Savile sexually abused hundreds of people during 60 years in entertainment.

The BBC said: "This morning CBeebies broadcast a repeat of an episode of the Tweenies, originally made in 2001, featuring a character dressed as a DJ impersonating Jimmy Savile. This programme will not be repeated and we are very sorry for any offence caused."

The episode, featured the character Max presenting a Top Of The Pops-style programme. He was wearing a wig and used Savile's familiar catchphrase: "Now then, guys and gals."

The gaffe was picked up by fans on social networking sites such as Twitter.

Glenn Ebray tweeted: "Dear CBeebies, I'm not sure this was a good choice of DJ to impersonate on The Tweenies today."

Kenny Senior wrote "Are BBC trying to self destruct? Max from Tweenies dressed as Jimmy Savile just now nearly chokes on my cornflakes."'

The BBC - irresponsible, inefficient and just plain incompetent.

A truly nasty comment about Laura Robson by Matthew Norman

I was shocked to find the following comment about Laura Robson in yesterday's Matthew Norman column in The Telegraph

'...Robson ought to reach the top four and a grand slam final within two years given the obvious capacity for improvement. She moves with the speed and grace of an arthritic hippo'

I am staggered by that remark. Laura Robson is an athlete, an Olympic tennis silver medallist and WTA Newcomer of the Year for 2012.

Does Laura Robson look like 'an arthritic hippo' to you?

So that Matthew Norman must have truly high standards then?

Here's Matthew Norman...

Hmmm

Kaley Cuoco before she was Penny - Friday Night Rule 5

The Big Bang Theory's Penny, aka Kaley Cuoco, in 8 Simple Rules from 2002 - nice thong!

"Vigilantees implementing Islam upon your own necks"

See what unfettered immigration and the creed of multi-culturalism is bringing to the streets of London. Islamic thugs patrolling their self-proclaimed "Muslim Area" and forcing Sharia on non-Muslims.




Today East London, tomorrow...? Compliance with these thugs is dhimmiism, although they'd intimidate many. However standing up to them would probably be deemed Islamophobic.

Thanks to Gates of Vienna for the video spot. 

Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa

Freedom House's latest report into Press Freedom around the world is out.
Here's an interesting graphic

So where do these 2% of people live?

Here's how Freddom House rate the 20 countries:
Algeria - Not Free
Bahrain - Not Free
Egypt - Partly Free
Iran - Not Free
Iraq - Not Free
Israel - Free
Jordan - Not Free
Kuwait - Partly Free
Lebanon - Partly Free
Libya - Partly Free
Morocco - Partly Free
Oman - Not Free
Qatar - Not Free
Saudi Arabia - Not Free
Syria - Not Free
Tunisia - Partly Free
United Arab Emirates - Not Free
West Bank & Gaza Strip - Not Free
Western Sahara - Not Free
Yemen - Not Free

Do you spot the pattern?

20 Countries:
13 Islamic countries rated 'Not Free'
6 Islamic countries rated 'Partly Free'
1 non-Islamic country rated 'Free' - Israel - the country that so often bears the brunt of the world's criticisms.


I am waiting for the BBC to report this study on their Middle East news pages.... Somehow I doubt that Jeremy Bowen, Jon Donnison or the rest of the BBC Middle East news team will consider this to be newsworthy, how can it be as it paints Israel in a positive light.

Israeli democracy and the US President

As usual Dry Bones nails the Obama delusion.

Dutch Jewish author: Aid to... JPost - Jewish World - Jewish News

' Offering aid to Egypt is the same as giving billion to support Nazi Germany,'
http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=299928

Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past - Environment - The Independent

' However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".

"Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.'

When you hear that 'experts know' that there is man made climate change and what it means, remember what such 'experts' knew in 2000 and how wrong they were.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html

Elder of Ziyon: Jew-hatred is the Muslim Brotherhood's official position

'Anyone with eyes knows that Jewish character - wherever and whenever it is found - is indistinguishable from delinquency, and has never rid itself of corruption....[Jews] never succeeded to have a normal coexistence and good relationships with humanity. It is not an exaggeration to say that they do not cease to be a source of evil and harm to all human societies, in other words: [Judaism] inherently can not ever be compatible with a community of human societies.'

That's from the Muslim Brotherhood's website. The 'moderate' Muslim Brotherhood...
More at Elder of Ziyon

But remember the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot Hamas don't hate Jews, just Zionists. < /sarcasm>

The one hundred and seventy third weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

This week's winner is Rand Paul as reported by The Washington Post.  Apparently Rand Paul thinks that:

'President Obama was “arrogant and presumptuous” in saying in recent weeks that Israel “doesn’t know what its own best interests are.”'

President Obama 'arrogant and presumptuous' - "No shit, Sherlock"

Je t'aime moi non plus

Do they love each other or the Citroen SM?




Sven Vath ft Miss Kittin From the gearstick fondling at 3:47, I think it may be the car - good taste!

A weapons guide...

http://twitter.com/edwindearborn/status/291786407465336832/photo/1

Word for the day - Polycephalous

http://cyberboris.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/cleggie-thinks-we-brits-need-to-be-put-in-our-place/

Boris Johnson & Will Self, the two writers you need to read with a dictionary to hand!

I think this commenter might have missed the point!

To my post on Casino  Banking, I have received this comment:

'Casino banking isnt simplistic. Most of the banks wont accept funds to transfer to casino sites. Only few sites like neteller, moneybookers only accept casinos.

If you have any questions, get back to me. I can explain you better.
Thanks.
regards,
Henry'

I think Henry may have misunderstood what my post was about!

The BBC Trust responds

I received this email on the 8th January but forgot to post it here. It's their response to this complaint. Don't worry it's not very exciting, just a holding email. I do like their 40 working days self-imposed time limit to respond. 40 working days equates to 8 weeks, assuming no bank holidays. They're not exactly speedy at the BBC Trust are they?

Trust Editorial	8 Jan (6 days ago)
to me

Dear Notasheep

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your appeal.

We will now consider your request for a final appeal under the BBC’s Editorial complaints procedure. In order to do this we will review your complaint and your previous correspondence with the BBC and decide whether your appeal qualifies for consideration by the Trust. We will only consider the points you raised at Stage 2 that you want the Trust to reconsider.  Therefore, unless there are exceptional circumstances, we will not consider new points at this stage. We also ask that you do not now submit any further documentation unless you consider this to be necessary for the purposes of your appeal.

The Trust’s Editorial complaints procedure explains that we will write to you with our decision within 40 working days of the receipt of your appeal, but we are usually able to do this sooner. We will also keep you informed if for any reason we meet with delay during this process.
If we decide your appeal qualifies to be considered by the Trust, we will write explaining the process and setting out the timescale for taking your appeal. In considering whether or not an appeal qualifies for consideration, we may decide to take only part of the appeal, and consider only some of the issues raised.
If our conclusion is that your appeal, or any part of your appeal, does not qualify for consideration by the Trust, we will write and explain the reasons for that. If you disagree with our view then you may ask the Trust to review the decision by writing to us within 10 working days of the date on which you received our response.
If we decide your appeal qualifies for consideration, or if you challenge the decision of the Trust Unit not to proceed with some or all aspects of your appeal, the matter will be considered at the next monthly Editorial Standards Committee meeting. We aim to provide you with their final decision within 80 working days of our decision to accept your appeal or challenge.
The Trust Unit reports on its performance against these target response times in the BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/)

Full details of the BBC’s complaints procedure, including the appeal stage, can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/contact_us/complaints/appeal_trust.html

Yours sincerely

Lucy Tristram

Complaints Advisor, BBC Trust Unit

Brazilian Bikini Waxes Make Crab Lice Endangered Species- Bloomberg

Finally some good sexual health news...

' Pubic lice, the crab-shaped insects that have dwelled in human groins since the beginning of history, are disappearing. Doctors say bikini waxing may be the reason.'

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-13/brazilian-bikini-waxes-make-crab-lice-endangered-species-health.html

The invisible drive-through driver - "Instagram dat joint"

MagicofRahat is good. Love the girl who closes and opens the window a few times!

Should straight men support gay marriage?

Of course they should, otherwise gay men will marry their girlfriends!

Hate-Crime Stats Deflate ‘Islamophobia’ Myth - Article - National Review Online

' A detailed analysis of FBI statistics covering ten full calendar years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks reveals that, on a per capita basis, American Muslims, contrary to spin, have been subjected to hate crimes less often than other prominent minorities. From 2002 to 2011, Muslims are estimated to have suffered hate crimes at a frequency of 6.0 incidents per 100,000 per year – 10 percent lower than blacks (6.7), 48 percent lower than homosexuals and bisexuals (11.5), and 59 percent lower than Jews (14.8). Americans should keep these numbers in mind whenever Islamists attempt to silence critics by invoking Muslim victimhood.'

Fascinating and almost certainly verbotten from being mentioned on the 'fear of Islamophobia is a worry' BBC.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/337417/hate-crime-stats-deflate-islamophobia-myth-david-j-rusin#

NotaSheepMaybeaGoat has a new pin-up

Cute?

'all-right thinking people'

'At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. … Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.'

Hard to  argue with? That was George Orwell in "The Freedom of the Press"

More in Toby Young's Telegraph article from yesterday. 

Most see-through dress ever? Friday Night Rule 5 Post - NSFW

Anne Hathaway at the film premier of School of Rock

The most see-through dress ever? Unless you know better...