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Monday, 9 February 2009

Global warming in Antarctica

I can do no better than repeat Christopher Booker's article from yesterday's Telegraph:
"There has been a hilarious twist to the bid by the shock troops of the global warming scare to pretend that, contrary to all the evidence, Antarctica has lately been warming up, Behind this claim were scientists belonging to America’s leading pro-warmist blog RealClimate, including Michael Mann, creator of the notorious â hockey stick’ graph, and Dr James Hansen’s colleague Gavin Schmidt of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

When their allies at Nature made a cover story of their claims, this hit headlines across the world, trumpeted by all the usual suspects, from the BBC to the Guardian’s George Monbiot (aka the Great Moonbat). But they hadn’t reckoned with the forensic expertise of the two leading US science blogs, Anthony Watts’s Watts Up With That and Climate Audit, run by Steve McIntyre, the chief demolisher of the â hockey stick’.

Combing through the data they discovered that the chief evidence for a warming Antarctica came from a single weather station, 'Harry’. But the data for 'Harry’ was not all it seemed. Secretly spliced in with it were lower temperature readings from a quite different weather station, 'Gill’, so that the higher and later temperatures from 'Harry’ (cocooned for several years in snow) made it look as though there had been a warming which didn’t exist.

So embarrassed was Schmidt when this sleight of hand was exposed that he pretended it had come to light through an 'independent’ observer, who was then revealed to be himself (after reading the blogs run by his more assiduous critics). But perhaps Nature, Moonbat and Co. should apologise to their readers for having been fooled by such chicanery. "

Not a word of this will reach the "customers" of the BBC, they have their agenda on Man Made Climate Change and will only present the agreed "narrative" on this as on so many subjects.

Effective policing in the fight against terrorism?

I have written many times about the way that this Labour government has used "anti-terrorist" legislation to clamp down on personal freedom. Over the weekend I read at John M. Ward the following analysis
"directly lifted from the Centre Right section of Conservative Home and is illuminating on one aspect of this:

Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows the police to stop and search people. In 2008:

* Number of people stopped nationwide by British Transport Police : 160,000
* Number of people stopped in London by the Metropolitan Police using Section 44 : 200,000
* Number of people amongst the 360,000 stopped with any terrorist material or links : 0: "


Effective policing?

Another Islamist at the Foreign Office?

The news that:
"A high-ranking diplomat at the Foreign Office has been arrested after allegations that he launched a foul-mouthed anti-Semitic tirade.

Middle East expert Rowan Laxton, 47, was watching TV reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza as he used an exercise bike in a gym.

Stunned staff and gym members allegedly heard him shout: 'F**king Israelis, f**king Jews'. It is alleged he also said Israeli soldiers should be 'wiped off the face of the earth'.

His rant reportedly continued even after he was approached by other gym users.

After a complaint was made to police, Mr Laxton was arrested for inciting religious hatred through threatening words and behaviour and bailed until late next month.

The maximum penalty for inciting religious hatred is a seven-year prison term or a fine or both."

Swearing, calling for the death of Israeli soldiers; presumably the BBC are up in arms, just as they were when Carol Thatcher used the word gollywog. Don't be daft the BBC have ignored this story altogether, a search on their news website for "Rowan Laxton" brings up just one story from when Mr Laxton was British charge d'affaires in Afghanistan.

The Foreign Office has been full of Arabists for many years and their anti-Israel stance has been well documented. Of course Rowan Laxton my be totally free of anti-Israel prejudice but then the Mail article continues
"Mr Laxton has worked extensively in the Middle East - he married a Muslim woman in 2000 - and has been deputy ambassador to Afghanistan.

The case could not have come at a worse time for the Foreign Office. Next week, Britain is hosting an international summit on combating anti-Semitism, with politicians from 35 countries. "


Mr Laxton continues his work at the Foreign Office.


If you are unsure as to whether their is anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias at the Foreign Office, then just ask yourself this - If Mr Laxton had indulged in a tirade against Muslims and an Arab country would the BBC have ignored the story and would Mr Laxton have been suspended from his work? I think we know the answers to both of those questions. The sad truth is that Israel is considered, at the very best, expendable by the Foreign Office whose priority is to keep "moderate" Muslim countries on-side.

Sunday, 8 February 2009

Policeman confuses a suspect's penis for a gun


Cop mistakes penis for gun - Watch more free videos
As seen on The Sunday Night Project with Lilly Allen tonight.

Freddie Star as Mick Jagger


I am not a big fan of Freddie Star but this is good.

"Is this still English"


Chris Morris makes a prank call to "Airport Information"

Why can't Labour "strategists" blog

Have you taken a look at Derek Draper's Labour List? Messy design, messy concept, blogging that is obsessed with attacking the Conservatives and pushing the party line and of course very few visitors. The funniest thing about Labour List, apart from the photo of Derek Draper and his recent Twitter stalking, is that it is still apparently not launched - the launch date is 12 February, I can hardly wait.

I also note that one of the few Labour men even more unpleasant than Derek Draper, has started a blog; Alastair Campbell. You can visit it it here, and if you do you will find a blog that looks as though it has been "designed" by a 12 year old. It also has probably the worst scrolling controls of any website I have ever visited.


Why do these Labour bloggers put so much store on "design" over "content"? And then screw up the "design" as well as the "content"?

Another Labour surveillance database

I learn that our surveillance database obsessed Labour government are now compiling a database to track and store for 10 years the international travel records of millions of Britons. The database will store the names, addresses, telephone numbers, seat reservations, travel itineraries and credit card details of travellers.

Isn't that brilliant a government database with my credit card details and address details on it just ready for the data to be lost and to fall into the hands of the unscrupulous. A database with my travel records on it that might establish likely patterns of holidaying so that a dishonest civil servant could extract such information and pass it onto burglars who would be happy to pay for such information.


I assume that this Labour government will claim that the database is essential in the fight against crime, terrorism and illegal immigration. I also assume that they are lying about this as they are about most everything else that they tell us.

This Labour government seem to think that they can justify almost any restriction of personal freedom in the name of "fighting terrorism"; meanwhile suspected terrorists are allowed to live in the community because of fear of infringing their human rights by expelling them and preachers of hate can spout their poison because of the fear of inflaming race relations by arresting them.


The Labour government have destroyed the economy of this economy, that is becoming very clear; they have also almost destroyed the very fabric of society, that will become clearer soon.

Israel, Gaza and the world media

The bias shown against Israel over the recent attacks on Hamas in Gaza has been quite incredible, and in the vanguard of the attacks have been the vile BBC. You can find plenty of examples in my blog, do have a read.

On Friday morning I had the grave misfortune to be stuck in traffic, because of the snow, and listening to the Radio 4 Today programme when Sarah Montague "interviewed" Israeli spokesman Mark Regev. I have rarely heard an interviewer show such contempt for the interviewee nor to come quite so close to losing their "cool"; Sarah Montague's "militants...... for want of a better name" was a classic moment. This "interview" left me very angry and I don't like posting when angry. Do listen to the interview for yourselves, you can find it for the next few days here at 08:37.


If you are interested in seeing how the world media (including the BBC) misreported the Israel/Hamas conflict then Honest Reporting have an excellent report which is well worth reading in full; here's an extract:
"Portrayed as the epitome of courage under fire, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert appeared on television screens around the world and in the pages of many newspapers, including the BBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, AFP, Independent, Sky News, and New York Times.

Working at Gaza's Shifa Hospital, Gilbert tells news organizations of the "horrors" inflicted by Israel, including unproven accusations that "Gaza is now being used as a test laboratory for new weapons."

But was Gilbert a neutral and objective observer? What the media didn't tell you was his involvement in solidarity work with Palestinians since the 1970s and his membership of the hard-left Norwegian communist party Rød Valgallianse, which disbanded in 2007. He has criticized international aid organization Doctors Without Borders for refusing to take sides in conflicts. Dr Gilbert is employed by NORWAC, whose partner organisations include Hezbollah's Martyr Foundation."



All of these lies aimed at vilifying Israel do have the predictable effect of increasing hatred of Jews in the west and so of anti-Semitic attacks; and as I have blogged these attacks are real, nasty and increasing in frequency. The BBC of course would prefer to downplay these attacks by "radicalised" Muslims and others on British Jews whilst continuing to warn of the dangers of a "backlash against Muslims". The truth is unpalatable to the BBC and of course unrepeatable by them; the chosen "narrative" must be disseminated.

BBC/Pravda

I see that the BBC are in full "helping the Prime Minister" mode this morning.

1. They are still reporting that "Clarkson apologises for PM remark" and that
"Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has said he is sorry for calling Gordon Brown a "one-eyed Scottish idiot".

He said: "In the heat of the moment I made a remark about the Prime Minister's personal appearance for which, upon reflection, I apologise." "


On Friday I noted that:
"So he's apologising for the "appearance" part of his comparison, I assume that that is the "one-eyed" part of the phrase "one-eyed Scottish idiot"; I therefore assume that Jeremy Clarkson still considers Gordon Brown to be both "Scottish" and an "idiot" - well said Jezza. I also don't think that Jeremy Clarkson has retracted his comment that

"He keeps telling us everything's fine and he's saved the world and we know he's lying..."


And an article in Saturday's Sun confirmed that:
"after issuing his apology via the BBC, he told The Sun there was one part of his remarks he did not regret — declaring: “I haven’t apologised for calling him an idiot.”

The Sun columnist, whose comments came at a press conference for his Top Gear roadshow in Australia, insisted: “I very specifically apologised for making fun of his personal appearance — very specifically.”

Speaking at his Sydney hotel he stressed: “I have nothing against the Scottish and of course I regret making any remark that might have upset the disabled.

“But the idiot bit — there is no chance I’ll apologise for that.”



I presume the BBC will be updating their coverage of this story to accurately reflect Jeremy Clarkson's opinion, or will they continue to misrepresent him?



2. I note that the BBC have not seen fit to report the lead story in the Mail that:
"Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has claimed more than £116,000 in Commons expenses for a 'second home' while effectively lodging with her sister.

Ms Smith claims the maximum parliamentary second-home allowance, currently a tax-free £24,006 a year, on the detached house in her West Midlands constituency, where her husband and two young children live and which she bought for £300,000 five years ago.

She is able to do so because she has told the Commons authorities that her 'main home' is a house in London owned solely by her sister, Sara, where she stays on some weekdays.

Nor is this the only large expense caused by the Home Secretary's decision to share her sister's house.

Two policemen provide a round-the-clock guard at the South London property, costing taxpayers an estimated £200,000 a year. The two officers are stationed at the property on a shift basis.

There would have been no need for such protection had Ms Smith opted to live in one of two vacant grace-and-favour ministerial homes in Whitehall when she became Home Secretary in 2007 as they already have police protection.

But such a move would have affected Ms Smith's personal finances: Ministers who live in such properties are not allowed to claim the Commons second-home allowance."

I am sure that if a similar claim had been made about a senior Conservative politician the BBC would have covered the story in great detail and Michael Crick would have already started a Newsnight investigation.


The BBC's political bias and brainwashing of the British public stinks and the sooner the BBC is either made to be unbiased or is closed down, the better.

Saturday, 7 February 2009

Munich?!

I know that I have been accused of foolishness in musing whether we are heading for a Third World War, but the news that Barack Obama's Vice President, the inept Joe Biden, is due to make a keynote foreign policy speech at an international conference in Munich fills me with a sense of dread. Neville Chamberlain in 1938? Is the world rapidly jumping from 1929/1933 type economic disaster to 1938 type geo-politic disaster rather quickly and if so how long before 1939 repeats itself?

But what about the commuters?

Many news organisations have been commentating about the "Facebook flash mob" that partied in Liverpool Street station yesterday evening and had a fun time:
"That was amazing! Best 25 minutes of my life! Definitely got to be a regular thing. How about a silent disco at every mainline station in London?" and "Awesome! So many people there! And the dude who stripped...fair play! Hahaaa."

Did any of them spare even a moment of thought for the poor City workers who had their journey home on a Friday evening delayed by over an hour? Somehow I doubt it.

Robert Peston fisks Gordon Brown

From September 2008 Robert Peston on Gordon Brown's BBC interview with Andrew Marr. Even Robert Peston spots the "Brownies". Here's one of Robert Peston's conclusions
"what strikes me most about these remarks is what it may show about his loss of a sure touch when discussing complex but important financial issues."

Sacked for what?

Carol Thatcher was sacked by the BBC for making an inappropriate remark off-air but in the presence of BBC staff. The Mail helpfully lists the on-air obscenities made by BBC presenters which have not resulted in their being sacked; here a few examples (do read the rest though):
"Chris Moyles

BBC RADIO 1 DJ, £630,000 Salary
May 2006

Prompted his guest, Hollywood star Halle Berry, to ask 'are we having a racist moment?' after he impersonated a black man: 'I'm a black American guy. A big fat black guy. Put your hands in the air. I don't want to be shooting your a***.'

December 2008

Issued a statement in apology after saying Poles make good prostitutes: 'I've always found in my experience prostitutes make very good cleaners, and their ironing, brilliant. 'I just find if you're Polish you're just very good at ironing . . . and prostitutes, (they're) very good also at fixing cars.'

January 2009

Accused of trivialising the Holocaust: 'I went off to Ireland and other places to film and unlike a lot of the Who Do You Think You Are? shows, I didn't go to Auschwitz. Pretty much everyone goes there whether or not they're Jewish. They just seem to pass through there on their way to Florida.' "


Frankie Boyle

STAND-UP COMIC AND TV PANELIST

October 2008
Mock The Week, BBC2.

When asked what the Queen didn't say in her Christmas message: 'I have had a few medical issues this year - I'm now so old that my p**** is haunted.'



Jonathan Ross

BBC CHAT SHOW HOST, £6m SALARY
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, BBC1.

June 2005

OFCOM investigation cleared the presenter of any wrongdoing after BBC showed pre-recorded interview in which he asked David Cameron about his youthful sexual fantasies: 'Did you, or did you not, have a w*** thinking about Margaret Thatcher?'

April 2008

In a foul-mouthed interview, he joked with Gwyneth Paltrow about wanting to have sex with her: 'If you want to have sex I'll phone my wife. If she gave me permission, I would f*** you, yes. Because, you know what, you are so nice and, really, you're gagging for it.'



Jo Brand

STAND-UP COMEDIAN

January 2009
Live At The Apollo, BBC1.

Police investigation launched after the BNP complained over her joke: 'Let's start with some important political news. Did you hear this, right, that BNP members and supporters have had their names and addresses published on the internet? Hurrah! Now we know who to send the poo to!'




Sarah Kennedy

RADIO 2 DJ, APPROX £175,000 SALARY

November 2007

BBC apologised and said she had been 'spoken to' after suggesting she could not see a black man in the dark: 'You know what happened to me yesterday. It was this black guy. Lucky he opened his mouth to yawn or do something and I saw him. He was wearing a black hat, black clothes. He was just invisible.'



Sara Cox

RADIO 1 DJ, APPROX £200,000 SALARY

August 2000

Reprimanded by BBC bosses, who issued a public apology, over 'ill-judged' comments on the Queen Mother's centenary: 'It's the Queen Mum's birthday today. Ah, she smells of wee, but we all love her.' "


I suppose the big difference is that only Carol Thatcher's mum is Lady Thatcher.

Quiz of the day

Take the "Real or Fake" test at MonkeyMag. Definitely NSFW.

Your faithful NotaSheep managed a creditable 26/30. Can you beat that?

Mrs NotaSheep managed a creditable 24/30, which is odd as I would assume she has seen more bare breasts than I have over the years. Mrs NotaSheep would like it placed on record that the breasts she has seen in gym changing rooms etc. "were not of that type"...

Friday, 6 February 2009

Journalist Jake Tapper doesn't let Robert Gibbs avoid answering questions on "transparency"




Finally a journalist not afraid to ask an Obama disciple a few tricky questions.

Robert Gibbs' inept attempts at humour and put-downs put me in mind of press secretary Paul Lassiter in Spin City. A character who Wikipedia describe as
"the office cheapskate, suck-up, and noted coward, who has a habit of being a loudmouth and is often kept in the dark about things"

I wonder if someone could call Robert Gibbs, Paul at the next press conference...

Oil shortage (update)

Last June I blogged about the huge oil reserves that the US had but was unable to extract because of pressure from "green goroups".

Today I read that:
"North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.

A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil.

Technically recoverable oil resources are those producible using currently available technology and industry practices. USGS is the only provider of publicly available estimates of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources.

New geologic models applied to the Bakken Formation, advances in drilling and production technologies, and recent oil discoveries have resulted in these substantially larger technically recoverable oil volumes. About 105 million barrels of oil were produced from the Bakken Formation by the end of 2007.

The USGS Bakken study was undertaken as part of a nationwide project assessing domestic petroleum basins using standardized methodology and protocol as required by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 2000.

The Bakken Formation estimate is larger than all other current USGS oil assessments of the lower 48 states and is the largest "continuous" oil accumulation ever assessed by the USGS."


The west is experiencing energy supply problems and is too dependant on Middle East countries who are more than willing to exploit their hold over oil supply for their own ends. I say drill the oil in the Bakken formation, extract the oil in Alaska and look elsewhere and if this bankrupts the vile regimes of Saudi Arabia and Iran then I won't cry a tear.

Photographers are perverts - official

Not only are Photographers seen as terrorists, now apparently
"A police officer has destroyed a journalist's images of people sledging arguing that it represented an act of voyeurism."
Yes it seems that
"According to the St-Albans local newspaper, The Review, reporter Alex Lewis took several photos on his mobile phone in Stanborugh Park on 03 February when he was threatened by a man who apparently thought he was photographing his children for sexual purposes.

The reporter called the police, however, an officer told him that his phone would be confiscated as evidence for a charge of 'voyeurism' unless he agreed to delete the images. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced the offence of voyeurism.

'The act defines a "private act", in the context of this offence, as an act carried out in a place which, in the circumstances, would reasonably be expected to provide privacy, and where the victim’s genitals, buttocks or breasts are exposed or covered only in underwear; or the victim is using a lavatory; or the person is doing a sexual act that is not of a kind ordinarily done in public'.

The Review has asked Hertfordshire Constabulary how photographs of fully clothed people in a public park are covered by the legislation. No response has been given.
"


So photographers can be treated as terrorists if they take a photo of a public building or a policeman and as a pervert if they take a photo of a fully clothed child. 21st century Britain, what a place to live.

What did Jeremy Clarkson say that was so wrong (update)

Further to my earlier post, I see that Jeremy Clarkson has "apologised"... In fact he has just said that
"In the heat of the moment I made a remark about the Prime Minister's personal appearance for which, upon reflection, I apologise."
So he's apologising for the "appearance" part of his comparison, I assume that that is the "one-eyed" part of the phrase "one-eyed Scottish idiot"; I therefore assume that Jeremy Clarkson still considers Gordon Brown to be both "Scottish" and an "idiot" - well said Jezza. I also don't think that Jeremy Clarkson has retracted his comment that
"He keeps telling us everything's fine and he's saved the world and we know he's lying..."
Good man, it's good that someone at the BBC isn't totally under the Gordon Brown spell.

The BBC biased by omission

The BBC biased by omission this time. Read their report entitled: "Is this Britain's cheapest MP?" and spot what's missing.

Yes they manage to go through the whole report without saying what political party he is an MP for. Now as it shows him in a positive light it is quite easy to deduce that he is a Conservative. The closest the BBC get to admitting that Mr Hollobone is a Conservative is with this part of the report:
"Mr Hollobone moved to Kettering to fight the 2001 general election, which he lost to Labour's Phil Sawford by 665 votes.

In 2005 he triumphed by 3,301 votes. "

Still not explicit but at least we know he's not Labour.

Of course when Mr Hollobone compliments a Labour MP, then it is only right and fair to mention the party:
"He insists his frugality does not make him a "maverick", but he cites Gwyneth Dunwoody, the outspoken former Labour chairman of the committee who died last year, as an example to follow.

"She was a lady of independent thought and was widely respected as a very good chairman. It was a delight to serve with her. I think her work as a parliamentarian inspired me and all who met her. "



The BBC's bias is quite blatant and easy to define:
Good news regarding a Labour politician - mention the political party
Good news regarding a Conservative politician - don't mention the political party
Bad news regarding a Labour politician - don't mention the political party
Bad news regarding a Conservative politician - mention the political party

You can replace labour with Democrat and Conservative with Republican for news stories about US politicians.


The BBC brainwashing is their game.

UK insolvencies

The Insolvency Service said that in the last three months of 2008 there were 2,428 corporate insolvencies such as administrations and receiverships. That was a 220% rise on the same period the year before.

In the same period, 29,444 people were made bankrupt or entered an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), 19% more than a year ago. Of those, 19,100 were bankruptcies while 10,344 were IVAs.

There were 4,607 firms wound up in England & Wales in the last three months of 2008, 52% more than a year before.

Here's another couple of scary statistics:
1. Over the whole of 2008, the number of firms that were liquidated rose by 24% to 15,535.

That amounted to one in every 150 trading companies.

2. The number of other corporate insolvencies - receiverships, administrations and company voluntary arrangements - rose by 92% to 6,276.


And one scary statistic and and even scarier prediction from the president of the insolvency professionals' trade body R3, Nick O'Reilly:

"What today's figures mean is that in 2008 we saw a staggering 350 people becoming insolvent in the UK every day"

"The outlook is bleak for the next two years, when insolvency practitioners expect to see in excess of 158,000 personal insolvencies annually,"


One of the few growth industries in the UK in 2009/2010 may be that of insolvency practitioners. Does anyone know if you can buy shares in such companies?

Surveillance Britain (part xx)

No huge surprise to anyone who has read my earlier pieces on this matter but today I see that the Lords constitution committee have said that electronic surveillance and the collection of personal data are "pervasive" in British society and threaten to undermine democracy. The committee gave two examples that constituted threats to privacy: the proliferation of CCTV cameras and the growth of the DNA database. The committee recommended that those subject to unlawful surveillance should be compensated while the policy of DNA retention should be re-thought.


Shami Chakrabarti, direcor of Liberty is quoted as saying:
"Liberty's postbag suggests that the House of Lords is more in touch with public concerns that our elected government.... Over the past seven years we've been told 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear' but a stream of data bungles and abuses of power suggest that even the innocent have a lot to fear."

Shami is right, but this Labour government like to keep tabs on all of us and would like to know what we are doing and saying at all times 24/7 - just in case.

To call this Labour government "Orwellian" is an understatement.


Read my previous entries under labour surveillance for some other examples.

What did Jeremy Clarkson say that was so wrong

The BBC report that:
"Scottish politicians have reacted angrily to comments made by Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson about Gordon Brown.

Speaking to journalists in Sydney, the presenter reportedly called the prime minister a "one-eyed Scottish idiot".

Gordon Banks, Labour MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, said the remark was "unforgivable". Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray also criticised Clarkson. "


I don't see the problem, let's check the comment against the facts:
"one-eyed" - Gordon Brown is indeed blind in one eye
"Scottish" - Gordon Brown is undoubtedly Scottish
"idiot" - Gordon Brown is in many people's eyes a complete and utter idiot. After all what else would you call a man who tells the markets that he is going to sell a couple of tons of gold on a certain day? I would say that "idiot" is quite mild.


So "one-eyed Scottish idiot" seems quite a descriptive phrase to use to describe Gordon Brown; I have seen him called far worse...


Where I do take issue with Jeremy Clarkson is in his follow-up comment, apparently he said:
"He keeps telling us everything's fine and he's saved the world and we know he's lying, but he's smooth at telling us."

It's the last part of the sentence, the part between the comma and the full-stop; Gordon Brown is not smooth, Tony Blair was smooth, Gordon Brown is anything but smooth.

An interesting thought: why the fuss over Grdon Brown being called an idiot when week after week after week for the last five or more years George W. Bush has been called an idiot or a moron on the News Quiz and other topical panel shows. The same went more recently for Sarah Palin.

Photographers are terrorists official (update)

Further to my recent piece about the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 which
"allows for the arrest and imprisonment of anyone who takes pictures of officers ‘likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism’."


You can read more at the British Journal of Photography, here's an extract:
"The law is expected to increase the anti-terrorism powers used today by police officers to stop photographers, including press photographers, from taking pictures in public places. 'Who is to say that police officers won't abuse these powers,' asks freelance photographer Justin Tallis, who was threatened by an officer last week.

Tallis, a London-based photographer, was covering the anti-BBC protest on Saturday 24 January when he was approached by a police officer. Tallis had just taken a picture of the officer, who then asked to see the picture. The photographer refused, arguing that, as a press photographer, he had a right to take pictures of police officers.

According to Tallis, the officer then tried to take the camera away. Before giving up, the officer said that Tallis 'shouldn't have taken that photo, you were intimidating me'. The incident was caught on camera by photojournalist Marc Vallee.

Tallis is a member of the National Union of Journalists and the British Press Photographers' Association. 'The incident lasted just 10 seconds, but you don't expect a police officer to try to pull your camera from your neck,' Tallis tells BJP.

The incident came less than a week after it was revealed that an amateur photographer was stopped in Cleveland by police officers when taking pictures of ships. The photographer was asked if he had any terrorism connections and told that his details would be kept on file.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman explained: 'If seen in suspicious circumstances, members of the public may well be approached by police officers and asked about their activities. Photography of buildings and areas from a public place is not an offence and is certainly not something the police wish to discourage. Nevertheless, in order to verify a person's actions as being entirely innocent, police officers are expected to engage and seek clarification where appropriate.'"


This country really is losing perspective. So if you take a photo of a police officer or a public building then you won't be accused of being a terrorist or of planning an attack; no the photograph you take only has to be considered "likely to be useful to a person...".

More on UK feral youth

The Mail reports that:
"Shocked and huddled together for safety, these puppies are lucky to be alive after being saved from an act of almost unbelievable barbarity.

A gang of youths had seized the seven-week-old brother and sister and were slowly roasting them over a bonfire on a canal bank.

The commotion attracted a walker who ran over to the bonfire and ordered the gang to release them immediately.

Melanie Johnson, 32, said: 'I just could not believe the cruelty being shown by these kids. If I hadn't turned up, I think they would have burned the dogs alive.'

Miss Johnson, from Rochdale, added: 'Most of the kids were aged 12, 13 or older. But some were as young as ten. I was ripping mad and still am to think that anyone - least of all children - could do this.'

She took the two puppies from the bank and carried them to the safety of her home before wrapping them in a towel and taking them to an RSPCA shelter. "


And of course "No arrests have been made in connection with the incident."
Too hard to track them down? Too hard to solve a vile crime is it? Is it easier to set-up a speedtrap and sit eating doughnuts whilst working?

Thursday, 5 February 2009

Question Time 5 February 2009


Nigel Farage is on, expect some interesting discussions re "wildcat" strikes at the Total oil refinery at Lindsey and elsewhere. You can probably also expect the charge of racism to be directed at him from the impeccably politically balanced audience...

Samantha Power

Back in October last year I blogged about Barack Obama's team and their views on Israel. I included part of a speech by Harvard professor Samantha Power, a key foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama. Here it is again...


As I said then: "Doesn't she have a lovely sneer on her? Did you sense the disdain when she mentioned a certain "political constituency" at around 0:55? Nice use of the phrase "major human rights abuses" to describe Israel rather than the Palestinians."


Now I learn that Barack Obama is to make Smantha Power
"senior director for multilateral affairs at the National Security Council, a job that will require close contact and potential travel with (Hillary) Clinton, who is now secretary of state. NSC staffers often accompany the secretary of state on foreign trips."


As Melanie Phillips said recently:

"Power has advocated the ending of all aid to Israel and redirecting it to the Palestinians. She has also spoken about the need to land a ‘mammoth force’ of US troops in Israel to protect the Palestinians from Israeli attempts at genocide (sic) -- and has complained that criticism of Barack Obama all too often came down to what was ‘good for the Jews’."


If "By their friends ye shall know them" then I really do not feel any happier with Barack Obama in the White House than I thought I would. And I had very low expectations before the election...

Another Democrat politician makes a verbal gaffe that the BBC won't report

Nancy Pelosi the rather unpleasant Democrat Speaker House of Representatives has got into the habit of making rather odd claims about the urgency of the economic rescue of America.


"But in terms of what we have to do in the first 100 days, we must address the needs of this country. Five hundred million people will lose their jobs each month until we have an economic package.

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: No, 500,000.

PELOSI: What did I say, million?

WALLACE: Yes, 500 million. That would really be a recession.

PELOSI: Oh, no. Excuse me. Thank you for correcting me.

WALLACE: Yes.

PELOSI: It feels like 500 million. Five hundred thousand Americans will lose their jobs each month until we have a recovery package."






So we have a Democrat Speaker who confuses 500 million with 500 thousand, a Democrat President who doesn't know how many states there are in the US 60 or 50 and a Democrat Vice President who thinks jobs is a three letter word.

All Democrat gaffes that the BBC has almost completely ignored whereas they loved to repeat every George W. Bush verbal gaffe and of course Dan Quayle's problems with spelling the word potato.

Two news stories about Israel and Hamas that you won't see on the BBC

The BBC news agenda will not allow stories such as these to be reported, so it is up to us to spread the word.

1. UNWRA Condemns Confiscation of Gaza Aid and Demands its Immediate Return:
"East Jerusalem, 4 February 2009

At 1430 on 3 February over 3,500 blankets and 406 food parcels were confiscated from a distribution store at Beach Camp in Gaza by police personnel. This took place after UNRWA staff had earlier refused to hand over the aid supplies to the Hamas-run Ministry of Social Affairs. The police subsequently broke into the warehouse and seized the aid by force. The aid was due to be distributed to five hundred families in the area.

UNRWA condemns in the strongest terms the confiscation of its aid supplies and has demanded that it is returned immediately. UNRWA has a strict system of monitoring aid delivery and ensuring that its assistance reaches only the intended beneficiaries. Our officials were on the ground overseeing the delivery of our aid and taking all possible steps to avoid its diversion.

For more information please contact:

Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile: +972-(0)54-240-2659
Office: +972-(0)2-589-0267

Sami Mshasha
UNRWA Arabic Spokesperson
Mobile: +972-(0)54-216-8295
Office: +972 (0)2-589-0724"


Do the BBC only listen to and report on UNWRA statements when they are criticising Israel? Do the same rules not apply to Hamas?


2. The International Red Cross said
"Tuesday that Israel has fired white phosphorus shells in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but has no evidence to suggest the incendiary agent is being used improperly or illegally.

The comments came after a human rights organization accused the Jewish state of using white phosphorus, hich ignites when it strikes the skin and burns straight through or until it is cut off from oxygen. It can cause horrific injuries.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged Israel to exercise "extreme caution" in using the incendiary agent, which is used to illuminate targets at night or create a smoke screen for day attacks, said Peter Herby, the head of the organization's mines-arms unit.

"In some of the strikes in Gaza it's pretty clear that phosphorus was used," Herby told The Associated Press. "But it's not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it's being used in any other way."

In response, the Israeli military said Tuesday that it "wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics."

Herby said that using phosphorus to illuminate a target or create smoke is legitimate under international law, and that there was no evidence the Jewish state was intentionally using phosphorus in a questionable way, such as burning down buildings or consciously putting civilians at risk."

Will the BBC report this news, they were quick enough to "report" that:
"'Phosphorus wounds' alarm Gazans - Hundreds were killed in the 22-day Israeli offensive, but it is the manner in which Sabah's relatives lost their lives, and the weapon used, that has attracted attention.

Sabah herself has suffered terrible burns on her arms, legs and torso and is in considerable pain.

"There was fire, and so much white smoke," she says. "The missile melted my children. My daughter-in-law melted in front of my eyes."

Dr Nafiz Abu Shabaan, the head of the unit in which Sabah is being treated, says he has seen many victims with what he described as "strange burns".

"These burns were very severe, very deep, and became deeper and wider over time," he says. "In some cases, smoke came out of the wound, even after hours."

The cause of these types of injuries is believed, by visiting medical officials, to be Israel's use of shells containing white phosphorus. "




The BBC happy to shill for Hamas, Hezbollah and Fatah so long as Israel is shown to be the bad guy.

A reminder for Gordon Brown

"There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved."


Ludwig von Mises from "Human Action" (1949)

Save our Vulcan




Vulcan XH558 needs more money to keep flying. Please visit Vulcan to the Sky and contribute.




The BBC creating news to fit their agenda (part 2)

I blogged a few weeks back about how the BBC cut and spliced the tape (of Barack Obama's inauguration speech) so that half a sentence from paragraph 16 of the inauguration speech was joined on to half a sentence from paragraph 22, and this apparently continuous sound bite was completed by returning to paragraph 16 again to lift another complete sentence. Take a look at my original post for the full details.

Now it looks as though the BBC have "been at it again", this time it was in their coverage of the strikes at the Total oil refinery at Lindsey. Harry's Place reports that: "The 10 o’clock bulletin gave us a good example. A voiceover by the BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson, (about 12 mins in) told us: “Beneath the anger, ministers fear, lies straightforward xenophobia.” Cut to woolly-hatted worker telling BBC reporter: “These Portugese and Eyeties – we can’t work alongside of them.” There we are: northern white bloke refusing to work with foreigners. Case closed.

Except, watch Paul Mason’s report on Newsnight, featuring the same interview (about 4:30 in):

"These Portugese and eyeties – we can’t work alongside of them: we’re segregated from them. They’re coming in in full companies."

Cynical cutting of the quote so as to change the meaning by 100%. Might the man interviewed have a case in law against the BBC?

If you feel moved to complain then:
BBC Complaints can be found here

Or you could through Ofcom

Wednesday, 4 February 2009

Christian Bale loses it

Some audio of Christian Bale on the set of his new film, Terminator Salvation, getting a bit annoyed with cinematographer Shane Hurlbut who "trashed" his scene.

If you don't like swearing I suggest you dont take a listen to this, otherwise take a trip into actor-ego-land.

Welcome to Labour Britain

12 years of Labour misrule and even longer of namby-pamby attitudes to crime and punishment have led to a country that in the last two days has seen:

1. A nun mugged in broad daylight: "An elderly nun dressed in her full habit was mugged in broad daylight.

Sister Lorna, 72, was just yards from the door of her convent when a thief ran up behind her and grabbed her handbag.

The mugger got away with only an umbrella and a bus timetable because his victim had hidden her purse – containing £12 for a church collection – in her habit."

She said - "I suppose it's a sign of the times that even nuns are not safe."


2. Statistics obtained by Chris Grayling show that there were 3,868,000 complaints of aggression, yobbishness and intimidation in England and Wales last year. Of course the real figure could be as higher, because so few people actually tell police when incidents occur. The British Crime Survey found nearly three-quarters of people who experience anti-social behaviour do not report it to the police. So on that basis the real figure could be over 12 million incidents.


This is what a lack of discipline at home, at school and in wider society has wrought. Children need boundaries and they need to know that if they do wrong then they will be punished. Children today grow up in an environment where they know they can do and act as they want without retribution. They have no respect for rules or laws, for the police, their parent(s) and especially not for teachers.

I think it is too late to get this country back on track, we have too many feral youths breeding yet another generation of feral youths. Time to leave the UK I think.

Even Gordon Brown's "election" as successor to Tony Blair wasn't as blatantly fixed as this

"General Secretary Kim Jong Il was nominated as a candidate for deputy to the 12th Supreme People's Assembly....He courteously proposed the nomination of Kim Jong Il as a candidate for deputy to the SPA at Constituency No. 333, reflecting the ardent desire of all the voters and servicepersons of the KPA. All the servicepersons present there fully supported and hailed his proposal. Kim Jong Gak, first vice-director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, and other speakers expressed full support and approval of the reporter's proposal, adding that it is the greatest privilege of the servicepersons of the KPA and the great honor of Kim Il Sung's nation to nominate the Supreme Commander as a candidate for deputy to the SPA".


Wouldn't Gordon have been happy if it was all as simple as that.


Maybe Gordon Brown will be taking tips from Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong Il ahead of the next UK general election.


Thanks to The Croydonian for the spot in the DPRK.

Does this Labour government support the use of torture?

The BBC report that:
"A senior Conservative says ministers must urgently respond to allegations that Britain was complicit in torture.

David Davis said a High Court ruling on Wednesday alleged a British resident held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba had been tortured.

The ruling suggested the US threatened to withdraw intelligence help from the UK if details were released, Mr Davis claimed in the House of Commons.

The BBC's Nick Robinson said the claims were "extraordinarily serious".

The allegations relate to Binyam Mohamed, a British resident held in Guantanamo, who alleges he was tortured in Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan.

Mr Davis said a High Court ruling, which pointed to complicity by the UK and US authorities in his torture, was prevented from being published after the US put pressure on the UK.

He said the US had threatened to withdraw intelligence co-operation from the UK if this happened.

The former shadow home secretary raised the case in a point of order in the House of Commons.

He said Foreign Secretary David Miliband should make a statement to MPs about the issue as soon as possible to "explain what the devil is going on".

Mr Davis said the US authorities should not interfere with the UK judicial process.

He also said the UK government should make it "plain" that it did not support torture in any circumstances. "


Davis Davis should pursue this one as hard as possible, purely because I want Gordon Brown, David Miliband and Jack Straw to have admit to their part (if they had one) in approving "extraordinary rendition".

For the avoidance of doubt, "Binyam Mohamed, a British resident", is an Ethiopian who sought asylum in the UK in 1994. In June 2001, he travelled to Afghanistan his supporters claim this was so as to conquer his drug problems and to see Muslim countries "with his own eyes". Obviously a man with a drug problem would travel to the centre of the world's heroin trade in order to kick the habit; that is obvious! The UK and U.S. authorities contend that he went to train in a paramilitary Al-Qaeda camp. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks Binyam Mohamed went to Pakistan and on 10 April 2002, he was arrested at the Karachi airport by Pakistani authorities as a suspected terrorist. From there he was sent to Guantanemo Bay. It is odd that so many British residents decided that the best place for a holiday/work trip/ drug rehab was Afghanistan or Pakistan, I am sure there is nothing suspicious about it and that they all should be brought back to the UK, given a nice council house and left to do what they want

Is it a "depression"

Gordon Brown at PMQs today said
"We should agree as a world on a monetary and fiscal stimulus that will take the world out of r... depression."

So does that mean Gordon Brown thinks we are in a "depression" only weeks after he admitted we were in a "recession"?

After PMQs George Osborne said:
"The prime minister must personally and urgently clarify whether his statement today that the world is in 'depression' was a slip of the tongue, or whether he knows something that we don't know... For the sake of confidence he should clear up this confusion. Prime ministers in particular need to be very careful about their use of language to ensure they don't undermined confidence."
Obviously relishing taking revenge on the man who accused him of "talking down Sterling".

What of the Prime Minister and his highly efficient team? The BBC report that
"the prime minister's spokesman told the BBC Mr Brown did not think the world was in a depression. Asked if it was a slip of the tongue, the spokesman replied that that could be inferred."


Gordon Brown really is moving from "jinx" to disater area; but who in the Cabinet will have the nerve to tell him it's time to go. He and his team have suppressed all opposition for years and now there is no natural replacement - David Miliband, Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, Andy Burnham? I think not.

The war on motorists continues

The war on the motorist will ratchet up a gear or two soon with the news of the upcoming introduction of average speed cameras at
"every entry and exit point to any given estate or suburb, to ensure that all drivers taking all routes are properly monitored and cannot evade the cameras' reach."


Just read that quote from the Telegraph again and think about it. Cameras at every entry and exit point for a suburb, how many cameras will that require? A hundred per London suburb, two hundred? What about the phrase "properly monitored", is that Orwellian enough for you?

This is not about road safety, this is about raising revenue via "transgression taxes" and any Londoner will wince at the next part of the Telegraph report:
"The cameras are linked using wireless technology and do not use film, but instead store digital images. They read number plates automatically and transmit data instantly to penalty-processing centres like the ones used to police the London congestion charge."

What percentage of the "fines" will go to the penalty-processing centre operator?


And the "kicker" clause:
"Several London boroughs want to be among the first to use the cameras to enforce the limit on 20mph roads."

The bean eating, cycle riding fraternity introduced 20mph zones around schools but they are spreading, before long the normal speed limit in built-up areas will be 20mph, enforced by average speed cameras and the full majesty of the law.

Meanwhile home-owners will be prosecuted if they photograph people breaking into property for infringing the burglars "human rights" and every excuse will be found to prevent persistent muggers from going to prison or facing any meaningful penalty for their actions.

This country has been destroyed by Labour and its fellow-travellers in the health and safety police, "human rights" defenders and the like.

I want my country back.

"Stop feeding this xenophobia."

Peter Mandelson yesterday to an interviewer asking questions about workers' concerns over the awarding of a £200 million construction project at the Total oil refinery at Lindsey to the Italian firm IREN. Apparently the managing director of IREN said that he was forced to only use Italian workers for most of the contract. Mario Saraceno said that the contract had to be finished within four months. Therefore, he said:
"That's why it was absolutely necessary to send to England our specialized workers, a close-knit team that could communicate with each other without language problems, which was particularly important from a safety point of view.

"There was no time for training and so, with the agreement of the British unions, we contracted out the work [to Italians]. But we also took on 30 British workers, among them technicians and labourers."

Now that's interesting as The Telegraph reports that
"the contract was awarded to an Italian firm, IREN, which has brought a large number of Italian and Portuguese workers to Britain to complete the work."
So IREN had to employ workers who spoke the same language, Italian, so they could communicate with each other without language problems and yet they employed Italian and Portuguese workers. Portuguese being the language naturally linked to Italian?

Labour votes in marginals collapsing

The Mail reports that:
"Support for Labour in 30 key 'swing seats' across Britain has evaporated, an opinion poll revealed yesterday.

In another blow to Gordon Brown's premiership, the survey of crucial marginal constituencies put the Tories on 41 per cent, the LibDems on 18 and Labour on 17.

When a similar exercise was carried out a year ago, Labour held a six-point lead over David Cameron's party."


So how will Labour respond? More vote-rigging using dodgy postal ballots and personation at the polling booths? Or will an excuse be found to indefinitely delay a general election under their handy Civil Contingency Act.

Assuming the Conservatives are allowed to win the next general election the incoming Conservative Government will inherit an appalling economic and social mess, even worse than in 1979, and the recovery will be long, slow and painful. The recession of the early 1980s was a direct result of the 1974-79 Labour government's mismanagement of the economy; this time Labour have had longer to screw things up but at least the recession has hit first during their term in office. All blame for the pain will be placed upon the shoulders of the Conservatives by Labour, the Unions and of course the BBC.

Be afraid, be very afraid

The Telepgraph reports that:
"Iran has launched its first domestically built satellite into space... The United States and European Union suspect that Iran is secretly developing atomic weapons and harbours ambitions to use its home grown Safir space rocket technology to build long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads."

Quantitative Easing

FT Alphaville reports on Credit Suisse’s 12-page report on quantitative easing and currencies. Do read the whole piece but here's the conclusion about the UK:
"GBP: The pound has weakened sharply in anticipation of QE. A Balance of Payments structure that relied on debt inflows to permit a combination of elevated consumption and accumulation of leveraged foreign assets helped create an ‘international ALM mismatch’ that has now been exposed. Even at current valuations, we think GBP is vulnerable to QE because attempting to underpin a leveraged national balance sheet through sovereign debt expansion is inherently unstable given the threat of domestic capital flight. By contrast, GBP could benefit from successful US implementation of a bad bank plan that underpins broad asset price expectations."


So
"This means that while the US is still master of its own destiny, in the UK, QE is insufficient to fix the problem."


It all looks rather depressing doesn't it?

Tuesday, 3 February 2009

"It's not wealth that has increased... all that has increased is the paper values of our stocks and real estate"


Watch Peter Schiff back in 2006, 2007 & 2008 predict what has now happened. And listen to the derision that was poured upon him. I'd like the fool laughing from around 3:40 to account for his actions then. The share-tipping of "Financials" from 6:30 is quite scary as is the scorn poured upon Peter Schiff for declaring that the Emperor was naked. Peter's last tip - Gold to go above $1,000.

50 years since the day the music died - Buddy Holly RIP


Buddy Holly and the Crickets - Peggy Sue

Love the introduction...



and to take the tempo down

True Love Ways

FactCheck UK

Liberal Conspiracy have launched FactCheck UK with The BullShit Awards 2009. Take a trip and have a vote, you know you want to.

Labour's sums don't add up


Gordon Brown's tribute to Countdown complete with his admission of his sums not adding up and then a few examples of the same re education policy.

You can see the original video here or indeed ....


I love Gordon Brown's new turn on/turn off emotions, smile, frown, happy, sad - the whole gamut of emotions from a to b; what a natural he is.


And here is a remider of The Spines comment on Gordon Brown and COuntdown:

The future of power generation?

Read and investigate the CR5 Sunshine to Power system.

It's a good job I am not suspicious

It's a good job I am not suspicious because if I was then this story would have me in a feverish state. Apparently:
"The SNP has called for an inquiry after it emerged marked electoral registers for the Glenrothes by-election were lost by the courts.

The registers, which are the only record of who voted in the Westminster election, must be kept for a year.

Tricia Marwick, Nationalist MSP for Central Fife, said the blunder was "beyond belief".

Labour comfortably saw off an SNP challenge to hold the Glenrothes seat, in Fife.

Fife Council said it had a receipt proving that the authority handed the electoral registers over to the sheriff clerk at Kirkcaldy.

Labour's Lindsay Roy held on to the seat with a majority of more than 6,000 in the by-election, which was held following the death of sitting MP John MacDougall.

Ms Marwick has now raised concerns that there are no records to show who voted in an election which had a much higher turnout than anticipated.

Ms Marwick called for an independent inquiry, adding: "It is almost beyond belief that a by-election which attracted media coverage throughout the UK, which delivered such a surprise result and had a much higher turnout than anticipated, now has no records to show who actually voted."

A spokesman for the Scottish Court Service said the incident was being investigated and described it as "deeply regrettable".

"Despite comprehensive searches for this document we have been unable to locate the marked register requested within Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court," said the spokesman.

"We can confirm that the sheriff clerk at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court took receipt of these items following the Glenrothes by-election in November and that the voting papers for this election, which were deposited at the same time, are available."

Higher than expected turnout, surprise result, victory for Labour and the marked electoral registers go missing... I wonder if the high turnout was a result of postal ballots, I am sure you remember how postal ballots have been used in the past to boost votes for certain parties.

In 2007 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe reported that:
"It is clear that the electoral system in Great Britain is open to electoral fraud. This vulnerability is mainly the result of the, rather arcane, system of voter registration without personal identifiers. It was exacerbated by the introduction of postal voting on demand [in 2001] "

Fatah Publishes List of Hamas Attacks

I read that:
"Fatah has released a list of 181 attacks carried out by Hamas against Fatah terrorists in Gaza during the Cast Lead counterterror operation in the area. Spokesman Ziyad Abu-Ein encouraged reporters and international organizations to contact the 181 victims or their survivors to verify the stories.

According to the list, 11 Fatah members were murdered by Hamas during Cast Lead, 58 were shot in the feet or legs, and 112 had their legs broken."

Will the BBC do as Fatah ask and "contact the 181 victims or their survivors to verify the stories"? Of course not, that would quite ruin the BBC "narrative" of evil war-loving Israelis and good peaceful Palestinians.

Global warming scam update

Read this and wonder at how the Global Warming conspiracy has spread so far and so deep.

Farewell T-Shirt Hell

T-Shirt Hell is no more.

Monday, 2 February 2009

The thirtieth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

This week's award goes to The Daily Telegraph for reporting that
"'Jobs for the British' strikes to hit power supplies."
You mean that strikes at power stations may lead to power cuts, "No shit, Sherlock"

Driving in the snow

If you own a Mercedes Benz SL500 maybe you shouldn't try and drive it on a snowy road up a hill. The car won't make it and you'll piss off the people behind you in smaller more practical cars.

If you own a Range Rover and you can't get up a slight slope, albeit one covered in snow, then maybe you are not fit to drive.


A few inches of snow and London grinds to a halt whilst the quality of London drivers is exposed for what it is.

Hamas reasserting their control over Gaza using violence of course

Read this from The Telegraph but don't expect to see the BBC reporting such news about their favourite "militants".

Education in the UK

Read this article from The Telegraph and then read the comments underneath; one of the saddest examples of how the legacy of the 1960s is rampant illiteracy and innumeracy.

Lily Allen's bottom

Well the Mail think Lily Allen's bottom is worthy of coverage and who am I to argue?

Sunday, 1 February 2009

The Community Reinvestment Act (reminder)

I have blogged many times about the Community Reinvestment Act and how it was one of the key factors in creating the US housing bubble as well as its effect on UK housing finance. You should read my earlier articles - here, here, here, here (in October 2008) the links to Barack Obama and here the links to UK policy.

I raise the matter today because Christopher Booker in The Telegraph yesterday wrote
"It is all very well for President Obama to vent his anger on all those US bankers who continued to claim billions of dollars in bonuses while expecting Washington to bail them out after the sub-prime mortgage scandal brought the banks to their knees. But conveniently overlooked has been the curious part Mr Obama himself played in the sub-prime debacle.

At the heart of it was a 1995 amendment to the Community Reinvestment Act which legally required banks to lend money to buy homes to millions of poor, mainly black Americans, guaranteed by the two biggest mortgage associations, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And no one campaigned more actively for this change to the law than Mr Obama, as a young but already influential Chicago politician.

It was this Act which, more than anything, helped to create the US housing bubble, well beyond the point where it was obvious that hundreds of thousands of homeowners would be likely to default. And in 2005 no one more actively opposed moves to halt Fannie Mae's reckless guarantees than Senator Obama, as he was by then. As the official records show, no senator received more donations from Fannie Mae than he did (although Hillary Clinton ran him close). Thus no US politician arguably did more to promote the sub-prime disaster than the man now expected to pick up the pieces, Rather like Gordon Brown, really. "

I couldn't have put it better myself and somehow I doubt that this story will get anywhere near the BBC where the Obamamessiah is beyond criticism and will remain so so long as he follows the BBC approved line.

Labour sleaze claims update

The Mail reports that:
"The Labour peer at the heart of the Lords sleaze row has secret links to Soviet Russia, a Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered.

The party faced calls for a new inquiry into Lord Truscott in the face of fresh information about his astonishing rise to power, which throws new light on the 'love at first sight' account of how he met his Russian wife Svetlana in the former Soviet Union.

At the time they married, Lady Truscott was an active member of the Communist Party and her father was a senior Red Army officer at a secret military institute connected to the Soviet equivalent of the SAS.

The Mail on Sunday has also obtained new details about the couple's private fortune, which includes a £1million home in Mayfair, a country home in Bath and property interests in Russia.

Meanwhile, Lord Truscott faces new questions about his political career, and the way he has used it to promote and defend Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the country in general.

This newspaper has been told that Lord Truscott was awarded his peerage by Tony Blair in 2004 after offering private advice on relations with Russia.

He chose a double-headed eagle identical to Russia's official emblem for his heraldic crest as Baron Truscott of St James, then joined Labour's defence team in the Lords before becoming a Minister.

Official records show how Lord Truscott used the Lords as a platform to defend Mr Putin after his decision to invade Georgia last year.

Last night, the 49-year-old peer refused to respond to the latest disclosures.

But Tory MP Patrick Mercer, an adviser to the Government on security matters, said: 'I would like some assurances that Lord Truscott's activities are wholly in the interests of Great Britain.

'Since Lord Truscott is not willing to address these matters it is incumbent on the Labour Party to do so.'"


Do read the whole article and wonder if the BBC will cover the allegations; you can sure they would be fron page news if it was a Conservative peer accused of such links.

Another law that will not be actively enforced

One part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act of 2008 came into force on 26 January. It relates to the "Possession of extreme pornographic images" and the Act defines this thus:
"(1) It is an offence for a person to be in possession of an extreme pornographic image.

(2) An “extreme pornographic image” is an image which is both—

(a) pornographic, and

(b) an extreme image.

(3) An image is “pornographic” if it is of such a nature that it must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.

(4) Where (as found in the person’s possession) an image forms part of a series of images, the question whether the image is of such a nature as is mentioned in subsection (3) is to be determined by reference to—

(a) the image itself, and

(b) (if the series of images is such as to be capable of providing a context for the image) the context in which it occurs in the series of images.

(5) So, for example, where—

(a) an image forms an integral part of a narrative constituted by a series of images, and

(b) having regard to those images as a whole, they are not of such a nature that they must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal,

the image may, by virtue of being part of that narrative, be found not to be pornographic, even though it might have been found to be pornographic if taken by itself.

(6) An “extreme image” is an image which—

(a) falls within subsection (7), and

(b) is grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character.

(7) An image falls within this subsection if it portrays, in an explicit and realistic way, any of the following—

(a) an act which threatens a person’s life,

(b) an act which results, or is likely to result, in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals,

(c) an act which involves sexual interference with a human corpse, or

(d) a person performing an act of intercourse or oral sex with an animal (whether dead or alive),

and a reasonable person looking at the image would think that any such person or animal was real.

(8) In this section “image” means—

(a) a moving or still image (produced by any means); or

(b) data (stored by any means) which is capable of conversion into an image within paragraph (a).

(9) In this section references to a part of the body include references to a part surgically constructed (in particular through gender reassignment surgery).

(10) Proceedings for an offence under this section may not be instituted—

(a) in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions; or

(b) in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland. "


What amuses me is that The Guardian reports that:
"Officers will not actively target members of the public to track down those who own violent pornography banned under a new law, police chiefs admitted yesterday.

...

But yesterday the justice ministry said it expected to see a only small number of prosecutions a year under the new law, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and makes it illegal to own pornographic material that depicts necrophilia, bestiality or violence that looks life-threatening or is likely to result in serious injury to the breasts, genitals or anus.

Responsibility for implementing the ban will lie with individual police forces, which will receive no extra funding and will not be expected to devote resources to speculative hunts for people viewing extreme pornography.

...

A statement from the Association of Chief Police Officers said: "The police will not be actively targeting members of the public but will be conducting investigations into the unlawful possession of this material where found."

The justice ministry expects to see about 30 prosecutions a year. It estimates that 10 offenders will be jailed, for an average of six months. "


Extreme porn does not interest me but I will admit that I have seen images on the web that I have found disturbing. I did not save them to my hard disk but if I had not cleaned my computer cache would I be breaking the law?

Another interesting fact is that it is now illegal for anyone in England and Wales to possess an "extreme" image, even if the activity itself is legal. The assurances that the Police will not be actively looking to enforce this legislation does not reassure me; they might not be now but who knows what a future even more repressive government might do with such legislation or how they might extended it. Once again the fundamentally illiberal tendencies of this Labour government are revealed and another restriction is available to the Government and its Police Force, to be enforced as and when it might be useful.

The Prime Minister Mandelson clause

The BBC's report that:
"Peers guilty of a criminal offence or rule breach could be kicked out of the Lords, under plans being considered by Justice Secretary Jack Straw."
contains a very interesting line -
"He said he was also looking at legislation to allow peers to resign - at the moment they are members of the House for life and can not step down."


Jack Straw's justification for this is given as:
"If you had simply provision at the moment for peers to resign then I think quite a number of those previously convicted would have resigned, and those who face these allegations may, as often is the case in business, for example, have been placed in a position in due course where they had no alternative but honourably to resign, so that change in itself would make a big difference."


However I wonder if this part of the legislation could also enable the recently ennobled Peter Mandelson to resign from the House of Lords and return to the House of Commons to take up the position he thinks should be his - Prime Minister.

"British jobs for British workers" - the truth will out

I have blogged several times about Gordon Brown's misleading "British jobs for British workers" promise and I have previously stated that whilst the population were willing to acquiesce in Labour's social engineering in good economic times, they would be less happy in a recession.

It looks as though the conditions for social unrest are getting closer and Gordon Brown is in a flap. He is trying to claim that when he said "British jobs for British workers" he actually meant that British workers would have the right to compete for British jobs; nobody believes him of course, people know a "Brownie" when they hear one. The conditions in many towns and cities across the UK soon to have 30%+ (or much higher) unemployment and people losing jobs to recent and longer-standing immigrants will be ripe for a breakdown in "social cohesion".

The current "wild cat" protests may spread and lead to petrol shortages and power cuts or they may peter out. However there will be another cause of "unrest" before too long and then another one and then another one and so on. Eventually one "cause" will reach the point of no return and the inner city riots of 1981 may be made to look like a picnic by what ensues.


My advice is to get out of the UK whilst you still can. If you decide to stay then: buy a generator, lay in stocks of fuel, food and water and secure your house against what may be coming. 2009 may go down in history as the year the Labour government reaped the harvest of what it had sown over 12 years. Don't expect the police and the government to help you; you and I are expendable, only the government and its friends will be protected. And don't expect to be able to vote this Labour mob out at a general election, any civil unrest will lead to the Civil Contingency Act being used to "postpone" elections, initially for a short time and then for the duration of the disturbances, disturbances that may last for a very very long time indeed.

That all means that Gordon Brown might very well be the last UK Prime Minister that you and I ever know; now isn't that a depressing thought?

The Conservatives are considering creating a "Labour Domesday Book" if they win the general election

For quite some time I have been advocating that an incoming Conservative government conduct a full root and branch review of what Labour have spent and wasted during the current administration. Only by identifying the waste and laying the blame for mismanagement firmly on the laps of Gordon Brown et al will the Conservative government be able to prune away the fat without the cry of "Tory cuts" carrying as much weight as the Labour/BBC alliance will try to make adhere.

Today I read at Conservative Home that:
"ConservativeHome understands that Tory strategists are considering a bold attempt to find a 21st Century equivalent that would define the Labour Party for another generation.

Under consideration is the compilation of a Domesday Book analysis of Labour's legacy. It would be one of the first acts of an incoming Conservative government. New Cabinet ministers would be ordered to prepare an audit of their portfolios. Four to six weeks later a Domesday statement of the extent of public borrowing, the weakness of the nation's energy infrastructure, the weakness of family structure and so on would be published. As well as serving as a statement of challenges it would then be hung around the neck of the Labour Party."


Expect Labour claims of party political investigations but since this Labour government have blurred the line between party and state more than any other that I can think off then that line can be pushed aside. This Labour government is the one that claimed to be the "political wing of the British people".

This Labour government and especially its leaders must be held to account for the damage they have wrought on this Country; I would be all for putting Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Jack Straw and others on trial for treason.

Brown-nosing par excellence

Brown-nosing par excellence from Chris Bastille for whom it appears Gordon Brown can do no wrong. Do read the whole piece (maybe sucking on a lemon whilst doing so might help avert the overwhelming taste of sugar syrup) but here are some extracts:
""The ending of Boom and Bust" was always a great sound bite, and now that the UK has officially entered recession it is coming back to haunt Gordon Brown, with commentators and radio interviewers accusing him of peddling falsehoods, of deluding the public, of arrogance and worse. This is rather unfair, as no politician could ever have credibly promised to protect Britain from recession for all time, Brown included.

His original objective, set out before Labour came to power in 1997, could with hindsight have been better phrased as "we will abolish homegrown Boom and Bust".

...

In a sense Gordon Brown can be compared to the driver of a bus which has been travelling a rough and bumpy road. On taking the wheel, he promises the passengers that from now on the road will be smooth and there will be no more "Boom and Bust". He drives carefully along a fine new highway and all is well. But then a storm breaks out and the bus is buffeted from side to side. The passengers at the back complain loudly that they were misled, that it is just as uncomfortable as before - but Gordon must not waste time arguing with them. He has to concentrate on driving the bus."

Indeed Gordon Brown could be compared to the driver of a bus: a bus that has had very expensive new seats, air-conditioning and a 7-channel surround system fitted; all paid for on credit and without having the engine serviced or the tyres kept at the right pressure. Now the bus has a couple of punctures and is in need of careful maintenance but Gordon Brown won't pull over for a garage to take a look instead he is trying to fix a puncture by coating the tyres in used £50 notes whilst putting the accelerator pedal hard down so as to avoid any more nails in the road.

News about one freed Guantanamo Bay prisoner that you won't find reported on the BBC

Fox News report that:
"Before he was released from Guantanamo, a Saudi detainee insisted he had only wanted to help refugees and was not a fighter. Now, as an Al Qaeda field commander sporting a bandolier of bullets, he is threatening the United States and has been hailed by a militant Web site as a veteran guerrilla and "a fomenter of war."

The story of Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi underscores the dilemma Barack Obama's administration finds itself in: Keeping men locked up without trials invites global criticism but releasing them without a fair and diligent process to distinguish enemies from noncombatants exposes the U.S. and its allies to danger. It also shows how hard it is to separate truth from lies.

Al-Oufi was one of two former Saudi detainees at Guantanamo, the U.S. military prison in Cuba, who resurfaced last week in video clips as Al Qaeda fighters in Yemen. Their identities were confirmed in recent days by a U.S. counterterror official. Al-Oufi was detainee number 333 at Guantanamo."


Read the whole article and remember it when the BBC bleat on about the poor innocents incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay.

Labour's dumbed down education system

Two stories today illustrate how Labour have dumbed down the UK's education system.

The first is from The Telegraph whose Simon Heffer reports that:
"One difficulty with Radio 4's Today programme is how it presents, in the mildest terms, the most outrageous news that causes me almost to crash my car when I hear it. One such near-miss took place on Thursday. In a discussion about the profound failure of the Government's £5 billion adult literacy drive, an unfortunate young man who was struggling in the world of work because of his inability to read properly was interviewed about the lack of help he had received. The crash almost came when it was mentioned, in passing, that he had seven GCSEs.

Now I do not wish to be problematical, but could somebody tell me this: how in God's name does someone get seven GCSEs if he can't read? Is not much that is wrong with our suffering country revealed at a stroke by that admission? Does it not reflect the dismal nature of our schools, the dismal nature of what passes for public qualifications, and above all the dismal nature of the educationalists who have made such an absurdity of the GCSE system and the politicians who endorse them? "


The second is from The Mail who report that:
"One ambition was fixed in Ali Moeen Nawazish's mind as he made his way through school in Pakistan. He wanted to win a place at Cambridge.

Sitting seven A-levels might easily have done the trick, even though he had started to study some of the subjects only three days before the exam.

But he was determined to get some good grades. So he sat another three, and three more. Then another nine. Just in case, he took a couple of AS levels along the way."

I'll repeat the key part of that
"Sitting seven A-levels might easily have done the trick, even though he had started to study some of the subjects only three days before the exam."
Three days study to get an A grade at A'level, but definitely no dumbing down of standards...

Gordon Brown needs a history lesson

Alex Masterly gives him one:
"The facts are that nothing you have done so far has reversed the economic decline. The precedent in the 1930's is exactly the one you should be following. An over-extension of the banking system led to a general failure of banking and commerce, and was corrected by building up the banking system and keeping its business simple.

The two lessons of the twentieth century are that collective ownership leads to economic stagnation and that whenever regulated banks are allowed to trade with other people's money with low allocations of risk capital, central banks invariabl ends up bailing them out."

Read the rest of the article and someone send it to the great snot gobbler.

Edwin van der Sar beats Death

Edwin van der Sar's clean sheet for Manchester United against Everton yesterday means that he has not conceded a goal for longer than Reading's Steve Death who kept a clean sheet for 1,103 minutes in the 1978-79 and 1979-90 seasons, this was the previous English record.

If Edwin van der Sar can keep West Ham at bay for at least 75 minutes on 8th February then he will overtake Chris Woods and take the British record beyond 1,196 minutes.

If Edwin van der Sar keeps a clean sheet for the whole of that match against West Ham and then stops Fulham from scoring on 18th February for more than 64 minutes, then he will take the world record from Atletico Madrid's Abel Renso at 1,275 minutes.


Well done Edwin van der Sar; a Dutchman by birth, qualified to play for England by residency and a long term stalwart of my Fantasy Football teams.

Democracy Labour style

The Mail reports that:
"Millions of voters are to be deprived of their say over how their rubbish is collected.

Their councils are first in the queue to hand over their refuse operations to quangos that will not be answerable to residents at the polls.

Local elections in the past two years have seen heavy punishment meted out by voters to councillors who have abolished weekly collections and brought in the highly unpopular fortnightly schemes and their accompanying complicated recycling rules.

The new unelected bodies - to be called Joint Waste Authorities - will be able to introduce fortnightly rubbish collections without fear of a backlash from voters.

They will run waste 'police forces' which can punish householders who break bin rules.

The quangos will also be able to introduce bin taxes. Ministers mothballed immediate plans for wheelie bin 'incentives' last week after elected local councils proved reluctant to volunteer for trials.

The first Joint Waste Authorities are likely to be established next year, according to documents published yesterday by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). "

So to avoid democratic accountability this Labour government introduces more unelected quangos. This Labour government must be got rid off whilst there is still the remnants of democracy left in the UK.