Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Damn Those Media-Savvy Terrorists!
Don't you hate all them adverts on TV for terrorists, telling us how great they are? And don't get me started on the billboards for Bin-Laden's Bombs. And the trouble is, they seem to be working, cos according to the BBC:-
Then again, maybe it's not all the pro-terrorist propeganda that's doing this. Maybe it's all the images of torture by "allied" forces, the bombing of civilians, the fact that Gunatanamo exists, and the lies, half-truths and hyprocisy shown by our leaders that makes people think this might be the case. Maybe they'vo no-one to blame but themselves for their unpopularity?
People across the world overwhelmingly believe the war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks worldwide with only 12% who think terrorist attacks have become less likely. And in most countries, more people think removing Saddam Hussein was a mistake than think it was the right decision.
Then again, maybe it's not all the pro-terrorist propeganda that's doing this. Maybe it's all the images of torture by "allied" forces, the bombing of civilians, the fact that Gunatanamo exists, and the lies, half-truths and hyprocisy shown by our leaders that makes people think this might be the case. Maybe they'vo no-one to blame but themselves for their unpopularity?
Friday, February 24, 2006
Can We Have a Prime Minister..
Who can stand up for Britain? Who puts British interests first? Who is not a poodle to America? Who doesn't hide behind semantics (like "Guantanamo is an 'anomaly'")? Who is elected by more than 1/5th of the population? Who doesn't curb our rights and then say that it's "terrorists" who are attacking democracy? Who doesn't lie?
It's Too Easy To Offend
Hot on the heals of the David Irving case is that of Ken Livingstone, who has been ruled against for comparing Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.
Why is that people (especially where religon is concerned) are so easy to offend? Why can't people state their opinion if they want to? How long before everywhere ends up with a "have a nice day!" culture of insincere platitudes purely to avoid offending anyone?
Why is that people (especially where religon is concerned) are so easy to offend? Why can't people state their opinion if they want to? How long before everywhere ends up with a "have a nice day!" culture of insincere platitudes purely to avoid offending anyone?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Abuse of Anti-Terrorism Laws
More proof that these laws are being used on innocent people...
The actors who star in movie The Road to Guantanamo were questioned by police at Luton airport under anti-terrorism legislation, it has emerged.
One of the actor's side of the story can be found here.
IN addition to the above outrage, can someone tell me the purpose of denying people access to legal advice for up to 48 hours? It wouldn't be so that they would know when the law was being ignored is it? I'm sorry, I can't think of any other reason.
And! And! This comes immediately after 3 bankers are being extradited to the US, under the 2003 Extradition Act, which was designed to make it easier for terrorists to be extradited. Hands up who's surprised these laws are being used for much more than terrorism-related crimes?
The actors who star in movie The Road to Guantanamo were questioned by police at Luton airport under anti-terrorism legislation, it has emerged.
One of the actor's side of the story can be found here.
IN addition to the above outrage, can someone tell me the purpose of denying people access to legal advice for up to 48 hours? It wouldn't be so that they would know when the law was being ignored is it? I'm sorry, I can't think of any other reason.
And! And! This comes immediately after 3 bankers are being extradited to the US, under the 2003 Extradition Act, which was designed to make it easier for terrorists to be extradited. Hands up who's surprised these laws are being used for much more than terrorism-related crimes?
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Jailed For An Opinion?
We all agree what he said is factually wrong, but should you still be jailed (for 3 years!) for saying something (and not even glorifying terrorism - what next)?
My biggest concern is, if you can be jailed for not believing in the holocaust, it's a small step to being jailed for not believing in God. Can someone tell me the difference? Surely Jews (and all other religons) believe that their account of events is correct, just as in the case of the holocaust.
My biggest concern is, if you can be jailed for not believing in the holocaust, it's a small step to being jailed for not believing in God. Can someone tell me the difference? Surely Jews (and all other religons) believe that their account of events is correct, just as in the case of the holocaust.
Monday, February 20, 2006
What Can You Do?
Is this your situation: You despise the actions the government is taking, supposedly on your behalf, and you want to do something about it. The trouble is, the protest march is in London and you live in John O'Groats. You don't have time to spend protesting or being an activist. But you still want your voice heard. What can you do?
Easy - Write to your MP, and thanks to the internet, it couldn't be easier. Simply type in your postcode, select your MP, write your letter and click Send. All HERE.
Let them know what you want. Or, if they *are* doing what you want, maybe thank them for it, to show that they have support when they do what they do. Remember - the Government is your servant.
Easy - Write to your MP, and thanks to the internet, it couldn't be easier. Simply type in your postcode, select your MP, write your letter and click Send. All HERE.
Let them know what you want. Or, if they *are* doing what you want, maybe thank them for it, to show that they have support when they do what they do. Remember - the Government is your servant.
Blair Making Britain Worse
With all the outrage at Guantanamo with the help of the UK Government, and the latest infringement of human rights, remember one thing - who are terrorists going to take out their anger on?
Once you reslise that it's us - the people - how can Blair claim he's protecting us and not making things worse?
Once you reslise that it's us - the people - how can Blair claim he's protecting us and not making things worse?
Respect Double-Standards
Among the trillion-or-so other things in this world that are unfair (thus making a mockery of Blair's Respekt policy) is DVD region-encoding. If Sony and the other multi-nationals can produce their DVD's in the country that has the cheapest labour costs, why can't we buy from the country that has the cheapest DVD prices? Hello Mr. Sony?
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Time To Change The Way Elections Are Run?
Accoding to the BBC, in 2005 election, Labour got 35.3% of the votes. Yes, just a third of people who voted wanted Labour in power. Unfortunately, due to our "first past the post" system, they were the winners. Surely something is wrong when two-thirds of the country didn't want Labour in power? (This also doesn't take into account that only 61% of the country even voted, so you could say only 20% of the country, only one-fifth, actually wanted them in power).
I didn't vote for Labour, but no matter who I voted, for I'd much rather have had any other party than them. With the way the election works, and our (generally) 3-party system, as long as the people who don't want labour are split between the other parties, Labour will win, even though the majority would rather have anyone but them. Surely it's time for a change?
I didn't vote for Labour, but no matter who I voted, for I'd much rather have had any other party than them. With the way the election works, and our (generally) 3-party system, as long as the people who don't want labour are split between the other parties, Labour will win, even though the majority would rather have anyone but them. Surely it's time for a change?
At Least Saddam's Gone?
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Victory For Non-Smokers
It still amazes me that smokers can proclaim a loss of human rights to be able to smoke in a pub. I just heard Joe Jackson on Today on Radio 4 claiming there's no evidence of passive smoking causing cancer, I pay my taxes etc. etc..
Never mind the cancer, what about the non-smokers who have to put up with smoke in their eyes, the iritation causing their noses to run, and probably the worst - coming back from the pub after only an hour and all your clothes smelling like a bag of tobacco. I think the tax on fags should be increased to subsidise washing powder for non-smokers.
Never mind the cancer, what about the non-smokers who have to put up with smoke in their eyes, the iritation causing their noses to run, and probably the worst - coming back from the pub after only an hour and all your clothes smelling like a bag of tobacco. I think the tax on fags should be increased to subsidise washing powder for non-smokers.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
ID Cards "Compulsory" By 2008
..but only if you want to go abroad though. That's okay then. I mean, what kind of wierdo goes abroad on their holidays?
On a more serious note, this really does make me sick to the pit of my stomach. The contempt that the Government has for the people it is supposed to be serving is incredible. They refuse to even tell us how much it will cost until it's been running for 6 months! Where's Blair's "Respect" now?
Monday, February 13, 2006
The Sun's Disdain For Justice
(As covered by Obsolete). Here's a good idea - a man has been aquitted of a murder by judges, but lets hound him anyway! It'll sell loads of papers. It might imply that we have no faith in British justice, but we'll just put something like "The Sun has complete faith in British Justice...", and then completely contradict ourselves. I mean, if he won't take a lie detector test (which I'm sure are 100% accurate) he must be guilty. If he was innocent, he wouldn't have anything to hide. In fact, isn't that the Labour manifesto?
Testing Testing...
Whitehouse Downing Street Bomb Terrorist Plan Meet This Wednesday.
(Just seeing if the Governments webcrawler is listening).
(Just seeing if the Governments webcrawler is listening).
Don't Criticise the Government!
From "I'm The New David Kelly" (Sunday Times):-
As said in D-Notice, surely if the government had a report that disproved Davies findings, why not publish that instead of resorting to personal attacks? The Government is onto a winner here to stop all criticism - should you dare to do so, they'll simply publicly attack you and destroy your reputation until you feel suicidal. It's alright for them, who have public money, big departments and assistants and large salaries on their side, and lot's of practise at deflecting criticism.
Also... I always find it really annoying when the government won't reveal how much of our money they are spending. The simple excuse "it's commercially confident" just suits both sides so well it's disgusting. I used to be a buyer, and I found the best way to get the cheapest price was to tell a supplier what the cheapest price was that you'd been given already and see if they could beat it. Still, it's not the governments money is it, so why should they care?
"Simon Davies, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE), says he has lost valuable consultancy work and seen his income fall to below £10,000 a year as a result of ministers’ repeated personal attacks."More...
Blair last week agreed a compromise that new legislation would be introduced before the cards became compulsory. Ministers have refused to reveal the findings of a new official study of the cost, conducted by consultants KPMG.
As said in D-Notice, surely if the government had a report that disproved Davies findings, why not publish that instead of resorting to personal attacks? The Government is onto a winner here to stop all criticism - should you dare to do so, they'll simply publicly attack you and destroy your reputation until you feel suicidal. It's alright for them, who have public money, big departments and assistants and large salaries on their side, and lot's of practise at deflecting criticism.
Also... I always find it really annoying when the government won't reveal how much of our money they are spending. The simple excuse "it's commercially confident" just suits both sides so well it's disgusting. I used to be a buyer, and I found the best way to get the cheapest price was to tell a supplier what the cheapest price was that you'd been given already and see if they could beat it. Still, it's not the governments money is it, so why should they care?
Friday, February 10, 2006
America Foiled a Terrorist Plot?
A few questions about the supposed foiling of a major terrorist plot :-
Of course, this is only my own cynical view, and you should no more assume I am right than President Bush. But only one of us has a serious vested interest.
- Why has it only been brought up now, 4 years after the event?
- Why don't the names of the countries that actually foiled the plot get mentioned?
- If they managed to foil it then, why do they need more powers?
Of course, this is only my own cynical view, and you should no more assume I am right than President Bush. But only one of us has a serious vested interest.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Iran is All Our Own Making
We've got no-one to blame in the situation in Iran except for the UK and US Governments. Back in 1953, Iran had a democratic government, until it was toppled that year by the UK and US. And now we go round demanding they change to democracy? No wonder they hate the west! And we may have even given them everything they need to go nuclear. We've made our bed.
Monday, February 06, 2006
More Blair and Bush Lying
EVen more proof comes to the fore that Blair planned the war in Iraq long before the public was told about it, and long before he admits to. How much more lying can he get away with?
A few links here, here and here. Don't forget to write to your MP!
A few links here, here and here. Don't forget to write to your MP!
