Laughter is the best medicine

I have not seen a more true post than the one on a local bloggers website. After recent shootings in the US, she begs the question that you don’t see many shootings by far-left members.

One of the recent shooting was at a Holocaust Memorial in America by a 88-year old white supremacist called James von Brunn, interesting to note in one American article that:

Von Brunn sometimes spoke of having fought for the wrong side in World War II, Blodgett said, and the two men sometimes attended meetings in Arlington County of the American Friends of the British National Party, which raised funds for the British white supremacist group.

Interesting…. Nick Griffin has been known to speak at these meetings. Here is one such talk from youtube:

Note that he is talking about how to rebrand the BNP to get support, here’s the transcript:

There’s a difference between selling out your ideas and selling your ideas. And the British National Party isn’t about selling out it’s ideas, which are your ideas, but we are determined now to sell them. And that means basically to use these salable words.
As I say, ‘freedom’, ’security’, ‘identity’, ‘democracy’, nobody can criticise them, nobody can come at you and attack you on those ideas: they are salable. Perhaps one day, once by being rather more subtle, we got ourselves into a position where we control the British broadcasting media, then perhaps one day the British people might change their minds and say, ‘Yes, every last one must go’. Perhaps they will one day, but if you offer that as your soul mate to start with, you’re going to get absolutely nowhere. So, instead of talking about racial purity we talk about identity.

As for the comment about von Brunn fighting on the wrong side in the war, my opinion of the BNP winning seats in the European Parliament is that every single person who voted them has raped the memoryof all those who fought for our country and the Allies against the Nazis in the Second World War. They talk about their nationalism, but it is obviously just plain rascism. How can these people who voted BNP call themselves fighting for Britain or being a proud national when they shit all over the memories of those who fought for our country and fought for our freedom against the German version of the BNP.

Anyway, i have been directed towards this twitter profile. Read it, follow it, love it! As one comment said, now that they have become ‘legitimised’ now they are open to satire. Forward to the front pages of a national tabloid and there are financial rewards going for anyone who can hit Griffin with an Indian takeaway!

Going back to the original sentiment, even in Reading we face the threat of nazi and far-right terrorism. Back in November 2008 a local man from my neck of the woods- Tilehurst- was charged under the Terrorism Act, he also owned Nazi propaganda… i bet he would had voted BNP if he were able to… and you don’t have to wonder why…

Please visit this facebook group for some really interesting BNP quotes and comparisons with the Nazis.

Sincere economic questions

I know that my A grade a-level in economics does not translate well to serious national economics; however, i have some queries over Europe’s, UK’s and the US’s bail-out of the banks. It would be good if someone could explain why what i am saying isn’t feasonable or doesn’t make economic sense.

I get the idea/theory/jist of putting money behind the debts that banks have incurred from stupid, ridiculous lending. However:

Money was also given to banks to give them more money to lend to each other, well… if this money was instead used for sweeping tax cuts, or as grants to poorer families, or to ‘pay-off’ people’s debts, then would this not also give the banks more money? Understandably, if this money was used aboard then it would not be in UK banks, but, nearly everyone has a bank account, so if people have more money to spend then they will have more money in their accounts. Banks use the money people deposit in their accounts as their own money at the moment anyway, i.e. they lend it. So if governments used the money to cut taxes drastically, then more accounts would have more money in them, more people would be spending this money in more shops- pushing consumerism up, more shops would have more money- that is saved in bank accounts. So more jobs are created or kept because people are still spending. And more people are more happy, and from a electoral point of view, New Labour would most likely win a lot more support- Brown could have called an election and become our PM by popular choice.

But instead of this they just gave the money to the banks and asked them to lend it to other banks!? So this leads me to believe there is some illogic in my theory. I am sincerely asking people to explain it to me. This is not me using sarcy theories to push my own ideology, far from it. My ideology is more nationalise all banks, move away from consumer led economy, pump the money into a new green energy sector and move Britain towards a low carbon energy independence, and i don’t want New Labour to regain power. So i am being sincere.

While i’m at it, green energy. If all the money given to banks was instead put into green energy, would it not therefore be feasible for the UK to generate all of it’s own electricity, either from hydro, wind or solar. Could the money not have been used to give a grant to every household to enable them to generate their own electricity and sell it back to the grid? Would a revolutionised green energy sector not provide for thousands (maybe of millions depending on what the sector contains) of jobs- reducing unemployment, raising job competition, giving people job security and allowing them to earn and spend their money, boosting consumerism and along the lines of a previous point allowing more people to have more money in their bank accounts, boosting the amount of money the banks have. It would also give Britain complete energy independence, we wouldn’t need to rely on other countries. We wouldn’t need to have such a presence in the Middle East. In theory, it could reduce any terrorist threat that we are facing- one of the first major aims of Fundamental Islamic Terrorism is to end the influence of the West in the Middle East (destroying secularism and allowing for the push of fundamentalism – i don’t think secularism would be destroyed in the Middle East anyway, even if Britain/America weren’t there)- so because of our reduced addiction to oil, we wouldn’t need to be in the Middle East (Afghanistan but especially Iraq).

Anyway, i am going off at a tangent. My point is, if we gave everyone else but the banks money, the banks would get the money in the end anyway.

One last thing. The National Debt. Who are we actually in debt to? I understand when it comes to borrowing from other countries we are in debt to them, but why do i hear of Britain borrowing from the banks? Am i just mishearing? If we were borrowing from the banks (Bank of England) then to me it is more excuse to nationalise them! Plus who is going to hold the UK to account if they don’t pay back their debts on time? More sincere questions.

Feeling dirty

I thought I was alone in this sentiment: things are getting so bad (environmentally) that I half hope the Tories do get into power. However there is someone else who at least considered it, George Monbiot. That made me feel in better company. Monbiot did go on to say “my first thought was ‘I hope the Tories get in’. My second thought was ‘What the hell am I saying?’”

It is not just New Labour’s environmental credentials that are non-existent by agreeing to a third runway at Heathrow (something Cameron has said he would scrap); it is their complete disregard for our privacy and rights that is really scary. Jacqui Smith is the female Stalin. She scares the hell out of me with her perusal of 42 days, ID cards, DNA, email and text message databases, CCTV systems and now secret gag orders. I painfully remember that it was the Tories who all (but one) voted against 42 days in the Commons.

I know the consequences of me thinking this. I am a Green Party supporter. I consider myself wholly a hippy, liberal, wishwashy, self-hating, weed smoking, terrorist supporting, [add further nonsense claims about left wingers] leftie. I believe the Tories are essentially a party who only look after their own. But my regard of human rights and civil liberties coupled with my passion for the environment have caused me to internally conflict with my dream of economic equality and an increase in nationalisation of important services (banking, rail, reverse privatisation of NHS).

I could have said nothing. If I just voted Green in the next election as I will do, the Tories would have gotten into power anyway, and then people wouldn’t know I had been having this internal conflict. However it is out there now- I have a secret wish for them to get into power.

At least then it might make New Labour turn back to the Labour of old and kick out the business orientated, environment hating, self-demigod believers that inhabit the party at present, and then we would have a more recognisable party that represents truer social democracy, and who have a chance of getting into power. (See, I am trying to justify to myself all of what I said before).

I feel so dirty.

The Biggest Open Air Prison In The World

For those of you who have had the grace of hearing my baby/vegetarian analogy, you know that my reasoning arguments are often crude and simplistic. But that won’t stop me as here is another one:

If you and your family were under house arrest (could not communicate with anyone outside or even go outside) by a group of people who don’t have political power over you, and who only passed through to your family one meal per day, would you do something? If in your house you had a gun, would you or someone else in your family use this gun to try and end this situation?

Well this is one way of looking at the situation in Gaza.

I know this is a simplistic way of looking at things, and there are far more complex issues involved, but essentially the rocket attacks on Israel via Gaza are partly a reaction to Israeli control of Gaza and the severe economic and humanitarian sanctions imposed on the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel- just because Israel does not like the democratically elected Hamas government (who admittedly can be more than a tad extreme).

Israel of course has a right to defend itself against these rocket attacks, but the scale to which they have reacted in recent weeks is sickening, but sadly not unexpected, Israel was born out of aggression, fear and genocide.

The blockade of Gaza by Israel has lead to the description of the biggest open air prison being suggested of Gaza. By road, air and sea Israel controls all imports into the country (apart from those that are smuggled), which include food, electricity and aid. There are numerous reports of Israel cutting off all food and energy imports into Gaza for days on end.

So if you were in Gaza would you sit back and say ‘fair play to Israel, they don’t like the government we’ve elected so they have every right to cause untold disruption and chaos in what should be my home country…’ Na, it does not work like that. When you’re put in intolerable positions where not just your own, but your family’s, your friend’s, your community’s and everyone around you’s life is in danger you react, you try and stop it, you try and make things better.

So in a way I empathise with the rocket attacks. NO, WAIT. I didn’t say I agree with the attacks, I just said I empathise- I can understand why they launch rockets into Israel. But then again I empathise with Israel’s right to defend its citizens, even though they bought it on themselves. Yet this is where the catch 22 situation comes into play. Without the hindsight of the complete withdrawal of the Israeli blockade, how do we know attacks against Israel will stop?

I believe the first step in resolving this situation is for America to pull its arse out of where ever it has been sticking it and actually stop supporting Israel in the way it does. America needs to say to Israel ‘now come on, now you’re just being stupid’. Then America and the UN need to send troops there, not to fight the Israeli forces but to create a bit of stability among the borders by controlling them and what goes in/out of Gaza. This force would of course need to be unbiased- something that would never happen with America’s current support of Israel. Then, we need three states. The old two state solution is far far away, not least because Gaza and the West Bank are not connected, but they are now so politically diverse considering the West Bank being under Fatah control and Gaza experiencing what it is currently experiencing (bombing, attacking and destroying Gaza will only radicalise those living in Gaza even more)

Yet this is not going to happen anytime soon. With all the hope of change Obama’s victory in America bought with it, he has only managed to say nothing but that there is no point in having two voices come out of America about the situation. Maybe this means he will differ from what Bush has recently said (Bush bumming Israel) and he doesn’t want to polarise American attitudes. Maybe it is because a huge majority of America is pro-Israel in this war and Obama doesn’t want to get off o the wrong foot. Or, he agrees with Bush and Israel…

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pro-Palestine, pro-Israel, pro-peace

Civil Liberties – the Counter-Attack Begins

The fight against the destruction of our civil liberties is speeding up with more members of the UK blogosphere expressing their concerns and anger with the flawed philosophy of “if you have nothing to hide (we might as well see your boobs)”.

Copied below is a word for word article posted on http://www.power-to-the-people.co.uk, a conservative blog that hits the nail on the head when it comes to civil liberties and the proposed ‘Communications Data Bill’ which looks like will be passed later this year.

Towards the end is a link to a copy of a letter to send to your MP. To find out who your MP is click here and to get in contatc with your MP for free, click here.

“Enough is enough, the UK is becoming a police state by our control obsessed government and we are sitting back and allowing it to happen. It makes me angry to see such lethargy. Everytime a new act is brought in, far more sinister aspects are buried in the detail, which further curtail our civil liberties, freedom and privacy. This has got to stop and now, state should not be permitted to control the people, it should be the other way around. As it stands, just 650 members of parliament are pushing some 65m people around, yes, I mean 650, because whilst this government may have a majority, the MP’s from other parties are not making enough noise about this massive intrusion into our lives, they should be fired, the lot of them. We are quick to condemn the bankers (rightly so in many cases), but we do nothing about the MP’s that have consistently introduced or supported Acts of Parliament that intrude into our lives, in a way that will affect us for many years to come. We must put a stop to it.

It is expected that plans to collect more data on people’s phone, e-mail and web-browsing habits will be included in the innocuously sounding ”Communications Data Bill”, due to be introduced in the Queen’s Speech in November. By all accounts, these proposals are supported by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Gordon Brown and much of the Labour government. Once again, the government is expected to justify this gross intrusion into the personal lives of 65m people under the auspices of ‘counter-terrorism’, this is utter garbage, they know it and we know it. Yes, there are terrorists out there and they don’t wear badges, but this country has faced terrorism before and the security forces managed to investigate and prosecute without such laws.

I don’t know how many terrorists are out there, but it is not 65m and is probably less that a couple of thousand, why should the privacy and personal of 65m people be invaded by this government because of a few people that mean us harm? This whole thing needs to be put in perspective, more people in the UK die on the roads than as a result of terrorism, more soldiers are killed abroad, that in the UK as a result of terrorism, in fact, more people are killed in farming accidents that as a consequence of terrorism. This government have invested massively in the security services, allowing them to go on a substantial recruitment drive, there should be no need for a massive Big Brother surveillance operation of the entire population of the UK. Before some smart-arse suggests that it is this surveillance and investment in the security services that has reduced the number of terrorist incidents in the UK, I would ask them to provide further evidence that this is the case and then to put it into perspective. For example, it is well know that the airline industry work out whether safety mechanisms are worth introducing on their planes on the basis of a cost/benefit analysis. In other words, will the costs associated with an accident outweigh the cost of implementing the safety programmes. Fact of life, they all do it, they just rarely tell us!

Of course the government will issue the usual platitudes and assurances that they will not misuse this information, but can we believe them. The Icelandic authorities had their assets frozen using anti-terror laws, in spite of the fact that there were other laws that could have been used and would have been just as effective. A local council used anti-terror legislation to spy on the parents of a child that they throught was in the wrong ‘catchment area’. This list, trust me, goes on and on. We also know that this government ant it’s private sector partners are incapapble of securing data, which means our personal lives could be open to all and sundry. Some will argue that if you have nothing to hide, then there is nothing to hide, these same people probably still believe in Father Christmas. As we know information, any information can be used in different ways, depending on the the intepretation of the recipient, how many times have we said or done something that was completely misrepresented?

I have nothing to hide, but I object strongly to my personal calls, web browsing habits and email being monitored and invaded by the state. Government’s could even misuse this information to find out how we intend to vote! It is an appalling proposal and it is high time the British public called time on the control obsessed government and it’s supporters, irrespective of which party they represent. This goes beyond party politics, it is a direct attack on the very fabric of our society and no-one will be safe from government interference if it is allowed to pass into law. If the government believe that this act is so important, then they should allow the British people to vote on it through a referendum, I believe they will get a resounding No…and they know it!

People often tell me that there is “not much we can do”, but there is. Our members of parliament are worried sick that they may lose their seat at the next election, we must emphasise to them that if they support this attack on our civil liberties that we guarantee they will. We must demonstrate to our MP’s that they should be more in fear of the wrath of the British public that the Chief Whip of their own parties. Opposition MP’s should do their jobs and oppose this draconian piece of legislation. We must also warn our local members of parliament that if they vote for this Act, that we will not vote for them, we must make it clear, that we have a voice, not once every 5 years, but throughout their tenure and that we will have it heard. Everyone that feels this Act is a direct infringement of our civil liberties, right to privacy and an attack on the very fabric of our society, should write to their MP and tell them so. I have provided a ‘draft letter’ which can be viewed, personalised and sent to your MP. Draft Letter to MP

I would also invite all fellow bloggers that feel as strongly as I do on this issue to reproduce this article in part or full, topped and tailed if they wish, to publicise this issue to as many people as possible. Let us all stand up and fight in this issue, and remind this government who is actually in charge.

RESIST!”

from http://www.power-to-the-people.co.uk/2008/10/public-call-time-big-brother-britain/

For information on groups fighting the erosion of civil liberties, check these websites out:

http://www.openrightsgroup.org/

http://www.no2id.net/

For more information on British Civil Liberty attacks, check this out:

http://deandonaldson.wordpress.com/category/privacy-control/

English Fundamentalism

I have just been reading an interesting article on the Guardian website about the documentary film maker Sean Langan who has just recently been released by the Taliban after 3 months.

I would like to quote Langan in relation to his only glimpse of the outside world- a small hole in the wall of his ‘cell’ that was embraced with a view of an apricot tree; “It kept me going, thinking about the outside world and English values that could be lost, like tea and sympathy and tolerance and basic humanity.”

This is a man who has been locked up and psychologically tortured for 3 months, yet he still acknowledges basic English principles: sympathy, tolerance and basic humanity, and the fear that his situation could make him abandon them. It is a shame that a majority of English people are willing to throw these principles away when they are in the warmth, comfort and safety of their own homes and there is the slightest threat of a terrorist attack or they see a group of Polish workers on the way to work.

The article also led me to view the arrogance of those fighting the British in Afghanistan in their views of the West; “Mr C asked me once if it was true that western women married frogs. He had seen a children’s fairytale and believed that it was true.” This is not something confined to just a minority in Afghanistan. The rise in Islamophobia is fuelled by the fear and belief that all Muslim’s want to do is destroy ‘Western values’ and end British lives. [I put commas around Western values, as i believe a majority of those in power in both Britain and America have no dignified values at all]. In reality, this belief is the upside-down version of the truth. In reality, the majority of those who follow the Islamic faith pose no harm to the West at all. There is however a very small minority of Islamic Fundamentalists who appear to want to (i say appear because really the 9/11 attack was not against the West but an attempt to polarise the people in the Middle East into either fundamentalism or secularism- helped afterwards by America’s War on ‘Error).

Johann Hari wrote a brilliant piece on the latest Big Brother and how fundamental and secularist Islam is clashing within the Big Brother house. The point of the article is to explain the reality of the current situation. Islam is not about killing as many people who disagree with you as possible, but at the same time, there are fundamentalists who believe it is. This debate tends to be forgotten by the right-wing media, which wrongly portrays Muslims as a threat. Hari suggests that this clash is finally an example of proper reality television. There are many other aspects of Hari’s article that i could write on, yet to grasp the context of the debate you should read it yourself.

Judging by how some people are reacting to the threat posed by Fundamental Islam and their over the top reactions to immigration into this country, i would suggest that there is a growing sense of English (British) Fundamentalism growing. If they think that all Muslims are Fundamentalists, then it is safe to say that these English Fundamentalists are just as bad as the Islamic Fundamentalists they are afraid of.

To view the Guardian’s article on Langan, click here.

To view the Johann Hari article, click here.

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On a completely separate topic, here is another Langan quote; “I am alive. And I’ve realised that freedom is the air we breathe.” Out of all the things i could say, all i will say is that if the air we breathe is true freedom, then irresponsible oil companies and Governments are clutching onto not only our freedoms, but the freedoms of the next generation, and the generation after that, and the generation after that, and on and on. Why, therefore, aren’t more people fighting for our own freedoms if not the freedoms of others?

Applauding a Tory

I never thought I would say this, but I respect and applaud Tory MP David Davis on his resignation from the House of Commons. His reasoning (obviously one of many) for this was to force a by-election in the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden in order to debate the issue of the 42-day terror detention limit.

Maybe Davis is just trying to impose more election woe upon New Labour, but nonetheless, Davis, along with all but one Tory MP opposed the 42-day terror detention expansion. Sadly for the British public, the limit was passed in the Commons, and will now come under attack within the House of Lords.

There is not one reason for the terror detention limit to have to be increased. If the police cannot find enough evidence to charge somebody of a suspected terror incident or conspiracy to commit terror within 28 days then the chances are they never did or never were.

But let us not forget why we should oppose the increase in the detention limit; our civil liberties. British people have been fighting for generations for our rights, and now we are in a age where we are willing to throw them all away without an ounce of fight.

There was a time when the sacrifice of our rights and liberties would be the last straw. However, with large public support for this extension, and the fact that ID Cards are being debated, it seems that any terrorist threat has succeeded. The whole concept of terrorism is to scare people and to therefore control them, and so be it, it has.

I wonder whether these people supporting the extension (and on a larger scale ID Cards), are the same people who feel that it means nothing to be British any more, and that there is a lack of a British identity. Where has the patriotism of the British gone; we will never give up, we keep fighting, and fight for our principles, we will never give in- Churchill will be turning in his grave.

Craig Murray commented at People & Planet’s Shared Planet event in 2007 that MI5 have suggested there are around 2000 terrorist suspects in the UK, however, Murray notes that considering the number of terrorist attacks in the UK, they are perhaps the most inefficient terrorists of all time.

I would also like to point out that there have not been any terror arrests that have required more than the current 28-days. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever for the need to extend the limit.

Yet we are now at a stage where the limit has been passed – in the Commons at least – and where there is large public support for it. People say this country is going down the pan, they create scapegoats out of ‘foreigners’. I say if it is going down the pan, it is because British people have lost British principles. We no longer have the fight within us to secure our own and others liberties. We would rather throw them all away and let any actual and fictional terrorists win.