George Ought to Help

An interesting video I found on Rantin Rab's blog.

Can you see where this is heading?

The Telegraph confirms what many of us thought would be the case last week:

'French fighter jets could be stationed on Britain's new aircraft carrier as the two nations' navies become "interdependent," the French defence minister has said.

...

Plans for extensive Anglo-French military co-operation will be discussed by David Cameron and Nicholas Sarkozy next week in London.'

What flag will the UK carriers fly when French planes flown by French pilots are on board? What flag will UK support ships fly when accompanying the French carrier? Does anyone not believe that we are being lead towards a European armed force starting with an 'integrated' French/British navy?

The EU in another power grab?

The EU's mania for power and control knows no bounds and if what Devils Kitchen writes is true, the EU is set for a huge power grab. I thought someting was afoot when there were rumblings at PMQs about the EU, Kate Hoey is a reliable barometer of matters EU. So Devils Kitchen's piece with more than a nod to Douglas Carswell is a must read, if not a pleasant one.

Douglas Carswell writes:

'If you read the European Commission document 11807/10 [PDF], however, it doesn’t seem quite so clear cut. Studying it, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the new rules on fiscal oversight are going to apply to all EU Member States, not just members of the Euro.

The paper – subtitled “Tools for stronger EU economic governance” – focuses on how Member States, not just Euro countries, “will act in compliance with the EU framework.” The “new structured mechanism” for vetting each countries budget will be applied to “all Member States”.

In or out of the Euro, the paper suggests Britain may indeed have her budget subject to EU Commission vetting – albeit that the time table for this “semester” process might allow officials to claim that the Commons gets to see it first.

And what if Brussels did not approve of the tax and spend policies of our democratically elected government?

If such rules only apply to Eurozone countries, why does page 5 of the document, under the heading “Corrective Action”, say that “This mechanism would apply to all Member States”. Use of that word “all”, again. If there’s a caveat saying “all” excludes Britain, I couldn’t find it.


...


EU competence is to be extended into member state’s fiscal policy, with the power to make law for "all EU Member States". And it appears to have been kept hidden until today.

Not even the European Scrutiny Committee, I’m told, had sight of a paper by the “Task Force to the European Council” called “Strengthening Economic Governance in the EU” until today.

This hidden paper appears to confirm two things:

a) Despite what we were told in June, UK budgets will now become EU business. They might not be able to impose sanctions on us if they disapprove – yet. But they are involved.

b) According to the document, “The Task Force recommends a deeper macro-economic surveillance with the introduction of a new mechanism underpinned by a new legal framework .... applying to all EU Member States”.

Yep. That’s right. The EU is to legislate in a new area. In a way that could apply to all EU Member States.

And you thought there would be no further transfers of power to Brussels, eh?'

The question of the day is "Have we been had?" and the answer is... YES and I am not a happy blogger.

Freedom of expression in China - claims & reality

"It is an unquestionable fact that Chinese people have freedom of expression and press."

So says The People's daily.

'Chinese police seized a woman from her house in the middle of the night after she tweeted her intention to demonstrate with a banner congratulating jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo on winning the Nobel peace prize, '

So says The Guardian>.

The difference between 'righties' and 'lefties'

'If a Rightie doesn't like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
If a Leftie doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
.
If a Rightie is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
If a Leftie is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
.
If a Rightie is gay, he quietly leads his life.
If a Leftie is gay, he demands legislated respect.
.
If a Rightie is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A Leftie wonders who is going to take care of him.
.
If a Rightie doesn't like what a media bod says, he changes channels.
Lefties demand that those they don't like be shut down.
.
If a Rightie is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A Leftie non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
.
If a Rightie decides he needs sickness care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A Leftie demands that the rest of us pay for his.
.
If a Rightie reads this, he will pass it on so his friends can have a good laugh.
A Leftie will delete it because he's "offended".'

Thanks to commentater 'Charlie' at Biased BBC for the spot.

The state of the EU 'union'

Nigel Farage speaks the truth again.

The totalitarian instincts of the left in evidence once again

I read in the NY Times that:

'Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally. '

Once again the true face of the totalitarian left comes into clear focus and its not a pretty sight is it? The need to monitor everything and know everything has been a feature of left wing regimes from Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Honecker through Gordon Brown & his team of control freaks to the frankly scary Barack Obama.

Free speech Russian style

The Telegraph report that:

'Russian police seized 100,000 copies of a book critical of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that activists planned to hand out at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.'

Ah free speech, overrated? The line that caught my eye was: 'The reasons for the seizure "are not very clear"' Oh I think the reasons are crystal clear.

'Diversity is the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel'

A fascinating article by Jonathan I. Katz, have a read.

Do you have any bull semen in your house? Does your fridge have the wrong energy rating?

This Labour government has extended the powers of various state officials to enter our houses and the gorgeous Emily Nomates has a list that she has extracted from a Caroline Spelman article.

Caroline Spelman pledges:

'Now the Conservatives plan to again protect the privacy and liberty of homeowners by taking the following actions:

* All powers of entry inside homes by state officials would require a magistrates’ warrant. These restrictions will apply to all quangos, departments and agencies which are not specified law enforcement bodies or emergency services.
* New statutory guidance will stop magistrates giving consent for entering inside a home unless a serious criminal offence was suspected of being committed, or if there was a clear threat to public safety. The provisions would not apply to illegally occupied sites (e.g. squatters, travellers) or to long-term vacant property (e.g. rundown, boarded up properties).
* The powers of the Valuation Office Agency to enter homes for council tax valuations will be abolished outright, as will town hall powers to seize and spy on people’s bins. Labour plans to give bailiffs powers of forced entry into homes to collect civil debts will be revoked.'

That's the choice Labour totalitarianism or Conservative freedom.

Fighting 'climate change' or redistributing wealth?

Tory Aardvark explains that:

'...industry moving from the western world to the emerging nations, leaving behind unemployment and poverty while the Labour Government and the EU reward companies for killing British jobs, pay them billions for relocating to other countries, and not one ounce of CO2 reduced in the whole scam.

There never was a climate change problem, just snake oil and smoke and mirrors to hide the real agenda of wealth redistribution and one world government.'

Read the whole article for the background.

URGENT - David Cameron I can save the country £18.3 billion a year

David Cameron is looking for necessary savings and being attacked by the BBC/Labour alliance for threatening jobs, so surely he will be interested to learn that he could save £18.3 billion a year...

Christopher Booker in The telegraph explains:

'One of the best-kept secrets of British politics – although it is there for all to see on a Government website – is the cost of what is by far the most expensive piece of legislation ever put through Parliament. Every year between now and 2050, according to Ed Miliband's Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc), the Climate Change Act is to cost us all up to £18.3 billion – £760 for every household in the country – as we reduce our carbon emissions by 80 per cent.

...

we contribute less than 2 per cent of global emissions, while China continues to build a new coal-fired power station every week, these empty getures will do nothing to reduce the world's overall "carbon footprint". Not that this makes any difference to global warming anyway – but at least it will give the Government billions more pounds of our money, while we still have any of it left.'

So what's more important David, appealing to the man made climate change brainwashed BBC and Guardian or saving money being spent on the pointless Climate Change Act?

Gordon Brown's totalitarian instincts shine through

"We will renew the contract between the people and those that they are sworn to serve"

From Gordon Brown's speech launching his election campaign. Surely in a democracy the government is meant to serve the people not the other way around; but under Labour who really believes that the UK is a proper democracy?

Freedom to travel in the UK?

Nanny Knows Best relates the story of 'Tom Shaw, a musician with the band the Magic Mushrooms, who had the misfortune to be travelling by South West Trains the other day.' Apparently:

'Mr Shaw was writing a list of song titles which his band would play at a forthcoming gig. Included in the list was a band name The Killers and song titles Take Me Out and Cigarettes and Alcohol.

Oooh!!

Can you guess what happened next loyal readers?

Yes, that's right, two members of the train company's security staff approached Mr Shaw and asked him to leave the train at Fareham railway station. In the eyes of "security" Mr Shaw had been behaving "suspiciously".

Once out of the train, Mr Shaw was asked to show them the piece of paper that he had been writing on.

The "security" staff then made Mr Shaw explain song by song what the list was about.

It seems that there was something of a security flap on at the time, thus "justifying" the approach by "security", a number of arrests had been made in the area including a man who had murdered his wife.

A South West Trains spokeswoman gave this remarkably unsettling and worrying quote to MSN:

"We employ a team of highly professional rail community officers who work closely with the British Transport Police in protecting the security of passengers on the rail network. During a routine high-visibility patrol back in early March, they talked with a passenger on the platform at Fareham station.

The team clarified the nature of the individual's business, were satisfied with his explanation and the man went on his way.

We would like to thank the passenger for his co-operation and understanding of the need to be vigilant in the current environment."

"to be vigilant in the current environment"!!

What the hell is going on in these people's minds?

Is this to be the excuse used by jobsworths and train companies etc for every infringement of our personal freedoms?'

That's what 13 years of Labour authoritarian rule have lead to and I hate it.

Barack Obama's private army

Summer Patriot has more on a subject that I have blogged about several times before...

Another piece of Labour's mania for control and criminalising as many people as possible

The Times reports that:

"Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, expects an official review of the law to recommend reducing the legal limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. He said he would take this “very seriously” and added: “A strong case has been made to have a lower limit.”

At present the 80mg limit allows a man of average build to drink 1½-2 pints of normal-strength beer or three small glasses of wine and remain within the law. With a 50mg limit, the average man would be limited to just under a pint of beer or a large glass of wine and women to half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine.

The change could force some country pubs to close."

A Tangled Web thinks this is another example of

"The neo-Puritans in Labour seek(ing) to stop people having any alcohol when they go out for a meal or just a night with friends, especially in rural areas where there is no public transport... this is all about ideology, not science, not saving lives. This is aimed at furthering the criminalisation of drivers, a key part of their agenda."

David Vance is right and as I said earlier today:

"The end-game for authoritarian governments, such as the UK's Labour government, is for there to be so many laws that everyone is guilty of something at some time. Then it is easy enough to arrest and punish malcontents as the government wishes. Labour's new laws are not about reducing drink-driving or eliminating smoking in a public place but about controlling and instilling fear into the populace."

As blogged elsewhere

"The end-game for authoritarian governments such as the UK's Labour government is for there to be so many laws that everyone is guilty of something at some time. Then it is easy enough to arrest and punish malcontents as the government wishes. Labour's new laws are not about reducing drink-driving or eliminating smoking in a public place but about controlling and instilling fear into the populace."

See A Tangled Web for the context.

And the Labour government dispense with another right in their endless pursuit of being good EU subjects

The Telegraph alerts us to the fact that:

"Britons arrested in Europe will not have the right to demand a full translation of the charges they are facing, under proposals supported by the government. "

Yes Labour are willing, nay keen, for British subjects to be arrested in the UK if a European Arrest Warrant issued against them (under Schengen Information II rules), extradited to the EU country that issued the warrant (under Europe's fast-track extradition system) and then tried without all relevant documents
being translated into English.

If that were not enough we are advised that

"Britain has also supported a loophole that would allow a suspect to give up his rights without a lawyer present and without any written evidence, a move that could easily allow police officers to ignore the translation requirements altogether."

This is a heavenly opportunity for the EU and other totalitarian governments; they can have citizens of one country being extradited to another where they will be tried without having full access to the details of the evidence against them and then imprisoned without proper access to appeal. Let nobody be in any doubt as to the rights and freedoms that are being taken from us by this Labour government and the EU. How long before a UK subject is arrested by British police and extradited to a former Warsaw Pact country for questioning the democratic credentials of that country? How long before the EU itself gives itself the powers to try EU citizens for crimes against the EU; crimes such as questioning the powers of the EU, the lack of budget security or the alliance of the EU powers and radical Islam?

Manchester declared a Police State

Red Rag alerts us to the news that on Friday

"in what they described as a twenty four hour crackdown on weapons and drink fuelled violence, Greater Manchester Police have set up checkpoints throughout the city forcing people through airport style metal detectors.

They must not be allowed to get away with this or twenty four hours will turn into permanent checkpoints. They make no claim of any terrorist threat or of any specific concerns at all, this is just a normal day in the city. Who would have believed that just thirteen years of Labour Government would have delivered a police state in one of our biggest cities? The police checkpoints have arrived even before the compulsory ID cards!"

If you vote Labour then what else can you expect but authoritarian police and the supression of freedom.

US school controls pupils' laptop webcams to spy on the pupils at home!

This article from Boing Boing is quite staggering. It seems that:

"According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools' administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins's child was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home" and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines."

This is staggering, the laptops issued to high-school students have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools' administrators theoretically to spy on students and their families.


A comment to the Boing Boing article left me even more shocked:

"Digital Nation, the documentary/project that Douglas Ruskoff was/is a big part of, explored a similar issue. They showed a school (middle or high school) that really embraced laptops and new media as part of the learning process. It was the job of a staff member to spend a couple hours each day monitoring what the students were doing - working, surfing, etc. The staff member who was monitoring showed how he could remotely snap a photo when a student was using Photobooth during class, and how this usually caused them to get back to work.

But that was at school with laptops presumably provided by the school, so while it still feels a bit odd to me, I think there's a good argument for the practice in that environment.

But to extend that to the students' homes? That's terrible. And really creepy.

I hope it wasn't the same school that they showed in Digital Nation, because I kinda liked their style. "