Killingholme: It's like herding cats

I am a huge fan of Scotland, but it must be said that the politicians who emerge from that country appear to have been selected from the pile too thick to get into the mainstream education system. The latest spazmoid is Nigel Griffiths, who must have been living with his head in a huge vat of porridge for the last few decades:

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was told his infamous phrase about creating British jobs for British workers had come back to "haunt him". Labour MP Nigel Griffiths launched his own inquiry into whether European laws had been broken by excluding British workers from contracts, while the union at the centre of the dispute announced plans for a huge demonstration in Westminster.

Bless poor Mr Griffiths, he's probably never read a piece of EU legislation in his life. He certainly hasn't got to grips with it.

And he appears not to have read the ruling from the European Court of Justice from 2007 called the 'Viking Case'.
Viking Line was a Finnish passenger shipping company. It owned and operated a ferry called Rosella, under a Finnish flag and with a predominantly Finnish crew. Then the Rosella was registered as an Estonian ship and crewed by an Estonian crew who were paid less.

In short, the European Court of Justice ruled that sacking one lot of staff and replacing them with the crew from another country wasn't automatically grounds for strike:

On Tuesday, 11 December, the Court ruled that a trade union's threat to strike in order to force an employer to conclude a collective agreement may constitute a restriction on the freedom of establishment if the terms of the agreement are liable to deter the company from exercising its freedom of establishment.

Stopping Italian and Portuguese employees from getting to work does constitute a restriction on Total's production.

And as for Jon Cruddas: the man has the political nouse of a cream doughnut. What kind of moron takes a really shitty situation and makes it worse by promoting the BNP? It's not racism, you retarded shit stick; it's a group of people who want to be able to pay the bills rather than see their jobs taken by some Italians and who are understandably angry and frustrated that their fees to the union pay Gordon Brown and the Labour party who then lie to them.

Don't want an open door policy to half a billion people? Leave the EU and establish a work permit system which works in the rest of the world. It's not difficult and, far from being racist, actually stops this appalling bias against the rest of the world which our EU membership insists upon.

take note!

I have a feeling that on this day I will be writing lots of very dull e-mails about fabricated work issues / conferences / possibly some made up medical problems.

British Jobs for British Workers?

Remember that speech where Gordon Brown said:

As we set out on the next stage of our journey this is our vision: Britain leading the global economy - by our skills and creativity, by our enterprise and flexibility, by our investment in transport and infrastructure - a world leader in science; a world leader in financial and business services; a world leader in energy and the environment from nuclear to renewables; a world leader in the creative industries; and yes - modern manufacturing too - drawing on the talents of all to create British jobs for British workers.

Which of course those of us who know our EU regulations know is bollocks, and when Cameron flagged it up in his speech, I wrote:

It's not just the Human Rights Act, it's EU Directive 2004/58/EC which means you can only deny entry to / deport EU criminals for terrorism. But keep this in your mind - this mock outrage at Gordon Brown telling people he's going to do something he can't do...

Now, let's scroll forward from 2007 to today:

Strikes have been breaking out across the UK in support of a mass walkout by energy workers in Lincolnshire angry at the use of foreign workers.

Hundreds gathered for the third day of the original strike at Lindsey Oil Refinery after owner Total gave a £200m contract to an Italian firm.

They have been supported by hundreds of strikers in Scotland, Wales and other parts of England

When we joined the EEC as was, a condition of this was that workers from the other countries would be able to come to the UK to work. It's not a collection of states, it's a group of people with a desire for one state. Simple. (And can we please remind ourselves who signed us up...)

This isn't even a question of the EU Constitution or the Lisbon Constitution: this is a founding principle of our membership. Now, if you want that, then fair enough, but don't fucking lie about it. Don't give me this bullshit of 'British jobs for British workers' when you know very well it's illegal. Any of you.

And whilst the irony of an Italian company being more efficient is not lost on me, I can't support free movement of people across borders when we have such a welfare state. I can't afford to. Were we to just have a safety net then I'd reconsider my opinions based on the principles of comparative advantage but right now, when we're in the shit economically, I don't want to have another group of people on my payroll.

It's one way we can join in with the rest of Europe I suppose, though: France are striking, the Greeks were way ahead of the game, and now we can join in.

Let's hope they all remember why when they vote in the European Elections.

UK to feel recession the hardest

Hands up who is surprised, given the 'talents' we have had governing us:

Take one example of their motoring policy:

Figures released to The Daily Telegraph show that the changes to the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) will affect nearly seven in 10 of the country's 26 million drivers.

Many of those who will be most heavily penalised by the rises are people on low incomes, who could have to pay up to an extra £245 a year to tax the family car.

We know that over the last few years our great leaders have been trying to shaft us through the medium of man-made climate change. It is, in my opinion, nothing more than a rather convenient way to raise our taxes and tell us what to do. And central to this was the tedious, mind numbing push to get us all to stop driving our cars.

And then what happens?

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has outlined a package of government support for the UK car industry potentially worth up to £2.3bn.

The package includes a scheme to unlock £1.3bn of loans from Europe for car manufacturers and major suppliers.

He said the government would also guarantee up to £1bn of further loans.

Yes. The car industry goes tits up, more people lose their jobs and Labour get all protectionist. Why did you try fuck them up in the first place?

One industry which has been suffering for a while because of the socially inept killjoys millions of people mistakenly vote for is the pub trade.

If we take the figures from September 2008:

Pub closures have soared to a record high – 36 a week – as drinkers choose to buy cut-price alcohol for consumption at home.

The British Beer and Pub Association said 936 pubs ceased trading in the first six months of 2008. Pubs are shutting nine times faster than in 2006 and 18 times faster than in 2005.

Publicans complain they have been hit by the smoking ban, rising rent and fuel bills, and aggressive discounting by supermarkets.

One could be cynical and say that MPs don't want us to congregate together and loosen our tongues for fear of expressing dissatisfaction with our lot.

Or we could say that MPs are a bunch of boring, yet hypocritical, bastards, content with their subsidised bars just a hop, skip and a trip from their office, who nevertheless would like the rest of us to be teetotal, non smoking, lettuce munching lobotomised, morons. [At this point I would like to stress that Trixy considers herself only to be two out of the five. You can decide for yourself which ones.]

It beggars belief that only months before an official recession, with these claims by the IMF that the UK will be the hardest hit, (but I pray to sweet jesus that the Labour Party will suffer the most) pubs are still having to protest against tax rises. Where is the common sense that says if jobs are being lost, don't raise taxes to guarantee even more do?

But then, with this monstrosity,
is it any wonder common sense left a long time ago?

No difference in a mother's tears

Yes, I know this has been written about before, but that controversial report is actually published today.

I am still absolutely outraged at the prospect of yet more of my money, of your money, being wasted by this inept, corrupt and clearly retarded group of fuck-bunglers though some days have past. I thought perhaps that I would find something else to be angry about but it still makes me shake with anger.

And listening to this fool Lord Eames, who obviously sat through The Troubles with his fingers in his ears, or perhaps contorted up his own fundament, I want to scream.
Why should the families of murders get any more cash? It's bad enough what it gets spent on already, but to think that because some old dear has managed to convince Lord Eames and Denis Bradley that "there is no difference in a mother's tears" and that all deaths during those times were equal is not reason enough.

This is deeply insulting nonsense about there being "no hierarchy of victims" really makes my blood boil. You see, Lord Eames has said that he thinks that there is "no difference" between the people killed and they are "not here to judge".

Fuck you.

We are talking about people who killed others in cold blood simply because, in some cases, of the job they were doing. How do they equate to being victims of anything other than their own damned lazy, evil hearts and minds? If he wants to pay them then he can get out his cheque book but I do not want my name on the bottom of it.

Trixy asked a friend who lived through the troubles and whose family did actually suffer those "tears" indirectly. Here's what he had to say:

1. Who is a victim? The man who works at the power station, murdered for keeping the lights on, certainly is. Those shot in their terrorist van by the SAS whilst trying to blow up a police station, certainly aren't. But unless you can guarantee the money only goes to decent people, which Sinn Fein will never allow you to do, you're making an offensive equivalence between the two groups. And, even worse, the two groups are not always completely distinct.
2. Is the state offering money to the families of those people it has killed not an admission of guilt or liability?
3. Has money not already been paid in most non-terrorist cases through the Northern Ireland Office?
4. No one in NI is asking for it and it can only stir up trouble.

Not being from Northern Ireland I couldn't possibly comment on the last point, but my friend can. So why was this report written? I know times are hard but isn't that going a little too far just to keep someone in work?

And can't we have Thatcher back?

UPDATE

After my friend listened to that Today programme projectile vomit:

Compensation in NI as a result of terrorism would surely be dealt with by the (criminal injuries) Compensation Agency for physical injury or, in the case of structural damage, by the Northern Ireland Office.

So, victims of terrorism are compensated for their injury or loss in the same manner as they would be anywhere in the UK had they suffered a criminal act. Firstly, this raises a question of how can someone who committed a crime be compensated as if they were a victim and secondly, if you start giving extra money over and above that, suddenly the criminal can't be just a criminal anymore, can he? He must be something special.

*This is exactly what they have always wanted*

The IRA see themselves as soldiers, not criminals. That's why they refer to themselves as Prisoners of War when in jail even though if they knew anything about international law they’d know that PoW status is brought about by the Geneva Convention on international conflicts.

Therefore, rather than just be pissed off at yet another waste of our money, we should be refusing this to happen on the basis that it is glorifying and permitting terrorism.

Had civilians in Northern Ireland just given up and allowed the Army to do anything rather than their very sensible mantra of ‘we’ll build a bigger, and a better one’* then these bastards would have had the 'war' they craved. Instead, of course, they are still simply common criminals.

And why should common criminals get money?

*I very much enjoyed giving my custom to a petrol station in Northern Ireland which was blown up by the IRA about four times.

Funniest letter of complaint ever

From The Times

House of Lords: more reform?

I felt it was rather predictable that given the story in the Sunday Times, there would be calls for the House of Lords to reform.

I agree that there needs to be some change: the noble Lords in question were, it appears if the Sunday Times allegations are true, abusing their position.

But let's just take a look at those peers who have been mentioned in these allegations:
Lord Taylor of Blackburn is a Labour life peer.
Lord Moonie is a Labour life peer
Lord Truscott is a Labour life peer and a former MEP so is probably very confused
Lord Snape is a Labour life peer.

May I suggest, should it be found that they have broken the rules, that the reform of the House of Lords which should happen is that the Labour Party stop giving out life peerages?

For one, one could argue they only do it to get their hideous legislation through a chamber which is actually capable of rational debate and thought. And secondly, the hereditary members are distinctly unlikely to be involved in such a scandal. Not quite the thing, you know. Got to get back to the farm.

I might, if I were so inclined, say that it's the 'reform' of the House of Lords which has caused a rather downgrading of the upper chamber....

Ja! Stimmen

Following on from the excellent post by Raedwald on the EU's plans for a shared criminal database (which I've been following for fucking months but can't find my notes - anyway) I thought I'd allow you all to be a little pro active.

They fucking work for you and they're standing for re-election in June so make them work like a drill sergeant with a bunch of new recruits:

Vice Chairman of the committee:
Philip Bradbourn Tory West Mids: philip.bradbourn@europarl.europa.eu

Members:
Michael Cashman, Labour, West Mids: michael.cashman@europarl.europa.eu
Roger Knapman, who fucking knows, South West: roger.knapman@europarl.europa.eu (he'll vote against. I may not like him but he'll vote against it.)
Baroness Sarah Ludford, Lib Dem, London: sarah.ludford@europarl.europa.eu
Claude Moraes, Labour, London: claude.moraes@europarl.europa.eu

Substitutes:
Jean Lambert, Green, London: jean.lambert@europarl.europa.eu
Bill Newton-Dunn, Lib Dem, East Mids: bill.newtondunn@europarl.europa.eu
Charles Tannock, Tory, London: charles.tannock@europarl.europa.eu

If it gets through committee, expect it to reach the main floor of the European Parliament in late March.

Whilst we're over at this committee, let's take a quick peek at some of the work they're doing, blissfully unreported by the media.

It is a common understanding that the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter of Fundamental Rights) will make it possible for the European Union to become "...an area of freedom, security and justice (FSJA)with respect for fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States...

The future legislative programme for the FSJA should promote measures in the field of police and judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, taking into account the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions which is included in the new Treaty, thus facilitating cross-border cooperation between Member States and aiming towards a future European criminal law...
The main problem encountered by Parliament, when exercising shared legislative
responsibilities with the Council in respect of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, will be access to relevant information in the Member States. By reason of the very sensitive issues dealt with as part of FSJA-related policies, it is more than necessary to implement as soon as possible the new Treaty provisions on transparency in the EU institutions and also to allow Parliamentary scrutiny of confidential information such as that dealt with by Europol, the EU Joint Situation Centre (SitCen) and the future Standing Committee on Internal Security (COSI) (Article 71 TFEU). The new Article 15 TFEU, by extending the current right of access to Parliamentary, Commission and Council documents to all EU institutions and agencies (Article255 EC Treaty) will improve the accountability of the EU institutions, notably in these fields.

Looks to me like this report is all facilitated in the Lisbon Treaty which of course our delightful government and Liberal Democrats denied us a referendum on. An action for which everyone who wanted a referendum should remember and not vote for them again.

And when it comes to the future direction of the EU you'd have to be an arse not to work out where it's going. Or a complete cunt to know exactly where it's going and pretend you can do something about it.

The Flanders Pigeon Murderer and other stories

My apologies for not commenting on this story sooner. Alas, such was the nature of the story, I felt I needed time to digest it's complexities before writing my opinion.

WWII carrier pigeon's brave deeds remembered

A carrier pigeon which acted as a vital means of communication to RAF Linton-on-Ouse during the Second World War has been honoured by the son of the man who looked after him.

Sam the pigeon would ride alongside the base's crew and would go into action if the aircraft was shot down. The navigator would place the crash position on a piece of paper which he attached to the pigeon and, with his finely tuned homing instincts, Sam's job was to wing it back home to inform authorities of the loss.

What a brave pigeon! However, as with these stories from the war, the path never runs smoothly.

As with other war heroes, Sam had a tale to tell. During a raid over Berlin, Sam's aircraft was hit and a piece of shrapnel flew into the cockpit and straight through his tin flying box taking his beak with it, although luckily he survived the ordeal.

Shrapnel! His beak!

Harold Wood from Copmanthorpe, York, was just a lad when his father supplied Linton with pigeons for the nightly raids. One of his jobs was to water the pigeons before they were collected by the RAF. He gave Sam his last drink on the day of his accident.

The last drink he would ever sip through his little beak before the nasty Hun mutilated him.

Mr Wood said:

"My father was asked to supply around 24 pigeons when a raid was on. He would ask fellow fanciers at the St Lawrence's Working Men's Club just off Hull Road in York and when he had gathered two dozen birds an RAF flat back truck was sent to collect them.

Sterling war work. If only we had more pigeons like Sam and more small boys like Harold then perhaps we'd still have an empire.

"I was upset when I heard that Sam had been injured but remember thinking that even while they were busy patching up airmen who had been shot, they still had time to care for a poor bird."

It's what made Britain great, you know. But hold on: tear jerker on the horizon:

In a trip down memory lane, Mr Wood was united with Sam's original box which for the first time since the war is back at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, complete with the hole made by the shrapnel that took the pigeon's beak.

That bloody shrapnel!

During the Thousand Bomber raids of 1943, many of the destroyed aircraft also took with them a brace of fine racing pigeons which, like the crew, were trapped and unable to escape.

The brave exploits of the war's feathered flyers has since been documented in the book 'Pigeons in World War II'. Sam's old squadron recently reformed and is now back on flying duties at Linton-on-Ouse.

Available in all good bookshops.

Blogs by idiots

What a joy!

Mary Honeyball has a blog!

Who?

She's a very important Labour MEP who sticks in my memory because I once played volleyball with a solicitors letter she wrote to a friend of mine.

Enjoy.

The crush continues

This I disagree with. Not just for the outragous slurs on the object of my affection, but for this statement:

What does matter, though, is that this so-called intellectual is allowed to strut his stuff on the world stage, desperate to prove he is still a big player, and in the process deeply offend India, one of Britain's staunchest allies.

Which was one of Britain's staunchest allies, perhaps. For, in the process of fully integrating us into the EU machine, our beloved government have been handing over control of that sort of thing to Brussels.

Sorry to bang on about it, but it's true. Why do you think those MEPs were in the Taj Mahal hotel when the fighting was going on?

criminal views

Via The Penguin I see that a Dutch politician is to be tried for his views.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the extremist Freedom Party (PVV), said he was surprised that the Amsterdam Appeals Court is to allow his criminal prosecution for inciting hatred and of discriminating against Muslims by comparing their religion to Nazism.

"Mr Wilders' views constitute a criminal offence. [He] has insulted Islamic worshippers by attacking the symbols of the Islamic faith," the court stated, referring to his comparison of the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

I suspect that Mr Wilders' views are a little too extreme/authoritarian for my liking but, in the same way that I think the BNP should be allowed to exist, I don't see why someone's views are criminal.

Surely criminal would be Mr Wilders smacking a Muslim round the head with an iron bar, rather than comparing a book - when we get down to brass tacks that is what the Koran is - with another book.

I find both deeply abhorrent: Despite having a copy of Hitler's Hefty Tome sitting on my bookshelf for some years I've never managed to get more than a few chapters in even when I was studying the subject in depth. One hardly needs to say that the only sad thing about Hitler committing suicide was that he didn't film it. I am insulted by the views held by some (dare I say many?) Muslims particularly surrounding their treatment of women.

But to decide that the views of one group of people whose opinions cannot be proven and with whom billions of people in the world don't agree with are allowed to be presented whilst insulting them is not is deeply repulsive and dangerous.

It goes without saying that these pronouncements come via a European Court ruling who, by their actions, prove daily that they hate the people who pay their wages. The same beast who have been funding Hamas and who Israel ask to stop Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza.

To ban people voicing their opinions, however insulting and unpleasant you find them, is to mimic the very party to which comparison caused such outrage.

Red Ken: Foot in Mouth Part 1

It's been, what, a couple of days and already Ken Clarke is in the headlines for his apparent diversion away from the Tory leadership:

In comments made in December, less than six weeks before his return to David Cameron's mainly Eurosceptic shadow cabinet, the Europhile Clarke told a conference his party's position on Europe was "silly" and warned that Barack Obama could turn to Germany or France if the UK is too isolationist. He held out the possibility that a desire to get on with Obama may soften his party's Eurosceptism.

Nice. We have a business secretary who thinks that democracy and accountability are 'silly'. No doubt elections are 'a nuisance' too.

Let's have a look at what he said in more detail:

I think the need to be working with Obama will influence my party on Europe. It is still firmly Eurosceptic but it's now moderate, harmless Eurosceptism. It's a bit silly sometimes, like which group do you join in the European parliament, but full-blooded stuff like renegotiating the treaty of accession is as dead as a dodo. We've got lots of ideas on European policy on energy, security, relations with Russia, climate change, all that kind of thing [but] somebody like me is far more relaxed about all that [and if the Tories] get into office the pressure of the American alliance will make them more European."

This Obama stuff is already really fucking tedious. Have the major religions been informed that the Messiah (first, second, take your pick) has returned?

How many people who sat there, eyes glued to their TV screens watching Him and his wife, resplendent in soft furnishings, unaware of his support for the death penalty, for protectionism and big government?

Skipping back to our side of the pond, it's pleasant for someone like me who knows the true nature of the Tories when it comes to the EU actually seeing someone standing up and saying it. Oh, their MEPs do when they're in Brussels, but there's nothing so tedious as seeing a voter putting a cross in the box of a party who has misinformed them about their true views on a topic.

It's also reminded me of something which should concern anyone who hates the CFP; another policy where the Tories were trying to sound eurosceptic without actually informing the British public that to remove Britain from the deal would require either unanimity or withdrawal, the latter being more plausible.

Brussels wants sea anglers to be subject to the disastrous Common Fisheries Policy, imposing quotas on recreational fishermen limiting the number of fish they are allowed to catch. This is the same policy that has crippled British commercial fishing, reducing the number of fishermen 18,600 to 12,700 in a decade.

I don't fish but here's an opportunity for everyone to try stop another industry being fucked over royally by the EU.

Your MEP/colleague will get a vote on it in committee and all will in plenary. The fisheries minster has a vote in the Council of Ministers and there are EU elections coming up in a few months.

If you think that someone should be able to recreationally fish without having to license a boat or fill in endless quota forms and regulations then get sign up and get moaning.

It's already suffering because of the EU and it's a genuine opportunity for you to particularly help seaside towns devastated by quotas and those pesky Spanish and French fishermen with their subsidised fuel.

Or, you could not. Maybe shove your thumb up your arse instead.

official announcement from the EU: Bulgaria is not a 'toilet'

Can this EU art nonsense become any more farcical?

The EU Czech presidency has defended its decision to pull a black curtain over the part of its art exhibition that portrays Bulgaria as a toilet.

The huge three-dimensional "Entropa" mosaic, which hangs over the entrance to the main EU Council building, depicts each of the EU's 27 countries using provocative symbols linked to national stereotypes.

Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, protested against being depicted as a squat toilet.

A black cloth appeared on Monday night to cover up the Bulgarian section of Entropa.

Given it was an installation depicting national stereotypes, quite frankly I think Bulgaria got off lightly. What would it have preferred? A depiction of a mafia murder

"We have covered the part devoted to Bulgaria at the request of its foreign ministry," Czech presidency spokesman Jan Vytopil told this website on Wednesday.

“It is not a question of censorship or an attack on artistic freedom. On the contrary, it is because we support such freedoms that we allowed the exhibition in the first place. Hopefully, this will be the end of the matter.”

But I wouldn't want you to think that this was in any way a signal that the EU is either entirely lacking in sense of humour or censors art.

"We have covered the part devoted to Bulgaria at the request of its foreign ministry," Czech presidency spokesman Jan Vytopil told this website on Wednesday.

No, really, it's not censorship:

“It is not a question of censorship or an attack on artistic freedom. On the contrary, it is because we support such freedoms that we allowed the exhibition in the first place. Hopefully, this will be the end of the matter.”

You see! You're lucky it happened in the first place and for that you should be grateful.

Save Dave: the return

Via that wicked, mean clown I see that my beloved needs me again.

Not content with casting him aside following his secret, coded gesture to me via the medium of fruit it now appears that they are attacking him for saying that his trip to India was 'a disaster'.

After ruining his chance of the Labour leadership by gurning at the cameras while brandishing a banana, the Foreign Secretary's visit to India last week was labelled a "disaster" by the country's leading politicians.

He was accused of being "aggressive in tone and manner" in a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and dismissed as a "young man" by senior officials.

Well, as far as Iraq goes, young Dave was right. I am not against the war in Afghanistan insomuch as I think it's legal, but can we win it? It's the modern day Northern Ireland.

And to be frank, when isn't a good time to bash George Bush?

But no, it seems that young David has shown once again that what he needs is the loving care of a woman. Someone who will guide him by the hand, steer him away from sleeping on the floor of mud huts and gently nudging him in the direction of the bridal suite.

Your time will come, my sweet. Once Gordon Brown has gone...

the comeback Ken

So, Ken Clarke is back on the Tory front bench and thus the business portfolio becomes the hot bed for the dripping wet.

I guess there will be people out there who think that Ken Clarke’s federalist views on the EU are irrelevant in such a position, but those people merely highlight how little they know about the EU with such statements.

The Vice-President of the European Commission remarked that EU regulation costs countries about 4% of member state's GDP which in the UK did equal about £66bn. If that’s ‘nothing to do with the EU’ then what is?

Clarke – who stood unsuccessfully for the Tory leadership three times – said his pro-European views were "well-known".

"But I accept that the party has come to a settled view on European matters, and I will not oppose the direction David [Cameron, the Tory party leader] will set on European policies in the future," he added.

Settled in the sense that they are pro EU, don't want to leave it so we can govern ourselves and also fail to understand how detrimental it is to our country. After all, David Cameron did say that the UK would lose 3 1/2 million jobs overnight should we chose to govern ourselves. Granted, this is probably less now but the fact that Clarke is joining these group of people is not as terribly exciting as having an economic dumbass leading it.

Whilst this is clearly an opportunity for parties such as UKIP to highlight, particularly in the forthcoming June elections, the huge difference between them and the Tory party I can imagine most of their work being done for them by the Labour Party. After all, there are fools such as the Europe Minister Caroline Flint who think that the answer to our current economic woes would be to relinquish control over yet another area of policy by joining the euro, a policy also shared by Ken.

Whilst he may say that he's going to tow the party line, hearing him attack such a suggestion would be ridiculous.

But really, you can shuffle a pack of cards as many times as you like, but you still end up with a pack of cards. Occasionally it just has a Queen at the top of it, sometimes a nave. Rarely, an ace.

Britblog roundup No. 205: fasten your seatbelts

So. Britblog Initiation over and I can honestly say I had no idea there were so many imaginative uses for a jar of gherkins. My first ever round up has, I am glad to say, happened in a week where little blogging fingers were busy on keyboards.

Big news of the week was the decision over the third runway at Heathrow and the environmental protests. Diamond Geezer has kindly come up with a list of why this is a jolly good idea. Even if I'd been against the proposal in the first place, (which I wasn't) news that:

No kittens will be harmed in the building of this new airport extension.

Would have sold it to me.

Someone who will probably remain unconvinced is Sian Berry, also joined in that view by Peter Cranie, David Boyle and Natalie Bennett, who also has a tale on dolphins.

Some MPs did not take the news too well but Trixy is blushing as she writes to say that initially she thought that John McDonnell had run around the chamber with mace rather than the ceremonial object. Perhaps to fend of any unwanted [are there any other kind - Ed?] advances of John Prescott?

Following in the wake of this decision was one which caused rather more anger amongst bloggers with the blogging world's answer to Quentin Letts encouraging all of us to keep this story alive. Naturally, an opportunity to MP-bash was not ignored and disapproval was noted.

So, the fighting in Gaza still goes on and Charles Crawford gives us his take on it. As does another man close to my heart, our own Foreign Secretary although this time he's sadly without his banana and sexually enticing grin. Over in Witney, David (not that one) gives us his view on the speech. Personally, I think you're all being very mean.

Now that we've sorted out international politics it's time to waddle over to One Man Blogs who has something to say on those who are a bit porky. He's backed up in his views by Misssy M, who is, it appears, rather svelte and joyfully unsympathetic to those people who choose to eat 50 meals a day. I exaggerate and she explains it much better than I.

Winging our way over to pay a flying visit to a bird who only appears to eat fag butts at major railway stations, it seems that the pigeons in Vancouver are having a good time. Perhaps they don't have the fear of Kung Fu squirrels to contend with, unlike our own domestic breed.

Continuing on the theme of the flying rats, over at On an Overgrown Path there are some rather better behaved ones and some pretty statues.

Someone who isn't having such a good time is Penny Red who is somewhat angry at those new bailiff laws which seem to have caused the death of a 78 year old retired pub landlord.

Sticking with the laydeez, the F Word debates the bill currently going through Parliament regarding 'provocation' in murder cases.

Now over to someone who definitely isn't a feminist, Jackart points us in the direction of the Coroners and Death Certification Bill which, he points out, has serious implications if you're a Brazilian electrician. And, I would like to point out, if you die in a combat zone.

Poliblog Perspective points us in the direction of online archives for political election material which allows us to indulge in the perplexing question of whether we want 'a socialist MP for Crosby, Formby and Maghull'?

Sadly for me (for I am not the biggest fan of Shirley Williams,) yes was the answer...

On the subject of left wing ladies past their prime, The Devil returns to his favourite hobby of informing Polly that she is wrong. Again.

Meanwhile his kitchen mate, The Filthy Smoker brings another charity to our attention: one which appears to have a chap at the helm still in 'elementary economics' lessons.

Those of you looking for a cultural trip for the credit crunch could do worse than follow the advice of Philip Wilkinson who has been to visit the Rollright Stones and tells us a wee bit about them.

The Daily Maybe reports on yet more of your money being wasted, this time in the study of ring fingers. Still, it makes a change from people 'working' in quangos sitting there with their thumbs up their own arses.

And finally, thank you very much to Falco for sending me this post containing a picture sadly similar to a childhood pet. Oh - I'm one of those veggies you mentioned...

Well, there we go; Trixy's first round up is over. Next week we're all over to Mick Fealty's for tea.

As usual, send in your nominations to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com



Until then: keeping dancing blogging!

economics for dummies

I am indebted to The Filthy Smoker for bringing this story and this man to my attention:

Martin Barnes, CEO of DrugScope, (salary £70,000 p/a) shows the kids of today why being shit at economics is no reason not to a) earn a large salary or b) pretend you know about economics.

"The very fact that the price is falling shows how popular it is becoming."

The topic under discussion here is this alleged spiraling rise in the use of Ketamine, for which I will stick with what FS said regarding it's use:

Ketamine is a silly drug which tends to turn people into gibbering window-lickers. The drooling and the eye-rolling are temporary, I grant you, but it's not for me.

But in this situation, it could as well be the guns, butter, cloth or wine so regularly used in economics questions.

I'm going to have to read that comment by Mr Barnes again, just to make sure I haven't got it wrong:

The very fact that the price is falling shows how popular it is becoming.

It's followed on with:

"The fall in price does suggest that the people who are selling the stuff have no problems getting hold of it."

As FS has covered the tiny percentages being discussed here by a 'charity' which is in the pay of the government and also has a vested interest in making people believe there is a problem with drugs and thus a need for Mr Barnes to be paid a considerable amount, I've no need to go there.

But what I would like to point out is that Mr Barnes appears to have his Demand and Supply curves the wrong way around.

Demand is the amount of a good that buyers are willing and able to purchase at different prices:

Supply is the amount producers are willing to supply at different prices:


We find the equilibrium in a competitive market at the point they cross. Easy.

When the price of a product falls, the quantity demanded is greater (i.e a move along the demand curve with no corresponding change in supply). Out of equilibrium, of course, the lower price means that supplies produce less at that value of P and there is a demand deficit.



If demand increases, i.e a shift in the demand curve outwards then both Price and Quantity increase.


In this case of the price of Ketamine dropping by a third this to me represents either:
a) A drop in demand or
b) An increase in Supply with no corresponding increase in demand or a less than proportionate increase in demand.

Either way, unless Ketamine is a Giffen good (potatoes or value food items being the usual examples) with an upward sloping demand curve, I don't know why an increase in demand would push the price down.

If we go back to Mr Barnes' comment regarding supply we could point to point b. Given his lack of understanding of economics, however, I wouldn't trust DrugScoper to actually have any empirical evidence for this. Certainly, with Ketamine being illegal, there is no register of dealers except possibly with some nice policemen at the Vice Squad or whatever we're calling them these days. (I could actually ask one of them actually as I seem to recall a neighbour being a drug rozzer or similar).

Could it be the case that supply has increased after the drug has been made illegal? Surely the good people of Britain would not be more inclined to take something once it has been officially classed as 'forbidden'?

Either way, what seems to be the outcome - in my mind at least - of this little trip down memory lane back to the first few weeks of my economics A Level (quickly covered in one lecture during my economics degree) is that
i) I'm a better economist than Martin Barnes and
ii) DrugScope should not be in receipt of public money as they're quite clearly a waste of oxygen.

Hateful woman makes unsurprising decision

Just down the road from the Palace of Westminster is Charing Cross, the site of a pillory which, given the news from the hateful Harriet Harman, embarrassment to every woman alive, should be brought back.

From Mr E:

And so it is today. While all this Heathrow shit goes on, and the moronic John McDonnell channels the spirit of Ron Brown, MPs are quietly refilling the gravy boat...And in order to prevent us from seeing receipts for what they buy, the Freedom of Information Act must be altered - for precisely which purpose the egregious Jack Straw has today laid a Statutory Instrument before the Commons.

Bit back of the queue, these MPs.

Why they think that they should be able to spend our - OUR - money on their fucking second homes and not tell us how they choose to spend that money is cause for serious protest. Of the rioting kind.

I have to keep my tax receipts for seven years so that if someone at HMRC decide to investigate my self assessment return, I have to show them the proof. That's fair enough; they are trusting me to stick to the laws and yet the people who make those same laws can't see the irony. Or maybe they can and they just don't care.

But of course it's another point in sadly a huge list of why we cannot trust those who choose to govern us. I wonder, did the government ask Mr McDonnell to run around like a retarded child trying to play 'splat the rat' to cause yet another diversion from this insult to every man, woman and child in this country?

It's not good enough and they must not be allowed to get away with it. Alas, the MSM seem only interested in making a deal out of personal scandals and when a general policy change comes into play they quickly lose interest.

The fact that, despite all those calls for changes, the Labour government choose to once again shit on the faces of the electorate, should be a huge, neon, flashing sign to in the sky that they must go.

Democracy can't last with this shower for much longer.

They eat horses

The animal fanatics, of which I am not one despite being a vegetarian, think that the EU is an absolutely wonderful idea because occasionally they decide to support a parliament resolution saying that such and such is bad.

And yet it's much EU regulation, including REACh for which there aren't enough rats in the European Commission on which to carry out the unnecessary animal testing, which causes additional distress to animals.

Not that they'll fucking listen. Some militant 'animal rights' wonk probably believes what the Pro EU politicians tell them. It's easier for them than to admit they're wrong.

Put the grill on, Alun

'Get involved, Get Engaged, Get a free chicken tikka masala'

It seems that Sir Dai Llewellyn wasn’t too far off when he joked about the Welsh Assembly debating paperclips.

Wales has been changing recently in the way that decisions, that affect the daily lives of you and your family, are being made.
Join us for a curry and tell us how you think Wales should work in the future.

To my deep misery and distress, the only person in the world who could could make the Welsh Assembly elections interesting has passed away.

He had been ill since August and eventually became "riddled" with cancer, although still, to his eternal credit, enjoyed a glass of red wine and a cigarette.

The obituaries have been full of his wonderful anecdotes, but I shall remember him as the man I had to drag giggling out of pubs at 10 in the morning on the campaign trail, the man who joyfully told journalists that the Welsh Assembly, to which he was hoping to be elected was:

"a joke, a costly talking shop where nothing happens other than discussions on which extensive new building might house the members' farcical antics".

And the man who was always happy, always smiling and always bringing joy to those around him, particularly on summer evenings in London casinos, mimicking Welsh accents .
Tidy.



Death hits one when you realise that you only have the memories left. Thankfully with Dai, I have enough to keep me laughing for years.

Warning: prone to meltdown

informed, intellectual debate on Prince Charles 'scandal'

argh!
Fuck Off. Fuck Off. Fuck Off. Fuck Off. Fuck Off. Fuck Off. Fuck Off. Fuck Off.

Give it a fucking rest. Please.

Terminally stupid at terminal 1

Not that you'd know from the news coverage, but there are some people outside of the Cabinet who are in favour of a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow.

The reason I am in favour is pretty straight forward: I want the UK to remain a najor business nation.

It goes something like this: Heathrow is a hub. People fly in from all over the world and connect with flights to other countries. A few can go by rail if they are coming to the UK but most are going to other countries. The 3rd runway is for smaller aircraft and will serve European destinations. People flying in from say Ottawa, who have to change at their hub in Toronto, cannot fly to many European destinations and need a hub such as Heathrow or Frankfurt. They can then fly from Heathrow or Frankfurt to Athens, Turkey, Spain etc. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp.

Alas, Tory MP for Putney Justine Greening hasn't managed to do that. The silly girl is playing around with the watermelons from Plane Stupid.

To compare it to other things that we have to put up with on a day to day basis, I will use the words a reader has sent me:

I live under the flight path of planes taking off from Heathrow and it matters not one jot. Better a hundred aircraft that a couple of Blair’s feral youths screaming inanities in the street outside.

Well, quite.

He continues:

...to see a Conservative MP associating with plane stupid is bad enough, but they are just a transient mob of second rate university children enjoying themselves.

The Green Lobby are known as watermelons for a simple reason: They might be green on the outside but on the inside they're as red as socialist blood. They're the kind of people who are opposed to nuclear power meaning that as a country we're now reliant on oil and gas supplies from unstable countries such as Russia. One only needs to ask a Ukrainan how they feel on that particular issue to understand that it's not the most desirable situation to be in. France, on the other hand, don't have that trouble. They produce lots of energy from nuclear and no one talks about that disaster at the French nuclear power station for the simple reason that there hasn't been one. Comparing Chernobyl to a modern nuclear facility is like comparing an SLK to a Lada.

But Plane Stupid and their ilk, grasping their sociology degree certificates, don't like to trouble themselves with things like reality. Their parents have always ensured that they have a nice, warm place to live with heating and lighting and plugs for their slo cookers.

They and their celebrity supporters haven't got as far as thinking that in a recession, the tens of thousands of people who work at Heathrow might like to continue having a job and being able to pay the steadily rising (thanks, green lobby) energy bills.

They'd rather prance around Terminal 1, being terminally ignorant and getting in the way of people who have jobs to do and lives to live, minus a fucking beany hat and a dish of lentils.

Fuck off. Get a haircut. Get and job and stop trying to drag us back to the stone age. Or the 1950s.


http://www.planestupid.com/?q=node&page=13&location=reasons

Nice work if you can get it

Another excellent post by the dashing Mr Waterfield with yet another example of why Vaclav Klaus is a million times better at looking after the interests of his country than Gordon Brown could even imagine. This time, it's through art:

The Czech Republic, current holders of the EU presidency, has commissioned a large scale "provocation" taking the form of a giant jigsaw map representing the "clichés and stereotypes" of each of the EU's 27 member states, executed by different national artists...As a Czech just told me: "We decided we preferred a piece of work by independent artists rather a euro decoration designed by a committee.

That ridiculous '50 years' monstrosity, which didn't actually make sense in any language, springs to mind. A technicolour stream of vomit which also was either a year out of date (Astrid Lulling tells me that actually there were sittings before 1957) or about 45 years out of date as 10 countries joined in 2004 and 2 in 2007. But hey, this is the EU. We don't like to let facts get in the way of our master plan.


What struck me about the whole 'sculpture thing' apart from the rather predictable way the slightly-more-dull-than-death Eurocrats reacted was that the British artist seemed to do rather well out of the whole project:

Britain is not to be seen at all because the British artist Khalid Asadi has sought to highlight Britain's "uncertain" relations with the EU by cutting the country out altogether.

Which says to me, if you'll forgive me slipping into the Anglo Saxon vernacular, as 'fuck all'.

I wonder if he got paid? Makes Tracy Emin's 'My Bed' look like a hard slog to get the piece finished.

Back to Oxygen Thieves:

Po-faced EU officials have instantly expressed concern.

"This is very provocative for an official building and does not seem to have been properly discussed in the appropriate forum," said one official.

"This might all be very 'fun' for some people but shocking art is not going to help get things done," said another hissy official.

I think they're missing the point. Take another look at the installation.

Did you see? The potential? Those big, strong bars, heavy enough to ensure gravity keeps it steady?

Steady just in case one gets just a little too tired of being ignored by people who get paid millions of euros a year just to ignore you?

As day follows night

Reading stories like this makes me worry about our future politicians.

Mr Lewis, who is believed to studying in London, told friends on the Facebook website that he planned to attend a party dressed as Madeleine McCann.

He said his costume would include "pink pyjamas, a teddy bear and a vial of fake blood".

After the party, Mr Lewis used the website to tell another Conservative Future member that "there was a brief moment when I thought I might have gone too far with elements of the costume but it was OK".

Not, I hope you realise, dear readers, because I am a prude. Far from. I giggled seductively when a friend in Brussels went to a fancy dress party as a paedophile by turning up with a bag of sweets. No, it's because the wee mites have so much still to learn when it comes to not being a complete fool in the eyes of the general public.

Given the British public's adoration for an ourpouring of faux grief over someone they've never met (See 'Princess of Wales' for another example) it was hardly likely to be a clever move by Mr Lewis who, given his former position in Conservative Future, probably wanted to be an MP by the time he was 27, like so many who went before.

And then I remember the politicians we have now, and I realise that nature is just running it's course and ensuring that the politicians of tomorrow will be no better or worse than the politicians of today.

It's just a shame that they're supposed to be in charge.

media in fake outrage shocker

Oh jesus. This should not be news. It's a terrible slur on our society that this is considered worthy of such blanket coverage.

I notice that the News of the World call this video 'an outburst'. It's not, is it. It's a matey video taken by Mr Wales which clearly is considered entertaining by the others around him.

Raghead, for example, is a term I have heard used by the higher echelons of our military organisations. It's a term used to describe, amongst others, members of the Taliban. You know, the ones that they're going to fight and kill? The ones who kill their friends? Them. It's not exactly likely that they're going to think too fondly of a group of people intent on killing them, their colleagues, friends, maybe family and who want to destroy our way of life. I don't and I can't imagine that the News of the World and other papers really think that members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces should go to combat zones with the intention of making friends with the other side.

How saying "fuck me, you look like a rag head" is pouring shame on the royal family I don't know. Particularly coming from a newspaper whose Royal editor was banged up for illegally bugging Prince William's telephone. What's more shaming, we ask ourselves. Being a bent journalist or going to the front line and fighting for your country?

Perhaps we should ask Andy Coulsen, the man who resigned as Editor of the News of the World over the scandal. Or we could have a look and see what Andy's new boss, David Cameron has to say over the whole incident. It is, he thinks:

"a completely unacceptable thing to say"

So there we go. Call me Dave has spoken. As have lots of other politicians who would probably last 30 seconds on the front line and endanger the lives of other men.

Remember what happened the last time an MP spoke out about army life? One who actually had military experience and knew what he was talking about?

In his interview with the Times, Mr Mercer said of the black men he had known in the Army: "They prospered inside my regiment, but if you'd said to them 'Have you ever been called a nigger,' they would have said 'Yes.'

"But equally, a chap with red hair, for example, would also get a hard time - a far harder time than a black man, in fact."

He was fired. They don't like it up 'em, as it were.

The news from The Army is that it's going to be 'dealt with in line with normal army procedures'. I do hope that means they're going to ignore it and let him get on with his job. Because, truth be known, if it were any other soldier then it would be 'news' would it. It's not even news to the people it involves directly as they were around at the time it was filmed. I am sure that Ahmed Raza Khan had been called 'A paki' many times before and if he didn't complain about it then why are the Islington elite jumping up and down? PAK is the abbreviation for Pakistan in international circles, including at the MoD. Rather like GBR is for Great Britain, or 'Brit's for British people.

I suspect it's because the usual crowd of Islingtonites who've no fucking clue when it comes to the Military but are hell bent on imposing their views and their lifestyle choices on everyone else from the comfort of their own sitting room. The kind of people who one could never imagine really suffering in their life, bar a run on the Olive bar at Waitrose leaving them caught short for when Hortensia and Hugo pop round for drinks and kitchen sups.

The kind of people who don't wear a poppy during November because they are 'against war' but relishing in the freedom of speech that millions of men and women died so that they can enjoy.

Military life is not like civilian life. They choose to have some of their civil liberties curtailed and put their lives on the line and consequently life is just a bit different for them. And it's not for us to judge.

But fuck me, I wish I could join them.

UPDATE: Look here for some decent debate sadly missing from our TV screens.

Poll to Poll

From The Telegraph today I see that UKIP are at 7% in the polls prior to the European Election campaign, above their tally this time in 2004.

The survey – released exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph – also spells out the threat posed to the Tories by the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in elections to the European Parliament which take place on 4 June. Ten per cent of those who would vote Tory in a general election will back UKIP in the euro-election, the survey suggests.

That is because, I imagine, the Tories are wetter than a fish's wet bits when it comes to the EU and actually think that 3.5 million jobs would go if we decided to govern ourselves. That is nothing short of criminal from a party who will probably be in government from the next General Election. Such a level of economic incompetence should only be seen from a socialist government.

Overall, 16 per cent of voters want Britain simply to withdraw from the EU, while 48 per cent would like to see a much looser relationship, with the government taking back powers from Brussels and ending the supremacy of the European Court of Justice over British law.

Added together this makes 64 per cent in favour of weakening Britain's ties with the EU, compared with just 22 per cent in favour of keeping the UK's current full membership including the Lisbon Treaty, which was passed by parliament without a referendum. cialist leadership such as the one we have now.

If one takes into consideration that the campaign hasn't started running yet, this looks positive for withdrawalist parties.

In that time it is, for example, possible for voters in the South West in particular to realise that the Liberal Democrats are rampantly pro EU, regardless of what they say to people in Devon and Cornwall on their doorsteps. THEY WANT MORE OF IT, LOVE.

One just has to hope that people won't fall for the Tory line that they are in any way interested in protecting Britain's interests in the world, for such a line is impossible when one considers that they want to remain part of the socialist political union.

If more people were aware that the EU is a case of in and accept what we want (in this case, the Lisbon Constitution) or out and govern ourselves then I would think that the numbers voting for UKIP would be higher.

In any case, an election with proportional representation which elects people with very little power is rather a good opportunity to let the 'Incompetent Three' to know your views on the EU. Yes, it's something they want to push under the carpet in much the same way as an impotent man doesn't like to shout about his problem.

Regardless of what they want, it's an opportunity for you to tell them what you want and hit them where it hurts: in the wallet.

Every seat the Lib Dems, Labour, Tories or Greens lose is money lost to the EU propaganda budget because all their political groups are in favour of the Constitution and allocate budget accordingly.

raining cats and dogs

Such a cute story from The Telegraph.

I wish I could take my cat into the office. However, this:

Joerg Kachelmann was just about to start telling the Fatherland to wrap-up warm on the coldest night of the year when a shadow with an extended tail passed by the bottom of the screen.

Did make me raise my non-botoxed eyebrows half an inch or so. I didn't think they still referred to their fully EU integrated left wing manufacturing paradise as that anymore. Not since that crappy book, anyway.

GoddersVision

A politician with real life experience not talking out of his arse.

Occasionally giving speeches whilst drunk, but still making more sense than most when they're sober...

The dangers of leaving things to the markets

Or, in this case, the weather.

It would appear from this e-mail sent to European Parliament staff that the reason people are cold in their offices is not because of central heating, but because Mother Nature has not approved a European Union Regulation allowing them to control the weather:

NOTICE TO STAFF
Due to the current exceptionally low external temperatures, the temperature of certain areas of the offices in Brussels is relatively low, particularly in the early morning. This situation has been brought to the attention of the Brussels Property Management Service which is doing everything in its power to ensure the best working conditions.

Until normal weather conditions prevail, we apologise for any discomfort.

The "Dispatching" service in Brussels (Tel: 44000 or e-mail: dispatching-bat-bru@europarl.europa.eu ) is at your service for any requests for intervention.

Thank you for your understanding.

Directorate-General for Infrastructure and

Storm in a tea cup or really irritating amounts of hypocrisy?

So, after seeing my latest shoe-polisher being accused most vociferously by Old Holborn and many others of providing a link to information that exposed his family to risk and all sorts of other evil, I found this post on the forum in question, by Barnsley Bill:

deadb0y wrote:
Sadly OH the amount of people visiting ones website really REALLY isn't a mark of how popular you!

Old Holborn wrote:
All I'm doing is pushing boundaries.

You are sooooooo full of shit. In this year 2008 there is nothing N O T H I N G anyone can do that has not been done before!

fuck me, I have stumbled across the biggest collection of envious twats on the entire interweb.. you clowns may have noticed he has a link to this place on his blog (as do I).. It drives traffic and should create an opportunity for you all to practice your miserable onanism on new meat..

So, it was somehow it was OK for Old Holborn to provide a link on his blog to information that could identify him, which is how Barnsley Bill found the site, but it was not OK for darling/cursed Obnoxio to post a similar link anywhere else?

On the same topic, I am amused at the outpouring of concern regarding this storm in a tea cup (I call it that, if someone had accused me of the things Obo has been I would be talking to my solicitor) which has appeared on the LPUK forum.

A reader e-mailed me with a quotation from he says is from the forum (I am not a member of the LPUK or, indeed, any political party so I can't confirm or deny)

I think this should be referred to the Judicial Committee to look into. I'm not taking any sides here - I wasn't even aware of this spat until yesterday - but Obo has (rightly or wrongly) been accused of harassment, and we need to make it clear that we expect our members to behave in a responsible way. If Obo is cleared of wrongdoing, that's fine. The issue will have been resolved. But as the LP becomes more prominent, there's a pretty good chance that our opponents will use this stupid little flame war to try to discredit us - possibly years from now. If that happens, it will be best if we can show that the issue was properly dealt with at the time, so we look like a proper organised political party and not a mob.

If Obnoxio the Clown is indeed a member, I agree, I'm making a formal complaint to the JC if you, Darios, or anyone else would like to back me up. I think, on balance, he'll be cleared, but that's for the JC to decide.

If this is indeed the case, then it does strike me as ironic that a political party established because of the perceived void in British politics these days contains members who are so quick to judge and have one of their own hauled up in front of the inner sanctum based on an accusation which has been disproved.

I often get the impression that Libertarianism is something people wish they were, rather than actually are, and in today's politics it's certainly trendy.

Having said all that, I can imagine the suitably pithy reponse which our own dear Devil would have met such calls with, and I understand it was a feeling shared by the party chairman.

So well done, chaps, in not falling for mistakes often made by young political parties in feeling that 'something must be done'. No one said it was going to be easy and having had experience of how such issues in smaller political parties seem blown out of all proportion you have my sympathy.

The thin end of the wedge

This story is, as the title of this post might suggest, the thin end of the wedge.

From March all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will by law have to keep information about every e-mail sent or received in the UK for a year.

The government will pay the ISPs more than £25m to ensure work runs smoothly.

The Home Office insists the data, which does not include e-mails' content, is vital for crime and terror inquiries.

Currently it won't include e-mail content. But considering the discussions politicians have been having recently with regards to the internet I cannot see it being long before there's a new department somewhere in the Home Office monitoring everything we write.

Dr Richard Clayton, a security researcher at the University of Cambridge's computer lab said the money could have been better spent...There are much better things to do to spend our billions on than snooping on everybody in the country just on the off chance that they're a criminal.

I couldn't agree more. However, because this stems from the EU - where else? - what I, or you, or anyone else who isn't a pro EU MEP thinks is, alas, irrelevant.

This really has nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with the removal of our civil liberties, in this case for us to communicate with people without a group of incompetents sticking their noses into our private - shall I write that again - PRIVATE communications.

The new rules are due to come into force on 15 March, as part of a European Commission directive which could affect every ISP in the country.

That must have hurt. The media in this country actually admitting that much of our draconian legislation comes from the EU. They didn't write the directive number down, though. It's the EU Data Retention Directive, 2006/24/EC

The consultation process is due to open this year. I do hope lots of people tell the government where to go, but of course that is pretty irrelevant if the main basis of the law stems from the EU where the law makers are civil servants who are unelected and unaccountable to the people of this country.

US porn industry requests precautionary financing

this story would have had me choking on my cornflakes this morning, should I eat cornflakes for breakfast.

Porn baron Larry Flynt is seeking a $5 billion bailout from Washington to rejuvenate the industry, which he says is suffering because of the economic downturn.

The Hustler magazine founder has teamed up with fellow adult entertainment mogul Joe Francis, creator of the Girls Gone Wild video series, to approach Congress for the same kind of financial assistance recently approved for car manufacturers.

The pair have asked the 111th Congress, which convened on Tuesday with the economy at the top of its agenda, "to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America" with a bailout.

Perhaps they should also include the CEO of tissue manufacturers when they make their presentation, too?

"Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses, (and) we feel we deserve the same consideration," Francis said in a statement.

Without wishing to pour scorn on the work of Mr Francis and his elegant and sophisticated ladies, I think the key points to the whole financial bailout are the words 'most important businesses'. Whilst recreational activity is certainly important in ensuring a healthy work/life balance I'm not convinced that Mr Flynt and Mr Francis are entirely necessary in assisting that. I've never encountered the phrase (and nor do I want to) "we can't tonight, darling, the DVD player's not working."

"In difficult economic times, Americans turn to entertainment for relief. More and more, the kind of entertainment they turn to is adult entertainment."

Don't forget that nanny told you it would make you blind, though.

In an interview with entertainment news website TMZ, Francis admitted the move was more of a "precautionary measure" than an emergency rescue, "but as long as the government is handing out money, we want to be there to take it."

Financial contraception, if you will.

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind," Flynt said in a statement. People were "too depressed to be sexually active", which was "very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such, but they cannot do without sex." He said the only way Congress could "rejuvenate" America's sexual appetite was "by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."

Yeah, am still not convinced. Unlike, say, a penis, porn is not a necessary requirement of sexual intercourse. It's especially not for most women particularly when the make up and shoes worn in the films are so dated and unfashionable.

There's also the real possibility that people are economising and perhaps watching their favourite porn flick on more than one occasion.

Bad luck for Mr Flynt and his 'ladies' and moustachioed men, but the global economic downturn affects us all. It's the word 'global' in that phrase which might just give that point away.

There was no response from Congress to the request.

Presumably from the advice of a press officer.

The writing's on the wall...

Or, the snow in this case.



In the federal republic of the European Union, writing in the snow is forbidden. And don't you forget it.

Still, only a few months to go until you can tell them where to go.

Google Earth

I am probably a sick puppy for thinking this, but in my defence I was at the gym relentlessly, tediously exercising.

I was just wondering how often Google Earth update and if they're going to wait until the ceasefire is declared before updating the Middle East...

It's money saving to wait, I think, and we are in a global economic downturn. Or 'fucked' in common parlance.

fighting 5 year olds

27

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

hell, yeah. And that's on a bad, non PMT day minus heels.

click of the heels to Mr E who clearly has too much time on his hands

Windpower: it won't work

Trixy was a wee bit cold and grumpy yesterday and having a chat with one of her pals. It was noted that during this rather fucking cold snap, with no wind, it was just as well we weren't entirely reliant on wind power as, during the peak energy demand, there would be negligible supply.

Well, one of Trixy's pals decided he was going to take a film to demonstrate this point.


Do pass it on, particularly to your friends and neighbours who vote Labour, Lib Dem, Tory and Green because they're all in favour of these binding EU targets on renewable energy.

15% by 2020 the EU have dictated, and yet in 2005 the amount of energy the UK produced through renewable energy was 1.3%.

Bet go buy that jumper.

quotation of the day

Ian Davidson, MP for Glasgow South West speaking about this story on the Today programme said "It's not like he's Jock McTitian..."

I'd like to think that when he said not many people have heard of Titian that he was wrong, but given the 'They've made Little Dorrit into a book, innit' comment I wouldn't be so sure.

Jonathan has a brand spanking new lap top and guess what he's written on it

Labour Party European Election manifesto 2009

Will be rather similar to this document I am currently reading. It's the PES (Socialist group in the European Parliament) pan EU manifesto which is, of course, where the Labour Party sit. All countries represented in the PES (27 as it happens) have signed up to it.

Now, given that the Labour Party have a problem with telling the truth, I don't expect them to be entirely honest in their pledges and promises to the people of this country when they ask us to vote for them. After all, they have admitted in court that we can't believe a word they say in their manifestos.

But this is a document to which their MEPs have signed up to, according to a friend of mine who was at their conference late last year, and such what they will really be doing in the European Parliament when your back is turned.

Because I'm lovely, I shall summarise it for you, for unless you have a severe case of insomnia it's not a good document to drag yourself through.

1. _{Relaunching the economy and preventing new financial crises}


2. _{New Social Europe - giving people a fairer deal}


3. _{Transforming Europe into the leading global force against climate change}


4. _{Championing gender equality in Europe}


5. _{Developing and effective European migration policy}


6. _{Enhancing Europe's role as a partner for peace, security and development}

At the basis of all of this is the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

1. Relaunching the economy and preventing new financial crises
The socialists appear to be labouring under the misapprehension that the 'response' to the 'global financial crisis' had anything to do with the European Union. Reading this section is rather like listening to someone play a piece and knowing they're doing so in the wrong key. And on the wrong instrument.

I quote:

The euro has played a very effective role in protecting European economies [I know, and we're only just at the beginning] in the context of the global financial crisis. More must be done now simultaneously to reform the financial markets, counteract the recession and relaunch the economy to create new growth and jobs.

The threat of catastrophic climate change is also growing: if we do not act now, it will further damage the planet and directly affect our lives. We are convinced that fighting climate change can transform the European economy and create new smart green growth, jobs and prosperity for everyone in Europe...

The European budget should be refocused on smart green growth [an oxymoron, surely?] and meeting future challenges. Because it is a budget of solidarity, it should serve to improve living standards and foster social cohesion and growth through Europe as well as supporting convergence of the least-developed EU regions, not least in the new member states.

Right, so less of your own money after the government has taxed you to buggery, more tax on cars, going on holiday, more power to the trade unions and millions of windmills all connected up to a new EU grid so we won't have control of our own energy supply.

I'm still saying no at the moment.

2. New social Europe - giving people a fairer deal
Now, I wouldn't want you to think that in this statement, giving people a fairer deal means they should be allowed access to democracy. Oh no. The PES are still very much against referendums and listening to the outcomes of the ones they can't stop if they don't like the answer.

...We want to build a new social Europe together with the social partners, working particularly closely with the trade unions, who share our commitment to putting people first. [Unless they own a company or aren't a net beneficiary of the welfare state - Trixy]

...
13. We propose to seek agreement on a European Social Progress Pact, proposing goals and standards for national social, health and education policy...We demand needs based social welfare benefits for all those who are retired, unemployed or unable to work in all European countries...
15. We propose to establish a European framework for public services, guaranteeing universal and equal access for citizens, quality, local autonomy and transparency in public services...
16...A European pact on wages...minimum wage in all EU member states...
[this sounds particularly worrying]17. We will address the problems related to brain drain created by the migration of highly qualified professionals and skilled workers within Europe...
18.We will act in all EU member states to promise fair tax policies which will guarantee the financing of Europe's welfare states.

And it goes on with an awful lot of shite about collective bargaining, strengthening workers' rights, European Works Councils and ECJ judgements.

But what we can really tell from that is that the Labour Party will be part of a group who want to increase your tax, pay people for not working, remove powers away from democratically elected national governments and bring the day to day minutiae of people's under the control of the EU, including letting people from the EU claim benefits in the UK without paying and using our already crappy public services. Oh, and they might stop you emigrating if they think they can use you in one of their projects. Maybe their space programme?

3. Transforming Europe into the leading global force against climate change

Be in no doubt: As far as the socialists are concerned climate change is all the fault of human beings, particularly ones who drive, and it's just convenient for them that it gives them an argument for more state control over, well, everything.

29. The EU should take the lead in international negotiations to get agreement on a 30% global target for emission reductions by 2020 at the UN summit at the end of 2009. It is our common goal to ensure that all developed and emerging economies, including the US, China and India, should sign up to this...30. We propose to increase EU support for developing countries to fight as well as adapt to climate change...
32. We propose to introduce a comprehensive EU climate directive that would ensure that targets and actions in all those sectors not already covered by existing law - energy, agriculture, food, building and transport - are combined to enable the Union to reach its overall emission target...
33. We propose to develop a European Common Energy Policy...
35....the monitoring of existing and new nuclear power plants should be coordinated at the European level.

Delusions of adequacy, anyone?

Still, no real surprise that the Socialists are resorting to Import Substituting Industrialisation as their trade policies have made it nigh on impossible for developing countries to trade their way out of subsistence farming. Which is presumably what they wanted as they are hardly fans of competition now, the socialists. Where would their beloved trade unions be then?

Our old friend the Common Energy Policy is back: a more stupid idea one can hardly imagine aside from swapping 'being reliant on Russia' for 'Being reliant on Iran' or 'Being reliant on moon cheese' for the bulk of our energy inputs.

The last one should not come as any surprise since there already exists laws on critical infrastructure in the EU which, because of the MoD mainly moaning, removed nuclear power.

Can you imagine what sort of twat thinks that to make infrastructure more secure you need to share the details with 26 other countries, including a couple riddled with the mafia. Socialist MEPs seem to think it's a jolly good idea, but then it's probably a good idea to run away very fast if you ever see a socialist MEP in charge of anything technical, let alone a nuclear power plant.

4. Championing gender equality in Europe

I had to have a few calming breaths on reading these preposterous plans. Harriet Harperson is alive and well in the European Parliament. No woman must be considered competent enough to get on in life without the help of men. Oh no.

(Ladies: here is a photo of the man in charge of leading this campaign for your future equality

Best not to ask what he was doing when that photo was taken. I have it on good authority it was revolting.

Back to the plans:

Women still earn 15% less than men, more likely to be unemployed and they are discouraged from entering the Labour market. Millions of women around the world still face exploitation and rights violations, in the form of human trafficking, domestic violence and other abuses [which would be helped by border checks but they don't like those - Trixy]

There are too few women in politics over half a century after gaining the right to vote and stand for election across Europe...

36. We propose to create a European Women's Rights Charter to improve women's rights and opportunities and to promote mechanisms to achieve gender equality
37. We propose to introduce improved parental leave rights for men and women across European up to the highest standards in Europe.
38.We will campaign for equal political representation of women and men in all devision making bodies at European level. We will campaign for a gender-equal European Commission and a gender-equal European Parliament and will call for the creation of a European Commissioner for Gender Equality...

The insult that this document is for women is staggering but these are people who must think that women are stupid.

Demanding a gender equal parliament shows their attitude towards democracy, though. People shouldn't be allowed to vote for the people they think are the best, they should vote for the people who will tick the right boxes.

Although when the chief accountant of the European Commission was a woman I can't remember the socialist group giving her much support. Indeed, it was the husband of a high profile Labour MEP who sacked her. And he, a socialist himself. Tut, tut, tut.

Apart from that, it's much of the same, really. The eradication of all small businesses to everyone is either employed by the state or by big business which can be controlled by the state and held to ransom by the trade unions.

5. Developing an effective European Migration Policy

45. We propose to establish common standards for legal migration into the European Union...
46. We propose to establish a European Charter for the Integration of Migrants...
47. We propose to step up European efforts to combat illegal migration through a Common External Border Control Policy
48. We are committed to strengthening cooperation with third countries...49. We support the further development of the Common European Asylum System...

Well, we can finally scrub out immigration as a national competence if this lot get their way. Not that there is much left.

6. Enhancing Europe's tole as a partner for peace, security and development

(read: We want an EU common foreign, security and defence policy)

...we believe that Europe needs a stronger common voice in the world to shape a better future for our citizens and the planet. We must work together for peace and partnership, and to eradicate poverty...Strengthening the role of the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security policy will be an important step forward in this respect...
The EU must step up its conflict resolution, peace-keeping and humanitarian efforts in crisis zones...
58. We believe the future of the Western Balkans lies within the EU...we support an open ended-process of negotiations with Turkey towards EU accession...

I spent enough years in the European Parliament to know that these goals are not just desired by the PES. They are the general desires of the federalists.

But this is the group in which the MEPs whose party is currently in government in this country sit. I'll admit that Labour have done an appalling job of governing this country and have only succeeded in running it into the ground. But still, for your own colleagues to think that of you and want to take power away is something else.

There are a huge number of Labour voters out there who are anti the EU. The anti-EU vote is strongest in the Labour heartlands amongst people who don't really pay attention to politics and think that they are still voting for a Labour party of the 1970s. In many ways, they are, but not when it comes to the EU where, let's not forget, the vast majority of our laws stem from.

This, what I have summarised above, is what they really stand for. Further integration and a further step away from a democratically elected parliament.

Chances are, you won't get a chance to vote in a general election in 2010 but you will get a chance not to vote for Labour in the European Elections. They're currently the second largest UK party in the European Parliament, but I bet if more people knew what they actually did over there, they wouldn't be nearly so big.

I'd rather chop of my head than put a cross in their box.