Hayek v Keynes Rap

OK, I nicked this from the Libertarian Party Blog, there must be a spot of the thieving socialist in me somewhere!

Is Your Neighbour, Wife or Son a Stasi Operative?

I have just come across the most anger inducing website it has been my misfortune to find on t'internet. Thanks to the chaps at Big Brother Watch for bringing it to our attention.

Internet Eyes is a website where you, joe public, can register to sit behind your computer at home, snooping through CCTV cameras on behalf of businesses, ready to report incidents, such as shoplifting to Big Brother at base.

Now I don't condone shoplifting and actually have some sympathy with the hardline Islamist approach of amputation of the right hand, after all you don't see many of them without both hands apparently, so there is also a deterrent effect. But I do draw the line at this perverse method of electronic twitching curtains.

It is straight out of the Stasi handbook on turning the populace against each other and is a very worrying development. The police can't put up a poster of a wanted man because of his 'human rights' but next time you're perusing the 3 for £10 vino in Asda Mrs Jones at No 10 might be watching you on her laptop.

So what do our grasses get for their efforts. They go on a list of the top however many grasses, unless they want to remain anonymous, and have the chance to win 'something to the value of £1000'. Hopefully a one way ticket to an uninhabited desert island.

I'd rather my neighbour was watching good old fashioned porn myself. If I hear of anybody I know indulging in this sick pastime they will certainly get what for.

You see a police state can only come about with the collaboration of a servile, unthinking and plain stupid population. God help us.

Paying The Taleban Ransom

So now the Western governments admit that we, the people, were right and they were wrong. We could never win in Afghanistan and shouldn't have been there in the first place. Was it ever about the Taleban or was it all about poppies?

Either way we, the taxpayers, are now to pay a multi-million pound ransom over the next few years to the Taleban so that we can bring our troops home. So terrorism doesn't pay? It does if you're the Taleban or the IRA. I suppose there's hope yet for the British couple being held by Somali pirates.

I've been wondering about a few business ideas for some time now, this is a very interesting concept. Oops, better be careful, don't want the door kicking down at 4-00am and the neighbours woken up by a police helicopter overhead. Then again, it's a small price to pay when I can get a load of cash to stop being a naughty boy.

Manchester United 3 Manchester City 1

Great night to be a Mancunian. And at last those who didn't follow us in 2005 are kicking off against the Glazers.

The Spirit of Newton Heath:

Hammering The Motorist-Again!

Be careful when you pop your pay and display sticker on your windscreen. Chomping on the toast and marmalade this morning I was unfortunate enough to catch the BBC news. Lo and behold there was yet another item on how local Town Hall Mussolini's are making up their income shortfall from stinging motorists.

It seems that each local authority has the power to write into their parking regulations that anybody displaying more than one pay and display ticket can be given a fine by their enforcement officers, even when there is a valid one displayed.

The only way to avoid this, if you insist on displaying the odd old sticker in your windscren, is to check the regulations at the Town Hall of the authority you happen to be parking in. But you can bet they will all soon pick up on this and it will go nationwide.

If you do have trouble being 'taxed' as a motorist I suggest you remember to visit the website below:

AppealNow.com

Jack Straw And Chilcot

Yet more evidence that our current political class is full of greedy, lying, incompetent, stinking, corrupt, immoral, amoral, greedy, devious, conniving, scheming, self-seeking, slimy bastards:

Jack Straw's chief legal adviser at the time of the Iraq invasion directly challenged his former boss's version of events today when he told the Chilcot Inquiry that the then Foreign Secretary had overruled his advice against military action.

Here is The Times coverage.

More Green Taxes From Motorists?

This article appeared in WHATCAR? in March 2008.

This article appeared in the Daily Telegraph today.

The thrust of the first article was that the government was planning to introduce average speed cameras on 500 miles of motorway for safety reasons, because currently used cameras don't work. Yeah right, piss all to do with upping the income from motorists then.

In the second article the Department of Transport is now hiding behind a front organisation, the Sustainable Development Commission, to claim that average speed checks should be introduced on all motorways because reducing speed is necessary for the saving of the environment.

All bollocks. Muggins green/environmentalists will applaud it, the gullible will think it will help to save a polar bear so it's grudgingly accept it. The rest of us know the truth, it will generate millions in income for the government to spend on further building its police state.

Dr David Kelly and the Chilcot Inquiry

Anybody who thought that the Chilcot inquiry into Iraq would be objective and independent should think again after this weekend's revelations about the Hutton inquiry.

It has been anounced that Hutton has secretly ordered the medical details of Dr Kelly's death to be kept secret for 70 years. This has come about as a group of independent doctors believe that the official explanation of his suicide, and the way he did it, are totally implausible. They are doing their own investigation hence a reasonable request to access the records.

One more reason to be sceptical about Chilcot, and to question the morality of this government.

The Jam, The Electric Circus and Tony Wilson

I've just found The Jam In The City at the legendary Electric Circus in Manchester. In addition it is introduced by Tony Wilson aka Anthony Wilson aka Anthony H. Wilson, sadly no longer with us. Neither is Manchester's Electrc Circus come to that.



That appearance can't have been long before the authorities forced the closure of the Electric Circus, 1977 I think.

Beheading Looks Likely

According to The Times the British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were floating around the Horn of Africa and captured by pirates, could be dead within days.

Alright execution, be it beheading, which seems popular in that part of the world, or a bullet in the back of the head might be a bit harsh, but why the hell were the nitwits there in the first place? Bored with floating around the Solent and the Med? Got jippy tummy last time they floated around the Caribbean maybe? Perhaps it was a case of wanting to get off the tourist route, well the idiots certainly did that.

Perhaps they were indignantly reading The Grauniad one morning with their muesli and thought how hard done by those Yemenis and Somalis were, and what a totally unjustified bad press they were getting. So they decided to show the bloody West how hospitable they really were and grabbed their wellies and pointed the good yacht Plonker in an easterly direction.

Now they have discovered that the local hospitality costs several million pounds, of our money in the form of a ransom. Or we use our tax money on schools and hospitals and they pay the with their heads for there stupidity and irresponsibility. Bloody clowns.

Association of Muslim Police Officers and Professor David Nutt

Professor David Nutt was fired as a government adviser in October 2009 for saying ecstacy and cannabis were less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. He was sacked, accused of trying to change government policy.

The National Association of Muslim Police claim now that ministers are wrong to blame Islam for being the “driver” behind recent terrorist attacks. They attacked the government's anti-terror strategy as encouraging hatred of Muslims.

I look forward to hearing that members of the NAMP have been sacked for trying to change government policy.

Here is the welcome message on the NAMP website:

Welcome to the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) website.

NAMP is an active and influential national support group, it was set up to represent the interest of Muslim officers and staff within the police service.

Modern Policing is a rewarding profession that offers a range of challenges from front line policing by uniformed officers and Police Community Support Officers to support staff working behind the scenes in departments such as IT and the Air Support Unit.

Our mission statement:

“Muslims making a Difference to Policing”

That doesn't sound impartial to me so, if arrested am I likely to be treated impartially if collared by a member of the NAMP?

When he founded the modern police service one of Peel's most memorable principles was, "the police are the public, and the public are the police." No longer it seems, the police now represent their own "communities".

What a sad state of affairs.

Libertarian Party (UK) Interview

Following is an interview with my colleague Andrew Withers which appears on the Democracy Forum.

What is your role within LPUK (Libertarian Party UK)?

Currently Treasurer and Deputy Leader

How did you get involved?

One of the Five founders

The LPUK is a tiny party at the moment. How do you intend to grow it?

Organically from the bottom up with effective regional branches- best are South East, South West,Scotland and North West. Bringing Libertarians under one roof that are scattered and suffocating in other parties.

Do you find it demoralising being a small party?

Liberating ! I have been a member of another political party, but did not like the egos and need for leaders to have control over members and the public

Is there a paticular kind of person who joins the Libertarian Party?

Independent minded and self reliant

Isn't the Libertarian agenda covered by other parties such as the Liberal Democrats and UKIP?

Chokes with laughter ! UKIP have under Pearson returned to their huntin' , shootin' bannin' roots. The Lib Dems should just drop the 'Liberal' bit and admit they are Social Democrats.

If there isn't a local Libertarian candidate in the General Election, how would you encourage peope to vote?

For an independent with similar views, failing that 'None of the above' a party with over 40% of the national vote at present.

What do you feel is the single biggest problem facing the country at the moment?

A two party State,defunct political system,Quangos, unelected politicians and Chief Constables, a lack of a written Constitution and a massive State that employs over half of the workforce and more, its difficult to know where to start, but we need a new Constitutional Settlement.

Do you favour any kind of electoral reform?

Root and branch cutting out of layers of Government. The EU has not been assented to by the people of this country therefore is illegitimate, Westmister should only look after National Defence and Foreign affairs EVERYTHING else returned to either Regional or County level. Every level to be regulated by some form of PR to reflect the real local opinion, not landslides with about 31% of the vote. Each Region to set its own tax rates as per Swiss Cantons

The Libertarian party is often associated with the legalisation of all drugs and prostitution. Do you think that this scares away potential members and voters?

Why is it ? Scare tactics I think ! However drugs prohibition is not working any more than alcohol prohibition did in the USA in the 30's, it just makes just makes drugs cool and sexy because of the thrill of criminality, it causes gang warfare, shootings and polluted drugs which are a health risk to users. It should be a medical problem along with alcohol addiction.

Of course it will scare aware potential voters, because they have lived with Government inspired nonsense since 1968 ! I remember that twenty years ago we were all going to die of AIDS, then recently Bird Flu and Swine Flu. The State has its own reasons for creating these moral panics, so that it can 'protect' us.

There are five primary drivers for animals, sex is one of them. Despite Harriet Harman, the State is never going to be able to eradicate Sex or Prostitution. I would rather that those involved in the sex trade male and female, had access to regular health checks and were safe. Again its very illegality causes trafficking in sex workers by organised pimps.

When and where do you predict your first electoral success will happen?

We already have a City Councillor in Gavin Webb, he stood as a Libertarian Lib Dem and was elected as such. He was repeatedly suspended for his Libertarian views by the Lib Dems, which says more about the Lib dems than it does Gavin. Admittedly he was not elected under the LPUK banner. We have a number of Town Councillors who are party members.

First electoral success, who can tell, we need to break down the walls of the Main Stream Media, This GE we are only putting up a few candidates to show the flag, because out analysis is that a barbary ape with a blue rosette will win in the desperate need to cast Labour into the outer darkness, The next election will be the important one when the Conservatives doe a repeat performance of the Major years. We are aiming to build up local parties, local councillors from the ground up. We think we stand a better chance in Wales, Scotland and the London assembly were PR ensures a fairer representation of the vote. We are three years old, there are some surprises coming in the next two odd months which will raise our media profile.

Do you think that the party can succeed without a major financial backer?

Eventually, though we are not going to spit in anybodies eye if they want to be a major donor. However we are not the Labour party, there will be no gongs, peerages or influence on policy any more than any other member.

Would you consider political alliances with other smaller groups like the Jury Team?

Are they Libertarian in outlook ? If they are sure, but if they are just a bunch of individuals with no policies, what is the point.

The Libertarian party seems to have a good presence in the blogging community, but hasn't broken into the mainstream media. How do you propose to change that?

We sprang from the womb of the blogoshere, because it was a new medium that allowed freedom of opinion and expression, that the three major parties and the Media really do not like, as the political atmosphere was so closely controlled. We now know through Bloggers like Paul Staines that Brown had dodgy people like Draper and McBride working for them to indulge in political smears, we now know that a great number of our political representatives were hopelessly corrupt and venal. That has caused massive anger. The Mainstream Media did not bring this to light as it was not into their interest or their owners to do so. When PR arrives which it will eventually do. We will get media exposure. In the meantime what this space over the few months, and no I have not bought a spiderman outfit plus preparing from climbing on a public building.

Terrorist Threats-Dealing With Them

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the English issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards" They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability. It's not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Compose long operas" and "Make lots of cars". Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And in the southern hemisphere...

New Zealand has also raised its security levels - from "baaa" to "BAAAA!" Due to continuing defense cutbacks (the airforce being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister's bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is "I hope Australia will come and rescue us".

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, mate". Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!', "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

Police State Comes To Staines

If you doubted that we are fast falling into a police state then have a look at this:

IT WAS a show of force usually reserved for suspects on the radar of MI5.

But when police used a helicopter, armed officers and dogs to swoop on a Staines home on June 28, 2008, it wasn't to arrest an Al-Qaeda operative.

Their target was an 18-year-old politics student who had put a poster outside the home of the town's Army Cadet Force, a youth organisation for 12 to-18-year-olds.

Jeremy Moulton, now 19 and in his first year at Hull University, went home after making his stand.

I admit the lad was being a bit of a prat but come on, weren't we all prats in some way or another in our younger days? Did you ever get that kind of treatment?

Here is the full sorry tale.

Also found at Gun Culture, thanks Lurch. Well worth a visit.

Scott Brown Republican Senator

If, like me, you were wondering who this Scott Brown fella is, then here is his campaign website.

If you are still wondering, he won the Massachusetts Senate seat yesterday vacated by the death of Edward Kennedy. Maybe the influence of the Keenedy clan is finally gone, or maybe they have used up all their gin running millions. Either way it was thought to be a safe Democrat seat. The loss is maybe an indication of Obama's fast fading popularity.

Looking at some US blogs this morning it seems that Brown is the new darling of the Republican Party. Move aside for a male model Sarah.

Shami Chakrabarti On Religious Tolerance

Following on from the furore of recent days over UKIP's introduction of a highly illiberal policy of banning the burqa, I found an excellent article in The Times today by Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty on religious freedom in a modern, liberal democracy. Her piece is not about the burqa ban, but the persecution of Christian Nadia Eweida by British Airways and the state for wearing a crucifix. It follows on quite nicely though, and below are Shami's three paragraphs that truly hit the nail on the head:

It seems to me that any society has three choices in dealing with this small question of religion.

The first is to elevate an approved faith to the point of dominant status over all other belief systems. It is formally woven into the legal, political and social system, every sphere of public life and as much of private life as possible. An extreme example might be Afghanistan under the Taleban; a more moderate one, Britain at earlier and less enlightened times in its history.

The second option is, in many ways, equal and opposite. It is based on the view that faith is all dangerous, divisive mumbo-jumbo. No good can come of it so, if it cannot be eradicated altogether, it must be chased from the public sphere, confined to a place of worship or the home, upstairs under the bed with the pornography. An extreme example would be Stalin’s Russia; a more moderate one, the French Republic.

You will have guessed that I favour a third approach that is based on human rights and resonates well with a society such as Britain’s. Here the struggle for religious freedom has been strongly connected with the struggle for democracy itself.

I wish Nadia Eweida well in her appeal on behalf of all those of us who not only wear a crucifix, but value the freedom and liberty of all those who choose to practice their faith, whichever it may be.

We must also respect and welcome the liberty of those who disbelieve, and let them argue their case against religion without threats of harm for doing so.

UKIP Banning The Burka

I wasn't going to comment but a lot of people have asked me for my view on this issue today, so here it is.

Much as I dislike the burka, I believe that advocating a ban on the wearing of it is an intolerant act that smacks of populist authoritarianism. Any party advocating such a ban cannot be regarded as "libertarian". It is about personal freedom and choice, or rejecting personal freedom and choice.

If they advocate a ban on grounds of security do we also ban the wearing of crash helmets, balaclavas and all clothing that could, just could, hide the identity of a criminal? No, we use common sense, as we do already and women in burkas do have their identities checked properly at airports and elsewhere.

If it is to protect our way of life then are UKIP saying that our way of life, our culture and our national identity are so weak that the state needs to forcibly protect them? In effect they are trying to force us all to be British, or their view of being British and, if so, I say our culture, national identity and way of life don't deserve to survive. But I think they will, without draconian legislation they will survive and flourish.

Is it because the wearing of the burka is an overt symbol of adherence to a religion other than the established church and that UKIP fear that we may wake up under Sharia tomorrow. If so, are they also going to ban the wearing of the crucifix by Roman Catholics like me for fear of waking up to a Catholic state?

This proposal is highly illiberal, a measure that the European Union itself would be proud of and it has no place in a liberal democracy. At worst it is a cynical ploy by UKIP to attract a certain authoritarian populist vote. But it is a ploy that has backfired and has now, in the minds of many, put UKIP in the same pair of brackets as the BNP.

Neither party any longer offers a vision of England that I find attractive.

Here is a post from last June on this issue which, I am relieved to say, shows a certain level of consistency on the matter.

Nicotine Addiction

I usually meander down the stairs and check the TV news while I toast a couple of crumpets first thing, a good way of starting the day before popping out for newspapers or cranking up the laptop. This morning I saw the latest celebrity bullshit programme being plugged, and I use the word celebrity loosely.

This one is a programme following a bunch of misfits giving up fags. Wow, that will be rivetting viewing. They include the daughter of a couple of TV presenters, a Scouser who talks to the dead and some other bloke who seems to be famous for lying in bed being interviewed by the BBC on a Monday morning. It seems to have gone beyond z-list and left the alphabet completely.

I gave up the weed nearly three years ago, after more than thirty years on twenty a day, forty or more in my nightclubbing days. The main reason was starting to feel vulnerable to killer diseases (probably an age thing), so I wanted to minimise the chances of self-induced illness, especially after spending a night in a hospital which wasn't pleasant but that's another tale. I did it because I wanted to and didn't ponce about with patches, gum or some poxy NHS course. I certainly didn't do it on telly.

One of the things I don't miss, but it still angers me, is the self-righteous twat of a non-smoker who starts coughing and spluttering if he sees somebody light up fifty yards away, wanker. I still oppose the smoking ban, don't feel the urge to wash my hair or my clothes when I've been in the company of smokers, and urge visitors to my house to smoke if they want to. There you are, I'm all self-righteous in the oposite direction.

What I do object to, and it gets me very angry, is the state, in the form of the glorious NHS, putting expensive adverts on TV with kids whining about how mummy or daddy is going to suffer a long, lingering, painful death in front of said infant if they don't give up fags. That's not what I pay taxes for.

I also object to my taxes being spent by the state, in the form of the NHS, on courses and expensive kits to get smokers off nicotine. Then you hear some halfwit from the local NHS Trust telling us how they don't have the money to treat people with heart disease, MND or some other disease that requires expensive medicines.

Smoking, like chopping off your willy and growing breasts, is a lifestyle choice. NHS money should not be spent helping people change their lifestyles, use your own money not mine.

Here is the Libertarian Party policy on health.

I feel better for getting that off my chest, no pun intended.

Corporate Collaborators

Any police state needs the populace to collaborate, you only have to study Nazi Germany and the USSR to understand that. Then there are also your corporate collaborators, especially effective in the Third Reich and Mussolini's Italy.

So, like any police state Her Majesty's Government also ratchets up the power of the police state with the aid of corporate quislings. So step forward Scottish and Southern Energy:

'Staff feel the measures are so draconian that they can barely move around the workplace without breaking a Golden Rule. Under current company policy, anyone seen using stairs without holding the handrail must accept a “challenge” from a colleague or manager.

‘It’s known as a “yellow card”. If you are a repeat offender then the company can begin disciplinary action.’

Workers must obey the safety rules SSE confirmed that if a worker continually refused to respond to such challenges, the issue would be raised with their boss. A spokesman added: ‘Reversing into a static parking bay is safer than reversing out into a road or car park, which may have traffic and pedestrian movement which you cannot easily see.

Full story here if you can bear to visit the Mail on Sunday website.

If I wasn't such a softy I would take managers like that out into their car park, reverse them against the office wall and shoot them. But, being a big softy, I would just sack them and make them work in the Cheshire salt mines ready for the next Man Made Global Freeze.

Legalize It

It's been a heavy week so I thought it was time to get mellow with a spot of reggae from the great Peter Tosh:

Racism!!!

And just to prove the point up steps the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds:

A Church of England bishop has warned that the former Archbishop of Canterbury’s call for new limits on immigration would “play into the hands of racists”.

Full story here.

Thank The European Union

I have heard a lot today about this story while driving around the North West, and it is truly appalling. It's the story of the German doctor who killed a patient in the UK because he was doing work he was totally unsuitable for.

What a lot of the media haven't covered is the fact that, thanks to the glorious European Union and its freedom of movement, we (the UK) are not allowed to test the competence to practice or the linguistic abilities of doctors coming here from other EU countries. We can test doctors arriving from outside the EU, such as those from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, South Africa etc!

I wonder how many other hidden victims of the 'EU project' there are?

UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire Speaks Out

Below is a statement from Nikki Sinclaire MEP about events surrounding her departure from the EFD Group in the European Parliament.



I have said previously and will say it again, Nikki is the only UKIP MEP with principle, courage and backbone. Good luck to her.

Islam4UK-Libertarian Alliance Position

During the Falklands conflict there was a demonstration in Manchester, and no doubt elsewhere, against the decision to send troops to liberate the Falklands. There was widespread support for the government action (unlike today in Afghanistan) and, as I recall, troops were already engaged. There was huge opposition to the left-wing demo against the action but no calls for it to be banned. Instead many of us took to the streets and engaged in a very effective counter-demonstration in support of the liberation of the Falklands.

That is how free speech works and is why I fully endorse the following statement from the Libertarian Alliance. How things have changed in little over 25 years.

The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties institute, today condemns the banning of the radical group Islam4UK as a violation of the right to freedom of speech. [Under the Terrorism Act 2000, a group can be banned if it "commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for, promotes or encourages terrorism or is otherwise concerned in terrorism". Islam4UK disagrees with the Western occupation of Afghanistan, and has made its opposition plain. The banning order will come into effect on Thursday and will make it a criminal offence to be a member, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.]

Speaking today in London, Dr Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, comments:

"The rights to freedom of speech and association are fundamental to a free society. So far as these rights are diminished, that society becomes less free. I was born in a country where these rights had been enjoyed for centuries. I have reached middle age in a politically correct police state where the Government is now trying to criminalise dissent.

"We do not agree that British soldiers in Afghanistan are rapists and murderers. We were offended by the decision of Islam4UK to say this in a march. We certainly would not welcome the transformation of this country into an Islamic state, which is desired by Islam4UK. However, the group has not attacked life or property within the United Kingdom, nor has it recommended attacks on the life or property of any identifiable British individual. This makes the group a victim of oppression by the British State.

"Just because we may disagree with or be offended by certain views does not give us the right to suppress those views. We support the right of Islam4UK to oppose the war in Afghanistan and to argue for an Islamic takeover of the United Kingdom. In the same way, we support the right of others to argue that Moslems should have no right to live in the United Kingdom. The Libertarian Alliance believes in equal liberty for all to speak their minds. Free speech that does not include the right to give offence is not free speech. It is the political equivalent of decaffeinated coffee.

"If people are upset by what they read or hear, let them ignore it or argue against it. There is no place in such debates for the Thought Police."

The Libertarian Alliance believes:

* That the Race Relations Act 1976 should be repealed;
* That the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 should be repealed;
* That, pending repeal, the Race Regulations subsequent to these Acts should be withdrawn;
* That those sections of the Public Order Act 1986 dealing with speech and publication should be repealed;
* That those sections of the Criminal Justice Act 1998 dealing with "racial aggravation" of offences should be repealed;
* That the Commission for Racial Equality and all similar organisations should be abolished, and their records burned;
* That the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 should be repealed;
* That all the Terrorist Acts should be repealed;
* That all those convicted of thought crimes under the above laws should be pardoned and, where appropriate, compensated;
* That the Human Rights Act 1998 should be amended to protect the right of people to say anything they like about public issues, and to associate or not associate as they please.

Nikki Sinclaire UKIP MEP-Update

Further to Nikki's resignation from the EFD Group in the EU Parliament on grounds of conscience, whilst pledging her continued support to UKIP, there have been further developments today.

I have been told in a very brief conversation that Nikki has now been arbitrarily de-selected as a UKIP PPC for the general election.

Furthermore her offices in the West Midlands were today 'raided' by party officials who removed UKIP property. Unfortunately there was only a junior member of staff there at the time, a nineteen year old, who was quite shaken up by the experience.

I will update as I receive information.

Police State-Trial Without Jury

"Not since 1641 and the abolition of the feared Court of Star Chamber, used by monarchs for political ends up until the civil war, have citizens been tried for really serious criminal offences on indictment in the absence of a jury.

However, the principle has now been limited by Parliament under the Criminal Justice Act 2003".

Thanks to New Labour the police state threw yet another coil of barbed wire around us today with the start of a trial with no jury, in case of 'juror nobbling'.

Thanks to all the morons who voted Labour in 1997, 2001 and 2005. Let's hope they come for you next, and nobody lifts a finger to help.

Full BBC report here.

Police State-Speaker's Conference

At the request of the Prime Minister the Speaker of the House of Commons chairs occasional conferences which,looking at the last and the present speaker, should send a shiver down all our spines. The topic for this last conference, the report was published yesterday, was 'Parliamentary Representation'.

One of the more disturbing things about it is the floating of the idea of nationalising even further the political process and legally imposing political correctness to further entrench the police state. The idea is to force by law, if change doesn't come otherwise, a quota of women, ethnic minorities, homosexuals and disabled people on us to even out the perceived imbalance of representation in parliament at the moment.

It seems to me that this can only be done by banning white males, white females, some black males, blacks and whites without disabilities and black and white heterosexuals without disabilities, from selection as parliamentary candidates in certain constituencies. Which goes to show, you can piss off some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but only MPs can piss us all off all of the time. This would apply to all parties.

The relevant section of the report can be read here.

If you can bear too you can read the whole report here.

My idea of the ideal make up of the House of Commons is below, they'd spend much less time ballsing our lives up than human MPs do:

UKIP MEP, Nikki Sinclaire

It seems that it is Nikki Sinclaire MEP who has taken a stand against the authoritarian right-wing extremists of the EFD Group in the European Parliament. It is good to see a libertarian such as Nikki making a stand. Here is Wikipedia's entry about the EFD Group.

The EFD Group includes:

The Lega Nord from Italy. Here is an article about them from Time magazine.

True Finns from Finland. Here is an article about them.

Slovak National Party. Here is an article about them.

Order and Justice Party, Lithuania. Here is an article about them.

That gives a flavour of some of the unsavoury elements in the group and I can only applaud Nikki for, once again, taking a principled stand against right-wing authoritarian nutters.

If you were unaware UKIP are part of a bigger pan-European grouping because they get more funding from the EU that way.

Here's an apt song from the Hall and Oates:

UKIP MEP Acts With Courage And Principle Shock

Rumours are rife on t'internet that a UKIP MEP has walked away from the EFD Group in the European Parliament.

If you don't know the EDF Group is a right-wing grouping containing numerous loonies, fruit cakes, homophobes, racists, holocaust deniers and other nutters. In fact many of them make the BNP look liberal.

There is much speculation about who the MEP is, but in my opinion it could only be one, Nikki Sinclaire. Nikki is the only UKIP MEP who has the guts, the courage and the integrity to make a stand such as that. The rest are weak, spineless and mostly motivated by cash.

Let's face it Paul Nuttall walked off the platform on election night rather than share it with Nick Griffin, a cheap gesture. But when it comes to a few Euros, I doubt that a politician as driven by financial gain as Nuttall would take such a principled position.

So my money is on Nikki once again doing the honourable thing.

Weirdos On T'Internet

Last week I mentioned Ian Stafford, the pervert Mayor of Preesall in Lancashire. He is awaiting sentencing after breaking into womens' homes and stealing their underwear. Now I'm broadminded and don't care what consenting adults do in private, but this particular crime is beyond the pale.

But guess what? Some idiot has tried defending Ian Stafford saying:

This unfortunate young man has now been branded as some sort of pathetic heteroclite for indulging in what is, put simply, a bit of harmless foolery.

'Harmless foolery'? Breaking into a home, an Englishman's castle, and rifling through a woman's knicker drawer is 'harmless foolery'? Not in my bloody book it isn't. That is not the action of a heteroclite, but that of a perverted criminal.

I think the blog author should be sharing a cell with his little pal personally. You might want to drop the defender of the indefensible a line at Absolute Nobhead.

Political Hypocrites

They do talk crap, we all know that, but I've heard two cracking examples of stinking hypocrisy in the last few hours.

I'm always happy to blame politicians as they are usually wrong, lying, incomptetent etc. But last night an ugly Tory woman on TV, I think it was Caroline Spelman, was lambasting the government for not preparing for this weather in September or October, so that local authorities wouldn't now be struggling to buy grit and salt.

Utter stinking hypocrisy. Even I can't blame the government for this situation. Like most Labour, Tory and Lib Dem MPs it's a freak of nature. If Spelman can produce evidence of her, or other Tories' demands for action from the government in September/October, then her whining may have some credibility. But there isn't any, so keep your big trap shut, you just make yourself look ridiculous.

Talking of politicians looking ridiculous we now have Iris Robinson looking foolish, then making herself look even more foolish and so it goes on. Despite declaring herself a born again Christian, who thinks politicians should be doing God's work, she couldn't resist a bit of 'extras'. Yes she decided to relive the Anne Bancroft Mrs Robinson role in the classic film The Graduate and seduced a 19 year old.

She has now been accused of using her position to help the lad obtain £50,000 for a business and taking a cut herself. Her initial reason for resigning was suicidal feelings due to depression. Politician speak for being pissed off at being rumbled.

But the best was last night when she refused to issue a statement about the accusations 'on health grounds'.

Then politicians wonder why we loathe them.

Request from the Prime Minister

We would now like to play this classic O'Jays track, requested by Gordon for all his friends in the Labour Party:

First They Came For The Smokers, Then The Motorists.......

I have often wondered how the government gets away with encroaching ever more on our freedoms and liberties. I think it's accepted by many, and tolerated by others, on the 'well if you've nothing to hide' principle. There is a surviving naivety that what the state does it does for our good.

Now Hilary Benn, son of the pipe smoking inverted snob Anthony Wedgewood Benn, 2nd Viscount Stansgate, has decided that we have to be treated like children at a party when it comes to the food we eat, and be told and warned what is and isn't good for us. They don't allow prisoners to slop out any more, probably because of their human rights, but Mr Benn is going to force the rest of us to have slop buckets for waste food, on top of numerous wheelie bins, recycling boxes and God knows what other containers because he will no longer allow us to dump waste food in landfills.

In addition cafes, restaurants and takeaways will be forced to carry government health warnings. Why not put a warning along the lines of: "Eh fat boy, one more mouthful of that kebab and you'll burst"? You may remember last year the government warned it will force snack caravans to serve salads. God help us all.

According to the Telegraph it's the first major government food strategy since the last World War. I think it's a subconscious statement by the government that we are at war, and that the enemy of the people of the UK is the government.

First they came for the smokers, and I did not speak out—because I was not a smoker;
Then they came for the motorists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a motorist;
Then they came for the drinkers, and I did not speak out—because I was not a drinker;
Then they came for the restaurants and cafes, and I did not speak out because I didn't eat out;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

With apologies to Pastor Niemoller.

Hoon And Hewitt-Backstabbers?

Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt are calling for a leadership ballot. Nice timing that.

Geoff Hoon's email:

Dear colleague, As we move towards a general election it remains the case that the parliamentary Labour party is deeply divided over the question of the leadership. Many colleagues have expressed their frustration at the way in which this question is affecting our political performance. We have therefore come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this issue would be to allow every member to express their view in a secret ballot.

This could be done quickly and with minimum disruption to the work of MPs and the government. Whatever the outcome the whole of the party could then go forward, knowing that this matter had been sorted out once and for all.

Strong supporters of the prime minister should have no difficulty in backing this approach. There is a risk otherwise that the persistent background briefing and grumbling could continue up to and possibly through the election campaign, affecting our ability to concentrate all of our energies on getting our real message across.

Equally, those who want change, should they lose such a vote, would be expected by the majority of the PLP to devote all of their efforts to winning the election. The implications of such a vote would be clear – everyone would be bound to support the result.

This is a clear opportunity to finally lay this matter to rest. The continued speculation and uncertainty is allowing our opponents to portray us as dispirited and disunited. It is damaging our ability to set out our strong case to the electorate. It is giving our political opponents an easy target.

In what will inevitably be a difficult and demanding election campaign, we must have a determined and united parliamentary party. It is our job to lead the fight against our political opponents. We can only do that if we resolve these distractions. We hope that you will support this proposal.

Of course poor old Cyclops trundles out Geraldine "Nice But Dim" Smith, the dense MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale to defend him. This from t'Yorkshire Post:

Labour loyalist Geraldine Smith insisted there was "no appetite" for a ballot and dismissed internal party critics as "joke figures".

"I think it will probably be a fading story by the end of the day and we will be back looking at the snow and the weather conditions, hopefully.

"I don't think there is any appetite within the Parliamentary Labour Party to have a secret ballot," she told the BBC.

"It is no shock that Charles Clarke doesn't support the Prime Minister but he keeps going. He was sending emails round last week - he even sent me one so he has not got very good intelligence because I have been clearly behind the Prime Minister, as have many Labour MPs.

"People like Charles Clarke have just become joke figures really, they are just not taken seriously any more."

I'd have thought Geraldine would have more pressing matters to attend to. Such as applying for jobs, I'm sure she will need some income after she loses her seat on May 6th or even earlier now. Who knows?

Fatties To Be Ate First

A debate is raging, apparently, about the morality of a health club in Bristol running an advertising campaign claiming that fatties will be ate first after an alien invasion.

Now, I don't think it is likely to happen and, being a bit on the hefty side myself, can't say I'm overly concerned, at least being ate first your suffering would be over. I don't want to offend observing aliens there by implying alien invasion would necessarily be negative.

But some fatties elsewhere are getting all upset and offended. Well tough shit, get slim and you won't be. I suppose those offended are the types, like the woman above, who eat small skinny people.

If you want to survive the alien invasion you should look like slimmer of the year (left). You'll be OK then. Assuming the aliens don't like their meat lean, then you've got problems too.

All in all I suppose you should just live your life and take pot luck, no pun intended. Who knows, aliens may all be vegetarian anyway.

But do not keep being offended and wanting compensation for hurt feelings, because aliens do have a policy of disembowelling the mard and the politically correct.

Found at Ananova

Death By Boredom-The Daily Politics

This dinnertime I made the mistake of watching The Daily Politics on BBC2. There were three grey men (left) coming out with vacuous platitudes on behalf of Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems. They were campaigning for the general election apparently, but proved why record numbers of people will probably not bother to vote in May.

They were smug, aloof and far more detached from the real world than even I thought politicians had become. They still, after all the venom directed at them over recent months, behaved like feudal lords with a God given right to be in their positions. They made me want to puke. They were savaged by broadcaster Jon Gaunt but even when Gaunt directed his most aggressive condemnations at them they continued to sit with smug smiles on their fat, bloated faces.

The thought of another five months of this bollocks seriously makes me ponder leaving the country. Please, please Cyclops call a snap general election and let's have done with it. There is a very strong argument now, not just for some form of proportional representation, but for fixed term parliaments.

Between now and May 6th I wouldn't mind putting money on the suicide rate rocketing as the general election campaign bores even hardened politicos to death. I've worked in parliamentary by-election campaigns where we had to stop canvassing because party workers were being abused by voters angry at the number of leaflets arriving, canvassers knocking on their doors and telephone canvassers ringing. That over a short but intense period. A five month campaign by parties led by such dynamic and colourful characters as Cyclops, Cameron and Clegg can only drive us all to ponder whether we can or want to survive and, I suspect, many will choose death as a much more attractive option.

If you want to know the identities of the three pricks on The Daily Politics then sorry can't remember. But they have 643 lookalikes in the House of Commons, it could have been any of them.

A polemic from the leader of the UK Libertarian Party

My friends,

We are broke. Our country—whatever it may once have been—is now laden with debt. And this isn't "the government's debt": it is our debt.

The government has no money but what it takes—what it extorts—from us.

We have gone beyond consensus politics: if a man were to come to your door, with a gun, and demand half of everything that you earned—on pain of severe punishment, on pain of the total ruination of your life—would you not protest?

For a moment, lay aside those dutiful thoughts of those starving millions beyond your gate, and think, instead, of those within your own household—within your own family: would you not rather protect them first?

Of course you would: they are your kith and kin and you would expect—would you not?—that everyone, like you, would defend theirs against you were you the one holding the gun.

The government has now utterly removed from you the means of protecting yourself and your family against the man with the gun: indeed, you dare not defend yourself because you fear that it is you, not the mugger, who would end up in the dock.

For the government is the man with the gun, demanding tithes from you: the government is here, at your door. But not randomly.

No.

The government has gone out and bought itself nice things—plasma TVs, second homes, duckhouses, moats. And jobs, and votes. All of those things that you could not afford—because it has been here before: at your door, with a gun.

Five years ago, it was here—threatening you with prison if you did not pay up—for the sake of all of those children who were not yours. You paid, because you had no option.

Four years ago, it was here—threatening you with prison if you did not pay up—for the sake of all of those unhealthy who were not yours. You paid, because you had no option.

Three years ago, it was here—threatening you with prison if you did not pay up—for the sake of all of those uneducated who were not yours. You paid, because you had no option.

Two years ago, it was here—threatening you with prison if you did not pay up—for the sake of all of those feckless bankers who were not yours. You paid, because you had no option.

One year ago, it was here—threatening you with prison if you did not pay up—for the sake of all of those MPs who had no duck-houses or second homes or moats. You paid, because you had no option.

And now the government has spent everything that you had to give, and more, on its pet projects—on buying its second homes, on buying its duckhouses, on buying its votes—and none of it benefited you and yours. Not even by one iota.

The government didn't care that you couldn't afford to give any more: it didn't care that you had no money.

The government didn't care that you had lost your job: the government didn't care that all of those thousands of pounds it took in National Insurance payments translated into a few hundred when you were in need.

And now, when you are getting back on your feet—back in a job that is not as good as the one the government destroyed, back struggling to look after your family on the pittance you are paid, back paying off your debts—the government, too, is back: it's back with the gun.

The government is back—demanding half of what you broke your back to earn—because it has more grand schemes, more votes to buy, more trinkets to deliver to its favoured ones.

Will you so willingly hand over the sweat of your brow? Will you so willingly condemn you and yours to penury? Will you capitulate again?

Or will you fight?

Join us—and help us to stop the extortion.

Join us—and understand that providing for you and yours is not a sin.

Join us—and realise that a society that pulls together is a society that stays together.

Join us—and help us fight for a future in which people help each other voluntarily, because it is right and fitting to do so.

Join us—and help to build a future in which men, women and children take back their work, their birthrights, their dignity and their compassion from a government that cares nothing for you.

Join us.

Because—whether the government is Tory, Labour or LibDem—soon you will have nothing left to lose.

Chris Mounsey
Leader-Libertarian Party (UK)

Libertarian Party website.
Devil's Kitchen blog.

Knicker Nickin' Mayor

It's not really acceptable in these PC times, not in many places anyway, to tar somebody with a brush because of how they look. But I defy you to look at the picture (left) of Ian Stafford and not think "weirdo".

Mr Stafford is the former mayor of Preesall in Lancashire and has just been found guilty at Preston Crown Court of breaking into womens' homes and nicking their undies. Bet that doesn't surprise you either.

The only surprise to me is that the people of Preesall ended up with Mr Stafford as mayor.

Lancashire Evening Post coverage.

Celebrity Big Brother

If anything typifies the vile cultural wasteland of New Labour's Britain it is surely Big Brother. Pathetic wannabes and z-list celebrities making complete arseholes of themselves but so egotistical they don't even realise that normal people are appalled by them. A bit like Members of Parliament really.

Below is an excellent Toby Young article in the Telegraph which very nicely sums up the dreadful phenomenon of not just Big Brother, but reality TV:

Is this the beginning of the end for reality television? Last night, Channel 4 broadcast the first episode of the final series of Big Brother and it felt like the last gasp of a dying genre. This is the “celebrity” version of the show, but the biggest name the broadcaster could muster was Vinnie Jones, the former Wimbledon footballer, and it reportedly had to cough up half a million pounds to get him. No less than three of the eleven contestants were chosen because they’ve had sex with someone famous – two of them with Katie Price. I had at least heard of them, which is more than can be said for Basshunter, Sisqo and Lady Sovereign – all pop stars, apparently. Watching these “celebrities” wander around the revamped Big Brother House – it looked like it had been decorated with the contest of Donatella Versace’s underwear drawer – didn’t make for particularly gripping television. It was more like a Public Information Film designed to warn people of the dangers of too much plastic surgery.

In fairness to Channel 4, they’ve probably done as well as they could under the circumstances. It isn’t easy to persuade celebrities to appear on reality shows these days. Contrast the above no-hopers with the contestants on the first series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2001: Anthea Turner, Chris Eubank, Claire Sweeney, Jack Dee, Keith Duffy and Vanessa Feltz. Not A-listers perhaps, but at least Davina McCall’s description of them as “household names” wasn’t met with gales of laughter. Back then the contestants weren’t paid anything, either. I know this because I was invited to participate in the 2003 version and when I inquired about the fee was told that all the contestants were expected to do it for “charity”.

The reason proper celebrities are reluctant to appear on reality shows is because they don’t want to risk tarnishing their brands. Celebrity Big Brother has a particularly bad reputation in this regard, with several contestants doing serious harm to their reputations. Examples include Vanessa Feltz, who appeared to suffer some sort of breakdown in the first series, George Galloway, who pranced around in a black leotard in series four, and most notoriously Jade Goody, who was accused of bullying Shilpa Shetty in the controversial fifth series. The upshot is that the only “celebrities” willing to appear on the programme – with a few exceptions – are those desperately trying to kick-start their careers in show business or desperately trying to revive them. In other words, people with little to lose.

It’s easy to be superior about programmes like Celebrity Big Brother but if the producers can persuade people with real careers to take part they can be quite riveting. I was completely transfixed by George Galloway’s car-crash appearance in 2005. Galloway’s mistake was to use old-fashioned, Machiavellian-style realpolitik to try and win the contest — making pacts with the strong, attacking the weak and double-crossing his allies when it was prudent to do so. Such skulduggery is absolutely routine in the Westminster village and not something his peers would condemn him for, at least not in private. But the people who watch reality shows are complete innocents in such matters and in their eyes Galloway must have come across like a text-book villain.

It’s always a mistake to use any of the standard political arts to try and win a reality show. The people who emerge best are those who play a completely straight bat – who are always themselves, no matter who they’re talking to. The strongest asset you can take into an environment like the Big Brother House is a complete lack of guile, which is one of the reasons I turned it down.

I’d hesitate to condemn Galloway for his behaviour in the house – or indeed any contestant on the programme who has lost his or her cool. We’re accustomed from watching fictional drama to assume that true character emerges from conflict, but I’m not sure this is the case on reality shows. The producers of Big Brother devise ever more ingenious ways of pitting the housemates against each other in the sure knowledge that the more cornered they feel, the more likely they are to retreat into their atavistic selves, becoming defensive, short-tempered and, at times, highly aggressive. Seen from the comfort of our armchairs, such behaviour can seem revelatory, but we know from things like the Stanford Prison Experiment that people in these pressure-cookers can quickly lose any sense of perspective. They don’t necessarily become more “real” as the layers of civility are stripped away; rather, they regress further than this and become more animalistic, less human. In the case of George Galloway, we didn’t see the “real” him, so much as the disintegration of his personality. He became a lab rat.

Watching human beings regress can be quite mesmerizing, but reality shows shouldn’t be confused with real drama. We’re not gaining any insight into people’s characters or discovering a truth about them or ourselves or the world we live in. On the contrary, we’re just left with the illusion that we have. Reality shows occupy the space in our culture – specifically, in the television schedules – that should be occupied by well-scripted drama. The triumph of “reality” as a genre in the Noughties is a reflection of people’s loss of confidence in fiction and we are much the poorer for it. For that reason, the fact that this is the last series of Big Brother is a cause of celebration.

Having said that it is a great chance for a reminder of what a twat somebody like George Galloway actually is. If a reminder were needed.

Husband of the Year 2009

Idiots of 2009

Councillor Martin Mullaney of Birmingham City Council is one of the great idiots of 2009.

He defended Birmingham's decision to scrap apostrophes from street signs, claiming that it was justified because the monarchy no longer owns King's Heath or King's Norton.

A more realistic explanation is that idiots like Councillor Mullaney probably don't understand the use of apostrophes, and are too bone idle to find out.

Those Loveable Scousers

A gas engineer was attacked by four men while he was carrying out emergency repairs to a suspected leak in a Liverpool street.

The man suffered injuries to his head and body in the unprovoked assault on Carnation Road, Walton.

He had been repairing a pipe when the men demanded his van keys, assaulting him when he refused.

Police said the man had since been discharged from hospital, but was left very shaken.

The offenders are described as being white, aged between 16 to 18 years and of average build. All four wore dark hooded jackets.

'Dangerous behaviour'

Det Con Andy Bason, leading the investigation, said: "This was a cowardly and unprovoked attack on a man who was carrying out an emergency repair.

"We are making extensive inquiries to identify the offenders and will do all we can to catch these men and put them before the courts.

"Behaviour such as this is extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated."

Merseyside police are appealing for witnesses to the attack, which happened at about 2000 GMT on Saturday.

From the BBC

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everybody. Let's hope for a New Year of peace, freedom and liberty, but don't hold your breath.

My prediction is for a hung parliament with Dave in charge. So, good to see Cyclops gone, but what real difference will there be?

We may not win the election but the Libertarian Party is the only libertarian alternative to the tired old authoritarian parties and anti-EU pressure groups. Why not give us a try?